#Winter Shepard

[mxanigel]

"And stop smiling, dammit!"

#Winter Shepard #Miranda Lawson #Mass Effect 2 #gifset #Shepard x Miranda #nonbinary Shepard #“I’m the one who put you back together and I do damn good work” #“you certainly do” #“this doesn’t mean anything... I need to think” #renegade flirting options #thank you modders #Ani creates GIFs #Winter's smirk gives me LIFE

[laelior]

The Weight of the World

To: Master Operations Chief (ret.) Margaret Shepard

This letter is to inform you that your granddaughter, Lieutenant Commander Bethany Shepard, was presumed killed in action following the destruction of the SSV Normandy by unknown enemy forces on December 5, 2183. 

Lieutenant Commander Shepard’s service with the Alliance was an example to us all and her heroic actions in service both to Earth and the Citadel Council will never be forgotten. 

At this time, we are unable to publicly announce details related to the destruction of the SSV Normandy. At such a time when we are able, rest assured that the Alliance will lay Lieutenant Commander Shepard to rest with full military honors.

Please accept my sincerest condolences for your loss.

Adm. Steven HackettAlliance 5th Fleet Command

Anderson sat in the back of his skycar, numbly rehearsing the words of the letter in his hands over the neatly-folded Alliance flag and Alliance-stamped urn in his lap. God, for such a small jar it must have weighed a ton. Nevermind that it was empty.

His eyes continually wandered to the shallow, formulaic words on the flimsy paper in his hands, hoping that somehow they’d magically rearrange themselves into something less weighty than the gravitational pull of a whole damn planet before the skycar touched down.

Hackett had already sent nineteen letters just like the one in his hands to nineteen different addresses. Letters addressed to Preslies, Dravens, Tanakas and so forth. Letters only confirming what the rumor mill had already been circulating for months. Letters delivered by NCOs and junior officers with black bands around their arms as a thin show of solidarity for their losses. It had been tempting to pass this particular letter off to someone else, too, but some things just had to be done.

“We’re almost there, sir,” the driver said.

The skycar gently touched down on the street next to a neat little house with an immaculately maintained garden. Even in the dead of winter the hedges were neatly trimmed and the flower beds were freshly mulched.

The driver went out to ring the doorbell while Anderson slowly gathered himself for the news he had to deliver.

The woman who came out to the front porch to greet him after a moment was smaller than he expected. He’d never met her before, but Peggy Shepard was a legend in her own right. One of the founding mothers of the Alliance non-commissioned officer’s corp and one of the best damn sniper instructors the service ever had. Hell, her 500-meter longshot record had stood for nearly forty years and had only been broken a few years ago by Lieutenant Coats.

And she didn’t need a letter to tell her why he was here. That was obvious from the hard, steely look in her eyes that flicked to his uniform, the flag tucked under one arm, and the black band around the other. Her eyes lingered on the captain’s stars on his lapel and her hand twitched at her side, fighting the reflexive urge to salute. Old habits died hard, and habits drilled in by a lifetime of military discipline were harder to kill than most. When she looked him right in the eye, though, Anderson had to fight the urge to flinch.

Throughout his military career, Anderson had faced more threats than he cared to count, from the petty political rivalries that riddled the service right up to Saren himself. And just then he would have rather faced down Sovereign itself if it meant getting away from the look in her eyes.

She was no stranger to this ritual. A casual glimpse at the Shepard family tree told him how many of its branches had been pruned like this. But that never meant it was easy to be the bearer of this particular news.

“Ma’am,” he intoned formally. Formalities were good. They were safe. He held up the folded flag and offered it to her with both hands. But before he could so much as open his mouth to say the words that were the next part of the ritual, she held up a hand and drew in a shaky breath.

“It’s true, isn’t it? What they’ve been saying?” She asked quietly. No need to ask what they were saying.

Anderson could only nod stiffly. “I’m afraid so, ma’am.”

She quietly accepted the flag, taking the weight from him and hugging it closely to her chest. 

