#i really love the angara

[omniblades-and-stars]

Loathing me all by yourself, handsome?

[omegastation]

If you could implement anything you desire into the next ME game, what would it be? Could be narrative, gameplay, controls, etc.

Ah!!!!

Honestly the first thing that comes to mind is letting Shepard rest. That would be my main concern. I also think they would make Shepard come back for the wrong reasons, to make the franchise as popular as it was, and I wouldn't like it.

I would also like some kind of shift in the way power is distributed post Reaper Wars, and I want it to make sense. I want the writers to worldbuild as best as they can and come up with something believable because the same old same old just wouldn't work after everything that happened. If there's still a Council, how does it work? I would love for every race to have a representative on it, and if not, they better explain why because the wars changed the dynamics. Prejudices must still exist but I don't think it makes sense to still have the regular old talk of "lesser species".

What kind of other shifts can we think of? If Spectres still exist, do they still have that much power? Are the Volus still having all the financial power? Is there a new seat of power? How does it reflect the multiples races of the galaxy? Would the next version of Avina still look like an asari or would it look completely different?

And really, the krogan are my fav so I might be biased, but I really want them to no longer have to prove they're not how people perceive them to be. I want them living their best lives, full of hope. And hope also means seeing more children and female aliens. Bioware needs to do better with that.

I've liked Mass Effect Andromeda so I do hope there's a follow-up there as well:

WHO WAS THE BENEFACTOR?????!!!!!!

Angara mixing with all alien races in the Milky Way and Andromeda

But after that, since you said anything!!!, I would always love more lore: - If we're talking about "rectifying" stuff, I would say some kind of explanation about Ardat-Yakshi because they didn't have a good handle of that lore. It's way too contradictory. - I would also like a resolution to the dark energy storyline, even if it's just one mission. - More AIs such as EDI or SAM explored. Everything about the way EDI aked questions and chose to prioritize certains things in her life made sense to me, but we can go one step further. Couldn't she design her platform? What about a being like SAM? Wouldn't SAM want their own platform? What does it mean for an AI to have design preferences? Can aesthetics relate to their identity and sense of self? And what does it mean to process things so fast? How do you love in those conditions? And how do the geth will evolve? Would we see new designs for the geth? Will we see more individual geths (from a "we" to a "I") or will we see the opposite? And why do we believe one is better than the other when it's just a different system and way of living and thinking? - More languages lore and especially an explanation about the trade language. Just release a complete guide to your writing system Bioware!!!! It's all over the trilogy so it must mean something. I would also love the same for Khelish - Quarian and geth lore, because those two races always manage to bring something new and interesting and honestly just really poignant. - More homeworld or settled worlds/colonies that we can explore. I think Kahje especially must be something

As far as relationships/friendships/LIs:

more aliens as squad or crew members (including volus, drell, batarians)

a krogan LI would be wonderful

a female drell as squadmate is a special wish for sure

more romance options in general

no hints of an "official" romance because that always backfires. Not only do players resent the hints that they should romance a character, but even the character gets judged for it.

Speaking of a character that gets judged, if Liara is present, I'd love for her to be there but not take center stage. I also don't want a Shepard-obsessed Liara. I want her to be fulfilled and curious and happy.

Regarding the Shadow Broker, I don't think the old version that has terrorized the galaxy so much and spied on its every corner can survive the Reaper Wars unscathed. But it can be replaced by worse things, so who knows?

Thank you for the ask !!!! <3 (and sorry for the long answer, I got way too excited)

Would love to have your own answer anon, or anyone who wants to answer the same question! I'm sure there are many things I forgot.

[sol-consort]

I actually would like the concept of being the only human in a crew for a Mass Effect game (maybe a smaller standalone game instead a full on main story one) but that may just be because I always preferred the alien characters over the humans in Mass Effect. No clue what the plot would be but for smaller game maybe hostile creature on board like Alien but I’m just thinking that because I’ve binged the Alien movies

But outside plots what would be your top three alien species in Mass Effect you’d want to be stuck with on a ship? I think Quarian, Asari, and Krogan would be mine

Dude, that's an absolute nightmare combo—for the quarian, at least. They're 100% getting sick every other day.

Krogans have heat and ruts, so....there is that. Oh, and the asari is 100% boning them, like you and the qaurian are going to be thirdwheeling 90% of the time.

It's going to like one of those drama reality tv shows, not one of those people gets along.

I mean, I do like humans a lot. Half the human kink stuff is stuff I genuinely find attractive in other humans. I am my own main source of filth, I would absolutely hate being the only human in a ship.

But if I had no other choice...hmm. My brain is just turning this into a list of aliens I want to bone rather than thinking about the logistics.

Well, I don't want to be charged with involuntary manslaughter, so turians and qaurians are off the table. The knowledge I could accidentally poison one of them by my mere existence is too haunting + I'm a curious creature with grubby fingers and will touch all of their stuff and food.

I would actually enjoy being stuck with a hanar on a ship. Toning out people trying to convert you into their religion comes naturally to me. Not to mention how refreshingly polite and well-behaved they are! Hanar forbid animal fighting sports in their entire planet because it lowers empathy! I love the hanar so much, aaa. I wanna get close enough to one to learn their soul name. They're so pretty and pink and jellyfish, my beloveds <33

A drell, though? No. I don't want them to feel subservient to the hanar, but also, I don't want to get drugged each time I used a spoon they haven't washed properly. It's a shame, I adore their raspy voice, but even touching one will give you a rash, so yeah.

I've always wanted to kiss frogs since I was a little human, not in search of princes but because I found frogs pretty and felt bad that people would only kiss them in hopes of them turning into something else rather than kiss them for them, so i swore to kiss any frog I saw. Now I'm older and realise the health complications and risks—that what living with a drell would be like, kissing a frog every day.

Elcor absolutely yes! They're big majestic elephants and I love elephants and I love their clear way of speech and I find them so adorable and I wanna be friends <33

I'm still not over the asari being an eldritch abomination that alters your perception of reality, so absolutely not. Plus, most of them aren't as nice or humble as liara. Instead, they're snotty and often look down on humans for being the youngest, newest species. I'm not bunking with one! They freak me out.

Salarians? Absolutely not. They only require one hour of sleep and have a perfect memory. They can't be gaslight into thinking it's their turn on the chores. They will be up ALL NIGHT every single day. They will wake me up at 3am. to continue an argument from 2 weeks ago. Plus they really dislike the eclor and I don't want them being mean to my favourite guys :( or else I'll slap a bitch.

Korgans? Fuck no. Anything with any heat cycle is not stepping foot in my world. Go deal with your rut elsewhere! I don't even wanna think about it. otherwise they'd be so chill and nice...albet too strong. Krogans need to go I'm sorry.

Angara? No, because I'd feel too bad separating them from their family. BPD and other emotional constipation things make me the worst person to deal with to an angara bc I would legit rather die than acknowledge any feeling ever. They're too emotionally intelligent and open for me, It will be frustrating for us both bc I will look for hidden bad meanings in their sincere worda and kind actions, and they'll take all my impulsive words and actions to heart. Also, I'm very touch repulsed, hug me, and I'll claw your eye out.

Now, you'd think, okay, there are no species left??

