#nihlus/ashley

[dalekofchaos]

Update:I made a post on what a Virmire Sacrifice replacing Kai Leng could look like

[yeoldecorprusarium]

[autocon23]

Another Mass Effect Headcannon:

You know how when Shepard used the beacon on Eden Prime at the beginning, the beacon almost killed them?

Do you remember how both Dr. Chakwas AMD Javik commented on how it's changed them?

I imagine that there was some kind of repercussions to their health. Like if they touch smaller artifacts and other beacons or anything Prothean related, including when Javik had been "reading" them or Leviathan, it leaves behind some kind of side effects.

Like, depending on what it is, it can go from migraines to full on seizures?? Maybe experience the memories of the Protheans who interacted with the artifacts last in the form of nightmares? Maybe they get nose bleeds and brain lesions and aneryuisms?

Think about it. They're always dizzy or nauseous or have headaches whenever whatever they're interacting with is strong. I don't know if it was overlooked or just never thought of, but I feel like it's something to think about. To me, at least. The stress of the war and the pain over those who are lost during it along with all the mental health issues Shepard already has just adds onto it.

I hadn't seen anyone else mention it in fanfics or here. Maybe I had and just forgot or maybe haven't seen it yet. But I always imagined that, if Shepard survives the war, they HAVE to retire due to the brain dage they received from using Prothean beacons and Leviathan on top of whatever injuries they had sustained during the last battle against the Reapers.

[wafflesrock16]

Nihlus Kryik/Ashley Williams Coffee Shop AU

I'm a huge Nihlus/Ashley shipper (yay rare-pairs!) and couldn't help but write some crackfic of them in a coffee shop AU setting. Nihlus as a sexy barista? Tell me I'm not alone in liking that idea. Below a cut cuz longish.

Waking up before dawn had never been a problem for Nihlus. No matter the planet or biome he was predisposed to cresting with the sun, or suns, whatever the case might be. Even on the Citadel, he awoke before the artificial daylight seeped into the sky. He considered this knack a useful trait, especially since he worked as a barista.

Spectre Cafe had come highly recommended to him by a former roommate. Situated in the upper wards, the cafe catered to the elite early morning crowd; kava, tea, coffee, kaf, and the quasi-toxic sludge elcor loved. Nihlus was damn good with a kava machine and could make the fancy foam designs humans and asari loved so much in their drinks. He’d breezed through training and was loving his job—until Tela quit.

Nihlus didn’t resent Tela for quitting, seeing as the asari matron had provided ample notice. He did resent Saren, the cafe owner, making zero efforts to replace her. Rather than seeking to hire a new employee, Saren seemed intent on making due with a skeleton crew. Nihlus had been shoved into the role of manager and barista, while Kaidan was simultaneously busing tables, washing dishes, and ringing people up on the cash register. Jondum, the bookkeeper, had even been pressed into service front of house, something the introverted salarian loathed and unsurprisingly, was terrible at doing. 

Nihlus glared over his shoulder at Jondum, his own hands flying over the kava machine as he foamed up a fifth large kava for a massive order they’d just received from the turian embassy. “Bau! Where’s my triple shot coconut creme latte with vanilla?”

Jondum slowly poured brownish-white liquid into a to-go cup before managing to pump syrup into it at an even more languid pace. 

Nihlus’ subvocals growled in barely suppressed irritation. “Bau! Step on it!”

“I’m going as fast as I can without having made a latte before,” Jondum replied in a snarky voice. His dark eyes remained fixated on the syrup pump. “Your shouting won’t help me learn any quicker.”

 A human female with long, ebony hair leaned over the counter toward Nihlus. She wore a black harness over her shoulders and chest, leaving her taut stomach bare before it disappeared into tight spandex leggings, leaving little to the imagination. Typical human work-out attire he’d been told. It’s definitely working for her, Nihlus thought. Were the cafe not so slammed, he might have been tempted to flirt. As it was, all he had time to do was register that she was attractive before trying to send her along. 

