#krogan-mercenary

[sol-consort]

Do you see Wrex and shepard together? Because I low-key think they have like sexual chemistry

OH BOY DO I!

It starts as enemies to firends to lovers, but then quickly spirals into forbidden love territory once he acquires the throne.

Remember that first meeting scene in ME1?

When the Citadel C-sec were too intimidated by Wrex to even dare and hold him down? The krogan assumes all humans tend to cower in front of someone his size.

How Shepard literally marches in there, calls him by his first name, then offers to shake his hand so casually? Full of confidence and poise? Not afraid to meet his eyes.

Yeah, that scene? Every single pixel is flooded with sexual and romantic tension.

Both Paragon and Renegade Shepard have the best chemistry with Wrex full stop.

The scene after it where Wrex deliberately disobeys Paragon Shep command to spare this guy's life, shooting him in the head because "he had a contract" Testing the limit to what this human allows him to get away with, pushing boundaries.

How Shep immediately snaps at him, addressing him down as a commander still despite him disrespecting your authority.

Showing him that this isn't the way things work around here, you won't tolerate this act from him a second time. He already used his one chance, and he better be on his best behaviour going forward.

Genuinely catching Wrex off-guard, he never expected the humans to have barks, let alone the power to follow it with bite. A part of him is even a little ashamed of his action, but he'd rather die than apologise to a human he just met, so he just gives a vague promise not to do it again.

Which might seem small, but to a contractual killer krogan who never trusted a single soul ever since he left his planet young, it's so much more.

The first building blocks to the long bridge of trust being established between them was set by Wrex.

And if you finish his target alone without bringing him along, what does Wrex do? He pays you. He hands you what he views as your rightful share for aiding with his job.

It's established early on that Wrex has honour, he has pride and more self-awareness that anyone would ever expect of him. He keeps his temper in control, is more cunning and logical than people expect of a "krogan"

How he doesn't hesitate to leave a situation when something feels off, his intuition and gut feeling had saved his life countless times.

-

You keep trying to have small talks with him whenever you come down to the dock of your ship, and he just doesn't understand why.

What are your intentions? Is it just curiosity from him being the first Korgan you see? Or are you just digging for information out of mistrust, doubting his abilities as a capable mercenary.

He always hated the employers who kept peering over his shoulders, poking their nose into things that do not concer them.

The job you assigned him will get done, stop bothering him.

In fact, that's why he shares the story about his previous employers. The various times he was ruthless just to get a job done, even when he had to face a friend in combat. Painting himself as a hardened soul.

...so why are you looking at him like that?

See? He has no heart, in fact, despite the three pumping in his chest. So are you convinced yet?

Yes, he is the epitome of the big, strong scary Korgan. The same one all the other species warned you so much about.

Instead of being impressed, intimidated, or both. You look at him with concern, as if he's a bird with broken wings that fell into your palm.

You inquire about his homeplanet.

The usual bitterness that threaten to come out in a pile upwards his throat each time he retells this story...is less severe this time around. It's easier to get out, to go more into details around you.

You never interrupt him, you let him talk. Thoughtfully listening, only speaking when it's your turn.

He doesn't know what to say.

By the end, you...apologise.

For someone to finally acknowledge the wrongs that have been done against his own kind, the injustice the krogans continue to suffer to this day.

A salarian would've gone into a long tangent about why it was a necessary evil, an asari would've offered faux pity before reminding him of the shiny statue in the citadel as if that makes up for the billions of krogan stillborns every year. A turian would've acted as this was a righteous punishment, that krogans should never be trusted until they prove they're capable of civility.

But you, human...Shepard, apologised.

Next time you stop by, he doesn't know why he even brings up the family crest. The rotten armour has been buzzing at the back of his mind like an annoying fly.

Wrex just blurted it out, his tongue loose around you for some reason, something he noticed but was still in denial about–either way, you make a promise to retrieve it.

He snorts.

Okay, he'll believe it when he sees it, Shep.

...

..

.

Standing there in front of the platinum wall locker, Wrex claws tremble as he opens the door. The urge to dislodge the thing from its hinges gnaws at the back of his mind, but he resists it. He knows better than to risk damaging the container of what's supposed to be a centuries old piece of armour.

He can't fucking believe his eyes.

It's there, in his hand. As ugly and vile smelling as he imagined.

And you by his side, you pawny little human who invaded this base like a storm, what a deadly force you are.

For the first time in decades, Wrex is hopeful again. Shepard reignited the flame of determination that always were inside him, the same snuffed out so cruelly by his father that forsaken day.

-

He followed you to Virmire, fully ready to risk his life for your cause. Not out of some obligation or contractual work, but because he believed in it, he believed in you, commander.

So why can't you extend him the same courtesy? Why must you oppose him when a cure is practically at the tip of his fingers?

It pains him as he raises the gun, the same sting he felt the day he drove the knife into his father's chest, the same despair wrangling his heart the day he put a bullet through his only friend's skull.

You expressed your sympathy for the tragedy of his people, didn't you? Or was it just a game of pretend to gain his trust?

So why can't you understand!

You of all people! He thought you would understand better than anyone.

But he doesn't pull the trigger.

You raise your gun, both of you know it won't do shit against him. A krogan shell can endure many bullets before any real damage is done, your squishy skin however? Yeah, not so much so.

No. The gun was akin to a flare instead. Gives a good reason for your crew to come running to your aid, for the salarian special unit to herald a shower of bullets upon him under the guise of "defending the human soldiers"

It will spell his doom in a much more painful way than the simple bullet he planned to plant directly into your heart ever could've.

The singular delicate human heart, how small it must be inside your chest. Yet this one fragile organ infected his three sturdy hearts with its determination.

How you risked your one heart for him that day you helped him retrieve his family crest.

Wrex...

is tried.

Beyond anything, he is so tried and sick of constantly fighting all the time.

He lowers his gun.

Yet the soldiers around you don't lower theirs until you do.

He tries not to let it get under his skin.

He fails.

Swallowing his pride, Wrex recollects the remains of his dignity. He must be in control of his emotions, never show too much fury, otherwise the world will weaponise it against him, claiming this is exactly why krogans don't deserve to join the rest of the galaxy yet.

They can choke on his dick.

-

There are just so many other scenes! I can go on forever.

The biggest one of them all, Grunt and how his whole mission could be interpreted as the best romance subplot between Wrex and Shepard.

Shep finds a Krogan teen who's going through puberty and what's your next course of action? Take him to his homeplanet and visit your ex the Krogan you may or may not have had a situationship with, the one you inspired to change his entire life, to go make a difference in the world.

Shep is Wrex's biggest muse, a nymph from the woods that flipped his world upside down. More deadly and dangerous than all the other warriors he has ever seen, as determined and inspiring as the greatest leaders. The krogan equivalent of a warrior angel.

And what does he do when this Valkyrie whom he thought had died walks back into his life so casually?

He is absolutely rejoiced. Couldn't give less of a shit about Cerberus or anything. Shepard is still Shepard, and you're here, alive, well, in front of him. As gorgeous as the day he lost you.

Not only that, but you came with a child. And you're asking him for guidance and help on raising him? Shepard, you shouldn't toy with a man's heart this much. Otherwise, he'll get the wrong impression.

