#kahje

[drelldreams]

pick the planet/station you’d want to live on most if you were in the mass effect universe (no reapers AU)

[turianspeedjunkie]

@crassussativum

Velox hugged Cato tight. The shuttle that would take his friend and Siska to Kahje stood ready at their backs. The pilot was only a little reluctant to let him onto it. Siska was both more scary than he’d been, but also a lot less, at the same time. “You’ll call when you get there, right?”

[crassussativum]

@turianspeedjunkie

Murk and Mav had determined that the hospital was a better home base while they figured out everything leftover from the raider’s attack. Cato thought he understood it. The hospital was easier to defend and had more access to things like running water and rooms and food and all things medically needed right now. 

They’d left Cato in charge of the children. He wasn’t totally sure why. He wasn’t the best with kids, he knew he was good with them. But that was when they were happy and wanting to play and Cato knew what to do with that. How to handle that... Pierus hadn’t stopped crying since Mav had knelt down in front of him and spoke so softly even Cato hadn’t heard his words. But he could guess. He didn’t need to guess. There were two bodies in that front room wrapped up for the pyre.

Cato swiped silent tears from his eyes. He didn’t want to cry again. The kids needed him to be as mature and strong as the other adults right now even if all he wanted was to cry too. He just needed a moment to gather himself again, so that he didn’t cry. That was how Cato found himself dunking into a little alcove , hand over his mouth to try to muffle his keens. 

[zet-sway]

mass effect conspiracy theory time

Rakhana was not a barren world, the drell were not "saved" by the hanar, and the war on Rakhana was caused by hanar intervention.

DISCLAIMER: This is just headcanon. I am not intending to piss on anyone else's headcanons or ocs. These are my thoughts after revisiting the codex and comparing it to what Thane tells us.

"Our homeworld had few resources."

Rakhana is also said to have been "bursting at a population of 11 billion." For context, Earth has a population of 8 billion. If we assume Rakhana was a relatively earth-sized planet, their planet must have been fertile and resource-rich enough to support an earth-sized population.

That doesn't mean the drell weren't heading toward resource catastrophe. With their eidetic memory it's entirely likely they experienced a massive industrial boom that led to the acidification of their oceans and failed agriculture before they realized the consequences of their expansion. But to start with, they were likely living on a garden world with a hot, arid climate. I imagine Rakhana's typical geography was deserts and jungles.

They were headed toward a resource crisis, why wouldn't they need saving?

If aliens showed up to earth tomorrow and said they were going to save us from climate change, would you go with them? I imagine you'd have to be a special kind of desperate to trust them. The drell apparently though the same.

The codex says the hanar evacuated a little under 400,000 drell.

At a population of 11 billion, that means only 0.0036% of drell actually emigrated to Kahje.

Whether Rakhana was truly doomed to ruin or not, very few drell were keen to live on Kahje.

As a side note - It's also possible that the hanar simply didn't possess a fleet of ships large enough to evacuate more drell. That's why this is a headcanon post lol

How did the hanar cause the war on Rakhana?

I'm entering the realm of pure speculation here. I don't think the hanar even visited Rakhana for the benefit of the drell in the first place. I think they landed there because they detected artifacts of the "Enkindlers" (the protheans). The presence of prothean artifacts on Rakhana is not mentioned anywhere that I could find - I'm just making shit up at this point.

On surface level, first contact would have been an enormous and terrifying event for the drell. Literal aliens landed on their planet and even if the hanar opened with "we come in peace," they undoubtedly had greater technology capable of forcibly enacting their will on the drell.

To put it simply, I believe that hanar intervention was the straw that broke the camel's back. Nations that were already strained by Rakhana's overpopulation fought over how to respond to hanar visitors for years - the hanar evacuation of the drell is said to have lasted a decade. In the end, I believe the hanar accelerated the proverbial drell "doomsday clock" rather than delaying it.

Why does Thane insist the compact is not slavery?

Because he was taken from his parents at the age of six and fed revisionist history in an assassin training camp.

