#old man!krogan

[reallyprofoundkryptonite]

Jotting down for design purposes but ANYWAYS. Old man Krogan.

His design is changing. Giving him longer hair because it fits him. Mainline we are reintroduced to him by Hiccup and Astrid’s (completely naive) 15 year old daughter who just thinks the old man with the pretty silver hair and the tabby stripes (and a little bit pf an attitude, to be honest.) is just very lonely. But he doesn’t mind her presence, actually. He might be mostly blind but he is very strong and turns out to be one of her few closest mentors when it comes learning archery and practicing things her parents would never teach her.

Zephyr wonders how Krogan has such a sure shot, how he is able to pick out weak spots in an animals hide or body, even though he is blind, and he reminds her that while hunting she needs to rely on her other senses rather than just sight. You will hear a potential predator coming far quicker than you will see it, after all.

Anyways, something something Krogan becomes the Haddock family’s weird uncle/grandpa who just so happens to live in the woods and has an odd obsession with fireworms and flightmare algae.

[drackbooty]

drack would listen to nickelback i know this for a fact. he told me himself.

[howtowhumpyourhiccup]

Reblogging this post again because I've been thinking about the question that a lot of fans have asked themselves, written about, made AUs around and even asked in a comment on this post.

Why doesn't Hiccup resent Berk for the way he was treated?

The answer could simply be that Hiccup just doesn't hold any grudges. Although the Thawfest episode kind of says something otherwise when Hiccup is just so ready to get back at Snotlout for years of bad treatment related to the Thawfest games. Or the instances when he gets back at his friends for things they've said and done, like when he made Astrid wear that "d.u.m.b" sash for a mission because she called his ideas boring. He even made Snotlout wear it just because.

Even in RttE, he mentions something Snotlout did three years earlier in RoB (even though that episode ended with them on good terms) and Stoick has to lecture him about not taking revenge on the Hunters, a lesson he literally states just an episode or two, three later is JUST for his son! That doesn't sound like someone who doesn't hold any grudges at all.

Instead, I think the answer is a lot sadder.

In order for resentment to build up, you need to realize something was unfair first. And if that scene in THW is anything to go by, Hiccup clearly still thinks he was the problem. Which is why, years down the line, he's still trying to get away from his 15 year old self and what he represents to him.

There's several times in the movies, shows and specials combined that have Astrid build Hiccup up when he feels bad about himself. At least once in every movie, once in Gift of the Night Fury, a few times in the tv-show...

Hiccup does the same for her, he builds up anybody in his life, but I suddenly realize that Astrid will probably spend years if not their entire life together helping Hiccup through these moments of insecurity and self-deprication because of the way he was treated growing up.

[thefloatingstone]

Puff please tell me about Grunt I just saw a Tumblr post you reblogged that vaguely went into detail and I read a small bit of his wiki page but I want to hear it in your own words because it's like 10x more interesting with that filter. Fill my dash with grunt lore

GRUNT IS SHEPARD'S VERY LARGE SON

I don't know whether the designers originally created him with this thought in mind or not but it's really funny because by the time the DLC came out for ME2 you can see the games just fully embracing what was originally just a joke in the Mass Effect fandom.

I used to not be fully into it as a concept but as I'm busy replaying ME3 and having just played ME2 again... nah people were right. He's our son.

He was created in a lab to be an "ultimate krogan warrior" or whatever, but when Shepard cracked how out of his tube, he had did not have that "burning desire of revenge in the name of his species" the scientist who made him was obsessed by. Physically he was perfect, but psychologically, he just didn't understand why he should care about being a krogan. in ME2 when he's introduced, his story arc is helping him connect with what it means to be a krogan, and to help him find purpose as an individual. You essentially help raise this adolescent fully formed person out of apathy and teach him how to care about things, concepts and people, almost completely through actions and not so much through words.

As ME2 goes on, it becomes clear Grunt very much wants Shepard's approval about things, which is funny because at first he comes across as a cold, uncaring fully formed adult, but as you help him learn how to connect with being a member of his species, he'll sometimes want to talk to Shepard JUST to be like "Hey Shepard!! I thought about something to do with being Krogan I thought you'd approve of! listen to this!!"

In the DLC for ME2, you can read up on his internet search history as well as his online purchase history and I just.... think a lot of it explains SO MUCH about him as a character. So I'm just copy and pasting those here

SEARCH: krogan history SEARCH: great wars SEARCH: genofage / ERASED / krogan victories SEARCH: okeer/ ERASED / great generals SEARCH: toochanka/ ERASED / tuchanka SEARCH: urnot wrex SEARCH: battlemaster shepard/ MODIFIED/ commander shepard/MODIFIED/commander shepard normandy SEARCH: animal fights / MODIFIED / large predators SEARCH: tryrannsauros wrex/ ERASED / earth lizard wrex SEARCH: dinosaurs

SEARCH: battlemaster humans/ ERASED / earth humans SEARCH: human history SEARCH: earth wars // DOWNLOAD 6.1T NEWS FOOTAGE - HUMAN GENERAL HISTORICAL - CONFLICT // SEARCH: warrior humans // DOWNLOAD 2.1T DOCUMENTARY FOOTAGE - HUMAN GENERAL HISTORICAL- MAJOR MILITARY FIGURES // SEARCH: great humans/ MODIFIED / honored humans // DOWNLOAD 0.7T NEWSFOOTAGE [sic] - HUMAN ACHIEVEMENT- AWARDS // SEARCH: great storytellers human SEARCH: war stories // DOWNLOAD 0.67T LITERATURE - HUMAN WRITERS CONFLICT// SEARCH: human homer kipling hemmingway // DOWNLOAD 0.13T LITERATURE - HUMAN WRITERS – EARNEST HEMMINGWAY // // DOWNLOAD 0.06T AUDIO BOOKS // // THE SUN ALSO RISES // 14% COMPLETED // FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS // 100% COMPLETED // A FAREWELL TO ARMS // DELETED // THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA // 100% COMPLETED SEARCH: sharks

CATALOG ORDER: Ultra Black Ops Mega Catalog PURCHASE 2823- UG-652: Case Premium 54/ER Engine Oil VIDEO DOWNLOAD: The Madness of Sacrifice: The Unauthorized Biography of Warlord Okeer PURCHASE 2856- UG-122: Economy Box, Fishdog Food Factory "Tastee Bites" VIDEO DOWNLOAD: When Fauna Attacks! Volumes 1-10 PURCHASE 3254-UG-975: Batax's Hot Fish Spice VIDEO DOWNLOAD: Vaenia (this is a movie) VIDEO DOWNLOAD: Asari Confessions 26: True Blue (this is porn) PURCHASE 9683- UG-662: Fornax Special Spotlight: Krogan Edition (this is a human magazine focusing on interspecies sexual relations) PURCHASE 8856- UG-972: Captain Cosmic Action Figures: "Garr the Krogan Battlemaster" with real smash your enemies action!

By the time ME3 comes around, most of the rest of the squad is referring to Grunt in terms poking fun at the fact that Shepard is his mom. I think it's Joker who at one point comments "Our baby boy's all grown up" or something to that effect. I can't remember the exact dialogue. I think at one point Garrus also jokes about how "they grow up so fast" or something along those lines.

He also loves spicy ramen.

Grunt is a good boy.

[sol-consort]

Consider how funny it is for Kaidan to go from Rahna, a delicate and fragile spring flower with the sweetest heart who got scared by him protecting her.

To Shepard. Especially renegade Shepard.

It's like two opposite extremes.

That's super soldier, first human spectre, made out of steel and titanium Shepard. First human to attend a krogan rite and beat a thrasher maw on foot. First human to kill a reaper time after time after time.

And like no slander on Rahna, she is obviously a very different person with different traits, she sounds very sweet and kind hearted.

But it is hilarious that he went from playing knight in shining armour for a damsel in distress, to getting carried fireman style on Shepard's back multiple times and having Shepard scream commands at him during shootouts. Like Shepard's presence is just so dominanting by itself, imagine a renegade Shepard who puts everyone at their place at every turn.

Home boy thought he'd go for a slightly more adventurous person, not realising he signed up to be the squeeze stress toy for the Atlas of the galaxy carrying the world on their back as the most famous human alive.

That's six-pack Shepard with a sculpted god-like body. That's always in military uniform with everyone addressing them with the utmost respect Shepard. That's knowing how to use every rifle type known to mankind and nerves of steel Shepard. Powerful and dangerous.

That's short-temper and always yelling loud enough over the sound of gunfire and explosions Shepard. That's ordering people to stand down and obey them without question Shepard. That's requiring absolute devotion from their crew and somehow earning it every time they get assigned a new crew Shepard.

Can you imagine how different his life would've been if Rahna just didn't reject him? He would've had an average marriage with the most stereotypical gentle strong husband and delicate sensitive wife relationship. Got an office job maybe or something instead of signing up for the military, rarely used his biotics or just joined C-sec as an officer if he was feeling a little adventurous.

Instead of you know, standing at Shepard's side during war negotiations with admirals to face the reapers. Being taken to cure the genophage, resolve a war that's almost a thousand years old, visit the asari's most sacred temple and witness Shepard stand in front of a reaper like it's nothing while stepping away from the burning laser beam storming their way.

Man that's wild. Kaidan really didn't know what he was in for when he thought his new commanding officer that Anderson introduced him to, is kinda cute and maybe he'll hint at liking them and see if they want to spend some shore leave together. Why not step out of his comfort zone and try a slightly different type than Rahna you know? What's the worst that could happen?

[lovelywingsart]

Critical Mission: The Fox and the Hound

-- Saren Arterius X Commander Shepard/OC (Transmasc Enby, They/Them) --

And we have finally arrived to the beginning! uwu Ah... I tried my best with this one AKSJSKDD- Anyone who knows me knows I'm MUCH better at dialogue and emotion, but uh... Mass Effect includes gun fights which I am NOT good at writing, so you're gonna have to deal with that-

I hope it's enjoyed anyway...! QuQ

NOTE: This storyline starts during Mass Effect 2 and follows the events of the Paragon ending of Mass Effect 1

Also this is the longest thing I've ever written.

**You can find the Masterlist here!

-----

*Warnings?: Does 'gun violence' count if it's Mass Effect??, panic attack, flashbacks, mentions of previous violence and suicide, Garrus and Cam are the Chaos Duo

Summary: A seemingly 'normal' mission into a Cerberus facility takes a strange and somewhat dangerous turn when Shepard discovers a secret that not even the organizations top agents were aware of.

The air of the facility was cut through by beams and bullets, haunting screeches and sparks of biotic energy crackling with each creature in the vicinity that had gotten hit enough to fall. Occasionally an order would ring out, or a quip from one of the small group that pushed forward, hitting everything in their path. It wasn't long until a single voice rose among the rest that the groups movement halted;

“Shit- GET DOWN!!!”

The mission had been relatively successful- travel to a Cerberus facility, gather some data, take out the Collectors that had overtaken it. Brainless enough where anyone could have done it, but of course ‘anyone’ didn't count in this case. Simple, clean, and most certainly no issue; even when Cam yelled and dove behind a barrier to avoid the particle beam aimed directly at their face. The turian and the krogan with them followed suit as the beam sliced through the air over their heads, and they waited while reloading their shotgun. They kept in mind reminded themself to chew out Illusive Man later for something so stupid- Anyone could have done this. ANYONE of his endless amounts of soldiers could have done this. But NO, it HAD to be Commander Shepard, spirits forbid one of his own men got a scratch on their armor. Ridiculous prick, son of a-

“Hate those damn things-” they said, peaking over the edge for a moment as they popped out the old clip. The krogan laughed.

“The best part is the challenge, even if it isn't much… Is your strength fading on you now?” Grunt said in what they assumed to be an attempt at joking, though he earned an eye roll regardless.

“Oh yeah, it’s DEFINITELY fading.” They replied sarcastically, smacking the new ammo clip into the gun to hear the *click* of it locking in. “And who here helped you bag the Thresher Maw? Or did we forget how much of a bitch that thing was??”

“Hey, I said thank you.”

With that, even Garrus let out an amused chuckle.

“You gotta show that thanks with a bit more than talking." The turian piped up, already peeking around the barrier and steadying the rifle he held. His voice purred with a joking affection that admittedly sent a small rush of heat to their cheeks. “You know how Shepard is, ‘actions speak louder than words’.”

“Words seemed to work well with you.”

