#shakarian for life

[thefloatingstone]

She has to stand on her toes because he lifts her up when he kisses her are you fucking serious how the fuck am I supposed to be normal about them???

[and-his-hands-were-24-crows]

"All of... that. Is my name in your language?" (7/25/22)

A piece from last year that I made when I started my NG+ run. It pairs with one of the few fics that I've written, which I'll throw in as well for anybody else with a raging clarity-of-communication kink.

[garrus-appreciation]

I compiled some of Garrus from the Citadel DLC content this has all been posted somewhere by someone but idc i wanted to post my own shepard now listen to me ramble:

(I did both the quiet and energetic party)

-Garrus fawning over Shepard’s dress constantly (the way he says “damn!” is just... so perfect)

-Archangel and Commander Shepard on the red carpet omg what a power couple

-Garrus’s idea of fun shore leave is making sure she’s safe because he knows if another thing goes wrong Shepard is going to implode from stress 

-or shamelessly flirting with her

-The cute pet names he uses in the quiet party oh my godddd

-The way they call each other “honey”

-there’s a reason i’ve used #every time i hear garrus use a pet name it adds years to my life  multiple times

-Garrus making fun of Shepard’s dancing despite the fact that he is dancing in an entirely similar way

-Don’t get me started on “I HEART GARRUS”

god i just love him.. so much...

[biasedsteam9]

Am I stuck in like 3 or 4 fandoms again? I'm ladies and gentleman ヽ(^。^)丿

Right now you will see me posting/rebblogin more content of the next fandoms/series/animes/games:

- Mass Effect

- Sakura Card Captor / Sakura Card Captor Clear Card

- Halo

- Formula 1

- The Sims 4

- A little bit of Gears of War

- Maybe some cosplay and coffee

So I ask for a little bit of patience and an apologize! （￣へ￣）

[spectre-shitposts]

Garrus, waking up early af to find Shepard already going over star charts: "G'morning Shep... what time did you wake up?"

Shepard, sleep deprived and mildly hallucinating: "Time is a construct, inherently tying us to death. Undo every shackle, unseat every oppressor, and time will still be there. Laughing at us until the bitter end."

Shepard: "...I woke up at 04:30."

[iheartgarrus]

Title: Kiss Me in Slow Motion Rating: E Content: Explicit sexual content Pairing: Viola Shepard/Garrus Vakarian Genre: Porn with feelings Word Count: 1353 Summary: They don't get to do this often - he'd generally prefer that she sleep as late as she possibly can. But this particular morning, they both woke up to a message from Victus, canceling their early meeting in favor of an "urgent matter". If it weren't for the woman in bed next to him who suddenly had the next hour and a half free, Garrus may not have been so quick to take the assurance that he needn't be concerned.

But he knows a golden opportunity when he sees one.

[ukiyo-24]

Fridias Vakarian- The human/ turian hybrid.

[lilmissnatcat24]

writing a character realizing they're in love is so fnasbfjksbakedbnak b like i feel so najkbajwkbeafakjbdajsfhiosfrh right now i am about to eafnvsfbv aljiohfaoidhfnvajbfao haoj uaihjfhvnjslndska !!!!!!!!!!!

[that-wildwolf]

For what it's worth i really love your writing style and genuinely enjoy your works so much! Youre an excellent writer 🙂

I really don't think i can believe these types of things lately. You're sweet to try and cheer me up and say nice things! But when it comes to my fics, I've been hearing too many bad things lately to accept any positive feedback as anything other than pity or a well-meaning attempt to make me feel good about myself.

And i know this sounds dramatic or fatalistic or whatever, but that's just how it is right now. I feel like I should take a step back and reevaluate my work, my priorities, everything.

I know that people don't enjoy my works and it hurts me, but it also makes me want to try to write something people will like. I just need to... figure out how to do that.

Fuck, I don't know. It's scary. I feel like I've wasted so much of my life on doing this one thing I thought I was good at and it turns out i just... Whatever.

Thanks for the ask, anon. For the kind words. I know you were trying to be nice and make me feel better, and i appreciate that. But an excellent writer? That I am not.

[lulii999]

More WIPs on my little self indulgent Shakarian piece.

THEY HAVE SUCH A GOOD COLOR PALETTE???

(Also drawing beefy Garrus with rolled up sleeves is…👀 👀. Live your best life, Shepard.)

