Omg hi 🥺 I would love to write something epistolary someday (more than one prompt fill lol) but I'm not fully in the writing mood right now so these aren't maybe my best work.... But thank you for the ask!!! I'm ready to yap lol
11. A letter Shepard never sent
From: Cassidy M. Shepard
To: Hannah Shepard, Systems Alliance Navy
This message is a draft and hasn't been sent yet.
Subject line: I'm alive
Hi mom.
There's no easy way to say this.
I don't know how to say this.
Please don't delete this. It's not a prank. It's really me. Just… scared to call, I guess.
And pretty sure they're recording all my holo calls anyway.
I don't even know where to start. I just… I wish I'd called more often. This isn'ttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt UGH
This is so stupid
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12. A letter never sent to Shepard
To: CDR C. Shepard
From: G. Vakarian
This message is a draft and hasn't been sent yet.
Shepard,
This is Garrus. Vakarian, obviously. And as for why you're getting this…
Well, this is not going to be a fun message to write.
Look, I'm still here, so I know that we've been lucky in this war. Bullets flying every which way and we dodged them all so far, but luck can only get you so far. And I've seen it run out before.
So, just in case luck runs out on me again and I'm not around to tell you this, there's a file attached to this message with some passwords and calculations on it. The most important stuff, at least, the ones you should have. Nothing too personal, I'm afraid.
I don't think an automated death email is the place for that, anyway.
Just a precaution. This is standard procedure back home, when you have something to lose. I never bothered, but now…
Anyway, like I said, this is just a precaution. If luck wants to run out on me, I fully intend to run after it. Not getting rid of me that easily.
-G.
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A thought, brought on by thinking about Nell's plants: do all of your Sheps like model ships? Do any of them collect something else? 👀
🤔 Until tonight, I hadn't thought too hard about it, but let's see...
Eris - Oleg's talked her into *trying* the ship thing. She is skeptical. Collections, though, are just a thing to get attached to and she doesn't do that anymore, so she's *really* skeptical.
Inara - Would like to interrogate someone at Cerberus to find out whose idea those display cases are and why they exist on a frigate. If she finds an interesting pebble on a world she hasn't visited before, she grabs it. Her collection was lost with the SR-1 and she's dismissive of starting again, but she keeps an eye out anyway (will deny it if asked).
(In the mountains, she discovers wildflowers and starts pressing them out of the sheer novelty of flowers.)
Amelia - Began collecting model ships as a kid--starting with models of the ships her parents were assigned to. And then to Anderson's and Hackett's ships and so on. Her collection was put into storage when she was assigned to the SR-1 and she's a little unnerved about how the Illusive Man knew.
Penny - Kids who lost everything when slavers attacked their colony don't collect things. After the war, Kaidan tries to talk her into collecting *something*, anything. She's home now.
I headcanon that there’s universal baseline additions Cerberus gives Shepard: faster, stronger, more durable. Simon is an infiltrator so I think post-Lazarus he gets even better control over his heart rate. He can make his body entirely calm and still so he can make that perfect shot.
19. What are they like in a bad mood? How obvious is it?
He’s not normally talkative so when he gets pushed to talk in a bad mood he’s much more snappish. It is obvious because you can feel his glare. He also has less time for bullshit. He gets very mean, and does not pull his punches. (Nor physically if it comes to that)
23. Ever had a broken heart?
Not necessarily in the sense of a break-up, but his boyfriend on Mindoir was murdered and that along with the raid, destroyed him.
From the Shepard's meme; Meteor and Black Hole for Caleb, Rhys and your pretty Scot Lachlan!
from this list
Thank you so much for asking!!!! And, since I answered for Rhys on Meteor already, I’ll drop my new AU boy, John, for these as well.
Meteor: Does your Shepard have any quirks, strange mannerisms, annoying habits, or other defining characteristics?
Caleb - Oh goodness, let’s see ... uses a regular deck of cards to do ‘fortune’ readings before major missions/events in his life, favors ‘the good stuff’ when drinking (ie: old, good whiskey but only the Irish brands), speaks Irish whether anyone understands him or not, he can dance but not the way most people think (holding that one back for now), often is accused of ‘sneaking up on’ people because he moves about so quietly and out of sight, even aboard ship.
John - (from my Modern AU) - really enjoys reading just about anything, bites his nails when he is concentrating really hard on something, every since physical therapy for the injury that ended up getting him discharged from the Navy, bounding up the stairs two at a time.