Wrex practically treats Grunt as his own son and adopts him by the end of the mission. Not only that, but there is a big chance the "mating request" sent in for Shepard afterwards was actually Wrex's.

You get to play family for a day. Your son is just as powerful as you are. Wrex gets a glimpse of what it would've been like to raise him by your side, the life he could've had with Shepard.

But he cannot, he has obligations, ones he actually likes this time around. The krogans need a leader, the planet needs restoration. It's time to take responsibility for the state of his homeworld and not just chalk it up to "how krogans always were" Because that's simply not true.

The women remember it, their art, history, and beautiful complex culture. The men have gone senile with the war, Wrex needs to beat some sense into them. He'll drag all the clans with him to a better life whether they like it or not

And part of him...well. He knows you're the one he wants most, but is he the one you really want? Everyone in your crew is already drooling over you, Wrex is more dignified than to be just another obnoxious suiter chasing after you.

Not to mention, it's part of his job to get married to a krogan so the clans get another leader. You're a human, it will never work out. You have your own life, your own obligations and mission to save the galaxy.

It makes his dream to restore his planet pale in comparison, but Wrex isn't so fragile in his security that he'd get intimidated by that. If anything, it makes him yearn for you even more, admire you whole, impressed by your every achievements that outweigh his, rather than trying to dampen your blinding brightness.

Maybe, in the–hopefully near–future, your children and his can play together on this very same land. But instead of rubble, it will be grassy fields, you and Wrex taking a stroll in the gardens nearby while watching over both of your kids.

And for a moment, Wrex can close his eyes and pretend the ring pressing gainst his skin as he holds your hand, is a one that he gave you.

Would it be Wrex Shepard or would you prefer the Urdnot lastname?

Don't tell him.

He'd rather dream.

He earned it, after all that he sacrificed and everything gave in order to restore the glory to his people, he earned the right to dream.

[persephoneggsy]

so i did this a while back, finally remembered it, and now i'm posting it

Mass Effect x Dragon Age AU

I did one of these already, sort of, for ME: Andromeda, but this one is set in the Milky Way.

Elaborations below:

Merrill is a quarian who was exiled from the Migrant Fleet. She's looking for a way not to destroy the geth, but to bring them back under quarian control, thinking they're too valuable a resource to just get rid of. Unfortunately, this made many quarians view her as dangerous, and she was exiled for the crime of experimental geth research. Making Merrill a quarian was the first choice I did for this AU, I think it fits really well.

Aveline is an asari. I'd considered krogan or turian, or simply keeping her human, but in the end I went with asari mostly because Aveline always struck me as condescending in the same way many asari are, lol. She's a commando who later moved to the Citadel to join C-SEC.

Isabela is a turian. She's a barefaced turian, meaning she has no association to a colony. Instead of following the typical turian tradition of proudly serving in the Hierarchy's military, Isabela instead ran off to become a space pirate, specializing in smuggling. She frequents the bars around Omega and has earned herself a fearsome reputation among the mercenaries.

Bethany remains a human; she grew up on a colony world with her siblings, and had a relatively peaceful childhood, despite the Alliance constantly badgering her parents to send her and her older sister to their biotic training program.

Marian, also a human, eventually ran away from home to become a mercenary. She resented her father for forbidding her and her siblings from joining the Alliance - not because she was particularly patriotic, but she felt like her father's grudge against the Alliance prevented her and her siblings from receiving the best training possible. Her powerful biotics made her both an asset and a target, and she soon caught the eye of a certain Council Spectre...

Fenris is a drell. He was raised under the Compact, an agreement between the drell and the hanar, and his purpose was to become a bodyguard... And then his training group was attacked by batarian slavers and he was taken captive. For many years, Fenris suffered under the batarians' rule, until he finally managed to escape. Unwilling to return home, he instead roams the galaxy, taking out as many batarian slaving operations as he can.

Anders is a human who escaped from a biotic testing facility run by Cerberus. Though this left him with a grudge against Cerberus, he also hates the Alliance, whom he sees as no better and will also use biotic children as weapons. He dreams of establishing a safe haven for biotics, and is willing to go to increasingly drastic measures to see that dream become a reality.

Varric is a volus. Unlike his business-minded brother, Varric does not spend his days negotiating trade agreements or doing finance consultations. Spending his days at the Afterlife bar on Omega, he's an information broker, and a pretty damn good one at that. With his specially crafted weapon Bianca, he's not too bad in a fight, either.

Carver, much like his older sister, left home to seek out his own path, and ended up joining the Alliance against his parents' wishes. He thrived in the military, quickly climbing the ranks due to his strength and competency. He's being primed for N7 training under the wathcful eye of Spectre Sebastian Vael.

Sebastian is a human, and a Council Spectre (I'm imagining this AU as a sort of nebulous period where humanity isn't as looked down upon as they were at the start of ME1, and there are a fair number of human Spectres running around). A wild child in his youth, his parents sent him to the Alliance to straighten him out, and to their relief, it worked like a charm. He specializes in covert missions and favors sniper rifles and tech powers.

[lumi-klovstad-games]

The moment you take Zaeed to Tuchanka after Grunt's coming of age, he actually disappears on the sly.

After some time of trying to track down his whereabouts, you discover that not only did he visit every single Krogan armory within a hundred miles at a speed that could only be described as "Santa Clausian", but within a few short hours, the story of how he survived his betrayal by Vido Santiago has already spread among the the "teenage" Krogan, who have started collectively referring to themselves as "Clan Zaeed" and have also pronounced the Angriest Mercenary In The Terminus Systems an "honorary Krogan" and "Clan Chief".

Wrex could put a stop to it and acknowledges that he probably should, but he's too busy laughing and shouting "WHERE'S THE LIE?" before giving Zaeed a commemorative bottle of Ryncol. Zaeed will later use said Ryncol to maintain his guns after he discovers that Tuchanka-made Moonshine-style Ryncol actually cleans carbon fouling and other gunk out of guns like NOTHING ELSE. For his part, Grunt insists that was Ryncol's original purpose, and nobody is sure if he's trolling or not.

Over a thousand years later, it is generally agreed by all Krogan that Zaeed Massani never actually died, per se, but rather just angrily climbed a ladder into the next world so he could beat the crap out of that one too, and his birth and death days are well-respected Krogan holidays, just like Shepard's.

[msunitedstatesjames]

A few years ago, I played through the Dragon Age games. Now I'm playing through Mass Effect, and I find it kind of hilarious that in both DA2 and ME2 Bioware was like, "Okay, these games are pretty combat heavy, so we've got to figure out who the protagonists are going to be fighting the whole game." And in both games, they were like, "How about various gangs, each with a gimmick, whose members will ceaselessly throw themselves into the deadly path of the protagonist?"

I've written about this before for DA2, but it's just as funny in ME2.

You've gotta imagine the conversations happening in the mercenary gang headquarters throughout the events of this game. The leaders have gotta be like, "Okay, why are our members dropping like flies all of the sudden?" And then they get a little intel and they're like, "Oh."

So they gather their crews around and they're like, "So guys, we just want to let you know to keep an eye out on any jobs coming up because we've been taking some hits."

And the crew members are like, "Okay, who are we looking out for?"

And the leaders go, "Well, first of all, Commander Shepard. You know that human who saved the Citadel from the Geth and that rogue Spectre a couple of years ago?"