[my-hot-awkward-turian-boyfriend]

Official Shakarian & Mass Effect Fanfics Master Post

all of my shakarian and mass effects fics in one post, divided into categories: one shots, chapter fics, series, gifts/giveaways

ONE SHOTS:

some things you just can't speak about

2.9k words, rated T, "two short shakarian scenes, before the suicide mission and six months later, after they've been reunited" ~ https://archiveofourown.org/works/33066811

First Choice

6.8k words, rated T, "a series of moments from the first, second, and third games showcasing the growth of Garrus and Shepard's friendship and relationship" ~ https://archiveofourown.org/works/33245413

and for the first time i had something to lose

2.2k words, rated T, "Garrus moving through the motions of life after the war, always imagining Shepard is still there with him" ~ https://archiveofourown.org/works/37477735

prove that i'm me, prove that i'm yours

2k words, rated T, "Garrus questions Shepard's identity after being dead for two years, but after the events of his rescue on Omega, she promises to prove herself to him (and maybe realises she has deeper feelings)" ~ https://archiveofourown.org/works/38504269

we always find our way back to each other

6k words, rated T, "Shep doesn't recruit Garrus for the Saren mission, but every time she returns to the Citadel, they just so happen to bump into each other, and he's always there when she needs someone" ~ https://archiveofourown.org/works/38989122

tell me it's okay not to be all right

7.4k words, rated T, "Garrus dealing with losing Shep multiple times in multiple ways but never giving up on her and always being willing to follow her lead" ~ https://archiveofourown.org/works/40121526

the first rule of f*** club is: you do not talk about f*** club

1.2k words, rated M, the title honestly says it all; there's just no good way to summarize this fic ~ https://archiveofourown.org/works/41340453

Needs Satisfied

2.5k words, rated E, "Shep takes Garrus' offer of *needing* him quite literally and they hook up in the main battery because waiting until the end of me2 is just silly when there's already so much sexual tension in the air" ~ https://archiveofourown.org/works/47238556

In Good Company

3.6k words, rated E, "Aria tells Shep to find someone to hookup with, and Shep decides that that probably wouldn't be such a bad idea. She wants Garrus but is under the impression Garrus doesn't want her. Until, that is, he comes across her flirting with another turian in the club. It's all uphill from there." ~ https://archiveofourown.org/works/49033144

caught between a rock and a hard turian

6k words, rated E, "Garrus gets hit by cloud of sex pollen and Shep is the one who needs to help with his release to get the reaction out of his system. They both think the sex is strictly situational until Shep approaches Garrus to talk with him about it after the fact. That's when they finally realise they've both been harbouring feelings for each other." ~ https://archiveofourown.org/works/49741477

CHAPTER FICS:

torment me, challenge me, make me bleed

68.7k words, 10 chapters, rated E, "If Garrus had followed through with actually reapplying for spectre status. Still follows the events of me2 and me3 rather closely but with some variations. Additional/missing scenes. Altered scenes. Rearranged dialogue." ~ https://archiveofourown.org/works/36648406/chapters/91415290

When Planets Align

63.2k words, 11 chapters, rated E, "Shepard is brought back by Cerberus and her first mission is to track down Omega's infamous Archangel. Of course, nothing ever goes as planned. Nor can anything ever be simple." ~ https://archiveofourown.org/works/36485758/chapters/90981499

a memory is nothing more than a stepping stone

39.3k words, 6 chapters, rated E, "Post-me3 Shep has just woken up in a hospital to the sound of gunfire. She doesn't remember how she got there--or the turian who shows up to help her escape the men trying to track her down. Turns out she doesn't remember anything from the last nearly four years of her life..." ~ https://archiveofourown.org/works/41401683/chapters/103823640

A Rose By Any Other Name

40.5k words, 3 chapters, rated E, Beauty & the Beast AU, "A universe where Shep works for the Shadow Broker and is assigned a mission to look into who Archangel is and discovers far more than she ever could've imagined (or dreamed of) both about Archangel and herself" ~ https://archiveofourown.org/works/40879761/chapters/102442695

the path reveals itself with each step taken forward

15.8k words, 3 chapters, rated E, "A timeline of the events from a memory is nothing more than a stepping stone but from Garrus' POV instead... Experience Garrus' side and feelings from dealing with Shep having no memory of him or their relationship." ~ https://archiveofourown.org/works/42647103/chapters/107126943