“The Alliance offers its sincerest condolences for your loss,” he intoned, getting back to the words of the ritual. “If there’s anything we can do for you….” He trailed off. There was nothing the Alliance could do for her that would remotely make up for the magnitude of her loss, and there was no point pretending otherwise. 

She nodded in acknowledgement of the harsh, unspoken truth that passed between them.

“I need to make arrangements,” she said, her voice barely a whisper, before turning back into her house and letting the door slam shut behind her. The large wooden door closed with a resounding thud that made him flinch with its finality. He set the urn and the letter down on the porch table next to the door and went back to the car, his duty thus discharged.

If it was a tragedy for a parent to bury their child, then it was an utter goddamn travesty for a grandparent to lower their grandchild’s casket into the ground.

The driver cleared his throat, cutting across the uncomfortable silence that filled the car. “Where to next, sir?”

“Norfolk,” he said, picking the closest Alliance base he could think of off-hand. The car began its ascent, leaving the view of the Shepard household behind.  “Drop me off at the officer’s club, and tell them to have a glass of Ardbeg 16 ready, no ice.”

Something to wash away the ashy taste of having been the one to send Peggy Shepard’s granddaughter to her empty grave.

#mass effect #david anderson #peggy shepard #beth shepard #cw: grief #cw: major character death #(she gets better) #but yeah this isn't a happy piece #i'm in a mood apparently #ficlet #my writing #lae writes #but hey every time i write about peggy i force myself to learn more about gardening #in this case how to winterize flower beds

[elytrianicarus]

Ok first of all omg ur art my beloved, it looks so incredible and pretty

Second of all: do u wanna hear abt my lord and savior, Moss Etho and arctic bdubs? Bc they are so special to me (for the ask box thingy )

#my art #ethoslab #bdubs #secret life #silly guys.. based on people drawing etho as a shepard in sl #bdubs is still growing into his winter coat #also thank you for ur kind words! :]

[spookyvalentine]

Look at my wallpaper I’m losing it im losin it

THANK YOU @bonksoundeffect !!

#I think this can only be #my winter background when I a #am so super not at work #haidfjahefehafkqefjk can’t bring this in public bc of the face I make every time #THE DEPTH EFFECT? bro. I’m losing it #oc: mercy shepard #the sheep #inmean #themshep #mass effect #SHRIEK I JUST NOTICED THE SWIPE UP TO UNLOCK ON THEIR CROTCH

[dk-thrive]

Suddenly, completely alone.

"Suddenly: the word most used by Dostoevsky. Somebody told me that. Some Dostoevsky expert. Suddenly. As though any kind of action could be drawn into words: Suddenly music. Suddenly turning. Suddenly silent. Suddenly. As though I never saw the process. Everyone in the old house is sick but me. Silence, except for the snoring, coughing, and occasional trips to the bathroom. Snow everywhere through the windows. You can't look out without seeing it. Suddenly winter. Frozen rivers. Bitter cold. Barren trees. Small silver plane etched out against a chalk, still sky. Suddenly, completely alone."

— Sam Shepard, Day Out of Days: Stories (Vintage, February 8, 2011) (via Alive on All Channels)

#Dostoevsky #sam shepard #sudden #winter #alone

[dutyworn]

                                           @parameddic    /    cont. from ↷

She’s exhausted, and doesn’t have it in her to navigate conflict, right now. Doesn’t have it in her to follow after TK, if he walks out on her (if he did, under normal circumstances, she would, but she’s oh so tired and doesn’t think she can offer him anything that would resolve his frustration). It’s not that he’s saying anything unkind. It’s that his frustrations are visible in the way he carries his body, and that she knows him well enough that his insecurities don’t seem out of place to her. She doesn’t share much. They’re supposed to be friends, close friends, family, even. He probably feels shut out.

But she doesn’t have the energy to do anything about it, not this moment, after too little sleep, riddled with nightmares. So, she sits there. And mostly stares at the table blankly, occassionally making herself glance at him, and just lets him continue, lets him work through it on his own. Lets him go through his own emotions, without beginning to analyse how to respond and how to make him feel better.