And one of the dudes is like, "I heard it was actually a Reaper she defeated."

And the rest of the crew laugh at that crazy conspiracy theory and are like, "One human? Big deal."

And the leaders are like, "Well...not exactly. She tends to run with a crew."

And then the leaders have to tell them about Shepard's crew, consisting of:

Some human lady who always wears a hood (Kasumi is actually good at her job, so I assume they wouldn't have reliable intel on her)

A Quarian tech expert

A former Alliance marine who survived Eden Prime and the attack of the Citadel

A lady who's pretty much a clone designed to be physically and mentally perfect

A Salarian who helped redesign the genophage and was also a member of the Special Forces

The galaxy's top bounty hunter and also co-founder of the Blue Suns

Some Drell dude who may or may not be the most successful assassin in the galaxy

A biotic prodigy who has broken out of more than one high security containment facility

Weirdly, another clone designed to be physically and mentally perfect, but this time they're a Krogan

An Asari Justicar (or her even more murderous progeny)

A Geth who can talk, apparently

And a Turian who looks like, sounds like, and shoots exactly like that guy Archangel, who took out large swaths of merc crews almost singlehandedly before mysteriously disappearing (or dying?) on Omega

And at first the crew isn't that impressed. They're like, "Sounds like a bunch of weaklings to me." And then somewhere around Zaeed they start to be like, "Okay, we'll keep a lookout." And then somewhere around like Samara they start to be like, "Well, shit." And then they get to Garrus and they're like, "Please don't let it be that asshole again."

And the merc Commanders are like, "Good luck to you guys. Make sure to wear a helmet or you might be getting your head crushed through some mixture of pure biotic force, a Krogan bodyslam, and/or a headshot from the guy who's definitely not Archangel!"

And then after the guys leave the Commander thinks to himself, "I'm glad I made it up through the ranks before all this bullshit."

[boinkingbattlemechs]

Caesar

Originally a reverse engineered version of the Capellan Confederation's Cataphract intended to mask development of the Federated Commonwealth's fearsome Axman, the Caesar would turn out to be a good but not great BattleMech in its own right.

Supposedly the sole design intended to come out of Johnston Industries' then-new 'Mech lines on New Syrtis, the Caesar received notable public attention in an attempt to distract from development of the Axman. The finished 'Mech surprisingly enough proved to be a high-quality design itself. Though never attracting great sales, the Caesar would prove to be relatively popular in the Capellan March, among Lyran units on the Clan front, and with both FedCom-employed mercenaries and the Com Guards. Johnston attempted to redress its mediocre sales in the wake of the FedCom Civil War, developing two new variants intended to focus specifically on the qualities desired by the Lyran Alliance and Federated Suns. The resulting upswing in sales saw the Caesar in increasing use among those opposing the Word of Blake during the Jihad, with the LAAF in particular adopting the design almost as a means of honoring the assassinated Caesar Steiner.

The Caesar was built to do as much damage to an enemy at as great a stand-off range as possible. The 'Mech therefore carries primarily long-ranged armament. The 'Mech also uses an 280-rated XL engine and sixteen double heat sinks, both of which save significant amounts of weight, in order to carry as many weapons and as much armor as possible. The 'Mech utilizes CASE to protect against ammunition explosions should an enemy be able to breach the ten and a half tons of armor that protect it.

The primary long-ranged weapon on the Caesar is a Poland Main Model A Gauss rifle that can shear off just under a ton of armor with each shot, supplied with two tons of reloads. This is backed up at long ranges by a Johnston High Speed ER PPC, which can do two-thirds of the damage of the Gauss rifle but is not dependent on limited ammunition. For close-range engagements, the Caesar carries four Sutel Precision Line medium pulse lasers, two of which are rear-mounted, allowing it to put up a crippling defense against any enemies that can get close to the 'Mech. The large volume of heat sinks carried ensure the Caesar can fire all its weapons while hardly breaking a sweat, making it a popular choice for missions in areas of extremely high temperatures.

(This 'Mech is interrupting the normal order on suggestion of @a-krogan-skald-and-bearsark, whi wanted to see how the Caesar would fare versus the Cataphract)

[kewwie-pie]

IM BACK AGAIN WITH MORE RU (more ish is coming next time I promise 🥺) at the bottom of the post i included some lore

Ru in her Formal and Party/Alt casual outfit

Baby Rukana and her Mother Orkah

Ish studying (she dropped out of college)

Ru's full name is Jorgal Rukana

Orkah was practically a grandma without any grandchildren when she had Ru

when she was a child her mother was very overprotective, which in turn caused Ru to be very sickly and weak (krogan babies are MADE for eating dirt and falling off of high places)

when Orkah became sick Ru got some form of independence

Ru has only given birth once, and that was to a stillbirth. Shortly after that, she tried to let a threshermaw bring an end to her life but survived

She got nursed back to health by a shaman who was returning home after a failed rite

She headbutted him for suggesting she go back to her clan

Once fully healed, she went straight to the citadel where she took on the identity of Jorgal Rudh

The citadel wasn't working out so she what any krogan would do and started doing mercenary work on Omega

Later on, she joined an all female mercenary group called 'the brutalists'

[pancoleon]

I forgot how comical the start of Mass Effect is. Shepard is sent off to find clues of Saren being evil and immediately starts recruiting companions. Ambassador Udina sents you off like 5 minutes ago to find evidence with 2 human companions, and then upon your return the 2 human companions are nowhere to be seen as they have been replaced by a Turian C-SEC officer and a Krogan mercenary, while Shepard confidently goes "This Quarian has the info we need :)"

[jaskierx]

in the same vein, i have also pondered an ofmd mass effect au, and had the thought that stede should absolutely be a turian. the most un-turian turian anyone's ever seen and it absolutely fascinates ed (who is a human i think still.)

man that would work so well

turian stede who absolutely does not fit in with any aspect of turian society but comes from a relatively high up family and lives in utter fear of a bunch of important people dying at once and accidentally ending up being the primarch

stealing a military ship in the middle of the night (and by stealing i mean paying someone a very large sum of credits to look the other way. he is not sneaky) that he doesn't even know how to fly properly but somehow found time to equip with a library and a bathtub. and recruiting a ragtag bunch of misfits on the citadel to help him keep the thing in the air

ed is a very terrifying and very bored merc leader, no real changes there, except one day izzy's like 'who the fuck is doing poorly executed barrel rolls through our airspace in a turian ship'

nigel and chauncey are in the alliance navy in whatever anti-mercenary division they've got going on. they're both salty they never got accepted on the n7 programme btw

also wee john is a krogan

[acradelius]

Request incoming, hope this is okay! Could I ask for something with Wrex and an AFAB human reader with scenario prompts 3. 34, and 40? I’m so soft for this grumpy Krogan and want him to have the love he rightfully deserves. Thank you so much! ❤️

"It's Always Been You"

Fandom: Mass Effect (Series)

Pairing: Urdnot Wrex ("Krogan Battlemaster") x AFAB! Reader

Rating: Lime [🟢] - (Equivalent to PG-13)

Prompt(s): #3 - "You know I have feelings for you." / #34 - "It's always been you." / #40 - "I thought you didn't want me."