“So did actions-”

“My next action is gonna be knocking both of your skulls together if you don't keep shooting!!!” Cam shot back immediately, a clear amount of embarrassment in their voice and earning laughter from the both of them before hopping over the barrier and sprinting forward.

Bullets flew from behind them as they nearly skid to a stop at the Collector with the particle gun, aiming their own gun at its face. Two rapidly timed shots to the head were all it took to take the thing down, nearly coating them in a spray of goopy, golden orange viscera as it fell. They took an extra moment to kick it. 

“THAT'S for the damn beam.” They huffed, cocking and lifting the gun once more towards another whose bullets bounced off their shields only to jump and whirl around as a separate bullet from above them whizzed past their head and broke through the shields entirely, just for a moment.

It startled them enough to lower their gun for a split second- a mistake.

“What-” they started, only for their side to explode in a searing pain as they were shot at by another Collector at closer range, stumbling back and just narrowly avoiding another few shots by more.

They let out a pained, angry yell, instantly clutching their side when they moved as the smallest bit of red began to flourish along the softer connective bits of armor around the wound- they could tell it was more or less a minor one comparatively, entering and exiting through the very edge of their side and very non-lethal despite now probably leaving a nice divet of a scar, but it still hurt like a motherfucker even with the medi-gel system in the suit activating almost immediately.

The sound of their teams voices brought them out of the pained stupor they were in for just a moment, nearly swinging their shotgun out with one arm and pulling the trigger at the first Collectors they saw. They unloaded the clip with a clenched jaw, steadying themself from the pain of the recoil and watching the bodies drop as they began to back away slowly around a stack of crates to wait for the medi-gel to work its magic. Another few came- bringing Husks with them this time- but that wasn't what drew their attention entirely as it normally would. Instead it was another two shots from above, one hitting their regenerating shields and the other just barely grazing their cheek with another aim for the head.

With that they nearly flung themself backwards to safety with a new understanding of the situation at hand, hiding next to Garrus and swearing under their breath as they pressed their hand to their side for a moment once more.

“Fucking SNIPERS-” They snapped, hunching over slightly as the pain in their side began to numb over with the gel. Shots taken next to them let them breath for a moment, though still winced with an inhale.

“‘Course it's a goddamn sniper… pain in my ass…” they groaned, though paused for a moment before looking at him. “No offense.”

He snorted, taking another easy shot at one of the Husks.

“None taken.” He said simply, and they looked around with a huff. They peeked from behind the barrier once more, their eyes scanning the area quickly. 

The facility was small and, thankfully, had a relatively simple floor plan, allowing them to see a majority of it in only a few seconds. The sight of a small entrance tucked into the far corner caught their attention, and a closer look only confirmed their thoughts.

“Over there.” They said, nodding in the direction of the entrance. “There's stairs. Think they lead to him?”

“Theres a good chance of it…” Garrus spoke slowly, angling the scope in the direction- it didn't seem like anything had come from the stairs, nor was anything going towards them. “Looks like you could get there pretty easily, too. It's riiiight under him.”

“Perfect.”

Cam shuffled slightly to the side, peeking over once more; They had taken out a decent chunk of the bugs and corpses already, and the amount of them seemed to lessen and slow down considerably. It would be relatively easy to just go if they had cover.

“Alright…” they started, and the two looked at them. “Both of you follow. Garrus, you stop center and take cover and take out what you can from a distance. Grunt, you follow until the stairs and cover my ass for whatever comes running through.” They nodded out past the barrier. “Looks like they're slowing down, so it shouldn't be too much to handle without me, but we still need to be quick to tie up any loose ends otherwise Illusive will be on my ass.”

“What about you?” Grunt replied, and they gave a lopsided smirk, the scarring across their lips making it look a tad more vicious than intended.

“I'm going up there to blow it's goddamn head off like it just tried to do with me. Twice.” they said, a small hint of excitement in their voice. Garrus let out a thrum of amusement.

“I thought we learned a while ago not to go off by ourselves?” He asked, though simply followed as they began to move, and Grunt followed closely behind. They snorted.

“Fine, Archangel. If I'm not back down in two minutes, you have permission to come up and save me.”

They nearly felt him roll his eyes as they grinned.

“Point taken-”

“It takes you two minutes to shoot one bug?” Grunt quipped, glancing at them as he shuffled along behind them.

“Nah.” They said simply, signaling for Garrus to stop and taking a moment to shoot another two husks that had run too close for whatever small comfort they had as they came into their creatures line of ‘sight’. “Might take me two minutes to fist fight the bastard though, I'm feeling a little bit of the adrenaline now that the medi-gel’s kicked in.”

“Sure, you call it ‘adrenaline’, we might call it ‘stupidity’.” Garrus chimed from behind the pillar he was at, already setting his sights on the few remaining creatures. “No offense.”

“I'll decide later if there's any taken.” Cam replied, stopping Grunt as they approached the staircase. Another husk was taken out with a quick glance around elsewhere before they looked at him.

“Two minutes. Earlier if I start screaming.” They said, going up a few stairs immediately. “Watch my back!”

They only looked back enough to see him nod before turning, and they resumed their quick ascent.

They nearly ran, jumping and skipping a few steps on the way up and nearly hopping at the top before rounding the corner in a pivot and pressing against the wall. They held their shotgun to their chest silently, finger nearly hovering over the trigger as the sound of shots being taken in the room over reached their ears- no doubt the sniper, and by the sound of it, it was more calculating than the others- and also shooting at their friends…

Kind of.

The shots were spaced as if purposely searching for targets instead of the sporadic shots normally taken by the Collectors, though even by the sound of it the gunman had grown either uncaring or lazy once they were out of visible range. Some shots were followed by impact sounds from concrete and metal, others simply sounded too physically high to even hit those. It was almost as if some shots were to simply waste ammo, and it all but confirmed it had been something with more seemingly coherent thought and capability to make choices.

It mostly confused and even mildly intrigued them, though not enough to pause completely; Two of those shots HAD almost taken their head off after all, giving some merritt to the gunman's overall skill- and they were here to return the favor.

They slipped into the room silently, pressing themself to the wall and hiding behind a pile of stacked cargo boxes until they heard the distinct click of the gun reloading- it was then they moved, sure any attempt to shoot mid-reload would have been in vain.

They slipped out from their spot and into the middle of the room, this time openly cocking the shotgun and holding it up with their finger entirely on the trigger as they cornered and aimed it at the sniper.

“Surprise, asshole!!” they said triumphantly, moving forward so the individual was in clear view. The sniper themself had just barely been caught somewhat off guard, immediately standing and whirling around to face them with gun drawn at the sound of their voice.

“I fuckin’ found y-”

Their words died in their throat as they looked down the barrel of the sniper rifle and to the face behind it-

“... you…”

The last word left their lips in a near horrified whisper as they met and focused on the eyes of the shooter.

The very distinct, very familiar eyes.

Their body went rigid, and suddenly their finger was locked on the trigger.

The very familiar, silvery ice blue eyes.

A cold shot of fear ran down their spine and their breathing became labored and quick.

Familiar icy blue eyes connected to a familiar old, pale face.

Their throat began to close.

The familiar old, pale face of a familiar old, pale turian.

Their mouth went dry and their muscles began to tremble.

The familiar old, pale turian who currently stared at them with a similar wide-eyed look of stunned and fearful recognition.

“... Saren…”

The name of who they knew to be the once very, very dead turian who stood in front of them left their lips in a hushed rush of breath, as if they had just gotten hit square in the chest by a charging krogan.

But… he was dead.

They KNEW he was dead..

His organic body had nearly disintegrated after he had shot himself with the forceful transformation into the Sovereign-controlled Husk, and the Husk itself had disintegrated after the second death.They had watched it happen. They had helped CAUSE it to happen.

He was SUPPOSED to be dead.

What. The. Fuck.

It was as if there was no oxygen left in the vicinity as they struggled to breathe, a horrified, stunned panic bubbling up in their chest. They stared at him, memories from those few years ago flooding in like a tidal wave, constricting their lungs and preventing breath all together for a few moments;

Two years ago. The Citadel. The Reaper ship Sovereign heralding the return of its kind and the end of life as they knew it. Under its control, Saren Arterius, once immensely feared and ruthless Spectre, whittled down to a mere crazed puppet with false promises and acting as the Prophet of change and coming times. Only for them to come along and break that illusion so desperately, watching helplessly as his decision to take his own life seemed more favorable than living under any possible further influence- or more favorable to living with what he had done. A strange heartbreak they had never felt, or known possible for an enemy- a mere stranger, at that- who had despised humans and already lost so much.

The strange heartbreak of watching the gun go off to send the bullet through his skull, unable to watch their companion supposedly finish the job. The feeling of failure once the shot had been confirmed....

And then the fear.

The fear and horror of watching his corpse rise once more as a true puppet, feeling- no, SEEING the Reapers energy flow through the air and into him like a lightning storm from hell. The nauseating panic of the thing focusing on them, their name escaping whatever mechanical monstrosity he had become, his voice stolen as it went for them- 

The pain of its elongated talons slicing through their flesh, a moment they had relieved in so many nightmares. The scar those talons left now igniting at the back of their neck, causing a sharp burning pain that caused them to flinch hard, nearly pulling the trigger that their finger currently danced over with deliberation.

“... S-... Shepard…”

His voice came as a slow, strained rasping, as if it had been the first time he had spoken willingly in years- or perhaps the first time he had spoken without screaming, they thought. A voice that sounded both familiar and distant, testing and questioning its own ability and range of emotion with the utterance of a single word. It sent a surge of nausea through them, and another feeling they couldn’t quite place- Rage? Sorrow? Dread? The smallest hint of relief mixed in somehow?

But they simply stared at him, sucking in breaths how they could with the ever growing feeling in their chest.

Saren fucking Arterius was still alive.

Breathing.

Right here in front of them.

Somehow. 

But… they KILLED him-

They couldn't help but lower the shotgun just slightly as they stared, though still keeping it aimed at him, too stunned to speak. Too afraid to speak, really. Many words danced on the tip of their tongue, wanting to be released. Hell, wanting to be screamed- but they were unable to even attempt to make sense of them, much less right here and now. They were too unprepared. Too caught off guard to do anything except struggle to breath with the memories and pain rushing back to them, all the while unaware of shuffling footsteps from behind them as their senses hyperfocused on the one in front of them.

He was all they could see, all they could focus on… the shifting of his nose as his breaths came as quick bursts, the bright- and fully organic, they noticed- eyes darting wildly with a panicked glow from the biotics that threatened to spark around his irises and fingers, the scarred mandibles that he held so tightly to his jaw that they knew couldn’t have been the least bit comfortable and even a bit painful…

Even the small shift of the high powered rifle he held, aiming once more towards their head, though slightly to the side as his finger reached the trigger with small lightning speed.

They closed their eyes suddenly, only for a second, knowing a shot from it at such close range would have ripped through their shields instantly, putting a hole through their skull before they could even flinch;

And suddenly, the shot went off, deafening in their mind.

The world seemed to screech to a stop with an eerie silence with a ringing in their ears.

Were… were they dead…?

Certainly they were dead…

But… no… No, something was wrong.

Slowly, sound returned to them again, and they slowly cracked their eyes open as they registered their surroundings once more.

There was a noise behind them after the distinct feeling and sound of a bullet whizzed past their ear, just barely grazing the skin enough to leave nothing more than a small rash- A noise akin to a wet gasp and thud, followed by a choking screech and sparks that sent off a large enough charge to send a wave up their spine.

Cam whirled around almost immediately with their own gasp at the feeling, their body trembling entirely as they took in the sight of the dead Husk behind them. They blinked away the tears they were unaware had blurred the edges of their vision.

They thought they were dead...

Slowly, hesitantly, they turned to face him again with baited breath, their eyes immediately moving to his hands as they stayed firmly on the rifle-

They were trembling, too.

They were trembling, his finger having been moved off the trigger as quickly as it had been put there, even as the barrel was just slightly aimed back at them. They shifted their gaze back to his face as they managed to keep their shotgun steady, almost taken aback by what they saw in the pale features-

Utter terror.

He was afraid of them- or, afraid to be near them.

They stared at him for a moment, attempting to reign in their own breathing as their lungs struggled to work. Memories and thoughts still swirled through their mind as they slowly forced themself to lower the shotgun just slightly, a mild attempt to be… maybe slightly less threatening.

“... S-Saren…” they started slowly, their voice breaking and wavering as they spoke, his name stinging their tongue. “Saren, put down the gun…”

There was another flicker of recognition in his eyes, and a pause in his trembling; but he didn't move. It didn’t even look like he breathed. They lowered the shotgun further, forcing their locked muscles to move in attempts to regain whatever composure they had.

