Night Of The Game S End

[00:55] <Raphael> Alright, folks. You're all great, it's amazing we're done, and I am falling asleep on the keyboard. I'll catch y'all later.
[00:55] * Raphael bamf.
[00:55] * Raphael (~ua.ten.letxof.dlq.98-201-391-271-epc|oaT#ua.ten.letxof.dlq.98-201-391-271-epc|oaT) Quit (Quit: )
[00:56] <AdEvaGM> Alright
[00:56] <AdEvaGM> Who wants some Defector Defacts
[00:57] <Aline> …someone who is not desperately sleepy
[00:58] * Aline GOOD NIGHT DEAR EARTH
[00:58] * Aline (~moc.rr.ser.yabapmat.551cfh1322356|enuzuS#moc.rr.ser.yabapmat.551cfh1322356|enuzuS) Quit (Quit: Leaving)
[00:58] <AdEvaGM> Syntax
[00:58] <Sept> Haplo
[00:58] <AdEvaGM> Do you want Defector Facts
[00:58] <Sept> it has come to this
[00:58] <AdEvaGM> it has come to this
[01:00] <Sept> I definitely want to subscribe to Defector facts
[01:01] * Sept is now known as Syntax
[01:01] <Yanmei> What are the details behind this whole slave thing?
[01:02] <AdEvaGM> Alright, so
[01:02] <AdEvaGM> The Defectors are a politically and culturally diverse offshoot off a species known to the rest of the galaxy as the Overseers.
[01:03] <AdEvaGM> They were one of the -very first- sentient species to appear thanks to the Seeding. They're the product of one of the 4 Seeds of knowledge directly.
[01:03] <AdEvaGM> Thanks to their seed and their AT Fields, the Defectors evolved on a planet that was extremely safe.
[01:04] <AdEvaGM> As a result, their physical strength and senses are not very sharp compared to humans.
[01:04] <AdEvaGM> (I'm gonna call them Overseers from now on)
[01:04] <Syntax> which
[01:04] <AdEvaGM> The Overseers have AT Fields, but they also have immense gifts in understanding genetics and biology, but they never really saw fit to modify themselves. Instead, they modified the animals on their homeworld
[01:05] <AdEvaGM> Making them really husbanded
[01:05] <Syntax> Right.
[01:05] <AdEvaGM> (I'll call them Overseers until the split)
[01:05] <AdEvaGM> But when the Overseers spread into space, a flaw in the Reincarnation Plan was discovered.
[01:05] <AdEvaGM> The species of the galaxy are divided into three categories.
[01:05] <AdEvaGM> "Great Ones", meaning Angels.
[01:06] <AdEvaGM> "Orchids", meaning the ones who were formed by Seeds.
[01:06] <AdEvaGM> (Or the offshoot of seeds, as E-Types turn into Seeds too)
[01:06] <AdEvaGM> And finally, 'Wildflowers', which are lifeforms derived 'of' the Ancestors, but accidentally.
[01:07] <AdEvaGM> If an Ancestor is wounded on a planet, and their LCL-blood seeps into water or earth? Oops. And Ancestor corpses bleed for very long times
[01:07] <AdEvaGM> So all over the galaxy, Ancestors unwittingly left LCL in the ecosystem, which in turn resulted in evolved sentient lifeforms.
[01:07] <AdEvaGM> Not Part of the Plan.
[01:07] <AdEvaGM> When the Overseers went into space, they found themselves surrounded by hostile Wildflowers.
[01:08] <AdEvaGM> They were attacked and many Overseers died.
[01:08] <AdEvaGM> Because the Overseers didn't know any real natural predators, this absolutely demoralised them.
[01:08] <AdEvaGM> And then they got -serious-.
[01:08] <AdEvaGM> The Overseers struck back and began driving the wildflowers away from their homeworld.
[01:08] <AdEvaGM> Eventually they conquered their nearest enemies.
[01:09] <AdEvaGM> The Overseers decided that alien species were generally hostile, and untrustworthy at best, and the only good alien was either dead or subordinate.
[01:09] <AdEvaGM> So instead of exterminating these conquered aliens, they subsumed them into their state as a slave caste.
[01:10] <AdEvaGM> Then they began genetically shepherding each alien species they conquered towards a very specific goal.
[01:10] <AdEvaGM> War, diplomacy, agriculture, etc.
[01:10] <AdEvaGM> This is what resulted in the 'Warslaves', which are the fierce shock troops that make up the bulk of the Overseer's armed forces.
[01:11] * Yanmei nods >.<
[01:11] <AdEvaGM> As the Overseers spread, they encountered more Wildflowers and took them out, but eventually they ran into Orchids and Great Ones.