Warnings/Mention Ofs: Mass Effect - Shepard Saves Wrex During Virmire: Assault Mission, Therefore Story Takes Place During Mass Effect 2 After Shepard Recruits Grunt And Reader, Human! AFAB! Engineer! Reader, Reader Is Mentioned As Biologically/Anatomy Female, They/Them Pronouns Are Used For Reader Though, Mentions of Shepard's Death, Prior History Mentioned Between Wrex And Reader But Not In Full Detailing, Extraterrestrial Interspecies Relationship, Alien x Human In General, Krogan x Human, Mention of Human x Drell (Not Reader), Mention of Human x Android (Not Reader Either) Not Your Average Love Confession, Mention Of The Word Pussy - Meant In A Sexual Way (Not Reader), Wrex's Jealousy Towards Garrus's Behavior Towards Reader If You Squint, Mention Of The Words Dick And Cock - (Not Necessarily In A Sexual Way), Open Ending

Word Count: 2,863 Words

Taglist: @masterofpuns

The sudden, unexpected death of Commander Shepard was definitely an unfortunate, despairing tragedy, especially for those who worked alongside the commander upon the infamous SSV Normandy. It had been such a devastating loss, especially with the conflict amongst the crew and those that considered themselves close to Shepard of what should be done or what should be said next. While some wanted to investigate further into the death, moreso Joker since he had been on the Normandy whenever having been attacked by the unknown vessel, and then there was some who figured that despite how upsetting the event might be, it just so happens to be a part of life, and that includes losing people that you come to care about. Slowly, but surely, the crew had begun to disperse, each going their own separate ways to continue living their own lives.

Mostly everyone was reassigned to some different crew or some sort of mission. 

Others, such as Garrus, seemingly had disappeared to who knows where to go to do who knows what. 

Then, there was him. 

“Where are you planning on going now? Since we’ve lost Shepard.. and now the whole galaxy is going to shit..” Despite that it was technically considered “middle of the day” upon the Citadel, the loss of Shepard had left a void within the local people of having a somewhat peaceful future without the lingering threat of the Reapers, there weren't many people out and about. Maybe some were in some personal space of theirs trying to figure out how to cope with the loss while others were hiding away and spouting off how it was now going to be the end of the galaxy. Well, those feelings didn’t necessarily apply for this outlandish duo, leaning against the balcony railing to one of the upper floors of the citadel, watching the few beings below scurry by. 

Urdnot Wrex, who was better known for being a famed Krogan mercenary and bounty hunter, but also being one of the last remaining Krogan Battlemasters around. A long-lived Krogan who has become cranky and thick-hided throughout the various adventures of his chosen path of violence and killing for credits. Not that he needed them really, but it was something valuable to have on hand, especially for his lesser species companion, (Y/N) (L/N). Biologically considered a woman, a human woman at that, who had been spending most of their time as an Engineer fixing various things up amongst that shithole known at Omega, and then spent their free time studying and experimenting with various types of medicine. Well, that’s what they had been up to until Wrex had figured out that they had some information and possible whereabouts of a target he had been searching for due to a bounty. Throughout hardships and violence, and then having given their fair share of blood and sweat (and some tears from the both of them, yet we all know that will be kept off the books) the two individuals became quite the duo. A grumpy, cranky Krogan and his somewhat optimistic, vivacious human. 

It doesn’t go unnoticed by (Y/N), how Wrex proceeds to keep his vision focused upon something within the distance and then his momentarily lack of response.

“..There’s some things that require my attention back on Tuchanka-” 

“-So we’re going to Tuchanka then. Going to need quite a bit of sup-”“-You won’t be going, (Y/N). You’ll be staying here..” 

There couldn’t be any way that he had just told them that they would be staying behind, considering that they’ve practically gone everywhere together since their first encounter with each other. While there’s a moment of silence that lingers between them, (Y/N) couldn’t help but to turn their head slightly to attempt to study the Krogan, as if they would be able to penetrate that thick skull of his and read his thoughts.

“You keep staring at me and I’ll have to hang you upside down from the top of the Citadel,” Wrex nonchalantly responds as he proceeds to push himself away from the balcony and turns to face (Y/N) who continues to look at him in confusion. He knew that there would probably be some resistance about his statement, but at that moment he knew that it was the best thing for the both of them. “We’ve been through some tough shit together, no doubt about that- but, Tuchanka is something else, (Y/N). Something else that your kind isn’t necessarily ready to deal with for a long term experience..” It’s not that Wrex didn’t believe that they wouldn’t be able to hold their own, especially with the fame and power that he happened to have amongst the other Krogan on Tuchanka, but if something- just anything bad- was to happen to (Y/N), Wrex wouldn’t be able to forgive himself and therefore decided that the best thing for them would be for them not to go with him. Not this time. Yet, not that he would tell them the true reasoning why. 

“You don’t think that the other Krogan or whatever won’t take one look at me, realize how much of a badass I am, and then just run away and cower in fear?” (Y/N) presents their words with a teasing tone while moving their hands to place firmly upon their hips. Of course they knew that essentially a couple Krogan would be pretty easy to handle, but a whole planet of Krogan? Yeah, that would definitely be a different story. A soft sigh of defeat leaves (Y/N)’s, knowing that ultimately they weren’t going to be able to deter Wrex from his choice. Wrex lets out a soft chuckle, shaking his head slightly while lifting up one of his hands to somewhat roughly pat the top of (Y/N)’s head. “With all due time, (Y/N). With all due time..”  

‘..With all due time..’ 

Who would’ve thought that “with all due time” would’ve been almost two and a half years later? 

Things had been going particularly well for those first couple of months after Wrex had departed to go deal with whatever it was that he had to deal with back on Tuchanka, leaving (Y/N) behind to deal with mundane events or short-lived jobs. They would spend whatever time that they could chatting with each other through emails, watching clips of stupid or funny things that they had come across, or even just sitting there for a couple of hours on a video call talking about whatever thoughts had eventually crossed their minds. Well, not every thought that had crossed their minds. Fear and anxiety consistently won over courage whenever it came to expressing those thoughts, especially with how things had been going those days. 

Yet, hours turned into days.. 

..and those days began to turn into weeks.. 

..eventually those weeks into months.. 

As time continued to pass, increasing the time it had been since they last saw each other, the communication between the both of them had begun to diminish. Apologies to each other, stating that either work or personal matters had gotten in the way and were disrupting their schedule of catching up with each other, until it had slowly dissolved into absolutely no communication at all. Not that there had been any arguments between the two of them, nothing that would cause them to harbor negative feelings towards each other. It had just been.. life. Two different people- two different species, two whole different sets of responsibilities and priorities, especially whenever there was the distance of being on different parts of the Milky Way between them. Just more time to find other things to occupy those once precious and special times. 

That had been the usual routine before one lonesome night after having a few drinks by themself that (Y/N) happens to open their door to find a once deceased Shepard standing there, Garrus on one side of her and some seemingly young Krogan on the other side of her. Long story short, Shepard had been through the “Lazarus Project” through Cerberus and had been informed that the Reaper threat was back once again, and Shepard was currently forming her team. While she was there to recruit the Engineer to continue fighting the war against the Reapers, Shepard was also there in hopes that (Y/N) would have some knowledge on Wrex’s whereabouts to help solve some issues that the young Krogan seemed to be having. 