“Put… Put down the gun…” they repeated, a bit more firm this time, though still fighting their own breaths.

He stared at them- watched them- carefully, the contemplation clear in his face as his brow plates shifted slightly, followed by the smallest flick of one of his mandibles. It seemed like he was in a daze now, attempting to figure out the situation for himself... If he could still THINK for himself, that was, and it seemed to be a struggle.

Slowly but surely, he seemed to come to a small conclusion amongst his thoughts, whatever they were, and the rifle was lowered. Still aimed at them, of course, but lowered more towards their chest instead of their head. Still not the most survivable shot, but better a nasty scar over the chest than a reconstructed face once the Illusive Man and his team would have been done with them.

Again.

He said nothing still, and they continued to lower their own weapon in example as he followed, nearly mirroring their movements as if unsure what else to do. They kept their own finger off the trigger, keeping their eyes on his while he did the same. It was only then that a sudden thought entered their mind, making their jaw tighten and teeth grind as their movements halted for just a second-

They could still shoot.

They could still make sure he was dead… Make sure he couldn't cause any more harm and prevent anything from happening again. Maybe even make sure no one even knew he was alive in the first place… No one HAD to know…

They could also make sure it wasn't some sort of vivid hallucination.

They could make sure it wasn't some fucked up ploy that the Collectors- or even Cerberus themselves, for that matter- had figured out to test their resolve and mental state even now, given all that had happened. All parties involved had known about their history with him and the effect it had caused. Cerberus knew of the nightmares they had, having recited them in a drugged delirium on the slab while drifting in and out of consciousness, screaming over it until their throat was raw. It was well known how they felt, and now they had a chance to fix it.

They had a clear shot, all they had to do was move fast and take it… One, maybe two shots from this distance would have taken him down easily.

They watched him with their thoughts screaming in their mind, taking in what they could.

He stood still, muscles rigid despite trembling, and clearly organic. His eyes were his eyes, the natural silvery ice blue instead of the harsh lilac blue synthetic orbs that contrasted horrifically against his overall stature and biotics. His mandibles were… scarred. Scarred with jagged edges from where Reaper technology had held them in place around his jaw, preventing any kind of hidden emotion from seeping out. He still donned the mute white armor they had remembered him wearing, yes, but his left arm now was identical to the right. No wires, no tubes, no glowing, no evidence of Reaper tech whatsoever. More importantly, he seemed fully coherent… Or, as coherent as he could have been, albeit scared out of his mind and severely confused. His gaze still held a small hint of distance, almost as if the situation was as hard to understand for him as it was for them, and the charismatic, pulling energy they had experienced from him before was all but nonexistent.

Other than the hazed confusion, he just seemed… normal.

Far too normal for them to be comfortable to pull the trigger.

They dropped the shotgun fully to their side with a rush of breath that only came out as a whimper, their shoulders drooping in realization of their conclusion.

They couldn't take the shot.

They attempted to breathe again, watching as he fully lowered the gun just as they had, though incredibly hesitant in his movements. They remained silent for a moment, their gaze moving between his face and the rifle a few times before attempting to shift their jaw to speak. Words sat at the tip of their tongue for a few seconds more before they opened their mouth.

“... On… On the ground… I won’t…” they managed quietly, their voice strained. But they took a breath and hardened themself, forcing out a sliver of the demanding confidence they had while ascending the stairs- though, to be fair, that was before they stared him in the face again. “I won't shoot. Just… Put it down.”

Their conclusive tone made him pause again with mild contemplation with his eyes finally shifting over their form slowly, but it seemed to do the job as he took an audible breath. They watched him as he began to move, crouching slightly while still keeping his eyes locked on them, now shifting between their own face and gun as they had watched him. They watched as he placed the gun on the ground with trembling hands before standing back up, fingers still trembling, though now with small sparks of anxiety fueled biotics. He kept his eyes trained on them the entire time as he straightened up how had been, though was still oddly silent, even if they swore they could almost hear a near grumbling with each breath he took. They shifted their jaw slightly as if to speak again, though now in mild disbelief.

That was… easy…

Almost too easy…

What the fuck was going on?

They kept their eyes on him, slowly managing to speak the words that came to mind.

“... What… What the fuck are you doing here…” they started slowly, voice strained and unable to hide the mild distress. “You were… You were dead, how… This is…” 

They fought through their words, though paused for a moment to take a breath.

“... Are you with the Collectors?” They asked slowly, finger still hovering over the trigger even with the gun at their side. They still had to be ready.

A small shake of the head, and they held their breath.

“... The Reapers?”

Their voice was quiet this time. He noticeably flinched, but slowly shook his head again. The reaction was enough to ease their own nerves just slightly, letting some of the rigidness leave their shoulders in a small sigh, but not entirely. A sense of panic still pricked at every nerve in their system, turning their stomach as they looked at him. The fact he even let go of the gun at their request didn't quite make it better… There was nothing that would have made him put that thing down so easily, unless-

It was only then that a thought came to mind, and with the thought came a sudden rush of anger along with more panic.

“... Cerberus?”

A pause.

A flinch of his body going rigid, before they noticed a small, tense flick of a mandible as his eyes seemed to dull.

And suddenly, the anger slowly began to shift to rage.

Ah.

Maybe it explained why he was here, physically in front of him in the facility, but that still didn't explain how he was alive in the first place with what little remains had been left behind, and if anything it raised even more questions than it had answered.

Saren hated humans when he was still alive, why the hell was he anywhere near Cerberus?

More importantly, what would Cerberus even want with him?

What the fuck were they planning for the past two years??

Cam opened their mouth to speak, so many thoughts and questions rushing to their mind at once only for another voice to knock them out of their horrified trance. 

“SHEPARD!!” Grunts voice called from the stairs. “Two minutes are almost up, and we only heard one shot! You’d better be fighting up there!”

“Or taking a lunch break you didn’t invite us to!” Garrus’ voice followed quickly, having moved closer. Well, at least they had taken out the Collectors and Husks like they had asked… and they were good at following orders.

It made the both of them jump- him more so than them, they noticed, though they couldn’t stop the startled, gasping yip that left their lips- and they risked looking back towards the stairwell.

“I'm fine…!!” They called back, glancing back over to the pale turian. He had taken a single step back, his eyes darting wildly between them, his rifle and the stairwell in rising panic, his fingers twitching and sparking as if debating on picking up the gun again. 

No… No, that couldn't happen. 

They thought quickly, still not moving.

“I'm fine, I'll be down in a moment! I…” they said quickly. “... I found some extra information that those bastards forgot to tell us about. I’m going through it now, give me a minute.”

“Another minute? Are you insane?” Garrus called back. They couldn’t help but roll their eyes, missing the scrunching of facial plates and low, trilling breath of confusion.

“YES, another minute…! I just… gotta… collect it all.”

“Illusive Man is gonna have quite alot to answer for if it’s that important.” Grunt said, his voice lowering to the point where they could barely hear it.

THAT was an understatement.

“Yeah, yeah he is…” they sighed, reaching with their other hand to run their fingers through their hair before pinching the bridge of their nose for a moment while they thought. “Just wait there and keep watch. I’ll be down soon.”

That answer seemed to do the trick, as they got silence back save for an audible and obviously displeased grunt from the krogan- but now they had to think. How in the hell would they explain this one?? Grunt may not have known entirely, but Garrus… Not to mention half the crew on the Normandy still…

They looked at Saren fully now, chest heaving silently as they ran through the options.

On one hand, they could still shoot him. He was defenseless at the current moment, and they doubted his biotics would have kicked in with as quickly as they could have just raised their arm. It would be right for what he had done, majorly speaking… For the pain and the nightmares they suffered for the better part of two years and had just brought to surface again, to the destruction and death he had brought to the Citadel in less than an hour that was still being rebuilt. As far as they and everyone else knew, he was better off dead, and all was well when they believed him to be.

But on the other…

They took a breath, lifting their chin with visible deliberation that he seemed to pick up on, and his shoulders nearly fell in near defeat.

On the other hand, they still had more questions. More questions for him, more questions about his existence and motives, more questions about why and how he was here. And maybe- just maybe- he could finally answer them… because even they knew Illusive Man wouldn’t. 

They chewed at the inside of their cheek before sighing.

Oh gods, they hoped they didn't regret this… and that the others would understand.

“... Look, S-... Saren…” they started slowly with hesitancy, lifting a hand again to rub their temple in attempts to push away the flashbacks that rose up again. “I don't… I don't know what the fuck is going on… I don’t know… WHY you’re here… but you… you…”

They paused, glancing at their gun.

Once chance.

They closed their eyes.

“... If you want to live… ACTUALLY live…” they started, attempting to keep their composure. “If you want the chance to explain a whole heap of shit… to try and get whatever goddamn freedom you can get your claws on… you… you need to come with me… with us.”

He seemed to draw back for a moment in surprise as they spoke, eyes widening more with a small, unintentional whining sound coming from his throat that they barely heard. The reluctance was understandable, they had trouble even suggesting it, and it was obvious from how they spoke…

They took a few steps back and away, looking at the stairs again and holding their gun close to their chest as they raised it again but didn’t aim. They didn’t have much time, those two wouldn’t wait much longer.

“You need to come with me now…” They urged turning to look at him- but stopped as he took another step back.

They stared at him, searching his face before sighing, now with a small hint of irritation.

“Look, Arterius…” they nearly hissed, nodding to the stairwell. “I trust you just about as much as you trust me right now, which is jack shit nothing. But if you don’t come with, either they’ll kill you willingly, or I’ll have to… And as much as I.. really… really should put a bullet through your head again… I don’t want to.”

He flinched, and they frowned, a genuine sorrow entering their tone as they suddenly reached to rub the back of their neck. It fucking hurt…

“I shouldn’t even be offering...” they managed, their voice back to breaking just slightly as they saw another flick of mandibles. They shook their head. “Who fucking knows what Illusive is doing behind our backs if you’re here… But if getting you the hell out means unraveling whatever the hell he has planned, then I’ll take care of you on my own goddamn ship.”

They stared hard at him, unmoving until a voice came through the stairwell again, and their head snapped to look.

“Thirty seconds, Shepard! Or we’re comin’ up!”

Their breath caught in their throat.

Fuck. So much for following orders.

They turned to him again, this time with a desperation in their eyes that made him visibly freeze-

Just like they had been at the Citadel.

“I’m giving you a chance, Saren…” they said, shaking their head and shifting the shotgun towards him just slightly. “Either take it, or the only cuffs you’ll have on your wrists will be nametags in the fucking morgue.”

It was as much of a real threat as it was words of desperation, and even he seemed to tell how serious they had been either way. It was enough to make him tremble once more, though this time with his own hesitant nod. He stepped forward, moving to reach for the rifle- but froze as they aimed the shotgun at him again and shook their head.

“No. Leave it.” they demanded quietly. “If you don’t want your head blown off by a pissed off krogan or worse, you’ll leave it.”

He hesitated again. They moved the shotgun away from him.

“It’s the only way you’re leaving out of here alive…” they assured, that same sorrow lacing their voice. Really, they didn’t exactly WANT him to be ‘defenseless’, even though he technically wasn’t with his biotics… but it really was for the best in this case. “If all goes well, you’ll be armed again in no time. You just need to hope to whatever fucking spirits you believe in that it goes well.”

He stared quietly, thinking. Debating. Though soon stood again, carefully and slowly stepping over the gun on the floor and towards them. They couldn’t stop the hard flinch they gave as he neared them, holding up their hand just slightly. They were shaking.

“That… that’s close enough…” they said quietly. “Just… follow. Follow and don’t try any bullshit…” they paused, taking a breath. “... please…”

He gave no verbal reply as he stared at them, though his head lowered ever so slightly in the smallest understanding-

It may not have been the best, but it was good enough for the time being.

They took a breath, looking down the stairwell before back at him one more time.

“Alright, I'm coming...!” They called down, motioning for him to follow as they began to descend. 

Each step down was a near anxiety fueled nightmare, hearing the chatter of the two at the bottom of the stairs as well as the careful, almost calculated steps of the one behind them. They continuously threw glances back at him, perhaps still with the smallest hope it was some fucked hallucination, but there he remained, head on a swivel. They only stopped once they reached the end, holding up a hand for him to pause.