I would also like to point out that the codex says the drell were evacuated 200 ago, but Thane tells us it was "a century ago." This is such a glaring inconsistency that I'm inclined to believe it's a developer oversight. But it does make me wonder - how much of what we know of Rakhana is true?

TLDR the hanar are punks and I'm mad.

[steevejr]

jamal homophobic as fuck for passing over the goth boy for a normal girl for a goth girl

[leonsi]

finally have time to watch dhmis in the daylight 🙏

[hungerofhadarr]

Okay . She mass on my gate until the Baldur is effected . Is this Anything .

Like I said b4 … Wyll is a human Spectre with artificial biotics that Mizora funds and controls . Hidden face of the Alliance he probably doesn’ t have any identifying symbols but he’ s . He is the Omniblade of the Frontiers . You feel me ? He would be a Sentinel honestly … the class just fits him the best … Rarely gets actual assignments but always has access to a ship , aid , evac , etc due to being a spectre and also … Mizora … she is not letting him go he is her magnum opus .. like I also stated b4 the artificial biotics definitely have very Adverse and Dangerous side effects , so he has to keep up with a lot of medication and routine hospital checks and medical testing , but he also cannot have it removed unless Mizora willingly removes it , because she is the only one that really can ..

Karlach . Okay . So . She has to be like a Cerberus Super Solider Test right . Like she was under Project Zariel and the whole point was to make an extremely powerful and unbeatable soilder , leading to still having her heart replaced with a mechanical replacement . That is still killing her because it’ s not like it was anything more that a prototype , and she escaped before it was fully fixed and updated so she could live without needed it monitored and constantly tweaked 24/7 .. now I know that this would make her human but the vision of Krogan or YAGH KARLACH is also fucking dope .. sorry Yagh Karlach is like cocomelon to me right now . Honestly I think that’ s gonna be the only way . Yaghlach …. Full solider class , something like a Dragoon without biotic whips

Astarion is Ardak-Yakshi . Look me in my eyes and tell me I am wrong . I am not . Um I think huntresses are like . The asari term for infiltrators … he kinda has to be that . When he was being transported to the Monastery , the ship got attacked and Cazador was the one to “ save him “ . Now , here’ s where I am pondering . Cazador can be another Ardak-Yakshi , targeting others when they are being transported to the monasteries , and is trying to like . Set up his own personal army of them . You know how Morinth says that Ardak-Yakshi are the perfect future of the Asari race ? Yeah . He’ s taking that to heart . OR . Or . He can be a scientist . Human , maybe , or whatever . But he is a non-asari Fully fixated on Ardak-Yakshi and trying to understand how it develops and how he can utilize it . Can he somehow develop something to mimic this power , can he work backwards to recreate it … etc etc

… Lae’zel should be a Prothean survivor . I was kinda going back and forth between Quarian or Batarian , but she would be a fucking Prothean !!!!! Avatar of go fuck yourself . She would be similar to Javik and be an avatar of something very similar . Revenge , I think . I think she would choose Revenge to be what she represents. I mean , Protheans and Collectors echo Gith and Mindflayers to Be Clear and Frank .. Prothean born near the end of her original cycle and was forced into a cryopod .. ohh wouldn’ t it be fucked up if Voss gave up his pod for her ? Like he knew they would need her and her youth and her ability to adapt for the next cycle and made sure she would survive .. ORPHEUS . Ohh okay . She thinks that he was a betrayer and ratted out Prothean resistance groups but she learns through having access to the archive and with new research that he was the last standing against indoctrinated groups trying to betray a save zone … yeah … Vlaakith is like . Sovereign . And keeps trying to speak to her through the collectors and trying to convince her to join them . She also probably preys upon her fear of being forgotten or failing her duty .. Ohhh fuck yeah

