AppletheMouse
Recent bookmarks
-
Tags
Summary
This is a rewrite of the movie When Harry Met Sally set within the Wizarding World. Harry and Draco run into each other at various times in their lives until they become friends (and maybe more?) (yeah, definitely more).
Bookmarked by AppletheMouse
02 Apr 2020
Bookmarker's Tags:
Bookmarker's Notes
Chapter 2
Weird. Well written. Will continue.
-
Tags
Summary
New Chapters posted here now! Commander Jane Shepard. Colonist, War Hero, smart ass. When Spectre Nihlus Kryik says he is leaving the Normandy to investigate on his own, Shepard stops him. From that moment, ripples move out through the fabric of the reality we're familiar with, changing everything. Well, almost everything. The Reapers are coming.
In this first volume, Saren and the geth race to find the Conduit, starting the new cycle. Can Shepard beat them to it? Will this new reality be better equipped to deal with the Reaper threat, or will everything crumble to ruin? Canon-divergent where one small decision changes everything. Rated for language and smart assedness. Sexy times much later on.
Something AO3 doesn't do is make contacting people very easy ... outside of comments, of course. If you ever want to contact me privately, you are more than welcome to do so at [email protected]. :D
Series
- Part 1 of Mass Effect - Future Non-finite
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 995,825
- Chapters:
- 172/?
- Comments:
- 3,540
- Kudos:
- 1,192
- Bookmarks:
- 312
- Hits:
- 65,778
Bookmarked by AppletheMouse
01 Mar 2016
Bookmarker's Notes
A really great AU that greatly diverges from canon due to one choice not allotted to the player early in the first game. It also diverges quite a bit to address or eliminate plot holes and nonsense from the original series.
Though tagged as Gen, the romance between Shepard and Nihlus/Garrus is central. It is a very well written and believable love triangle that attempts to seriously address and subvert the social construct of monogamy through very convenient turian mating rituals/brotherhood.
Shepard's characterization is unique and nuanced. She lives a double life, tough and a little crazy most of the time ("Holy asses of the Enkindlers!") and frightened and defensive some of the time (regarding such things as her past, her sexuality, and the dark). Her physical appearance and sexual appeal is confusing, however. She is described as five feet tall with curly red hair, emerald eyes, and splotches of freckles over her cheeks and nose - very cute. She is also a well-built soldier with an athlete's body (small buttocks and breasts), is covered from head to toe with scars, has a crooked nose, never wears make-up, and has short, unkempt hair. Yet, she easily and expertly wields her sexuality as a weapon, even when dressed in full combat gear. It just rings false.
Characterization is spot on for some characters (such as Tali, Liara, and Miranda). Tali gets a good amount of time - especially after Shepard's death when she consoles Garrus. She also develops a little sass. Miranda, especially, is given a lot of time to develop and, boy, is she fun. Cranky and deathly serious, she is definitely my favorite character in the fic.
My largest gripe regarding characterization regards the duality of Nihlus and Garrus. For every flaw Nihlus exhibits (brashness, jealousy, mean-spiritedness, drunkenness), Garrus exhibits its perfect opposite (understanding, patience, kindness, openness). Garrus handles Shepard's behavior better, her feelings better, her past better and her death better.
The only thing that he does not handle better is her return. His and Nilus's personalities completely flip at that point. The entire reason Shepard does not get together with Nihlus in the beginning is because he hinted that she may have paid for her drug addiction with sex. This is before he knows anything about her. She chooses Garrus at this point because he is the epitome of patience and understanding.
Garrus flat out calls her a "Cerberus whore" when she returns, even though he knows her past and knows how much it would hurt her. He is the only one who matters to her who doesn't believe her until her test results prove who she is (or, at least, she has no reason to believe otherwise). She immediately accepts him back as her lover, despite Nihlus being the epitome of patience and understanding. They even tell her the same thing when the other's hurt her and she's floundering - "I've got you."
The fact that their roles reverse does not bother me. It's the fact that it doesn't serve any purpose. By accepting Garrus back right away and never mentioning the incident again, I don't understand the point of having them reverse roles. She doesn't receive an epiphany about Nihlus's growth or worth, not does she come to understand that Garrus is not as perfect as he has been presented throughout the entire story. She doesn't realize that her treatment of Nihlus after his thinly veiled accusation was unwarranted, considering how badly she had been treating him at the time and how he couldn't possibly know what she didn't tell him. She doesn't hold Garrus accountable for his cruelty to her, regardless of his suspicion.
Disappointing.
-
This work isn't hosted on the Archive so this blurb might not be complete or accurate.
Tags
Summary
Kaidan's looking for answers. She doesn't understand why.
- Bookmarks:
- 1
Bookmarked by AppletheMouse
04 Mar 2016
Bookmarker's Tags:
Bookmarker's Notes
Set during the conversation at the Presidium cafe between Kaidan and Shepard in Mass Effect 3, this absolutely beautiful piece dives into Kaidan's psyche, giving reason for his doubt and empathy for his cruelty, while (mostly) maintaining canon. It details Kaidan's infatuation during the events of Mass Effect, his spiral into depression after Shepard's death at the beginning of Mass Effect 2, and his frustration on Horizon. "It was because of Horizon. All because of Horizon."
Kaidan's feelings for Shepard are entirely grounded in selfishness. He views her existence in relationship to his own. He wishes a lot of things throughout the piece, and they are all selfish. This is particularly apparent at the very end, when he laments how he wishes that Cerberus had never rescued her, so that "she would have been his to the end."
One of the most thoughtful aspects of the work is Kaidan's mirror in Garrus. While Kaidan is selfish, Garrus is selfless. Garrus is the only one of Shepard's squadmates from ME who doesn't question her resurrection or command. In a similar vein, Garrus gives Shepard space in ME3 to get her past relationship sorted, so that she may return to Kaidan if she so chooses. This foil for Kaidan's selfishness could have easily been overlooked. Instead, it strengthens the piece through supporting the key theme.
-
Tags
Summary
Shepard finds herself reliving the last few years, from finding the beacon on Eden Prime to the battle for Earth. Again, and again, and again. How much can she change? How much should she change?
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 36,707
- Chapters:
- 23/23
- Collections:
- 2
- Comments:
- 669
- Kudos:
- 4,969
- Bookmarks:
- 1,565
- Hits:
- 82,974
Bookmarked by AppletheMouse
25 Jan 2022
-
Tags
Summary
The words on Shepard’s forearm are… not in English.
Bookmarked by AppletheMouse
24 Jan 2022