#destroy ending

[hyperfixationstation128]

So, earlier on Reddit, someone made a joke about the Destroy ending of Mass Effect and how EDI was probably downloaded onto a USB drive, and I had the bright idea to draw Joker akd EDI having a nice lil picnic post war. And uhh... well....

#mass effect #femshep #mass effect 3 #art #commander shepard #mass effect fanart #jeff joker moreau #EDI #destroy ending #please don't hate me I just thought it was funny okay?!

[515limit]

shep and liara after the war. they are married and happy. shep is learning sign language bc shep is steadily loosing her hearing, but liara is trying to help 

What ending did you guys go with? 

#Mass Effect #commander shepard #femshep #renegade shepard #shepard x liara #Liara T'Soni #shiara #destroy ending #digital art #my art

[shipsnthenight]

LAST PANEL [HERE] (because tumblr is a virgin)

...to be continued?

This thing took me WAY too much time, but I am pretty happy with how it turned out. It's one of my most treasured headcanons from the end of Mass Effect 3. and it does have a part 2 that I will probably draw in the future.

All I ask is, please, if you enjoyed reading it, give it some love with reblogs and comments? It would mean a lot to me.

#mass effect art #mass effect #femshep #liara t'soni #shiara #mass effect 3 #jane shepard #commander shepard #mass effect headcanons #mass effect headcanon #destroy ending

[captainderyn]

-From the sweet beginning to the desperate end-

These were supposed to be two quick things for a video idea until I realized I messed up my canvas and the quality was kind of shot :/ but I still like both of them enough to share here

#captainderyn draws #tw: blood #mass effect fanart #Shakarian #garrus vakarian #femshep #destroy ending #mass effect #*angry noises about the trashed quality esp the first one* #oc: Ryn Shepard #otp: Keep Me Grounded

[fandomfloozy]

Forgot I took this screencap during the rogue VI mission from my first ME1 playthrough, but I remember I captured this ONE moment out of the whole game because it struck me as so eerie, and I ended up translating the binary code in an engine

and man... I am absolutely positive I'm not the first person to point this out, I am just so new to the fandom, but that shit was creepy as hell. And after playing through the whole trilogy and finding out the fate of that VI on Luna, I'm--

#spoiler #stop reading the tags #EDI i am so sorry #i had to kill u queen u have to understand #that would be the first but not the last time tho #destroy ending #edi mass effect #commander shepard #femshep #mass effect #mass effect legendary edition

[theoriginalladya]

The Long Walk Home - fanfiction

Title: The Long Walk Home

Summary: The fleets are assembled, the battle has been fought. Only one decision is left to be made and only Commander Caleb Shepard can make it.

Relationship: Caleb Shepard/Kaidan Alenko

Characters: Caleb Shepard, Kaidan Alenko

Tags: Destroy Ending, Endgame Choices, Angst, Angst and Feels, Blood and Injury, Canon-Typical Violence, Irish Shepard, To End a War and Save a Galaxy, Slightly Canon Divergent, Near Death Experience

Rating: M

Setting: End of the Reaper War, Citadel

Excerpt:

What’s the term Garrus uses? 

Ruthless calculus.  Sacrifice a billion lives here to save ten billion over there. 

The turians might know and accept it from birth, but it isn’t a completely foreign concept to him, not at this stage of the game. 

Still, the numbers are staggering, mind blowing.  It isn’t an easy decision. 

Shepard, I would risk non-functionality…

He winces, the familiar voice an echo in his head.  She’s there, in his mind’s eye, both as infiltration unit and ship.  She’s one and the same to him, she always will be.

A grimace, a groan, a sharply drawn breath as he struggles to move a foot forward.

He doesn’t want to disappoint her, not now, but what else can he do?

EDI, Tá brón orm…

Read Full Story Here || Read Series Here

I've had this idea for Caleb's last moments of the war for a long time. I wrote this up a while back - can't recall when, exactly - but today I was looking at it and Imagine Dragons' song Bleeding Out came on and suddenly editing happened. Be warned - you may want a box of tissues at hand. I've already gone through one.

Also note: This is a lead in to Caleb's post-war stories! I hope to start posting some of them soon!

