#clan urdnot

[urdnotcadash]

You know, Shepard could of had the reaper war over with faster than the council could deny their existence if they just let thresher maws at them.

[quietwingsinthesky]

characters I will get irrationally emotional about tonight: Wrex

[anderwhohn]

@yetfierce asked: i would kill for a nice glass of wine right now. Urdnot Wrex

"Bah," the krogan huffs, angling his head to turn his red gaze on the human. "You don't want that asari crap. What you need is some ryncol. That'd set everything straight."

[smalllady]

Places in Mass Effect 2 - Tuchanka Scarred by bombardment craters, radioactive rubble, choking ash, salt flats, and alkaline seas, Tuchanka can barely support life. Thousands of years ago, life grew in fierce abundance under the F-class star Aralakh (a Raik clan word meaning "Eye of Wrath"). Tree-analogues grew in thick jungles, their roots growing out of shallow, silty seas. Life fed upon life in an evolutionary crucible. This world died in nuclear firestorms after the krogan split the atom. A "little ice age" of nuclear winter killed off much of the remaining plant life. In recent centuries, many krogan have returned to their homeworld. The reduced albedo has caused global temperatures to rise. In order to maintain liveable temperatures, a vast shroud was assembled at the L1 Lagrange point. It is maintained by the Council Demilitarization Enforcement Mission (CDEM), which is based on orbiting battlestations. CDEM ADVISORY: Visitors to Tuchanka land at their own risk. The CDEM will not attempt to extract citizens threatened by clan warfare. TRAVEL ADVISORY: The ecology of Tuchanka is deadly. Nearly every native species engages in some predatory behavior; even the remaining vegetation is carnivorous. Travel beyond guarded areas is strongly discouraged. Population: 2.1 billion Capital: Urdnot (since 2183) CDEM Garrison: 2,400 (in orbital battlestations) Orbital Distance: 5.3 AU Orbital Period: 16.7 Earth Years Radius: 8293 km Day Length: 21.4 Earth Hours Atmospheric Pressure: 1.1 Earth Atmospheres Surface Temperature: 72 Celsius (36 in shrouded areas) Surface Gravity: 1.14 G

[felassan]

Email from Modiphius:

"MASS EFFECT NEWS! Mass Effect The Board Game and Mass Effect Miniatures are almost here! Commander Shepard, it’s time to suit up—the galaxy needs you again! Mass Effect The Board Game - Priority: Hagalaz is coming very soon! But here’s some top secret data just for you: we’re also releasing a range of high quality resin Mass Effect Miniatures! You can use these miniatures to upgrade the plastic miniatures and tokens in the base game, or field them in any miniatures skirmish game (like Five Parsecs from Home), and they’re great for for miniatures collectors and Mass Effect fans everywhere! Find out more on our Mass Effect blog and get a tease of the miniatures representing the crew of the Normandy, including both male and female Shepard minis (with optional helmets) and Wrex and Tali (with detachable drone)! If you haven’t already, sign up for Mass Effect news here, so you can be among the first to find out when pre-orders for Mass Effect The Board Game - Priority: Hagalaz and our Mass Effect Miniatures launch VERY soon! Until then, stay vigilant. The galaxy is counting on you."

[source: email from Modiphius]

Images of the miniatures (Sheps, Garrus, Liara, Tali, Wrex)

[source]

Info from the associated blogpost:

"Mass Effect Miniatures By Gavin Dady Art by David Benzal October sees the launch of Mass Effect The Boardgame - Priority: Hagalaz. In it, Commander Shepard and their band of loyal squadmates take on a new mission to explore a crashed Cerberus Cruiser on the storm-wracked world of Hagalaz. Within the cruiser they will face many dangerous enemies, from the survivors of the Cerberus crew, native life and even the dangerous captives and experiments that Cerberus were keeping aboard the ship. The enemies are represented by thick, full colour, illustrated card tokens in the game, but Modiphius are also producing a range of 32mm, multipart miniatures to compliment them. As with our previous Fallout and The Elder Scrolls miniatures, these are highly detailed resin collectors miniatures.    In this first phase of miniatures, we are concentrating on the core sets required to build up the forces for the board game. The first of these is The Heroes of the Normandy Alpha. It includes six miniatures in alternative poses for the PVC sculpts from the board game.  Commander Shepard is represented in both male and female versions. Armed with the M-8 Assault Rifle or her M-3 pistol and Omni-blade, Shepard is ready to take the fight to their enemies. Shepard also comes with optional parts to depict them with either bare head or their iconic helmet from their N7 armour. The former C-Sec officer, Garrus Vakarian, has been by Shepard’s side from their earliest days as a SPECTRE and is depicted in his role as one of the galaxy’s premier snipers (arguments about who is the better shot between Shepard and Garrus aside). Garrus is depicted with his signature M-92 Mantis rifle, repaired armour and the scars he gained as The Archangel. Next amongst Shepard’s staunch allies is Dr. Liara T’soni. A powerful Asari biotic, expert on the ancient Prothean race and, secretly, the powerful underworld figure The Shadowbroker. Liara  is depicted initiating one of her powerful biotic abilities, energy crackling around her hand. Tali’Zhora Nar Rayya is the young Quarian that Shepard first met whilst pursuing the rogue SPECTRE Saren. Tali is a gifted engineer and staunch advocate for the Quarian people. She is depicted with her drone, Chatika, who can be modelled attached to Tali’s Omni-tool, or kept separate to act as a marker during gameplay. Rounding out the squad is Urdnot Wrex, the veteran mercenary and leader of Clan Urdnot. Wrex is a powerhouse in battle, utilising biotic abilities, a powerful M-300 Claymore shotgun and, more than once, a well placed head-butt. As well as these miniatures, we are also producing further sets to compliment the boardgame, including Reaper Forces, Cerberus Troops and some of the Priority Threats that you will face as you make your way through the crashed cruiser. These sets are ideal for upgrading the tokens in the base game, or for use in any miniatures skirmish game (like Five Parsecs from Home) or for miniatures collectors everywhere. Look out for special collectors and gameplay bundles available exclusively from Modiphius  when the Mass Effect Board Game pre-orders go live soon! In the meantime, you can sign-up for more Mass Effect news here."