Tuchanka. It wasn’t necessarily surprising to figure out that Wrex had been residing amongst Tuchanka this whole time considering that it technically was the homeworld of his species and he had spent this whole time worrying and trying to figure out a better future for the Krogan, trying to deal with their breeding complications due to the genophage. Yet, being able to physically see him for the first time in two-and-a-half years, sitting upon that makeshift throne of crumbled and fallen concrete rubble, looking over the fellow Krogan that were most likely doing various things in order to establish whatever tasks Wrex wanted completed.. (Y/N) couldn’t help that lurching feeling within their chest, those memories of late nights sitting around some campfire or in some dingy hotel room coming back to mind like wiping away dust from an almost forgotten book that’s been sitting on the shelf for a little too long now. With those familiar crimson eyes finally making contact with their own, (Y/N)’s heart seemingly lurching within their chest, and a singular thought that maybe Wrex was thinking those same, similar memories.

Grunt’s initiation mission of surviving the Thresher Maw to be able to join the ranks of the Urdnot Clan had gone quite well, and ultimately caused a celebration to take place since Grunt decided to one-up Wrex and successfully killed the Thresher Maw as well. It doesn’t take much more than a couple of drinks for (Y/N) to decide that it was best for them to take a break from the celebration, finding themself sitting upon some rubble some distance away, eyes gazing to the stars that lingered within the night sky above. Quite a peaceful moment until it had been interrupted by the soft sound of a grunt, causing (Y/N) to turn their head towards the source, the source causing a grin to form upon their lips. “Oh, no. Mr. Urdnot Wrex, sir. I swear I’m not slacking from my duties.” They reply with a snort, watching as the Krogan heaved himself up to the empty spot on the rubble next to (Y/N) while shaking his head in amusement. “As long as you don’t tell the others that I’m also not slacking from my duties as well, then we can keep this as our little secret.” 

From that moment and forth on, it was as if there hadn’t been a two and a half separation between them besides some minor things. There were various, new battle scars upon Wrex’s hide while those slight wrinkles and creases from scowling due to stress were more prominent on (Y/N)’s face. More physical changes than anything, really. They went back to reminiscing on memories from their younger days or how if they could go back in time they would’ve harassed a bounty target for much longer. How they should’ve taken that one individual up on the selling of some property on a foreign planet long ago for how cheap it would’ve been compared to prices these days, and let’s not forget to add being a menace to the local population of course. Eventually memories transitioned into talking about the present, how much or how little some of the members from the original Normandy had changed, and even some of the relationships that had formed from it. 

“-So, yeah. Android, or whatever you wanna call it, robotic pussy is the only thing Joker’s hitting right now. Shepard’s been talking to someone on the Normandy, apparently he’s a.. Drell? Anyways, then Garrus-” 

“-You and Vakarian, huh?” 

There’s an audible gagging sound that emits from (Y/N)’s lips and softly echoes in the area around them. Not necessarily loud enough to capture the attention of the others who were still celebrating away, and would probably end up drinking themselves blacked-out drunk. Their eyebrows are furrowed in not only some amusement, but in disbelief as well. Wrex was thinking that there was something going on between them and Garrus? What exactly had led to that? Okay, yeah. Considering that there weren't as many original Normandy crew members around, and Wrex wasn’t tagging along either, (Y/N) and Garrus’s friendship had become more apparent, but it was definitely nothing romantically inclined. Definitely, absolutely not. 

“You think that there’s something going on between Garrus and I?” 

“..been looking at you all weirdly, eyes narrowed-” 

“-Wrex,” 

“-then he’s always flaring those mandibles of his whenever he sees you holding that fancy sniper-” 

“-Hey, Knucklehead!-” 

“-Then he’s always puffing out his chest and huffing every time that he’s near you-”

“-Urdnot Wrex, if you do not shut up and let me explain, I will be carving that makeshift throne of yours into a dick.” 

That was enough of a threat to cause the Krogan to finally shut his mouth, but not before letting out a low-rumbling growl. Not that he would necessarily bring (much) harm to his companion, as a matter of fact it was quite the opposite. It was more that the last thing that the Krogan needed was the clans of Krogan getting word that his throne was now some monstrosity of a cock, and he’d become something of a laughing stock. 

“There's absolutely nothing going on between Garrus and I. There never has been, and there never will be. He’s just waiting for the perfect opportunity to curb stomp my ass for making fun of his shit sniping skills.” (Y/N) couldn’t help but to let out a snarky laugh as they proceeded to recall the memory, but it was short lived as there was a more important issue at hand. Wrex had thought that they were romantically involved with someone, when it was the complete opposite. 

Was he not able to see the devotion- the loyalty- that they had for him? How (Y/N) would drop anything and give up everything just to be by his side? Did Wrex not even think about how much turmoil they had been in having been separated from him this long- especially with having little to no contact? Was Wrex not able to notice how his mere presence not only affected them physically, but also emotionally and mentally as well? During their time together (Y/N) had found themself gravitating towards being around Wrex, feeling not only safe, but also comfortable. (Y/N)’s thoughts transitioning into not about what they were truly thinking, but what he might be thinking, how he might be feeling, how or what they could do in order to make sure that he was at least in a content mood. How whenever he would accidentally brush up against them, or even purposely grab ahold of their arm to drag them away from the midst of battle or something that he wasn’t enjoying, it would cause a warmth to spread throughout them and all they could do was crave more. Crave more of one thing, crave more of many things, to crave more of it all. 

Even wanting a romantically inclined future with Wrex. 

“-You know I have feelings for you, Wrex.” 

Finally. 

There’s relief at finally having gotten the long awaited confession off of their chest, a shaky breath also escaping past their lips, but it’s not too long before an anxiety begins to settle in at Wrex’s silence. 

Had it been the wrong time for the confession? 

Had it been the wrong place for the confession? 

Had it-

“-I thought you didn’t want me.” 

The way that their body scooches across the few rocks between them to be close to him, pressing their side against his own, head moving to rest against the bicep of his armor- it’s almost like (Y/N)’s body was on autopilot. Numerous thoughts flooding their mind, eyebrows knitting together in confusion. 

“It’s always been you.” 

Confusion begins to slowly diffuse and turn into slight amusement, a small smile spreading across (Y/N)’s lips. 

“It’s always been you, it’ll always be you. You’re absolutely insane if you think I would prefer to be with anyone else after everything that we’ve been through together.” 

Wrex couldn’t help but chuckle after grumbling something incoherent underneath his breath. Probably something self-deprecating, but if (Y/N) were to ask the Krogan would probably just place the blame on some unknown Salarian. 

“Yeah, you’re right..” 

Of course.

Of course they were right. (Y/N) was always right. 

“So, what now?” (Y/N) questions, leaning their head back slightly to look at Wrex, an eyebrow raising. 

“How about-” Wrex begins to respond, lifting his arm up and moving it around (Y/N) bringing them to rest against him. “-we see about maybe you getting to stay here on Tuchanka after all?” 

[albinoshepard]

N7 Month 2023 - Day #02: Tension.

In every ordinary vessel of the Alliance, the commander rarely goes into the cargo hold except to prepare for a mission, but the Normandy is not an ordinary fleet ship, from its design to its colorful crew. It's precisely one of its members which pushes Abigail Shepard to often abandon the bridge for the lower decks of the ship.