“Wait.” They nearly whispered, and he froze. But he said nothing as they finished the last few steps without him, hanging the shotgun on the back holster as they turned the corner. They managed a small breath of relief at the welcome sight of their squadmates, reloading their weapons and majorly unscathed. Garrus was the first to notice, mandibles flaring slightly in small greeting.

“There you are.” he said, a light, relieved purr to his tone. “We thought we were gonna have to place bets on who would be the first up to ‘rescue’ you.”

“I would have been first.” Grunt said, leaning against the wall after holstering his own gun. Garrus chuckled.

“I doubt it.”

“I told you guys I could handle myself, you had that little faith in me?” Cam replied with a lopsided grin and attempted joking tone, though it was quite obviously forced. Garrus tilted his head for just a moment, and they could almost feel his gaze burrow into their skin.

“‘Faith’ isn't really what we had in mind, Shepard… Are you alright?” He asked, followed by a questioning grumble from the krogan next to him. Cam paused.

“I… well, kinda, I just…” they started, making a sideways glance up the stairs- He was still there, heat tilting as if registering the voices fully, but unmoving otherwise. “I was… getting things together.”

“Right, you said you found more information...” He stated with a concerned curiosity.

Cam hesitated again, now visibly going rigid. They thought for a moment.

This was either about to go really bad, or much, much worse.

They took a breath.

“Grunt was right…” they started, looking back up the stairs and meeting the eyes of the pale turian in the shadows. “Illusive Man is gonna have a lot more to answer for than sending us into this shithole. Just… do me a favor.”

“Yeah?” Came the reply, and they looked back at them with a near pleading seriousness.

“Don't. Shoot.”

Silence- for about five seconds.

“What…???” Grunt pushed away from the wall, and Garrus’ hand immediately raised to his rifle.

“‘Don't shoot’...” he said, his voice trilling with a mixture of concern, hesitancy and suspicion. “Shepard… exactly what kind of information did you find…”

Cam held up a hand, looking between them and the stairs.

“It's… It's easier if I show you…” they said, slowly moving forward. “Just… trust me. Please.”

They were met with silence once more, and took a breath. Slowly- carefully- they moved their hand, signaling for the older turian to come down, watching as he hesitated for a few moments before slowly beginning to descend.

They could almost feel the tension in the air growing as he made his way down, step by step, occasionally glancing over to their squadmates to keep an eye on all three-

And being thankful they did so within the moments following him exiting the last step.

It was like a string had snapped once he showed his face, everyone's movements happening instantaneously within what seemed like half a second.

Cam stepped in front of Saren entirely just as Garrus had pulled out his rifle with lightning speed, a vicious snarl ripping through his throat with Grunt quick to follow with his own gun- though more so out of example, and with a mild confusion. They felt the resulting flinch behind them, followed by a smaller, more fearful and defensive growl that seemed to grow distant as he took a step back, almost feeling the sparks of his biotics flicker at their back.

And then the tension string was there again, pulled even more taught then it was.

“Shepard… move.” Garrus demanded, voice alight with defensive fury as his finger locked over the trigger. Cam held his stare.

“I said don't. Shoot.” they repeated, holding up their hands. “Let me explain-”

“There's no explanation.”

They still stood, a churning nausea creeping up in their stomach and nearly making them double over- but they fought it off, keeping their hands up.

“Look, it looks bad-”

“‘Bad’??” He scoffed, keeping the rifle aimed steadily at the other turians head. “‘Bad’ doesn't even begin to cover it, Shepard, he's supposed to be DEAD.”

“Who even is it?” Grunt asked, keeping his own gun trained in a similar manor. Garrus shook his head, emitting a warbling growl that was clearly a threat.

“A traitor.” He hissed simply. “A traitor to our species. He's the reason we're in this mess.”

He was right, so why did-

“Garrus, please-” Cam said quickly. “You know as well as I do that this shitshow would have happened anyway-”

“He sped up the process-”

“And he regretted it-”

Why were they speaking?

“Clearly he didn't give a damn about it until he had to face the consequences-”

“Because Sovereign forced him to-”

Why were they defending him??

“He nearly KILLED YOU-”

The string snapped again. 

“GOD DAMNIT GARRUS WOULD YOU PLEASE LISTEN TO ME?!” They yelled suddenly, finally making him pause. They shook their head and continued.

“I KNOW he's supposed to be dead, WREX SHOT HIM IN THE HEAD AFTER HE DID IT HIMSELF!!!” They felt a flinch behind them, but continued after they could see his jaw shift from where they were standing. “I KNOW what he did and I KNOW what we saw at the Citadel after we shot his corpse five ways to Sunday.” They gestured around slightly. “Cerberus had something to do with this. Those fuckwits who think I owe them everything for bringing me back did some shit with him too and we aren't gonna find out ANYTHING if you fucking do it again!!!”

Garrus was silent for a moment, mandibles gyrating in slow circles in thought.

“... How do you know.” He spoke slowly, not once moving his aim. “How do you explain him breathing when we saw him disintegrate. Why would Cerberus want anything to do with something like him? What about the Collectors or the Reapers?”

“I don't-” Cam started, taking a breath. “I don't know, Garrus… Just-”

Another low growl and a tightened hold on the trigger.

“Then I say we take care of him again and forget this even happened.” He motioned for them to move one more time. “We've got too much to worry about Shepard, and he doesn't deserve the option of living after what he did.”

They stood still, finding themself weighing their options once more-

Once again, the option of killing him was rather favorable. It would rid them of the anxiety, and potentially give the smallest bit of closure- and now, it would give their friend a chance to do the same. But sparing him for the time being held more opportunity, and given he hadn't moved much from behind them at the current moment, they had a feeling getting information might not be quite as difficult as they assumed.

They took a breath.

“... No.” They replied quietly, and they watched him go rigid.

“Why-”

“Because we have questions and we need them ANSWERED.” They lowered their hands for a moment before continuing, managing to take a glance back at the older turian- he had pressed himself against the wall, eyes focused on the barrel of the rifle pointed at him, but made no other movement.

“I'm not saying he doesn't face consequences, if anything I say blow him out of the fucking air lock once we figure out that the fuck is going on…” They looked back at their friends. “But until then, he's a resource that we need to figure out whatever the hell Illusive Man has set up for us.”

“Seems like a bad resource…” Grunt mumbled, and Cam shook their head.

“Good or bad, we need everything we can get against that asshole.”

“And if he tries anything?” Garrus growled, and they held their breath.

“Then I'll be the one to shoot him again.” They stated simply. “It's all gonna fall back on me anyway like it usually does… I'll need to talk to Illusive man, the Council needs to be notified-”

“The Council is gonna have our hides.” he grumbled, finally lowering the gun just slightly. Cam shook their head.

“No, they're gonna have my hide. They're gonna respect you for trying to go against me on this.”

“But don't we all get in trouble for letting him on the ship?” Grunt added, and Garrus nodded.

“Exactly. He gets on the Normandy, we're out of the job and no one in Citadel space trusts us again. We don’t know what he’s capable of.”

“He gets on the Normandy and he'll be kept under surveillance after going through some tests.” Cam said flatly, though flinched as they heard a soft, concerned warble behind them. “Citadel space already barely trusts us because of the work with Cerberus despite how much I've gone against it, and because of-...” they paused for a moment, though shook their head. “... Point being, this seems like an easier issue out of all the other issues we've been having recently.”

“Yeah, because bringing a mass murderer that almost caused the death of the galaxy in an hour who is somehow breathing again onto the ship is definitely the smallest issue right now.” Garrus said, and Cam sighed.

“Like it or not, the only way we're gonna figure ANYTHING out is if he comes with us…” they replied. “We cuff him, bring him on, and put him somewhere where he can be watched until I talk to the Council and get some information. If they want action taken against him, then so be it… but I for one want answers first.”

“And if this is just a waste of time?”

“Then it's just a waste of time, but we know Cerberus was doing more than just working on me.” Cam said, a small hint of finality in their voice. “Because if they brought me back AND found a way to do the same for him,” they gestured behind them, “Then who knows what else they've been up to, or how much they've let on about knowing.”

They lowered one hand slightly, keeping the other up in a peaceful gesture as if approaching a wild animal.

“... It's the only way to be sure of anything right now.” they concluded. 

An immediate silence followed their words, so much so that they swore they could almost hear a pin drop. Not even the sound of breathing reached their ears, and their heart sank just slightly as they watched Garrus narrow his eyes. His hard gaze flicked between them and the turian behind them, mandibles flicking once, twice, and three times before a single one flicked towards Grunt with a low, warbling growl.

“... You'd better hope you're right about this, Shepard…” he said lowly, finally starting to lower the barrel of the gun away from them. “Can't say I've got any hope in what you're doing... But for your sake I hope it works.”

“... Just like that, huh?” Grunt muttered, slowly lowering his own gun- though doing so even slower than Garrus. Cam let out a relieved sigh, feeling a lightheadedness as the breath they didn't know they had been holding was finally expelled.

“... Thank you… both of you…” they managed. Garrus let out a huff.

“He makes one wrong move and you'd better be the one to take care of it before I do.” He growled, a threatening promise that even they knew was all too real. They nodded, and he reached for a small compartment in his armor before tossing something over. “Here.”

Cam nearly had to lurch forward to catch what he had tossed, looking at the suppression cuffs they now held in their hands with a mild confusion.

“Why did-”

“I'm not going near him.” He said simply and matter-of-factly, holding his rifle to his chest as if ready to aim again at a moments notice. “This was your stupid idea, Shepard… you cuff him.”

… oh.

They looked up to stare at him for a moment before looking back at the rectangular cuffs. One look at them told them that he was serious and knew the older turian behind them- rather normal for him to have, actually, but still enough to stun them into a temporary freeze- only for them to take a small breath and finally look back. They understood where he was coming from, but…

It meant they had to go near him.

“Something wrong, Shepard?” Garrus said, a hint of dark amusement in his voice as they jumped and turned to look at him. “Scared?”

“N-No, I…” they started, though gave a huff as one of his mandibles flicked to the side. They looked at the cuffs for a moment before sighing.

They'd be fine. They could do this.

“I'm fine.” They said sternly, and promptly turned.

They looked up at Saren, who had pressed himself against the wall fully. He finally tore his gaze away from their squadmates, looking at the cuffs before meeting their own with the smallest flutter of his own mandibles and nervous rumbling huff. They took a breath, attempting to force back their own shaking.

“I did warn you…” they mumbled, holding up the cuffs and moving their head to the side in a small gesture for him to step forward. “Alright then… Let's get this over with.”

He didn't move for a moment, though did eventually take a step forward after lowering his gaze to the floor. He seemed to pause as the movement made them jump, but another nod made him move again. Cam hesitated before moving, themself, circling him slowly. They couldn’t help but keep their eyes on him as they moved, feeling the anxious nausea twist their stomach the closer they got, tensing their jaw as if to not allow that anxiety to be visible. They could feel the eyes of their friends on them. They knew it was to prove a point, but they couldn’t help the mild feeling of humiliation.

A small tap to his arm with the cuffs as they reached his back made him jump.

“Hands…” They started, though couldn’t finish the phrase they knew all to well- but he still understood, glancing at them from over his shoulder before slowly shifting his arms. They flinched as his hands moved towards them, their eyes immediately shifting to the gloved talons. They forced back a whimper as another burning pain rushed to the back of their neck, and they could see Garrus shift from the corner of their eye. Though he acted unapologetically stern moments prior, his concern for them was still obvious with the recognition of their physical pain.

Seconds seemed to pass as they stood motionless, staring at his hands, their breaths suddenly quickening.

Suddenly the hands were elongated. Covered in blood… Covered in THEIR blood. Red lighting flickered at the edges of their vision. The back of their neck in searing pain. The sounds of bullets flying and a low, mechanical voice. The sound of their friends calling them… 

‘Shepard’… 

‘SHEPARD’… “Shepard.”

Garrus’ voice brought them out of their haze, and their head snapped up to look at him with a gasp. His features seemed to soften slightly despite the situation.

“I’ve seen rookies arrest and detain someone quicker than that.” he said, and Grunt chuckled- but it made their breath catch.

He knew all too well the flashbacks and the nightmares, and it was his attempt to calm them without drawing suspicion.

They were quiet for a moment, and remained so even as they let out a shaky breath.

With a few quick movements, they locked the cuffs around his wrists, maneuvering them without touching him and feeling him flinch as the biotic-resistant mechanisms in them clicked and lit to life. He sucked in a breath as they suddenly pulled out their pistol, prodding him forward with the barrel against his back.