[source]

[comfort-in-space]

a champion to the krogan people,

a friend of Clan Urdnot,

a sister to me.

[corpocyborg]

Ruthless Remainders, a Mass Effect Fanfiction (Post-Destroy Ending Garrus/Renegade!Shepard)

Summary:

Garrus Vakarian didn't kid himself when it came to his proficiency in ruthless calculus. If he hadn't been able to make the tough decisions, he'd never have been put in a position to do so. The Turian Hierarchy was a meritocracy. No one was given a job they weren't fit to perform. But Shepard could put a turian to shame with her composure. That's why it came as a shock to him when, covered in the dust their footsteps had stirred up in the vacant clearing, Shepard began to silently sob. A series of post-war vignettes in which Garrus and Renegade!Shepard finally have time to deal with the consequences of all that ruthless calculus.

Chapter 1: Tuchanka

[read on Ao3]

Commander Shepard shouldn't be on Tuchanka. If any krogan within travel range found out where she was, they might come after her. Garrus tightened his grip on his gun and scanned the horizon carefully. She should've brought a bigger guard, at least.

Technically, he hadn't even convinced her to bring him. Back at their apartment on the Citadel, he'd noticed where she'd ordered private transport to and promptly asked her if she had a desire to die again. Her mouth had set into that thin, resolute line that let him know she would broker no counter arguments. To her, his view on the matter was simply irrelevant. 

So, instead, when her ride arrived, he'd wordlessly followed her onboard. She hadn't told him it was okay, but she hadn't kicked him off either. You had to take the wins where you could. 

Watching her sitting in Tuchanka's red dirt, he understood why she had wanted to be here alone. He still remembered the conversation they'd had on board the Normandy, during the height of the war, and the way her face had looked when she'd realized he'd figured out what she'd done. Her jaw had tensed, but her eyes had never changed. They'd stared unflinchingly into his, and his initial reproaches had died on his tongue. He'd almost said, "How could you?" But instead he'd said, "Damn war."

Garrus Vakarian didn't kid himself when it came to his proficiency in ruthless calculus. If he hadn't been able to make the tough decisions, he'd never have been put in a position to do so. The Turian Hierarchy was a meritocracy. No one was given a job they weren't fit to perform. But Shepard could put a turian to shame with her composure. 

That's why it came as a shock to him when, covered in the dust their footsteps had stirred up in the vacant clearing, Shepard began to silently sob.

Garrus was at a loss. If they’d been a normal couple, he’d know how to comfort her. But they’d never been normal, had they? Part of him wanted to pull her into his arms and tell her everything would be okay, but the other part of him—the part that recognized that she’d never truly confided in him, that’d he’d never seen her cry before—held him back. Empty platitudes were the last thing she’d need or want. 

“Why are we here, Shepard?” he finally asked. 

“You know why.” 

He sighed and sat down next to her. “I know what happened, more or less. My question is, why now?”

It had been several months since the fact that the genophage wasn’t cured became common knowledge. The Salarian Union had declared it an accident, but rumors still circulated. Most of the galaxy was hesitant to speak badly of Commander Shepard, but among the krogans, and especially among Clan Urdnot, the rumors were particularly potent. The tank-bred krogan Grunt had been ostracized from the clan for continuing to support her. 

He knew she’d be safe from any real fallout, even if the truth were uncovered. You don’t arrest the hero who destroyed the Reapers. But sometimes he worried about her legacy. Their children, their children’s children… when the threat of the war floated far away in the stream of time, would she still be remembered as a hero? Or as something else?

Garrus was so lost in thoughts of the future that he was jarred when Shepard actually answered his question for once. “I learned something. About Wrex. About before I killed him.”

“Okay,” he said. A shiver of anticipation ran through him. “What’d you learn?”

“That he’d gotten Eve pregnant. Almost right away. And that she had a miscarriage.”

There was a pause, but Garrus didn’t know how to fill it.

“I think…” Shepard continued. “I think that’s how he figured out what I did, why he went looking for more proof. It could have been written off as a coincidence, but… I dunno, maybe he just… felt it.” 

“Damn. Shepard, I’m—”

“Don’t say you’re sorry.” Her interruption was instant. “I’m not the victim here.”

