#maxine shepard

[mtreebeardiles]

Some endgame pics from my Vanguard run

Maxine Shepard || Vanguard || Spacer || Paragon

[ltcmdrashleywilliams]

Drew my friend @elfishtales’ gorgeous Maxine a little bit ago 💜

[nightclimes]

female awesome meme: [2/5] heroes (who saved the world galaxy)

Commander Jane Shepard (Mass Effect)

[mtreebeardiles]

Finally finishing my ME trilogy vanguard run like

Maxine Shepard: brute! Keep your distance!

Also Maxine Shepard: *biotic charge directly at its face*

Kaidan:

Liara:

Max: IM OKAY

[mtreebeardiles]

WIP...Thursday

Thinking about Liara got me thinking about this one-shot I've been wanting to do for a while now, and I managed to get SOME of it down this evening, at least. Idk how much of this will make the cut, but it's fun to play with Max's voice again

---

Maxine Shepard had spent the better part of her nearly thirty years with the uncanny ability to sleep anywhere.

Space stations and ships, planetside colonies with dodgey gravity control, narrow bunks and hard packed dirt. Could go down almost on command for quick kips and cat naps and, when the luxury of time and safety allowed, deep, satisfying slumbers, the sort she enjoyed in the arms of a partner, because at the end of the day, the famous (or was it infamous, these days?) Commander Shepard loved a good cuddle.

But then she’d died, and come back, and things were different now, and she was lucky to sleep at all most nights.

It should’ve been easier, with Liara in the bed next to her. A warm presence, familiar for all they hadn’t been together all that long the first time around, chasing rogue SPECTREs and hunting ancient secrets giving their romance that sort of whirlwind quality that was invigorating in theory but left their foundations shakier than she would have liked.

Or maybe that was the not-being-dead-anymore thing.

Did you even die, though? I mean, really? A thought that chased itself around and around in her head when she wasn’t actively avoiding it, all the more frustrating since there really wasn’t an easy, clear-cut answer. Treaded too much into the metaphysical and while Max could admire a philosopher’s fancy for a good conundrum, she wasn’t one for that kind of deep thinking. Keep it short and sweet and printed on the side of a coffee mug, bonus points if it was something ironic like the “look before you leap” cross-stitch Ashley had given her back on the SR-1.

The same cross-stitch she’d lost over Alchera, the Normandy a burning ruin all around her as she fought for air. The same cross-stitch whose pattern Ash had sent her as an image file after Horizon with the text “if you manage to stay alive, I’ll make you a new one.” A promise and a reassurance and the first time Max had really felt like she could breathe after waking up on that fucking Cerberus space station.

The second time had been finding Liara on Illium.

Maxine shifted, restless, thoughts an unruly tumble as she rolled onto her side to see the woman herself in the bed beside her, eyes shut and face soft in sleep.

[ladiesofroosterteeth]

📸 | Maxine Shepard via Instagram stories.

[mtreebeardiles]

Some Kind of Beautiful, Ch. 1

Wanted to play around more with my Vanguard femshep, Maxine, and her relationship with Liara :)

Also on AO3!

Ch. 1 Therum

In time her memories of Therum would coalesce into snapshots of a life about to divide firmly into a Before and an After. Dusty, hot, with craggy rock unstable around the crumbling ruins of a race she'd dedicated so much of her time to studying and there would be notes, points of reference to things uncovered, learned, compared later, so much later, with the reality of a perspective she never thought she'd see. Tangible things, cataloged and recorded, a testament to who she'd been, who she wasn't anymore, to a young Asari on the cusp of change greater than anything she'd've dared imagine, once. 

It would take time, this change, something slow and gradual, picking away at her layers to find the core of potential underneath. Quiet and shy, a touch reserved, more than a little awkward, and she'd smile many years later, remembering that embarrassment, of being caught in an ancient stasis trap, suspended in the air when the unlikeliest of rescuers would stumble upon her. 

A figure in black armor, face largely hidden behind a helmet, and the first thing Liara T'Soni would see of this catalyst, this force of nature, was a pair of steady hazel eyes.

----

"How are you feeling?"

The whir of the door her first warning, but she still felt her heart in her throat as she turned to face the Commander. Shepard was out of her black armor, clad in the same sort of heavy duty pants and blue shirt as most of the other human crew she'd seen so far since coming aboard this ship. Dark brown hair just barely brushed against the woman's shoulders, parted to the side and tucked behind her ears, and Liara was struck once more by how…short, the Commander actually was. 

Not the shortest human adult she'd ever seen, and she knew the woman likely hit around average height for her species, but after seeing her in action back on Therum, aglow with biotics and wielding a shotgun against the Krogan mercenary and his Geth cronies, it came as a bit of a shock to see her dressed down. She'd seemed larger than life, on the field. Here on her ship, leaning a hip against the doorframe with a mug in one hand, she was… more notably human. Striking, still, but in another way, tying up Liara's tongue and leaving her tripping over her words in a completely different fashion. 