He stuffed plastic cups into a holder. “The line starts back there,” he informed her with a jab of his thumb. “Cutting isn’t appreciated.” 

“Where’s the bathroom!” the human demanded in response to his flippant dismissal. 

Nihlus glanced back at her. Her dark dark eyes glared daggers at him, teeth bared. Why did he somehow find that attractive? I need to get laid, Nihlus privately considered. Spirits, it’s been too long. Aloud he said, “The bathroom is in the back, behind the water fountain.”

“Thank you.”

Nihlus didn’t watch her leave, focusing instead on handing off the embassy order to a volus in a delivery uniform. Turning around he nearly bumped into Kaidan, who was standing ramrod straight with his apron out-thrust. “I need to take a break.”

Nihlus gawked. “Are you joking? You can’t leave now! We need you on the register.”

Kaidan looked on the verge of tears. “I have a headache and I’m taking a fifteen minute break! Breaks are mandated by Citadel ordinance and I need mine now. I need fifteen minutes and aspirin!” The last part came out in a screech.

Nihlus reared back under the force of the tirade, taking the apron as Kaidan rushed out. “Just you and me for the next fifteen minutes,” he called to Jondum. 

Jondum looked up from where he was carefully steeping tea. “What?”

“You heard me!” Nihlus snapped, storming over to the register. “Fucking cheap nothi Saren,” he seethed under his breath. “Understaffed as fuck and where’s that prick? On vacation. Spirits damned son of a—What can I get for you?”

The attractive  human woman in tight spandex quirked a brow. “Caramel macchiato.” She glanced over Nihlus’s shoulder as a loud crash and metallic clink echoed behind him. 

Nihlus closed his eyes and counted to ten. I’m going to kill Bau. 

“On second thought, maybe just a large latte,” the human amended. 

Nihlus opened his eyes. Up close, the human was even more attractive. Lithe figure, trim waist, strong arms, full lips and deep brown eyes the color of coffee. Nihlus stamped down on an appreciative purr. “One large latte coming up.”

He decided to take a page from Bau’s book. People could wait for their drinks. If Saren lost some credits this morning that was his fault for being a shit businessman. Nihlus heated the milk—or whatever the imitation substance was—before mixing it with the caffeinated brew. Feeling inspired, he used the excess foam to draw the human a flower shape in her drink. 

Her eyes widened in delight when he handed it to her. “Wow. This looks great. Thank you.”

Nihlus gave her a flared mandible grin. “Don’t mention it.”

The rest of the morning flew by at a rapid pace. Kaidan returned in a far better mood and they closed early. Early enough that Nihlus decided to hit the new bar that had opened up near his residential complex. 

He took extra care to oil his plates and pick an outfit that would accentuate his waist and eyes. He wasn’t expressly seeking to end his overlong celibacy, but should the opportunity arise, he wouldn’t turn it down. 

Clad in an emerald green tunic with a jet black jacket and leggings, Nihlus strolled into the Normandy Lounge. It wasn’t quite late enough to be crowded, but the bar was doing a tidy business. Nihlus eased his way up to the chrome bartop, flagging down a human bartender. 

Her hair was pulled back in a tail and makeup had been applied to her eyes to give them an alluring, dusky feel, but Nihlus instantly recognized her from earlier that morning. Given the way her lips pulled back in a bright smile, she’d recognized him, too. 

“Hey!” she greeted, leaning forward. “Coffee guy!”

There were worse monikers, Nihlus supposed. He rumbled in affirmation, matching her lean. “That’s right. Should I call you work-out girl?” He winked. 

The human chuckled. “Fair enough. I might prefer Ashley.”

Nihlus grinned. “Nihlus Kyrik.”

Ashley cocked her head. “Nice to formally meet you, Nihlus. Can I get you a drink? I can’t do any fancy art in it but I make a mean dextro cocktail.”

“Gimme your best,” Nihlus said. 