“Okay.” He held his hands up in appeasement. “I won’t say it.” 

“If he’d just waited… if he hadn’t demanded action in the middle of a war, when I had too many other lives to consider… I’d have helped him gladly. We could’ve done it the right way, proven that the krogan weren’t a threat…”

“Yeah. It kinda had to be, didn’t it?”

“Maybe it could still happen.”

“It can’t.” There was a distinct note of finality in her voice. “It had to be Mordin.”

Shepard nodded. Garrus looked at the bleak horizon again. Tuchanka was hot even at night, and he could see the planet’s star, Aralakh, starting to rise. Turians weren’t really bothered by excess warmth, but humans were. 

“Shepard, let’s go home,” he suggested.

“Yeah.” She stood up quickly. Her scarred face showed no more signs of distress. “There’s nothing left for us here.”

[asirensrambles]

Cultural Exchange

@flufftober

Flufftober Day 4: Zaeed Massani/female Shepard Cinderella Moment

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

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

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

One of a kind, that woman.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[fllagellant]

Me reminding myself this is my blog and I can say whatever anyways bc I opened c2077 and my brain is hot wired to mass effect rn . Who wants to hear some loose ideas . You do I am making this choice for you .. under the cut bc long post thumbsup

Wrex is a fixer 1000% . Specifically a fixer out in the badlands working with the nomads bc the Urdnots are a nomad clan so he Has that connection + he’ s just setting up shop outside night city to make life a bit easier . He ends up adopting Grunt at some point when he’ s like . 5ish . Grunt still chooses the name Grunt when he hits like 18 and jumps into organized fighting . Wrex sponsors him in these fights . Bakara is Grunt’ s mother figure and runs the little Fixer Business in tandem with Wrex . She also keeps constant check on the Urdnot clan’ s status and such . She also organizes drag races . Grunt cannot compete in these he crashes any car he drives to pieces . She’ s busy half the day , either doing work on her own car , taking time for prayer , or she’ s just gone into night city for some Reason

Ashley is a rocker who took up the mantle after loosing her grandfather and father in corporate wars . She did join militech for a few years but was discharged later from disorder + she was going down the same path as her granddad + dad and she realized she really didn’ t deserve that fate . She still has her old military upgrades and constantly keeps them checked so they don’ t malfunction badly since they are Old models . She likes them and she knows removal would just be harder than the upkeep at that point . She lives in North Oak . I like to think she does both heavier rock and acoustic , depending on her mood

Kasumi is like . One of The Best people to get on your team for a job . Equipped with top of the line cybernetics , some of them definitely stolen from secure government data , she can easily make any job an infiltration job and can keep casualties to the Minimum . Yes she has the behavioural faceplate and yes she does use it to screw with her friends and contacts often it is good for her. She prefers to stay off grid , but has her own little network she jacks into at the end of the day for her own little joys . She probably lives in Dog Town , to keep herself separate from the rest of night city . She’ s a collector of rare technology too , and will do Anything to get her hands on it . If it’ s still in working condition ? She’ s taking it nothing can stop her

Thane and Samara r also fixers , Thane in Heywood and Samara in Westbrook .. I like to think they share gigs with each other often . They are also often on the look out for newer people to night city to try and see if they Need help or if they Can help and try to set them up from there .. Kolyat runs with a gang in Heywood and Thane keeps up with making sure he stays safe + making sure he keeps up with prayer and whatnot . Morinth is another rocker and braindance actor who tries to make her bds as dangerous as possible . Samara doesn’ t approve of the BDs part of her livelihood but will try to set her up with jobs to keep her busy and keep her out of trouble Samara doesn’ t quite approve of ..

Jack does gigs only related to cyberpsychosis . She’ s a survivor herself and she knows better than anyone how to handle someone during an episode . She crashes around night city and doesn’ t really stay in one place for long . She’ s always checking police scanners to see if another incident has been reported Or if they’ re on her ass again . She has a Doberman she rescued that accompanies her around night city , he’ s very good at protecting her bike from being hijacked . She does have a little side car for him to curl up in during rides

Joker and EDI are a “ team “ of fixers . Technically . They both operate under the name Joker and never show their face during any form of communication . EDI is an AI that hasn’ t been claimed by the Blackwall and Joker is in the process of building her a body that can pass as human just with a Lot of cybernetics . They’ re both netrunners and are terrifying at what they do . Joker is ex corporate and survived a zeroing attempt so he is very . Well . He isn’ t the nicest guy ever .. EDI was a project he managed to save before having to go into hiding for a bit . Joker’ s skills let him have near perfect control of vehicles while EDI is better with security measures . People keep trying to guess which voice of the two of them is real and which one is a cover up voice . Since it’ s not like they want people to figure out what is actually going on

[midday-headcanons]

Mass Effect HCs: Krogan Textiles and Cultural Things

The designs of their clothing, particularly for females, is interestingly ornate for being such a brutalist people in both culture and architecture.

The use of buckles, patterns, and flowing embroideries suggests that some part of their society still values art and design despite how war-like they are. I wonder if each tribe/clan has a different style of patterns? I know it’s universal in game for ease of production, but it does make you wonder.