As always the turian Garrus Vakarian, former SSC Agent, was busy working on the targeting systems of the M35 Mako, the landing vehicle, and was so focused on his work that he didn't even notice the Commander staring at him silently. That's why he suddenly became nervous when he turned around and found her in front of him. She in return seemed almost pleased with that reaction, and smiled slyly before clasping hands behind the back and clearing her throat:

"Vakarian, still calibrating the Mako's weapons?"

"I... Um... Yes, the last fight with that Thresher really overheated them and I wanted to - um - make sure they were ready for the next ground mission, I..."

"Is it common practice for all Turians to work so much? Why don't you take a break? I have some... Questions, about the culture of your people - you know, to... Analyze Saren's behavior, so we can anticipate his moves." - She seemed unusually nervous too, but he certainly didn't notice.

"I - um - of course. I'll finish these calibrations and I'll join you in the common room."

"Very good. Don't delay. Unlike what people say about female humans: we don't like to wait." - She smiled, again with that sly look, and she walked away with quick, almost hopping, steps.

The Turian waited until she had completely disappeared on the elevator and finally heaved a deep sigh, as if he had been holding his breath until that moment, but as he began to relax again, a deep and thunderous laugh came from the bottom of the hold. He turned in that direction, to give the Krogan mercenary hidden in the shadows an interrogative look: "Wrex?!"

"What?" the other replied, unable to stifle the hilarity that the scene had unleashed in him. "Oh, hell! Get a room the two of you and get it over with!"

"What?! No, no - I - we - I don't... She's the commander! I can't, I... It's not what you think!!"

"Of course. And you're lucky she doesn't know how to interpret the subtle vibrations in the tone of the turian's second voice, or she probably would have already jumped on your neck."

"What the...?! No, she can't... I..." If he were human he would probably be a fiery phosphorescent red color right now. He huffed in annoyance, not knowing how to respond and headed towards the crew bathrooms before reaching the Commander. For some strange reason he felt the need for a cold shower.

📌

When I think of "tension" I'm reminded of the relationship between Shepard and Garrus at the beginning and I always curse BioWare for not having explored it further in the first chapter of the trilogy. 😁

That's why I wrote this short story about Abigail and her favorite Turian.

It's written straight away and quickly translated from Italian so sorry if it's not perfect. It was just to give an idea.

📸

N7 Month Challenge 2023

Day #02: Tension

Prompt List - @n7month

🎮 Mᴀss Eғғᴇᴄᴛ 1 Lᴇɢᴇɴᴅᴀʀʏ Eᴅɪᴛɪᴏɴ ���️ Pʟᴀʏsᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴ 4 | Lɪɢʜᴛʀᴏᴏᴍ

[hellt00th]

Man I think there should have been more moments for Ryder to actually explain to Drack what an amazing commodity he is. Sure, krogan can live for 1000s of years but how often do they actually manage it, unless they’re as smart and cunning as they are physically dangerous? That kind of intelligence is what the krogan need, not more hot blooded mercenaries looking to fight the biggest baddest thing around to prove their worth. Old soldiers are precious commodity that should be hoarded and protected as jealously and fiercely as children are, bc those children need the wisdom and critical thinking skills that old soldiers like Drack can impart. Especially if they’re like Drack bc appearances aside the man has endless patience for teaching and you can see it by the way he talks to Ryder and casually offers advice to the crew about damn near anything.

[sol-consort]

Krogan romance course Pt.1

Krogans canonly play dating sims to practice courting and learn romance!?

Notice: Social Interactions

From: Gulnaz Bin

All right, everyone, most of you are used to either gender-segregated camps back on Tuchanka or mostly male mercenary work offworld. But now we're all together, and it's time for us to make the most of this "probletunity."

With females sending breeding requests and males asking many questions about fertility, we've had some good dialogues so far, and in most cases, everyone has already recovered from their injuries. To that end, we've added some mandatory cultural education.

🎉Krogans in Andromeda are officially gender integrated🎉

Blasto 6: Partners in Crime: Notice Blasto and Blasto's partner's sister agreeing to engage in mating rituals. Blasto's partner does not attempt to assert authority over his sister or shoot Blasto for mating with his sister without permission.

Humans are also faulty of doing this! I'm glad to see we have bad traits in common. Friendly reminder that Blasto's partner in the movies is an elcor, so this is our first hanar/elcor relationship representation.

Fleet and Flotilla ll: Belicus and Shalei are good models for behavior of a couple that is interested in courting despite cultural differences. Do not sing, though. Nobody sings while mating. That's just a thing they do in vids sometimes. I cannot stress that enough.

There is a famous romantic musical about a human from the fleet (or a turian?) and a quarian from flotilla falling in love? Is it the same one Tali showed us in Mass Effect 3? And krogans started singing like in musicals because of it.

Krantt Hardly Wait: Now I know some of you got offended by having a young krogan court a human female, but since the vid is literally about a krogan male trying to learn appropriate courtship behavior, you are all going to shut up and watch it. Also, Vega Bull Jr. does a great job as the human female's father, and he should be made an honorary krogan.

I adore everything about this. From the fact Krogan/human relationships are frowned upon in krogan society, that despite everything that is the brutal krogan culture, courting a human is what they clutch their pearls at.

To the fact this is the second time a human is elected an honrary krogan. The first was Shepard by Wrex, and now this.

Asari Confessions 26: True Blue: Couldn't hurt.

After that, we recommend that you try some "edu-tainment" in the form of one of the dating-sim vids available at any kiosk I can think of few better ways for us all to learn about romance than by playing an interactive game on the subject.

1) There is a massive genre of asari dating sims. The previous time this genre came up was during Mass Effect 2 Citadel visit when a salarian informed you about an asari/hanar game.

2) Krogans treat dating sims as an actual reliable source to practice flirting and courting rituals, see also, krogans taking romance musicals singing as a fundamental part of the romance.

[dragonflight203]

Mass Effect 2 replay, Garrus’ loyalty mission:

-Bailey thinks someone is feeding Fade inside information and that’s how he’s avoiding C-Sec. This is the first hint that “Fade” is Harkin.

-In the warehouse, you immediately meet “Fade” (really his contact) who asks you who needs to disappear.

This feels like part of the mission is missing. Why is Fade’s contact here? Why does he assume someone needs to disappear?

I suspect part of the mission to trigger this contact was cut. I’m curious why. Garrus’ mission is already short.

-If you don’t take the renegade interrupt to shoot them, the krogan bodyguards just leave.

That’s pretty funny. The game clearly wanted you to shoot them.

I have the impression one of the developers asked “So, what do we do if the player doesn’t shoot?” and another said, “Eh, for now just have them walk away. We’ll come up with something later.” Then they didn’t.

-The contact mentions that Harkin is helping Blue Suns infiltrate organizations and businesses on the Citadel.

Why are they doing so? They’re a mercenary group.

This is the first and last time it’s mentioned, so add this to the tally of hooks ME2 provides that ME3 doesn’t use.

-And Harkin is conveniently at the entrance of the Factory District when Shepard and co show up out of the blue.

Their timing today is amazing. That made it easier to find the right factory. Can you imagine how long it would have taken if Shepard had to check each factory to find Harkin? Or if he was at home that day?

-Garrus says he’ll give Sidonis an easy death compares to what the rest of his men received. It’s implied they were tortured.

