...In Index, Races

anthousai

a man-made race of highly specialized plant people, all originating from a single point in teres and spreading their roots through the world. they were made as a defense force for the looming alien invasion, and this loss of purpose, along with knowing that they were made to be expendable, has left many feeling confused and hopeless — but not all feel this way.

history

anthousai are a curious people, few and far between and often very shy. they originated from a small city in the north-eastern part of teres — a factory city to be specific. the anthousai are a race of artificially created people, being engineered by scientists to fight in the oncoming war against alien invaders... you know, the one that never happened? because of this, many of the elder anthousai are left with a strange listlessness; the very reason they were brought into this world was gone before their very eyes, and are now left with the duty of creating more anthousai... but for what purpose? the youth are generally untroubled by this, as the war seemed like just the mumblings of the old folk.

culture

• family structure: technically none, as they were made to be disposable soldiers.
• languages commonly spoken: any and all; they are programmed in common though, so most anthousai stick with that.
• art: anthousai typically don't bother with art, since they are rather single-minded, focused on following what they think their life's purpose originally was. that being said, those that do delve into it often turn out to be extremely passionate and skilled.
• sexuality and gender: anthousai generally don't think too much about this, though they don't avoid it. their presentations are often quite androgynous, and their relationships with gender and sexuality as a whole tend to be rather "muted," so to speak. gray-ace, demiromantic/demisexual, demigenders, and similar identities are very common.
• values: the fact that they were made for a singular, violent purpose weighs heavily on anthousai as a whole, giving many a fervent feeling of needing to seek out a singular passion, find a true calling... many have traveled around the world to find a new reason to live; the majority have been very successful! they tend to travel solo and see themselves as very individual people, having trouble connecting to others due to their origins.
• religion: generally agnostic, but have been known to adopt beliefs from communities they settle in with.
• traditions: not many to speak of; as with religion, they pick up on traditions from those they live around.
• death rites: when anthousai die, their bodies rot away like plants, leaving a metal skull and spinal column. closer to the factory city, these metallic remains are repurposed into materials for making new anthousai or tools for those still alive. aside from this though, they will often be given a send-off in the traditional fashion of wherever they settled.

biology

• notable characteristics: their skin is usually somewhere in the range of gray, green, and brown, varying in shades. their hands, feet, tails, and ears all tend to fade to a different colour, with a slightly rougher texture as well. they have leaves and/or petals sprouting from their hair, which is usually a dark colour of any texture. their ears are shaped relatively similar to the leaves of their respective plant, and their tail is thin and wiry, ending in either a bulb or leaf of said plant as well.
• diet: anthousai don't technically need to eat, since they are plants. they can survive just fine on water and sunlight, though even that depends — as plants themselves vary on what needs they have, anthousai do too. that being said, they can eat most plant-based foods just fine.
• preferred climate: as with diet, it varies from one to another. for example, a cactus-like anthousai would fare better in a desert than a rose-like anthousai.
• sex: anthousai are technically a completely sexless race, though they do have mild shape-shifting capabilities, and can change their anatomy at will. though, it does take them a bit of time to change, especially on a larger scale, and they only have so much plant matter to work with.
• reproduction: anthousai cannot reproduce through natural means; they are planted and formed around metal skulls and spinal columns, with no actual functioning reproductive organs.

trivia

• due to their nature as being "one of a kind" created people, there's a set maximum number of them that can exist. that being said, they're relatively small in number, so you're not like to find out that the upper limit was reached the other day or anything of the sort.
• their blood is something like liquid chlorophyll.

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