If their markings, armor, and culture vary by clan, what else does? Is there a specific dialect of the Krogan language that Urdnot’s have that Jorgal’s don’t? It’s a big planet and they’re a very scattered people. It would make sense that at least some parts of their society would be different.

Urdnot is a progressive clan that blends with other fallen clans, such as when the women and children of clan Nakmor were added to the clan after the males were killed, but they also collect peoples from different species as well (Ereba the Blue Rose of Illum and technically Commander Shepard). 

Do their names vary in style, too? I know Bakara mentioned naming starts with getting drunk on some kind of juice and belching until it sounds like a word, but they don’t only grab names that way in game. Some of their names sound almost alien to them, like how Inamorda sounds like Mordin (a Salarian name) and Grunt is just a title. 

I think I’ll do more digging into this and come up with more things

[stellevatum]

Kar's sigil has always been the mythosaur-- once a symbol representing the Mandalore proper, has now become the callsign of the Mandalorian people. Alor'ade by their very name hints that they came from from ancient rulers/leaders, and the clan has been known to hold leaders and figures since before the Mandalorian Wars. (At least 4,000 years!)

Sometime after arrival in the Milky Way, possibly after her adoption into Urdnot/her walkabout out in the wastes, she adopted a modified sigil: a mythosaur skull framed by a coiled thresher maw.

In time, and you can tell which branch of Alor'ade someone is descendants of Kar and Ruusaan (aka the Alor'ade of the Ashi Mando'ade) and their cousins Ven and Cuyan (the Alor'ade of the Haat Mando'ade; even though technically their father was Kyr'tsade...they probably don't subscribe to his beliefs) by their sigil.

[omniblades-and-stars]

🍕 ❤️ 💚 🧠 for Korak and Crash pls I’m having a weird day and they’re comfort characters for me

I'll bring you the good stuff for our beloved saints Crash and Korak just for you Korbs.

🍕 - What is their favorite food?

Crash: I already answered this elsewhere, but now I am on my phone because I have to pretend to do my job, so I will copy it here.

"There is an elcor street food vendor on Omega that serves the best food out of a giant pot that Crash has ever tasted. She doesn't know what's in it (he must have told her a hundred times, but she's pretty sure it changes every time), but it's delicious."

Korak: OK, I made up a food one time and I can't even remember if I fucking named it because of who I am as a person. Basically, it's like a goulash, heavy on that one little snippet of world building Bioware gave us about there being a spice called ignac native to Khar'Shan, and full of all sorts of delightfully weird alien veggies. Korak is also quite fond of sukiyaki he's found.

❤️ - What is one of your OC’s best memories?

Crash: I gave an answer for Crash already, but she's such a joyful person, let's hit you with another. (I am coming up with this off the dome by the way.)

There was a young turian kid living on Omega who she knew well because his family lived in the same building as she did and he was often left unattended (latch key kid sort of situation). One day he comes to her crying because he can't find his ragged little stuffed varren toy.

Well, she went looking for it and found it pretty easily, the little scamp had dropped it just outside and it had gotten kicked out of the footpath. But instead of just giving it right back to him, she set up a little adventure/mystery for him to go on with her to rescue his toy.

They went mucking through the jungles of Sur'Kesh (the back alley behind the mega-complex) but alas! He was not there! So they trudging through the deserts of Tuchanka (an abandoned lot in front of an empty warehouse) and broke into the crumbling ruins of the evil krogan warlord's secret base (the warehouse) where they had a very intense imaginary battle to rescue the stuffed animal. Burn took a nasty wound to the snout, but our little turian hero was there to save the day and patch him up!

The best thing about this story is that her little buddy grew up and got off the station before it dragged him down or killed him like it so often does for so many others.

Korak: The first Nos Astra sunrise that Korak saw when he and Aumellio left Omega behind together. It was a simple thing. They were staying in a cheap hotel, didn't even have a place to actually live yet, all of their possessions condensed into a few not very large boxes. But leaning against a balcony rail together, watching a new beginning literally light up before them.

Cheap hotel coffee tastes really good when there's hope on the horizon.

💚 - What is your OC’s gender identity and sexuality?

Crash: You know, it's an interesting thing to think about, how krogan perform gender. The examples we get canon-wise in game, krogan society is deeply gendered at least culturally. The women have their own clans, their own spiritual practices even. Crash rejected all of that. She left Tuchanka which it seems like not very many krogan women do. She wears armor and has no desire to live like the women on her homeworld do. But she still identifies as "female" for whatever that might mean. If we base all of what we know of krogan females on Urdnot Bakara, one might say she's gender non-conforming at the very least.

Though I suspect all of this is just another failure on Bioware's part to include non-cis-male aliens in their initial world building.

Crash is firmly asexual and aromantic. (She does however like romance stories but she won't tell you that.)

Korak: Korak is a cis dude, and he's very much a gay man. There's not a lot to elaborate on there, he's a pretty simple guy.

🧠 - What do you like most about the OC?

Fuck how am I supposed to choose?

Crash: I think my favorite thing about Crash is how sure she is of herself and her joy. She made a conscious decision a very long time ago to live in a way that made her happy, made her feel fulfilled, and she does it with all of her hearts because she knows she's doing what she wanted all along.

Korak: My favorite thing about Korak is that he's actually a bit of a sweetheart and he's so lost trying to be a good dad, but goddammit he is giving it all he's got.