That night was memorable for more than the drinks. He and Ashley had ended up dancing and sharing beers when her shift was over. They both had an interest in poetry and target shooting at Armax Arena. When artificial night began to turn to artificial day, the pair had found themselves back at Nihlus’ place tangled up in his bedsheets. 

When Nihlus blinked awake, it was late morning—possibly early afternoon. The spot next to him in bed was still warm, but Ashley was nowhere to be seen. 

He sat up in bed, body still pleasantly loose and satiated from the night before. 

“Morning, sleepy,” an amused voice called from the doorway. 

Nihlus turned. 

Ashley leaned against the doorframe, her bare legs crossed at the ankle. His green tunic from the night before hung loosely over her shoulders, drooping nearly to her knees. 

I’m one lucky turian, Nihlus considered, subvocals drumming in arousal. 

There’d be a morning round or two of love making followed by a shower. After that, well. He’d invite Ashley out for coffee.

[grimwarden]

after struggling so hard, finally i'm happy with my character

I need those three to make out

[danypooh80]

All I ever wanted, Ch. 104

Thessia, concluded

https://archiveofourown.org/works/34461097/chapters/121403092

[sorcerous-caress]

They're making me choose between boyfailure and girlboss this can't be happening

[eljeebee]

Replaying Mass Effect!

[acciokaidanalenko]

Taking on the Universe: Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight: The Rogue Spectre

Summary: The Squad finally reaches the Prothean Beacon, and uncovers a betrayal none of them could have anticipated.

CW/TW: Mention of blood and fatal head wound.

Preview of chapter below the cut. AO3 link: here.

The monstrous ship that had loomed over the squad as they’d approached the spaceport now towered over them as they reached the dock. It opened up before them as they slowly trudged down the ramp that led to the wide platform. The area was mostly clear, though a few crates still remained scattered haphazardly across the space. Natasha’s eyes were drawn toward the object resting near the edge of the platform, which could only be one thing; the Prothean beacon.

It was taller than she’d imagined it to be, and a low, gentle hum could be heard emanating from it as it glowed brightly. Stranger than that, suspended in the air in front of it was the other Turian they’d heard so much about.

Natasha glanced up at Nihlus as he stood beside her, and it was plain by the expression on his face that he recognized who this was.

As the squad approached, slowly and uncertainly, the beacon seemed to release the Turian. He landed gently on the ground in front of it, his eyes glowing with the same green light that still pulsed around the beacon. He turned on his heel, facing them as they approached.

“Saren?” Nihlus asked in a bewildered tone as he lowered his gun. Natasha knew then that she had been right; he not only recognized him, but also seemed to trust him. “What are you doing here?”

Saren seemed distant at first, but his eyes soon gained focus as the light began to fade from them. He turned his attention to Nihlus, and after a few moments he seemed to register who stood in front of him. Natasha took this opportunity to silently signal to her squad to spread out and find cover.

“The Council sent me, old friend. They knew things would go wrong. You know how it is with the Alliance.”

[silver-turian95]

Mass Effect Series: Light Within Darkness Part 1

[masseffect-rarepairs]

Rarepairs I found recently that I genuinely never considered before:

Ashley x Nihlus

Samara x Aethtya

Hannah Shepard x Victus

Thane x Cortez

Liara x EDI

[sol-consort]

Joker x reader Shepard headcanons

[Fluff, ME1, nb!reader]

He has noticed how much you frequent the Normandy bridge despite not having any tasks there

As a commander, your position is in the cushy back with caption Anderson in the com room or in front of the holographic space map.

And yet here you are, standing next to his pilot chair and refusing to take Kaidan's seat next to him.

At first he did think he was in trouble, did the captain send you to spy on him perhaps?

But with time, he started warming up to you, getting less defensive about talking about his past.

You laugh at his jokes, even the awkward bad ones get at least a chuckle or a smile out of you. He wonders is he should go check with the medic on why his heart had been beating faster than normal these days.