Gale is . Okay I have Two Ideas . The most ‘ correct ‘ one is that he is a Drell biotic who would be like . A wandering scholar ? Like his purpose is to gather knowledge and experience and bring it back to Kahje . Mystra could be the one he serves in a Compact , alongside other drell like Elminster .. he’ s been sent off world after getting too cocky and overstepping in the eyes of Mystra , and he needs to go learn humility before he can return back . He’ s an adept .. trying to translate the orb … either it is Kepral’s Syndrome and he’ s gone without care for it for a concerning stretch of time , or it could be related to biotics in some way … how ? Good question . But honestly it would make the most sense if he did have Kepral’s Syndrome in place of the orb . Okay second idea that I won’ t go with but i like . Geth Gale ( chose the name Gale based on the definitions of both a strong wind and an outburst ) who is now an outlier Geth .. MYSTRA was like . A group name for his collective mind until he was cast out from the group . YOU GOTTA ADMIT YOU GET THIS VISION TOO

Shadowheart . I really like her as a Quarian .. Quarian who was taken away from the fleet and raised outside of it .. being told all her life her family gave her up and traded her so they couldn’ t be exiled from the fleet .. So she lives in full resentment of them and the fleet and other Quarians she sees on pilgrimage because of how cruel it was for her to not have that , that her family gave her up and never tried to contact her , that the fleet would be so cruel to her and allow such a trade off ... but that isn’ t actually true . She was forcefully taken and raised by non-quarians , mostly because they saw her as a chance to try and understand the Quarian immune systems and responses and use that research for riches … if they can reverse engineer a way to artificially boost immune systems and make Quarians pay a random for it , then.. project SHAR . That is what I’ ll call it . That is also why her hand is constantly injured they’ re running tests and using that wound like a controlled variable . Aylin and Isobel are Quarians too , and Aylin has been on a hunt to find Shadowheart since she learned of her kidnapping .. she’ s the team medic but also the engineer … spirit guardians are still a thing they are drones that shoot rockets at you

[c-rowlesdraws]

Okay but like, endings aside and if you don't mind, you *gotta* spill the beans about the hanar, "this one would humbly request a dance", strip clubs. They don't even wear clothes last I recalled! Unless it would have something to do with their bioluminescence I guess.

it's totally got to do with their bioluminescence. The club lights are the deep blue-green and shimmering silver of moonlight filtering through Kahje's tropical seas, the hanar dancers glow hot pink and purple and cyan in big tubes of clear water where they can move with their full grace, the music is weird, and the house specialty drinks all have hallucinogenic mindfish skin oils in them (or are just the mindfish straight up, for traditionalists). Also there are open pools of water slightly elevated or just like, in the floor, because most of the patrons are hanar, so aliens should try to stay sober enough to watch their step.

[sol-consort]

A drell that's never seen a human before, heard the hanar talking about your species from time to time. How rude and blunt humans are, how casual their way of speech is. While the hanar seemed to say this about every other race, the humans' bloated ego especially made quite a stirr amidst the isolated planted of Kahje.

The more forbidden something is, the more wanted it becomes. With the humans getting more and more on the hanar's nerves, the drell quickly grew curious and went out of their way to meet these humans.

You were the first human ever to grace his eyes. The first one he got to see in real life, actually in front of him instead of a screen.

One look, and he's hooked, not paying attention to anything else besides you. How kissable your lips look, similar to his but different in colour and somehow much more tender looking. Human skin seems so very soft and dry, a simple layer of squishy skin with no outer shell or nothing to protect it with. As if you were just up for grabs to predetors .

You're so different to him yet so similar at the same time. Your eyes look beautiful with the inverted sclera in colour. Your two middle fingers are separated instead of attached. For a second, he's concerned it means holding your hand might not be as pleasant to you as he looks down on his fingers.

When the two of you talk, he tries not to let it show how affected he is by your casual approach. A mere friendly demour in the world he grew up in is akin to the highest of intimacy.

[bagog]

N7 Month, 2023 - Day 25: Hanar

Don't know where this one came from. A hanar challenges Javik.

++

Since the end of the war, Javik had spent his time exploring the galaxy. Heavily funded by a subsidy from the hanar government, there was hardly a system he had not visited within a few years of the relay network’s repair.

Still, the Citadel always called to him to return: the symbol of galactic dominance—now a symbol of galactic peace. Shepard had found out he was on the station, and the two met at a café in the presidium to catch up. They’d barely begun speaking when a hanar passing by seemed to double take, then floated past again. Finally, it floated right up to the table and addressed Javik.