#The Long Walk Home #ladya writes #Caleb Shepard #Kaidan Alenko #mshenko #Mass Effect 3 #Destroy Ending #OTP: Brothers in Arms

[necroticroseqt]

N7 Month - Day 3 - Flight

N7 Month Challenge 2023

Prompt List - @n7month

Decided on more of a painted idea of this one, if I keep putting this much effort into these prompts I'm going to burn myself out whoops But in all seriousness, I ended up taking a bit of a different approach with this prompt This flight was probably the most important and serious of Joker's life. Based on the destroy ending

based on this screenshot :D

#mass effect #mass effect 3 #mass effect 3 ending #destroy ending #me3 #me #ssv normandy #n7month #nrqt art tag

[sapphodera]

Is anyone else surprised that the destroy ending seems to be the most popular considering it’s objectively the worst ending? (In terms of the condition the galaxy is left in.)

Like, think about it. All the mass relays are broken and the Citadel is severely damaged. All AIs are gone. The catalyst does say the remaining survivors will have little difficulty repairing the damage, but that’s complete bullshit. The galaxy has been at war for a year, many people have died, whole worlds have practically been destroyed. AIs were relied on. The mass relays are the only way for a ship to leave a cluster (at least quickly). So basically you have a bunch of people stranded with no way of getting from one cluster to another. Remind me how that’s supposed to be easily fixed? It would take decades for all the relays to be restored! Compared to the control and synthesis endings, where you have the massive army of Reapers to help restore everything.

I get narratively it makes the most sense, as your goal throughout the whole trilogy is to destroy the reapers. It is also the only ending where Shepard lives. Still, I am surprised that it seems to be the most popular ending when to me the disadvantages clearly outweigh the benefits.

#mass effect trilogy #mass effect 3 #mass effect meta #mass effect ending #control ending #destroy ending #synthesis ending

[skinnyazn]

Oops I made myself sad ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Quick speed paint based off of James Blake’s cover of When We’re Older, because it’s such a beautiful rendition.

#my art #art #mass effect fanart #mass effect #commander shepard #femshep #anderson #garrus vakarian #thane krios #kaidan alenko #in my feels #sad #destroy ending #when we’re older #James Blake #fan art #mele #ME3 #shakarian #shenko #speedpaint #comic #mini comic

[mass-effect-anonymous]

CONFESSION:

I mentioned to some friends in a casual tone that if a future Mass Effect game locks us into a "Destroy" background, I don't know if I'd play it. They were shocked; they know that I love Mass Effect. But that's no small retcon; that would just be putting me into someone else's worldstate. Why would I want that?

#Mass Effect Anonymous #Mass Effect Confession #Mass Effect 3 #destroy ending

[goatsorcery]

People Like Us Don't Get Eternity  (Mass Effect Fic)

After the war and the reapers, Shepard, back from the dead for a second time, struggles to find her place in a galaxy that has mourned her as a martyr.

Read complete fic on AO3: Link

Read the first chapter below:

It wasn’t the first time Shepard found herself buried under the weight of rubble after saving the galaxy, though this victory on the Citadel wasn’t one she could just walk away from. She could feel her fingers and toes barely moving as she tried to push herself off the ground. The world around her was hazy, debris still smoldering. But hope came in the form of the red emergency lights that tried to cut through the thick smoke clouding the room. The Citadel still had electricity, at least enough to power some emergency systems. To Shepard, that was all she needed. Some sign of hope that things could continue on after she chose to destroy the Reapers.

Shepard’s consciousness didn’t last long, just enough to notice the emergency lights, and keepers scuttling about. Even if no one found her, she finally felt as though she had won. Though worries about Garrus and her crew plagued her as her vision faded to black once more…

Visions of Harbinger haunted Shepard’s restless sleep. The sound of reapers as they descended on Earth. Flashes of pain in moments of awareness. Shepard instinctively moved her arms, attempting to push whatever heaviness was keeping her pinned down. When her arms felt no resistance, she opened her eyes. The carnage of the Citadel had been replaced with the sterility of a hospital, though still worse for wear. Shepard moved to stand, but felt hands push her back down. “Slow down there, Commander.”

