* AFTERLIFE .

#𝙾𝙼𝙴𝙶𝙰𝚂𝙰𝙻𝙿𝙷𝙰.   |   𝑨𝑹𝑰𝑨   𝑻'𝑳𝑶𝑨𝑲    ᶠʳᵒᵐ  BIOWARE’S  𝖬𝖠𝖲𝖲 𝖤𝖥𝖥𝖤𝖢𝖳.  mutuals-only,  semi-selective,  low-activity,  18+.  minors d.n.i.  portrayed by xeno  ( 21+ they/them ) !  ᶜˡᶤᶜᵏ ᵗʰᵉ ᵇˡᵒᵍ ᵘʳˡ ᶠᵒʳ ᵐᵒᵇᶤˡᵉ ᶤᶰᶠᵒˑ

𝚂𝙻𝙴𝙴𝙺 𝙵𝙸𝙽𝙶𝙴𝚁𝚂 𝚁𝙴𝚃𝚄𝚁𝙽𝙴𝙳 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚂𝚃𝙸𝙻𝙻-𝚆𝙰𝚁𝙼 𝚂𝚄𝙱𝙼𝙰𝙲𝙷𝙸𝙽𝙴 𝙶𝚄𝙽 𝚃𝙾 𝙸𝚃𝚂 𝙷𝙾𝙻𝚂𝚃𝙴𝚁,  the remnants of battlefield explosions lining her face with shades of red and orange as she turned away from it.  Aria regarded Bray with a heedful gaze,  the slightest smirk curled up her lips just as they began to celebrate the aftermath of their match at the arena.  She had just begun to speak,  though as she looked up past her batarian cohort to the score-board above,  that smirk dropped into a scowl she barely tried to hide.

𝚂𝙴𝚇𝚄𝙰𝙻𝙸𝚃𝚈.

Aria is quite confident in her sexuality,  and hers is one she doesn’t bother to label herself.  Most asari don’t✦ ; sexuality simply isn’t a question of labels to them,  especially now with how diverse the galaxy is.   Asari have come to realize that they do present “femininely” by most species’ standards,  and have now consider “femininity”  as something that may apply regardless of sexuality or gender.  Femininity is just a concept,  but one that very much applies to them when it comes to interacting with other species that sexual dimorphism.

Aria herself appreciates this concept in that she generally finds women vastly more appealing over men.  Much of this is due to honest opinion and admitted self bias.  Those who present femininely,  she is inherently more drawn towards. She doesn’t conform to labels ( in almost any regard,  really,  sexuality isn’t any different ) but there is definitely a vast difference in Aria’s enthusiasm when it comes to interacting with women vs men.  The respect and attraction she feels is able to come to fruition with women,  but is limited with men.  That is enough to pretty definitively define her as a lesbian by most species standards even if she herself would not bother with such a title.

She’s not totally incapable of attraction for men,  but like ..... That would honestly be a case by case basis.  It would depend far more on the individual experience she’s had with the person,  and there would need to be a lot more boxes checked for Aria to feel genuinely compelled,  but otherwise??  Men simply do not intrigue her the way women do.

𝚂𝙷𝙴’𝙳 𝙷𝙰𝙳 𝙴𝙽𝙾𝚄𝙶𝙷 𝙾𝙵 𝚃𝙷𝙸𝚂 𝙵𝚄𝙲𝙺𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝙰𝚁𝙾𝚄𝙽𝙳.   There were few things that bothered her quite as much as not knowing something ;  information was power,  and there was no individual on Omega that had as much power as her.  For a while,  she’d skirted along on not knowing the specifics of this situation — a Collector on Omega,  no wonder people were talking — but it had gotten to the point where not knowing more was getting under her skin.  Henchmen turned up dead or without information or proof,  the subject — the supposed rogue Collector — yet again elusive,  enigmatic.

Ironic that it would be a child that would lead her to it.  So much for the competence of her lackeys.

Aria is in a rare position ;  away from her perch at the top of Afterlife,  somewhere in the dingy catwalks and streets between apartments.  In her right hand is a tinier one,  grimy little chitin-y clawed fingers held in hers. A turian child,  leading her to a supposed insectoid friend,  all too happy to help her,  a woman who was not unlike a super-hero of sorts  (their word,  not hers)  to the street-rats in every other alleyway.

“ i would never lie to you, ”    not unless she developed a sudden death wish. nova’s smile is thin as she pours.    “ another ? ”

one liner call:    @omegasalpha.    ( nova for aria ! )

[ 𝙼𝚂𝙶 ] :   What do you expect?  Your face just screams ‘maiden’s first trip to Afterlife’.

           𝖳’𝖫𝖮𝖠𝖪  𝖴𝖯𝖫𝖮𝖠𝖣𝖤𝖣  𝖥𝖨𝖫𝖤:  𝟢𝟥𝟤𝟣𝟣𝟫𝖵𝖨𝖯.𝗈𝗆𝗇𝗂

art by massimo carnevale

“Aria. Hope I’m not interrupting any undue business. And, I’m afraid Tela Vasir couldn’t make it to this one, I know you prefer dealing with her rather than the rest of us.” Humor short-lived as he mentions the asari Spectre, Nihlus greets her with a slight nod to pay his due respect, even it means little to nothing to her.