[01:11] <AdEvaGM> Because of their experiences, the Overseers reacted very badly to Orchids anyway, even when the Orchids were friendly. However, the Overseers couldn't defeat the Orchids permanently
[01:12] <AdEvaGM> At this time, Overseer society started to fracture over the morality of their empire
[01:13] <AdEvaGM> The Overseers by now genuinely believed that they were 'cleaning up' and civilizing alien species, and were thus basically being good fathers. But plenty thought this was bullshit
[01:13] <AdEvaGM> Because the Overseer social structure is fundamentally democratic, the abolitionist party was able to have its views mainstreamed, and they began really pushing it
[01:14] <AdEvaGM> At this point, some Orchids and Wildflowers who were very worried about the Overseers' large military strength began supporting the more radical elemenets of both sides
[01:14] <AdEvaGM> The end result was that the society fractured across a fault line, leading to a great civil war.
[01:14] <AdEvaGM> In the end, the Overseer loyalists won, and those who were defeated became the Defectors.
[01:15] <AdEvaGM> The Defectors fled into other species' territories, and became a fundamentally landless culture for millennia.
[01:15] <AdEvaGM> Because Overseers possess an excellent mind for language, Defectors basically ended up forming a sort of diplomatic go-between for the other species
[01:16] <AdEvaGM> And what happened was that the Defectors began forming "Great Leagues" with the idea of uniting the species of the galaxy and destroying the Overseer Empire.
[01:17] <AdEvaGM> In the time of our story, the 6th attempt has failed about 150 years ago, and the Defectors were almost wiped out, and many people blamed them for the war
[01:17] <AdEvaGM> The Overseers have become heavily isolationist, and aren't really seen much anymore
[01:18] <AdEvaGM> So the Defectors have been scouring the galaxy, seeking allies and friends. Then they found humanity and thought "Oh, some wildflowers."
[01:18] <AdEvaGM> Then, er…
[01:18] <AdEvaGM> Joan attacked
[01:18] <AdEvaGM> And the Defectors went "That was really weird."
[01:18] <AdEvaGM> So they double-timed
[01:18] <AdEvaGM> And found humanity, and then Impact happened and they saw a fucking god appear over the planet
[01:19] <AdEvaGM> And when it was over, they realised humans were Wildflowers, who had become orchids, and then taken the power of the Great Ones
[01:19] <AdEvaGM> And thus humanity has suddenly become a species that fits into no one category
[01:19] <AdEvaGM> Which is exactly what the Defectors want, because the orchids and wildflowers do -not- get on
[01:20] <AdEvaGM> So that's their history.
[01:20] <AdEvaGM> Socially…
[01:20] <AdEvaGM> Defectors are extremely social, and also tightly bound to families
[01:20] <AdEvaGM> In Defector (and Overseer) society, the basic unit isn't the 'individual', but the family
[01:21] <AdEvaGM> See, every time a Defector gives birth, they give birth, 90% of the time, to between 2 and 6 children
[01:21] <AdEvaGM> All of the same sex
[01:21] <AdEvaGM> And this is known as a 'pod'
[01:21] <AdEvaGM> And it's expected that pods marry pods, instead of individuals marrying individuals.
[01:21] <AdEvaGM> So 4 sons might marry 3 daughters, and form a family of 7 'adults'.
[01:22] <AdEvaGM> Those adults then share the burdens of raising children and work between them, and each adult deliberately plans to specialise in a unique but complementary skillset
[01:23] <Yanmei> Hmm
[01:23] <AdEvaGM> They make decisions collectively
[01:23] <AdEvaGM> Hmm~?
[01:24] <Yanmei> Are there ever disagreements within the pod? About who to marry or what to specialize in?
[01:24] <AdEvaGM> Pretty much always
[01:24] <Yanmei> Aha XD
[01:24] <AdEvaGM> Overseers are collaborative people, but
[01:24] <AdEvaGM> They also are very mouthy and love to argue
[01:24] <AdEvaGM> (Not all of them, of course)
[01:25] <AdEvaGM> (But enough so that there's a romantic element to a good argument)
[01:25] <AdEvaGM> IDeally…
[01:25] <AdEvaGM> Children will learn what they're good at, and specialise in that
[01:25] <AdEvaGM> And then they'll seek partners who complement the pod's general skillset
[01:26] <AdEvaGM> But they still have individual differences
[01:26] <AdEvaGM> And although Overseer sex drives are pretty weak compared to human ones, they still have forms of sexual attraction.