No wonder their deaths are haunting him.

-In Thane’s mission, Shepard chooses (or not) to beat up Mouse for information. Thane would prefer the mission was nonviolent.

In Garrus’ mission, Garrus beats up Harkin for information. Shepard chooses whether or not to hold him back.

Thane’s at the end of a long and bloody life and making what peace he can with it. Garrus is essentially having an early mid life crisis about the direction his life will go.

Garrus isn’t an assassin, but he has chosen to kill many men in cold blood. I think he’d benefit from speaking with Thane.

-Garrus is only reflective on this mission if Shepard challenges his decision to kill Sidonis.

If they do not, Garrus accomplishes exactly what he sets out to do and closes that part of his life. Nothing forces him to think more deeply about it.

Given that most of the loyalty missions are meant to drive character growth, I assume that Bioware expected players to go the paragon route.

-Shepard has a lot of faith that Garrus won’t shoot them. I’m sure he has bullets that can go through more than person.

-Even after you tell him that you’re blocking Garrus’ shot, Sidonis keeps moving. He decides to lean over a railing!

That’s the clearest evidence that he has a death wish.

-What finally convinces Garrus to not shoot Sidonis is Sidonis saying there’s nothing he can do to make his actions right.

I think that’s what Garrus really wanted – to hear Sidonis take responsibility and admit that he fucked up.

Turians take personal responsibility very seriously, so that’s probably what showed Garrus that Sidonis had some chance of doing better.

-The mission summary says that Cerberus has operatives in C-Sec. Lovely. And a bit of foreshadowing for the Citadel Coup in ME3.

Normandy

-Thane says that when he married Irikah, the hanar let him leave their service. He chose to continue to freelance.

The lengths this drell is willing to go to deny he has any culpability in the assassinations he’s performed is impressive.

Also, I wonder how Irikah felt about it?

If nothing else, the assassinations kept Thane from home. Did she ever wish he’d quit and take a job that let him stay with the family? I’m sure he could have found something, even if it didn’t pay as well.

-After killing his wife’s murderers, Thane was passively suicidal until he met Shepard.

Understandable. He’s said repeatedly his wife is what connected him to the world. Without her, he was adrift.

He should have reconnected with Kolyat, but I can understand why he’d feel that Kolyat was better off without him. He did mention in his loyalty mission that he checked in with him after killing his wife’s murderers, but decided to stay away.

-Samara has two conversations after her initial post-loyalty dialogue. Unusual, except for Mordin.

-Unlike everyone else, attempting to initiate a relationship with Samara is renegade.

-She lets you down very gently. She seems genuinely attracted to Shepard but resolute that she is not going to pursue it.

-If you stay renegade throughout, she implies sex without emotion is common for maidens. She’s only interested in sex with a connection.

-The entire point of this conversation is to establish that Samara is not a romance option.

It’s actually pretty funny that Bioware felt this required its own independent conversation.

I’m happy they did so – Bioware leaned hard on asari being “available” in ME1. It’s a good counterbalance to have an asari squadmate that isn’t interested.

-Garrus believes that Shepard will win but they’ll definitely lose people.

I look forward to proving him wrong.

-Good turians follow bad orders and know their place. Garrus is a rebel because he argues against bad decisions.

Garrus in fandom is often considered a “yes man” because he always goes along with Shepard’s decisions. Yet his willingness to question Shepard until his concerns are appeased are what make him a bad turian.

Turians that don’t fit in because they argue too much are probably fast tracked for command or tapped for special operations, such as spectres.

-Turian ships have more operations discipline but greater personal freedom.

I’m curious about what this like. How is operation discipline tighter? What personal freedoms do they have?

I don’t know much about miliatry operations. I suppose they’re given less leeway on how tasks are performed.

For personal freedoms – less strict uniform requirements? Able to take drugs while off duty? Fewer restrictions on relationships?

Give me examples, Bioware! I enjoyed those ME1 info dumps.

-Turians are implied to be highly active. Their ships have training rooms for exercise, combat sims, and they engage in full contact sparring.

I’m left with the impression that one of the responsibilities of their leaders is keeping them busy so they don’t find their own distractions. Like how you need to give a livestock dog a job or they’ll find their own. :) Turians need ACTION and will provide their own if not given any. If you want the ship to remain intact, make them burn off that energy.

-When speaking about the scout he sparred with, Garrus casually says the “betters” in the room were not pleased that they kept drawing.

The choice of the word “betters” is telling of the Hierarchy mindset. I bet Garrus casually uses the word “lessers” too and doesn’t mean it as an insult.

[omniblades-and-stars]

Writing Pattern Tag Game:

Tagged by @stormikins thanks!

Rules: list the first line(s) of your last 10 posted fics and see if there's a pattern!

blood & grenadine - “Remind me, how'd we let that crazy bird rope us into this again?” He worried at the borrowed cuff-links shining in the sleeves of the very rented shirt, and pulled on the hem of the very rented suit jacket, straightening something that couldn't be straightened anymore than it already was.

Pass the Knife - There was a time, not that long ago really, when Lou would have been lost on Omega. Swallowed up, eaten whole, her bones spit back out into a gutter somewhere for someone to trip on her – another unfortunate statistic that wouldn’t actually be counted, just guessed at.

Senseless - Pop. Click.

Defy - Here is what dying feels like: It feels like the rush of adrenaline as your body, hardwired to survive at all costs, fights against whatever is happening to you.

Dear Joker - Jeff, I found this at a gift shop on the Citadel. It made me think of you, so I bought it.

following the current, circling the drain - Well, shit, this certainly complicates things.

A Dead God Dreams - One juttering footstep after another, she pushes down the echoing metal of the abandoned catwalk.

Left to Ashes - Stillborn.

The Way - It starts out simple enough.

Devil Like Me - The bounty hunter knew a force of nature when he saw one. He'd been around long enough to experience every kind of storm a planet could throw at you, to feel the pull of gravity or the disconcerting weightless lack of it on his body, and to go toe to toe with krogan mercenaries that were nearly large enough to have their own orbit.

I just kinda do whatever the hell I want, now don't I? >.<

Tagging @korblez and @lag-train if you want. No presh.

[asirensrambles]

Cultural Exchange

@flufftober

Flufftober Day 4: Zaeed Massani/female Shepard Cinderella Moment

"Some women find facial scars attractive. Mind you, most of those krogan are women." In which I take Garrus' line from ME2 after taking a rocket to the face and use it as the basis for krogan attraction as a culture, then explore how that would influence their perception of Zaeed Massani.

Not in a million years did Zaeed ever think he'd end up on Tuchanka. Then again, ever since accepting the contract from Cerberus, he'd been places and done things he never could've even dreamed of. So honestly, going to the krogan homeworld to visit the current clan leader should just be par for the course at this point. Considering they were meeting with Urdnot Wrex, one of Shepard's old squadmates from chasing Saren, he'd been surprised when she told him to suit up instead of Garrus or Tali. Nevertheless, when the Commander asked him to go somewhere, Zaeed followed.