Omega’s ire is neon-vivid, quick to lash out and slower to abate; it’s more likely that it never does, lingering like the metal-raw sensation of biotics; a moment’s notice from exploding into a supernova. It takes nerves of steel and a pull rivaling a blackhole’s to build an empire out of nothing, and, above all else, it is a volant way of life. Many have been crushed under the swift heel of subjugation, overconfidence ground to dust. He just wants to be on his way.

As mineral fortune once drove countless people to scrape the asteroid dry, Nihlus arrives by his own rotten luck—chasing another type of reward. Standing, knowing better than to sit before she invites the action, he taps away at this omni-tool to transfer over select data packets. “So, how about an exchange? I’ll solve your problem, you give me information for mine.” Straight to business, as usual. Neither have the time nor patience to mince pleasantries. The files display a name and a picture at the top: Iedra, salarian. Former STG operative and a brilliant hacker. Known accomplice of another smuggler by the name of Hiirin Oro. However, recent rumors suggest a botched operation between them some cycles ago ended their partnership, and the trail has run dry since.

“We both stand to benefit from this. Do we have a deal?” 

𝙾𝙵 𝙰𝙻𝙻 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚂𝙿𝙴𝙲𝚃𝚁𝙴𝚂 𝚃𝙷𝙰𝚃 𝙲𝙾𝚄𝙻𝙳’𝚅𝙴 𝚅𝙸𝚂𝙸𝚃𝙴𝙳,  𝙽𝙸𝙷𝙻𝚄𝚂 𝚆𝙰𝚂 𝙰𝚃 𝙻𝙴𝙰𝚂𝚃 𝙾𝙽𝙴 𝙾𝙵 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙼𝙾𝚁𝙴 𝙱𝙴𝙰𝚁𝙰𝙱𝙻𝙴.   It didn’t mean his sort generally did anything other than cause mayhem and discontent in some way or form on Omega,  yet even then — Aria did make the attempt to stay useful to the ones that could stay useful for her.  Turians often fell to one extreme or the other;  hazardously independent for lack of a dozen more chaotic words,  or infuriatingly uptight.  Nihlus was a rare sort;  someone that didn’t quite fit the niche.

And like someone that didn’t fit the niche,  he proved her initial reservation wrong and cut straight to the chase.  If she were a religious sort,  she would’ve thanked Athame for all her luck and good fortune that he didn’t bother to waste her time with bullshit pleasantries neither of them really cared about.  It was a brief salve to the heat she’d felt a moment prior,  and her rigid stance relaxed an iota,  shoulders falling semi-lax.  

Eyes fall to her own omni-tool (a blackmarket variant,  worn openly and without care) which illuminates at her forearm.  They skim across the words,  narrowing when they focus on the name of her current source of ire,  then return to the visage at the top left screen.  Her face falls flat and expressionless now,  and she glances up to meet the Spectre’s awaiting gaze.

Aria takes a seat,  and crosses a leg over the other.  One hand gestures to the opposite end of the couch,  an invitation as much as it was a response.

references,  mostly to display her canon divergencies which is primarily:

her longer head tendrils,  which are a feature of vellian asari,  a subtype of asari.

DESPITE  ARIA’S  INTIMIDATION  ,  garrus  hardly  bats  an  eye  .  as  archangel  ,  as  he  roamed  omega  with  his  squad  ,  he’d  kept  his  distance  from  ARIA  .  he  still  wishes  to  do  so  now  — —  better  off  avoiding  her  completely  ,  rather  than  finding  himself  in  some  dangerous  entanglement  in  the  future  .  ❝  i  think  they  believe  archangel  is  dead  ,  ❞  he  murmurs  ,  head  lowered  ,  mandibles  quivering  .  ❝  you’re  the  one  who  needs  to  be  careful  .  shepard  recovered  a  datapad  — —  said  they  were  coming  after  you  next  .  ❞

𝙸𝚃 𝚆𝙰𝚂 𝙷𝙰𝚁𝙳𝙻𝚈 𝙸𝙽𝚃𝙸𝙼𝙸𝙳𝙰𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽 𝙰𝚂 𝙼𝚄𝙲𝙷 𝙰𝚂 𝙸𝚃 𝚆𝙰𝚂 𝙰 𝙲𝙾𝙻𝙳,  𝙷𝙰𝚁𝙳 𝙵𝙰𝙲𝚃.  omega didn’t forgive easily,  and the gangs that lurked near every corner were perhaps the most stubborn sort the station had to offer.  simply imagining the firefight that would break out of archangel was identified again gave her a headache.  aria found she quite enjoyed the drama,  but she enjoyed the lack of bodies more.  though,  she did nearly miss the influx of freelancers the turian had inspired in the height of his temporary omegan career.  not in any way that meant she cared whether they lived or died,  but rather that their brief appearance was another amusement within 𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄.