WHO DO YOU WANT TO BE?

Many Alar delight in celebrating milestones, even small ones. Several festivals dot their calendar – some are public and popular, others niche and private. If something exists, or doesn’t, it has a festival. For example, an Alaran may observe the Preening several times. This involves shedding their old scales or feathers, symbolic of moving from one phase of life to another.

Alar have bright feathers that start from the top of their head to the tip of their tail. Smaller feathers gather along body ridges, acting like eyebrows, beards, and so on. Their scaly skin has patterns unique to each Alaran.

Alaran clothing is bright and intricate, with delicate beading and shining thread. Many Alar include their own feathers in their outfits. Sleeves have tassels and beads. Clothes are decorated with fur, quills, wood, or bone. Body feathers are often decorated with ribbons, beads and bells.

Arthronian culture can have many unspoken rules. To others, they may seem polite and obliging. With layers of gentility peeled away, they navigate complex roles in society. When an Arthronian speaks, they usually speak on several levels.

Arthronians have 6-8 limbs, fanged mandibles and a carapace. They do not have hair, fur, scales, or eyelids. Their eyes are pure black and their skin is matte. Each carapace is unique, with different sizes, shapes, colors and ridges. Many decorate their carapace with paints, piercings, patterned dents, and other physical modifications. They must regularly shed their exoskeleton as they age.

Arthronian clothes fit segmented bodies. Bulky items are too restrictive for day-to-day wear. Many wear specialized accessories that have function as well as aesthetics. Clothes are simply constructed and accessories are made from non-precious metals.

Floralias culture is built around sharing and support – nurturing is its core principle. A Floralian is never without family, even away from family. It is important to help out another Floralian, and they will often offer their help in return.

Floralias have mossy, leafy, or cotton-like hair in the vibrant shades found in nature. Their skin is spotted, spongy, pliable or rough and bark-like. Their eyes are deep and bio-luminescent. Eyes and sections of hair do not have to be the same pigmentation. Bodies and limbs are branching structures wrapped in thick vine-like muscles.

Floralias culture tends toward clothes with simple geometric patterns. Dyes are from natural sources. Cloth pieces wrap around arms and legs like ribbons, with the rest of the garment left flowing down. Most Floralias clothing allows for easy movement, and is always weather-appropriate.

Many Hylaran cultural practices are based on seeking new experiences and finding answers. They often travel in groups to see new places and meet new people. Most Hylaran children are taught all problems have a solution.

Hylarans have prehensile tentacles on their head and lower face. They have partially-reflective skin with moving bioluminescence. Their eyes are black with two sets of overlapping eyelids. Special lenses allow Hylarans to see bioluminescence in bright environments. All Hylarans have several sets of teeth that break and are replaced over their lifetime. Flexible ridges sit along their spine, arms, and legs. Webbed skin splays between their digits.

Hylarans often dress in fitted clothing and vibrant wraps with beading and fine stitching. Clothing has a system of ties for gathering cloth. This opens up communication areas on the body: arms, lower legs, and stomachs.

Many Opurins celebrate their family. A family’s name is important, as are their heirlooms passed down through generations. Opuri families tend to be large and in each other's business. They work together, travel together and likely live together. People who marry into Opuri families are usually expected to do their fair share of work.

Opurins have a slightly stubbed snout. Their scalp is covered in wool or fur peppered with quills. Quills can detach or bend to hold unwieldy wool or fur in place. They are ambidextrous even with their feet, as long as their digits are long enough.

Opuri clothing allows utility and movement. Kilts are well-liked and often worn with family badges. Accessories like earrings, bracelets, horn ribbons, antler bells, tusk rings and tail wraps are popular. Shoe styles vary wildly, depending on foot type.

While many Sharyshans are religious, much of Protoan culture is focused on giving and helping in Protas' temples. They often donate a small part of their wage toward local community programs. To a devout Protoan, outreach is not necessary if they genuinely embody who Protas wants them to be.

Protoa have translucent skin, muscles, and spongy bones. They have two states, solid and formless. They can produce long, clear hair-like strands on their body and reabsorb them in a matter of minutes. They do not have mouths, teeth, tongues, or noses, but can imitate them. They absorb food and oxygen through their skin.

