#krogans

[demilypyro]

on orcs

I find the persistent concept of "the warrior species" in fiction a fascination phenomenon. Fantasy and science fiction consistently return to the concept of an intelligent species that is largely if not entirely driven by bloodlust, and reveres violence, often for its own sake. If it's fantasy, they're usually orcs, or might as well be orcs. If it's science fiction, they're basically alien orcs, that somehow maintained a working society long enough to invent spaceships. Your Klingons and Krogans. But they usually all follow the same archetype.

Lord of the Rings started it, but DND, Star Trek, Warhammer, Warcraft and Mass Effect really made the tropes stick. Time and again, writers return to this idea. The obvious issue is of course that no such culture has ever truly existed in real life. Such a warlike and self-destructive culture would obviously not be sustainable. It's no coincidence then, that the orcs of both fantasy and science fiction are often likened to "barbarians" or "savages." Terms historically used for peoples that the then-current dominant culture considered beneath them. Their culture is "wrong." They're the danger at the gate. The other, the scary and evil strangers, who are coming to harm you and those you hold dear. Tolkien invented them to be a convenient objective evil that you can fight with zero moral scruples, which can easily be connected to his experiences fighting in world war 1. But when you jump from a conflict between nations to an entire species that lives for war, things get muddy fast.

Visually, the most obvious historical inspiration tends to be the mongol empire, and sometimes the vikings. Fur clothing and horned helmets are standard for fantasy orcs. They'll have big swords or axes. Space orcs tend to lean sleeker due to their more advanced tech, but chains and spikes and decorative skulls may remain. Either way, you can bet they're gonna be using big, intimidating weapons and probably going into some kind of battle rage. Dealing with them often requires either careful diplomacy or overwhelming might, no inbetween.

What I find interesting is that if the writers really want to explore these societies and maybe have a few individuals be sympathetic characters to the audience, they'll all usually go down the same path: they'll establish that these warriors all follow a strict code of honour. They won't cheat or lie, they only want to decide things through honorable combat. They usually all want to die in battle and love calling for official duels to the death. Obvious valhalla allusions aside, this strangely tends to draw rather more inspiration from stereotypical ideas about Japanese samurai. Suddenly these are not savage hordes, but noble and wise warriors with their own ethics and a code of conduct. Still one that's inherently more violent than that of the "good guys" though, of course.

Once these traits are introduced, any antagonistic orcs automatically have to be "dishonorable." The trope demands they are deemed hateable not because they are violent and bloodthirsty, but because they are violent and bloodthirsty in an underhanded manner. Often a reckless and dishonorable leader has to be ousted from power for the good of the world. This is how we get Chancellor Gowron, Garrosh Hellscream, and half a dozen interchangeable Krogan warlords.

And the sympathetic orc is, of course, the most honorable one. Usually, they'll have a wisdom and calm manner that puts them above the other orcs, shows that they're more civilized. This is your Worf, Thrall, and Wrex. They typically care deeply about their people. They get along with humans, show that they're not so different from us. Unlike the rest of their warlike race, they want peace. They are, essentially, "the good one." The longer you think about it, the more suspect it all gets.

I'll be honest: I love orcs. I'll always love orcs. However they're presented, they're consistently my favorite species in any given universe. I love the Krogans, I love Klingons, and I love every big green idiot under the sun. I always enjoy their lore and find their manner compelling. But I often get the sense that I'm not really supposed to like them.

The whole trope is inherently a little icky. The mere idea that an entire culture could just be composed of violent barbarians is a fascist way of thinking, and laundering the trope through making them all strangely honorbound doesn't really solve that starting point. DND orcs don't *have* to be evil anymore, but how many written campaigns exist where every single orc *is* evil? It's a topic with no real solutions. I don't wanna lose orcs, because I love them, but I also recognize that the entire trope is pretty questionable.

I have half a dozen orc OCs across different games. They just wanna grill god damn it

[illusivesoul]

"If there is nothing else, please step aside. There is a queue forming behind you for the use of this console"

[owlgodarchives]

Alien Love 💙🌌 (3/6)

Part of a Mass Effect-themed Valentine’s Day collection!