At, And then you act like I’m not even meant to be worried, she lifts her gaze to properly face him. Surprised, because... Surprised, at herself, because that’s just a given, isn’t it? No one is meant to be worried about her, ever. She’s never really questioned that belief, or even put it into words for herself. Sure, she’s had many friends and loved ones in her life who have challenged her tendency to keep pushing, keep going without knowing how to accept care. She’s even let some people (Garrus, Joker, Liara, Tali...) truly show that care, forced herself to become more comfortable being vulnerable around them. But they’re still...  not meant to worry about her.

This isn’t just about that, though; this is... different.

And to be told she’s loved. That she’s part of a team. TK, telling her that, so sincerely, it feels like something melts in her, some tightly held tension. Her shoulders slump. She hadn’t even realised how tightly she’d been holding herself. This whole team... She knows how  lucky she is,  that she ever was welcomed here, the way she was. They all know she’s... not really from here. She knows they can sense it.

❝ I do know that, ❞    she says, softly, her expression relaxed for a brief second.    ❝ I do know. ❞    She does. And she loves them back, and they know that, too.

❝ It’s not that I don’t... trust you, ❞    she starts, searching for the right words, averting her eyes, the relaxation beginning to give room to returning tension.    ❝ You, and all of you. ❞    She’d make herself talk about it, she thinks. To TK, Marjan, maybe. But...

How to say it.

As it is, she supposes.

❝ I’m scared, ❞    she admits. Rubs the back of her neck and leaves her hand there, squeezing slightly.    ❝ I don’t like to feel vulnerable, sure, I know I’m not the picture of a functional human being with that, but I’m also scared of, just... If I told you. And you didn’t believe me. That’d be a million times worse, than holding it all in and being alone with it. And I know you think you would believe me, ❞    she laughs, bitter,    ❝ maybe you’d believe that I believe it. You wouldn’t be mean about it. But you wouldn’t believe it, and I can’t  bear the thought of you not believing it.  Not this. ❞    She can share vague stuff, of her childhood mostly, but she’s spent her entire adult life (until here, anyway...) so heavily involved with the Alliance, practically living on space ships and station posts and training camps and... It’s hard to offer half-hearted truths while having to obscure most.

#parameddic #i love them both so much #they are so. so. #also new headcanon wren is close with marjan??? #; the winter pretends it's mild and holds her ❪ verse / crossover. ❫ #; tk strand & wren shepard ❪ parameddic / connection. ❫ #; parameddic / 011

[rebewatson]

Al Pacino (Mario Ambrosini) and Robert DeNiro (Goncharov) on set of Martin Scorsese 1973 masterpiece, Goncharov in 1972.

photo by screenwriter Matteo JWHJ0715

#goncharav #gonchandrey #mario ambrosini #martin scorsese #al pacino #robert deniro #matteo jwhj 0715 #winter comes to naples #domenico procacci #joseph ice pick joe morelli #katya x sophia #katya goncharov #sophia goncharov #andrey goncharov #valery michailov #john cazale #cybill shepherd #harvey keitel #cybill shepard #homoerotic #homoerotism #goncharev #goncharov ice pick joe #goncharov 1973 #martin scorsese goncharov #goncharov martin scorsese #goncharov movie #the best mafia movie ever made #sophia loren #gene hackman

[mxanigel]

ANI. Pls. For your OCs, from my top songs:

Quite frankly I think it’s a crime this wasn’t in my top 5 bc I listened to it a LOT writing if not winter —ANYWAY.

[send me a song from your Spotify Wrapped and I'll match it to an OC]

Le Siren - Take Care of Yourself

thank you~~

ffff. this is a TRACK. (especially for if not winter squee~)

I need to give this one to Winter Shepard. They're absolutely the type to bottle things up, to release those bottled feelings as anger, to survive and thrive as a middle finger to anyone who's ever doubted them or worked against them.

(Also ridiculously applicable to my non-OC blorbo Levi. Like damn.)

