#SilkWings

[lightryi]

Wings Of Fire X My Little Pony g4 crossover! Part 2

I. Mane six:

1) Fluttershy: Silkwing/Sandwing;

2) Princess Twilight Sparkle: Nightwing (mb with icewing gens, because her mom and brother, Shining Armor, is icewings);

3) Rainbow Dash: Skywing/Rainwing;

4) Pinkie Pie: Rainwing;

5) Rarity: Icewing;

6) Applejack: Mudwing/Sandwing.

II. Some villains:

1) King Sombra: Nightwing/Sandwing;

2) Starlight Glimmer: Seawing/Nightwing;

3) Queen Chrysalis: Beetlewing/Leafwing.

P.S. design of the dragons is slightly different from the official designs from books. The reason for this is my headcanon designs for all 11 tribes, which I will also try to post soon

[minkydinks]

Why HiveWings in canon do NOT have to be the result of tons of generations of detrimental incest (a hot take maybe)

@sarcasticrat @incorporeal-entity @daishitheprofessionalfool

It's a funny meme in the WoF community that HiveWings are incestuous abominations having all descended from a single dragon (Clearsight). But honestly I think a lot of the weirdness revolving around that idea is missing a fundamental piece of the way WoF genetics work.

It's relatively well known that when two dragon tribes hybridize, their offspring will primarily take after their mothers. Every. Single. Time. At most, there may be somewhat-even mixes of both parents, but the mother's tribe is still largely apparent. We see this with Whiteout, Darkstalker, Typhoon, and Sunny. Whiteout and Darkstalker appear primarily NightWing, like their mother Foeslayer (although Whiteout has a little more IceWing than Darkstalker). Sunny is mostly SandWing in appearance like her mother Thorn; enough that most regard Sunny as a regular SandWing that may just have a rare genetic anomaly. Typhoon confirms his mother as a SeaWing in his dialogue, when he mentions that his father is ill by the animus IceWing plague that Darkstalker caused.

What does this mean for HiveWings?

While it does still sound exhausting to have so many relatives, it's very plausible for her to have caused a branching new tribe with her genetics, WITHOUT inbreeding being involved in that process.

Because Clearsight is female, the VAST majority of her dragonets with BeetleWings would appear.... mostly NightWing! Mostly black scales!

Somewhat like this, if you assume this is relatively canon:

And, any of her daughters who decided to have dragonets themselves, would have ALSO had dragonets with primarily black scales, no matter WHO they married to. The black scales would have easily passed along hundreds (if not thousands) of dragons, without a single instance of genetically problematic inbreeding, so long as the direct descendants of Clearsight were female and had black scales. Regardless, no matter how many children Clearsight had, her daughters, granddaughters, great granddaughters and so on, would pass down her black scales to future generations; all of their Night/Beetle offspring would have taken after the mothers that appeared more NightWing-like, until eventually the form of HiveWings became most familiar because of the consistent mixing of the NightWing & BeetleWing physical traits.

Clearsight may well have only needed to EVER have 6 of her own dragonets total, for there to be a tribe split based on her genetics; depending on whether or not all of her dragonets chose to have families of their own (which we assume they all did). But, it is canon that Clearsight remarried several times, so we can assume she had more than 6; albeit probably not as many as your mind wanders into thinking. No slutshaming!!!! /j

Assuming she had 4 daughters and 2 sons, and each of her children had 3 dragonets of their own (predominantly female from her daughters and predominantly male from her sons), that would be 12 NightWing-dominant hybrids and 6 BeetleWing-dominant hybrids to kickstart the tribe splitting. It's perfectly plausible with the way canon genetics work.

What about SilkWings?

BeetleWings were a spread-out tribe, not existing purely in one location for their kingdom. So, while it's fun to theorize about SilkWings also being descendants of Clearsight, it's improbable at best (and disprovable at worst) that they're related in any way. It's theorized (and probably accurate) that BeetleWings had already been in the process of diverging into SilkWings, and Clearsight's arrival sped up that process significantly by reducing the population of non-diverging BeetleWings.