Although he does thank the stars for the fact you keep standing behind his chair rather than next to him, with the way your armour hugs your body, he would've crashed the Normandy into a stray astroide or something by now.

It's...lovely, having a friend. He is used to short encounters with people, for them to laugh at his jokes then shake their head and walk away.

But you've stayed with him on the helm, stayed even when the jokes ran out and even when the ache of his legs started souring his mood.

He hates asking for help, hates people looking at him with pity.

But you didn't. You kept a casual air around you as you handed him the painkillers and started chatting about a random topic you wanted his opinions on.

Although, your presence has been getting the helm of the ship more visitors than usual. Ashley dropping by to hand you a cold drink, Kaidan coming around to check on the navigators, a duty he usually ignores.

Tali stopping by to speak her theories and ask Joker for his insight, Liara following along and having their ideas bounce off each other.

Wrex who silently stays by your side, polishing his shotgun and never saying another word. Yet sometimes Joker swears he can hear his deep chuckles at a stray pun he just said to you.

Garrus follows after Wrex with his inquires about your next mission, asking for permission to run inventory and check your weapons.

Joker has never had these many people coming by, even if it's for you, they still talk to him.

He has a friend group, something he never thought he'd have. They invite him for drinks and share the shore team inside jokes with him.

And it's all because of you being patient with him, because of the way you stayed by his side.

Your presence starts to warm his heart, he finds himself involuntarily smiling whenever he hears the sounds of your footsteps approaching him.

Not to mention, you let him gossip about Nihlus with you as much as he wants. Even when you end up reprimanding him for going off about your spectres mentor.

He likes the passing touches you give him, be it ruffling his hair fondly or a reassuring grip on his shoulder.

Your voice is soothing too, time flies by whenever he's listening to you talk as he steers the ship.

It was a gradual build up to the day he eventually made a half-joking remark about how you spend so much time with him, the two of you might as well start dating.

Masking his nervousness with humour as he kept his eyes focused ahead, wondering if the stretched seconds of silence are building up for a rejection he will have to face.

But instead, it's your reassuring grip again. Trailing up his neck from his shoulder and caressing his face.

"I'd really like that" you admit.

[stormikins]

Mass Effect Trilogy Tag

tagged by @nowandthane thank you!! Warning I ramble a bit in this lol

I am a fan since: 2017, I got it for Christmas in 2016 so I always just say '17

Favorite Game of the series: By virtue of simply replaying it the most, three. I really love the combat in it so I've played it near thirty times? But all time fave would have to 1 because of the aesthetic, tone, and story. There's something about first discovering a world which is what me1 is about.

MShep or Femshep? Gotta go with Femshep. I have played both, its just hard to capture the male shepard image I have in my head in the character creator so Femshep it is.

Earthborn, Colonist, or Spacer: earthborn! My main Shepard Jenn is earthborn so that's what I'm going with. Though, I have numerous Shepard's are various background combinations. I have feelings about each background trust me

Biotics or tech: Both! Though I really do love biotics, you can do some cool stuff with them, setting up and detonating both biotic and tech explosions.

Paragon or Renegade: I have to repeat what nowandthane said, paragon choices, renegade dialogue.

Favorite Class: Sentinel. I love the versatility of the class, but I do have an affection for Infiltrator because that's what got me through me2 on insanity.

Favorite Companion: Tali. By story value, Javik. He's like one of the most important characters

Least Favorite Companion: Javik, throw your attitude out the airlock. IM JOKING! (he has every reason to be like he is. I love him very much) Liara is my answer though only because I don't like some of the story choices the devs did with her. (ex: why does she have Shepard's armor in a display case when i didn't even romance her??? I can't mention this at all??)

My squad selection: For Jenn's playthrough: Wrex/Tali in me1. Garrus/Mordin/Miranda generally in me2. Thane and Miranda/Samara for the collector base. Kaidan/Javik/James in me3. Of course, I mix it up based on story aspects and the difficulty settings. But me3 is pretty fixed bc I always play on insanity.