Plus he's kind of a hunk.

[dragonflight203]

Mass Effect 2, Grunt loyalty mission:

-Wrex says Okeer is a hated name. Why? I don’t think the game ever provides the context for that.

-Grunt’s loyalty mission is invaluable for the world building it provides for the krogan.

I don’t have much to say about most of it, but I appreciate how well it fleshes the krogan out as a people.

-Mmm. Wrex is not as all powerful as one might assume. He has to coordinate with the female clan, and within Urdnot itself the Shaman holds a lot of power.

Despite how it may seem on the surface, being a clan leader requires interpersonal skills. You can’t just headbutt everyone into submission.

-I am amused that even krogans have liberals and conservatives, and concern about their culture being lost because of changes.

Sure, everything is contextualized via some form of violence or another, but it’s there.

-I struggle with krogans in ME2. They generally respond better to neutral or renegade dialogue than paragon, but because the paragon/renegade system is ratio based in ME2 I’m reluctant to give up on any paragon points.

-Shaman, about the site of Grunt’s rite of passage: The last surface city to fall in the rebellions.

So, fighting occurred on Tuchanka as well during the Krogan Rebellions. Somehow that never occurred to me. I had assumed all fighting occurred offworld.

It’s still been a millennia or so since then so the krogan should have started rebuilding, but that’s not quite as long since they nuked themselves.

Now I’m curious about how much the krogan had rebuilt between the nukes and the rebellions. Do they ever get tired of having to start from scratch?

-There are Urdnot bodies scattered around the rite of passage area.

This is another reason why the krogan are slowly dying out. They die during the rite of passage, and that’s a tradition they’re apparently not willing to give up.

Did the salarians not consider this when creating the genophage? Did they assume the krogans would adapt by abandoning or modifying the rite?

-Uvenk is quite the politician. Had he been born another species, I expect he’d be quite comfortable on the presidium.

-And we know Wrex is a politician. I suspect one of the reasons he permitted Grunt to perform the rite is he thought it would get rid of Uvenk.

It also ties Shepard even more closely to Clan Urdnot. Besides being Wrex’s friend, Shepard is Grunt’s Battlemaster.

-Ironically, I think this might be one of the most political missions in the game, with only Tali’s loyalty mission coming close.

And most people in Mass Effect would probably insist krogans aren’t capable of politics.

-The Shaman says that rebuilding the world over and over makes krogans stronger.

I still suspect individual krogan grow weary from it.

-When you first tell Wrex you have a krogan crew member, he says you replaced him.

If you kill the thresher maw and speak to Wrex again, he says “Guess that’s what it takes to replace me”.

Grunt is being positioned to be the next leader of Clan Urdnot.

-I had just enough money to buy all the upgrades from Fortack’s store. Whew!

-Hearing the chatter about defeating the thresher maw and the various krogans welcoming Grunt into the clan is nice.

And the Blood Pack recruiter certainly changes his tune.

Normandy

-Chorban emailed Shepard to let them know his findings on the Keepers.

Pretty much everything Shepard discovered in ME1 – they’re bioengineered, made by the same people that made Sovereign, and react to a signal every 50,000 years. How convenient.

Of course, the real point is for Chorban to say that nobody on the Citadel is listening to him.

This is probably too emphasize that the Council is doing nothing, and it’s up to Shepard to save the galaxy.

More practically, I suspect STG is monitoring all of Chorban’s equipment and making copies of everything.

-The dialogue to receive Tali’s loyalty mission is also short, but at least it’s longer than Garrus’ and presents new concepts.

-If you go renegade with Grunt, he assures Shepard he would stab Shepard in the front, not the back. Love it.

-If you go paragon on your last response with him, it ends on a bit of a sour note. Grunt’s here for fighting, so Shepard better be as well.

-More generally, it’s good to see Grunt feeling assured. He’s found his place in the world.

[lelibug]

Mass Effect Legendary Edition -  - Mass Effect 2 -  Engineer Anasar'iia - Grunt's Rite of Passage

Mass Effect Legendary Edition - ME2 - Grunt's Loyalty Mission Urdnot Grunt Completes The Rite of Passage, with Shep and Jack.      They're then forced to take out Uvank... Who might not have been so utterly dumbass if he'd have taken just a Moment To Think... 

Grunt and his Krant are the first to take down a Thresher Maw since Wrex. It would then stand to reason that taking down a narcissistic idiot and his henchmen might be... Not. Much. Of. A. Challenge... Huh? 

 But he didn't think. Oops. 

 Wrex seems pretty happy Grunt's part of his Clan and with Shep. He's probably also a little bit happy that if he can't be at Shep's side kicking ass, at least one of his own is - as well as one of his best (y'know. Apart from him; he's the Best[!!]...) 

 Gaming Video recorded in #2k on-- Gaming Chillblast Defiant 16 Laptop : [12th Gen 14 Core] i7-1200H, 16GB RAM DDR6,  RTX3060 6GB, 16" 2K & 165Hz Screen, 512GB M2 PCIe [SSD], Windows 11 

#masseffect2 #masseffectlegendaryedition #masseffect #commandershepard #femshep #beginning #Tuchanka #jack #grunt  #gruntloyalty #loyaltymission #wrex  #threshermaw #pcgaming #pcgamer #2k #2kgameplay 

 REF: Mass Effect Legendary Edition 2024 03 24   20 58 47 08

[phantomsthought]

Bonds my Shepard has with crew mates!