AND YOU'D BE WRONG.

The best roomates! The geth!

They're built helpers! they take care of the chores, they stay in a dark room like a hermit connected to the web, you barely hear a beep from them.

Besides the risk of shattering my skull if I accidentally bump into them in the middle of the night in a dark hallway, everything else is very dandy.

So here you have it:

Hanar

Elcor

Geth

That's the realistic version.

Now if we're talking about my fantasy ideal alien foursome roommates dating sim:

Turian

Drell

Angara

[midnightswaltz]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love ❤️

Oooh, hi! So, the thing is, I only have, like 6 fics posted anywhere and a couple of them need extensive rewrites (or I've kinda just written off because I'm not happy with it anymore & don't wanna rec, but haven't gotten around to deleting/orphaning). But here's what I've got.

1 - Recombined

Fandom: Mass Effect Andromeda. Relationship: Sis!Ryder/Jaal Ama Darav.

I'm very proud of this one, not least because it's one of the few things that actually got finished. It was unexpected because LJ was not a part of my "canon" Ryder's story (still isn't... well, not exactly) but I love her. I also find myself rereading this quite a bit especially when I need to remind myself that I can be a good writer.

2 - Vengeance and Saving the World

Fandom: Arrow (2012 TV show) + Pacific Rim. Relationship: Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak

oof, this little guy is only like a week younger than my nephew. I'm not really even in the fandom anymore!

It's still weak in parts but, for a change, I don't actually care. I like the little jokes & nicknames. I'm proud of the bits of worldbuilding I got to add to the worlds I already smashed together. There was other stuff that I didn't eventually write like Tommy's dad was still alive with a kaiju egg and some nefarious plot or something. I do still get the odd kudos on this which I'm tickled by, but also, like, how the far in the weeds have you gone that you've found this almost 11 year old fella?

3 - Terra Incognita

Fandom: Mass Effect Andromeda Relationship: Sis!Ryder/Jaal Ama Darav

Major WIP.

I know I haven't updated this in... well, a while. I am working on it, because I really enjoy writing all the little ways in which my headcanon is different from the game story or how they can all play together. Like I'm currently obsessing on how the angara have the intelligence to know about what happened on Eos (this is briefly mentioned by Jaal during the first meeting with Evfra). Like, there's probably a very simple explanation, but I'm having more fun with *spoiler 😆* that one day I plan on letting other people read.

4 - In the Darkness You Will Reach

Fandom: Dragon Age Inquisition Relationship: F!Lavellen/Cullen Rutherford

Ravi Lavellan's story. Another major WIP.

132,828.

That's how many words I have written (& rewritten) on this fella without posting.

This is not actually posted anywhere, but I do have some bits n' pieces that I've shared over the years, which I linked the tag. In my scrivener file, it's mostly a whole bunch of almost finished scenes & half started side stories (like there's a couple assassination attempts in Skyhold, one of which has become it's own little story inside the larger story, but I'm not really sure how they work that one out yet...). I'm probably going to be sharing more on tumblr soon, because I'm not writing it in any particular order & am getting impatient about sharing the stuff I'm proud of.

This is another one of those things that I start rereading so I can start working on & then just get sucked back in until it's hours later & I'm like "wait...what was I doing again?"

Not 5, but honorable mention - Through the Dark Places

Fandom: Dragon Age Origins Relationship: Surana/Alistair

This is the beginning of my warden's story. I still want to finish this and was very proud of it when I started, but I really want to rewrite the beginning of this. I'm not unhappy with it, but I can make it better.

[partylikemajima]

Most of the crew is all fascinated with Jaal in their own ways but I really love that Drack is suspicious of him. I had to bring Jaal on Kadara despite how much he seems to hate the planet and the way Drack talks to him is so funny. The conversations I've heard so far is Drack questioning Jaal that there must be more to him, the Angara and about the scourge, and Jaal says he has no idea what hes talking about. Then Drack tries to relate to him about how the Kett went after the Angarans, like how the Salarians went after the Krogan. And Jaal said he hasn't met many Salarians but they don't seem like the Kett. And Drack is like you're right, you haven't met many Salarians. I love everything Drack says 😂

[ageless-aislynn]

Oooo, you play mass effect, it finally clicked in my head. Who do you romance in Andromeda?

Also, I really did enjoy the game regardless of the amount of hate it got

ZOMG, you must've missed me at my most Andromeda obsessed, lol! I haven't actually been able to play it since last November, when my previous computer gave out and then this one has been super lousy. However, as soon as I can hopefully get my Vegas back on and thus be able to GIF (and vid) again, I'm planning on going back to Andromeda to finally finish the big Ryder twins romance GIF project I had going, lol!

In short, I've romanced every single option available except Scott/Peebee and Scott/Jaal. Scott/Peebee was in progress when I got derailed. But here are some posts I've made about various things, if you'd like to see them!

Sara's romances with Jaal, Reyes, Peebee and Vetra

Scott/Cora and the shocking, unexpected Scott/Harry romance 😂😜

I was working on the Scott/Gil vid here

I've vidded Sara/Reyes, Scott/Cora, Scott/Gil and my final vid ever was about Scott and his dad, Alec

Mass Effect: Andromeda incorrect quotes

Me at the bottom talking about doing an Insanity run and showing my Sara in her Mjolnir-like tanky armor plus the name of my crafted weapons 😂

I absolutely adore this game and I've honestly missed playing it so much! Also, did you know that Kate Kennedy aka Kai from Halo is the voice of one of the Angara?

I romanced Avela as Scott JUST for that fact alone, lol!

Anyway, like I said, I never did get the chance to finish making GIFs for all of my romances and I still hope to finish those last two for Scott. As for which are my favs...

Sara: Reyes. I'm a sucker for that scoundrel, what can I say? 😍😇 But Vetra is a close second. I have to physically restrain myself from flirting with her if I'm planning on romancing somebody else because there's no way I'd hurt my best Turian girl like that! 😱😉

Scott: Gil surprisingly became my favorite "I have to make SURE not to click the flirt options if I'm romancing somebody else" romance. I also, no surprise, loved his romance with Reyes. Cora also was great!

I honestly really enjoyed all of the romance options, except for Keri's (the reporter) and not for any fault of hers but I disliked how she looks kinda uncomfortable with either Ryder flirting with her while she's just trying to do her job. I felt like a real creep, I have to say! 😩Then at the end, after I've annoyed this poor Asari at her workplace this entire time, the "payoff" was we went from a table at the Vortex to Ryder's just suddenly outside of her room? Not even a kiss? 🫤(I legit have headcanoned that Keri never actually let Ryder into her room, just went in herself, closed the door, and left them out in the hall, lol! "That's for continuing to come on to me and never taking the hint while I'm clearly just doing my job, you creep!" 😖😂😉)

If I could've romanced Evfra *points up at his pic above* I totally would have because I'm a sucker for a good "enemies to lovers" trope, lol! And I think Evfra would haaaaate himself for falling for the human Pathfinder. 😍😍😍

I clearly have put a lot of silly thoughts into Andromeda, lol! Anyway, thanks so much for letting me ramble about this! Who did you romance? Have you played as both twins or do you prefer just the one? Default or custom? Do you mod? My computer was coming off the rails at the time so I've only stuck to what's available in-game but I've seen some beautiful Ryder twins and some awesome clothing options with mods. 😉💖💖💖

[silurisanguine]

OC Questions tag game (a-cosmic-elf questions answered)

I was tagged by @a-cosmic-elf in the oc questions tag game (answer 3 questions given in style of your OC then give three new questions to tagged people) I'm going to answer the three given me in with all 4 of my ocs as they are a really great way to develop them! - Seren Jones, Aeryn Ryder, Zofie Orel and Kiara Black

Since this is going to be a long post, answers behind a cut!

