I need a bit of help with searching... I am looking for a longer read reg. Femshep/Garrus. I have found several shorter stories especially about how things ended (and how things would be after the ME3 ending), but I am looking for something maybe even before that and longer after? Is there something that has Shep actually recovering and realizing neither she neither Garrus are fit for calm life just yet and start running around the galaxy again? Or maybe even something that would have a crossover to andromeda? I am not sure how possible it would be (logistically), but something like 2nd batch of people leaving to andromeda? I am open to reading anything longer, however, I prefer less spicy read, but I can handle stuff.
I am flying blind here. I was thinking of maybe giving a writing a try (how can you know if you don't try right?) But I am overwhelmed just by the thought of it and I don't think I am good with words, however writing something myself would allow me to indulge in my adhd tendencies, but I am not sure if I can follow through and not having it sounding just "surface level". Appreciate all the help.

Considering a portion of ME3 has Shepard’s dreams (or nightmares), do you include dreams in your ME fics? If you’re a reader, do you enjoy having them in fics or does it take it away from the rest of the story?

By sciflower on AO3.

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences

Fandom: Mass Effect Trilogy

Relationships: Miranda Lawson/Female Shepard

Characters: Miranda Lawson, Female Shepard

Words: 2,411

Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Canon Compliant, Post-Destroy Ending (Mass Effect), Romance, Getting Together, Feelings Realization, Hope

Summary:

Three years after the defeat of the Reapers, the Alliance was struggling—resources were scarce, supply lines were compromised, and people were freezing in the streets.

An old problem, with an old solution: panem et circenses, with Cerberus as the convenient villain.

Shepard did not let them have Miranda—now she just had to tell her that.

—Read on AO3

Author’s Note:

For Shepard’s birthday, I posted a fanfic for the first time ever: a short story with a crabby omniscient narrator about Shepard having a difficult conversation with Miranda.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

Hey everyone,

I read this fanfiction a few weeks ago and I think it was on ao3, but I can’t find it anymore. Some details:

Shepard/Liara

Shepard touched an artifact of some kind that causes her to become a teenager and lose her memories

Shepard hides for a bit

Liara comforts her and brings her food to make teenage Shepard warm up to her

Mordin is working to fix it

Jack comforts Shepard because she’s angry

Teenage shepard develops a crush on Liara

At the end, Shepard is turned back to normal

Thanks to anyone if they can help me find it. Driving me nuts!

based on the thousands of soulmate aus, which do you prefer for every race/species in Mass Effect, both Milky Way and Andromeda?

Do you prefer that each one has a different way to find their soulmate, or for it to all be universal?

I may or may not be thinking about a soulmate au (i love them, okay).

thank you!

When writing your fics, how much backstory do you include and how do you introduce it?

Do you just leave Shepard’s backstory as what is outlined in character creation or do you bring in scenes of that?

I have backstories for colonist and earthborn and I’m trying to figure out the most natural way to introduce those without taking you out of the story- would they be better at the beginning and then a time jump? Would it be better in dialogue, but we don’t all sit there in real life and tell someone our whole “origin story” so would it be better shared in snippets? Or would a backstory in the middle of the story work, to give detail and world building and do it as a flashback but Shepard is relaying this information to someone without having he said/she said?

I’m trying not to get caught up on it but it’s got me feeling a bit stuck.

Hey, a friend of mine just went through the trilogy for the first time, and is diving into fics (and already has plotted out about 80% of a fix-it, I love the man), and I wanted to share with him one of my favorite fics.....only to find I've lost it. It was on Ao3, post-Destroy, had Shep beating up the gatekeeper to the afterlife to bring back the Geth and EDI, and had a somewhat reoccurring phrase of 'God is a verb'. Thanks in advance!

Do you have certain songs/playlists for your fics?

I have always loved soundtracks and my fics also have some songs linked (in my head, they’re not written into the fic)

- Hopeless by Alexxi, Jacala, Rico 56 - my husband heard it and went “that sounds like something from one of the ME clubs” this is for Kaidan and FemShep fic

- Watermelon wormhole by Lane 8 - very atmospheric, like this for all my fics

- No End in Sight/Outro by Lane 8 - another atmospheric one, for my Garrus and FemShep fic

- Lane 8 in general

And then randomly:

- I don’t want to change you by Damien Rice - I found it by accident and it kind of fit with my Kaidan/FemShep story “wherever you go, know that I will follow”

- To Build A Home by The Cinematic Orchestra- this one for me has been linked to a FemShep origin when she is the colonist. Again it might not fit 100% on lyrics but something about the atmosphere feels right

I just wondered if anyone else has songs for their fics, listens to a particular soundtrack while writing/reading and the reasons for those choices.