Featuring a picture of my Shepard in her edgy knight armor im me3

Joker

Jeff “Joker” Moreau and Crow C. Shepard are pretty close. They constantly throw jokes at eachother, whether it be on the battle field over comms or sitting in the cockpit, messing around. Crow and Joker cope the same way sometimes- sarcasm and horrible puns, and avoiding the topic at hand at times. They both know this, and either yell at eachother for it or join in. They’re close friend, Crow always brags about how the Normandy has the best pilot out there, and Joker says that his commander is pretty cool. Their bond has only gotten stronger through out the years. Joker constantly makes “Don’t die again Shepard,” jokes on the battle field, and Crow always replies “No promises.” They laugh about it, but joker genuinely hopes a repeat of Shepard being dead for two years, doesn’t happen.

David Anderson

Due to being practically raised by Anderson, they have a parent-child bond. They look after one another, checking in when duty allows them some breathing room. Crow tries to call him at least once every few days, saving the universe doesn’t give her a lot of wiggle room in her schedule, but she certainly tries to keep in contact with David Anderson. Anderson sends messages when they aren’t able to contact eachother for a while, quick status reports, and wishes that she is safe. Crow never had a strong relationship with her father, maybe that’s why she was so drawn in by Anderson, sees him as her father figure. She worries constantly about him while he’s on earth, praying to whatever god will listen that he lives, that he’ll make it out of the wars and be able to retire, relax.

Kaiden Alenko

Since the first mission on Eden prime, maybe before then, Shepard and Alenko were inseparable. Crow demanded Kaiden be on her team when she was on missions, and hung out with him in mess hall during down time. At some point, they were lovers. They held onto eachother so tight, they didn’t even notice how much they tried to keep the other out of harms way. When Crow died, Kaiden spent the two years in mourning. Even when he tried to go out, meet new people, he could never have the connection with them he had with Crow. On horizon, after Shepards reconstruction, he was hit with so many feelings, blaming Crow unintentionally for dying, and not being able to contact him. After wards he messaged her via extranet. When they met up again, when Crow joined alliance once again and got ungrounded, they re bonded in the hospital while Kaiden was hurt. When he rejoined the Normandy crew, Alenko was ecstatic, to be working with Shepard and the team again. Sometimes he longs for the relationship they once had, but he’s happy keeping their relationship friendly, as long as he can stay by Crows side he’s happy.

Ashley Williams

Let’s be honest, Crow heavily disliked Williams. Due to her racism, the way she acted as if humans were superior, it pissed Shepard off. They never got close, they were just people who went on missions sometimes, tolerated eachother when passing in the halls. Ashley’s death on Virmire hurt Crow a bit, but she didn’t mourn as much as some others did. She hated a soldier died under her command, Ashley just rubbed her the wrong way. She never personally knew the soldier

Urdnot Wrex

When they first met, Wrex was indifferent to Crow, untrusting. Later after proving her loyalty, Wrex and the human got along well. The krogan taught Shepard about his history, even let her in on his issues with his father. He rubbed off on her a lot, she spent most of her time with Wrex or Garrus, and most of the time, Wrex tagged along anyway if she was with Garrus. They head butt eachother and huh when greeting eachother, they make playfully violent jokes with eachother, spar together, they bonded in their own way. They had their soft moments, of course. But most of the time it was one bullying the other, and the other trying to butt back. When he became a clan leader, He made sure to talk to Shepard once discovering she was alive as much as he could. Whenever she landed on his home planet, she was respected because whoever messed with her would have to deal with the krogan leader. She’s his favorite human

Garrus Vakarian

Garrus and Shepard clicked instantly. Garrus became Crows rock, just as she became his. Having the universe on their shoulders was a heavy load, and they helped eachother carry it. Garrus after a while had conflicting feelings, unsure if he liked the human or if it was just admiration because of how strong his commander was. When she died, Garrus became Archangel. He realized how much Crow meant to him, how his feelings weren’t just admiration to a senior officer. It was love. When he saw Shepard on Omega, he thought he was dying- or going crazy. She was coming to guide him to the after life. He wouldn’t be complaining, because he’d be with Shepard again. When he realized he and the commander were alive, he was even happier. He accepted his feelings for Shepard, and eventually Crow had returned his feelings. They were separated after the Normandy got grounded after the collectors being defeated, Garrus was sad again. And when he remet Shepard, he was the same sweet but cocky turian. He was beyond happy when Crow still returned his feelings after being apart for so long. Their relationship is very strong, and stable. There is no Shepard without Vakarian

Liara T’soni

Crow and Liara see eachother as sisters, protecting and defending eachother when needed. They give eachother information, gossip, a shoulder to lean on. They grew close because Shepard listened to Liara’s endless scientific ramblings, and because she saved her life on multiple occasions. When Liara became the shadow broker, she changed. A lot. But Crow supported Liara, trusting her judgment. Liara does absolutely everything she can to help the war efforts and Shepard herself