[dragonflight203]

I’ve been spinning how galaxy wide threats are treated in Mass Effect in my mind for a while now and I still don’t have a satisfactory handle on it.

The rachni, the krogans, and the reapers all threatened the entire galaxy at one point. But the krogans are notably treated very differently from the rachni and the reapers, and I feel there’s something more there worth pulling at.

Note: I’m excluding the geth and the quarians because that was a war strictly between them. My interest here is how galaxy-wide threats are handled.

Disclaimer: I’m pulling some of the specifics (dates, etc.) from the Mass Effect wiki, so it’s possible some of that is wrong.

What the three have in common is that they threatened the known galaxy. C-Space scrambled to resist them and very nearly succumbed, before turning it around and permanently ending the threat:

-The Rachni Wars started around 1 CE. The salarians finally resorted to uplifting the krogans to end the wars. The krogans wiped out the rachni completely, and they were believed extinct.

The krogans were rewarded with various planets.

-The Krogan Rebellions started around 700 CE. The recently met turians (before the rebellions started? after? unclear) took the lead in fighting them, and the salarians developed the genophage to restrict their reproduction. The fighting continued for sometime after the turians deployed the genophage.

The turians were rewarded a place on the Citadel Council for their service.

-The Reaper War started in 2186. Shepard eventually ends it via destroy/control/synthesis. One of these is a genocide (multiple, if you count the geth and Edi), one is arguably brainwashing, and no one knows what the hell synthesis is.

But what interests me is how the game treats these:

-The rachni genocide is treated as matter of fact.

If I recall there’s a mention that the salarians would have preferred they not be wiped out so they could be studied, but no one is actively lamenting their death.

The krogans are proud of their part in it and frequently remind others they won the Rachni Wars.

The rachni queen, to Bioware’s credit, is a very sympathetic character. She’s also a very minor one and gets very little screentime to endear her people to the player.

If Shepard spares the rachni queen, they are criticized or at least side-eyed by nearly everyone.

Then in ME3 Shepard gets to decide the fate of the rachni a second time.

The rachni race can be wiped out twice in the games. And yet the games barely touch upon their culture. There’s never a prominent rachni character the player can speak to and learn more about the rachni from.

The games treat the rachni primarily as a plot device, not a people.

-The krogan genophage is treated as a more complex issue.

Society in general is grateful for it. No one besides the krogans are looking for a cure. The salarians, in particular, are extremely attentive to genophage and take steps to ensure it continues. The dalatrass is willing to walk away from an alliance in ME3 rather than even consider curing the genophage.

The main narrative, however, is far more sympathetic. Wrex and Grunt are popular squadmates. Bakara is portrayed as wise and Shepard can have heart felt conversations her. Mordin’s part in perpetuating the genophage is implicitly criticized through ME2, and he has a change of heart by ME3.

The counterpart to the above is primarily Wreav: If he’s in charge in ME2 and ME3, the krogans are far more sinister. Other krogans express… concerning sentiments through the games as well, but they’re generally background characters that the player may not notice and probably won’t remember.

Most players, however, play paragon and will experience Wrex on at least their first playthrough.

-The reaper genocide is barely acknowledged to be a genocide.

The sentiment by nearly everyone aware of the reaper threat is that they must be destroyed.

The minority opinion is that they should be controlled instead.

That reapers are people, and that this is the destruction or enslavement of a species is never contemplated. The reapers are a threat and they must be eliminated; that’s all that matters.

(And yes, the reapers are people – Sovereign, Harbinger, and the Rannoch reaper all had individual personalities. Those three are awful people, but can we say that for the entire species? Could there be reapers that only participate in the ‘harvests’ because if they do not they’ll be harvested?

We don’t know and the game doesn’t ask. Because it doesn’t matter. The reapers are a threat to the galaxy and must be eliminated.)

Even Shepard’s final choice ignores that personhood of reapers – if you take control of the reapers, are you brainwashing them? If you choose synthesis, are you rewriting another species to bend them to your will?

It doesn’t matter. They’re threats and must be dealt with.