She was privately grateful that Asari did not have the same misfortune as some humans who wore their flushes so openly on their cheeks. 

"I am well, Commander," she began, belatedly realizing she'd been keeping the other woman waiting. She must think I'm completely dense. Socializing had never been Liara's strong suit, something that took more consideration than most would need, and her lack of experience with humans made her all the more cognizant of her shortcomings in this arena. Data she could understand; text and numbers and collating information, losing herself in the cadences of history, weaving together theories of maybe's and what if's. So much easier to make educated guesses about the past, about people long gone save for the echoes left behind, than to try and grasp the nuances of small talk, of social niceties that reminded her too much of her childhood and the politics that had inundated so many of those earliest years. Double-speak and clever words, mysteries Liara had little patience for despite her own private fascination, but it had been hard, then, to not feel like another piece on the board. 

The distant past had its own pieces, and did not demand she play the same games safe on the other side of history.

"Dr. Chakwas able to help you out?" 

The Commander was still in the doorway, and ordinarily such a position would have added to Liara's nervousness. But there was nothing in the other woman's body language to suggest she was there to make demands, to bully answers out of the Asari as Liara had half expected after learning of her mother's involvement with a rogue Spectre. Her tone, her casual lean, the easy motions as she took a sip from her mug -- Liara rather thought she really did care, in her own way, about how her new guest was feeling. 

"Yes," she replied. Felt herself smiling a little. "I was impressed with how much she understands Asari biology."

Shepard smiled back, and Liara felt her cheeks grow warmer. 

"She's the best," the Commander said, an obvious note of pride in her voice. "Gotta be, to keep the rest of us knuckleheads in one piece." She flashed Liara a wink, and Liara swallowed hard. 

"You do make rather explosive decisions," she ventured. The tease felt unfamiliar on her lips, her boldness a wavering thing, but Shepard's grin only widened. 

"I prefer 'creative problem solving,' but sometimes it ends up making a bigger boom than intended. But! We did get out of there."

Liara found herself chuckling. There was just something so… charming, about the manner in which Shepard spoke. Understated, in a way, setting Liara more and more at ease. An unusual circumstance in and of itself, seeing as she'd spent the past few hours feeling very much out of place and on edge with worry, lost amid unfamiliar faces whose motives and obligations she could not begin to piece together. A strange juxtaposition, she thought, to be in this moment and feel almost normal when factors beyond it were decidedly not. 

At least, Liara suspected this must be the case: there were few enough other explanations for how she came to be here, feeling like a fumbling apprentice, attention so easily distracted to the powerhouse of a human before her. And Shepard was a powerhouse -- Liara wasn't sure which of them had been more surprised when she'd hauled off and punched that Krogan mercenary, Liara herself or the merc -- but standing there as she was now one might never have guessed it. 

"I did want to thank you again for that, Commander," Liara said. "Regardless of the resulting boom."

Shepard laughed, one hand moving up to rub at the back of her neck. The smile she flashed at Liara now was a touch more sheepish, and Liara's thoughts momentarily wandered to what other sorts of smiles this woman was capable of and if she'd get to see more of them. Future uncertain in a more immediate sense than Liara typically liked, but so far Shepard seemed unlikely to kick her off the ship any time soon. 

"I am sorry about that," Shepard was saying, drawing Liara's attention back. "If there had been time to find a way to not, you know, destroy a Prothean dig site…"

"It was unfortunate, but hardly your fault, Commander," Liara reassured. "You didn't order the Geth there to try and obtain me."

"I mean I'm good blaming Saren for it," Shepard agreed with a shrug, leaning back against the doorway. She cocked her head. "And about that -- let me know when you feel up to discussing the…situation. I hate to put pressure on you, but we're in the dark here."

"I understand." Liara sighed, fighting the urge to fidget. "But I did mean what I said before -- I've no idea what Benezia would be doing with Saren, or why, or what it has to do with Reapers. You…mentioned a beacon? A vision, imparted to you from a Prothean device?"

Shepard nodded slowly. "It…doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me," she admitted. There was a bleakness there, a tightening around the other woman's eyes, and Liara could only imagine what confusing, distressing images she may have had thrust unwillingly into her mind. Beacons were rare; even Liara had never encountered one in all her years studying their progenitors. 

"Liara?"

She blinked to see the Commander was eyeing her with some concern. 

"Kinda lost you in thought there," Shepard went on softly. "I should really let you rest."

"Oh -- I… Yes. But… perhaps come by later? I might have a way to help you parse through whatever information the Beacon gave you, if you're open to it."

Shepard cocked her head, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"Are you familiar with Asari mind-melding?"