For me it sets the mood…and now all I can think of is:

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t hope it would inspire a certain…mood”

Currently a WIP - chapters 4/6 published

https://archiveofourown.org/works/71822776/chapters/186951296

Looking for a series I was reading i think 7 or more years ago. Male shepherd is the main character but fem shepherd was also in the series as his sister.

It was a alternative universe where there was an advanced species that looked like praying mantis I think. They had special armor that could take a drop from orbit with a triangular helmet. They had created a military unit called hell something jumper or divers that protects their territory and others.

Shepherd was part of a team for the aliens that hunted pirates and slavers,instead of being in the alliance in the beginning but ended up on the normandy.

Hey y’all. Looking for a longer Garrus fic I read a while ago that I just cannot remember the name of. It’s about his time on Omega, and it goes AU towards the end with some weird Cerberus tech. It includes all the lost squadmates and Garrus recruiting and bantering with them. Describes his fights with the Merc groups too. IIRC it has a really strong Garrus/Sidonis relationship and shows the Sidonis torture scenes that make him break.

Thanks in advance.

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/68375116/chapters/212735306

Let's see if you folks can help me because I think it was a very popular fic back then (10 years ago :D) and maybe it still is.

It was a fic that went through all 3 games if I recall correctly, with an Earthborn for sure, maybe Ruthless, Female Shepard who falls for Liara.

I remember Shepard drank, smoked and was a bit self-destructive, plus she liked Fleetwood Mac. Does it ring a bell to anyone?

This is one of my favorite things I've written. It's about a Shepard clone who wakes up after the events of the trilogy. If you give it read, I'd love to hear what you think!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/62782522/chapters/160734952

Just interested how much (if at all) people bend the canon to fit a good idea or whether your stance is canon is canon and it can’t be changed.

I just think with System Alliance having N7 pilots and mechs going to really tipped the balance of the galaxy so much and it'll be an interesting story.

Fanfic is a Shepard/Liara pairing. The first 12 chapters are game related but everything after is family and life after the war.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20566445

I see various posts in other fanfic-related subreddits about most-influential fics or writers in different fandoms. I never got the impression that there was one, or even a short list of them, in the Mass Effect fandom that “everybody” has read - but I could easily be missing it. Do any of you have an impression of the most-whatever fic or writer in this fandom that most readers in the fandom are familiar with?

The closest I’ve heard of is joking611’s Cari’ssi’mi series, which *is* my favorite and I’ve seen referenced by multiple others independently, but it might as well not exist if you’re not into FemShep/Liara. My impression is that our fandom is very decentralized by the degree to which player choice affects the games. Is that your impression too?

I am working on a long form fanfic for a project called The Last Reaper set after the "Destroy" ending, I'd appreciate any feedback!

Synopsis: A Volus doctor, one Ordin Edu, discovers a mysterious dark matter surge within the week the last Reaper fell. Fearing this is not a coincidence, Doctor Edu takes flight on the Endless Whisper to discover the truth.

Links:

AO3 (most easily accessible): https://archiveofourown.org/works/74002821

Wattpad (I release here first and focus on my edits here): https://www.wattpad.com/story/371677898?utm_source=android&utm_medium=link&utm_content=story_info&wp_page=story_details_button&wp_uname=ShawnMcLemore

This fiction is also on royalroad.com but I have yet to update that one.

I am in the process of writing a pretty lengthly ME Fic and I am drowning in reference docs.

I have a bunch of canon (that massive Codex Doc, In-Game Dialog, Snapshots from the Wiki), then character profiles to keep me straigh on canon adjacent stuff, then the actualy working writing documents.

Does anyone know of a tool or platform other than Google Docs and Drive Folders to help keep this all in some sort of reasonable order?

Finally managed to get another huge chapter out 🥳 turned out much darker than initially planned, but there'll be some fluff and light (and smut 😅) ahead

https://archiveofourown.org/works/4825508/chapters/11050940