I find this interesting, because the reapers are probably how the galaxy viewed rachni and krogans during their respective wars:

-The rachni were a threat. They had to be eliminated. They’re gone and that’s that.

-The krogans were a threat. They had to be eliminated. The genophage stopped them.

-And now the reapers are a threat. They must be eliminated. The cost doesn’t matter.

Except… It’s not quite that clear cut for the krogans now.

The krogans were a threat. The genophage stopped the threat. And now the krogans are victims of the genophage.

And that suddenly makes the krogans more complicated.

If the genophage had wiped the krogans out as the krogans wiped the rachni out, I doubt there would be any debate. No one discusses if the krogans were right to wipe out the rachni; the rachni are gone as a result of the Rachni Wars and that’s it.

If the genophage had destroyed the krogans outright, they would be just another footnote in history.

But the genophage didn’t destroy the krogans. Over a millennia later, they still persist. Their numbers are slowly dwindling, but they maintain their culture and their pride and are a still a force on the galactic scene.

And that makes them sympathetic. It makes their species’ slow death tragic. It makes their defiance of the galaxy’s wish for them to just die almost noble. They won’t just lay down and give in.

It makes curing the genophage a rational choice to many players, in at least some circumstances.

And I find that fascinating.

The rachni and the reapers get very little sympathy in the game.

The rachni barely have an opportunity to argue their worth. The reapers are the main antagonists and their personhood is ignored.

But the krogans… The krogans get to be squadmates. Their homeworld gets to be a hubworld. Their genocide is discussed extensively in game. Its merit is questioned.

The krogans are treated as a species with a right to exist.

Realistically, this is a side effect of game development.

The krogans get to be people because the rachni were already extenict and their revival (or lack there of) was a plot point in ME1. Bioware couldn’t afford to spend much time developing them when they might be extinct again in ME2 or ME3.

The reapers were the antagonists and Bioware didn’t have a plan for them at any point. Their primary development is in the Leviathan DLC, which was developed after the backlash against the ME3 endings.

But Wrex was a squadmate in ME1 and Grunt was a squadmate in ME2. From there expanding upon the krogans as a people was a natural consequence.

Still, the way the genocide of the rachni and the reapers is glossed over doesn’t sit right with me. Bioware proved they were willing to explore the topic with the krogans. If they were going to raise it with the rachni and the reapers, I wish they had done more with it.

[biotic-comet]

Turians vs. Krogans

I love thinking about the differences between the two. Cos' like, You have the turians. They're all about that decorum, about the composure. They stand on their business, and they stand on- to some degree,- ceremony. They'll tell you what they think of you, but you're probably not getting into an altercation about it. A picture of civility. Then there's the krogan. They're these hulking beasts of a people. They're thought to be rude, and unruly, a problem wherever they go. They're space orcs,- which is hilarious if you look over at the Yahg. But they do have their civilization, their culture, their traditions and god help you if you don't have the quad to headbutt one of them if they don't like you stepping on that. So, all of that. But also...

I think turians have to be one of the messiest damn eaters of all the known species. Second only to the vorcha. Third to the yahg. Cos'... yahg.

You look at the krogan, and they have these massive mouths that are just perfect for taking a chunk out of something. Whatever it was that their most primitive ancestors were hunting down. Sharks got nothing on these guys. But their teeth are blunt. It's all incisors and molars. They have what looks like the equivalent to human canines toward the back of their mouths, but they're not particularly prominent. They even have lips! They can chew with their mouths shut. That's the mouth of an herbivore, or an obligate carnivore at most. You can't tell me they're messy eaters. Table manners notwithstanding The turians? Look at that maw. The sides of their mouths are exposed, and they've got what looks like 10-12 (in total) long af, interlocking fangs. Their flat, W-shaped beaks are perfect for cutting and tearing through a hunk of somethin'. Their mandibles do... something. Or did. I think the structure of their mandibles,- in so far as they play a role in their eating habits,- are the holdover of what was very useful in holding onto whatever they're ancestors got down on. Cos' we know they can pull forward or backwards. Look at that smile, Garrus just lights up the room, doesn't he? He lights up my heart. And their mandibles can splay, fanning out to the sides. Maybe they can fully seal their mouths. Who knows. They also have that goatee situation happening with those prongs at the ends of their mandibles. Totally looks like an appendage that could have once hooked into a lil' sump'n sump'n. But for whatever reason, stopped being used to that end. Don't get me started on the shape of their claws compared to other species and whether or not they developed cutlery. It's not uncivilized to eat food with your hands. But it is messy. And I'm sure they have plant foods they can ingest. Nuts, legumes, roots, etc. But these features are great for a diet that's more carnivorous than otherwise. I think this gets even funnier if we keep rolling with the fact that they're these weird, raptor, bird, insectoid FREAKS. They've gotta be tipping their heads back at some point in their meals to get solids down their gullets. Turians are doing their damn best to eat "normal" when in polite society. But at home? With mom's cookin'? Wolfing it down. Chompin' and straight gnashin'.