And I'll tag @vorchagirl @despicablediet and @bearlytolerant @staticpallour @fangbangerghoul @a-cosmic-elf @atonalginger @eridanidreams @toxiclizardwrites @therealgchu @aro-pancake with these three new questions to answer, no pressure though!

-Is there anyone famous you'd love to meet? -What is your favourite season (or weather if you don't have seasons)? -Is there anything physical you'd change about yourself?

First up Seren Jones (My Starfield Coemancer Starborn)

If you had a YouTube channel, what would you make? "Youtube? Oh viddocs? I dont think I'd have a 'make' channel. Mine would probably be a vlog of my exploration. I see so many incredible things when I'm exploring places I'd want to share that. I already take so many photos, so I think yeah, think I'd like to do something like that." Have you ever dyed your hair, or got a radical haircut? "Before I became Starborn, my signature color and cut was a silver pixie hairstyle. But after a few universe jumps I wanted to get away from that look and find a new one as I'd kinda let myself go and it seems hair just keeps growing no matter what. So I went to Enhance and I got it dyed this bright teal blue in a sort of short bob. Don't know how long I'll keep it, who knows. I know a version of me had much longer hair similar in style to Andreja's and it looked good, so maybe I'll try that when I finally settle down again." What’s the worst book you’ve ever read? "Carrie of the Cosmos. I'd read everything at a mining dig on some backwater moon I can't even remember the name of now and that was left. It's so cliched and predictable." Next - Aeryn Ryder ( My Mass Effect Reyes Vidal romancing Pathfinder)

If you had a YouTube channel, what would you make? "Video documentaries huh? Not sure what I'd be allowed to do considering how Tann rode Keri's ass on her documentary. Maybe 'how to maintain your armour, no matter the environment' type thing or... 'The beauty of Kadara for non exiles who want to visit'....Maybe I do want to piss Tann off." Have you ever dyed your hair, or got a radical haircut? "My hair is bright highlighted blue and purple already! Had that since I was blacklisted by the Alliance and thought fuck it, let's do what I always wanted but never could before. Luckily I can keep it like this as the angara have these awesome dyes that Lexi found are safe to use on human hair!" What’s the worst book you’ve ever read? "I actually don't really read books...not novels anyway. I never have time to really focus on one for long. I liked some of the asari mythology books I used to read, so I guess those."

Next Zofie Orel ( Deus Ex/Assassin's Creed OC)

If you had a YouTube channel, what would you make? "Oooh in another life, one where I don't have to not make myself too known, I could do one of those hands visible only jewellery making shows. The camera would be on my worktop and I could show the intricacies of working with silver and gold." Have you ever dyed your hair, or got a radical haircut? "When I got augmented, they had to shave my head to install the brain implants and I decided then to change up my look as my mousey brown hair was just too boring. I love red so picked the brightest I could find and have had this colour ever since and no damn Templar Hunter is going to get me to change it!" What’s the worst book you’ve ever read? "I read this trite publication about Hatshepsut, that was obviously written by a historian who didn't like his theories being proved false by new evidence. A common thing with historians I've found. 'Cant possibly agree with that, my book says otherwise.' Thankfully the new evidence that was found proved he was talking out of his arse." Lastly Kiara Black (My Thief/ Dishonored OC)

If you had a YouTube channel, what would you make? "What is a You...tube... channel? Huh... I wouldn't want to ever appear on a recording, thanks." Have you ever dyed your hair, or got a radical haircut? "Oh I once cut my long...long hair short with a pair of my father's sheers and nearly gave my mother a heart attack. All because I wanted shorter hair and she told me no. After that she took me to a barber and made him cut it into something 'feminine'. I watched that man like a hawk and since taught myself how to cut hair properly I've let it grow since then, but I mostly keep it braided back. With what I wear now, I might cut it again as the braid sometimes gets itchy against my neck. But dyeing it? My hair is black, almost blue-black, so no way would I dye it." What’s the worst book you’ve ever read? "The Seven Strictures...Militant religious doctrine masquerading as guidance."

[whatsgnat]

I finished my first Mass Effect: Andromeda playthrough last night and I really loved it. 8/10 game for sure.

If ME:A really does come into the next mass effect game, and Bioware harms a single skin cell on our cinnamon roll Angara, I will be out with pitchforks and fire.

Jaal and Kaelen ♡

Don't repost or steal thanks

[do-i-love-jaal-today]

Can we please have more mermaid ryder hc please!!!!!!

From this ask! Not gonna lie, I’m still not sure what more I can offer...but I will try!

After befriending you, one of Jaal’s favorite topics is cultural exchange. Learning new things- studying in general- is openly one of his favorite things to do, and getting to do so with you is deeply enjoyable for him! (He deeply hopes you enjoy knowing of his culture, too.)

He’s full of questions, but you rarely get tired of it. Even when you do, he’s more than happy to stop and give you some space... If not first seeing if he could help ease your stresses any!

...Jaal may also try to ask permission to watch you sleep. Yes, even at friendship stage/before dating. It’s a weird request, but he’s as honest as ever...and better to ask than not?

Honestly, it’s kinda why he’s so likeable; it’s hard to not be fond of the guy who will bluntly ask any question, with the open understanding he’ll listen and back off if you’re uncomfortable.

However, if you let him watch you fall asleep (whether you can sleep with him knowingly watching or ask him to mull around elsewhere for an hour, then come back), just... Prepare for more questions.

...Which turns into him helping you be better situated for sleeping?! Depending on your preferences, Jaal puts a sudden, large amount of work to ensure you will get the best sleep possible.

If plants help you feel safe, he offers plants from Aya and extra samples from Voeld. He is...unsure when you may be able to travel- or if you can at all- and wishes to further incorporate you into his life. (This is, essentially, the start of his courting phase.)

Each plant is carefully vetoed; ensuring it won’t change your tank’s structure too much and continue to keep you healthy. (There’s definitely at LEAST one plant that does it better than any from Earth, leading to those on the Initiative to work their asses off to adjust your tank around this better specimen.)

He also brings in potted plants. You’re in awe of their glorious coloration...! Some of them even glow!!!

If you have water-safe cloth, he may try to hand off the cloth to his mother, requesting she aid him in making a rofjinn for you.

Nude or jewelry only? He, as always, works with that; expect many new pieces, both as courting gifts and random expressions of his love. Hair pieces were the trickiest to figure out, but Ryder, the other humans, and even Vetra helped out.

Sahuna can’t quite visit at the moment...but she’s absolutely in love with you. She pesters Jaal and Ryder for every crumb of information she doesn’t yet have. (It makes him laugh, if also terribly shy at his mother’s excitement.)