Considering how rarely humans went to Tuchanka -if they'd even ever been there before- Zaeed was expecting to get more than a few looks. What he was not expecting was to get double takes and blatant once or twice overs. Grunt and Shepard were getting their fair share of looks too, but Zaeed was the only one getting stares. It was guddamn unsettling is what it was. None of the stares seemed to hold any malice, but Zaeed made his living by flying under the radar. So much direct attention burrowed under his skin and set fire to his nerves. Phantom pain prickled out from the edges of his synthetic skin grafts. Trying to remain as nonchalant as possible about it, Zaeed shifted his hands closer to the weapons strapped to his person. Shepard, by contrast, seemed more at ease than he'd ever seen her, even moreso than on Illium.

One of a kind, that woman.

Grunt, for his part, had an air of superiority about him that seemed to be setting other krogans on edge. If they made if off Tuchanka without a fight, it'd be a miracle. Hell, if they made it to see Shepard's old squadmate without someone getting decked, Zaeed would be surprised. It wasn't that they were looking for a fight, but with whatever was going on with Grunt and Shepard never one to back down, the odds of violence were significantly higher than zero. Fortunately, they made it to Urdnot Wrex's throne with minimal incident.

The reunion between the krogan leader and the Commander was far warmer than Zaeed would have ever guessed. The two had clearly bonded while hunting for Saren, easy affection on display. Wrex looked at Shepard with almost fatherly pride, and she seemed like a kid whose parents just got back from a long trip. As Shepard introduced the clan leader to her companions, Zaeed nearly sneered when Wrex's eyes lingered on him, giving him a once over. The once over didn't feel malicious, but the mercenary's nerves were on edege from all the looks and being in the center of so much attention. Strangely enough, the once over felt similar to ones he'd received from women and a few men in bars before Vido blew half his face off.

Wrex turned back to Shepard and chuckled. "Damn Shepard, of course you of all people would manage to find the one human that's actually good looking."

The gears in Zaeed's brain ground to a halt. Good looking? Him?

By necessity, he was not a vain man. Although he'd been considered handsome when he was younger, Vido had made sure that was never the case for the rest of Zaeed's life. While in the grand scheme of things, his appearance wasn't nearly as important as his life. Mercenaries didn't need to look pretty to get the job done. Still, it hurt the way people couldn't quite meet his eyes or would try and ogle him from the corner of their eyes while trying to be subtle about it. Mirrors were something Zaeed actively avoided for years after the incident with Vido, to the point where it was still a habit even now. So for anyone, even a krogan, to find him good looking? Well, he didn't have any idea about what to do with that.

Shepard grinned broadly at Wrex, but there was something softer to it Zaeed didn't want to think about as her gaze slid over to meet his eyes. "Didn't I just? It's nice having someone around who's good with a gun and a pretty face. That combination is so much harder to come by than you'd think."

Wrex roared with laughter. Meanwhile, Zaeed was fairly certain the rubble under him just experienced a landslide. A pretty face? Him? Shepard, one of the most beautiful, incredible, competent women he'd ever met thought his scarred, damaged face was pretty? There was no teasing to her tone, and while the commander could poke fun, she would never be cruel enough to joke about something like this. She meant it. Zaeed couldn't even begin to consider the implications of Shepard thinking he had a pretty face and giving him a soft smile, one he was now realizing had only ever been directed at him. While Zaeed tried to keep himself from fullblown spiraling, Wrex clapped Shepard on the shoulder.

"You really are part krogan, Shepard, you know that?  You get that there's nothing sexier than some good scars."

So that's why Zaeed had been getting so many stares earlier. He'd forgotten about that particularity of krogan culture. Unexpectedly, a ball of warmth settled in his stomach before spreading out to the rest of him. Maybe most of the galaxy would always find his scars ugly and repulsive, rather than a sign of everything he had survived and endured. If that's how it was going to thing, so be it.

But at least here, amongst the krogan, Shepard's people in spirit if not blood -and weren't the implications of that just something to deal with another day- Zaeed was beautiful.

[soncfthewitch]

closed starter for @tigerincahoots

The last, wet gurgle faded as he twisted the blade, feeling the resistance give way. The batarian's eyes widened, shock and pain flickering before dulling. He slid the blade free from the throat, the warm and sticky blood coating his hand. Just another sodding mess to clean up. Omega was full of them—dimly lit backrooms splattered with what was left of dodgy dealings turned deadly.

He looked over the room, cold eyes taking in the bodies scattered across the floor through the tinted visor of his Phantom suit. Five dead—the aftermath of a swift, brutal ambush. One still clutched his rifle, finger frozen on the trigger, armor bearing the scorch marks where his own panicked spray of bullets had ricocheted off the assassin's barrier.

Another sprawled near an overturned table, throat precisely opened where the cloaked blade had caught him mid-turn, his shotgun discharged uselessly into the ceiling. The krogan mercenary had taken three direct hits from the palm blaster before going down, his redundant nervous system finally overloaded by the concentrated dark energy bursts. Two turian veterans lay crumpled where they'd tried to flank—their military training had almost been enough. Almost.

The batarian enforcer had been the last to fall, the closest to raising the alarm. He'd managed to spot the telltale shimmer of the tactical cloak, but recognition came too late to save him.

The room told the story in vivid detail: scorch marks traced erratic patterns on the walls from panicked shots, chairs thrown aside in desperate attempts at cover, datapads crushed under scrambling boots. The acrid smell of ozone from mass effect fields lingered beneath the copper tang of blood. His tactical cloak and modified Phantom loadout had given him the crucial advantage—they never saw him coming until it was too late. Just another example of why Cerberus invested so heavily in their assassination programs.

His hand twitched. A flicker of—what? Confusion? He flexed his fingers, pushing the fleeting sensation aside. The headaches were getting worse, but now wasn't the time. The mission came first. Cerberus had hardwired that priority into him, even if he couldn't quite remember how.

Focus, mate. Gotta stage this right.

He moved methodically, dragging the corpses into the shadows. Couldn't have the target stroll in and spook. It needed to look like business as usual—just another routine meeting. A few empty chairs, a bottle on the table, half-finished cigars in the ashtray. Everything needed to scream normal, right up until it wasn't.

The buzz of his comm snapped him back. “Sitrep, Agent Shishi.”

“Room's clear,” he said, voice crackling through the helmet’s modulator. He adjusted his stance, back straightening. “Ready to bag the package.”

“Affirmative. Maintain position. Target inbound, ETA five minutes.”

Five minutes. He checked the palm blaster—full charge. Blue-white energy rippled across the emitters built into his gauntlet, the weapon humming softly as the capacitors cycled. Plenty of time, still, to find the best angle. His visor flickered, tactical grids overlaying his vision: structural weak points, ricochet paths, estimated target trajectory. It painted the kill shot in clean lines, and every movement was calculated.

A textbook assassination. Just like old times.

But something gnawed at the back of his mind. The face in the mission dossier... it seemed familiar. The name, too. Kevin Deaver. It tugged at his memory. Something deep and unsettling. Recognition crawled under his skin. An itch he couldn't scratch.

The door lock chirped, the panel shifting from red to green. He tensed, breath slowing, falling into the rhythm Cerberus had drilled into him. In, out, in... hold. The door slid open. Showtime.

He moved swiftly, armor melding into the darkness, tech embedded in his suit flickering softly like embers in the dark. The palm blaster barked twice, the flashes briefly igniting the room's edges, casting jagged shadows. Two shots, precise and lethal, the shockwaves pressing against his ears, leaving a sharp ringing in their wake.