#shortwing

[skycowboys]

Pegasus Masterpost

Here's a little guide to the main classes of pegasi in the Sky Cowboys world!

Sky Cowboys pegasi generally follow these "rules" -

They have beaks - most are similar to raptor or seabird beaks. Used for opening nuts and snapping up small prey. They do still graze on long-stalk grasses.

Coat colors stay within the equine range, but feathers can be any color.

They have horse-like brains and so are trainable similarly to horses.

They cannot speak like some birds can.

The standard flight range per day is 150 miles. It's called a "hop".

Broadwing Pegasi

These are the main workhorses of the world. They're hardy, agile, and tend to have solid temperaments. Most pilots fly these for all sorts of jobs and have been bred into many unique breeds.

Quick visual - Quarter horses or mustangs with eagle or kite wings.

Longwing Pegasi

Longwings have as much attitude as they do wing surface, but they make up for it with sheer endurance. These pegasi can stay aloft for weeks, diving into the sea for fish or ocean plants to eat.

Quick visual - Thoroughbreds or arabians with seabird wings.

Shortwing Pegasi

Calm and huggable, shortwings are the draft horses of the Sky Cowboys world. These are flightless pegasi (since their wings are so small), but are still very useful on the ground like for all sorts of things from riding to pulling wagons to working in farm fields.

Shortwings tend to have colorful/fancy plumage.

Quick visual - Percherons or clydesdales with songbird wings.

Scrapwings

These little guys are feral - no one has really domesticated them. Partly because they're difficult to work with and partially because no one really sees a point. They're all-around too small to be useful and tend to just get into stuff. At least they're cute!

Quick visual - Zebra/quagga or donkey with dodo wings.

And there you have it! What would your SC pegasus look like?

If you want to learn more about my pegasi, I have an art/lore book on Kickstarter! Also there's lots here on my blog, it's just not as organized :)

~

Discord | Patreon

[herpsandbirds]

Lesser Shortwing (Brachypteryx leucophris), male, family Muscicapidae, order Passeriformes, Fraser's Hill, Pahang, Malaysia

photograph by Zuhdi Abdullah

[todaysbird]

the himalayan shortwing is a member of the old world flycatcher family found from the himalayas to southern china. males are a deep blue with pronounced white ‘eyebrows’, while females are a soft golden yellow-brown with present but less notable white eyebrows. they are shy, reclusive birds that are often found in dark, brushy habitat. they feed primarily on berries, larvae and small insects, seeds and sprouts.

[alonglistofbirds]

[2371/11080] Chinese shortwing - Brachypteryx sinensis

Order: Passeriformes Suborder: Passeri Superfamily: Muscicapoidea Family: Muscicapidae (old world flycatchers) Subfamily: Saxicolinae (chats)

Photo credit: Oriental Stork via Macaulay Library

[uzon]

here’s my half of an art trade with my friend @shortwingus on twitter!

twitter / carrd

[ranticore]

Is there any particular reason why Qedivar can't fly?

Not that he knows of. In reality it's a likely result of some landstrider ancestry a few generations back giving him some slightly unsuitable flight muscles. He's just never been able to do it and in the deeply ableist society of the spire it's something worth hiding

[howlingday]

RWBY Pokémon AU

(WHY ARE THERE NO GOOD GIFS OF THEM! SERIOUSLY?! OR DO- GARGH!)

#21 - Cardin Winchester and The Executioner

Cardin was a terror on Jaune growing up. The two lived close together, and Cardin would always tease him. Then one day, Cardin was attacked by a wild Pokémon, and Jaune saved him. It was from this action that Cardin left to begin his journey, using the same Pokémon that attacked him.

The Executioner was but a chick who had challenged Cardin in it's wildly prideful temperment. Cardin searched for and had tended to the Rufflet, unaware of the unique breed this Pokémon was. Cardin trained it to become the powerful beast of the sky it is today, thanks partially to the massive ego boost it gained from battling weaker Pokémon. In his worst temperments, he'll psychically blast an opponent into the ground.

#22 - Russel Thrush and Shortwings

Russel was a top student in gymnastics before joining with Cardin. In fact, he joined on a bet; if Cardin could beat his Pokémon in a battle, he would join, but if he lost, Cardin would trade his Poké-Balls for a unitard. Through surprising skill, Cardin won with his Rufflet. It was embarrassing for both Russel, and his Pokémon.

Shortwings is the fastest Pokémon of the team, and surprisingly the most agile. Thrush often has to act as a mediator between the bickering brains. Cardin says it's why he's the best politician in the group.

#23 - Dove Bronzewing and Hallshott

Dove is the secret weapon of the team. Before his journey, Dove practiced fencing, swordplay, and was a skilled fighter. As a result of his years of training, he earned his Pokémon, whose feathers he uses for his swords.

Hallshott is constantly at odds with the other Pokémon. It's either racing Shortwings or fighting The Executioner for top bird position. For some reason, the only Pokémon he doesn't fight is Feather's Edge. When he molts, he will beak deliver feather's to Dove.