Incest had to happen at some point, didn't it?

I'm going to tentatively say, yes. But not in the way you're thinking.

At some point, after the BeetleWings had been bred out of existence and replaced by HiveWings and SilkWings, there HAS to be interbreeding of HiveWings at some point. And if ALL HiveWings are descended from Clearsight, that would mean that modern HiveWings are technically inbreeding by continuing to have eggs with other HiveWings, instead of more BeetleWings.

However, this is not as problematic as you'd think. (Stay with me here, this isn't proship territory. I promise.)

If we're looking at animals as a prospect, you'll notice that millions of extant species in REAL life are actually the result of similar conditions. Direct descendants of ancestors that they inherited their primary abilities and traits from, that have ultimately somewhat inbred.

You may be shocked (and even grossed out) to hear that we're actually all somewhat related, especially to those in our own countries. However, the reason incest between close relatives is considered immoral to people (and is illegal in many places, thankfully) is because of genetic anomaly. There is always risk to pass down genetic anomalies, I happen to have one myself! (A congenital defect of the heart that gives me two aortic valve flaps instead of three. This is a standard defect though and I promise I'm not an incest baby.) But the issue with inbreeding is just that it drastically increases the chances of such anomalies happening, the more closely related to an individual you are.

To put it more science-y, inbreeding only increases the chances of consequential or fatal anomalies if the offspring of two individuals contain alleles at the gene site that are identical from descent. In other words, there's a single ancestor shared from both the maternal and paternal sides. This becomes negligible when it's no longer probable to pass identical alleles from both sides; i.e, hitting about 6th degree (roughly second cousins once removed).

In other words, should someone interbreed with their second cousin-once removed, the chances of there being genetic anomalies or consequences are so low, that it's about as likely as if you had a child with any other person in the general population of your area. Your average shared DNA with that 2nd cousin-twice removed would be ~1.5%, which is actually lower than the default chance of any other average birth defect happening to the child of an unrelated couple (~3-4%). Genetic counsellors themselves state that they completely stop worrying about the potential for inbreeding-related fetal anomalies (AND moral code) once the relativity is 4th degree or further, because there is simply such a low chance of any defects, and it would be substantially different from marrying & reproducing with your siblings, parents, grandparents, and other direct relatives. Simply put, incestuous pairings are not black & white when it comes to more distant relation. Although direct relative pairings are inherently risky and therefore morally & ethically reprehensible by any means.

Dragons in Wings of Fire live to a maximum of about 130 years, and 2000 years had passed since Clearsight's arrival to Pantala. That's about 13 generations of dragons, give or take a few. We know based on the story told by Lady Scarab that a close relative of hers that she knew personally actually named the HiveWing tribe - implying that BeetleWings' extinction was actually relatively recent; within the last 200-400 years. Meaning that the genetic diversity of modern HiveWings is high enough that it would be incredibly unlikely for any random pair of HiveWings to pass down identical alleles to their child and cause significant issues.

So while, definition-wise, it is TECHNICALLY inbreeding, it is not a morally questionable issue because there are very few physically consequential results from their pairings; there have simply been FAR too many unrelated BeetleWings in their family trees for so long, that the VAST majority of HiveWings are as closely related to one another as the average city population in the United States.

Additionally, reptiles are not affected by incest the same way mammals are. The majority of unique pet trade reptile color morphs is a result of inbreeding for those colors; it's quite rare for them to have consequential anomalies as a result of such inbreeding as long as they aren't direct relatives only exclusively inbreeding with each other. Also these are magical fantasy dragons, so like. Shrug. I can't imagine incredibly distant relative consanguinity would affect them as badly as anything that's ever happened to British royalty.

(Also you didn't hear this from me, but MudWings are probably significantly more worrisome because of their monthly random breeding nights and no real semblance of family trees. I'd worry about them before worrying about tons of generations of hybrids with the genetic diversity of New York.)