[01:26] <AdEvaGM> Especially with their feathers
[01:27] <AdEvaGM> At the same time, because it's pods marrying pods, typically your siblings won't mind if you want to marry a really sexy overseer
[01:27] <AdEvaGM> Because they marry them too! But, tastes differ
[01:27] <AdEvaGM> And also, sometimes there's just personality friction
[01:28] <AdEvaGM> To a certain extent, though, if a pod marries, and the majority of the members are happy, the minority are encouraged to make the best of it
[01:28] * Yanmei nods
[01:28] <Yanmei> Makes sense
[01:28] <AdEvaGM> And extra-marital affairs are not really frowned upon, unless the marriage is very tight
[01:28] <AdEvaGM> The exception is with 'pods' where only one child was born
[01:29] <AdEvaGM> These are called 'Awkward Dancers' and they carry a huge social stigma
[01:30] <AdEvaGM> Awkward Dancers are encouraged to basically serve their other-pod siblings and parents, because marrying them to a pod is unfair
[01:31] <AdEvaGM> And marrying Awkward Dancers to each other is considered controversial, out of the belief that Awkward Dancers are more likely to birth Awkward Dancer children.
[01:31] <AdEvaGM> Awkwards… Generally don't agree :P
[01:31] <Syntax> Seems like there'd be some data around by now
[01:31] <Syntax> Guess data is for bad speakers too
[01:31] <AdEvaGM> Defector society is more permissive of Awkwards, since they find that other species seem to find it easier to just build up relationships with a single Defector
[01:32] <AdEvaGM> But Overseer society really frowns on it
[01:32] <AdEvaGM> [01:31] <Syntax> Seems like there'd be some data around by now | Yeah, it's fuzzy. There's generally a correlation, but not a major one, and some argue that the stress of being called an Awkward Dancer results in more miscarriages and stuff
[01:33] <AdEvaGM> Miscarriage is common in Overseer biology, because their bodies are frail and they have -big- litters
[01:33] <Syntax> Makes sense for birbs
[01:33] <AdEvaGM> On the other hand, an Overseer typically only reproduces twice or three times
[01:33] <AdEvaGM> (Low predators = low birthrate)
[01:33] <AdEvaGM> my cat has attempted to jump onto my bed
[01:33] <AdEvaGM> failed
[01:33] <AdEvaGM> jumped under my covers
[01:33] <Syntax> rip covers
[01:33] <AdEvaGM> and I now have a catlump under my blankets in the middle of the bed
[01:33] <Syntax> you sleep on cat hair now
[01:34] <AdEvaGM> pfft
[01:34] <AdEvaGM> also
[01:34] <AdEvaGM> Overseer culture isn't sure that 2 parents can raise kids properly
[01:34] <AdEvaGM> Basically, Overseer culture thinks it's best if the parents outnumber the children of a single pod, which they almost always do
[01:35] <AdEvaGM> (Unless the pod is -really- big, in which case, that's good luck)
[01:35] <AdEvaGM> But Awkward Dancers either:
[01:35] <AdEvaGM> 1) Birth an Awkward Dancer, bad
[01:35] <AdEvaGM> 2) Birth a pod bigger than them, which they cannot possibly handle, bad
[01:35] <AdEvaGM> OR so the culture goes.
[01:35] <Yanmei> Yeah, they can't win
[01:37] <AdEvaGM> But yeah. Defectors have generally spent enough time around non-Defectors that they don't react with fear instinctively
[01:38] <AdEvaGM> Instead, they're pretty xenophilic, and love trying new cultures. So once they settle down in the Federation, they probably have a wave of tourism
[01:38] <AdEvaGM> The other thing is that Defectors pick up language easily, as you saw
[01:38] <AdEvaGM> And they also eat absolutely huge amounts
[01:39] <AdEvaGM> I'd hazard about three times as much per day as normal humans do
[01:39] <AdEvaGM> (Not counting AdEva Twiceborn Humans, who now eat once a week or so)
[01:39] <AdEvaGM> Also
[01:39] <AdEvaGM> Because their senses are duller than humans
[01:39] <AdEvaGM> Defector tastes tend toward extremes
[01:39] <AdEvaGM> Their food is considered overpowering to human tastes
[01:40] <AdEvaGM> Since the defectors absolutely smother things in taste so they can taste it
[01:40] <AdEvaGM> Comparatively, they find human food a little bland on average, unless it's loaded with spice
[01:40] <AdEvaGM> They also love vivid colours
[01:41] <AdEvaGM> And also tend to, once they become friendly, rather touchy
[01:41] <AdEvaGM> (On average. There are plenty who are not touchy)
[01:41] <AdEvaGM> Oh, yes
[01:41] <AdEvaGM> Their helmets
[01:41] <AdEvaGM> They wear those almost constantly. The helmets act as psychic proof
[01:42] <AdEvaGM> So others can't forcibly read their minds, which is a risk in a society where everyone can become telepathic
[01:42] <AdEvaGM> So the custom is they wear them in public, and take them off around family
[01:42] <AdEvaGM> Or extremely close friends
[01:42] <Syntax> tin foil society
[01:42] <AdEvaGM> Yes XD
[01:42] <AdEvaGM> (Their houses are lined with this stuff)
[01:42] <Syntax> Love it.
