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Separa'Shan update and improvements

Ok, here is the first draft of my updates to the history. I feel like I need to add more stuff, but I'm coming up blank. If you have any ideas for cool stuff to add to the history, I would love to incorporate them. I'm also not sure that I feel like I'm properly conveying the upheaval and change that Essia has been undergoing for the last decade. (And is going to continue now that they have been invaded.)

https://wiki.stararmy.com/doku.php?id=wip:faction:separa_shan:background
 
Good stuff. 3-day approval timer!
 
Ok, so I'm going to be expanding the Conclave, EDF, and Templar sections of the Wiki. The EDF and Templar are currently still in WIP and I hope to make them into a more polished final product.

I'm thinking that the Conclave should probably be thirteen members. 12 city-states and 1 high priest/ess. Rather than the ? city-states, 1 high priest/ess, 1 Templar commander. This is due to the templar's connection to the priesthood. I think the high priest/ess should also have a veto on anything that the conclave proposes. What are your thoughts?

I see the templar moving into a more 'special forces' type role compared to the EDF.

What are your thoughts on these three key institutions?
 
I really don't have that much of an opinion on them. Whatever you think is best is cool with me.
 
Ok, I would like to welcome @PurpleCheeseStick to the place where we try and make the Separa'Shan a better and more interesting place to Roleplay in. I've been quiet mostly because I'm lazy. However, have rewritten the original and still not yet approved Order of the Templar Article into something that I feel makes more sense.

https://wiki.stararmy.com/doku.php?id=wip:faction:separa_shan:templar

I would love to have your feedback about this.
 
Ok, so while it has been the general assumption of the Galaxy that the Separa'Shan are an evolved race, we know that in their past they were actually partially a constructed derivative. So I was thinking, what if they had a version of a digital mind? Perhaps one that made very different design decisions than the Neko Digital mind.

Thoughts?
 
What benefit would that change bring to the site RP? Would they be played any differently? I'm not sure what benefits that change would have in terms of fun so sell me on it if you can.
 
Who created this digital mind would need to be answered. PNUgen and individuals are responsible for the Neko OS, so the Separa’s creator would need to be decided if they are constructed.

edit: I have Wes’ OOC questions, too. Don’t get bogged down in my IC one, please.
 
It was just a interesting tidbit to add to the pile of 'Evidence of Separa'Shan history.' In terms of play, I don't think they would play much differently. It would be a high level lore item. In terms of practical aspects, learning that bit of lore is probably in the realm of high-level biology and such and opens up a potential for efficiency increases in Separa'Shan ST upload time. I've also toyed with the thought of adding reincarnation into the Separa'Shan religion and this would provide a reason for why this is. A possible immediate effect would be that Separa'Shan have perfect memories.

In terms of Lore, I'll quote from the current Separa'Shan history article. "The terraforming went smoothly until [Nagashun] began to integrate the DNA of the previous race into themselves and began to have melted humanoids. The problem [Nagashun] theorized could have been the race was not compatible with the specific conditions of the world, or the DNA itself was corrupt in some way. Regardless they needed a way to integrate themselves, and did so by combining the DNA samples with various lifeforms until one worked out creating the snake-human hybrid, Separa'Shan."

So it would have been done by Nagashun during this process. They had no contact with PNUgen or anything, and so a lot of the design decisions are different which is why it's not something that is immediately obvious. Developing into having some of the Digital mind abilities such as quick download, and skill transfer is something that the players might have to put some IC research into.
 
It seems like this fits into what you have been building in a very broad scheme, which is very cool, Soban.
 
I recently had a conversation with @Nikki about Separa'Shan. This isn't a transscript, but it is my thoughts on the things that we discussed and I'd like to put up what we talked about for the community to give feedback about.

This is something that I've introduced with Sacre, her growing up in a more traditional household. She spent a lot of time growing up essentially on her own, surviving in the jungles of Essia. However, this is a tradtion that was already dying when Contact was made. For me, this helps to explain why when Separa'Shan lay clutches of eggs, their population is only a few hundred million. In short, eggs and young Separa'Shan get eaten by predators. However, with Yamatai coming in, this is changing. They have been in a population boom, but in the next few years the boom is going to start compounding. The population boom along with the interaction with Yamatai is leading to new wave familys that are less traditional.