"…uh."

Liara smiled a little. "Essentially it will allow me to see what you see -- what the Beacon showed you. Perhaps there is something there someone with my experience would better recognize."

Shepard blinked, but looked more curious than suspicious; Liara took this as a good sign. Mind-melding was difficult to explain to non-Asari, often wrapped up in mating rituals and thus conflated with other species' concepts of sexuality and desire. And it could play a role in these things, particularly if the goal was to have children, but it served other purposes as well. 

And Liara rather doubted delving deep into these particular visions was going to be very pleasurable for either of them. 

But she needed data -- something tangible, something she could work with. Not even a few hours on this ship and she was feeling restless, extraneous, caught up in something bigger and helpless without further information. 

And Shepard looked like maybe this was one burden she wouldn't mind sharing. 

"So it'd be like…giving you free access to my thoughts, my memories?" 

"Not exactly," Liara replied. "I would of course do my best to limit it to the vision itself; I've no desire to infringe on your privacy, Commander."

Shepard nodded thoughtfully, taking another sip from her mug. "I'll think about it," she said after a moment. "That's definitely an avenue worth more consideration -- when you've rested."

Liara felt herself smiling again, the knot of worry that had tried to tangle itself even tighter in her chest loosening a touch. 

"You know where to find me," she told her. "See you later, Shepard."

Once the Commander had taken her leave Liara did briefly consider retiring to the cot Dr. Chakwas had set up for her. But sleep was an elusive thing, all the more after her nap earlier, and her fingers strayed back to the console's haptic keyboard before long. Pulled up her files once more, quickly skimming the notes she'd already made and smiling a little at herself for how sparse they were. More data in audio logs she'd made and she'd transcribe them soon enough, but her thoughts were too flooded with other things to parse through her findings on Therum. 

It was funny, she thought, closing out of those files and pulling up a fresh one. New records, new notes, pertaining to theories and speculation for this newest mystery. All those months she'd spent studying those ruins, literal weeks spent analyzing samples from material composition to potential early writings, and it was her final day on Therum that stuck out above all others. 

The creak of an elevator, the fear that the Geth were coming back with a means to abscond with her once they'd wrenched her from her accidental prison. The appearance of three humans instead, one of them planting themselves front and center. The voice, a touch of rasp in it, feminine and throaty, asking if she was alright. 

A pair of hazel eyes, briefly glinting in amusement before the armored figure released the stasis field and caught her before she could tumble to the floor. 

Strong arms, steady, letting her lean as she got her bearings, and it wasn't the smooth metal of Prothean constructs her fingers remembered. It was the brush of armor, a little warm to the touch, giving way to ballistic weave, all these layers failing to hide the strength of the form beneath. It wasn't the echo of her own voice as she recording her thoughts that came to mind but the soft hint of laughter woven into the words, "Superior firepower" after the trio appeared on the other side of the barrier. It wasn't questions of purpose the ruins may have served that she found herself pondering now, but questions of the human who had saved her, body limned in biotic blue and not afraid to get up close and personal with their assailants. 

But Liara couldn't very well make notes that would ultimately sound like a diary, so she closed down the console altogether and settled on her cot, content, for now, to reflect in the safety of her own thoughts. 

----

"What're you writing?" 

Arms around her from behind and Liara leaned back into the embrace, tilting her head up to smile at the sleep-rumbled face above her. 

"Same project as before," she replied after receiving the kiss she'd been seeking. 

"Yeah?"

"I haven't gotten very far," she admitted. "Always seem to struggle with Therum."

"When we first met?" 

"Precisely because it's when we first met." She shifted in her seat, moving back from the desk enough to let her partner resettle in her lap. Arms around Maxine now, and she rested her chin on her shoulder. "You're every bit distracting in memory as you are in person, you know."

A chuckle, sweet and warm as honey, and Liara scrunched her nose as Maxine kissed it. 

"But it's a good distraction, right?" Voice pitched low and Liara hummed, chasing after her lips for another, deeper kiss.

"The best."

[mtreebeardiles]

"Permission to lean in?" "Permission granted." (Omg so many good ones in this prompt list)

Sorry this took so long! Another Shepard wanted to claim this one haha. Hope you enjoy!

Also over on AO3!

Liara's fingers smoothed over the front of the Alliance blues uniform hanging on the back of the door, a smile curving the corners of her lips at the medals pinned against the surprisingly soft fabric. A weight to be borne, an echo of weights already carried, less a burden now beyond the memories they represented. Nightmares, some of them, many of them if she was being honest, too many close calls to count, but they'd pushed their way through.

She had pushed her way through. 

Just like she'd pushed her way through hostile Geth back on Therum, like she'd found a way to push through the barriers keeping Liara hostage. A face Liara wouldn't see until they were safe on the stranger's ship, a face she didn't know would become the one she awoke to more mornings than she didn't. 