[01:42] <AdEvaGM> Also, as you saw, the masks can shift to mimic other faces
[01:43] <AdEvaGM> Some cultures find this neat
[01:43] <AdEvaGM> Others think it is the creepiest thing going
[01:43] <AdEvaGM> So Stardancer
[01:43] <AdEvaGM> Hedged his bets and just went with lips
[01:43] <AdEvaGM> Instead of projecting Yanmei's face back at her
[01:44] <AdEvaGM> Beneath the helmets, their faces are feathered, with four eyes and a vestigial beak instead of lips
[01:44] <Yanmei> Very clever
[01:44] <AdEvaGM> They have teeth, and a large crest
[01:45] <AdEvaGM> They are omnivorous
[01:45] <AdEvaGM> And will eat basically anything.
[01:45] <AdEvaGM> Defectors have a social taboo on eating sentient flesh
[01:45] <AdEvaGM> Overseers have a taboo on eating dead Overseers, but slave castes are fine
[01:45] <AdEvaGM> So long as they're not useful
[01:45] <Yanmei> D:
[01:46] <AdEvaGM> Also, Overseers strongly associate the right to cover your face as a right of power and freedom
[01:46] <AdEvaGM> So slaves and 'guests' are forced to keep their faces uncovered, or at worst, with a transparent helmet
[01:47] <AdEvaGM> Which also has the side-effect of ensuring a slave can never be wearing an anti-psych helmet
[01:48] <Yanmei> That's really quite unfair
[01:48] <AdEvaGM> Yes. :|
[01:48] <AdEvaGM> Defectors don't have that law, though
[01:49] <AdEvaGM> The side effect is
[01:49] <AdEvaGM> They find humans taking off their hats or glasses to speak to them very flattering and embarrassing
[01:54] * Yanmei notes this for later
[01:54] <AdEvaGM> :D
[01:54] <AdEvaGM> Any other questions about our new friends?
[01:55] <Yanmei> Nothing from me!
[01:55] <Syntax> Sexual dimorphism?
[01:59] <AdEvaGM> Hmmmmmm
[02:00] <AdEvaGM> Limited mostly to the shape of the crest and their plumage. Females are slightly shorter and stronger on average
[02:00] <AdEvaGM> They don't possess breasts at all, and most of the genitalia for both species is internal most of the time
[02:01] <Syntax> Females are usually larger in birds, but in this case shorter doesn't really translate to less capable of bearing offspring
[02:01] <Syntax> right, that's another point that doesn't bear any relevance whatsoever
[02:01] <Syntax> cloaca?
[02:02] <Syntax> Or weird space genitalia.
[02:02] <AdEvaGM> It's all pretty simple stuff, yeah, nothing unusual
[02:02] <AdEvaGM> Aliens or no, they're still descendants of the Ancestors
[02:03] <AdEvaGM> [02:01] <Syntax> Females are usually larger in birds, but in this case shorter doesn't really translate to less capable of bearing offspring | Yeah, quite true. I guess they're broader physically, but not as tall, but probably work out to be slightly larger
[02:03] <Syntax> Gotcha!
[02:03] <AdEvaGM> Defectors do not have thin/hollow bones
[02:03] <AdEvaGM> As they are not meant to fly on their own strength
[02:04] <AdEvaGM> BUT their bodies are universally frail compared to humans
[02:05] <Syntax> I guess while we're there, you sort of mentioned it in passing
[02:05] <AdEvaGM> Limited need for strength, and used to slightly lighter gravity, and any predators that posed a risk could be hit over the head with an AT Field
[02:06] <Syntax> I assume newborn Overseers aren't very precocial if they still need the whole bunch of parents to take care of them?
[02:06] <Syntax> do they need about as much attention as human babbies to not die or what
[02:08] <AdEvaGM> To a degree, they start off needing about as much attention as human babbies
[02:08] <AdEvaGM> A few years in, their AT Field manifests and their dietary needs skyrocket
[02:09] <Syntax> (that's because humans are bipedal!)
[02:09] <Syntax> Ah, that makes sense.