Doubled Edged Lockdown

15.5k words, 8 chapters, rated E, "AU where Shep is sent to assassinate Archangel but everything about her plan backfires when the station goes into a lockdown and they end up being stuck together for an undisclosed amount of time" ~ https://archiveofourown.org/works/43114659/chapters/108350778

magnificently cursed (the fatal flaw)

40.5k words, 8 chapters, rated E, "The first contact war has just ended, and the humans and turians have agreed upon an alliance through marriage. Novella Shepard is the human volunteer, which she has no qualms about...until she meets Garrus Vakarian, whom she has a brief yet passionate affair with. Except he is not the turian volunteer.... In the end, will the alliance come to fruition, or will it turn into another disaster?" ~ https://archiveofourown.org/works/47581291/chapters/119918797

Mixing Work With Pleasure

17.1k words, 4 chapters, rated E, "AU where Garrus and Shep are set up on a blind date and end up really hitting it off. Turns out they're also working in the same profession, although that's not discussed until the day they realise they work for the same company. How they find out is not necessarily planned, but they're not complaining about the new experience" ~ https://archiveofourown.org/works/49205854/chapters/124157668

the fate of the stars

4.7k words, 22 chapters, rated T, "A collection of drabbles using tarot and appointing each major arcana to certain moments/sequences from throughout the trilogy..." ~ https://archiveofourown.org/works/50110447/chapters/126546565

once upon a time, the planets and the fates and all the stars aligned (checkmate)

73.1k words, 6 chapters, rated E, "A minor retelling of the series based on if Shepard and Garrus had met years before the Saren mission and how their relationship progresses over time" ~ https://archiveofourown.org/works/54178876/chapters/137183806

SERIES:

it'd be an awfully empty galaxy without you

22.6k words, rated E, complete, "shakarian smut after significant moments throughout the trilogy" ~ https://archiveofourown.org/series/2550892

love in the dark

10.3k words, rated E, complete, "AU canon divergence of moments Shep and Garrus get together without realising they're about to be with each other again" ~ https://archiveofourown.org/series/3031101

roleplay

6.2k words, rated E, ongoing, "Shep and Garrus in different roleplay scenarios" ~ https://archiveofourown.org/series/3548890

and then there were three...

23.1k words, rated E, complete, "Shep and Garrus inviting Adrien Victus into their sex life (and eventually relationship)" ~ https://archiveofourown.org/series/3574465

Tantalising Turians

44.2k words, rated E, complete, "Novella Shepard hooking up with just about every named turian throughout the trilogy (porn with plot)" ~ https://archiveofourown.org/series/3823585

GIFTS/GIVEAWAYS:

fake it till we make it

13.3k words, rated T, "Shep and Garrus never got together during the actual trilogy timeline and after the war they start pretending to date for Garrus' sake but Shep quickly realises that she may not be able to pretend for long" ~ https://archiveofourown.org/works/40845417

Ruthless Calculus of the Heart

19.2k words, rated T, "Garrus figuring out how to become reacquainted with this new Shep, who used to be so hardcore before she died, and is now the complete opposite.... Meanwhile, Shep is trying to un-teach everything she had taught Garrus during their first mission together. Easier said than done...." ~ https://archiveofourown.org/works/42488880

The Ballad of a Turian

4.9k words, rated G, an origin story for a friend's turian OC ~ https://archiveofourown.org/works/43900503

my one and only (i don't want you like a best friend)

14.2k words, rated M, "Shepard and Garrus start hooking up long before the aftermath of Garrus' loyalty mission (or the suicide mission, for that matter), but they still try to be discreet and keep their newfound relationship a secret from the rest of the crew" ~ https://archiveofourown.org/works/44735905

Cover It Up With A Kiss

3.5k words, part 1/2 of the Never Better series, rated E, "Garrus and Shep hook up during an undercover mission, which ends up leading to more than either of them ever could've anticipated (or hoped for)" ~ https://archiveofourown.org/works/45003325

Uncover It With A Look

3.1k words, part 2/2 of the Never Better series, rated E, "Shep and Garrus have reunion sex in the main battery after Garrus reboards the Normandy after the Menae mission in me3 (six months is a lot of time to make up for)" ~ https://archiveofourown.org/works/45204919