To her left, a doctor she hadn’t noticed before. Shepard didn’t have to look twice to notice the alliance uniform and was relieved to not find herself in Cerberus’s hands again. “Where’s the Normandy? Where am I?” she asked, her voice much weaker than she expected.

The alliance doctor sighed and walked to the far wall. What Shepard had assumed was some sort of service panel was a set of mechanical blinds. The doctor pushed the controls, reveling a familiar view of the Citadel. “You’re at Huerta, commander.”

Shepard, craning her neck, could tell it was in a better state than last she saw it, but there was still much to be done. “The Citadel?”

“Surprised us too, but those keepers really know what they’re doing.”

Shepard stared over the Citadel, looking worse for wear, but clearly nothing that couldn’t be fixed. The catalyst was right about that, at least. Shepard almost feared asking again, after not getting a response the first time. “And the Normandy?”

“Helping to repair the relays. Whatever that weapon did, it knocked everything out.”

Shepard could feel a slight smile on her face, though she found facial expressions to be a bit painful to make. The doctor picked up on this. “Your implants had to be replaced. Say what you will about Cerberus, they did have the upper leg on tech like this. Turian hardware might take some getting used to.”

“Turian?”

“And Krogan as well, actually. They’re still working together, somehow. We’ll see if it lasts.”

Shepard looked out the window again, watching ships zip around as if nothing had even happened. “Are com buoys up?”

“Some have been repaired, but most are still not operational.”

Shepard continued to stare at the Citadel. The alliance doctor could tell that wasn’t actually her question. “We can get a message to the Normandy, Commander, but it’ll take some time.”

