#jardaan

[k-l-bryan]

I'm gonna stand by this until we learn otherwise.

[ghoulishly-yours]

So in Mass Effect 3, if you save both the geth and the quarians, you hear that the Geth are uploading themselves into the suits of the quarians to help speed up their immune systems so they can eventually live without suits on Rannoch. It is an example of symbiosis. We see a more advanced form of symbiosis with Ryder and SAM, the former gaining increased power, while the latter learns via an organic host.

The angara, as we know, were created by the Jardaan. And as we explore remnant sites, I am struck by how similar it is to what we saw with geth starships and bases. The remnant ruins were not made for organics. My current theory is the Jardaan were a race of synthetics who were looking to create organic hosts/platforms to achieve true synthesis between synthetic and organic life.

Whoever deployed the Scourge was an enemy of the Jardaan, perhaps a culture who hated synthetics, or were perhaps their own creators, like the quarians and the geth.

The fact that the angara can interface with the remnant is proof to me that they were made with the remtech in mind, but because they lack an AI/synthetic companion, they can't fully control it. Ryder is human but can't control remtech fully without SAM, and attempts to do so are extremely painful.

But we'll never truly know because we're never getting a sequel. I will never stop being mad about that

[heavenlyeros]

second part of my jardaan concepts <3

[dr-ladybird]

Hey, I saw your post on Angara/Humans being reproductively compatible. Do you have any more ideas on how the process works?

So first, I should specify that it’s not my favourite thing. I’m a bit down on noncanonical interspecies reproduction, because it has so much crossover with tropes like “it’s not a real relationship if you can’t breed!” and “it’s not a real relationship unless you have children!” and “assisted reproduction is creepy and wrong, only the natural stuff for my OTP!” and “children exist to prove their parents’ love!” and “accidental pregnancy is the best thing ever and has no downsides! Sara clearly has no other demands on her time!”

But it can certainly be done well, if you stay away from all that! Imagine the political implications of some random Kadaran accidentally knocking up his human girlfriend :-)

I’d handwave a lot and I’d blame the Jardaan. Imply that the Jardaan engineered the angara to be compatible with anything that has vaguely similar reproduction and biochemistry. Could go for human babies with a few weird features, obvious hybrid babies (character design time! They might get bullied at school, it might be best to educate them with all the other hybrid babies,) straight-up angaran babies...

If it’s a human getting pregnant, you’ll need to make sure it’s compatible with the notoriously badly designed human reproductive system (or mention medical assistance and “OK, this is possible but it’s high risk”)

But really the main things I’m interested in are people thinking about the political implications, being careful about the “love=babies, babies are essential” vibes, and acknowledging that Jaal and Sara won’t be the only ones and they probably won’t be the first.

[crystalldragon]

say what you will about mass effect andromeda but in my opinion the design and atmosphere of the vaults was spot on

like you’ve got these big high-tech remains all over the galaxy and they’re made by an unknown species seemingly a long time ago and neither the hostile robots nor the interfaces won’t give you any information about anything idk i just like the alien mystery vibes here

[thefoldedbird]

Mass Effect: Andromeda, Closure

So, it’s been close to four years since the release. Hate has died down considerably, bugs have been patched, faces reconstructed, and opinions reevaluated. On a note of personal opinion.

The combat was the most fleshed out part of this game. It felt good, it felt fluid, and it’s as flexible as it’s ever been. This is perfect for someone who wants to try a class outside their norm and not have long term consequences.

The crafting system. It’s everything I wanted. I missed the level of loot in ME1. Sure managing it sucked but MEA doesn’t have the same management problems. The crafting system this game is the best in the series. Fight me about it.

I didn’t use the multiplayer so I have no opinion.

The characters could have used more work. I am not particularly attached to any of them. Yes Jaal is a nice novelty and a female Turian is bringing some balance to the previously no-girls-allowed club the turian race seemed to be. But none of them are...impactful.

No joke, I was more invested in the small bit of backstory from Kandros. Having been the only one of his siblings to not take a crazy path in life, he came to Andromeda to spice his life and find adventure. I would have loved to hear about his crazy home life with his sisters, him battling with the disappointment from his parents over his leaving and being able to do nothing since they’re dead. Grappling emotionally over the idea that he came looking for his big adventure only to get shoved into a management position for his reliability. Having to shelve his plans and dreams to restore some semblance of militaristic order.

I’m just saying their was a lot of room for a Kandros romance and I’m shocked I didn’t get one seeing all the out of place ones. I didn’t get why Keri was a romance option...or Avela but I think she was meant to be the female Anagara option until they made Jaal bisexual.