#24 - Sky Lark and Feather's Edge

Lark follows a personal creed of "follow the strongest," and Cardin is the strongest trainer he ever met. He'll often join in a mean joke when he doesn't even know who is the punchline. As of yet, he hasn't spoken a word against anyone, especially Cardin.

Feather's Edge is a perfectly balanced Pokémon Lark caught as a Starly. Training includes praticing Attack and Special Attack, while perfecting dodges. Overall, Feather's Edge is a bland Pokémon that just blends in with the crowd.

[cat-boots]

shown off at the parade!

[trade for shortwings]

[localsharkcryptid]

"The Vampiric Bloodletter"

"Out of all the dragons I've seen and studied, along with the one's I've only heard of in passing conversation, the Bloodletter wasn't one I thought truly existed. Tales of a bright red dragon with ten eyes that drank blood...? Seemed too much like an old story to scare children but it seems this nesting year at the colony has proven me wrong.

I noticed the new egg amongst a clutch of Monstrous Nightmare eggs, an odd oblong shape with a dark red shell amongst the pale orange-pink eggs certainly stood out. Moving the egg wasn't an option so I left it. Come hatching day I kept a close eye on the nest, only to find an entirely unique dragon to hatch with the Monstrous' brood. At first I figured it was a case of hybridism but that theory was dropped quickly, after all just one hybrid offspring in a nest of six didn't make sense. Not to mention the tiny-tooth's features, ten eyes that all were a dark black, unique extra digits that I assume are opposable to a degree and a notable blade on the end of it's tail.

So I can conclude that the Bloodletter is in fact a living and breathing dragon species, a colony or nest parasite from what I can tell but also it's behavior is still unique. From what I have observed the nestling has been acting like a Monstrous Nightmare, mimicking their vocal calls and behaviors which is fascinating. For now I see no need to try and relocate the dragon, nor do I think it's surrogate mother would allow me and I personally would like to keep my good record with her.

This will at least give me time to study it and hopefully pull together some proper information, since I fear the number of these dragons may only be in single digits... I've also noted while looking through some other old local legends that the Bloodletter shares some shocking resemblance to the few descriptions of the Lycanwing... I can't help but wonder if they're connected somehow, but that's research for another time." - Excerpt from "The Nature of Dragons", an extensive series of books and journals by a man named Salamander.

-----

Class: Mystery

Size: 6 to 7 feet tall, with a wingspan of 10-11 feet at Broadwing stage - Titanwings are roughly 12 to 14 feet tall with a 20-22 foot wingspan.

Preferred Food: Dragon blood or incredibly fresh meat along with specifically certain organs of most creatures.

Status: Critical - Maybe only a handful of individuals exist on the surface world, that or they are just really good at staying away from people.

The Vampiric Bloodletter is noted for it's vibrant colors and unique features that assist with defending itself and securing it's specialized diet, due to the low amount of sightings and encounters little is truly known about them by humans. They are parasites in truth, spending a lot of time in flocks or colonies with other species so they can feed easily and also mimicking the dragons around them in terms of mannerisms for survival.

Their numerous eyes negates any blindspot they would normally have, along with this a forked tongue and heat sensing pits along their upper lips makes for the perfect tracking equipment. They have opposable digits on all their limbs that are topped with claws that are much like switchblades, used for further opening the bites they leave on other dragons or for defense - same to be said about the blade on their tail.

It's vibrant coloration is a classic animal warning system of "I'm toxic, stay away!". Seeing as they possess a highly potent venom which actually changes throughout their lives.

Tiny-Tooth to Shortwing: They can use this venom as a projectile to blind much like spitting cobras and generally deter threats to them. It's noted that it also stings if it makes contact with human skin. It has mild anticoagulant properties when administered via a bite along with slight numbing, think vampire bats.

Broadwing: The venom glands develop fully, producing a highly anticoagulant hemotoxin that causes numbing and disorientation even causing dragons to become incredibly drowsy. In humans it causes severe hallucinations, supposedly making one think that they're turning into a dragon.

Titanwing: Not much changes aside from more potency and the ability to even render some dragons unconscious for a certain amount of time after being bitten. Though at this stage they can afflict humans with something much worse, it's unknown how exactly it works but if a human is bitten by a Titanwing Bloodletter there is a chance they will be afflicted with the curse that is becoming a Lycanwing - if they survive the initial bite and the first shift that is...

----

WOO! Done at last!!

The Vampiric Bloodletter is one of my very few fanmade httyd species and I love how they came out!! Also if you couldn't tell these guys are my explanation for the Lycanwing legend, basically these guys are the ones that turn people to Lycanwings and somewhat go off of the description of the one in the story told by Gobber in RTTE. I have some more notes on them so uh if anyone has questions I will gladly elaborate on my fellas!

Also I will say: Anyone is free to make one of these fellas just please credit me! The lineart of the image is under the cut and can be used as a base.

