Sentient Sephi

[lizziie]

Sephi​

"She stood still as a statue, her face perfectly frozen like she was handcrafted from marble and stone. The only indication that she was displeased with the situation was the irritated twitch of her fluted ears each time his Twi'lek associate opened his mouth. Her silver eyes, surrounded by soft white lashes, stared down at the two of them with thinly veiled distaste. He knew the Sephi were hard to please, but it hadn't thought it would be impossible." — Guy Rohtua, Two Weeks on Thrusta

Biological Classification

Designation	Sentient
Classification	Mammal
Off-shoots	Annfyn

Physical Characteristics

Average height________________	6'9" — 7'4"
Average mass	185 lbs — 300 lbs
Average lifespan	200-400 yrs
Skin colour	→ White to dark blue/black → Pinkish → Fair to dark brown
Hair colour	Various
Eye colour	Various
Distinctions	→ Pointed ears → Emotive ears → Unemotive facial expressions → Height

Sociocultural Characteristics

Homeworld_______	Thrusta
Habitat	Various
Diet	Omnivore*
Language	→ Sephi → Basic

The Sephi were a species of tall, unemotive, sentient humanoids native to the wooded planet Thrusta. They are known far across the galaxy for their towering heights and long, fluted ears — as well as their xenophobic attitudes toward any who are not themselves.

.
Biology & appearance
.

.
Morphology & physiology

The first impression of a Sephi individual may be one of comparison; aside from their ears, they appear quite similar to humans, albeit tall and sometimes oddly colored. They have four limbs, four fingers and an opposable thumb on each hand, and the same secondary sex characteristics as humans. Though the Sephi can be heavy-set or built and muscular, they are often lanky with narrow waistlines and long fingers. Literature and popular media often describes the Sephi as “graceful”, and many Sephi do seem to display a better innate sense of balance than most humans.

Their ears are their most defining feature — other than their towering height — which are pointed and extend out, down, or upward from their skulls. Their ears play a huge part in the Sephi’s impressive sense of hearing, the length and flexibility allowing even the smallest of sounds to reach them. This does, as one might expect, also make them sensitive to loud or abrasive sounds. Their second most defining feature (or third, if you include height), is their particularly unexpressive facial muscles. Stoicism is a trait of the Sephi personality, but even those who lack strong stoicism themselves will often be very unexpressive, and indications of Sephi emotions are almost exclusively made with the ears. An expressive Sephi is a Sephi experiencing very strong, extreme emotions.

A son may share his father’s nose, or a daughter may inherit her mother’s curly locks, and a Sephi child will almost certainly share their parents' ears. Families, even if they have strongly diverse features among themselves, can almost always be grouped by the shape of their ears. Even half-Sephi, though rare, almost always inherit the fluted ears of their Sephi parent. Their height is also often a strong genetic trait passed down to half-Sephi children, but other than that and a certain frigidness of facial muscles, the Sephi do not have any other strong genetic traits.

In general, the Sephi are quite diverse within themselves as well, with all sorts of skin, hair, and eye colors present. A subset of the Sephi, who are often called a variety of colloquial terms, are specifically known for their grey-toned skin, a trait rarely seen otherwise in the species.

.
Reproduction & offspring

The Sephi have notably lengthy pregnancies which average 48 - 51 weeks, or about one galactic standard year at minimum, on average. Length aside, their pregnancies are otherwise identical to human ones, with three trimesters and an identical birthing and conception process. They are not a particularly fertile species, however, and twins are incredibly rare. Triplets, and especially anything beyond that, are so rare as to be nearly unheard of.

Though a strong and well-known cultural taboo, interspecies pregnancies are entirely possible, and pregnancies with human and near-human species face few complications. The Sephi have particularly strong genes when it comes to their height, ears, and facial stoicism, and their children are often noticeably linked to their heritage.

.
Lifecycle

Sephi children mature at a similar rate to humans, with children reaching adolescence at around 13 years old and ending puberty around 18 years, about when they are culturally considered adults. However, the frontal cortex takes a bit longer to fully develop. It usually does so around 30 years old, and it is for this reason that young Sephi are not often truly considered adults until they are well past this age. This, of course, only applies to Sephi within Sephi society; Sephi elsewhere in the galaxy are often judged according to the culture or government where they reside.