“I need to--,” Instinctively, Shepard moved to stand again, but was stopped by her own pain rather than the doctor’s interference. She groaned and leaned back slowly, white-knuckling and gritting her teeth, “I guess I can wait.”

~~~

Though Palaven was one of the first council homeworlds the reapers attacked, it did also have the advantage of being a priority on clean up. Only a handful of months after the reapers’ destruction, and there were already massive restoration projects underway. The galaxy’s unity didn’t dissolve after the end of the war, some out of respect for Shepard’s sacrifice, other’s because they saw that they only way forward was together. The threat of the reapers didn’t leave with them, memories were still fresh, and even if they never faced another reaper again, there were still other things in the galaxy that one species could never handle alone.

The Normandy was assigned to oversee the repairs of the relays, though less so “assigned” and moreso demanded by the Normandy’s new commander, Ashley. As a spectre and dedicated alliance solider, she was Admiral Hackett’s first choice when it came to the decision of replacing Shepard. Though Hackett was aware that Shepard was receiving medical treatment on the Citadel, he didn’t share the hope the doctors had for her recovery, and kept all records of her condition classified even from the Normandy crew.

Ashley was resistant at first. She never saw herself with a command of her own, and certainly couldn’t see herself replacing Shepard. But, if anyone was going to lead the Normandy crew, it wasn’t going to be some outsider. Adjusting to leading the Normandy was smooth enough, though she found herself appreciating how easy Shepard made the job look.

There was always the feeling of being in someone else’s shoes, and it didn’t help that those shoes belonged to the hero of the galaxy, their savior against the reapers. Liara was always the first to protest when Ashley would discount her own abilities, but even with constant reassurance from the rest of the squad mates she never felt like she truly made the cut.

Most days, she was just grateful the Normandy was still in one piece, with all her crew inside. She found comfort in fact the old squad stayed. When the war ended, and the dust settled, Ashley feared they’d all go back to their home worlds leaving her to lead a new crew alone. But, with travel so limited, there wasn’t much of a chance to.

Garrus got lucky that his home system was part of Normandy’s mission. The relay in Apien’s Crest was vital to the surrounding systems, and the Normandy was tasked with overseeing its repairs, along with deliveries of supplies to Palaven. Somehow, Garrus’ family had made it off Palaven alive, and saw them often as their duty as Turians dictated they help repair the relay as well. With Palaven how it was just a few short months ago, it felt surreal to see it get back on its feet so soon.

The Normandy felt the same way. Though it had been mostly spared from serious damage and its crew compliment was nearly identical, the ship still felt off. When not paying too close attention, one could mistake it for the Normandy SR1, back when everyone was comfortable believing reapers were just a myth. But Garrus felt the obvious emptiness, the elephant in every room. Long calibrations in the main battery were mostly silent and lonely, except for the occasional interruptions from Tali or Liara checking in on him.

Passing by the names of those they lost made it hard to walk to a simple elevator ride or to go to crew quarters. Shepard’s name on a plaque, the only thing that really had changed about the ship. There were more times than he wanted to admit that he’d press the button for the captain’s quarters, not thinking. Once, after doing shots with James, Garrus made it all the way to the door of the captain’s quarters before realizing his mistake. Ashley was of course understanding when she opened the door, but Garrus couldn’t help but feel like a burden.

He knew Shepard would want him to move on, to find happiness and direction without her, but a part of him was still not convinced he had to. During late night strolls around the ship, Garrus would contemplate taking the plaque down. He had regretted it since the moment he hung it up but realized that moment was more for the rest of the squad than it was for him. He worried it was his own stubbornness rather than actual chance that made him believe Shepard was still alive. There had been so many close calls before, this just didn’t feel like the end to him. Everyone else seemed to stroll around as normal, Garrus didn’t want to believe Shepard wouldn’t get that chance as well.

After getting drunker than responsible one night with Tali in the lounge, Garrus passed by the wall of names again. Something drew him to it, probably the turian ale overrunning his system, enough that all other considerations were put aside. He took the plaque and launched it out an airlock.

The next morning, the plaque’s absence was immediately noticed. Garrus swore it was a dream, but the empty space above Admiral Anderson’s name made it clear. Though, it didn’t last long. By that afternoon, another plaque had been printed and hung on the wall, identical to the last as if nothing had changed.

“You think it was one of the new recruits as some kind of joke?” Tali said as she tried and missed getting a straw in her induction port.

“Who would joke about something like that?” Liara’s serious tone overshadowed her drunken state. She leaned back and took another sip.

“Yeah, new recruit hazing is bound to happen, but I don’t know.” James took a shot and refilled his glass, then refilled for Ashley and Garrus as well.

Gathering in the lounge for drinks had become a regular recurrence, though tonight Ashley was too distracted by work on her PDA to notice. However, Garrus slammed his shot down quick, trying to avoid saying anything that might worry them. “We’re still all so caught up on this? There’s a new one up already.”

But he realized that wasn’t quite the right thing to say either, as they all turned to him, even getting Ashley to look up from her PDA.

“Sorry,” Garrus quickly caught himself. “Just seems silly.”

Liara set her glass down a bit too hard, “After everything she sacrificed, least she deserves is a plaque without it being desecrated.”

“You think I don’t know that,” Garrus stood, bumping the table and tipping some glasses, though James’ reflexes caught the bottle. “I’m just tired of acting as though some plaque is any consolation.”

He turned to leave, bumping the table again, but everyone grabbed their glasses in time. As soon as the doors shut behind Garrus, they all turned to each other. James poured himself another shot, “So, Garrus definitely took the plaque down, no?”

Tali sighed, “I’ve been worried he’s still in denial.”

“I’ve been monitoring alliance and Citadel communications since they started cleaning up debris, just in case there’s any word of…” Liara trailed off, she didn’t have to finish her sentence. “But, I haven’t heard anything yet.”

Ashley set down her PDA and took her shot, “It’d be nice for closure, at least. You catch anything about Shepard’s mom?”

Liara shook her head, “Not since she tried to reach out to Garrus.”

“He never responded?”

“He didn’t know what to say,” Tali said, “What really is there to say?”

They all stared a moment at their empty glasses. “At least there’s a Shepard still running around the galaxy,” James said as he filled his glass again.

~~~

Shepard stood at the window, staring out over the Citadel, propping herself up against the wall. Her doctors had warned about standing for extended periods of time while her new implants healed, but she was tired of laying around. It was the first time in a long time where she wasn’t off to fight some threat, or save a colony, or build an army, and all she could do was stare as the Citadel slowly became itself again.

BEEP. The telecom on the wall flashed, though Shepard didn’t turn to see it. “You have a visitor, Commander.”