Legacy

3.1k words, rated T, "Shep and Garrus simply living a normal life and enjoying retirement after the reaper invasion" ~ https://archiveofourown.org/works/45427156

The Dark Side of the Moon

8.6k words, rated M, "Garrus dealing with the grief of losing Shepard (again) and not knowing how to handle it properly until getting the idea to return to the colony she's from to help them rebuild and help him feel connected to her, but never does he expect the people he'll run into there" ~ https://archiveofourown.org/works/45744922

[insomnikat-mused]

Obsession. Character study. Art.

for Feedback Fest 2024 I went through my bookmarks and managed to choose 10 completed fics + 1 I am avidly subscribed to. Some are novel-length. Some are ficlets. Some are fluff and funny and others are the most exquisite angst I have ever read.

All have an undercurrent of one or all of the themes above.

In no particular order (because Tumblr acts funny when I try to move them) and color-coded by medium for convenience:

Astarion's No Good Terrible Day by Qoboe. Tav x Astarion (BG3). Astarion keeps living the same day at the goblin camp, and Tav dies every time.

Seasons by StinglessWasp. GhostSoap (CoDIII). Four seasons, five countries, six months.

those hands were meant to love by Ahenix. TwiYor (SxF). Five times Loid Forger uses his hands to express love, and the one time he receives love through touch.

keepsakes hold power by dustandstatic. ThanZag (Hades). God's keepsakes and blessings change zagreus' appearance and behavior during an escape. Thanatos takes notice.

Things More Initimate by icarus_chained. Steve x Natasha (MCU Avengers). He'd asked her if he could draw her. She'd teased, wondering at the kind of drawings he meant. In the end … in all innocence, maybe he'd drawn something more intimate still.

i found my heart in your chest by snickiebear. KakaSaku (Naruto). Here’s the thing about loneliness: it eats you whole.

a knife in the country by cicak. Agnes x Rios (Picard). Agnes can't even begin to state the nature of her psychiatric emergency.

Conquest by ProlixInSpace. Shakarian (ME3). She doesn’t resent it exactly, but it’s just very hard to be comfortable in the presence of a 15-foot bronze replica of yourself. (She wonders often which of them has more metal parts.)

The Space Between by theSealby. Sylvix (FE3H). Felix keeps noticing a man in a museum.

must be this tall to ride by viperbranium. Stucky (MCU Avengers). Or how Bucky should probably pay more attention to the people around him before talking obscenities about a National Icon.

I Look To You to See the Truth by BitchBot3000. NejiHina (Naruto). Post-war, Hinata's life takes a different path and Neji is given the chance to dream.

[ejunkiet]

20 Questions for Fic Writers Game

tagged by the wonderful @autisticempathydaemon (chrissy my beloved <33 also you HAVE to let me know if you start writing for castleaudios >:3)

tagging - you, reading this!! also (no pressure!): @dominimoonbeam @glassbearclock @taelonsamada @romirola @lovelylonerliterature @genginger @ninzied @evilbunnyking @nerdierholler @commander-krios @chroniclesinlacuna @kesla @mordinette @garglyswoof @nagia-pronounced-neijia

1 - How many works do you have on AO3?

oh god, 128! but this is an underestimate, because i've anon'd some older fics/fandoms hehehe. i've been 'round ao3 since 2012!

2 - What's your total AO3 word count?

498,649... now this is actually accurate. 300k of that is from 2020 until now. basically the pandemic got me on a writing kick.

3 - What fandoms do you write for?

SO MANY. 19 according to ao3, but right now? baldurs gate & redacted audios >:3 there is another halsin fic in the works...

4 - What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

oh god. okay. you'll get some older fics here: 1. got me on my best (bad) behaviour 2. Call me scent o' mental, but I'm crazy about you (teen wolf....) 3. all bark, no bite 4. devils and ghosts (frank castle / karen page!! love this one heh) 5. sweeter than honey (ofc halsin makes it ahaha)

5 - Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

YES. there are only a few exceptions, when I've written something that touches close to home / a sensitive topic.

6 - What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

hmm...bittersweet endings were my wheelhouse for a long time. OKAY. let's do this one: too little, too late. caroline forbes and klaus mikaelson, set at the end of the originals. yeah.