That being said PeeBee comes off as someone who would be uninterested in romance as a whole. But you can still get with her.

The characters needed work. Except Kallo. He was perfect. Drack was fine, but they really should have done more with the romance between him and Lexi. He has enough charcteristics to be distinctive from Wrex. His age, being an amputee, being a father, his romance with Lexi. I think the “Wrex 2.0″ opinions stem a lot from their similar snarky demeanor. But that’s just how old Krogans who aren’t assholes are I guess.

It’s funny when you have him an Liam in the Nomad together. The juxtaposition alone is great. 

If there was one thing that made these characters tolerable it was the banter. Oh my god the banter. Everyone was always having a conversation. It’s great.  

Kesh was also pretty amazing as a character. I loved her. Good job being a parent Drack. Wished there was more of her as well.

Storyline kind of seems like reapers 2.0 but with a dash of Eugenics for spice. I am interested in the Jardaan however. That’s new and that’s cool. We haven’t had an alien race like this since the Leviathans right? With the level of technical advancement to create another species. Except the Jardaan went full organic. Like I know this is science fiction but do you know how hard it is to make a body?

That was not an invitation for sex jokes.

I’m not mad at the Kett storyline. It’s actually strikingly similar to the (Netflix) She-Ra storyline now that I’m thinking about it. It is very possibly that the Jaardan are still in the Heleus Cluster. It’s not like Heleus has Mass Effect Relays. The rest of the Kett horde and the Jardaan are probably closer to our cast than our cast is to the Milky Way.

There’s many unresolved storylines as well. The Quarian Ark, the Jardaan, the rest of the Kett, what are the Turians going to do without a homeworld?

In relation to that note. That GIANT ship on Elaaden. Whose crummy idea was it to only have us explore 2% of it? That could have been a WHOLE other thing.

Holy shit it would be downright unbeliveably cool if the ship could be stripped for materials to build structure on Elaaden. Think of how unique and imposing that would look? Sleek black metal against the sand dunes. 

Speaking of ships. Finding the other arks was some of the best stuff in the game. Don’t know why. But the ark missions were just *chef’s kiss* a thing of beauty.

Raeka and Avitus are premier pathfinders. I don’t even remember the Asari’s name though. That mission got pretty messy. Ethically and politically.  

The long and short of it is that I want closure. It would be very easy to write off our current crew members into doing other things. Drack being a grandpa, Gill settling down with Jill, PeeBee spearheading the research on Khi Tasira (The Remnant City). She’d make a great researcher. Like Mordin. Good at what she does but totally able to shoot you in the head if necessary. I’d like to see her take on a “mad scientist” role.

Cora could be spearheading the new age of biotics proposed as a way to interact with remnant. It’s mentioned in an email during the epilogue. Liam could be a part of a new crisis response center as the humans of the Hyperion set about trying to colonize Meridian. It’s new territory. Accidents on any scale are bound to happen.

There are other characters but my point is that a time skip and some new faces could fix a lot of the problems with Andromeda. Throw in the quarian ark, the Jardaan, the rest of the the Kett horde, some news about what happened to the old Milky Way, some new faces and fresh backstories to explore and I really think it could be legendary.

It’s not going to happen. The level of backlash was too severe and now it’s as good as gone...but it shouldn’t have been. There was and still is potential.

If the next mass effect game gives us information and ties to Andromeda I won’t be mad. At all. That world still has stories to tell and I think it deserves that chance.

[angaranexpansionproject]

Encyclopedia Nexus: Drokaalen

Drokaalen - noun, adjective - “Connecter”

The angaran term for the alien technology such as the terraforming vaults and autonomous synthetic bots that pre-dates the Scourge on their worlds. For centuries, angaran archaeologists were confident that Drokaalen was not of angaran origin, seeking information about it as a connection to their pre-Scourge society.

Activation of complex Drokaalen technology, such as the vaults, seems to require a synthesis of an organic mind and artificial intelligence, or a more sophisticated mindset than most modern angara possess. Some have been able to interact with relatively simple Drokaalen technology such as doors and containers, but only after years of study.

After the combined discoveries of ancient angara preserved in Drokaalen ships, the Jaardaan, the larger terraforming network, and the angaran precursors at the Jaardaan space station Khi Tasira, it is clear that pre-Scourge angara did use this technology.

See also: Remnant; Drokaalen Wayli; Jaardaan

[justryderthings]

JRT: wondering who among the jardaan decided on the angara design.