Before she could ask who, Admiral Hackett stepped into the room. Shepard’s muscle memory brought her arm up to salute, though her healing implants had other ideas, sending a wave of pain through her arm, causing her to grimace. Hackett threw up his hand, “You don’t have to do all that for me, Shepard. You’re the one worth saluting here.”

Shepard tried to remain standing, but quickly grew tired without the wall to support her. Hackett moved a chair over to her, which she thanked him for as she sat. “I have to admit, I’m a bit surprised to see you on your feet at all, Shepard.”

“You really think anything can keep me down for long?” She said, a bit out of breath.

Hackett let out a short, dry laugh, “Your track record does prove otherwise.”

He moved to the window and looked out over the Citadel. “If you had told me when the reapers attacked Earth that we’d be here today, able to talk without a looming threat… actually I believe you did a few times. But I couldn’t fathom it, none of us could.”

Shepard considered telling Hackett about the true nature of the crucible and the catalyst, but she wondered if it was real anyhow. The last thing she remembered for sure was Hackett’s voice telling her to activate the weapon and pressing the button to launch. For all she knew, the catalyst and the choice was all in her head. She repeatedly went over it in her mind, but every time it felt more like a dream. She couldn’t decide which option was more comforting; that it wasn’t a choice, or that it was.

“About the Normandy…”

Hackett turned from the window, “I know you’re eager to return to the field, Shepard, but your implants are experimental, the doctors don’t know how well they’ll do under strain.”

Shepard hated this answer, and Hackett could see, which put him at in worse position to deliver more bad news. “The fact is Shepard, saying these implants are experimental was an understatement. I’m sure you’ve intimidated the doctors into telling you the origin of the implants. They’re newer than the Turian-Krogan alliance, with even more growing pains.”

“No shit.”

“Until you woke up a few days ago, no one believed you ever would, and I’m sorry to admit that included me. You’ve walked away from worse Shepard, but these implants don’t have the research or the funding that Cerberus did. That blast wiped out the reapers, but it destroyed the tech keeping you alive as well. If the keepers had delayed repairs on the section we found you in, there would’ve been no bringing you back this time.”

Shepard looked to her arms, the implants much more noticeable than her Cerberus ones, metal and glowing lights shining from beneath the skin. “This was a shot in the dark.”

“If there was a chance, we weren’t going to risk losing you, but we didn’t set our expectations high.”

“Highly classified.”

“Of course.”

“How classified?”

“Besides myself, the doctors you’ve seen, and a small team of turian and krogan scientists, everyone believes you died alongside the reapers. You’re a hero, Shepard, I want you to understand that.”

Shepard scoffed, it was like waking up in the Cerberus lab all over again, accept it was a familiar face telling her the news this time. Dead to the galaxy… again, with promises of glory as the only prize. She gestured to her implants, “They don’t expect them to work?”

“Like I said, they haven’t been field tested. They were modeled with the data we had, using your old implants as the blueprint, but our records are incomplete, and Cerberus intel is hard to come by these days. Most of their data was wiped by remaining operatives after the Illusive Man’s disappearance.”

Shepard noted another thing to probably not tell Hackett about. “When can I field test them then?”

“As soon as the doctors are assured that your condition is stable, you’ll need to be at your best when everyone finds out the galaxy’s hero survived all this.”

“No pressure.”

“That’s why I’m urging caution on this. Take things slow, Shepard. You saved the galaxy, but there’s still a place for you as we rebuild, when you’re ready.” Hackett glanced at the console on the wall. “You should get rest, Shepard. In the meantime, I’ll see what I can do about contacting the Normandy.”

“Thank you, sir.” Shepard tried to stand to salute as Hackett left, but she couldn’t muster the strength.

“At ease, solider.” he said, as the doors closed behind him.

Rest and ease weren’t words Shepard was really familiar with, and she didn’t feel like spending the time getting acquainted with them now. Every morning, she walked laps around her room, repped push-ups against the wall; baby steps to get her back in action. The doctors were impressed with her progress, but worried that her small hospital room would soon no longer be enough to contain her. Hackett had concerns launching Shepard back into action so quickly. Her loss deeply affected a galaxy that was so grateful for her sacrifice. Seeing her return now, and not be the Shepard they remember, could cause a range of problems. He doubted people would just believe Shepard suddenly came back from the dead, as a return of the Shepard VI or a clone seems more likely than supposed resurrection.

