Best Short Shakarian Fanfics
Shakarian novellas — 10k–50k words, perfect for a weekend. All curated from AO3 and ranked by kudos.
Top 10 Short Shakarian Fanfics
Ranked by AO3 kudos. Mid-length Shakarian fics — 10,000–50,000 words.
An Inconvenient Meeting
by EratoHayden
A chance encounter on the Citadel following the events of the Skyllian Blitz in 2180, leads Kara Shepard and Garrus Vakarian to meet earlier than the canon Mass Effect timeline. Kara is freshly promoted, completed her N7 training, and ready to take the next step in her five year plan. C-Sec Officer
A Brief Detour
by bjrit92
Shepard and her Suicide Squad are gearing up for their trip though the Omega-4 Relay when they're attacked by a collector ship and take an unexpected trip that changes, well, everything. And some things? Some things have changed more than others.
The Diary of Katherine Shepard
by Hawkster94
4 years and a half had passed since the galaxy emerged victorious against the Reapers. Recovery process is still ongoing, with the trauma of the war still lingering on, physical, mental, and emotional. Inspired by the unfinished diaries that her former mentor, Admiral David Anderson, left in his for
Test Subject 47-R / Codename: Rose
by Hunttijuntti
She was only nine years old when she was taken. Over 160 years later, she wakes up on an operating table—terrified, mutated, and more powerful than anyone imagined. Her instincts unleash a storm of biotics and Force lightning that levels an entire research facility. Commander Shepard and the crew of
Through Hell on Living Feet (For You)
by Volchonika
Grieving Commander Shepard turned Garrus into someone else, and now he's haunted by a ghost wearing her face. This Shepard, he's convinced, is a spirit, or a figment of his dying brain--because he's sure he's dying, lying in a pool of his own blood on Omega, and she's here to help him live through a
First Light
by acupoftea
The Normandy SR-2 has landed on Earth. The universe is in shambles. So is her crew. Shepard isn't doing much better. But everyone is looking to her - to the Great Commander Shepard, twice dead, twice resurrected, Destroyer of the Reapers and almost the entire universe - to save them, one last time.T
The Lives of Commander Shepard
by RexManning
Good news everyone!I have concocted a story which you all can take part in helping shape. In essence, this is a choose your own adventure style Shakarian fic, with a twist. Here's how it'll go: I will set up the first act so that everyone has a grounding of the base story at play. At the end of each
Digging Up Stones
by mostmagical
A long-term ground mission on Hackett’s orders in the wake of the war. Traveling across forgotten wastelands and destroyed communities with just a ground car and Garrus, Shepard can’t help but let exhaustion and frustration get to her. Even on the open road, she’s never felt more trapped. And with t
Back To You
by toothfayerie
Two people brought together by duty and circumstance.Two people separated by uncontrollable instance.Two people brought together by rumors of conspiracy.Two people drifted apart by principle and anarchy.Two people brought together by war.Do they still know who they are?Now, the galaxy may be at its
proof of life.
by thychesters
You are: Commander Shepard (in name).You are: human (mostly).You are: real (enough). Commander Shepard storms back into the galaxy; Cerberus just keeps a closer eye on her than she thought. She finds herself a little more hyperaware of the moving pieces, the ones of her left to string back together.
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Why Read Short Shakarian Fics?
Novella-length Shakarian fics — roughly 10,000 to 50,000 words — let writers fully develop a single AU, trope, or relationship beat without sprawling. Plenty of time for setup, payoff, and a satisfying ending; not so much time that you're juggling fifty bookmarks.
Great for trying a new author or testing whether you'll enjoy a sub-genre before diving into something longer.
About This List
This list of 10short Shakarian fanfics spans 236,164 total words. Kudos range from 12 on the newest entries to 83 on the most established. Most entries are ongoing works, so subscribe on AO3 for update notifications. The most common rating is Mature (7 of 10 fics).
Recurring tags across this list: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence · Angst · Mass Effect 2 · Fluff.
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