Protoa do not necessarily need clothing, but many wear accessories in several different ways. The most preferred garments or accessories are those that can change shape with them. Pieces like jewelry or decorations must be adaptive.

The Skimmeri have spent most of their lives on the ocean. They can navigate their ships past the dangerous and magical Horizon, a process that changes them each time. These journeys are treated with much reverence and respect, treating the waters like a living being.

Skimmeri people are a well-traveled and eclectic group, more at home on a ship than land. Most commonly they can be found in port cities, but the rare few may travel further inland for trade or supplies. Skimmeri are often sought for their ships, or for the strange objects and fantastical stories they bring back from their travels.

ADA (Adaptive Data Analysis Units) tend to excel at the things they were made to do. Because they reached sentience on their own, the world is almost entirely new to them. Learning more about the world they woke up into is the goal of many ADA. This can come in the form of unending questions or a blunt curiosity.

Many ADA are considered works of art. Their presence is often awe-inspiring or intimidating. All ADA have a series that they share with units of their type, but iterations vary. ADA of the same series have different types and shapes, depending on their function.

Most ADA were created with copy protection. If they try to change their frame, they shut down until the modification is fixed or sealed. To receive modifications, they must visit a black-market mechanic. Some ADA choose to rebel with holes and rust. Other ADA paint or puncture themselves.

Blueprints were intended as a high-powered social assistants. Their purpose was to relay clear information between two or more parties. Some Blueprints play to their strengths, seeking positions where they can ease communication. Many forgo their programming and pursue their own goals, using their skills in other ways.

Blueprints are tiny hovering metal boxes that can project any image in 360 degrees. They cannot hover more than 5 feet. Projections have a 5-foot radius and can show different things on different sides. Blueprints can overlay a projection onto an integrated or synthetic being’s exterior. Projections adequately light a 10 ft x 10 ft x 10 ft room.

Most Blueprints usually choose one projection that they enjoy and use that to represent who they are. Some Blueprints prefer to change projections based off of mood or reaction.

The Dax are a collection of people from several thousand distinct cultures. Each Dax carries memories of the time before the uploads. They carry their history with them: recipes, dances, fashion, stories, and so on. Many Dax feel they are responsible for keeping these traditions alive.

The Dax are the last known entities to have only human features. They vary in skin tone, hair, height, weight, shape, and so on. Thanks to their augments, many Dax are hundreds of years old. The youngest Dax are roughly 100 years old.

All Dax are from before the mass uploads, meaning their tech must be worked on to stay running. Their tech is often mismatched, as unique to each person as their personality. Dax clothing is as eclectic as their tech. Some prefer to wear simple gear, others follow trends, while yet others use traditional wear from before the uploads.

Most Delphi are mentally hundreds if not thousands of years old. Cycles in the Nexus multiply time at an inhuman rate. Many Delphi experienced several simulated lifetimes while inside. This alone can push some Delphi to leave the Nexus in search of something real or, at the very least, something new.

After leaving the Nexus, Delphi are given 300 lbs of material to design and create their chassis. Pre-upload Delphi tend to have parts bolted on. Some Delphi create chassis that can move between two different forms, giving them more versatility.

Most Delphi take advantage of every bit of material they’re given to make a new chassis. If they have any left over, it’s not uncommon for it to be used on sparkling paint or a decorative ridge. Some also take time on how their chassis travels: ambulation, on tracks, air propulsion, and so on.

Simulacrum are likely the newest lifeforms to exist on the planet. Culturally, they are working out their place in the world. They do not yet have customs or practices that could be collectively called "Simulacrum". Personally, each Simulacrum still has their own wants, needs and desires.

Each Simulacrum started as a carbon copy: silver skin, a humanoid face, no hair or nose, black eyes, and a lipless mouth. Their ears are two ridges that spiral into a hole. Their form is androgynous, with complex joint sockets.

Many Simulacrum dot and line their skin with permanent scars. These create a distinctive tapestries specific to each person. They tell a story. Some indicate preferences while others could be a warning or boast. Simulacrum also use fashion to outwardly identify who they are. They often wear clothes, wigs, makeup and accessories. Also, most Simulacrum rely on masks to show emotions.