Other angara also tend to stop by to visit, since you’ve got Jaal Ama Darav so starstruck! Some are...a little hurtful with their honesty (“I don’t see what the deal is, really,” one mused out loud), but others are fun and sweet! You try to keep the latter in mind, more.

...This is partially because you made the sincere mistake telling Jaal about one such comment. He proceeded to straighten up, a serious look in his eyes, and asked for details of this angaran. Realizing he was about to fight the mf who talked shit, you had to hurry and cover for a random person’s ass. Less Jaal throw hands about it.

(Alas, he probably did find that angaran while mulling about the Nexus. Hands were indeed thrown. A funny problem to have, all in all...and the realization angaran relations would need extra work, going forward.)

[gefionne]

@heavenlyeros, hello! I am your Holiday Harbinger and it was my pleasure to compose a gift for you for this year's @masseffectholidaycheer! Your love of the angara speaks loudly to my heart and I was so very excited when I saw your beautiful art, specifically the dreamlike, magical formal clothing you designed for the angara. So excited, in fact, that it inspired the whole setting for this story (and the fact that you ship Jaal and Evfra)! Here's a summary:

Evfra is a soldier—he belongs on the battlefield, not in banquet halls—but it is Moshae Sjefa’s will that he attend a party in her honor on the Nexus as she takes her post as ambassador. He is dreading the whole affair, but thankfully his old friend Jaal offers to stick by his side to get him through the formalities. Perhaps fine attire, food, and dancing will afford Evfra the opportunity to confess, at last, the feelings he has for Jaal.

Thank you for answering my questions; I really, really hope I've shaped something here that you'll enjoy reading.

I've been waiting to follow you and go on a mad reblogging spree of your work until now so I didn't reveal myself as your Harbinger, but now that the secret is out, get ready to see me in your notes crowing to all ME:A fans how amazing your designs are!

A very Happy Holiday Harbinger to you! -Gef

[omniblades-and-stars]

I bet alien cigarettes would fucking blow my mind. Ranking alien cigarettes based on absolutely nothing but feelings and how I would vibe with them (best to worse):

Batarians - strong as fuck, hint of spices in there (always loved a good clove)

Salarians - they put weird jungle shit in there, maybe dried mushrooms?

Elcor - i have no explanation for this, I just bet they make a premium smokable

Turians - I just feel like such a military driven culture has gotta have a tight grip on cigarettes and pipes. Functional, good flavor, makes you so alert.

Angara - that Andromeda galaxy shit has got to be off the charts

Asari - This one's a sneaky hit. Real smooth, but watch out!

Drell - probably really good, really difficult to find. Points lost for expense.

Volus - try smoking one of these bitches and i bet it'll kill you

Krogan - bad. Very bad. Radioactive maybe. Like 6x as cancerous as an earth cigarette. Might actually be made of straight asbestos.

Hanar - don't see them as a species that smokes given *vague handwaving*

Quarian - bet they don't cultivate plants for smoking anymore, plus the suits make it like ... a dumb thing to do. But now I'm imagining a quarian using one of those old timey cigarette holder much in the same vein as the "emergency induction port"

Vorcha - they just smoke whatever they can get their hands on and don't cultivate anything to smoke.

[crqstalite]

[2] love from the other side -

This city always hangs a little bit lonely on me Loose, like a kid playing pretend in his father's suit I'd never go, I just want to be invited, oh Got to give up Get the feeling, get the feeling Don't fight it, fight it

chapter summary: no one said raising a galaxy would be easy, not with thousands of people relying on one organization and their pathfinders. and yet talis is still in this meeting, pretending like it is.

[set post-mass effect andromeda.] [female ryder/jaal ama darav, male ryder/cora harper] prev chapter > next chapter

chapter specific warnings: none

-

October 2nd, 2820 [1 year and 7 months since arrival to Andromeda] - Nexus Operations

Logs: Talis Meissa Ryder-Lucero

“We need the space, Ryder. People are waking up almost everyday, they need places to live and cultivate their lives. We can’t be dealing with restrictions and outright bans from worlds we already have rudimentary outposts on.”

Does he ever stop talking? Talis wonders, squeezing her eyes shut as she she rubs at her temples. Tann had called a meeting in the newly constructed council chambers specifically to discuss more immigration efforts from the Nexus with the Council and Pathfinders. That was fine, she doesn't think that the nine of them in leadership had ever had a meeting together after Hyperion's crash on Meridian. It was nice almost, to not have to play telephone with every leader and send out emails to the other Pathfinders — or receive them. But two hours deep and the only thing they haven’t circled argued about is exploring other uninhabitable planets with plans to terraform. Fine by her, it’d take some decades even with the research they continued to fine tune, and it was just up her alley, but the Council’s lack of consideration about already existing Angaran ownership over the cluster was about to cause her yet another migraine.

It happened in her mother’s and father’s respective home countries, and she’d be damned if she let it happen here, under her watch.

At the very least, the chairs were comfy, as she sits smack dab in the middle of the other Pathfinders, with the Moshae at one end of the table and Tann at the other. The coffee could be better (if she were really working as well as they said, she could get some of the good stuff soon right?), and the new uniforms could arguably be better. They look like Nexus cheerleaders, long pullover turtlenecks and slacks colored in white and blue with the Initiative insignia over the chest. And not the cute kind.

Raeka’s pin glints off the light in the room, causing her to look away from the Salarian. In her brief moment of distraction, she carefully avoids the critical glance he gives her that Addison mirrors directly across from her. Her mind tended to wander in these discussions, mostly because she had plenty to offer and few willing ears.

That’d changed at least, since Moshae Sjefa had accompanied her, considering Talis had appointed her as the Heleus ambassador a few months ago. To the disappointment of most of the council — Tann in particular because it put the Moshae a step beneath him in terms of power — but Talis was nothing if not a regular disappointment these days. The older Angara was a comforting and reasonable presence, almost a friend, but she's sure the meeting is already taking more of a toll on her than either of them had bargained for. Tann, of course, was trying to run the show like it was his, and Addison wasn’t far behind — though their interests diverged, their tactics at the table didn’t. She couldn’t help but feel sorry for the Moshae, surrounded by people who wanted her land that barely helped her take her own back. It didn’t help that, much like Talis herself, she was a scientist. One respected by her people, but at her core she was a woman who enjoyed the confines of her lab, not the boardroom.

She'd make sure to send a fruit basket to her office when she returned to Aya. And maybe some Angaran liquor.

"We do not have the resources to support your exponential growth onto your 'habitats'," The Moshae says to her right, the picture of calm but her tense mannerisms speak a different story, lips pressed together in a thin line, "With the Kett gone, we are just now able to reclaim the worlds they took from us. We appreciate all the Pathfinder and Initiative have done for us, but not only do these worlds need time to heal, we also need the time to find our footing again in our home."

"Meridian has pushed the time table forward, Moshae," Addison responds to her left, folding her hands in front of her. She’s a little less wound up these days, not quite relaxed — Talis thinks this would cause her to implode — but with outposts running and people moving in, she’s at least more reasonable. Less cold. Less likely to yell at her in the middle of Operations at least. Talis prefers her like this, hair growing into a comfortable auburn bob around her ears, but the way she seems so confident about her next steps is bordering on stubborn, "With it effectively terraforming Heleus' vault planets faster than traditionally, we're already seeing the effects of it on Elaaden, Voeld, even Kadara and Eos are almost mimicking desert regions on Earth. Our scientists are amazed, these worlds could hold the population of Earth twice over.”