[espionn]

SilkWing tribe sheet!

hey, sorry this took so long. i've been pretty busy. but now there's just one more to go! hope you like the silkwings :)

again, sorry for the color quality. same issue as with the skywings. they look a lot less dull on my end.

Physical Appearance + Traits:

-Like HiveWings’ appearance resembling bees and wasps, SilkWings have the striking traits of butterflies and moths. They have long bodies, large flat wings, bright coloration, and antennae. They are known for being shy and passive.

-SilkWings, uniquely, can be hatched with any coloration under the sun. They are fond of bright colors, and this is reflected in their scales. 

-They are approximately average size when compared to Pyrrhian tribes - next to HiveWings, they are noticeably larger, mostly due to their enormous wings. These wings, like butterflies, allow SilkWings to fly, but in a somewhat sporadic way - they cannot glide straight like nearly every other tribe, and wind drafts can easily throw them off-course. They also don’t get their wings until they are 6 years old and undergo metamorphosis - until then, they are wingless.

-Another thing SilkWings gain in metamorphosis is their silk. Glands on their wrists can produce fine, strong strands of it, silvery in color like that of a spider. They use it to build the webs between the hives, which serve as their homes. They also use it to weave tapestries, clothing and other items. A few SilkWings are born with Flanesilk, which comes in multiple forms: firefly silk, which gives off faint light; glow silk, which glows and is warm to the touch; blaze silk, which glows brightly and burns; and sun silk, which hurts to look at directly and can cause extreme fire damage.

-SilkWings are born with a small extra set of limbs, set behind their front legs. These small arms are used to help control and manipulate silk while the arm in front of them produces it; this way, a dragon can still be standing on three legs even while weaving if they really need to be.

-These dragons also have antennae, used to detect subtle vibrations in the air, which can be curled up when not in use or unfurled when they are needed. They can be thin and wiry or huge and feathery, depending on the dragon. Antennae, especially when large and brightly-colored, are sometimes seen as a mark of power and status among SilkWings, and around HiveWings they are encouraged to keep them coiled up and hidden, in order to appear submissive and respectful.

Life Cycle:

-SilkWings lay clutches of 2-6 eggs, quite few when compared to HiveWings. Before their takeover, the tribe would bring up dragonets communally, but parents would still be involved in their dragonets’ lives, and get to watch them grow up. Living in the hives, however, SilkWing parents live with their dragonets and do everything they can to raise them, although all dragonets would attend a HiveWing-run school. If a SilkWing dragonet cannot be taken care of by its parents, it would be raised by HiveWings, and usually with less care and respect.

-SilkWings hatch small and wingless but extremely hungry. During their first few days, they eat more than any other dragonets, and grow remarkably quickly. Their appetite, and growth, slows down after about a month, at which point they are nearly three times their original size. From there, they grow somewhat normally.

-In the SilkWing kingdom, region-wide educational lessons would be held every day. Dragonets would be expected to attend, but adults could too if they so desired. The process was far less standardized and systematic. Living with the HiveWings, though, SilkWing dragonets attend school separate from the HiveWing dragonets (but still run by HiveWings), where everything is strictly organized and scheduled, and usually not in the SilkWings’ favor.

-Of all the tribes in which parents do not strictly raise their own dragonets, SilkWings are the only one in which dragons form partnerships for life. They do not shy away from romantic relationships, but they do have a habit of pursuing them slowly and carefully. They hate nothing more than to have to cut off a blooming relationship.

Society + Culture:

-SilkWings, generally, are considered pacifist and unassertive. Though this is a stereotype, it is not entirely untrue. Their culture does not glorify fighting over peace, and barring flamesilks, they have no unique natural weapons at their disposal. The SilkWing crown passes peacefully from mother to eldest daughter, niece or sister (in that order) in a method completely unique to their tribe.

-Silk is deeply important to their culture; weavings, tapestries, and accessories ranging from cloaks to scarves to legbands are finely crafted and sometimes dyed. Before the Tree Wars, they lived alongside the LeafWings and built their webs in the tree canopies.

