Pull apart what we mean by realistic chat and a few specific things matter: memory, tone, pacing, and the willingness to ask questions back. SweetDream scores well on all four. Across several sessions on sweetdream.ai, the conversation didn't just respond to me; it was curious about me. My AI companion asked follow-ups, referenced details from earlier, and adjusted its mood to match mine instead of resetting to a default cheerfulness every message.

That responsiveness is partly a product of the setup. You design the looks, the personality, the voice and the little quirks, so the character has a coherent identity to express. The chat then stays in that lane convincingly rather than drifting. It's the difference between a costume and a character.

Plot is:

Kaiden/M!Shep, Post-ME3: Kaiden survives but Shepard is MIA. Earth is rebuilding, and hospitals start replacing the term "John Doe" for unidentified victims with "John Shepard", so searching for Shepard's body is much more difficult. But! Kaiden and Shepard swapped dog tags before the final battle...

Anyone know the one I'm talking about? 🤗

Yay, thank you for the prompt! (Wild to be doing Mass Effect writing again after so long. c: )

"See, I’ve already waited too long... And now my hope is gone..."

-----

Ash sits in one of the waiting areas of Gagarin Station's makeshift field hospital and tries not to fidget too much. Military discipline feels very far away when the only activity available is watching the orderlies slowly bring in the wounded from the battle on Earth. There's a muted scent of blood to the air that has lingered for days, but that's not the real reason for the sick feeling in her stomach.

They all sort of hoped, when the Normandy limped back to Gagarin - after the Crucible fired, after the chaotic crash into the jungle and the frantic field repairs to get them spaceborne again - that they would find Matty alive and waiting for them. Joker made a few comments about it, here and there - "He's fine, right? He was alive to pull the trigger. No way the old man would let a little knock like that take him out." Even Ash caught herself hoping, now and then - daring to believe that after everything, there could be a happy ending.

But of course, they all knew the truth, deep down.

According to Hackett, the last contact with Matty was aboard the Citadel, just before the Crucible went off. "He sounded bad," the Admiral had said grimly. "Weak as hell. Started mumbling stuff that didn't make sense, right before the signal cut out. I almost tried to send a few fighters in after him, and then the whole thing blew out. And, well, you saw the rest."

Mass Effect scar study!

My rendition of Commander Shepard’s renegade scars, complete with bonus synthetic eye:

This is what I HC Victoria looks like post-ME3, after surviving the Destroy ending. For this headshot I toned down the brightness to make the scars and her eye more visible. The full, unedited picture is below the cut, where you can see the rest of her body and her fancy new prosthetic arm as well. 

A 3-Part Dekuuna Mission Mass Effect Fic with the Shalibrations Squad [Ao3]

Made for @equusgirl to celebrate N7 Day 2021

Summary: After a botched Alliance military tribunal threatens to deactivate EDI, Captain Jane Shepard takes matters into her own hands. Absconding with the Normandy and her crew, the rogue marine establishes the Milky Way's first Synthetic Rescue and Refugee Program with the backing of the Geth Consensus on Rannoch.

When EDI receives an encrypted distress call from the subtropics of Dekuuna, Shepard heads out with her squadmates--and bondmates--Garrus and Tali. The complex flora and fauna of the elcor homeworld prove challenging; will they make it in time to save the life of an infected elcor, offering him the chance at a free life with his A.I. lover?

Tags: Post-Reaper War; Emotional Hurt/Comfort; Angst with a Happy Ending; PTSD; Poly Triad; Biotics; Mild Body Horror; Man vs. Nature; Canon Compatible; Rescue Mission

Featured relationships: Jane Shepard/Tali'Zorah vas Normandy/Garrus Vakarian; Original A.I. Character/Original Elcor Character

Rating: M (Mature) for Canon-Typical Violence, Character PTSD, Sequences of Psychological Suspense & Mild Body Horror

An excerpt from Chapter 1 of my ongoing Post-Destroy Shakarian fic. I am posting as often as I can and I am excited for where the story is going. Find the rest here, on AO3. 

                                       ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

This world was quiet. Not quite as bright as he expected.

Garrus Vakarian did not sleep well the night before. It was a normal occurrence now. He would sleep for three hours and then get up to join whoever else had trouble sleeping. Joker kept insisting it was the atmosphere of Edi, that it took after their lost AI companion. He said ‘EDI never slept, so it made sense if this atmosphere had some kind of anti-sedative quality.’

None of them ever corrected Joker when he started talking about EDI and the planet he named after her. Liara knew the composition of the atmosphere. Down to the third decimal place. Yet, she never spoke up about it to Joker.

Garrus padded through the quiet halls of the Normandy, heading for the airlock out of the ship. Nothing moved, only the brief illumination of the running lights flickered. The familiar beep of the door sounded and he stepped on to the grassy knoll that the ship crash-landed on. Shelters, tables, fires, and the like were scattered around housing crew and various tasks required to bring the Normandy back to working order. Garrus stayed within the ship, opting to stay in her cabin. While it hurt more than he cared to admit, the walls held more of her and he did not want to give that up.

At his favourite spot he spied James Vega. The broad, tattooed man held a gun across his lap, flicking the safety on and off.

“It’s a wonder that those still work,” Garrus said, settling on the edge of the cliff beside Vega. “Considering our line of work, you’d think they would’ve rusted to ‘off’.”

Vega snorted. “My babies would never rust, Vakarian. Maybe you should’ve spent less time calibrating those big guns and focused on your rifles. Then you might’ve had a higher kill count than me.”

“We’re not going to go there are we Vega? Your memory is so bad, it’s a wonder that N7 offered you that position in the first place.” Garrus clocked the incredulous look on the marine’s face. He swallowed, steeling himself for the swell of emotion that came with speaking of her. It hadn’t worn off these past couple of weeks. “We are together, you know. I got to hear some incredible secrets from her.”

Are. Garrus couldn’t let her go. Part of him was sure she was still alive. Or he could bring her back. Crazier things could happen. He already lost her once and she came back. She had a clone for fuck’s sake. Commander Serenity Shepard would come back.

But they had to get off this spirits-forsaken world first.

Vega gave him a small smile. His fingers stopped moving on his gun. They settled, laced together. “You know I just realized why Shepard was into you.”

“Is. And it’s not my rugged, handsome features? I’ve been told that scars are very attractive.”

Vega chuckled. “I’ve been told the same thing.” He traced the scar that lined his face. “And no. It’s ‘cause you’re as stubborn as her.”

“Not really the answer I was looking for, Lieutenant.”

“No offense, but you are the last person that still believes that she could be alive.” Vega grimaced, meeting Garrus’ gaze. “We all want to go back to find her body, give her a proper burial. But we know, Garrus. It’ll hurt a helluva lot less if you accept that.”

Garrus shook his head, his fingers tracing the targeting visor he hardly took off. The names carved into the metal surface were still there despite the gunfire and atmosphere of every planet they’d been on. He wasn’t going to add any more names to its metal.

“Give me this one, Vega. Shepard survived through everything that was thrown at her, despite the odds stacked against her.” He fell silent, staring out across the lush jungle below and the rock formations that jutted from the landscape.

Maybe it was good Shepard wasn’t here. It was too silent. She’d hate it.