"We have the people ready to build and ready to live on these planets. While we support the Angara's efforts to rebuild their own civilization, understand that we need the space to be able to survive as well." Tann adds, standing at the end of the long table. If Talis wasn't well-acquainted with him, she would say he was intimidating. After all, he was still the sole leader of the Initiative by far, and if he really wanted, he could continue making her life a living hell should she step too far out of bounds. But considering that she is, he's not. Regardless of if he stands some feet above her, she’s long shed the internal fear of a man who could barely see past his own interests. He was too cold, too analytical for her tastes. He valued himself above others, and that grinded against her gears.

She carefully began testing the waters of working indirectly against him in the last few months. Less afraid to speak up to him, or go over his metaphorical head someone more sympathetic to get access or permission somewhere.

Her father would call it using her resources.

He doesn’t like this new fact about Talis, considering how many flickering glances he directs towards her, likely unhappy with how she leans back into her chair, arms crossed over her chest.

But what was he going to do about it? Scold her like a child?

(He'd tried this, and quickly discovered using her father or her age as an insult was unlikely to get him anywhere. She'd already beat herself up over both of those topics, it was unlikely he could do anymore damage that she hadn't done already.)

The Salarian was smart at least, she would give him that. Calculating and talented in his own right. And while he was usually bargaining for his own gain, he rarely forgot about the rest of the Initiative. Leadership could be worse, it’s one of the few things she tells herself at night so she can sleep a little easier.

The Moshae muses on this, pursing her lips, "Director, forgetting even that planets like Voeld are our homeworlds, these worlds are still incredibly fragile. Voeld itself is speeding through an ice age, causing irreversible damage to existing flora that can not reasonably keep up with development. Harvesting them for further resources in the way you say you need could cause more damage that the Jardaans' Vaults can not repair."

“We’ll never know if we don’t try, and we can’t afford to be playing it safe when projected numbers say the Nexus will reach critical capacity within the next decade. We don’t have the same space as the Citadel does, even with the construction efforts.” Tann rebuffs.

“Then that,” The Moshae stands herself, on equal footing with Tann. Her eyes narrow at him, hands planted on the conference table, “Is poor planning on your part.”

“Will Meridian be available for colonization efforts any time soon?” The pair of leaders go quiet at Vedaria’s question, and she seems almost sheepish when all eyes land on her. The few months of being one of the other Pathfinders has done her some good, at least she’s beginning to contribute to discussions now, usually with her people’s interests in mind. Though she has centuries on Talis, she still doesn’t have the same experience yet as a Pathfinder, clear through her nervous picking at her clothing. She’s not a public speaker, far more a follower than a leader, but she was eager to do her best at the job. Her commando training at least came in handy in firefights. Talis motions for her to sit up, the universal moniker to be more confident in oneself. The Asari sighs before continuing, smoothing out her uniform top and sitting straighter, “If we only have certain places to go on Eos and restricted areas on Kadara, then shouldn’t we turn to expanding the Port? Meridian is basically our next Omega, it’s for everyone.”

Ding, Talis winces at the analogy, but she gets the point. Common space with a decently high crime record, but she wasn’t wrong that population spread indicated plenty of different species took refuge there. Omega itself was also a massive space station.

“Meridian is still an unknown, there are mainly concerns about it being safe past the perimeter we’ve set up. Minor encounters with the wildlife are common, but they seem docile. Still, venturing further into the jungles isn’t wise, especially considering that we do have concerns about setting up proper interstellar travel for new Human colonists,” Kandros answers, and Talis inwardly cringes when she sees Vedaria’s shoulders fall. The asari folds in on herself while the military director continues, “Not forgetting that we have yet to scout it. We haven’t had a Pathfinder team on planet yet.”

“Do we really need a Pathfinder to clear the way? We have APEX teams for that, especially knowing that Meridian is a Gaea world anyway. All of your Human specialists and scientists, whatnot, they can keep themselves entertained for years there. We just need to venture out from the Port, set up our first real cities and—“

“And yet, do you really know anything about the Jardaan, Director? Or the Remnant?” Talis finally asks, leaning back in her own chair when she cuts the man off. His eyes narrow at her, and she takes that as an offer to continue, “It’s not like you were the one chasing down Remnant leads all this time or anything but hey, what do I know?”

“Now isn’t the time to be chasing after our new Protheans, Ryder. We can ask those questions later, when we actually have labs that aren’t glorified closets in Nexus operations.”

“If you’re planning on settling Meridian, we’re going to need to know a lot more about it before we start putting down skyscrapers.” Talis had already had her reservations about settling Meridian, mostly for the sole reason that she still had years worth of things to discover on planet. Even Peebee was still incredulous over the wealth of data left behind in the vault, and not all of it pointed towards things being as easy as they’d hoped.

This was also ignoring that the Tempest crew was just now getting back to real work, months after Meridian had been fought over, enough time for retrofits and time to heal. The way the bruise under her new, admittedly soft turtleneck, rubs against the fabric still makes her wince as she leans her elbows against the table, “My team and I are still sifting through just what was inside the main vault. We haven’t even begun to touch what ecology was affected by us traipsing there while we were chasing the Archon, and I can’t imagine the kind of disruption we might have caused to the local flora and fauna. Who’s to say we won’t cause that as well if we start building before we understand what’s going on?”

“Then what plan do you have, Ryder? I’ve accepted humanity taking Meridian for themselves, and Ryder-1 when that is suitable for life. But the people coming off the Arks still need homes. Not everyone coming out of stasis, regardless of species, wants to live on the Nexus or play in an endless lottery to live in a shoebox in one of the outposts.” The Salarian paces at the end of the table, his tone just edging on frustration enough to know that he’d probably send a long email after this meeting just so Talis knew how angry with her he was. She’d make a mental note to have SAM archive it as soon as it came in.

She doesn’t think he’s entirely wrong. The Nexus had only really been functional for a year and some months, with construction stopping and starting for various reasons. They’re likely still at only maybe fifty percent capacity, and that was still an optimistic guess. While she could be incredibly proud of her work to get outposts set up as well, if she tried to say that most of them besides Prodromos weren’t glorified towns with ready-made cardboard boxes for buildings…

She’d be one hell of a liar.

"I'm not advising for it to be forever, the plan was to give it another year just to see what we were sitting on," Talis says, holding up her hands in the universal 'back off' sign, "We still barely understand the Remnant to begin with. We don't know what extent the vaults terraform to, I mean, hell, they could swing us pretty wildly the other direction. The Moshae’s right — Voeld’s speeding ice age is already upsetting most of its natural functions. Who knows, that might kill off just about all of the natural flora and fauna on planet. Do we really need to be desettling that too?"