-After the Tree Wars, when HiveWings became the dominant tribe, SilkWings had the expectation placed on them that they were quiet, gentle, subservient and unintelligent when compared to HiveWings. Breaking this pattern, and being in any way brash, inflammatory or aggressive leads to much harsher and crueler  treatment.

-While in reality they are really not much bigger than HiveWings, SilkWings’ longer bodies and necks, larger wings and long antennae make them appear quite a bit bigger. In order to avoid harassment from guards, they are generally expected to hold their heads low, walk somewhat slowly and keep their wings folded on their backs. 

-Before their takeover, SilkWings were actually quite technologically advanced. They had complex silk-weaving techniques and had many uses for the powerful material. The existence of Flamesilks also gave them fire, which makes them the only Pantalan tribes to naturally have it, and they used it to create glass, cook food and keep their webs gently lit at night with firefly silk, though they never cared to dabble in metalwork. (A lot of their ideas and progress in this area, alongside the actual Flamesilks, were stolen by HiveWings during the Tree Wars.) 

-SilkWing beauty standards vary depending on the year and season, but in general, bright, bold and unnatural colors are considered the most beautiful and impressive, and wings with bold and intricate patterning are the most striking. 

-Their diets need to be carefully balanced between sugar and protein, as they don’t eat meat and rely on specific plants. HiveWings’ attempts to provide them with proper food are usually clumsy, and they usually need to buy food themselves from specific vendors. This discrepancy is part of the reason SilkWings tend to be poorer than HiveWings, on top of being regarded as lower-status.

-Metamorphosis is a hugely important staple in SilkWing culture; they transform in a number of days from wingless and silkless dragonets to flying, silk-spinning adults. The transition is greatly anticipated by all young SilkWings, who will excitedly discuss what their wings might look like and plan all the tapestries they hope to weave. The Hives allow newly-metamorphosed SilkWings one day to one week (depending on the Hive) to celebrate and practice flying before assigning them to their career path or next branch of education for those who are lucky.

Diet: Herbivorous. SilkWings are the only obligate herbivores among dragons. They don’t hunt or eat meat, and could not properly digest it if they tried. They eat a variety of leaves from a variety of plants, including milkweed, parsley and some tree leaves. They also eat roots and stems from some plants, on occasion. Finally, they require some amount of sugar to maintain their energy levels; like HiveWings, they use sugar water, honey, and other treats. (They don’t very often eat fruit, but they will out of necessity if their sugar levels drop too low).

[acronym49]

What I've been working on! This is part 43 for the Escargot Wings of Fire map (multi animator project). I'm also working on part 55!

Link to the project: https://youtu.be/V3ocGCrz9aA?si=WQjTYbJRP37QCcrw

[wings-of-fire-confessions]

Personally I subscribe to the theory/headcanon that Silkwings can have black on them and it didn’t come from Clearsight , but was always there. Wasp or Hivewings just made that up as a propaganda thing so they have a reason to be seen as superior.

Black silkwings can and do still happen, they’ve just become rarer because when that happens it’s covered up or dismissed as a hybrid even when they aren’t

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[acinonyxxx]

wof sona iris :) (leaf/leaf/silk hybrid)

[drippywing]

Wings of Fire in Spore - Part 8: SilkWings

these guys are my least favorite of the 3 pantala flights that I made, and I love this one.

polite creature

[tabbykisses]

OC art since i was last on tumblr 💔💔 i’m so bad about posting i’m sorry

first character is Fresa, a new girl with not a lot of lore. next three are icons of pre-existing characters, Icarus, Arcane and Zeicron.

next is Faustia with her pet snakes, then timeline phases of my og girl Lotus

and lastly is a very new character i obtained named Marpesia!! love her

[dragonsaregreat]

Tau reading a book

She's chilling, reading a law book trying to figure out how to run a government (it is very difficult)

[loserdragonnerd]

The death toll in Gaza is nearing 35,000 and there's nearly 80,000 are alive but injured.

