the-leafiest-leafwing

[the-leafiest-leafwing]

You said sandwings were your favorite, so would you be willing to do Queen Thorn?

of course! I'm aware this design takes some explaining to do, but trust me... this IS Queen Thorn.

I think of all the times I've made a post that starts with 'this might be the time I take too much liberty,' THIS really takes the cake.

Thinking about Thorn as a character, I really wanted to bring out her more scorpion-den side, even if the redesign is set after she becomes queen. I feel that Thorn's most admirable quality as a ruler is her strong sense of identity and belonging among the citizens of the sandwing kingdom, and thought it unreasonable that she would make any real effort to dress/appear different after becoming queen (even if it caused a little uproar among sandwing nobles.)

Because of this, I decided to incorporate a lot of punk design aspects (for any new readers, my last post is about the scorpion den being punk.) She has a lot of spikes sewn/fastened directly to her under scales, as well as a little vest and tail bracelet with the outclaw patch sewn in. I wanted to give her some kind of royal-leaning attire without losing the vibe, so I added these leather-ish, chain-ish back piece meant to resemble a cape. Kind of. Onto her scales: Thorn's design is very on the nose: with thorn patterns (based on the name) and swirl patterns (reminded me of sand.) Finally, her frills are dyed! I imagine Thorn probably uses a blend of papaya or prickly pear cactus to get the job done, but the ends fade with time. That kind of makes me wonder if sandwing frills grow like hair..

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As always, thank you all so much for your support and continued appreciation of this blog! If you're interested in making a request or viewing which characters are on the redesign waitlist, check my pinned post! I'm still working on determining my art comp prizes, but I can confidently tell you all it will probably be a redesign or draw in your style challenge!

later ☆ ～('▽^人)

[the-leafiest-leafwing]

The scorpion den is punk

walk with me... ↓

The big idea

First, let’s walk through punk: what is it? Cambridge Dictionary defines punk as “a style or culture popular among young people... expressing opposition to authority through shocking behavior, clothes, and hair.” Contrary to popular belief, it's more than fashion and music: it’s a longstanding subculture which has existed since the 1970s. While looking for more definitions of punk, I found that a lot of people were saying different things - some say punk originated as an anti-racist subculture, while others say it was anti-authoritarian first. Either way, most people seem to agree that punk is loudly against injustice of any kind.

But how does this tie into the scorpion den?

First, it's important to consider what the scorpion den is by the time we are introduced to it: a crowded sandy city populated mostly by outcasts, deserters and veterans of the sandwing succession war. Most dragons of the scorpion den (outside of the talons of power and kind of outclaws) are not wealthy by any means, with a general stance against war and authorities like the sand kingdom. So, perfect breeding grounds for a punk revolution. The ideals of the scorpion den align very strongly with the ideals of punk, and It would be very easy for punk culture to manifest alongside its subculture cousins like riot grrl and emo.

The logistics of scorpion punk

Sandwings and Skywings of the scorpion den would probably be the first purveyors of punk, with both tribes heavily affected by tyranny, war and authoritarianism around the same time (Sandwing succession + Queen scarlet both come to power in the same..ish... timeframe.) I imagine these dragons talked a lot in the den, realized they had something and common and began accessorizing to identify each other or themselves. The harsh, loud, spiky appearance gives a distinct style, while also making it harder for other dragons (or guards!) to grab hold of these dragons during a fight - which they would likely have a lot of. Wood was burnt to make charcoal, which could be combined with oils or water to make a cheap, effective dye when squid ink imports were unavailable/too expensive. Spikes were fashioned from cactus thorns or cheap smelted metals, sometimes even sewn into the scales for that extra weaponry.

These functional design choices must've caught like fire to a dead tree, becoming more and more popular until they were a commonality across the punks of all tribes. Eventually, Scorpion punk became more creative - dyes and paints were used on sandwing frills, and thin black linens could be pulled over the neck or arms to create a fishnet-like accessory. In some extreme cases, dragons would even bend or clip their frills/spikes to create a more thorny appearance.

What about the Outclaws?

The biggest issue with this idea is undoubtedly the presence of the outclaws: an authority in an anti-authority space. Most of the individual dragons that make up the outclaws would probably lean into scorpion punk: if you look at Six-claws, Thorn and Kindle, all of them could easily be punk. Still, their presence kind of disrupts the whole vibe... until you look a little closer at what the outclaws are actually doing.

As described by the wiki, the outclaws are described as a group of peacekeepers who control (and distribute) water from the oasis equally, as well as providing free meals and persistently giving resources to the scorpion den. These traits are still very comparable to punk, only softer on the anti-authoritarianism. I would suggest the outclaws are more alike a punk gang, upholding their community in spite of the mistrust other dragons have of them.

Speaking of, the general response to punk outclaws would probably be to call them posers. Its been stated in the books that some dragons in the scorpion den think the outclaws are secret recruiters for the war, and the same sentiment could easily carry over to the honesty of their punkness.

in conclusion, the punks of the scorpion den undoubtedly outlast the sandwing succession war: remaining and integrated part of their community and culture for decades to come.

If you made it this far, thank you so much for listening to me prattle! I tried to keep it short and leave room for imagination, so do with this what you will. I'll see you guys this weekend for some perfectly punk sandwing redesigns!

( ´ ω ` )ノﾞ

[the-leafiest-leafwing]

Darkness of Dragons

[the-leafiest-leafwing]

get him kill him

[the-leafiest-leafwing]

redesigning Six-claws!

I must've hallucinated someone requesting Six-claws, because I couldn't find it in my inbox by the time I was finished with this design! A little sad about breaking my streak of replying to asks instead of just throwing my redesigns out into the wind, but it's okay.