One idea that we talked about was the idea that the fathers are mostly absent from the children's lives. Two mothers who have children at the same time join together to raise both sets of kids in something of a blended family. The mothers pair up in marriage or simply a household it's up to them. Nikku called this clutch mates.

I think that this is certainly a subcultural aspect. I think the tradition is probably an old one, but was not necessarily mainstream aka it very much depends on where you live. With contact with Yamatai, it likely is becoming more mainstream. However, I don't think it is or should be a univeral thing. Separa'Shan culture is very diverse. Part of this diversity comes from them being in roughly the late middle ages when they were contacted. The time it took for communication led to more diversity as social innovation spread slowly.

Same with the Gods, everyone worships Nagashun and it binds their religion and culture together, but there are a lot of variations in practice and tradition (not to mention some who are essentially nominal believers). Separa'Shan relgion is essentially non-evangelical, it's closer to Judaism in that they don't care what those who don't believe in Nagashun do with themselves. Nagashun is a cultural touchstone and almost every Separa'Shan is going to believe in Nagashun to some degree, even if it nominal.

Separa'shan society is very libertarian, I feel it needs to be to accommodate a lot of subcultures.

I don't think Separa'Shan are able to physically have children with other species, particularly humans. These are aliens with entirely different DNA. The Separa'Shan are a designed species like the Neko, not a purely natural one. There are a lot of huge anatomical differences between Separa'Shan and humans. The most obvious is their digestive track, laying eggs, and being cold blooded. That said, I don't think there is a ban on interracial marrage. The average is probably somewhere around "That's weird, but acceptable".

Something we talked about was the possibility that Separa'Shan on Yamatai ships have rooms similar to Neko nests. A nest's bowl is great for keeping tails in check and perhaps heat lamps built in to help them control their temperature better. Perhaps one area of the room for sunning. Perhaps even with a day/night cycle to help waking up Separa'Shan. (Cold blooded, so they need time to warm up in the morning)

I think it would be intresting if Separa'Shan are technically obligate carnivores. They require raw meat in their diets to supply their nutrition needs. However, in practice, they also eat other things as well. An excellent example of this is fresh fruits being used to feast after the ascension. Fruits and cooked food tend to be seen more as being nice to have rather then requirements.

I've always figured that the separa'shan baseline in terms of eating is them catching and eating a single large thing and them then not needing to eat for like a month or a week. They are capable of eating a neko sized meal whole. They will be a bit lethargic for a few days after it, and won't eat for a month afterwards, but they can do it. A meal of about that size or larger also forces their internal organs to rearrange to accommodate the size of the meal. More commonly, they will eat smaller meals weekly and rest for the most of that day or eat a fairly small meal once a day, however that is on the fast end of things. On Yamatai naval ships, they will often do their best to eat with the crew, but to them it feels like constantly snacking rather then getting a good meal.

In terms of personal space, Separa'Shan tend to be comfortable with nudity and physical contact (Sacre is very much an outlier in terms of physical contact). Some Separa'Shan are comfortable sleeping and curling up together with no sexual connotation, however, this is a cultural thing and some prefer not to. Separa'Shan clothing tends towards the skimpy end of things due to the heat and humidity of their home.

We also discussed the possibility of Separa'Shan shedding the skin on their tails. Nikki suggested once a month or two, while I favored 3ish times a year or less. They shed more often when they are young and less often when they are older. Their tails never stop growing, but it does slow down signifiganty. They may also ask someone else who they are close to to help them shed their tail skin. This is considered a show of intimacy and trust.

Nikki: "A shedding stone is a smooth stone gifted to young Separa'Shan after their ascension. It is often fist sized and carved with ornate designs related to the recipients family and clan. The stone is used by rubbing it firmly over a Separa'Shans scales when they are nearing a shed. The slow firm pressure aids in loosening the top layer of skin aiding in its removal during a shed. Each shedding stone is unique, and deeply personal, often connecting a young Separa'shan to their ancestry. The loss of said stone can be considered a traumatic experience in many cases, and is considered shameful by all but those who wish to leave their heritage behind."

Another cultural gift after ascension might be a knife.