#thank you for the ask! #songs for OCs #Winter Shepard #brainrot will brainrot

[frecklef0x]

This is my son’s Shepard, Jack. He gave him red eyes and a heart of gold: peak character design 🌟

#I spent a lot of winter break watching my son play through the mass effect trilogy for the first time #so I used his Shepard to practice using colored light #not 100% confident in the color scheme but it’s alright #color theory is hard kids 😭 #frecklef0x #my art #bioware #bioware fanart #not my oc #jack shephard #commander shepard #mass effect shepard #mass effect art #mass effect fanart #mass effect 1 #mass effect 2 #mass effect 3 #mass effect trilogy #paragon Shepard

[toasterbunnicula]

all video game protagonists are bisexual unless explicitly mentioned otherwise

#because i said so #ethan winters #connor dbh #commander shepard

[spookyvalentine]

these pics from kasumis loyalty mission have FLATTENED me I’m sorry I can’t shut up

and the cherry on top!

#having a normal one this winter break #i can’t get enough of truce I’m sorry y’all #THE WINK #god bless #THE SMIRK #I’m dead #valentine plays ass effect #oc: truce shepard #themshep

[asimplelittlememory]

Pooh Corner

#click for credit #pinterest #winnie the pooh #pooh corner #a. a. milne #e.h. shepard #edward bear #snow #winter #tree #hundred acre wood

[dutyworn]

@parameddic said: “That really spooked you.”

Noticing Trauma sentence starters    /    ACCEPTING ↷

Wren says it before she can even  think of what she wants to say.

❝ I’m OK. ❞

It’s a reflex.

Only, she takes note of what she’s doing. Something’s shifted (to a good direction, she hopes), ever since she told TK about her... About all of it. She will always push herself to be all right; she functions best when she’s moving, doing, it’s not all unhealthy. She’ll probably always pretend to be fine to some extent. But, maybe... maybe she wants to say, now, sometimes. Not because he knows about her past, but because she’s talked before, and she’s been vulnerable, and she came out feeling cared for, rather than feeling... ashamed, incompetent, as the primary emotion.

❝ I will be? ❞    she tries again, looking down, shifting on her feet.    ❝ It was a bad combination. The explosion going off right as we were... That kinda terrain, all flat, vast. ❞    Like a thresher nest: sandy, rocky, kind of a circular, flat area. The noise from the explosion in that context had sent her right back to Akuze, twenty-three years old, fellow soldiers, friends, being torn to shreds. But she handles flashbacks of Akuze much better than she does several other traumatic events, for some reason; she knows she’ll be OK, just a little shaken for the rest of the day, it was specific enough, jarring enough. Maybe it’s because it’s been such a long time. Maybe it’s because she went through military mandated therapy for it. Either way, she looks at TK, and smiles weakly at him: thanks for noticing.

#parameddic #; the winter pretends it's mild and holds her ❪ verse / crossover. ❫ #; tk strand & wren shepard ❪ parameddic / connection. ❫ #; parameddic / 014

[much-obliged-timothy]

Winter Whumperland #5

Mass Effect - #5 - Warm Kisses

I went for the comfort prompt today because the boys get whumped enough in canon :’)

*

Shepard was not quite sure what to do with himself. He had considered going out to eat just to kill time and be around people, then decided he didn’t actually want to be around people.

He debated with himself before sighing and turning on the TV. He was not very good at watching TV, because he was simply not very good at just sitting and shutting his brain down long enough to enjoy it. But he grabbed a beer and sat himself on the couch, trying to relax as he flipped around for something to watch. He liked documentaries; maybe one would be enough to distract him for a bit tonight.

He had never really celebrated the holidays much. He could put on a festive attitude for his crewmates when they wanted to celebrate, but being an orphan who’d had to join a gang just to survive the streets of Earth, he hadn’t exactly celebrated growing up. 

Besides, he wasn’t used to having shore leave during the holidays. He preferred to work through them, especially so this boredom didn’t happen.

He was just starting to doze off when there was a knock on the door. He startled awake and scrubbed a hand down his face, pushing himself off the couch.

He went to the door and pulled it open. Surprise hit him at the smiling face looking back at him.

“Surprise,” Kaidan said.

“Kaidan? I thought you’d go to be with your family,” Shepard said.

