echoes_of_arcadia

👀 sneak peak at our favorite commander in the next chapter of my #masseffect2 fanfic “The Arms that Hold Tomorrow.” New chapter posted yesterday. If you haven’t read it yet, you’re mission out! I’ve always thought Samara’s loyalty missing deserved a little more emotion, and the “Like Mother, Like Monster” chapters will hurt you in the best ways.

Next Chapter Preview:

“You must go in alone,” the Justicar said finally, her voice low and composed. “Morinth will be watching. Like any predator, she is cautious. You must interest her enough that she chooses to approach you.”

Shepard nodded once, already bracing herself. The adrenaline hadn’t hit yet, but something colder had, the feeling of walking out past the last line of defense and realizing there was no cover, no backup, just space. “When you are face to face,” Samara continued, “subtly encourage her to invite you to her apartment. That is where I will strike. I will be close behind, following discreetly. But know this, AJ—until I arrive, you are in great peril.” There was no attempt to soften it. Samara didn’t sugarcoat threats or outcomes; Shepard respected that, but it terrified her. “She will be planning to inflict horrors on you,” Samara added, and then, more quietly, “and if you are not careful… you will want her to.”

The human swallowed, fear coming in sideways, like nausea. She squared her shoulders. “Okay. Got it,” she replied. “How do I get her attention without walking straight up to her?”

Samara tilted her head slightly, studying her. “Courage—or suicidal bravery—might catch her interest. Defending someone in danger could entice her. But if you pick a fight, she may grow bored. She wants novelty, not chaos. Move through the crowd as if you were born for it. Don’t try to charm her—let her see that others notice you.”

“She’ll want me just from looking?”

“She will,” the Justicar answered, as if it were as factual as anything else. She couldn’t help the twitch of her smile—Samara seemed to know everything to say to get her blushing, yet remained oblivious to the effect she had on the human. Maybe AJ just had a thing for older women, but Samara made her knees weak. “But that won’t be enough—you must be more than desirable. You must be worth the risk. Worth the kill.”

“Right,” she gave a breath of half-laughter, tension coiled under it, “So how do I convince her I’m worth taking home?”

thinking about using this as the cover for my novelization of ME3 👀 in the covers for the other two fics, i have the paragade symbol—what do we think, should i add it, or is this just awesome fan art? in any case, im hella proud of this artwork. i love what procreate has helped me create. i often take breaks from transcribing the video game to work on art for the series. i’ve been holding onto some of shepard in Afterlife for her mission with samara 🤭 you guys, im kicking my feet

My Mass Effect 2 novelization, The Arms that Hold Tomorrow, is officially posted to AO3, with new chapters to post weekly! Check it out, and enjoy this art i created of Liara watching my Shep fall asleep on the couch while Liara does research on the Protheans 🥹 it’s not me ~best~ work (it could be cleaner) but now feels like the time to celebrate, not criticize.

COMING SOON! I am SO close to finishing up my transcript of the video game dialogue. I’ve got 2 loyalty missions to finish up, the suicide mission, and arrival yet. Once I have the dialogue transcribed, I’ll consider the rough draft officially done and I’ll begin to post chapters on ao3.