But Hackett knew keeping Shepard out of the ring could be even worse. Unity was holding, for now. As the council species rebuilt their strength, he feared they may not feel the need to rely on each other for much longer. Shepard brought them together, and she was the galaxy’s best chance of keeping it that way for the time being.

His decision to keep Shepard’s condition a secret from even those closest to her was a tough call on Hackett’s part. While he felt the Normandy deserved the truth about their commander, false hope seemed more cruel than lying. Attempts to avoid messages from Hannah Shepard were particularly difficult. With Shepard’s quick recovery, he doubted he made the right call, and worried what would happen if knowledge of her survival got out.

Hackett knew to keep things especially discreet to avoid any detection by the Shadow Broker, but knew a day would come that something would slip through the cracks.

“As I said,” Glyph’s robotic voice echoed off the walls of Liara’s room, “A complete sweep of the Citadel has been completed, based on the complied records of the council, alliance, keepers—”

“I understand that... I…” Liara typed frantically on her console, sorting through the records Glyph was referring to. “I just don’t believe they didn’t find anything.”

“Based on complied records from—”

“Thank you, Glyph.” Liara said, sharply, more of a command than a courtesy.

Glyph returned to his station, and Liara focused in on her data, bringing up all records on the Citadel’s clean-up. Every log, communication, transmission, docking, records of scavengers selling off reaper tech as souvenirs. Nothing about Shepard’s remains or even a trace of her.

“Maybe it was foolish to think there’d be anything to…” Liara said, to Glyph or herself, not able to finish the sentence without breaking into tears.

This was the second time she’d lost Shepard in this way, though the last time they were lovers. Though their relationship was different, Liara felt just as dedicated to finding Shepard now as she was then, even if it was just to lay her to rest. There was never any animosity between the two of them when they parted. Liara had changed over the two years Shepard was gone, and Shepard, back to life, was changed as well. There was the occasional jealousy when Shepard would spend her time with Garrus, but Liara was more focused on Shepard’s happiness, and Garrus really made her happy.

Digging again and again through all her compiled records, Liara just couldn’t fathom there being not a trace of Shepard left on the Citadel, not even ashes. The keepers records were very thorough as they catalogued everything they came across during the restoration. That combined with the alliance, council, and other efforts, someone had to have come across something. Liara would settle for a just a shred of Shepard’s armor.

Otherwise, Liara couldn’t shake the feeling that Shepard wasn’t really gone.

#mass effect #mass effect fic #mass effect fanfiction #shepard x garrus #femshep #f!shepard #destroy ending #post-canon fic #commander shepard #garrus vakarian #liara t'soni

[515limit]

Shep after the war, she stays on earth to help clean things up, hoping no one will recognize her

#mass effect #femshep #digital art #commander shepard #jane shepard #destroy ending #gore #mass effect art

[celsidebottom]

"harsh whisper" for the short story askmeme

Harsh Whisper Prompt from this post Thank you for the prompt!!

Kaidan was practically wearing a hole in the floor of the hospital as he continued to pace back and forth, back and forth, waiting for news, any news.

If anyone could survive being buried beneath rubble and the wreckage of Reapers and the Citadel, it was Shepard.  They had survived worse, and been brought back from death.

No matter how Kaidan tried to reassure himself, a harsh whisper continued to echo at the edge of his mind, reminding him that, despite everything, Shepard was still only mortal.  He had lost them once before, and that aching pain threatened to crawl back into his heart with every step he took.

But he would continue to wait, to pace, to hope.  They were Commander Shepard.  Nothing could kill them.

...

Right?

#mass effect #kaidan alenko #commander shepard #mass effect fic #my fic #destroy ending #thank you for sending a prompt! #I hope you like it #this is a Kaidan support blog and always will be #love that funky canadian lol

[vespaer77]

"You must be remarkably strong-willed, Commander..." Liara's own words floated back to her from across time and space, from a long-ago, far-away memory, from a happier, simpler time. By comparison, anyway. Was she responsible for this precedent? Did the power in those words mold Shepard into the woman she was now? If so, she hated herself for it. She would never be so intentionally cruel to the woman she loved.