Favorite in-game Romance: Tali and Garrus. I'm a sucker for awkward, wet cat of a man like Garrus is. But Tali's romance man.... her parting line to Shepard during the beam run "I have a home" makes me insane actually

Other pairings I like: Obligatory Nihlus/Shepard/Kal (and the duos within in this throuple) mention here. Other than that, Joker/Miranda and Joker/James, Ashley/Garrus, and Shepard/Wrex, I could list a whole lot so I'll keep it to those ships lol

Favorite NPC: Nihlus and Kal'Reegar for sure. Victus and of course Niftu Cal our favorite biotic god.

Favorite Antagonist: Saren. He's the best one that we get in all three games (Harby could have been number one if they did anything with him in three but that's a rant for another time lmao)

Favorite Mission: Haestrom/Tali's Loyalty mission because that's when I get to see Kal <3 and blow up a colossus with the Cain. Also, the Collector Ship mission I have to mention because it's frankly the only mission besides the two previously stated where I've loaded up the save to play it on insanity when I'm bored. It's fun. Of course, this is with the Infiltrator.

Favorite Loyalty Mission: Tali for numerous reasons. Kal mention here. But I love the insight into Quarian culture we get. Also we see that fire in her when she's talking to the Board which I always appreciate. Along with her dialogue at the end, "I got better, Shepard. I got you." and then on the ship afterwards, "I don't think life is about what we deserve." I love her so much.

Favorite DLC: Leviathan. Only because of the horror aspect.

Control, Sythesis, or Destroy? Destroy. I have so many issues with the ending and that's the least worst option in my opinion so. (I too ignore that it wipes out the Geth and Edi fuck that)

Favorite Weapon: The M-90 Cain or the M-99 Saber aka the "Big Iron". Lancer in three was my favorite weapon before I found the Saber. Special mention to my bud the Mattock, I have been convinced of its glory. I do not think the Harrier is better anymore lol which my brother would be happy to hear

Favorite Place: me1 Citadel my BELOVED.

A quote I like Quotes I Like: The ENTIRETY of Sovereign's dialogue on Virmire GOD ITS SO GOOD!!!! / "Stand in the ashes of a trillion dead souls and ask the ghosts if honor matters. The silence is your answer." / "Does this unit have a soul?" / "Just followed your example, Shepard. Yell loud enough and eventually someone will come over to see what all the fuss is about." / "I won't let fear compromise who I am." / "I MADE A MISTAKE!" / "Help me out here, Shepard. The line between friend and foe is getting a little blurry from where I stand." / There are so many great quotes in these games I could go on and on but I'll stop myself

No pressure tags: @spacebunshep @jtownnn

[nowandthane]

Mass Effect Trilogy Tag

tagged by @menacingmetal thank you!!!! <3

tagging @grim-starling @stormikins @vakariansvixen @westernlarch @illusivesoul @drelldreams @xoshepard (i know you already got tagged but tag me in yours too if u do it i wanna see it xD) <3 and anyone else who wants to do this!!

I am a fan since: I first played in September 2022 and it's consumed my life since! I had the OT since like 2018/19??? but i couldnt play because it gave me motion sickness kjdfhgkdf then I got MELE free cause amazon was doing a thing and by that point i had friends who taught me to mod the game and i can play with relatively few issues now :3

Favourite game of the series?: oooh idk i love them all and i played them first time all in a row so theyre kind of like one game to me... probably me2?

MShep or FShep?: femshep. ive yet to complete a game with anyone other than femshep. well, anyone other than sarani specifically lmao but hopefully that'll change xD

Earthborn, Colonist or Spacer?: earthborn!! (sarani again xD)

Biotics or Tech: tech (again... sarani. she is not a biotic)

Paragon or Renegade: paragon choices, renegade dialogue xD

Favourite Class: infiltrator!! ive never played a class other than infiltrator (yes, you guessed it, sarani :3) but im trying out vanguard like anytime now so we'll see?