“This one begs your pardon, but are you Javik?” The hanar seemed to hang in the air, body twitching and tendrils very still.

“Yes,” Javik replied, with more than a hint of annoyance to his tone. “I am Javik, the last of the Protheans.”

“Oh, this one knows who you are,” the hanar replied. “This one read Journeys with the Prothean, and A New Prothean History. You were primary consultant for both. They reference you heavily.”

“And what would you have me do for you, hanar?” Javik eyed Shepard over the table with two of his eyes.

“This one doesn’t require anything from you,” the hanar sounded aghast. “This one wants to say: how dare you show your face in public? This one’s people worship your kind as gods. They are not gods, and neither are you. You are not worthy of the worship the hanar people heap on you.” Its tendrils flounced in a derogatory display.

“It sounds as if you have your own people to convince, hanar. Not me.”

“This one’s entire civilization is based on the worship of the Enkindlers. This is a lie. All along, you were manipulating this one’s people from their earliest development to serve your own purposes!”

“Preparing you for the Reapers!”

The protrusion at the front of the hanar’s body crumpled briefly and the being let out an echoing ‘HA!’ “Some good that did. This one lost hundreds of friends in the bombardment of Kahje.”

“But you are still alive, we are all still here. If my people had not—”

“It was not prothean plans that saved the galaxy! It was a weapon you found from other races which came before.” The hanar scoffed again. Javik seemed like he was clenching a fist, jaw tightly locked.

“We helped your species to evolve,” he said, grimly. “It was you who decided we were gods. Your quarrel is not with me, hanar, it is with your own people.”

“Tell this one, what would your kind have done if the protheans had defeated the Reapers? What would become of the ‘evolving’ hanar, then?” Javik didn’t answer, but didn’t unclench his jaw, either. “At best, this one’s people would be subjects of the prothean empire, or slaves. Or worse: food. This one has read all about the prothean diet at the height of their power: salarians, hanar, drell.”

“When you were primitive!” Javik urged.

“They were primitive, but sapient.”

“You hold me responsible for all the supposed crimes of my people,” Javik spat. “And yet, I merely provide you with an outlet for your own militant anti-theism, the imagined trespasses against your kind’s natural evolution, and your fantasy for what might have happened if the Prothean empire had endured. I am only a single individual, hanar.”

“Very easy for you to declare yourself an avatar of vengeance for your people—oh yes, this one has read all about you, prothean—but then when it comes time to represent your people’s sins, suddenly you are ‘only a single individual.’” The hanar’s tendrils were trembling, now.  “This one is glad the Reapers destroyed your civilization. It deserved to be destroyed.”

Javik was quaking too, now, his shoulders now pulled up around his neck, like he was coiling to spring. “I was born decades after the fall of my people’s empire,” he said, measuring each word against his own fury. “I was not—”

“You fought to restore that empire!” The hanar rose in the air, just a matter of inches, “Still longing to go home again? That is what this one thought! The home you want to return to is vile.”

“That is not… I have…” Javik growled to himself, closed his eyes and breathed a moment. “What is it you would have me do? What ‘atonement’ would satisfy your anger?”

“Nothing,” the hanar shook its body back and forth. “This one has made it this one’s mission to turn the hanar people away from worship of the false Enkindlers. Every place you show up, every word you write about your own greatness, threatens my work. This one hates you. Stay away from Kahje, and stay away from the hanar.” With that, it floated a pace back, turned to Shepard. “Commander Shepard, this one is a big fan. This one advises you to keep better company.” And with that, it pivoted, and floated away as quickly as the mass effect field generator would allow.

Shepard didn’t say anything for a long moment, watching Javik’s features slowly soften as he fought to regain control of his breath.

“That… can’t have been fun,” Shepard concluded, at last. He drummed his fingers silently on the table.

“I… cannot be held responsible for all of my people. I will not apologize for them…” he said, almost to himself. He sighed, “But, I am alive, and I can afford to be target practice for jaded primitives. Even for crimes 50,000 years old…”

[drelldreams]

So from Nos Astra you can take shuttles to Palaven, Irune and Kahje, among other places..