"I've seen our projected data from our scientists. Myself and Ryder have collaborated with them -- it is not unlike work I took on in the Milky Way to restore biodiversity on my homeworld. But this...this is on such a large scale and is incredibly delicate," Raeka nods to her left, resting her chin on her propped up hands, sweeping those present with a raised brow. That was one thing Talis was still semi-surprised about, but nonetheless grateful for. Raeka’s background in biology, "Still, I am not a woman without reason. Stalling out wave three is our best bet considering we're somehow in the middle of another one. Finishing wave two and supporting our already bloated population is better than continuing on our crash course.”

Talis agrees, shrugging her uninjured shoulder noncommittally, "Leusinia is still working on waking back up leadership properly, and Natanus is still finding people across the cluster. I say give them the resources to house their wave ones, let them start up their respective initiatives. Then we really need to cut off anymore development."

"If it's purely a numbers game, I say we keep developing the outposts. They're already functioning like Ports, we might as well give them the support to act as such." Avitus says, distant to her right., "A lot of them are either dealing with Exiles or pockets of Kett, if we're quick and organized, we could have proper towns within the year. It might get a little tight for a while on supplies until we can right supply routes, but it'd be for the best. Wake enough people to man the stations. After that, we put a pin in this and come back when the Angara are ready for more of us."

“The Krogan have already found a foothold on Elaaden, and whether we like it or not, they’re expanding. We’re expanding. As long as we don’t step on any Angaran toes, slow and steady is best.” Kesh steps in for Talis this time, gesturing gently at the Moshae, who nods to her in agreement, “I agree with the Pathfinders. We can’t be waking people in droves like we’ve been doing, it’s unsustainable. Once we finish waking wave two, we’re going to need to wait until we can start with the non-essentials.”

“Even if we slow down off projected numbers, which we have already, we can’t wait forever, a lot of humans are already coming off the procreation blockers, whether through medservices or naturally. We’ve been getting news of newborns just about every other day. Asari are following rather closely, we’ve got doctors here on the Nexus studying effects on human and Asari pregnancy here in the Heleus Cluster. I’d argue that the Turians and Salarians aren’t far behind, those families need places to go. Need places to thrive.” Addison rebukes, tapping the table with a finger. Talis makes another mental note to see how Dr. Kennedy was doing these days. Likely that was exactly who she had on her mind, and it likely didn’t help Kesh much to know her own clutch was growing up in a cluster with barely enough for anyone, “It may not be ideal, but we need these towns and cities faster than a decade from now. More than just outposts, more than just one on every habitable planet we've come across. Moshae, certainly with the Kett gone, your people are considering similar family-building moves? There shouldn’t be anything saying we can’t build alongside you.”

“Alongside is not a problem, Director Addison. The problem I have is that your Initiative outnumbers my people perhaps 3 to 1. For every settlement we build as we begin to right ourselves again from years under the Kett, you will have two more.” The Moshae answers, furrowing her brow, “I am not someone who wants to see a child of any race starve, but keeping the Cluster healthy and free of any unnecessary climate-triggering pollution is a priority of mine."

"The Initiative isn't in the business of unnecessary pollution, Moshae." That much Talis agrees with Addison on, considering the entire endeavor worked rather tirelessly in the Milky Way to keep their carbon emissions under a certain level. It meant at least they wouldn't be dragging the footprint of massive corporations with them to their new home, "We aren't asking for a lot. Not in the grand scheme of things -- if you allow us to colonize portions of Eos and Kadara, and keep our outposts as outreach communities that could grow into Ports over time, you would have little reason to worry. Our trade will benefit you just as much as it will our people."

"There is not much you could be trading that we do not already have ourselves. And there still lingers the problem of your outcasts -- who you've allied with for the time being? You can blame them for our supplies becoming more of an issue." Talis actually does shrink under the Moshae's concerned gaze when she speaks again. While Reyes has more unorthodox methods than his predecessor, it would still be remiss not to mention the damage the exiles had already done by effectively pushing the Angara back off another planet, regardless of their criminal status. That was one of the few things she was just unable to do much about herself, especially with so many facts missing when she'd landed.

Though this is one of the first times that Talis is hearing the Exiles may be directly interfering with the Angara’s supplies outside of Kadara. She scribbles down a note for herself on her datapad. Something told her that Reyes might know more than he was letting on.

"Not officially, but the exiles that have accepted help from us again shouldn't continue to be a problem on Kadara -- we have a presence there now," Kandros responds. His subvocals drop deeper, "Those causing you problems are no allies of ours."

"You bring these unknowns, and with no offense to our Pathfinder Ryder, who has done the best with what she has, your Initiative has yet to bring anything but turmoil. Uncertainty. We thank you for your efforts and the hope Ryder's team brought us as a cluster, but we implore you to step back for long enough that the Angara can thrive again -- on our own terms.” The entire conference table silences at this, the elder Angara's words punctuated with an air of finality. Addison leans back in her chair, hands folded in front of her while Tann finally takes a seat. The Moshae seems some semblance of satisfied, and collects her datapad under an arm, "If that is all, I will be on my way."

"Of course, Moshae. We appreciate the time you took to meet us here," Kesh responds in kind, tone softening some. The Moshae appreciates it, evident in the small smile that crosses her features. If there was anything Talis could depend on here, it was that Kesh was willing to do her best to make sure the Angara felt welcome. Even if that went directly against her better interests as superintendent.

The others could learn a lesson or two from her.

"And Ryder?" Talis lifts her head to look over her shoulder at the retreating woman, "I'd like to speak to you about an issue after your meeting. Find me in my office later."

"Will do." Talis nods, and the door slides closed behind her. She's itching to leave and follow her right at this very second, anything to get out of the stuffy conference room and get back to work, but the way Tann is looking at her says she's nowhere near getting to leave early. She doesn't need to be here for the rehashing and debrief of a meeting she was already in. And if he really had an issue, he could go to any of the other three pathfinders currently present to take care of it.

She sighs, crossing her legs underneath her and flickering her datapad off. Talis sharply turns to Tann, setting her jaw, "You know better than anyone we have to cut back on how many people we're waking, Tann. Are you really about to drive off our own allies out here because you can't stop building for two seconds?"

Talis thinks she sees his eye twitch, "We didn't come out here to be told that we have to bend to someone else. We've tried being diplomatic, and as time passes, we're denied at every turn it seems. We need the resources, we're just getting on our own two feet out here."

"Those resources belong to the Angara. Your plans are outdated. This isn't the Milky Way."

"That's the exact reason we need to continue on course. We've been relying on stores from the Milky Way since the Nexus uprising." Addison answers, her response cold, "The colonies are just now able to begin producing useful and valuable materials, but we have no economy. The Angara do, but trade agreements are slow to come in. Credits are good on the Nexus and not for much else other than whatever it is that the Vortex sells. People need a sense of normalcy, and normalcy isn't going to come if we have to wait longer and longer on our cities."

"We're not going to get normalcy, we're in a completely new galaxy, Director," Talis bites back, frustrated. Normalcy would’ve been her father being here instead of her, normalcy likely would’ve been settling Habitat 7, normalcy would’ve likely been them not having to have dealt with the Kett or Angara at all. And yet here they were, "We're guests here right now. If we weren't prepared to not be the first ones here, if we weren't prepared to run into roadblocks, run into problems with supply chains, even have problems with settling completely new ecosystems, then what was it all for, Addison?"