“Let’s go, Arterius.” they said simply, their voice quiet yet wavering. Another, slightly rougher prod pushed him forward, and though he let out a warning grumble, he moved. They let him walk forward a few steps before following.

“Grunt, you lead the way.” They said flatly as they approached. “I’ll stay to the side. Garrus, you follow up from behind.”

They were simply met with a double nod, watching the krogan turn and grumble before following their orders. A glance at Saren kept him moving, and they stayed back for a moment as Garrus followed. They shifted their head towards him as he nudged their arm with the barrel of his own gun, his facial plates shifting. They met his gaze for a moment, a wordless exchange between the two with simple eye and head movements out of view from the two in front of them-

‘You ok?’

‘No.’

‘Want me to go forward?’

‘No.’

‘Will you be ok?’

‘… I don’t know.’

He paused before glancing at the pale turian with a small flare of his mandibles before flicking one.

‘Do you really trust him?’

They followed his gaze for a moment before taking a breath.

‘... no.’

He seemed to understand. He stepped forward, keeping pace close to their shoulder with a grip on the rifle.

“Want me to contact Joker?” he asked, and Cam nodded.

“Yeah.” “How do we explain him?” “Just tell him we have some extra ‘cargo’ and to make sure no one but EDI, Miranda and Jacob meet us at the doors.”

Garrus glanced at them again.

“You think they might find that a bit… suspicious?” he asked. They shook their head.

“Tell them it’s classified Cerberus information that’s on a need-to-know basis and no one else but us needs to know unless I tell them.” they replied simply. He seemed to think for a moment before shrugging.

“Alright then.”

It was Cams turn to glance over.

“Look, I still gotta play nice… at least for their sake.” They mumbled, and he gave a huff.

“Yeah, I know…” he replied, only pausing as they made it to the entrance of the facility. He nodded to the door, gesturing forward.

“After you.” He said, and they couldn't help but give a small smile. They walked forward, and he took their place behind Saren to keep him moving. They only paused to look back at the three of them.

“Which one of you wants to sit next to him on the way back?” They asked, and Grunt snorted.

“Not it.” He said immediately, earning a glare from the darker turian behind them.

“I'm not either.” He grumbled, and Cam rolled their eyes.

“He'll sit up front with me then… I guess.” They said, meeting a glance from the pale turian. “Probably better for his health…”

One pale white mandible flicked, and Garrus grumbled.