“Not enough time off for that,” he said, stepping into the apartment and closing the door. “Jeez, Shepard, it’s freezing in here. Good thing I brought something warm.”

“What-” Shepard started, and then a sweater was pushed into his arms. “You can’t be serious.”

“Go put it on or you’ll make me sad,” Kaidan said, giving him a light shove towards the bathroom to change. “I’ll meet you back on the couch.”

Shepard sighed but left, if only because he was relieved to see Kaidan. He went into the bathroom and pulled on the ugly Christmas sweater, tossing his other shirt into the hamper. It was horrific to look at, but Shepard had to admit that it was nice and warm.

He left the bathroom and went back out to the couch. Kaidan had taken his jacket off, revealing his own ugly sweater. He was urging a fire to life in the fireplace.

“So, what’s the plan?” Shepard asked, lounging back against the couch.

“Dinner and a movie. But in the comfort of your apartment,” Kaidan said. “I won’t make the mighty Commander Shepard go out in public wearing that.”

“My enemies would never take me seriously again,” Shepard agreed, cracking the smallest of smiles.

“I brought food. I’ll heat it up,” Kaidan said. Before Shepard could argue, Kaidan added, “I will take a picture of you and send it to everyone. Even Wrex. Don’t argue with me tonight.”

Thoroughly defeated, Shepard waved him away. When Kaidan returned a few minutes later, he had two mugs of hot chocolate and two plates of various steaming food balanced in his hands. Shepard hurried to help him and the two settled onto the couch together with their meals.

Shepard passed the remote over to Kaidan, who found a Christmas movie to run in the background. Shepard put an arm around Kaidan, pulling him close.

“You like the holidays?” he said.

“I like being with people on the holidays,” he corrected. “And I never thought I’d miss the snow, but walking over here made me realize how much I do. Did you celebrate? I’m sorry; for all I know you celebrate Hanukkah and I’ve got you in a Christmas sweater.”

Shepard laughed. “No, no, I don’t celebrate any holiday, really. Whatever the crew wanted to celebrate. I didn’t have a family on Earth, so no one to celebrate with.”

“That…had to be lonely. I’m sorry,” Kaidan said.

Shepard shrugged. “Others had it worse. I survived.”

“And I’m glad you did,” Kaidan said, resting his head on Shepard’s shoulders as the crackling fire cast flickering shadows over them. 

“Thanks for coming tonight, Kaidan,” Shepard said, not wanting to admit just how relieved he was to have Kaidan here. He may not celebrate holidays, but he knew they were a time for family; he was grateful to have a loved one here with him.

Kaidan lifted his head and put his arms around Shepard’s neck, drawing him close. “Merry Christmas, Shepard.”

The kiss was the best kind of gift Shepard could get. It was slow and soft and loving. It was as comfortable and warm as the sweater, the fire, the familiar arms around him.

He found, in that moment, he rather enjoyed the holidays.

#amow winter whumperland 2022 #warm kisses #Mass Effect #Commander Shepard #Kaidan Alenko #mshenko #shenko

[fredlagonbleu]

winter is coming...

#winter #berger allemand #german shepard #snow

[mxanigel]

Song from my Spotify Wrapped for your ocs: Right Back Where We Started From by Maxine Nightingale!

[send me a song from your Spotify Wrapped and I'll match it to an OC]

Maxine Nightingale - Right Back Where We Started From

Okay, first, THANK YOU. This song is so fun. I was bobbing my head to it the whole time (thank goodness no one walked by my office to see...)

I'm getting Winter Shepard x Kaidan Alenko vibes here. It's going to take a lot of healing for these two to rekindle their relationship, but Winter seeing Kaidan hurt on Mars... it guts them. And they've missed him. A lot.

Horizon wasn't "little." Winter enjoyed their ME2-era fling with Miranda. Kaidan dated others in the meantime, too. But Winter fell hard for Kaidan during ME1. A depth of feelings they didn't realize until Mars, and its aftermath. I can't blame these two for trying to restore what they had in the midst of Reapers invading the galaxy. <3

#thank you for the ask! #songs for OCs #Winter Shepard #nonbinary Shepard #shenko