Being a long-lived species, the Sephi reach middle age around 200 years old as they can easily live over 300 years, and the most venerable of the species have even lived to 400.

.
Behavior & temperament

The Sephi have emotions. They feel anger, joy, love, and grief just like anyone else. The biggest difference, however, is that the Sephi do not show it. They are (in)famously unexpressive, and rarely show any emotion on their face. Their ears are the most emotive part of them, flattening with irritation or perking up with interest. If a Sephi does happen to express emotion facially, it is only a result of extreme emotion.

.
Society & culture
.

.
Societal hierarchies

Thrusta, the homeworld of the Sephi, has been ruled by a monarchy for millennia, which has created a distinct social hierarchy divided into royals, the aristocracy, and commoners. The planet has a large middle and lower class with only a tiny portion of the population belonging to the upper echelons of society. For the Sephi individuals of Thrusta, society itself is fairly egalitarian. However, society itself is much less merit-based and much more based on personal and familial connections, leading to a lot of nepotism, family businesses, and the like.

Non-Sephi are often the target of xenophobic discrimination, but off-worlders are tolerated within certain spheres, especially if they’re powerful and wealthy or connected to the trade and commerce sectors. None are as discriminated against as the half-Sephi however, who are considered the lowest of the lowest. If they aren’t abandoned by their parents or taken off planet to escape the abuse, most half-Sephi leave Thrusta at the earliest possible chance to escape the discrimination and bullying.

The Sephi’s off-shoot, the Annfyn, elicit a particular distaste from most Sephi as well.

.
Cultural arts

The Sephi have a rich culture cultivated by millennia of symbols, language, norms, values, and artifacts expressed through music, art, architecture, philosophy, religion, and more. In modern times, there is a rich and thriving culture of the arts in particular, found in Thrusta’s love of theatre, music, dance, and the fine arts.

Due to the sensitive nature of Sephi hearing, the most popular forms of music avoid or are almost completely void of harsh, loud, or high-pitched sounds that can irritate the ear. Mainstream music is, instead, often relies on subtle changes in rhythm or melody that become hard to appreciate without an acute sense of hearing. Semitones are quite popular — even microtones — in Sephi arrangements.

Ballet is very popular, as are paintings, sculptures, and other fine art pieces, and these pieces are often created over the span of decades. Though Thrusta is very protective of its art and artists, pieces created are of such high quality that they are highly coveted by wealthy collectors around the galaxy.

.
Diet & food

The Sephi, famously, do not have a spice tolerance. In fact, one could argue that the species has a spice intolerance. Though this is not to say that they do not season their food, as they absolutely do, but in order to find any semblance of spicy food on Thrusta, one would have to find a restaurant selling non-Sephi food (which, considering the planet’s rampant xenophobia, would be difficult even within the trade capital). They also have a very low tolerance for alcohol, and although tolerance varies as usual among the population, it is much lower than your average human’s. Therefore, Sephi wines and other alcohols tend to have a very low alcohol content — rarely above 15% for the strongest drinks.

Additionally, a majority of the Sephi living on Thrusta are vegan or vegetarian. This is not due to any religious or moral reasons and is rather a result of their cultural foods being comprised almost entirely without meat products. Sephi diaspora groups do often adapt meat back into their diets, though many find themselves unable to ingest it, especially if they’ve gone their whole lives without it.

.
Marriage & relationships

The Sephi don't have any particular standout customs when it comes to marriage and relationships, other than, due to their long lives, they tend to have longer-lasting ones and don't often date outside their species. The latter point is, in part, due to rampant Sephi xenophobia, but also due to the pain that watching a loved one grow old and die decades before you will brings.

.
History
.

The Sephi have a long and winding history, but due to their desire to remain isolated and concentrated on their homeworld of Thrusta, have few major historical moments that affect the greater galaxy. Most "Sephi history" is, rather, the history of the planet Thrusta and its monarchies. The species has been around for millennia, and will likely continue to do so.


INTENT: The intent of this write-up is to expand on the Star Wars species, Sephi, in line with the characteristics that have become site fanon over the years, and make it easier for people to reference these details.

 

[Logan]

Great write up as always, lizard.

Approved