The sounds of the dryer faded and she turned, taking the few steps towards the bathroom door and leaning against the jamb a moment. Watching, observing, tracing her gaze along the lines of the woman pinning her hair back into a neat knot at the base of her neck. Muscled arms, the curve of her hips, the way she planted herself even now in the relative peace of their home: firmly, a force not easily overwhelmed, skin marred with the scars to prove it. 

Hazel eyes caught hers in the mirror and Maxine Shepard smiled, the scar on the lower corner of her lip guaranteeing a crookedness that Liara found increasingly endearing each time she saw it. 

"When did you get this?"

A quiet laugh, embarrassed, the flush in the other woman's cheeks telling Liara of a sudden sheepishness.

"Remember when I said I figured out how to alter my mass and uh… launch myself?"

"…uh huh?"

A lick of the lips, flush growing redder and Liara brushed the backs of her fingers against those warming cheeks. 

"Trial and error may have meant slamming into things a bit more…forcefully than anticipated."

Liara's smile widened at the memory and she sauntered into the bathroom to slip her arms around her partner's waist. 

"What're you laughing at?"

"I'm not laughing."

"Not out loud," Max retorted, reaching back to prod Liara's cheek. She cocked an eyebrow. "Spill it, doc."

"Just thinking about this," Liara admitted, reaching up to tap the scar. Maxine groaned, but she was still smiling as she scrunched her nose at Liara's reflection. 

"I am never going to live that down, am I?"

"Absolutely not."

"Think they'd still promote me if they knew how badly I ate shit that one time?" the other woman mused, and Liara chuckled, giving her a squeeze before having her turn in her arms. Maxine leaned back against the counter, hands braced behind her, and Liara couldn't help but take another moment to admire this absolute force of nature. A little shorter than Liara, stocky, light dusting of freckles over a very straight nose and she cocked her head as if considering the question. 

"I think so," she concluded with a nod. "You have that…authority about you, you know? They'd have to promote you to admiral for that alone, I feel."

A twitch of the lips and Maxine's laughter was as throaty as her voice, a rasp that Liara wanted to hear again and again. 

"Yeah? Not for saving -- ahh, where to begin?"

"The Citadel?"

"The Destiny Ascension."

"Stopping the Collectors was pretty impressive."

"Then there was that whole Cerberus coup thing…"

"I feel like maybe we're forgetting something," Liara murmured, tapping her lips for good measure. 

"Reapers?"

"Now Shepard, we all know the Reapers aren't real."

"Ah, damn, that's right."

The two women eyed each other a moment before falling into a fit of laughter. It felt good -- being able to talk about these things so lightly when they hadn't been able to for so long. The reality of what they'd gone through wasn't diminished any, Liara thought, and she'd argue they'd more than earned the right to joke about it after all this time. Recovery had been painful, long, each agonizing step presenting its own challenges but here they were: whole, healthy. Happy. 

Goddess, didn't they deserve happiness after all this time?

"I guess you're right then," Maxine went on, still smiling. "Must be my natural ability to command that earned me this promotion."

"Charisma probably helps."

"And a certain magnetism, maybe?"

"Definitely."

A cock of an eyebrow, smile easing into a smirk. 

"Think so?"

The shift in tone was enough to send a thrill through the Asari and she wanted nothing more than to reach out, take Maxine into her arms, hold her close and kiss her senseless. 

But there was a way to play these games, and Maxine was good at underplaying how nervous she was. 

And Liara felt she was uniquely suited to helping ease that tension. 

"Without a doubt, Admiral Shepard," Liara said. She cocked her head. "Permission to lean in?"

Another twitch, a glint in Max's eyes even as she nodded. 

"Permission granted."

Liara grinned as Maxine met her halfway, capturing those lips with her own and noting that the other woman had been biting at her lower one again. A bit of roughness and Liara soothed it with her tongue before gently urging entrance, swallowing down her partner's sigh as Maxine parted for her. Hands landed on her hips, drawing her closer, and Liara's own moved to settle on Max's in turn. A startled laugh at the flash of blue as she Lifted her and set her on the counter and Max wrapped her legs around her, earning a sigh of satisfaction from the Asari. Wrapped up in muscled arms and thighs and she couldn't imagine a better place to be than right here, safe and sound in Max's embrace. 

She kissed her thoroughly, kissed her breathless, satisfied when she pulled back to see the content smile curving Max's lips. She cupped her cheeks, pressing a far more chaste kiss to those lips. 

"You're going to be amazing," she murmured. 

Max reached up, placing a hand over one of Liara's as she leaned into the touch. 

"Thanks," she whispered. Raised an eyebrow, smile widening. "But I won't say no to another good luck kiss."

Liara chuckled, shaking her head, and was all too happy to oblige.