The woman across from her presses her lips into a thin line, not meeting her eyes. She knew Addison still had some lingering guilt over the Nexus uprising, still had problems trying to rationalize all of her choices away and coming to terms with the ones she had already made. Talis gestures across the table, "What did we lose so many of our Krogan citizens for, huh? Every one of us at this table risked our lives to get here to Andromeda, and every one of us risked everything to beat out the Archon. And we didn't just do that for ourselves -- we did it for the cluster. And that cluster includes the Angara, whether you all like it or not."

"Those plans are drenched in blood," Raeka adds, "As soon as every Ark and the Nexus hit the Scourge, we weren't working on six hundred year old plans anymore."

"We aren't coming from a place of malice, Ryder," Kesh's softer tone acts as a counterbalance to the rest of leadership, "I understand better than anyone what it feels like to have someone else come in on your home uninvited. That's why I would be willing to slow production, slow waking waves until the Angara are ready for us. But --"

"There will always be people depending on us to feed and home them. Not just our people on the Nexus, but everyone you opened up homes to across the cluster. Whether it harms relations for now or not, we can't leave those settlers out to dry. We cannot have another uprising on the Nexus, or add to the Exiles numbers because we have unsatisfied citizens," Tann's expression hardens, and Kesh visibly winces at this when he interrupts her, "We'll continue forward with a modified plan that will hopefully meet the Moshae's request for it to be less resource-intensive, but we will have to shoulder the outward facing consequences until she allows us into more of the cluster."

Consequences. Talis relaxes marginally, that she could deal with. They didn't need to be fighting a battle on multiple fronts anymore. Dealing with angry citizens wasn't exactly in her job description, but what was anymore? Earning the Angara's trust and respect was priority number one for now. If that meant dealing out rations to every settlement for a few months, then so be it. They had enough to make it happen — and they really needed to make it happen.

"Sounds like that's a meeting adjourned then. Rix, I need you in APEX operations later this afternoon. Raeka, same with you, we need to discuss your Pathfinder team assignments." Kandros is already standing from his seat, making a beeline for the door. She could always rely on the Turian to usually have good interests in mind, and also keep himself out of most arguments the best he could. She'd have to check in with him later as well, see what they could do about getting scout teams out into the undiscovered regions of Meridian.

The other leaders file out of the room as quietly and disgruntled as they'd come in earlier. Kesh briefly puts a hand on her shoulder, squeezing as she walks by. She appreciates the vote of confidence almost, knowing the Krogan was doing her best to support the Initiative and keep from making waves. She'd have to speak with the superintendent as well about supply chain issues to Voeld and Kadara soon. She hadn't thought it was so dire until she'd actually looked over reports from herself and Addison. She hadn't exactly turned a blind eye, but she wouldn't lie and say it hadn't slipped her mind in between getting out of the medbay and working on smaller projects.

Rations indeed.

With the room empty, every pathfinder next to her settles back into their chairs. Leadership seemed to always activate the professional in all of them, but outside of official meetings, it was significantly more casual. Various expressions of relaxing or stretching spread across them as Vederia gets up to lean her forearms on the top of her chair. She turns to Talis, scrunching her face up into an expression of distaste, worry flowing underneath it, "Do you really think it's such a good idea to work against leadership so much, Ryder? They don't exactly seem happy with you right now."

"They're less mad at me, and more mad at the fact they're not getting what they want right now. I’m just happening to stand in the way, because a lot of the little things matter, and I don’t want them bulldozing over the Angara either," She answers, flickering her datapad on to search in her documents from this quarter's report. She sucks her teeth, almost all in the red. Not that it deviated much from last quarter, but still not great news, "I'm not sure which is worse for me."

"Still...a lot of people are counting on us to do -- something. They're not wrong that waiting much longer will probably cause us more unrest. We're supposed to be pathfinding, and right now we're not doing anything useful," Vedaria remarks, "We came off the arks and then now we're still waiting. They don’t really have crops or food yet, everything is flash-frozen from the Milky Way. Nothing’s stable yet. I mean, what about you, Raeka? A lot of your people are still in stasis, and so are mine. The people that are out are getting restless about their families."

Raeka hums as a response, opening her omni-tool to type away on her forearm. Her dark eyes give little away when she turns to the Asari, "That's part of being a pathfinder, Damali. Part of being part of any leadership. You were a commando once, sometimes you have to make the hard decisions to stop from causing more little fires everywhere else. We wake more people, we set fires. We wait, we’re able to work on putting out a few through trade contracts with the Angara."

"Not like life out here is much better. Besides the glitz and glamour of being in Andromeda, we don’t exactly have a lot to offer right now for people waking up," Avitus's mandibles flare gently at the comment, flexing his fingers out in front of him, "We can't solve one problem without creating more. But leadership think it's worth creating more problems to get rid of the main one right now. Addison's right, more people means a better functioning economy for everyone."

“The economy means nothing if we can’t build anywhere for them to live.” Raeka says.

"And the Moshae's in our way right now," Vedaria gestures with her hands. Her expression dulls before she raises a brow, "Why doesn't she want us on Voeld anyway? Seems like it being as freezing as it is, they'd want to be anywhere but."

"Well, most if not all the worlds originally belonged to the Angara. It's why we're not settling Havarl or Aya -- those are their homeworlds. Voeld was a massive colony before the scourge hit it. They're still finding artifacts there from centuries ago," Talis stands from her own chair, groaning as she rolls her shoulder. It cracks audibly, "So was Kadara, but that and Elaaden were settled before we woke up. The Moshae already doesn't want us on Kadara but she's giving us special privilege there because they need help clearing out the Exiles."

Vedaria considers this, "So we have what, three worlds and the asteroid field to colonize freely? In theory it's not so bad, but the fact those worlds only really have small areas where the vaults have cleared up their respective problems..."

"It's probably closer to one world. Eos is the only world a lot of us can survive on, and we only really have so much built out there already. Whenever we adapt to whatever the Krogan have going on, we earn another planet," The sarcastic tone of the Turian at least makes her chuckle while he fiddles with the collar of his uniform. His smile is dim but genuine, knocking Vedaria on the shoulder gently, "Still, we can't moan and whine like everyone else is. Best thing we can do is handle the problems the Moshae mentioned. Clearing out the more violent exiles might earn us some more land."

"I'm assembling a smaller pathfinder team myself, I'm planning to head out and see what I can do about them. I would like your help, Ryder," Raeka nods to her, pushing herself away from the conference table and standing. She collects her things methodically, swinging her back over her shoulder, "You seem to know a good deal about the Charlatan. If you can get him talking, it might help us map the movements of the Exiles not allied with him."

Talis nods, "Mayor Tate's probably going to need help on that front. Ditaeon could use the support, I'll see about his monthly report soon."

"That'd be best," Raeka looks past Talis, "Rix, has Kandros said anything on what the timeline of getting APEX teams out onto Meridian is looking like?"

"All I've heard is soon. Think a lot of teams have been assigned out to Elaaden or helping with the Roekaar...or still dealing with pockets of Kett everywhere. We're just too thin to spare anyone right now." He answers, making similar moves to pack up his own materials, "With Ryder's team already out and completing operations, it wasn't exactly priority number one to get my Pathfinder team up and operational. Especially with my ark scattered out into spirits knows where."