I don't think I need to say anything about the vorcha. Or the yahg.

[owlgodsesquire]

The bar for Mass Effect 5 is low. Obviously, I want the world from that game, and I’m still INSANELY excited. But I honestly only have one requirement: give us a romanceable salarian. It doesn’t matter if it’s an ace, aro, or sexual relationship, I just NEED A SALARIAN.

And while you’re at it, BioWare, give us a Krogan romance too. The alien-lovers of Mass Effect need something freaky.

[sol-consort]

Krogan romance course Pt.1

Krogans canonly play dating sims to practice courting and learn romance!?

Notice: Social Interactions

From: Gulnaz Bin

All right, everyone, most of you are used to either gender-segregated camps back on Tuchanka or mostly male mercenary work offworld. But now we're all together, and it's time for us to make the most of this "probletunity."

With females sending breeding requests and males asking many questions about fertility, we've had some good dialogues so far, and in most cases, everyone has already recovered from their injuries. To that end, we've added some mandatory cultural education.

🎉Krogans in Andromeda are officially gender integrated🎉

Blasto 6: Partners in Crime: Notice Blasto and Blasto's partner's sister agreeing to engage in mating rituals. Blasto's partner does not attempt to assert authority over his sister or shoot Blasto for mating with his sister without permission.

Humans are also faulty of doing this! I'm glad to see we have bad traits in common. Friendly reminder that Blasto's partner in the movies is an elcor, so this is our first hanar/elcor relationship representation.

Fleet and Flotilla ll: Belicus and Shalei are good models for behavior of a couple that is interested in courting despite cultural differences. Do not sing, though. Nobody sings while mating. That's just a thing they do in vids sometimes. I cannot stress that enough.

There is a famous romantic musical about a human from the fleet (or a turian?) and a quarian from flotilla falling in love? Is it the same one Tali showed us in Mass Effect 3? And krogans started singing like in musicals because of it.

Krantt Hardly Wait: Now I know some of you got offended by having a young krogan court a human female, but since the vid is literally about a krogan male trying to learn appropriate courtship behavior, you are all going to shut up and watch it. Also, Vega Bull Jr. does a great job as the human female's father, and he should be made an honorary krogan.

I adore everything about this. From the fact Krogan/human relationships are frowned upon in krogan society, that despite everything that is the brutal krogan culture, courting a human is what they clutch their pearls at.

To the fact this is the second time a human is elected an honrary krogan. The first was Shepard by Wrex, and now this.

Asari Confessions 26: True Blue: Couldn't hurt.

After that, we recommend that you try some "edu-tainment" in the form of one of the dating-sim vids available at any kiosk I can think of few better ways for us all to learn about romance than by playing an interactive game on the subject.

1) There is a massive genre of asari dating sims. The previous time this genre came up was during Mass Effect 2 Citadel visit when a salarian informed you about an asari/hanar game.

2) Krogans treat dating sims as an actual reliable source to practice flirting and courting rituals, see also, krogans taking romance musicals singing as a fundamental part of the romance.

[naturepointstheway]

"WELL. Explain yourself, Batarian!"

Batarian *visibly sweats*

Once again, enjoying a bit of photo mode creativity, this time in the Silversun Strip, where I caught this angle, making it look like the Krogan was pissed at the Batarian or something.