7 -What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

....nowadays, I mostly write happier endings sadhfjk lets go with: bioluminescence, which follows on from the events of blood moon (@/barbwrites) and takes marco on a roadtrip to see luminescent algae up close and personal. (it's a loveletter to a summer I spent in california during a really difficult period of my life, and this fic means a lot to me <3)

8 - Do you get hate on fics?

I've not gotten hate, but I've definitely had some interesting comments over the years, for a variety of reasons, usually to do with the person's personal views. (one story had the main character smoking pot to calm their anxiety, and someone was not happy with that)

9 - Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

YEP. Smut with feelings is my FAVOURITE thing. I prefer sensual descriptions, because it is all about feelings and sensations with me. as an ace writer, I also like kink and monster fuckery heheheh.

10 - Do you write crossovers?

Not at all ahahahaha. Have I ever written a crossover? I don't think so. I love AUs though, and pacific rim AUs are one of my favourite concepts in fandom.

11 - Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yes, and it was teen wolf, and honestly not one of my best. it was a hatchet job, they took random paragraphs and spliced it / wrote around it? someone flagged it to me in a comment, and it was taken down. all in all, a very weird experience.

12 - Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but gosh, that'd be cool! <- stealing from lexi, agreed, would be awesome <3

13 - Have you ever co-written a fic before?

YES. It was FUN. It was a series of conversations between an estranged father and son, Colm and Milo Greer, with the incredibly talented @frenchiefitzhere (also tagging you for this meme!!). it's still one of my favourite things: An Honest Man Like Yourself

14 - What's your all time favorite ship?

ALL TIME FAVOURITE? How dare you. I love all my ships afjkdsfg Shakarian is pretty high up there. Kastle (karen page/ frank castle). All the werewolves from redacted. <3

15 - What's a WIP that you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

ahhhh. okay. 'wander. wonder.' my poly longfic. don't hate me, but honestly, I've just not got the space for a longfic at the moment. never say never, but I've caught up with the chapters I had worked up, everything else is a vague outline. <3

16 - What are your writing strengths?

oof. I want to say character. most of the fun for me when writing is getting inside a characters head and figuring out their voice >:3

17 - What are your writing weaknesses?

Structuring longer, multi-chaptered stories - basically figuring out the pacing of it. I'm working on an original project, and I love it, but the first series of major edits will be breaking up my alternating POV sections into proper chapter breaks and letting myself linger more in moments instead of pushing forward (habits of a oneshot writer fdsds)

18 - Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I've been meaning to have my estonian friend critique my estonian, but I'm pretty positive the 'bond' I referred to is actually the money kind, and not the emotional attachment I'd been hoping to refer to hfjdkssfdg. I do as much research as I can, but it's best to run it past someone who speaks the language!

19 - First fandom you wrote for?

hehehehe naruto. yep. I was a naruto kid. first posted online in 2007......

20 - Favorite fic you've written?

WHAT A QUESTION. honestly, I love what I have been writing the last three years. I've really let myself just write what I want to read, and it's been great. i'm going to cheat, and say the original project I'm working on that I won't let anyone see heheheh. <3 it's got werewolves, kink and explicit consent, and spun out a whole verse for me to play with (and a fun MMF sidestory that I also need to finish...)

gods this got LONG. Thank you for making it this far!! <3

[iheartgarrus]

Title: Cliff Diving Rating: E Content: Explicit sexual content Pairing: Viola Shepard/Garrus Vakarian Genre: Smut (with feelings!) Word Count: 6850

So, historically I've always posted my full fics here as well as on AO3, but this is the most explicit thing I've published since The Purge, so I'm a little uneasy about doing that. Instead, here's an excerpt to accompany the link:

Shepard watched Garrus fumble for a moment, rambling about waists and fringes and clutching that wine like it might fly away. It wasn’t because she liked to watch him suffer, but because she was honestly just as lost as he was. The difference was that while it seemed that he was inclined to keep talking to fill the space, she'd been struck silent. She'd never done this with someone she liked before. And the bad music and bungled compliments were... startlingly endearing. But then his words took a turn for the morose, and impulse had her reaching for his hand (as well as the 'off' button on the sound system). He stopped mid-syllable, his jaw hanging slightly open, and for once, she opened her mouth and said the first thing that came to mind: “This will go right because I won’t let it go wrong.”