#nihlus/ashley

[dalekofchaos]

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

[yeoldecorprusarium]

[kaidanalenkosprmanager]

THE EDEN PRIME RUN -> PART 1/?

Ft. Lt. Cmdr. Dominik Oliveira-Shepard, Cpt. David Edward Anderson, and Spectre Nihlus Kryik With: Gun. Chief Ashley Williams and Flight Lt. Jeff "Joker" Moreau MIRA'S AU-VERSE CANONS: ME1 AKA: The one where Dom makes it off Mindoir instead. Part 1/? "Anderson, he knows absolute fuck-all about what happened on Torfan! None of them have a clue! 'Grim business'? 'Brutal'? 'Ruthless'? Like it was something I had control over? Thinking he can just... thinking they can just-" "It doesn't matter! None of it matters! If the Council asks for you by name after all these years? After the shit you pulled? You answer the call." Mass Effect: Legendary Edition (2021)

[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.

[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!

[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.

[wildxtreasures]

I'm so intrigued by literally every single one of your WIPs, but I'm gonna *ask* about "spy thriller"!! What's going on there?

you've unlocked an old WIP!

'spy thriller' is an AU of Mass Effect 1 where Shepard's final mission before becoming a Spectre is to work with the turian military to obtain information from a rumoured krogan outpost in batarian space.

HOWEVER, the turian military have set this up with the Council to indoctrinate Shepard into being more sympathetic to the Council races when she becomes a Spectre.

BUT the Alliance want Shepard to secretly funnel them information about the turian military as she works with them.

she also meets a few new people while working with the turians - she has her own human supports (Kaidan, Ashley, and Joker) but also meets her turian handlers (Garrus, who actually went into the turian military, Nihlus, and Saren), and a few other notable characters (Liara is working with the Council on whether the krogan outpost is on a Prothean ruin, Wrex is a Shepard-only contact, and Tali is her main weapons/tech gal still on her pilgrimmage and proved herself an asset to the Council before meeting Shepard). i dunno, sounded kind of fun!! perhaps if i return to my mass effect fixation, it shall come to fruition. :)

[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

[squigglysquidd]

11 - 20 for the fanfiction asks 😀

Thank you so much for the ask!

Ship Questions for your Current Fandom

11. Who is your current OTP?

Shakarian! Which is probably of no surprise to anyone 😆However! I do have some other Mass Effect OTPs. Pairs like James/Solana, Ashley/Nihlus, MShep/Tali, Joker/EDI, Liara/Javik, etc. (Yall probably don't want me to list out the entire list)

12. Who is your current OT3?

This one had me thinking. I'm not too sure I have an OT3. I might need to change that.

13. Any NoTPs?

Nope! Unless it's like incest or pedophilia, you know? As long as it isn't something nasty like that, I support other people's ships and their OTPs because in fandom, we're all equal in our headcanons

14. Go on, who are your BroTPs?

I like to think that James and Garrus are good friends, like the kind to tease one and jab at one another. Also, I think Nihlus would be a good kind of older brother to Garrus. Of course, there's also MShep and Garrus but that's more of an AU.

15. Is there an obscure ship which you love?

I personally ship Solana and James. I think their nature to pick at Garrus and tease him like siblings do would be a good start to their relationship. And maybe Shakarian has opened their eyes up to a turian/human possibility.

16. Are their any popular ships in your fandom which you dislike?

I'd say absolutely not but, unfortunately, I have a thing for Talibrations but that has more to do with how the games did it. I'm sure fanfics have done a much better job.

17. Who was your first OTP and are they still your favourite?

Shakarian of course and absolutely!

18. What ship have you written the most about?

Shakarain obv

19. Is there a ship which you wished you could get behind, but you just don’t feel them?

I think this is basically question 16 so same answer

20. Any ships which you surprised yourself by liking?

I was surprised by the Ashley/Nihlus ship @wafflesrock16 helped make happen. I never would have imagined the two but now, it makes sense.

Thanks again for the asks!

[drelldreams]

ME characters + gaming

hardcore gamer: Donnelly, Gabby, Legion, Jack, Joker, Jacob, Conrad Verner, Nihlus, Kal‘Regaar

casual gamer: Garrus, Kasumi, Grunt, Admiral Hackett (was hardcore in his youth but lacks the time nowadays), Aethyta

rarely plays games but will totally play co-op games with you if you ask them: Thane, Liara, Kaidan, Kelly

plays cute wholesome games (farming simulators, etc) but not much of a gamer: Kaidan, Dr Chakwas, Tali, David Anderson

what‘s a video game: Miranda, Javik, Wrex, Zaeed, Ashley, Samara

[wafflesrock16]

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

[danypooh80]

All I ever wanted, Ch. 108

The team travels deeper into the facility; thanks to Miranda, some pieces start to come together.