Tali’Zorah

Tali had a heavy crush on crow, ever since they met. Garrus and Tali make fun of eachother for liking Shepard. Tali was always there supporting Crow, and Crow supported tali when needed. Crow defended tali when she was tried for treason, which she greatly appreciated. When Tali became Tali’zorah vas Normandy, she couldn’t help but feel happy. Normandy was her family, and Crow was someone who meant the world to her. She always supports Crow, no matter if they’re galaxies away or not. The two will always have each others backs

Urdnot Grunt

They have a familial relationship. Since Shepard released the krogan from his tank, everyone referred to him as her ‘tank baby.’ Crow took care of and looked over Grunt as if he were her child, though Krogan mature faster than humans, he accepted this. Crow and him often messed with their model figures together, or discussed random things, such as his jumbled memories or her own experiences. Crow shows him old human Vids, and grunt offers knowledge and his loyalty. He calls her “Battle master”, but one time Crow swore she heard him slip up, and mutter “mom” before he covered it up by shouting “BATTLE MASTER SHEPARD.” Shepard is his krannt. His rock. She defended him when no one else would, she saw his worth and never looked down on him because he was tank bred. She saw him as him. Grunt defended and fought for Shepard whenever he could, she was his human, and spirits forbid someone talk down on his human

Thane Krios

Thane and Crow had an understanding of eachother. Thane deeply respected Crow, and often referred to her as Siha, a goddess in Drell religion. He always appreciated her bringing him and his son together again. Thane and Crow spent time together in his room, silently sometimes, other times talking aimlessly or about memories. They understood when the other was upset and offered company or whatever they could to help. Thane caught Shepard trying to find a cure for his disease once. She was talking to mordin, who said he could possibly make it possible. Thane has a very deep fondness for his commander

Jack

Crow and Jack don’t get along all the time, but they got along most of the time. Crow understood jacks caution whenever she tried getting to know her, and always stepped away when Jack said it was enough. Despite the playful insults they throw at eachother, they’ll have each others back when the other needs it. Crow and Jack have an unspoken friendship. It’s never brung up or asked about, it just exists, and they’re okay with that

Miranda Lawson

Neither liked eachother very much, at the very least they tolerated eachother. Crow after helping Miranda with their sister decided that they would be friends, and Miranda agreed on that. They were never extremely close, whenever back stories were brought up they avoided them completely by changing the subject. At the end of the day though Shepard was just acting as Miranda’s therapist at some point, all Miranda did was vent everything into the Shepards shoulders. Crow didn’t mind, but she wished they could’ve bonded more

Jacob Taylor

Crow Shepard and Jacob had basically absent father figures, they made jokes about it. A lot. It’s how they became good friends though. Jacob joked about sharing Anderson as their father, and Crow laughed along and said she’d “let him know he had another kid.” She saw him as family, and would do anything to protect him. Jacob was like a brother to Crow, and Jacob felt the same about the commander. He would do what he could to help her, from in battle to emotions, or anything else. They were they’re for eachother no matter what, and keep contact through the extranet

Mordin Solus

At first, Crow didn’t like him much, because of his support to the genophage. Eventually, she came to like the solarian. They bonded over sciences, and music. Mordin loved human music, older music especially. He never heard it before Shepard introduced it to him, because he brought up the fact she always listened to something with an ear piece. He knew it wasn’t communications, because she always bobbed her head to it or tapped her finger on the side of her gun. She had her own ‘mission playlist’ to help her feel in control and safer, more calm and confident. Mordin let Crow hang around his office when she wanted, and even let her mess around with some of his equipment if he deemed it safe for her to play with. None of it actually was, but he knew Crow was stubborn, and would turn out fine anyways. His death was something that hit Crow hard. She mourned over him for so long, hell she still does. You’ll hear her mutter a song he used to sing under her breath, very often: “I am the very model of a scientist salarian! I’ve studied species turian, asari and Batarian. I’m quite good at genetics (as a subset of biology) because I am an expert (which I know is a tautology).” She also sings his other songs which are about: the krogan queen, random patter, acid song, grace, and mitosis. He sang often while he worked, and she sings his songs as she works. She adored the scientist. Due to the time spent with him, she picked up many of his habits. Singing while working voicing thought process out loud, speaking very fast and not taking a breath until the thought is finished, and being very blunt when it comes to certain things. One of her favorite conversations with Mordin was when they were watching musicals together, and he hyper analyzed the scenes, while she added in her own knowledge and such when he stopped talking for her input. She misses him.

