- shapedbywar
     - From Ashes

ｆｒｏｍ  ａｓｈｅｓ

shapedbywar:

        “It was not. All I needed was my people.” Something he doesn’t have anymore, and acknowledges, aside from a small number of awakened Collectors. And Javik wasn’t so accepting at first to them as much as he was to the more ‘primitive’ races. Much less so, in actuality.

            “My sights could only be narrow, Commander. None of the ruling races of today had enough of a personality to be good or bad people. Like confused animals, primitives could be nothing more than subservient.” Javik let his arms down at his sides again, “That time does not feel as far away as it is. You as you are now is still a difficult concept to grasp, but all of you are not quite as far as you could be.”

     Shepard shook her head. “I wasn’t talking about now, I was referencing something you said to me shortly after we first met. You said– and I might be paraphrasing so forgive any technical errors– but the gist of it was that the word ‘Prothean’ referred to an empire, not a specific species. That 'lesser’ races were given a choice to join or be crushed under your proverbial heel. I’m assuming, and this might be incorrect, but at some point there had to have been an original Prothean race that then assimilated others but never really recognized them as equals. I mean, it’s how my own people treated foreign humans back when Earth wasn’t globalized. Am I way off base?”

     It was a potentially touchy subject for a number of reasons. Not the least of which being that she was bringing up people who were long dead, and Javik might not appreciate the tone in which she discussed his fallen comrades. Perhaps not as prevalent was the issue the Prothean himself repeatedly verbalized– his own lack of respect for current races, which might become increasingly more clear throughout their discussion of racial tension. It was probably best for the commander to back off. She gave a shrug. 

     - shapedbywar
     - From Ashes

ｆｒｏｍ  ａｓｈｅｓ

shapedbywar:

       Javik had previously assumed the question would come up eventually, and he thinks nothing of the way it was worded. But he does not reply immediately, slowly turning his head to look at the woman he now called Commander. Dual pupils flicked to the side and then back to Shepard as he thought on his answer. To him, it feels as if it takes much longer for him to answer than what it truly does.

            “No. I never liked any of them, merely tolerated.” Javik’s arms are soon folded across his chest as he shifts his weight onto one foot, “.. But they were good for distraction when it was needed most.”

     She considered his answer with a deep breath and raised eyebrows. “That sounds awfully lonely, even if it was back when everyone else… shared your views.” That sounded far more diplomatic than saying back when everyone else was a complete sodding racist. Not that the English could really speak out against imperialism without being complete hypocrites, considering their long distant history. “I’m just saying there’s a lot of good people you miss out on when you keep your sights so narrow.”

     - shapedbywar
     - from ashes
     - thanks for the follow!!

ｆｒｏｍ  ａｓｈｅｓ

shapedbywar

     "So…“ Shepard hesitated a moment, glancing around awkwardly. "Were there any races you actually liked back in the day, or were you just surrounded by primitives?” She didn’t intend for it to sound resentful, on the contrary her tone was inquisitive. “You did say that other races came to call themselves Prothean, so I figure there were…”