Rhys - answered here
Lachlan - Ahhhh, now ... okay. Lachlan CANNOT STAY STILL TO SAVE HIS LIFE unless he is playing his cello. (Really, had he been a biotic, he’d have been a vanguard because of this) Music is his LIFE outside of the Alliance and Kaidan. Plays the BAGPIPES. Oh, and wears a kilt (which drives Kaidan just a little bit crazy in all the right ways! ;) )
Black Hole: What is your Shepard’s greatest fear?
Caleb - deep, deep water (for reasons that will become clear over time/stories). Also, losing people under his command which is why he doesn’t get close to them (until Kaidan later on).
John - Failing those he cares most about. (Mother, sister, Kaidan, best friend, Anderson, Ashley, etc.)
Rhys - not reallly a ‘fear’ per se, but the closest thing to this he has is having any kind of relationship with his Mother. He wrote her off years ago, he wishes she would do the same.
Lachlan - Losing Kaidan. (the irony that Kaidan actually has to go through this after Alchera is not lost on him)
Sol system, earth, moon, sun, stars, meteor and stardust for your shepherds :) 🌍☀️🌚⭐🌠
Sol System - What is your Shepard’s class, background, military history?
Emily is a Spacer/War Hero Vanguard
Lisa is a Colonist/Ruthless Infiltrator
Quinn is a Colonist/Sole Survivor Adept
Charlie is an Earthborn/Ruthless Soldier
Earth - Where was your Shepard born?
Emily was born on a ship. She came five weeks early, Hannah had technically just started her medical leave bc ~8 months pregnant, but the cruiser hadn’t made it back to Earth yet(she was planning to go home to Sydney (as in Australia) and then whoops). So she had Emily on the cruiser and they transferred to the hospital as soon as they got back.
Lisa and Quinn were both born on Mindoir
Charlie was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Moon - Did your Shepard have any dreams as a child? (dream job, plans for future etc)
Emily always wanted to help people. She wanted to be a doctor, but then the biotics showed up and she was kinda destined for the military or something after that. She has always liked the idea of husband and kids, it just takes a really long time(and a galactic-scale war that almost kills her) to get.
Lisa didn’t really have any. She was pretty undecided up until high school. Always figured it would be something to do with tech; she’s had a talent for and interest in that kind of thing since she was really young.
Quinn wanted to be a pilot, and then his biotics manifested--and very strong from the get-go--and he changed course.
Charlie grew up on the streets and eventually in a gang, his goals were pretty much always just survive til tomorrow “maybe if I’m lucky I’ll make it to 20″ sort of mindset.
Sun - Was there a person in your Shepard’s life that changed their view on life/the world?
For Emily, it was the woman who owned the gym where she picked up boxing when she was about 13. She was really struggling with the whole “lack of friends/connections” thing that comes with being a Navy brat, and her dad died shortly after she picked it up as a hobby, so she had a lot she was bottling up, and Ms Rose gave her some very good advice on both life and her form.
Lisa it’s Gabe. He’s the soldier who found her on Mindoir. (Their relationship plays a pretty big part in the MEBB fic I wrote for her, and I really wanna meta about him at some point, but we’ll still tldr for now) He checked up on her after, gave her a place to stay when the foster system wasn’t working, and was like a brother and best friend and proof the entire galaxy didn’t suck.
Quinn and Charlie both it’s Anderson. Quinn’s dad worked a lot, so wasn’t really a presence in his life even before the batarian raid, and Charlie’s parents both died when he was about eight, so they even more than my girls latched on to him as a father figure of sorts. Charlie especially needed someone who cared about him enough to kick his ass in line so he didn’t waste his potential.(god he hates that phrase. But it’s TRUE.)
Stars - Who is your Shepard’s LI?
Emily’s is Kaidan, went for it in ME1, stayed faithful through ME2, picked things back up in ME3
Lisa’s is also Kaidan, but they didn’t sleep together in ME1, just put a pin in it for later and then *waves hand at ME2* shit happened. Lisa feels like she owes it to the Alliance to be a good soldier for saving her on Mindoir, doesn’t like to break regs if she doesn’t have to. But that’s less important in ME3 when staring at the literal end of existence, so she and Kaidan finally get to pursue things.
Quinn’s is Ashley, they bonded over poetry and watching each other’s back
Charlie’s is Jack, and neither was expecting to actually fall in love, but they just turn into each other’s home(something neither’s really ever had before) and it catches them completely off-guard how much they love each other. (the tattoo scene in the Citadel DLC? OH MY GOD. They’re each other’s home and they belong to each other and it’s wonderful and terrifying all at the same time)
Meteor - Does your Shepard have any quirks, strange mannerisms, annoying habits, or other defining characteristics?