[birdstudies]

December 22, 2022 - Nilgiri Sholakili, Nilgiri Blue Robin, Nilgiri Shortwing, White-bellied Shortwing, or Rufous-bellied Shortwing (Sholicola major) Found only in the Nilgiri Hills of southern India, these Old World flycatchers live in patches of mountain forest surrounded by grasslands, known as sholas. They probably feed on small insects, foraging on the ground and in the undergrowth, though the details of their diet are not known. Breeding from April to May, they build neat cup-shaped nests from green moss lined with moss roots in cavities in banks, trunks, or stumps. Females lay clutches of two or three eggs. They are classified as Endangered by the IUCN due to habitat loss in their extremely small and fragmented range.

[skycowboys]

Oh my god. Would dressage pegs be trained to show off their wings??? Peacock dressage babies????

Hi!

That'd be pretty neat to have the wings be a part of the moves, like being held in different positions for flare/fanciness. Or taking into account how the tail feathers swish around when you pirouette. Things would def be more difficult if the pegasus has to hold it's wings in different positions throughout the test instead of just having them folded at their sides.

~ Larn

[herpsandbirds]

Gould's Shortwing (Heteroxenicus stellatus), family Muscicapidae, Mishmi Hills, Arunachal Pradesh, India | Nov 2021.

photograph by Kamlesh Mirkale

[flameofthescorpion]

Some more development on my HTTYD open species, the shortwings are a lil stupid but thats fine, Stoker class dragons arent the smartest anyway-

[lovewin]

Drew @shortwings on twitters OC!

[imjusthereforironwood]

Team CRDL's Weapons (Part One: Cardin Winchester)

I love weapons. It's what drew me into RWBY to begin with. In my personal life, I own a few firearms, and what I loved about early RWBY weapons is that you could mostly see how they worked. Ember Celica was fed by shotgun shell belts, Crescent Rose worked because of how the rifle would unfold, and it was fed by magazines. I love knowing how weapons work, I love when they had names that fit their "personalities", and I love seeing what niche each weapon fills.

The point of my rambling is that each member of Team CRDL has a weapon, and I'm going to talk about them. I'll mention what they have in canon, then try to mention any additions that I've included.

Starting off with Cardin, and arguably the simplest weapon of the team, his titanium mace, The Executioner. However, just because it's simple, doesn't mean it isn't cool!

The Executioner is a flanged mace, which, according to the RWBY manga, is built from titanium, and features a Fire Dust crystal in the center. There are eight flanges, two on each side, and he is apparently able to channel his Aura through it (also RWBY manga), though whether this is a skill all Hunters learn or if it's special to Executioner is unknown.

In combat, Cardin is able to wield it one handed or with both hands. (fun fact: Cardin is canonically left handed). He adopted a very powerful and agressive fighting style, willing to tank hits if it means he can close the distance. Flanged maces specialize in piercing and damaging armor, smashing them inward for maximum damage, and this means Cardin fills the role of the team's bruiser/tank. He gets in close and bashes some Grimm skulls.

The thing that makes The Executioner unique is the Fire Dust crystal inside. Cardin uses this to add a bit of explosive "oomf" to his strikes. As seen in the Pyrrha fight, Winchester was able to strike the ground and cause a line of explosions in front of him.

Side note, after doing a bunch of math that I probably messed up on, (basically, I took the size of a mace handle (38 inches long, 1.25 inches in diameter), and multiplied it by the weight of titanium (2.624 oz. per cubic inch)) I estimated that the handle of The Executioner weighs about 7.8 lbs., and the flanged head probably weighs about 1.25 lbs, making the whole thing weigh an estimated 9.05 lbs.

But please take my estimations with a huge heaping of salt. Even I'm not 100% on them. Plus, we don't know how much Dust weighs, nor what the mechanisms inside of the Executioner are made out of. It could weigh more than my guess, it could weigh less.

Anyway, when Cardin and crew get to Atlas, they will have the opportunity to upgrade their weapons. With Sky's help (in this AU, Sky is the weapon nerd of Team CRDL) the Executioner will be upgraded to be able to launch a medium range fire projectile at enemies, similar to the projectile Reinhardt from Overwatch can shoot from his hammer. (Come to think of it, both Cardin and Reinhardt fill a similar niche: heavy-hitting tanks that struggle with flying targets and long range enemies.)

Anyway, that's all for now. I'll cover Russel Thrush's weapons, the Shortwings next!

[leffot]

Edward Green Malvern III⁣ ⁣ We’ve done Edward Green’s classic shortwing, the Malvern, in dark oak calfskin and beige twill that makes for the perfect summer spectator. ⁣ ⁣ With rich decorative punching and toe medallion, it is every bit the classic English wingtip.⁣ ⁣ Features:⁣ 82 last⁣ Dark oak calfskin and beige twill⁣ Single leather soles (at Leffot) https://www.instagram.com/p/CetjDKiOTN9/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=