Here's my take on Six-claws! I had a great time doing this redesign, since the winglet books are actually some of my all-time favorites. I just love how charming the short stories are, and they honestly tend to be more concise than a few of the worse-written main arc books (No shade to Tui, writing is hard enough.)

I wanted to stay in line with the punk style I gave Thorn (+ eventually the other outclaws,) but I felt that it wasn't really sitting right on Six-claws, given his personality and background... he just doesn't really give me the vibe of someone who would spend hours on accessorizing, and view it as less productive than solving problems. Because of that, I tried to limit his accessories as much as I could - only keeping the outclaw tail band and a few neck/ear pieces.

As for his actual pattern, I tried to keep things simple with some spot/stripe patterns, keeping his color pallet relatively neutral and sandwing-ish since he's not meant to stand out all too much, outside of the talons.

This was a short post, but that's alright.. thank you all so much for checking up on this blog! My askbox is as open as ever, but please be sure to check up on my pinned post and see which characters are already in queue!

See you later (๑˃ᴗ˂)

[the-leafiest-leafwing]

i love to imagine blister actually being a huge idiot but relying so heavily on this mysterious conniving genius persona so people will take her seriously 😭😭😭 like she never grew out of her edgy teen girl phase and she just has to try so hard to be evil but shes actually really bad at it

I think Blister is an idiot.

She immediately gave away how Kestrel was murdered despite not being supposed to know.

She threw Webs, a traitor who kidnapped Coral’s daughter right at Tsunami, Coral’s daughter.

She really confessed to killing her mother and stealing all of the treasury goods and then had the nerve to say that she deserves the throne.

Killing so many of her soldiers for the slightest flaw or hint of insubordination. Burn was cruel, but she would’ve never done this- she was too pragmatic in this sense. I believe that’s a big reason why Blister just had a “small band of SandWings” in the book 4 epilogue.

Letting hybrids from her side to live in the Scorpion Den (couldn’t they give away her top-secret location?) Are they just dumped in the middle of nowhere after hatching????

She couldn’t get five kids to see her in a decent light despite her life literally depending on it.

She really thought scavengers would kill her mother yet felt comfortable attacking a scavenger town that I believe is well armed (it’s called Safe Harbor for a reason.) She managed to burn it to the ground, but I’m really confused… Did Blister just think her mother was some big dunce or something?

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[the-leafiest-leafwing]

Darkstalker Legends if it was WOKE

DarkCISHET (HOMOPHOBIC)

QUEERsight

Whiteout

InTHEY/THEMigo

[the-leafiest-leafwing]

Glory!

[the-leafiest-leafwing]

saw this and immediately thought “plot of book 12”

[the-leafiest-leafwing]

i dont normally reblog wof confessions but this is SOO real actually. i feel like a lot of hatred in this fandom comes from projection bc some of the things i see ppl say are honestly so ridiculous 😭

the way some of you talk about secretkeeper makes it sound like you just really hate your actual mom and are projecting onto her because secretkeeper is not nearly as bad as you make her out to be. if you want a terrible mother figure to get mad at coral is right there

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[the-leafiest-leafwing]

Rainwing concepts

[the-leafiest-leafwing]

Hi so what if WOF had sports..

ICEWING HOCKEY!!

Concept art of thee talon blades, then some art of the full gear! they have leg guards, chest guards, and helmets

They use their tails to hit the puck across ice, and the can shield themselves with their wings or armor if the puck goes airborne

They are not allowed to fly or use their frostbreath, and all four talons have blades to ensure they dont grab other players

The whole point of hockey was originally to train soldiers to use their tail to strike others more, and to train their running muscles in case their wings are bound or in case they cannot use their frostbreath, but it has evolved into a sport for fun!

[the-leafiest-leafwing]

how it feels to block somebody because i dont like their opinion because psa actually this IS weird im stating it as a fact now

IS IT JUST ME THAT FINDS IT REALLY WEIRD WHEN PEOPLE REFER TO NON HYBRID DRAGONS AS “PURE” OR “PUREBRED”?????? AM I JUST TOO WOKE BECAUSE I THINK THAT’S REALLY REALLY WEIRD

[the-leafiest-leafwing]

the dragonets

[the-leafiest-leafwing]

decided to give every prophet NightWing an unique "prophecy star"

(prophecy stars aren't a real thing in canon, but a fan-made concept used to distinguish NightWing seers from mindreaders. They aren't my original concept and I don't know who started the actual trend)

transcript for whoever struggles reading the image text:

Clearsight: abnormally large prophecy star. Extremely vivid vision that present as full "scenes" with audible sound. Can recall and "explore" visions at will.

Darkstalker: upside-down prophecy star. Thrice moon-powered prophecy. Clear visions, is able to see even past a century into the future, can see all possible futures.

Moonwatcher: average prophecy star and powers. Can see all the most likely futures and can't recall visions at will. Visions appear as vivid images and brief scenes.

Whiteout: prophecy star on left eye only. "Weak" thrice-moon powers. Visions manifest as flashes of images that are very hard to interpret

[ID end]

[the-leafiest-leafwing]

Now I finally rap up ark 3 of wing of fire which Conclude the Series for now until book sixteen of ark 4 comes out, it was nice reading them seeing these characters go through Triumph and many adventures to get to the end of it ark 3 was very interesting in its concepts of story telling

At the end of it, I enjoyed it. I can't wait for Ark 4 and time for Dragon Slayer and the Winglets books

[the-leafiest-leafwing]

this is your sign to go doodle a dragon. go do it . now