Emily twirls her hair when she’s reading or working on reports, or doing anything that involves sitting still.
Lisa loves to sit on the back of chairs with her feet on the seat.
Quinn cracks his knuckles all the damn time and it makes his biotics flare up just a little whenever he does.
Charlie refuses to sit anywhere he can’t have his back to a wall and eye on at least one door/window/means of escape. He’s also an amazingly good ballroom dancer even if he sucks at all other kinds(him and Jack doing the tango is a mental image I enjoy greatly)
Stardust - What kind of clothes do they usually wear off-duty? (sporty, elegant or specific clothes like sweatpants, jeans etc )
Emily’s very casual and comfy; jeans or leggings and a long tank top, flats or slip on shoes, which comes in handy when she’s recovering after the Reaper War; bc she’s in a wheelchair for a while and it’s easier not having to deal with laces). She adds a hoodie or sweater if she gets chilly, but she’s rarely cold enough to need anything heavier than that.
Lisa is cargo pants, flip flops, and t-shirts until it gets cooler out, then she’s switching to work boots and throwing on a flannel shirt over the t-shirt, adding a jacket over that if it’s straight up COLD.
Quinn likes to wear khakis and a nice t-shirt, maybe with an open button-down over top(very preppy looking; Ash gives him SO MUCH SHIT over it) and then Doc Martens or some other shoe with a nice thick rubber sole.
Charlie will wear anything, but his preference is for jeans and a hoodie with combat boots.
Moon - Did your Shepard have any dreams as a child? (dream job, plans for future etc)
Oh boy...I mean she used to be in a gang back during her time on Earth, and most of her plans for the future revolved around various illegal schemes (often involving bootleg Thessian ‘haute couture’) before she joined up with the Alliance. If she’d had more opportunities as a teen, she could have become an excellent seamstress. But she did always want to go into space, so things worked out!
Meteor - Does your Shepard have any quirks, strange mannerisms, annoying habits, or other defining characteristics?
She has a nervous habit. It’s not extremely noticeable, but sometimes she makes a movement you’d normally associate with someone flicking their hair...but Tasha’s hair is too short to really get in the way. If anyone notices they tend to just find it perplexing rather than strange or annoying.
4. Shepard wakes up in an alternate universe. What tips them off?
Jenn’s very used to differentiating between what’s real and what’s not thanks to all the visions. She’s focused on what her reality is like, and she also have very good instincts. So, she would automatically know something was off, but wait until she had evidence to truly let herself think about what’s going on.
9. Did/does Shepard have any alien biases?
The gang definitely tried given that they eventually did turn anti-alien. But Shepard saw the nasty side of humans on Earth so she couldn’t really believe that aliens were worse, or that humans were better. So, she could have if she didn’t have some positive influences during her teenage years.
36. What was going through Shepard’s head when they met Sovereign on Virmire?
Very confused, and then indignant. Flabbergasted at the arrogance it was demonstrating and the hypocrisy of “you can’t understand us” yet I’m gonna explain what we do and how we operate.
43. What would they rather? Four years into the past, or four years into the future? Why?
Past. Give her time to fully prepare for the Reapers.
- So Jenn is earthborn and adheres to that canon of being in a gang. As she got older she didn’t really want to be doing what she was doing and her biotics were starting to kick in. She knew that the gang would want to exploit that (started to try). A close friend also knew that and had been urging her to think about her options. After a bust from the police, they offer her a deal after seeing her out of control biotics and her skill in tech. Idk if that’s how it works but oh well
19. Are there any companions your Shepard just absolutely cannot vibe with or relate to?
- I feel like Shepard would be uncomfortable with Zaeed bc she can see that if she stayed in the gang this was her future. She could have been him.
- Initially, she stayed clear of Miranda and Jacob bc of trust, but Jacob is a likable guy and after some pushing, she comes to understand Miranda a bit better. It certainly takes time to truly consider them more than simple teammates.
22. What’s the last thing Shepard ate before the final reaper showdown?
- I feel like Jenn would try to have something nutritious so she can be at her utmost game but like she’d totally want some greasy fries
39. Do they keep around any sentimental items?
- Okay this one made me sad, thanks for that. Any of the stuff you can pick up in game, Jenn gets. But one of the younger gang members had made her a friendship bracelet that Jenn wore everywhere. Sadly, she didn’t see it after the Collector attack.