Favourite Companion:

Least favourite Companion:

you could put a gun to my head and i still wont answer those two i will not choose

My squad selection: i dont really have a main i think? it depends on who's narratively appropriate for the mission, then on who will help me most with their build. i try to make sure everyone has equal time cause i wanna see them all....

Favourite In-game romance: well it's def thane if youve known me a while youd know i used his name for like over a year while i was figuring out my gender stuff xD also garrus and tali ofc <3 but tbh they're all good!! with the exception of jacob cause bioware did him so dirty ugh

Other pairings I like: joker/edi, miranda/ashley, miranda/jack are some of my faves but tbh this world is my playground i WILL mix and match them xD

Favourite NPC: jenkins nihlus and aethyta, i kind of really want her to [liara shoots and kills me]

Favourite Antagonist: Saren for sure i need him to choke me

Favourite Mission: Priority: Tuchanka probably... i love mordin so much and his arc... beautiful

Favourite Loyalty Mission: Tali!!!

Favourite DLC: arrival. ok no lmao. omega probably!

Control, Synthesis or Destroy: destroy i guess but only because i pretend the geth and edi dont die lmao.

Favourite Weapon: black widow!!!!!

Favourite Place: Rannoch

A quote I like: Tali's 'The difference was you.' and 'I got better. I got you.' (very romance specific i know i love her okay) garrus's 'gray... i dont know what to do with gray.' legion's 'do these units have a soul?' kolyat saying 'the prayer was for you' when wrex says shepard is a sister to him

im gonna go cry now

[wafflesrock16]

Am I writing a Nihlus Kryik/Ashley Williams coffee shop AU? Why yes, it appears I am. 😬

[springagainafter]

Thoughts on the prologue pre-Eden Prime:

Everyone is so young!

ME 1 is so pretty.

SPACE DAD SPACE DAD SPACE DAD

Merrick has no family left and has *not* really made friends (colleagues, but not friends) at least since Akuze so at this point he's really just got Anderson (who's been around for him during/since Mindoir) and that's pretty much it.

In the spirit of Merrick being very good at shooting things and not naturally charming, put the three available points in Pistols (two) and Infiltrator (one). I put none in Charm at this time. Surely this will not come back to haunt me.

I should probably put points in Intimidate but it would be a waste because Merrick's a mix of neutraI/Paragon options and I can't stand taking the Renegade options XD

I have decided that he and Kaidan will be good friends by the end of 1 and just have to figure out how they get there. (It was easier with my other dude Sheps because they are considerably warmer and more charming and Kaidan pretty much instantly had a new biotic best buddy and a new techy best buddy). In 3 Kaidan is a bit of an older brother (my favorite bit is the one in Citadel where Merrick's all "we're going out to eat" and Kaidan's all "eh, I'm sick of Apollo's" - implication: they've been there a zillion times - and immediately starts digging pots and pans out of his buddy's cabinets instead because it is time to make real food.).

I like to think this is a shut-up-Jenkins-don't-bring-up-Akuze-it's-a-not-a-fun-topic cough from Dr. Chakwas, but she also does it when he brings up Elysium to a War Hero so that doesn't seem likely.

You get actual dialogue options here but in my heart Jenkins got about as far as "Ak--" and saw Merrick's displeased >:| face and changed the subject.

Neutral options are fun. Nihlus was dancing around the topic of Eden Prime and Merrick just went "If you have something to say, just say it."

Succeeded in dodging the weird Investigate option with Nihlus where Shepard's all "why would a turian want a human in the Spectres"!

Shepard becoming a Spectre is partly a merit thing wrapped up in politics and Merrick's okay with that because hey, Anderson's okay with it and it's good for the Alliance.

ASHLEY ASHLEY ASHLEY HIIIIIIIII

Picked the neutral option with Anderson pre-mission in response to the Nihlus-is-scouting line because in Merrick's head it's a given that they'll help out Nihlus and therefore he doesn't need to tell Anderson that ("Ready and able, sir!")