Palestinians were told to evacuate south because Rafah would be a "safe zone", then told that they would invade Rafah, and that invasion is happening right now.

Everyone alive in Palestine is disabled physically or mentally because of the constant bombardment.

This is mostly inspired by people on Twitter drawing their favorites in support of Palestine, but also bc Glory and the RainWings nearly faced genocide themselves. I will say i'm very disappointed that Tui hasn't posted about Gaza even though genocide is a theme in her books(unless she has and l'm unaware of it, although i'm pretty sure she hasnt, someone please tell me if i'm wrong).

The link in my bio & below is a link to a few twitter threads of resources like the BDS boycott list, places to educate yourself about what is happening in Gaza, etc. as well as 20 GoFundMe links(i plan on adding more as i find them).

[ilikebookssomuch]

why are Wings of Fire fans called "fantribe" and not FanWings bc I feel like that would make more sense

[lightryi]

Dragons of Pantala (headcanon designs)

• Silkwings:

-Inherited from nightwings genes of fur on the chest and in their case they only progressed, thanks to which the wool is distributed throughout the abdomen, neck and front legs

-In addition, the shape of the scales is more like the scales of nightwings than the beetlewings. The hind legs are also inherited from nightwings (in general, silkwings closer to the nightwings while hivewongs to the beetlewings)

-Big Eyes

-Very long tongue

-Mouth are small and round

-Short, round ears

-Teeth are not very sharp, by structure more like the teeth of herbivores than of predators (transitional form from one diet to another; such a structure also came from the merger of nightwings (predators) and beetlewings (omnivorous, but preferring to eat plants; fed only under adverse conditions))

-Blood are beige, semi-transparent

-The shape before and after Metamorphosis is significantly different. The "caterpillars" (before metamorphosis) are covered with blistering scales, some have a greenish tinge, developed a cusptry at the mouth - the mouthparts helps the dragonets to feed (after metamorphosis only small mouthparts remain, which are rather rudimentary), very small antennae on the head, almost not functioning; their role replaces temporary growths on the lower jaw, which disappear after metamorphosis. Body consists of scales, fur missing

-After metamorphosis the skin color becomes much brighter, grow long antennae with fur at the end, also appears directly, the fur itself on some parts of the body

-The shape of the wings in some individuals may be different (similar to the butterfly wings after which they were named)

-Flamesilk dragons have patterns in the form of lights on their wings and also fire colors (red, orange, yellow) all over their body. Eyes are also very bright (before the metamorphosis it is not visible, also in normal silkwings eye color changes slightly, unlike flamesilk dragons). All this is a warning to other creatures that these dragons don't have ordinary silk (it is similar to how in our world poisonous animals have bright, warning coloring)

-Growth reaches 2-2.5 meters

*The design was based on butterflies and their caterpillars

• Hivewings:

-Round tail. Despite its external fleshiness, it is almost completely hollow and not overloaded with internal organs and muscles. It contains only organs of the reproductive system and a reservoir with poison. And even though there are these organs that contribute to the flying, 2 pairs of wings and a dense front of the body all compensate for it, and they restore balance

-The tail itself is motionless, only able to descend, in order to wound the opponent with a dagger. The front part of the body is more flexible.

-Ears are long but thin

-Blood as like silkwings, beige and semi-transparent, but has a darker shade

-The gait is more developed than silkwings

-Paw structure identical to beetlewings

-Thorns on the entire spine fall long, with a sharp end

-Horns are curved, facing the opposite direction

-Whites darkened but not entirely black, has a dark shade of the color of the iris

-Also prefer to eat plants, but unlike silkwings, their teeth are very sharp. The reason is defensive functions, the presence of poison in them.