"Then you and Damali should see about your respective arks waking your teams, or creating new ones. Surely you both can get a foothold on discovering what Meridian has in store for us," Her towering figure is commanding enough that all Talis can do is nod in response, "I'll let you know when I have something to go on Ryder."

"Same here."

And with that, the conference room is left empty. Vedaria shuffles out last, the door sliding closed behind her before Talis checks her omni-tools messaging system, taking a sip from her cold coffee. Bitter.

Three from her brother, asking after her for their lunch appointment tomorrow. She’d almost forgotten, having to see if Harry would finally clear him for active duty with the Pathfinder team before the Tempest took off again. Updates from Gil and Kallo on the Tempest retrofits. It seems neither of them were happy to be having others in the ships engines -- she's glad they can relate on something. A few from Vetra on procuring supplies for the crew, at that she shoots back a message to see if she could find any Piattos with some of the new defrosted shipments. Peebee has forwarded quite a few new documents on findings from Meridian. She saves those into her personal drive to read later in the evening. The few paragraphs she skims over look terribly interesting, something she’ll probably stay up later than is healthy poring over.

A few from Jaal, one correcting himself once he remembered she was in a meeting for the afternoon. She smiles at the soft greetings. It wasn’t enough to completely balm over her struggles from her earlier conversations, but it was nice to remember someone was in her corner.

Turning towards the massive bay window displaying the galaxy beyond her, Talis sighs. Distant stars twinkle back at her, and the long unfinished arms of the Nexus great her like a cold hello. With all the work she had done, it still felt like she was taking her first bumbling steps into Andromeda. And yet, they were more than a year and a half in. One problem had been fixed, but more were on the horizon. These were the ones she wasn’t trained for. She wasn’t trained to fix supply issues that couldn’t be ended with an operation out to a distant station. She wasn’t trained to play diplomat, and certainly wasn’t trained to deal with the politics of situations either. But now she had to, and she’s waffling over them.

Talis hesitates, wondering what her father would’ve done. Then, wondering what her brilliant mother would have done. She comes up empty. Unsure. All she knows is that they would’ve done a better job than her.

Turning over her shoulder, she runs a hand through her hair as she leaves the council chambers. They still had a long way to go.

[thetrashbagswasteland]

Emoji fanfic asks: 🤡 👀 💞✨

🤡 What's a line, scene, or exchange you've written that made you laugh?

This exchange from one of the darkest points in Beyond Familiar Stars is just - it always makes me laugh to think about it because it's so incongruous and yet fitting for the moment.

“Yes, kid, I’ll be careful as I saunter into a camp full of cannibals.” Avitus tried not to let it sound as horrifying as it actually was. “It’ll be fine, I’m sure they’ll invite me for tea and snacks whilst we talk this out and then all skip our way back to the Nexus.” “I would not suggest eating the snacks.” The angara hefted the corpse onto his back before peering at him and completing, utterly deadpan. “They contain people.” Real fucking comedian.

👀 Tell me about an up and coming wip please!

Hmmm I have several I cannot talk about but... I don't get to talk about Here We Go Again much! It was spurred by wanting to put down a pre-Andromeda BFS companion piece wherein we see Macen and Avitus get to work together for the first time ever. A request by Rems sees Avitus throwing himself back into the field whilst Macen trails behind - both worried about his boyfriend and desperately curious about what this short adventure to Omega will teach him about him. In a way, it's Macen evaluating if they can work together successfully (which isn't a given even if they're in love!) and if they should do so prior to broaching the topic of Andromeda to Avitus.

💞 Who's your comfort character?

This may come as a real shock to you but... Avitus Rix 😂 He's just so nice to beat up when I'm feeling a bit down!

✨ Give you and your writing a compliment. Go on now. You know you deserve it. 😉 I've improved so much as a writer since this time last year and I feel it really shows in my confidence exploring themes and developing character voice both in POV and dialogue. It's a remarkable difference to compare the first few chapters of Project Sunseeker to the last few things I've put up.

[the-rogue-mockingjay]

13, 26, and 34 for brynja/jaal!!

HMGHMGHM OKAY SO I OVERTHOUGHT THIS BY A MILE but it was fun, I hope reading it is fun 😂😂😂

13. Which one steals the other's clothing?

Since they're Major Height Difference (Jaal is like 6 foot something iirc, maybe around 6'3" and Brynja is 5'2" on a good day) obviously there's not a whole lot that's feasible to steal. Not to mention wtf is angaran clothing like HOW does it work?? I can't figure out the structure at ALL 😤 But I have seen some people draw Jaal with a more casual Initiative-type uniform in addition to his default outfit, so in that case Brynja would steal the shirts (and look absolutely silly because she has maybe half his shoulder width and again, she is TINY). If he's going to steal anything from her it's probably going to be one of her bazillion necklaces just to have it in his pocket when they're separated for a while (they ain't codependent but they're rarely separated since they work so closely together; so when they are, they're gonna be really excited to see each other again and talk about what they were up to, and I just kinda think Jaal would like to have some piece of her with him in the meantime).

26. How do they comfort each other?

This one is pretty simple in comparison! Touch. And words. They keep each other grounded and focused or just offer moral support with small touches, often a hand on the shoulder or arm. Jaal in particular will stand very close to Brynja when things are tense, and with anyone else that'd stress her more, but his presence comforts her greatly. She'll do the same for him- angara are used to and prefer to kind of be in each other's space, and it takes a bit of adjustment on her part, but she'll stay close to him, too.

As far as words go, Jaal's an eloquent man. Brynja's words don't have half the elegance his do, but she's honest and genuine, and that's enough. And let me just say that "Right behind you" is one of the most reassuring lines in the game no matter which squadmate is saying it 🥹

34. Do they give each other nicknames?

Not really? They tend to just use their actual names or pet names. Jaal calls her "darling one" and she calls him "love" more often than not. If she's teasing, she'll use his last name, Darav. On missions and in the field, he sticks to using her last name with an occasional "Pathfinder" thrown in, but off the clock (or when things go seriously wrong) he uses her first name. Basically nobody else calls her Brynja as her family calls her Brin and literally everyone else prefers Ryder, so the whole first name is almost a nickname in and of itself.

[suguru-getos]

Hi I hope you’re having a cute weekend I just wanted to ask, what’s the dish on your post? Sorry if it seems triggering/bothersome, have a nice day I love how you write Gojo

hi hi hi 🩵🩵 i’m having a great weekend thank you <33 i hope ur also having an amazing day so far !! it’s not a bother at all :DD it’s good ol’ chicken angara (really spicy 🌶️) and some naan (garlic and chilli) -> basically indian 🇮🇳 food ‼️ along with for drinks mine’s just lemon iced tea (without alcohol and without sugar) ^^

thank you for liking my gojo he’s my babygirl 😔🩵

[silverbolt-roleplays-for-real]

When you want to buy Andromeda because the Angara are beautiful people but then you see all the bad reviews for it and how everyone hated it and so it's five dollars and you get it and it's actually great? Sure, there's a couple of glitches, but nothing that prevented gameplay for me like Dragon Age 4 has. I seriously don't see why everyone's so upset over it. And I really love that for the first time in my life, the dialogue options are things I would actually say.