Bacon finds a way, Jack

One of them is basically a Filipino tita (this story is playing a bit with teleserye tropes lol) who started off as a bit of a one-off joke, but I decided to make her more important to the plot? And I kinda love her?

Flipping the switch and watching the cascade of lights across the ceiling was one thing. It was another to power on one of the washing machines and see the old man's relief. Such a small, unimportant thing, a laundromat in Brooklyn's Flatbush. But even ten years after the war, small and unimportant things meant all the world.

"Thank you," Mister Smithson said. "It was an honor having Commander Shepard help put this place back together."

Shepard smiled somewhat sheepishly. "Think of it as my apology. For busting the windows when I was sixteen."

"Must feel weird," Kasumi said, sitting on Shepard's desk. "Being here while the Normandy's out there."

The Alliance sent the Normandy scanning the cluster for resources to aid with the relay repair. That meant scouring ever more distant systems, and with communications still spotty, Shepard wouldn't hear from her in weeks.

"I knew what I was in for when I resigned," he said.

"Hopefully Joker isn't away for so long he's declared dead, and you hold an archery contest to choose your next guy."

Whatever that meant went over his head. Shepard stared at her.

Shepard stepped through the flaps of his tent. He’d insisted on no special treatment, though the tent city’s administrator likewise insisted on separating him to spare him from constant attention. The tent had only room for a bed, desk, and footlocker, so he’d donated most of his personal possessions from the Normandy.

Shepard sat at the desk and pulled the tiny velvet box out of his pocket. What was a significant expense before the war had become a near-impossible miracle of favors and trades after.

(Post-ME3, headcanon-heavy destroy ending)

---

“Sometimes,” Joker said, watching the FENRIS mech trot past their door, “a family is a rockstar pilot, the first human Spectre, and a robot dog.”

Shepard joined him on the bed. Their new cabin was a third of the size of the Normandy’s with double the noise from the drive core. “First human Spectre to retire.”

“To ‘retire.’” Joker used finger quotes.

True, Shepard had spent the day helping build a school in Armali. “Family,” however, triggered a short-lived train of thought. Absolutely not. He was already looking after a few hundred kids on Earth. Also, there was Grunt.

---

It's probably my favorite entry in the Victor-verse. I'm still pretty proud of Echoes, of course (the Gunny storyline is one of my favorite things I've done), but overall Pawn hit upon a lot of stuff I like in stories. A deeply flawed protagonist who manages to overcome his shortcomings, antagonists that reflect him (Whitwell's self-righteousness, Sam Yin's vengeful scheming, Liz's own backstory struggles), bits of mystery, and inextricably gay.

But hey, I got a cute idea for the urban fantasy with a dash of cyberpunk story with M/M romance, specifically the scene in which the protagonist and the love interest finally kiss

Realistically, it probably won't be