“Not better for yours…” he mumbled, but was silenced when Cam shot him a look. He shrugged, but said nothing else as they shifted their head to follow them out the door without another word.

~~~~~

The ride back to the Normandy was… awkward, to say the very least. The most sound the old turian had made once they exited the building had been an uncomfortable warble when shoved into the seat, his shoulders and wrists shifted somewhat strangely and unnaturally to make sure they stayed behind his back- though part of it had been the near haphazard way Garrus had shoved him down with the butt of the rifle that he even kept out on the ride, much to Grunts amusement and both Cam and Sarens dismay. Cam had pressed themself as close to the wall as possible away from him while sitting rigid, though somehow still managed to drive and get back to the ship without incident despite their mind flashing back once more. Grunt had simply kept an eye on the turian in mild defense, and not a sound was made by anyone.

Once back on the ship, Cams demeanor had changed ever so slightly, the look on their face falling into a somewhat nervous stoicism once they had caught sight of the two officers they had requested. Garrus leaned over towards them slightly with a calming rumble, ignoring how the other turian jumped and shifted away from him.

“You still have a chance, you know…” he spoke quietly, though it was clear the meaning of his words. They glanced at Saren who, they noticed, began to fidget just slightly in his seat once he had registered the surroundings. 

“... No.” They replied just as quietly, taking a breath. “No, I… I got this. I have to do it.”

“Right…” Garrus sighed, though reached to nudge their arm slightly before finally moving out of his seat. “Right then. You got a speech planned?”

Cam shrugged.

“Something like that…” they said, doing the same and nodding to the pale turian. “Get him and stay close. We don't know what the hell they know about him, if they know about him, and I'm not taking chances of a firefight on my own goddamn ship. Joker would break his own leg kicking my ass if there was.”

They took a moment to look at Saren, who met their gaze with a look that almost seemed to ask for help. They took a breath.

“And you…” they started, finally managing to unbuckle themself, “... you listen to what me and Garrus say, and don't fight it unless you want more guns in your face. Got it?”

He remained quiet, though nodded just slightly. They did the same.

“Good.” They got up from their seat with a breath. “Garrus, grab him. Grunt, lead up behind us.” They looked forward. “Stay close, be ready. I'm not taking chances.”

“You're already taking a big one…” the krogan muttered, but followed the order without argument.

Cam heard another trilling grunt as Saren was yanked out of the seat, glancing back to catch him give a displeased snort and click of his mandibles, though he shrank in on himself as Garrus returned with a lunge of the head and a snorting growl before shoving him forward. Cam sighed, but slowly began to make their way forward, followed by the three boys.

They straightened up instantly as they approached the other two humans, forcing themself to regain the air of authority. They lifted their chin with a high confidence, even if their breaths wavered for just a moment once they met the eyes of the other two. Even by looks, they could tell their ‘prisoner’ was simultaneously slow and quick to register.

“Lawson. Taylor.”

They greeted the two calmly, as if they weren't being followed by a previously dead man. Miranda was the first to speak, dialing back her own surprise only moments before Jacob could.

“Commander.” she returned the greeting, and Jacob cleared his throat.

“We were told you found something and needed us…”

“And to keep the rest of the crew away.” Miranda added, her eyes moving between them and the newcomer that currently stayed as far away from Garrus as the other turians harsh grip on his arm would let him. Cam nodded.

“As you can see, Illusive Man failed to notify us of a specific little… catch in this mission.” They started, gesturing to Saren before frowning and growing mildly irritated in tone. “That little ‘catch’ being a whole-ass alien that's supposed to be dead.”

“And why isn't he?” Jacob asked, his eyes narrowing just slightly, muscles tensing for just a moment before Cam shot him a look.

“That's why I needed you two, and I don't want any arguments with what I'm about to say.” They said simply, straightening up and crossing their arms over their chest. It made them look bigger than they were, and seemed to work to fully grasp the attention of the two officers that had been wavering between them- while Miranda held a mild look of confusion with recognition, Jacob held the same recognition but with an immense distrust and eagerness to move.

“Jacob, I need you to get me through to Illusive Man and Admiral Hackett immediately.” They said, staring him straight in the eyes to keep that attention. They could feel the nervous fidgeting from behind them. “I don't give a damn who answers first, call them both at once for all I care and tell them it's important. If anyone asks, tell them I said to mind their goddamn business.”

The man stood rigid for a moment, his face twisting into a questioning suspicion, though he correctly chose not to voice his thoughts at that very moment. Their tone was enough to set him on edge, and they could see it… 

Good.

“Understood.” He said simply, giving a salute and turning on his heel to head through the doors. They then looked at Miranda and allowed their demeanor to relax just slightly. 

“And you.” They said, lowering their voice. They nodded back to Saren once more. “Did you know about this?”

Miranda was silent for a moment before shaking her head.

“... No…” she said quietly. “No, I didn't.”

Cam frowned. They thought for a moment before sighing, walking forward with a gesture to follow. Miranda kept next to then with even strides, and they could hear the footsteps of the two turians and the krogan behind them. They were quiet for another moment before glancing at her.

“... Even with the whole Lazarus thing with me, Illusive Man said nothing about rebuilding anyone else?” They asked quietly, and Miranda shook her head again.

“Unfortunately I do mean it when I say that I don't know…” she replied, her own voice quiet. It was filled with a concern rarely shown, but somehow they knew she was telling the truth. “I was only ever a part of the Lazarus Project, overseeing that you were… you.” She kept her eyes forward, though moved to clasp her hands behind her back. “I was never made aware on any other attempt to bring back anyone else, much less an alien… and a turian, at that. I didn't even know there was another team to work on someone else.”

Cam remained silent as they walked, though nodded. It was… odd. But somehow made sense in a screwed type of way. Of course Illusive had done something that drastic without anyone's knowledge… But why him? Why Arterius, of all people? Maybe it was the ties to the Reapers before his death, or the way he had led so many with just charismatic words? Maybe it was far more simple, to control an alien that was once feared. Or perhaps a mixture of all three, mixed with bragging rights. Knowing how Illusive was, they wouldn't put it past him to exhibit that amount of control and humiliation against any alien he could get his hands on, especially one with such a ‘colorful’ history.

Whatever the reason, all they could hope was that their questions would have answers soon, no matter how they got them.

They silently walked the short distance until they reached the ships elevator, only pausing with their hand at the control panel once the small reality of what they were about to do hit them. They froze, and Miranda watched them for only a moment before speaking, breaking the- admittedly somewhat awkward- silence.

“What would you like done with him?” She asked quietly; While her voice held its normal confidence with the question, even Cam recognized the small hesitancy with the situation.

They were quiet for another moment longer.

What WOULD they do with him…??? He couldn't go in the crew quarters… Sharing space with any of the others was far less than ideal if they wanted to avoid bloodshed. They knew Joker would lose it if he was anywhere near the cockpit, and sticking him near the engine would almost guarantee being a hazard to his health with the other insane biotic.

They turned as they thought, their gaze falling between the two turians and meeting their eyes one by one- Garrus held their gaze steady, keeping his grip on the older- and smaller- turian, whereas Saren nearly avoided it. His discomfort was obvious, but there wasn't much that could be done… but it did give them an idea.

They took a moment to contemplate said idea before taking a breath.

“I want him with Dr. Chakwas.” They said finally, and four sets of eyes were on them.

“What??” Miranda spoke, and even Grunt gave a disbelieving snort.

“Is that even ‘safe’?” The krogan asked, though Garrus remained silent other than a low grumble and flick of one of his mandibles. He clearly wasn’t happy with it, but decided to listen instead of speak. Cam nodded.

“There's a giant window into the med bay, so either way he'll be under constant supervision.” They pointed out, and looked between Garrus and Miranda. “I want full evaluations on mental and physical health done ASAP, and I want them done again every few hours for the next week or until we figure out what the hell to do with him.” They finally looked at the pale turian, who seemed almost afraid as his shoulders tensed under their gaze. But they didn't let up, instead continuing to speak and narrowing their eyes as they did.

“And you are gonna go along with whatever the hell she needs you to do, or I'll let Garrus do whatever the hell he wants to you.” They nodded to the turian holding him without breaking eye contact, their tone demanding. “You touch her or make it difficult, and I'm taking care of it, which you don't want. You got that?”

They were met with silence, though he seemed to give the smallest nod after finally breaking their gaze to look at the floor. They gave a huff. 

“Good.” They said, nodding the the elevator. “We're gonna go on here, and we're gonna split.” They looked at the four infront of them. “Grunt, you're dismissed. Garrus, you take our new friend to Chakwas. Miranda, you go with him and help explain, and let her know I'll be with her to give details soon.”

Miranda was quiet, though eventually straightened herself once more and nodded.

“What will you be doing, Commander?” She asked. They looked at the elevator controls.

“I'm finding Jacob and getting in contact with Illusive and Hackett. Then I'm gonna get the good General to patch me in with the Council.”

It was Garrus’ turn to freeze, and Saren flinched.

“What makes you think they'll answer…?” He asked, clearly on edge, but refusing to show anything other than the occasional flick of mandibles and twitch of the head. They looked at him before lifting their chin in confidence, and he did the same with a sudden flare of mandibles as he understood the look in their eye before they even spoke;

“They'll have no choice but to answer when they find out Saren Arterius is alive.”

[margoteve]

The Normandy Album 2

Parentage

Pairing: Shakarian

Rating: eh PG?

Summary: Joker tries to prank Garrus with tactical use of Grunt.

Enjoy! The chapter is also on AO3. Inspired by an art of @thatwildwolfart

"Hey, Grunt!"

"Yeah?" Grunt looked up from his meal and squinted at the approaching human. The pilot. Joker. It wasn't often the brittle human would leave his station in the cockpit. "What is it?" The young krogan noted the lack of EDI, the AI in her robotic body often served as asistance to the man.

Joker carefully sat down by the mess table. "You know how Shepard is kind of like your dad?"

Grunt frowned. "Shepard is my Battlemaster, not my father."

"Yeaah but like she takes you out like shooting and gifted you that new shotgun and didn't she bail you from C-Sec, again, last time we were on Citadel? That's kinda like prime dad behaviour," Joker argued his case.

"Where are you getting with this human?" Grunt tilted his head, smelling some sort of trick.

"Nowhere, really, just food for thought," Joker said. "It just makes you think how she you, and Garrus make for a very disfunctional family. So I was you know, trying to organize the dynamics."

"Heh," Grunt grinned. "Don't worry, you too are in my krant. Despite your squishiness."

"Right, thanks Grunt. Anywhoo!" Joker slowly stood up. "I should go, the Normandy won't fly itself."

"It is flying itself, though," Grunt noted but Joker waved his hand and limped away to the elevator.

Grunt returned to his meal but his mind was slowly churring the conversation. Then he paused, looked in the direction of Joker. "Heheheh."

"Team Reunion Friday" was the best idea that Kasumi and Tali came up with. The old squadmate crew of Shepard all together for a night of drinks and shenaningans in Shepard's apartment post-war. Everyone was in high spirits. Shepard was sitting at the top of the table, in her wheelchair raising a toast. "To Normandy!"

"Here, here!" Everyone responded.

Just as they were downing the drink Grunt turned to Commander. "Shepard."

"Grunt?"

"You have been the closest a tank bred could have to a father," he said with a grin.

"Aww, thank you Grunt."

"Does this make Vakarian my mother?"

The bomb was dropped, most guests started to choke on their drinks, some stared, Joker grinned like it was Christmas.

"Well..." Shepard looked at Garrus.

"Now, hold on Shepard-" the turian started.

Among the sputtering a loud laughter boomed among the crew, much to the embarrassement of one Garrus Vakarian. Grunt grinned. Later when the jokes and jabs at Shepard's boyfriend ceased Grunt stopped by Joker.

"You owe me a bottle of ryncol."

"I'll make it two, buddy," Joker replied grinning at the recording. It would strike him gold on the extranet.

"Good, hehehe."

[lassieposting]

Okay but it occurs to me that varren are a domesticated species - krogan, batarians and humans keep them as pets and working animals.

Like dogs on earth, you can still get packs of feral varren but, also like dogs on earth, even those are probably befriendable with time and effort, because domesticated animals are the result of thousands of years of selective breeding for friendliness, obedience and the ability to understand and communicate across species - you know your dog wants to go for a walk even though he can't speak, because he's whining or pawing at the door or bringing you his leash. They tend to have high levels of emotional intelligence.

And. Animals with high levels of emotional intelligence will sometimes initiate contact with humans on their own, without prompting. Look at feral dogs who will approach a human because their head is stuck in a bucket and they need it removed, or deer who escape a fire and come to humans for water. Look at that video of the mama cow whose baby had slipped outside the fence, and she mooed to draw human attention to the baby and then calmly cooperated while a man lifted it back into the field. Look at the elephants, even, who will go to human settlements for help because their baby is trapped in a hole, and who don't charge the rescuers while they work to free it because they know the humans are helping.

Anyway the point I'm getting at: did humanity, exploring fringe worlds before they ever meet a turian, ever end up absolutely baffled because some fish...dog...thing...has wandered into their compound with its head stuck in what looks like an old space helmet and is clearly looking for help from something with opposable thumbs

Like where did it learn to do that

[reallyprofoundkryptonite]

Might do something with him, just knew he needed a new ref sheet

[drackbooty]

obsessed with old as dirt GILF drack and his slutty twunk boywife m ryder. esp when he can't keep his hands off ryder, always needs a hand on the small of his back/waist, obsessed with the way ryder smells, huffing his scent when he's sweaty. gguuhhhh HUMP HIM, OLD MAN, HUMP THAT HUMAN TWUNK BREAK HIS PELVIS

[civilotterneer]

I'm curious about your Starfinder campaign! Would you be willing to tell me more about it? :D

So it depends, we've gotten a few in now. I'll give you the universe we've made and the most recent campaign we just finished.

The Rishi Sector

In the Rishi Sector, there exist a limited selection of races and nations:

Orcs - The Orcish Triumviratelive - in a 3 habitable world system, with each one drawing from a For Honor faction, using UNSC style ships

Elves - The Elvin Technocracy - from a destroyed homeworld and of a capped population but of technilogical prowess, using Star Wars Naboo style vessels

Draconians - The Scaled Empire - the most populous and powerful race of large, krogan-like draconid people, use Star Wars CIS ships

Dwarves - Deep Rock Galactic - a capitalistic empire of industrious and wealthy people, use Star Wars Republic style ships

Pixies - Deep Rock Galactic - living on the moon of the dwarven homeworld and as a subsidiary of DRG, one of the rarest races, no ships

Amurrans - The United Fiefdom - a cat like unisex race of strange genetic capabilities, using Star Trek Federation style ships

Gnomes - Deep Rock Galactic - Gnomes are actually fired dwarves, being as you can't leave DRG in good terms as a dwarf, dwarves are administered a genetic untreatable disease turning them into a gnome

Solari and Lunari - The Stellar Conjugate - the newest member of the Rishi Sector, this twin race comes from a tidally locked world where it's still kind of the Wild West, custom designed ships that look like trains and steam vessels

Automatons - Unkown Government - Prolific wanderers of the Sector, their only known homewolrds are large ships housing a super intelligence. Begin life as an android and slowly remove biological parts to become a full automaton. Use Star Wars Mon Cala style ships.

A common threat in the sector are Saurians, dinosaur-like raiders from a fallen empire using old, dying technology. They refuse to work with any of the Rishi Sector races. They use Halo Covenant style vessels and weapons, and even have a subrace of Elites in them.

Lastly, a new threat appears! The Empire of Man has been making scouting runs into the Rishi Sector, hellbent on spreading the word of their unholy, unknowable god. They are based on The Empire from Star Wars and use their ships.

Totally-Not-A-Suicide-Squad

Our most recent campaign involved our characters being prisoners, with long sentences based on your races average lifespan. We were being sent by the Elvin Intelligence Agency (EIA) as a multi-racial scouting mission to a newly discovered anomaly.