[02:09] <AdEvaGM> Now
[02:09] <AdEvaGM> the Overseer Empire is set up so that no Overseer ever goes hungry
[02:09] <AdEvaGM> Since the slaves farm huge amounts of food, and the Overseers are a demographic minority in their own empire
[02:11] <AdEvaGM> However, Overseer society expects that parents rotate the duty of caring for children, and that it's very unhealthy for children to be stuck with one parent constantly, as it's important children are exposed to different styles of teaching and skill sets early on, so they can start manifesting talents
[02:13] <AdEvaGM> (of course parents don't do shit in isolation, and having families mingle and such and even 'loan' pods to other families for a week isn't uncommon)
[02:14] <AdEvaGM> Basically, it's expected that families act as well-oiled units, and so will shift naturally to distribute pressure evenly
[02:15] * Syntax nod
[02:17] <AdEvaGM> Oh yeah
[02:17] <AdEvaGM> Overseers have a religion
[02:18] <AdEvaGM> But a trend you will notice amongst Orchids is that their religions trend toward philosophical-spiritual rather than doctrinal
[02:18] <AdEvaGM> There isn't much talk of a supreme deity or such although that does appear
[02:20] * Yanmei (~ten.nozirev.soif.apalhp.841-66-511-89-loop|ekaCyekaC#ten.nozirev.soif.apalhp.841-66-511-89-loop|ekaCyekaC) Quit (Quit: )
[02:23] <Syntax> cool, cool
[02:24] <Syntax> No further questions m'honor
[02:26] <AdEvaGM> :|
[02:26] * AdEvaGM is now known as Minaplo
[02:26] <Minaplo> Well
[02:26] <Minaplo> I hope you enjoyed AdEva m'dude
[02:26] <Minaplo> I liked having you on it very much
[02:30] <Syntax> I enjoyed playing it a hell of a lot, yes
[02:30] <Minaplo> That means a lot to me.
[02:44] <Syntax> Of course, there's things I disagree with story-wise? But playing it was basically always great
[02:48] <Minaplo> heehehee
[02:48] <Minaplo> Yeah, there's plenty of shit I disagree with too
[02:48] <Minaplo> Now's as good a time as any for a Po-mo
[02:49] <Syntax> Like obviously number one is the number of Ayanamis
[02:49] <Minaplo> lmao
[02:50] <Minaplo> In retrospect, I think I tapped out at having enough mental space for about seven of them
[02:50] <Minaplo> There was a reason I had 12
[02:51] <Minaplo> and like a lot of things in early AdEva
[02:51] <Minaplo> It was because I cribbed a -lot- from established sources
[02:51] <Minaplo> That in retro, I should not have bothered with
[02:51] <Minaplo> The established source there was that Seele planned to make 12 Mass Production Evangelions
[02:51] <Minaplo> And only managed 9
[02:51] <Minaplo> So I figured to tie the 12 MP Evas into 12 Ayanamis
[02:51] <Syntax> oof
[02:52] <Minaplo> Yeah :P
[02:52] <Minaplo> There's a -lot- of that in the early AdEva
[02:52] <Minaplo> For example, the whole reason the USSR exists is because I was cribbing off the setting notes unthinkingly
[02:52] <Minaplo> In the rulebook
[02:52] <Minaplo> Which
[02:52] <Minaplo> I absolutely should not have
[02:52] <Minaplo> Because that setting is fucking rubbish
[02:53] <Syntax> right
[02:54] <Minaplo> But yeah, there were a handful of Ayanamis I stopped caring about
[02:54] <Minaplo> What other things come to mind
[03:01] <Syntax> "Everyone finds love in the end" is obviously not my style, and that's broader than just the ending, but that's absolutely just taste
[03:01] <Syntax> I can't think of any big plot beats that really bothered me, but I'm sure there were some
[03:01] <Minaplo> Sure
[03:02] <Minaplo> There's a lot of flab
[03:02] <Minaplo> And yeah, I wanted most people to be happy
[03:05] <Syntax> I mean yes also in retrospect
[03:05] <Syntax> it's possible miserable people would've been hella more grating in a campaign of this length
[03:09] <Minaplo> :D
[03:10] <Minaplo> also I apologise for fucking up Frederic's name
[03:11] <Minaplo> I also apologise for deliberately shifting the location of the é in his epilogue entry every single time I wrote his name
[03:13] <Syntax> ugh yeah :/
[03:13] <Syntax> You did it to yourself, it doesn't bother me nearly as much
[03:14] <Minaplo> :D
[03:14] <Minaplo> At least
[03:14] <Minaplo> No more French heavy games

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