Summary: Commander Shepard has been a lot of things: a hero, a lover, a commercial, a corpse. Her face was on recruitment posters and cereal boxes and magazines, even a VI. But one thing that face never got to do was cry. She went through something as viscerally profound and life-altering as saving an entire galaxy... but was never allowed to shed one single, healthy, emotionally stable tear. 

I wrote this fic to fix that.

Fandom: Mass Effect 3 and post Mass Effect 3

Pairing: FemShep/Liara T’Soni

Rating: Teen, for language

(There is also an mShep version of this fic because I identify as gender fluid and liked the idea of multiple gender expressions for the fic.)

#mass effect #mass effect fan fiction #mass effect fan fic #shiara #shepard x liara #femshep x liara #commander shepard #liara t'soni #destroy ending #spacer background #post me3

[castingmywitsaway]

What do you need from me? // Mass Effect ff

Because the half-dead "Yes. What do you need me to do?" from the half-dead Shepard, lying, dying on the Citadel, really broke my heart, and I used Mshenko to put it back together. Partially.

ME3, post destroy ending. Mshenko.

In the ruin and emptiness, and desolation, Shepard’s chest rose, just the tiniest distance, but even that sent pain rushing through his entire body faster than light. He was no stranger to pain, and yet there turned out to be a whole world of it yet to discover.

He drew in another breath, wishing he needn’t. His eyes were closed, his eyelids heavy; his body still wouldn’t go numb from pain overload. Instead, he felt everything within – every millimetre his chest expanded against his will, against his survival instinct that knew it was pointless to keep surviving. Every putative crack in his bruised ribcage. And everything outside of his body, connecting him to all the fatalistic existence. He had the entire galaxy at his fingertips, but he could not move his hand.

At last, he coughed. It was brutal; everything he was and had ever been became pain in an even larger proportion, which would have seemed impossible just before. Miserable. He sat upright, another impossibility.

Mad vertigo drove him to dig his fingers into his thighs, seeking to hold onto something as an endless void opened behind his back. How long was he lying there, pressed to the firm ground, tired, stable, safe? Now, no longer feeling the support of the ground, he felt instead as if he were falling.

He wanted to lie back down. What else did they need him to do? Did he not do it all? Did he not give it his all – no, more, for he gave it all it took, which might have been more than he could spare. He didn’t really know, though, what his best or enough was, never having had time to think about living his life just for himself.

Well, he did come to examine that, now, and he was tiresome. It had already caught up to him... whenever the night was when Kaidan came to his quarters. How long was he unconscious for?

But, of course, he had a promise to keep, and that one hadn’t been forced upon him either. Destiny chose him, so did Kaidan, but he chose Kaidan, too. And he promised.

His eyes were open but stinging, tears of weariness welling in them and blurring his vision. He crawled, hands searching trough rubble for some edge to grab and pull himself up. His legs were not broken, at least not so broken, so he walked.

#mass effect #me #me3 #destroy ending #mshenko #vignette #short fiction #felt gay might delete #bioware #lgbtplus #male shepard #male shepard x kaidan alenko #john shepard #mass effect trilogy

[crowned-with-antlers]

In the control ending, Shepard’s personality is copy-pasted onto the reapers. This blue wave of energy bypasses EDI and the Geth, who are allowed to retain their personalities. Considering the logic of the destroy ending, where they die because they have reaper code and are therefore indistinguishable from reapers, you’d think the control ending might have them wiped and replaced with a basic Shepard personality.

Why, then, is there no way to bypass EDI and the Geth with the red wave of destroy energy? There really should have been an option to differentiate between the reapers vs EDI and the Geth. Perhaps if you had enough war assets, you could have made the crucible into a more precision weapon and spared them.

It just feels like the writers had to hamstring the destroy ending in order to make the poorly thought out (and absolutely horrific) synthesis ending seem like a good and moral option.

#I’m playing the legendary edition can you tell? #mass effect #do not get me started on why I hate synthesis #am I bitching about the ME3 ending in 2022? yes. #destroy ending #anti synthesis ending