This anomaly turned out to be human in origin, which until now, were completely undiscovered. While our goal was to just find useful items to lessen our sentences, we discovered that this base will be used by an invasion fleet to travel to the sector, since a large, untraversable nebula separates the Rishi Sector from where the Humans are coming from.

Our party explored what remains of the abandoned base (all the previous humans were slowly picked off by the local dinosaurs until only 1 vampire human remained in the most secure base). Many characters died, a grand total of 5 character deaths occurred over the course of this 5-shot campaign.

My character was actually one of the only people to start the campaign and end alive still. Morandro'goth, an orc from the Asiatic planet, was a shaman who may have accidentally offed several financial advisors on commands of 'The Spirits'. He was a Psycic class, and had a whole thing about communing with local spirits to find information. In combat, he used very-strong telekinetic magic to throw items with incredible velocity at enemies. He would also summon some spirits to fight with him.

Some other characters included:

A swashbuckler bat-like sprite (Deceased to literal demonic beetles)

An ammuran kineticist (Deceased from a fall, irony)

An automaton monk (Deceased twice, first to an orc known as "The Throngler", second to kamikaze-ing a Tie fighter with the last human vampire in it)

An elvin oracle who was actually a thrall to the vampire and backstabbed us (Deceased as he failed his master's mission to collect an orc)

Morandro'goth and a Lunari ranger were successfully able to escape with plenty of items to undo their sentences and live as free men afterwards.

This campaign, run by a friend, is actually supposed to be a prologue to a future campaign I will run, which will include the Empire of Man invading the sector and the party having to stop them.

What the Future Holds

We're about to start a long-term campaign, where we're all adventurers on a newly-colonized and wild planet. There'll be a lot less direct sci-fi from cities and whatnot, but plenty of interactions from characters who might use plasma weaponry against nature.

I'll be playing a Solari Divine witch, with the background of being a nun and working to further her religions teachings, but also to study how old gods may 'die' and how the living things they make are derived from said gods. Her familiar, a form of otter-dog creature (A Damibwa) from the Lunari part of her homeworld, is also how her paton speaks to her, giving her divine orders.

[gabriellerudessa]

Thoughts about Mass Effect

So, I've just finished my run of the Legendary Edition. For context, I was 18 when ME3 launched, and I'll be 30 this year; the last time I had played the whole trilogy was WAY BEFORE the LE was launched lol.

So. All this time between gameplays and a lot of things in my life made me reflect a lot on the games and conflicts presented, the end and so on. Bear with me, this will be long.

Catalyst says that the root of the problem it has to solve is "organic versus synthetic"; this causes whiplash, because it is NOT something heavily shown in the games as "the root".

On the contrary, what is SHOWN is "control and order versus free will and self-determination": it's shown in the genophage - created because the Salarians COULDN'T control the Krogan -, in the Quarians versus Geth, the Collectors - so heavily indoctrinated they can't chose by themselves again -, Saren, The Illusive Man since ME2, the Reapers, and in ALL companions to some extent. Miranda, EDI and Jacob are the most glaring ones, but all of them bring this. Most of them in the oldest conflict regarding Created versus Creator to ever exist: Children versus Parents. Children test boundaries and once old enough, when they gain awareness and notice that Parents aren't as perfect as they thought, conflict arises. It can either end very badly, coldly, or they find new common ground.

And all this involves HEAVILY Control versus Free Will, some parents see children as extensions and something to control, others understand it's not like this. Most companions have this to some extent, usually from the children POV; Thane, I think, is the only one we see from the other side, a parent trying to reconect and fix his mistakes - Heck, even when we take away the Child vs Parent, we still have the concept Control vs Free Will, in that he was only a Weapon for the Hanar to control. (Edit: for some fucking reason I forgot Samara is a Mother and also her whole point is also about control vs free will. Go Brain 🤦🏻‍♀️)

But the Catalyst does not see any of this. It appears to disregard ALL other forms of conflict that can and have lead to annihilation of others - Javik himself says about how the Protheans would annihilate the species that don't conform and how there was this people that "found the secret for eternal peace" and then another came and decimated them. Conflict is a result of existence, usually because one wants to control others, but the Catalyst only sees "Organics versus Synthetics".

Why? I say the root for this is because The Catalyst was created by Leviathans, and as such, in their likeness of thought. And what we see about the Leviathans? The origin for indoctrination, focused on organics as far as we can see, in a more aggressive way - the miners had lost all awareness for ten years, the assistant lost all sense. The examples we see from Reaper Indoctrination are more insidious, if they aren't outright converting you on being a soldier for them; they make you think it's your choice, that they are right and so on. It's not outright stripping someone from all agency, not from the get go if it's not something that serves them. And, from what is implied, the Leviathans can't exercise the same control on synthetics, while the Reapers can.

The fact that the Leviathans can control others in such a way makes me think that, for whatever reason, they don't have conflicts between themselves. Maybe they are a hive mind or they have a queen-like controlling all of them, we don't have enough to say with certainty either, but the concept of conflict in itself is alien to them. It's very possible that they controlled all species that were under their thrall to not fight amongst themselves because, as they said, dead people don't pay tribute - I risk saying that when control was more spread amongst numerous individuals, there was more conscious thought going on in the controlled, or in the past it wasn't as heavy a hand as it's seen in the present. We don't have enough information for either. Again lol

Then the organics they controlled created AIs. And they couldn't control the AIs to not attack their organics. And, I would even risk, the root of their problem was probably because these organics also didn't have the tools to solve conflicts without controlling and stripping someone away of free will. They were controlled by the Leviathans, it was all they knew. But the AIs and synthetics created questioned, tested boundaries and so on.

As a consequence, the Leviathans assumed that the root of the problem was Synthetics versus Organics, and created an AI to solve this. And probably, considering that the Reapers can indoctrinate both organics and synthetics, they only wished or thought for the AI to control synthetics so they wouldn't attack organics. But the AI, at being in the likeness of the Leviathans, concluded that control was indeed necessary, that the conflict was inevitable; as a consequence, the solution it came with was to preserve the organics in Reaper form, being able to control both organics and synthetics, and guide civilizations in such way.

But since the Leviathans didn't have conflict amongst themselves, the AI Catalyst was biased. It didn't have examples of conflicts being solved by anything beyond control. That's why it was the only solution it could envision, because it assumed that Organics would always try to control Synthetics, and that Synthetics would always try to control Organics, and thus ending in annihilation. It couldn't envision cooperation of their own free will because the Leviathans couldn't envision so.

Which is fine. Being biased is understandable. It was created in the likeness of the Leviathans, the same the Geth were created in the likeness of the Quarians - eco-symbiothic, resulting in an AI that gains processing the more they are - and EDI in the likeness of humans. Heck, when we consider that in one of EDI conversations in ME3 she says that self-preservation is not her biggest directive anymore, but the people inside the Normandy, that she is not like the Reapers, we can compare to the Leviathan, that only created the AI because they needed tribute: it was about self-preservation, their OWN preservation was paramount, as it is shown in the fact that they have been hiding for who knows how long.

And the root of the problem of the talk with the Catalyst is that we can't say anything of the type to it. We can't say that conflict is natural and expected and that organics go through it ALL THE TIME between themselves but that it does not equal to annihilation. That compromise and common ground is possible and that children go through this all the time with their parents. That Control and stripping someone of Free-Will and Self-Determination is not the answer, because it usually only creates even more conflict, doesn't matter if between Organics and Synthetics, between Organics, between Synthetics, because at some point someone will fight against it. But cooperation is possible, and it is usually better (heck Javik says that this cycle is working because all species cooperate amongst themselves)

The whiplash and so many disliking the end, I risk, is more because we can't point any of this to the Catalyst. It's understandable its bias, even expected. It's frustrating that Shepard, a soldier that very much understands about how conflict is inevitable and how you solve it is what matters, can't say so, at least so the Catalyst would recognize "I'm not perfect. I was wrong."

Because even when we go along the lines of "this is Catalyst experiment to try and find the solution", I say that not all the data in the galaxy will help against deep-ingrained bias to interpret the data in this or that way. And that is what the Catalyst is: biased in a way of thinking where conflict in itself is unacceptable and a flaw, but is only being seen in one way because their creators couldn't see and experiment in other ways. But conflict is common and a part of existence, and it can be solved in ways where it reaches compromise, where it acknowledges free will, something constantly shown in the games. Just the Catalyst doesn't see it.

[sol-consort]

Ever wonder how other aliens think about human UFO conspiracy theorists?

Especially since old human sci-fi aliens look a bit like salarians?

(Been doing a project on the Roswell Incident)

Probably something along the lines of "Humans are over-optimistic, not very imaginative, and kind of lonely on a fundamental speciose level."

The first depictions of extraterrestrial sentient creatures in human fiction—as most UFO conspiracies should stem from those—to no one's surprise, all predate humanity's most notable milestones in space travel.

It's muddy grounds to try and define aliens in fiction, do mythologies count? Are greek gods aliens? Should the sun god be asked to join the Citadel council? And how much designated parking space does a sky chariot need?

Old depictions of aliens mostly consisted of vaguely humanoid creatures in some shape or form, until 1859 when Darwinism took off and inadvertently made a turning point in the science fiction genre and subsequently gave us Les Xipehuz's The Shapes, A Martian Odyssey's Tweel, Mass Effect's krogans and turians, and eventually All Tomorrow's wonderful Qu.

The first depiction of the bobbly-head buggy-eyed grey-skinned lithe little dudes wasn't a depiction of aliens, but us! In 1893 Man of the Year Million

Because the enlarged brain & small body combo has always been a stable answer to "how the vacuum of space would modify a human body through the generations?" And it does hold some truth to it, muscles DO atrophy in spaces, spines DO elongate, and of course without much exposure to the sun, you'll be a sickly dull hue, and what's more dull than grey?

Eventually, this human of the future got rebranded as its own alien species.

Salarian: hey I noticed these depictions of alien life in some black and white human vids. Really cool how much they resemble us despite—

Human: oh yeah! Those are body horror movies lol we wanted to show just how horrid and twisted of a creature a human will morph into if they stay long enough in space

Salarian:....

Human:....

Modern depictions of aliens in media were inspired by the threat of nuclear weapons!

The Eternaut, by Hector Oesterheld, critiquing the dictatorship of 20th century Argentina. Of course, he disappeared under mysterious circumstances :)

Then there was the first ever documented incident of a human claiming to have been abducted by an alien in 1961, coincidentally the exact same year the first human spaceflight ever happened! How bizarre! What could it possibly mean!?

That claim didn't go far in court looking at our lack of connections to any galactic courts or law forces, or you know, lack of the knowledge that they even exist. But boy did it light up the brain of every single science fiction writer in the planet like a christmas tree! Movie after movie, book after book, comic after comic, and even copycat incidents.

And the Roswell Incident! If you're comfortable posting your project I'd love to read it and share it here. Jesse Marcel's confession became the thesis building block that allowed this conspiracy to stand on its legs. Then his son added fuel to the fire by reaffirming that his dad has shown him debris with alien hieroglyphics.

On the other hand you have the many breadcrumb trails humanity keeps leaving behind in hopes of stumbling into some other species in the dark. The calls we shout into space, the literal disk we flinged out not so long ago. This urge, whatever it is, clearly runs deep within all of us.

Even those, sadly, wouldn't have made it nearly far enough from our solar system by the year Mass Effect takes place. I received an ask before about what kind of pre-contact human relics would the aliens keep in their museums, and my mind immediately jumped to the Voyager Golden Record, arguably the most expensive birthday party invitation letter ever sent with the receiver titled: whoever it may concern. The furthest man-made object ever, is only 24,882,989,154 Kilometres away from Earth, which is nothing close to a full light year, not even half a light year, it's nowhere near a quarter of a light year, it can't even reach a single decimal of a light year.

It is 0.002630134 of a light year.

:)

it's... it's literally right over there, just right there, sitting on our porch, haven't even ventured into the frontyard.

Indefinitely the future awaiting all of human relics, to be fished up by the Alliance in a walk of shame cleanup, like that of a flop post you delete after an embarrassingly long time of it not getting a single not. I am fine. no really. I am fine :)

Art is a mirror, naturally humans have used it to reflect themselves and the circumstances of the current state of their world. We're not as imaginative as we claim to be; there are only 37 possible stories to tell. We hear of people's discoveries in the olden times and think how could they have possibly came up with that! Then, you trace back the timeline and surrounding events and it becomes abysmally clear how they came up with it, what went down, and what inspired them. It is not a coincident that tiktok shifting trends picked up just as corona quarantine did, and arguably at the height of Isekai tropes in anime and manga.

Do aliens exist? Yeah, indefinitely. As bacteria, most likely. The universe is vast. But because we are so very unimaginative, we think they must be humanoids and they must use flying spaceships. Maybe they prefer riding space ponies?

I mean... the singular animal (if it is truly that and not some eldritch abomination) on Earth that doesn't rely on oxygen to live, is theorised to be an evolved cancerous growth that eventually split off and formed its own semi-species. How cool is that!? A multicellular being WITHOUT a mitochondria! It's literally an alien right there! Henneguya salminicola is as alien as you can fucking get in a 0.002630134 light year radius. Have any of the science fiction writers considered NOT giving the aliens mitochondria ?? huh? HUH???

And if we go by evolution and natural selection, then aliens are most likely to look like crabs than oversized puny apes.

Anyway this all has been what I imagine a very caffienated Salarian to explain to you in the hallway, in an unskippable cutscene while you stand there squinting, wondering if this 3am bathroom trip was worth it.

[evilwriter37]

From the Immortal Hiccup AU that still does not have a name. 707 words, so I'm putting it under a read more.

The fleet of ships became visible on the horizon as the two flew north, the sun rising to their right. Maybe they would take the excuse that it was still sunrise, that daylight hadn’t truly come yet. 

Or maybe they wouldn’t, and he was in for another punishment. 

He thought of saying these things out loud, but Brenna wasn’t a very talkative dragon. He was more quiet and reserved, but fierce in battle… just like he needed him to be. 

The ships were those of a cobbled-together fleet of Dragon Hunters, different tribes mingling. Viggo was still rebuilding his empire, and had signed treaties (some in blood) to get this navy that he wanted. 

All three of them were standing on the deck of the flagship, painted with Viggo’s crest. That could only mean trouble for himself. 

Though, he did his best to hide any trepidation when he landed and dismounted.

“Are they all dead?” Viggo asked calmly, arms crossed over his chest, peering at him with his one good eye. The other half of his face was badly burned, his left eye glazed over with blindness.

“I wouldn’t be back if there were survivors,” he said, maybe a little too snidely. 

“Yes, well, you’re back late, Hiccup,” Johann criticized, reaching for his helmet and tearing it off. Hiccup didn’t bother trying to reach for it or take it back from him. These were his superiors, his commanders. He couldn’t disobey them.

“Did anyone spot you?” Krogan, standing on Johann’s other side, asked. “Daylight is nigh upon us and you come flying in without a care in the world.” 

“I wasn’t spotted,” Hiccup said, trying to keep up an air of confidence despite the tongue lashing he was getting. 

Johann gave him a smoldering look. “Put that chin down and quit acting so proud.” He held out his hand. “Proof?”

