earthlings / humans
They really call us 'earthlings' out here. Unbelievable.
I'm not exactly planning on going in-depth here, considering that I'm one of these, but writing down the basics seems like a good idea so that I know how to explain ... what I am ... to people who have never met something like me before.
We're hardy, I guess - we can eat just about anything, we've got that 'hunter stamina' thing going on, and we're fleshy enough to be able to heal over most non-lethal wounds given time and care. Ranpli seemed shock about the whole 'we can heal our broken bones thing, so I guess that might be novel.
I think most people out here think we're a bit slow to the punch - everytime they realize I'm a human and not a very strange bald abbot, they congratulate me for finally going extrasolar in an almost surprised way.
mantids / abbots
A chitinous, carnivorous, and conceited insectoid people.
Abbots have both endoskeletons and exoskeletons. In modern abbot societies, exoskeletons are often manicured similarly to human hair as a form of self-expression. Exoskeleton is often shortened to 'exo', and is used grammatically in the same way you'd describe human hair.
Light/simple exoskeletons (light exo) tend to have their extremities and lower body covered. Abbot depicted here has extremely light exo. Heavier/adorned exoskeletons (heavy exo) are almost entirely encased, and is much more common than the former.
Their home planet Abbey is very small and, as a result, has shockingly low gravity. Light exoed abbots may literally struggle to stand on other planets. Heavy exoed abbots tend to struggle less with this, since their sturdy bodies can lessen the load on thier internal skeletons.
'brambles'
So, these are just ents.
Claim that their people have no universal name - every 'bramble' is simply of the planet they've made their home on. I'm using the name 'bramble' in my notes for organizational purposes, primarily for the following reason:
Thorns grow in on certain parts of their body, which brambles call ... you guessed it ... bramble. They manicure them into horns, claws, etc. Some pierce them, even.
'Hair' is comprised of leaves, or something similar. Brambles absorb sunlight through these which acts as their food and fuel (along with water, I presume). Sickly brambles, therefore, have visibly wilted or browning hair. They bloom in the spring, if their host planet has seasons.
As I understand it, their physique is malleable, especially at younger ages before their bark-y skin grows in. most tend towards a bipedal makeup since most of extrasolar society confirms to that standard.