[o-wise-corvid]

Dathomir Daily

Questions

Cāl (kale): which

Cer (keer): where

Ce (kee): who

Coj (kahj): what

Cōn (cōn): why

Curr (koorr): when

C’zhō (k-zhō): how

Responses

Ērr (pr: long e-rolled r): here

Et (pr: eht): yes

Nol: no, not

Nāt (pr: nate): now

O col’mo’clan: thank you (literally I will remember.)

Rā (pr: ray): up

Tunorr-mer: goodbye (literally “look home”)

Wūn (pr: wune): down

Yī’cān’gelec: please (literally “if you wish” or “if you dream”)

Conjunctions

Lu (loo): and, with, also

Gle (gleh): but

Nā (nay): nor

Nol’hēlo: unlike

Stā (stay): or

Zethēn (pr: Zehth-een): because

Prepositions

Cetlu (ket-luh): than

Dōl (pr: dōl): over

Fo (pr: fah): of

Lāsh (pr: lāsh): in front, before, ahead

Nī: (pr: nie): in

Ōnde (pr: ōndeh): under

Ōnzh (pr:ōnzh): inside, into

Ong: for

So (pr: sah): at

Stagn: (pr: sta-g-n): against

Thush (pr: thush): behind, after

Ul (pr: ool): out

Une (pr: oo-neh): on

We’ef (pr: weh-ehf): the left-hand side (literally “with the left hand”)

We’it (pr: weh-it): the right-hand side (literally “with the right hand”)

Wēt (pr: weet): with

Yī (pr: (y)eye): by (meaning “by the rock” or “made by China”)

Zh (pr:zh): to

Tag list: @alexeithegoat @thesitharts @crc-jedi-knight-serushna @hotshot9 @smoooothbrain @gran-maul-seizure @foreverchangingfandomsao3 @herbalinz-of-yesteryear @justalittletomato @stardustbee @storm89 @by-the-primes @ohboi @and-claudia @eloquentmoon

[crassussativum]

@turianspeedjunkie

Cato felt his mandibles drawing in without his conscious say-so. If he’d been on land, actual land and not in an environmentally controlled habitat, he’d had just thought a sudden dimming of the light was a cloud passing in front of whatever sun. But under Kahje’s Great Encompassing, inside an environmentally controlled habitat, the sudden dimming couldn’t be that. Still, Cato found himself looking up as if looking for the sun and trying to spot passing clouds. He didn’t see any, he just saw darkening ocean. 

“...Siska!” He trilled. 

[omniblades-and-stars]

18, 26, 34 for inonsi? :3c

18 – Favorite beverage? – Well, I have covered this in her story! It is a cocktail she found at an asari bar called a Rough Tide. It’s made of the juice from a fruit native to Kahje, and an asari liquor. It’s VERY sweet and she can’t taste the liquor at all. She also likes strawberry daquiris and soda.

If it’s sweet, she likes it.

26 – Do they have any plans for the future? Any contingency plans if things don’t work out? – Inonsi is not someone I would say is a fan of the long term plan. She flies by the seat of her pants at all times, only investing any time with plans on heists. Maybe she takes her go with the flow mentality a little too far, but she’s having fun, so who cares, right?

34 – Thoughts on privacy? (Are they a private person, or are they prone to ‘TMI’?) – Inonsi is a chatterbox. She is a chatterbox and she LOVES talking about herself. Get a couple of drinks in her and she’ll tell you ANYTHING. It may or may not be true, but she’ll tell you. She’ll show you too.

[squigglysquidd]

Do you mind sharing how you're writing a codex? As in, are you making a document with a bunch of information about your world, a variety of different documents, a wiki??? I love worldbuilding stuff so I'm super interested.

I don't mind at all! Heck, you probably won't be able to get me to be quiet once I start talking! I absolutely love worldbuilding.

I'm taking from my experience with writing my Mass Effect fanfiction, Fibonacci, in that it was the first fic I ever wrote a Codex for. Mainly, I wanted to change the ME world into a fantasy one and, to me, that meant a lot of changes. Now, I do write in journals but they weren't necessarily the most efficient as I wrote ideas as they came to me so everything was mixed up.