“Ah, I think I should take it,” Viggo said as Hiccup lowered his head in acquiescence. “Havaskjar was my old enemy after all.” 

Johann gave Viggo a sideways glare, but put his hand down. Hiccup untied the pendant from his belt and dropped it into Viggo’s hand. 

Viggo examined it, then let his fingers fold around it. “Good, good. The job is done.” 

“You sound as if you want to reward him!” Krogan cried. “He’s late.”

“However, I do believe that it’s my turn to deal with him,” Viggo said. “Yes?”

“Do not reward him where it is inappropriate,” Johann said. “If you cannot discipline him, I will.”

Hiccup just stood there as these three men argued over him. Someone had come to take Brenna away and feed him, so he was alone. Not that Brenna could protect him from any of them anyway. He was just as much under their thrall as he was.

“You know nothing of my disciplinary measures,” Viggo said, turning to Johann. “Unless, of course, you would like to witness them.”

Hiccup clenched his jaw. The last thing he wanted was Johann watching the things that Viggo did to him, disciplinary or not. 

If he was being honest, Johann was the worst to deal with. 

Viggo came with a softer side to him that he would never show the other two, and that Hiccup was surprised he was privy to. 

Krogan had his own sadism and cruelties, but he didn’t have much to feel personally about Hiccup. His sessions were usually torture until he grew bored, and Krogan could grow bored easily when not being given the responses he wanted.

Johann, on the other hand, had neither a soft side, nor a lack of personal interest. He despised Hiccup, had for a long while now, and it showed in the ways he hurt him. 

A session of punishment with each man was vastly different from the other. Hiccup preferred Viggo, if he was being quite honest. He preferred him for many reasons. 

“I advise not witnessing it,” Krogan said to Johann, putting a hand on the smaller man’s shoulder. “It’s a bit too saccharine for my taste.”

Johann sniffed, brushed Krogan’s hand off his shoulder. 

“Don’t coddle him, Viggo,” Johann said, handing Viggo Hiccup’s helmet. And then he walked off, Krogan following a moment later.

“I don’t intend to!” Viggo called back.

[duoatomica]

Tw: harsh words, mentions of Nsfw

This is my first "fic" so ignore if It's poorly written ><

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Johann walked down the dark halls of the cavern the hunters have established themselves after failing to dominate the dragon's edge, arms behind his back, thinking of the next steps to find the king of dragons.

Upon walking past a closed wooden door, something perked up his ears and made him instantly turns his head towards the door.

The sound of Krogan's voice, yelling something.

In the beggining, Johann simply scoffed and walked away, as he didn't want to lose focus of his plans to Krogan's stupid problems,

yet, with the continuous screams and yells, curiosity took over and made him slowly approach, putting his ear on the door.

From inside, he heard wood creaking, which could've been strange enough, until he recognized another voice, making his eyes wide slightly,

Viggo's.

"Krogan, stop moving so much!!" Viggo shouted and groaned as Krogan then responded,

"I'm almost there, just a little bit more!" Also grrunting rapidly, the man answered with a breathy voice.

At that point, Johann was paralyzed with widen eyes. Well, he never expected them two to be probably doing such things together, as he saw them as somewhat rivals, Krogan had attempted to terminate Viggo a lot of times before, and Viggo has always contradicted Krogan's ideas and points of view.

Well,

Viggo never seemed to have that much hatred for Krogan, probably contempt, yet Krogan wanted that two faced- literally -man dead.

But as if theses lines weren't strange enough, Johann's jaw just dropped at what they said next.

"I can't- You're too big! We'll have to switch!" Viggo whinned from inside, grunting louder than before.

"Hold on... Hold on! Oh f*ckin' Thor- AAH!!" Krogan yelled at the top of his lungs and just after Viggo joined him in the screaming.

The shouts were followed by loud sounds of something heavy falling on the ground and wood breaking, then moans of pain from the ones inside.

Johann was... In disbelief. Not only they were having, well, relations, but they also broke something. Good, more trouble, is there ever enough tho? No, there's always space for more problems.

Upon this torture to his eardrums, Johann decides it was now his turn to continue the noise.

"WHAT ARE YOU TWO IDIOTS DOING IN THERE??!" Johann called out from outside, and not too long after, the door opened.

Viggo was absolutely destroyed, hair ruffled, with wooden splinters embedded in his skin and bruises and scratches, specially on his back,

Krogan was also all covered in bruises and splinters, holding broken ladder under his left arm and a big bone on his right hand.

Johann looked confused, but still tried to give them a little scolding.

"Now, what in Odin's name were you two doing?!" Johann asked with a harsh tone and an annoyed expression, with his arms crossed.

Krogan sighed with irritation. "I was trying to reach for one of Basil's toys on the top of a shelf and asked Viggo for help with the stairs... I lost my balance and fell, but pulled the shelf with me and it fell on us."

Viggo replied, his voice laced with pain. "He fell on me and the stairs broke on my back."

Oh. Now it quite made sense.

Johann lifted an eyebrow, but only narrowed his eyes and walked away.

As Johann left, Viggo looked at Krogan. "You owe me a new tunic."

Krogan scoffed. "Alright... So, now that we finally have Basil's toy, and that old ass is not here anymore, you on for a little ‘‘healing session’’ in my room?" Krogan said with a little smirk on his face.

Viggo chuckled, understanding the double meaning in Krogan's sentence. "Why not?" He replied as Krogan dropped the broken ladder and they both walked to Krogan's room.

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This is so dumb why did I write this😭

Also @reallyprofoundkryptonite and @ziggityzigg tag cuz I forgot

[revive-the-fandom]

Johann's villain arc was piss poor writing

tbh I don't come to RTTE for good writing, I go here for mediocre writing with flecks of greatness in it. But Johann's villain arc is a stinking pile of shit muddying the waters of the rest of the show and I'm tired of seeing people praising it.

If you're writing a twist villain the truth needs to make more sense than the lie. and Johann just has so many inconsistencies and plotholes and godawful dialogue. He feels more fake as the villain than he ever did as the Comic Relief Plot Mover.

What is his end game?

So he gets the King of Dragons, now what? Do what with it? Is he selling it to Drago through Krogan? If he does this then he loses the King of Dragons, his Allies, and the Dragon Flyers?? Then why does Krogan need Johann of all people?

What does he bring to the table that Krogan and the Grimborns haven't already provided?

Krogan brings the Flyers, an air force, and he's an accomplished fighter with an exotic style that the Archipelago is unfamiliar with. He's also bringing the Buyer and the Funds.

The Grimborns bring the Hunters, a naval force highly skilled at capturing Dragons alive (something Berk, the Outcasts, and the Berserkers couldn't manage after 300 years of experience) and selling their parts. They also bring the Dragon Eye - it's a decades (maybe even centuries) old artifact created by the Hunters for use by the Hunters.

Then why do Viggo and Krogan work for him?

No fucking clue! It doesn't make sense! He's been undercover for at least 15 - 20 years (the man recognises by sight the gift Valka made for Hiccup, which he threw into the ocean when he was a toddler). Any reputation he had in his homeland or even the archipelago is void.

Johann is also rarely ever shown fighting, and when he does fight he loses, so he's pretty shit. He loses to Hiccup twice, and he loses to Viggo. He's not inspiring confidence or fear so what the fuck is even his deal? How is he gaining loyalty?

He doesn't bring knowledge, or hell even an insider perspective of the Riders. Viggo has the information on the Dragon Eye and how to use it, Krogan has the information on what the King of Dragons looks like and acts like from Drago.

Johann throws out his one and only advantage, his alliance (and spy status) with Berk, the Outcasts, and the Berserkers, as soon as he starts to really need it (the Hunters are defeated and absorbed into the Flyers. Ryker, a highly competent general, is dead. Viggo is horrifically injured. The Shellfire is defeated. Krogan, his main general is combative, impulsive and desperate. The Flyers are loyal out of fear not camaraderie. Hiccup has a second Dragon Eye. etc).

He doesn't even have any good reason to hate dragons for christs sake!

Stoick lost his wife.

Gobber lost his limbs.

Drago also lost his limb.

So did Hiccup.

Astrid lost her uncle.

Fishlegs' ancestry is built on dragon hunting.

Mildew is a bitter old man clinging to his culture and influence (power).

Alvin wanted power through the Dragons, but didnt really hate them in the first place, just assigned them: enemy.

Johann just hates people allied with Dragons for the sake of it. It's never expanded on. It's his whole motivation for betraying Berk and it's not. explained. He's evil for the sake of evil. Johann the Trader at least could use the tribes of the archipelago for protection and profit, but Johann the Criminal Mastermind sacrifices this relationship for Viggo's Dragon Eye Lenses at the drop of pin. Why? Plot convenience and piss poor writing.

Johann's foreshadowing is another pile of shit to pick through.

His first appearance he sells poisonous flowers to Mildew.

This should be his first attempt to kill off Berk's Dragons, but he lists Breakneck Bog as his first attempt. His role in this plot is almost nonexistant - he delivers a custom order to Mildew and just, fucks off.

You could even argue that Johann, should he know what the flowers do to Dragons (which it's implied he doesn't) put the answer right into the Berkian's hands. The botany book he sells Fishlegs identifies the Blue Oleander, and because of it they're able to make a cure. Arguably this could be Johann's attempt to covertly save the Dragons.

And if he wasn't trying to covertly help, or he was in on it with Mildew from the beginning, then why on gods green earth did he even allow that book to be sold?? He sabotaged himself! If anything this is points against him as a "mastermind" bc it's a really fucking stupid move.

Johann kicks that one dragon

This is for all those people citing Johann kicking a Dragon away from his food/merchandise as proof that "there was evidence all along".

RoB spends half its screen time showing Dragons as pests, stealing food, burning shit down etc. That's the entire reason Mildew is able to succeed as much as he does.

Half of Berk is still violent to Dragons at this point. Johann is acting accordingly as Vikings are violent and angry culturally, and they get pissy at the Dragons for steal their already limited food and housing.

Breakneck Bog is apparently his first attempt to off the Riders.

So you're telling me that the grand, overarching, final villain, mastermind's plan to kill off a bunch of kids, at least two of whom are pretty crap fighters, and all of which trust him entirely, and all of which are fucking children! was to sail directly into Breakneck Bog, watch the Smokebreaths haul his big ass ship into a tree (all of which seemingly abandoned all of its metal wares ?), then swim into the ocean and HOPE that Berk would send specifically the Riders who again, are CHILDREN, to search for him so he can send them into a hoard of metal eating (not flesh, metal) dragons????

Does no one on the writing team remember that it was STOICK and GOBBER along with Hiccup who initially went searching for Johann? Hiccup went against Stoick's wishes to take the Riders out searching for Johann, it was PURE DUMB LUCK that Johann encountered the Riders at all!

Johann then proceeds to help berk and Stoick and Hiccup by smuggling them into Outcast Island on his own ship

If he wants Hiccup dead why even do this? If he wants the Dragons gone why even do this?

The only reason I can come up with is that he wants to remove the competition: Alvin. Which again, backfires horribly when he allies with Stoick. Great track record this mastermind has for felling his enemies. Really fearsome, round of applause.

Johann is saved by Hiccup during a freeze

He does very little in this ep aside from being fucking hilarious, but he is yet again rescued by Hiccup. Great motivator for hating him.

Johann then (accidentally) delivers Smokebreath metal to Berk

If he's doing this on purpose to help Dagur, rather than just getting tricked because he's the gullible Comic Relief Plot Mover, then why does he stick around to confirm Hiccup's theory? Just leave or lie, he's supposed to be an expert in deceit right?

All of Johann's RoB/DoB appearances consist of him doing something vaguely dodgy or stupid and then getting bailed out, or should he be a villain, hindered by Hiccup. If he's just a Trader, that's fine, he's here to be stupid. but if he's secretly The Villain of the series, then he's a really, really stupid one with no motivation and a habit of self-sabotage. Which I guess could be an interesting route if they played into his stupidity, but no, he's the ultra mega smartypants villain.

Dagur stealing his ship

Johann is a Trader of course he visits Outcast island. He's also Mr Comic Relief Plot Mover. He is the ideal choice for this type of Shenanigans.

But if Johann is the mastermind, then I guess he supposedly paid off that one Outcast guard? The same Outcast guard who then didn't direct Dagur to the ship or anything? So that he could sit and again HOPE that Dagur picked his ship instead of any of the armed and armoured Outcast ships docked nearby, which like, Dagur just defeated an entire prisons worth of guards singlehandedly after stewing in a tiny cell for what 3 years? and then he let Dagur throw him overboard so that said mastermind could once again mysteriously survive being lost at sea? What kind of supernatural powers does Johann have that allows him to swim in an arctic sea for days on end??

and on top of that Johann just decides, hey, lets warn the Berkians instead of maybe like, playing ill for a bit? so that Dagur doesn't get more than a few days headstart to raise an entire Armarda, bc ... fuck him I guess?

So, release the guy who you want to have kill Hiccup and the Riders, then set said Riders on this guy at your earliest convenience so they can swoop in and reduce his chances of doing the thing you want him to do??

Giving false information to Heather

Johann straight up tells Heather he can't confirm Dagur's whereabouts after his last tip, and that Dagur is on his way to get arms. It's not a big stretch to think Heather had good info, but bad timing.

otherwise this is one of the only solid points the Johann twist has going for it: send a single rider so that Dagur can get some practice killing them.

Johann distracting the Riders while the Hunters invade

Like the above point, not really a red flag, but also does hold up okay after the twist. As Johann did manage to fend off the Dragons proving he has some competence. but i say again, Comic Relief Plot Mover is much more likely given his track record.

Smuggling the Riders into the Auction

Why on God does Johann not warn Viggo or Ryker, who he is apparently in charge of, that the Auction is about to be sabotaged? Krogan is in the Auction too. If Johann is vying to sell the King of Dragons then impressing that guy should be priority numero uno or else his whole plan withers away. Instead he just licks Viggo's boots and stays quiet?

the whole Submarriper debacle

Johann, by your own admission you are currently in charge of Viggo and Ryker. Why are you sailing straight into Viggo's Submarriper Trap?

Also, why is he being nice to people he knows are about to die? He knows the Submarriper, so even if he's just like, idk scoping out the trap to check all's good then no need to a) be that close, or b) be fake friendly to your sacrifices?

The end of Season 4 is probably also the original end point, as they only had 4 seasons planned and they got given an extra 2. My theory is that Johann wasn't planned to be a villain until season 5 because they'd wrapped up 90% of the plot in Shell Shocked and needed a new threat.

Sandbuster

Ok, again, this is ok. He's just leading them into danger again. which I will still say could be Comic Relief Plot Mover shenanigans, but doesn't get in the way of his twist villain plot either.

Krogan invades the Edge

Again, this is ok. Lead Hiccup and Astrid away from the Edge so Krogan can now invade. But if Johann knows about Hiccup's secret project (Dragon Eye) why didn't he go to further measures to destroy it? Without it the race for the Lenses can never happen.

Getting the Lens from Heather

this one is ok. I guess. Makes the most sense out of all of them but it's also the ep where Johann is revealed to the audience (not the riders. I think this is called dramatic irony but don't quote me on that) so its gotta fit within the laws of the episode at the very least.

The Reveal

Just, why Johann? Hiccup has The Most Loyal Dragon who also happens to be The Most Intelligent Dragon. Hiccup is also the Dragon Master who can train/deal with any dragon and you choose to confront him in a Dragons lair that he already knows about and has escaped from before?

And I haven't even touched on the bullshit "evil smile in the background but only AFTER the audience has been handed the twist so it's impossible to deduce the truth before this moment"

Season 5:

Season 6:

This is the most dumbed down, babyish shit I've ever seen. I expect this from Cbeebies not Netflix. How many kids' shows these days are doing better than this!? (Adventure Time, Steven Universe, Over the Garden Wall, to name a few).

Like yes we get it! Johann is your twist villain. Except he wasn't even a good twist because it wasn't a twist, it was a flat out surprise attack with no clues and no warnings. It's not fun if you can't go back and connect the dots! which I've just spent maybe 1000 words proving you can't!

I just hate it! He has no clear motive, he has multiple actions that contradict his eventual reveal, most of his plots fail miserably, most his plots rely on complete and total luck, he brings nothing of value to the villain roster and yet he's our Leading Villain??

If Mildew is more convincing than your main villain, then something's gone horribly wrong with your writing, and maybe you should rethink this choice?