We also discussed what their ships might look like and be designed. We both liked the idea of the ships being very smooth and curvy, almost organic. I like the idea of them being gleaming white or chrome. The interiors use a lot of natural materials such as wood and stone (although they might not be actually wood or stone). I also put forward the idea that their capital ships have a large park in them, similar to the dome ship in Animorphs.

Going a bit farther with the idea that their ships are very natural, they don't use corridors so much as an idea of 'outside' and 'inside'. Common areas, corridors, and places to for sunning themselves are usually outside. This means that the ceiling provides a fake 'sky' with a day night cycle. The corridors are wide with natural things growing along the sides. The walls tend to look like stone walls rather then Yamatai's smooth clean look. Their corridors also tend to meander rather then being straight lines. All but their smallest ships such as fighters have a sunning room that is the social hub of the ship. A Separa'shan ship is very much like a small compact village in space. While elevators are available for emergences, they use ramps to link decks, doing so in a subtle way that lets them see stacked decks as being part of the same 'outdoors' space.

Their ships would also have a higher temperature and humidity then is normal for humans. Unless they are used to it, Separa'Shan tend to feel dry and cold on Yamatai ships while humans tend to feel Hot and Humid on Separa'Shan ships. However, neither is beyond the tempature and humidity range that they can adjust to.

Separa'Shan ships tend not to be seen as 'fighting' vessels, closer to a comfortable transport or merchant types. However, their millitary tends to take a star trek federation like 'look soft, use soft power, but be frighteningly competent when necessary' stance.

Social basking is a huge aspect of Separa'Shan culture, similar to eating in human culture. It's something that they need to do daily and can take up a significant portion of their time, especially if they are in a colder climate. They often use these as opportunities to strengthen ties, and bond with one another.

Nikki also brought up the thought that Separa'Shan have multiples of organs. Nikki: "For example. The complexity of their body structure and their size limits their reaction times and their ability to move if they have one brain. I figure they have two. One that actually thinks and handles main process, and another located below their hips that aids in boosting nerve responses. Basically like a signal amplifier. A secondary heart works to supply their tail with blood." Their organs also aren't in the same place as humans due to needing to be able to swollow a large thing. We were also thinking that the GI track runs right through to almost the end of the tail. Reproduction is up by the torso, where the human and snake portions of their body join. So their tails are actually clues to tell how big they will get. They have the same amount of flexible ribs when they are born as they will their entire life.

Perhaps Separa'Shan necks and arms are just as comfortable looking "up" as they are "forward". This allows them to crawl along the ground on their belly and swim with their bodies forward and their tails behind them. Related, they prefer to 'sit' on their coiled tails rather then in a chair due to the kink that sitting in a chair makes them do can be painful after a while. Many Separa'Shan have taken to coiling around a chair to provide an illusion that they are sitting in it. They are more comfortable lounging or leaning on slopes.

We also made up an old wive's tale. In the beginning of pregnancy females will eat large meals. Many believe it to be a sacred fasting. But as the eggs develop they stop eating to prevent damaging the eggs. Yamatai medical tech proved that this is true, but only if they eat a meal large enough to cause them to displace their organs. Most Separa'Shan rarely eat meals that large. However, that small truth is blown completely out of proportion. (Similar perhaps to pregnant women and alcohol.)

Again, I'd like to note that these are thoughts that we would like to share with the community and not hard cannon yet. If you have ideas or thoughts, feel free to tell us what you think.
 
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Looks good to me. I noticed there were no wiki links in it so I added some.

Please submit it and we'll put it in the stararmy:history: namespace I think.
 
I'm soliciting for comments from the community right now and I'll probably formally submit it in a week or so.
 
"At the same time, the third, seventh, and ninth fleets of Star Army attacked the system. The Kuvexians were well entrenched and the battle was fought over the course of several days."
The Seventh Fleet wasn't part of the space assault, which only lasted a few hours at most. While I assumed they would be in reserve and assist with the space occupation (it's their region, after all) based on them being CCd in Yui's orders, the OOC direction Ame and I got didn't include the 7th Fleet participating probably because they still had other line holding responsibilities in the sub-sector and their presence wasn't reflected in the actual RP. What's there isn't necessarily incorrect, but the accuracy isn't entirely clear because of the generality of the sentences.

A lot of links are missing (fleets, YSS Wyvern, Star Army, SAINT, Kuvexian War, etc.).
 
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