So, I decided to write a Codex. I'm not sure if it's actually accurate to what a Codex should look like but it's how I organized my lore. I share it with readers and it's free to browse (I'll link it here if you want).

It's a large Google doc with a Table of Contents that I tried to keep somewhat organized. Everything is repetitive, so like when I'm talking about a species, I use a base list of what they're like. Sort of like how Wikis do it. I tried Scrivner but I just couldn't get into it after about two hours trying to get it to work. I'm sure if I started there instead of Google, I'd probably understand it better.

Funny enough, with it, I also started with a map as my starting point to the Codex. I don't know why my brain wants a map first but everything else was sort of just notes in a journal until I finished it. Now, it's Codex time and boy, am I a bit nervous because it's just so much I want to write that I'm having to tell myself to slow down and take my time.

[messydiabolical]

Mickey and Pavan, Blaise Shepard's dads. I actually came up with them before I designed Blaise! I wanted a good solid backstory for my new Shepard. More info about these two cuties under the cut!

Blaises’ parents

In their first years, Blaise was raised by single dad Michael 'Mickey' Shepard, an English born space faring pansexual muscly man who left earth as soon as he could. They hopped across systems on various ships, Mickey working in security and logistics. Moving around all the time wasn't necessarily ideal with a littl’un but he made it work as best he could and made sure Blaise was never wanting for love and affection. Blaise certainly learnt to be a tough lil cookie very quickly, and was also exposed to a lot of different cultures/species etc. Mickey is a great big teddy bear of a man who likes coloured ringbinders, flowcharts and big fucking shotguns (OSHA approved). A fierce protector that loves to snuggle, protec, and tick checklists. Blaise's egg donor Genevieve was a troubled lady; she'd escaped extremely repressive religious parents and was having a reckless period in her life- lots of drink, drugs and partying, hopping from ship to ship doing odd jobs. She had a fling with Mickey, ran off one night without so much as a goodbye, then turns up 8 months later like 'yeah I was in denial but um babies coming. help!' (at some point during the pregnancy, she was also exposed to eezo, hence Blaises biotics). She was not prepared to be a mum but knew Mickey was kind hearted and couldn't bring herself to not at least let him know before she gave Blaise up for adoption. Mickey asked if he could raise Blaise, Genevieve agreed on condition she could sign away parental rights and he wouldn't contact her, which he honoured. Genevieve spiralled for years, BUT finally cleaned up and started training properly in transport/supply logistics. She settled down- on Mindoir. Blaise knew connecting with her was never going to be an option, but mourned for the loss of a person who had shown strength and growth, when they later learned of Genevieves fate.When Blaise was 6 Mickey landed a job working for a comm company, where they could stay on the one same ship that flew around the Terminus and outer systems fixing comm bouys and networks on various stations, sattelites and planets. Still dangerous given the amount of pirates and such in that region, but for the first time they could really settle in and make a home on board. This is where Blaise developed a taste for alien found family- the crewmates are all different species and were all their aunties and uncles.

A few months later the crew welcomes Pavan, software and tech specialist in comm networks, follower of Urvine, god of paths and journeys, and extremely gorgeous drell. Pavan is an adorable nerd who’s frill flutter and expand when he gets talking about systems analysis. He left Kahje as a teenager as soon as he got his qualifications, not content with the limits of the planet, and mourning the loss of his older sister who died during compact duties. In his spare time, Pavan offers tech support to a non profit that helps drell who decide to move off Kahje and form their own colonies. He isn’t strictly anti hanar, but feels the compact and the relationship has reached a point that is stifling drell independence and growth.

Mickey and Pavan, both being nerdy guys that are sticklers for details and a passion for exploration and adventure (as long as it complies with health and safety standards!) quickly fall head over heals for each other. Pavan finds himself besotted with the adorable little Shepard family, and when he and Mickey get married Pavan adopts Blaise according to the rights of Arashu. Blaise also takes on the old gods as their religion and immerses themselves in drell family traditions. Pavan feels Urvine guided him to a path to find this family and lead him to Mickey. He love Blaise completely as though they were their own child, no question. They are a sickeningly adorable family.