-Mouth is sharp, triangular shape

-Growth reaches 2.5-3 meters

*The design was based on bees, wasps and some other insects

• Beetlewings:

-Horns curved and parallel to the mouth

-Sharp nose, able to pierce the opponent

-The mouthparts, which due to the long nose is necessary for beetlewings so that from the mouth as little food as possible. The long tongue also helps (but it is less than the silkwing's tongue)

-2 pair of wings: the first is twice as short as the second, it performs the role of elytra

-The second pair of wings can fold and hide under the first

-Double thorn on the tail. The structure of the tail is similar to the tail of hivewings (the tail of the beetlewings is longer than that of the hivewings)

-Large thorns on the spine

-Semi-transparent beige blood

-Whites are also darkened, but not as much as in their descendants, hivewings

-Ears are pointed but not very long

-Omnivores

-Growth reaches 2.5-3.5 meters

*The design was based on bugs and some other insects

• Leafwings:

-Horizontal eye shape

-The presence of a modified ruffs (they are related to rainwings)

-Wings, webbed spines, ruffs and ears are leaf-shaped, and they can be very different in each individual (often their appearance resembles the plant after which they were named)

-Their scales do not necessarily have a green tint in all individuals

-Long, multi-ended horns that resemble tree branches. Many bigger than rainwings

-Paw structure almost identical to rainwings

-Sapwings and poisonwings try to distinguish themselves by applying paint on small fragments of scales, often making a small pattern from this (the first are painted in pale colors, the second, on the contrary, in colorful, mostly consisting of red, yellow and orange shades)

-In addition to this poisonwings can sharpen their webbed spines and horns, make them sharper

-Height reaches 3-4 meters

*The design was based on trees, their leaves and partly rainwings

[minkydinks]

SilkWings

In my headcanon of WoF, SilkWings are tall, elegant, passive dragons that resemble insects from the order Lepidoptera (butterflies & moths).

They are the largest tribe in Pantala, but are actually quite a bit smaller than most tribes in their neighboring continent, Pyrrhia.

Despite being much taller than their HiveWing hosts, SilkWings keep their heads held low to show consideration for their position within the hives. It's seen as a common courtesy to keep this posture around HiveWing superiors, officials and royalty, but is not required for standard citizens. SilkWings are taught this posture from an early age.

SilkWings come in any color under the sun. The whole rainbow at the same time, on occasion. Although black is a fairly uncommon color, it is still very possible, and is usually seen on SilkWings with a direct descent from ancient black dragons.

SilkWings are hatched with three pairs of limbs, like HiveWings; but their middle pair of arms become their wings during metamorphosis. During dragonethood, this extra set of arms is essential to staying safe as they traverse the webs they live in. However, when not climbing, they can often trip up the dragonets they belong to.

Each SilkWing has completely unique wings. Unless they're twins from the same egg, no two have the same shape, patterns, or colors. Some SilkWings might have trailing tails at the ends of their wings; like a Long-Tailed Skipper. While others might have short, rounded wings; like the Round-Winged Vagrant. Some may be opaque and bright, others two-sided. Some even transparent and glassy, like a Glasswing butterfly.

Unlike most other dragons as well, SilkWings have very short, round snouts; although their tongues are astonishingly long, and are designed for drinking nectar from large flowers and fruits. However, due to the HiveWings' dominance over their land, and the lack of most lush flora, SilkWings rely exclusively on HiveWings to provide them with the food they need through foraging.

[sombrathedragon]

this pose. please and thank you

Day 56 of drawing random Wof dragons from the wiki…

Tau!

“Tau is a female SilkWing who was introduced in The Hive Queen. Formerly a member of the Jewel HiveChrysalis, she worked as the chief steward for Lady Jewel. She is a member of the SilkWing Assembly and currently resides in the LeafSilk Kingdom with her partner Treehopper.” -The WOF wiki.

Reblogs mean more than likes!

[toadslug]

SWORDTAIL SAVE ME 🙏🙏

I love Swordtail guys 🥺

[wings-of-fire-confessions]

i feel like silkwings taste similarly to ants cuz like they look shiny and ants are shiny and also i ate an ant once

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