Javik

Javik is fond of the commander. He is unsure why, but he knows she is particularly interesting. She sits in his room with him. She doesn’t prof with questions or annoy him with endless chattering, she just sits in the space she always sits in- a corner with boxes near where he stands - and reads, or does whatever. Sometimes they chat, play chess, one time Crow let him try to braid her hair. He did surprisingly well. For being an avatar of vengeance, Javik was a very kind and careful person. They felt a understanding between eachother, and went to the citadel often because javik so badly wanted to experience it, as it was taken by the reapers in his cycle before he could visit. They’re very close friends, and this bond seems un breakable

James Vega

Yet another victim of falling in love with Shepard. He calls her ‘Lola,’ which she doesn’t seem to mind but it confuses the other team mates. When she was grounded she worked with James often, so they got relatively close. They work out together, and when he visits captains cabin he allowed himself to be ‘soft’ and just relax with Commander Shepard. Crow is oblivious to his feelings, as his flirting was always apart of his personality. They often hang out in mess hall or fighting in the lower decks )playfully of course.) James would follow her to the ends of the world, he adored Shepard, and her charisma, her strength

Legion

Another victim of Shepard adopting someone. Crow adopted leigon when it joined the Normandy, finding it sweet when it referred to her a “Shepard-Commander.” The geth would do anything to keep her safe, and she would do anything for them. Legion and Shepard are very close, and often talk about things from their own culture. To eachother so they can learn more about the other

Edi

Crow treats edi as part of the crew even before she got a physical form. Crow has always respected and believed in Edi, and she finds that baffling. They’re very close, and Crow is happy to answer questions and teach the ai about human culture, and about joker.

[corpocyborg]

WIP - Ruthless Remainders

Summary: Post-war fic in which a surviving Renegade Shepard and Garrus finally have time to deal with the consequences of all that ruthless calculus.

CHAPTER ONE: TUCHANKA

Commander Shepard shouldn't be on Tuchanka. If any krogan within travel range found out where she was, they might come after her. Garrus tightened his grip on his gun and scanned the horizon carefully. She should've brought a bigger guard, at least.

Technically, he hadn't even convinced her to bring him. Back at their apartment on the Citadel, he'd noticed where she'd ordered private transport to and promptly asked her if she had a desire to die again. Her mouth had set into that thin, resolute line that let him know she would broker no counter arguments. To her, his view on this matter was simply irrelevant. 

So, instead, when her ride arrived, he'd wordlessly followed her onboard. She hadn't told him it was okay, but she hadn't kicked him off either. You had to take the wins where you could. 

Watching her sitting in Tuchanka's red dirt, he understood why she had wanted to be here alone. He still remembered the conversation they'd had on board the Normandy, during the height of the war, and the way her face had looked when she'd realized he'd figured out what she'd done. Her jaw had tensed, but her eyes had never changed. They'd stared unflinchingly into his, and his initial reproaches had died on his tongue. He'd almost said, "How could you?" But instead he'd said, "Damn war."

Garrus Vakarian didn't kid himself when it came to his proficiency in ruthless calculus. If he hadn't been able to make the tough decisions, he'd never have been put in a position to do so. The Turian Hierarchy was a meritocracy. No one was given a job they weren't fit to perform. But Shepard could put a turian to shame with her composure. 

That's why it came as a shock to him when, covered in the dust their footsteps had stirred up in the vacant clearing, Shepard began to silently sob.

Garrus was at a loss. If they’d been a normal couple, he’d know how to comfort her. But they’d never been normal, had they? Part of him wanted to pull her into his arms and tell her everything would be okay, but the other part of him—the part that recognized that she’d never truly confided in him, that’d he’d never seen her cry before—held him back. Empty platitudes were the last thing she’d need or want. 

“Why are we here, Shepard?” he finally asked. 

“You know why.” 

He sighed and sat down next to her. “I know what happened, more or less. My question is, why now?”

It had been several months since the fact that the genophage wasn’t cured had become common knowledge. The Salarian Union had declared it an accident, but rumors still circulated. Most of the galaxy was hesitant to speak badly of Commander Shepard, but among the krogans, and especially among Clan Urdnot, the rumors were particularly potent. Grunt had been ostracized from the clan for continuing to support her. 

He knew she’d been safe from any real fallout, even if the truth could be uncovered. You don’t arrest the hero who destroyed the Reapers. But sometimes he worried about her legacy. Their children, their children’s children… when the threat of the war floated far away in the stream of time, would she still be remembered as a hero? Or as something else?

Garrus was so lost in his thoughts of the future that he was jarred when Shepard answered his question. “I learned something. About Wrex. About before I killed him.”

“Okay,” he said. A shiver of anticipation ran through him. “What’d you learn?”

“That he’d gotten Eve pregnant. Almost right away. And that she had a miscarriage.”

There was a pause, but Garrus didn’t know how to fill it.

“I think…” Shepard continued. “I think that’s how he figured out what I did, why he went looking for more proof. It could have been written off as a coincidence, but… I dunno, maybe he just… felt it.” 

“Damn. Shepard, I’m—”

“Don’t say you’re sorry.” Her interruption was instant. “I’m not the victim here.”

“Okay.” He held his hands up in appeasement. “I won’t say it.” 

“If he’d just waited… if he hadn’t demanded action in the middle of a war, when I had too many other lives to consider… I’d have helped him gladly. We could’ve done it the right way, proven that the krogan weren’t a threat…”

“Maybe it could still happen.” “It can’t.” There was a distinct note of finality in her voice. “It had to be Mordin.”

“Yeah. It kinda had to be, didn’t it?”

Shepard nodded. Garrus looked at the bleak horizon again. Tuchanka was hot even at night, and he could see the planet’s star, Aralakh, starting to rise. Turians weren’t really bothered by excess warmth, but humans were. 

“Shepard, let’s go home,” he suggested.

“Yeah.” She stood up quickly. Her scarred face showed no more signs of distress. “There’s nothing left for us here.”