Introductions

Hi, I joined up at the last registration window. I feel kind of dumb that I didn't go through all the links before today, whoops. Um. I am bad at introductions. Uh. I'm pretty shy about approaching people, but I like to be social and I love hearing many points of view. Hmm... I like mirror dragons best - there is something eel-like about their face, and the fact that their unusual four eyes are dimorphic from other dragons, suggesting a difference in species beyond subgroups. Or at least a weird mutation. The common phenotype being six limbs, two eyes, etc, it seems odd that a dragon would spontaneously develop extraneous eyes from a biological standpoint (useful though they are, and clearly an evolutionary advantage since the entire population has them, if it was in fact a mutation). So I like to think of them as an example of convergent evolution (ie, in the vein of echidna, fossa, marsupial mole etc). They are basically the hyenas of the dragon world; spotted hyenas are relentless social predators with high endurance, and an evolutionary line that only appears to relate to canines and felines but is in fact are more closely related to the mongoose. It's sort of my soft headcanon that they are a species that is only superficially related to other dragons species but is capable of interbreeding due to genetic quirk. Perhaps by sharing a distant ancestor? Even their description seems to be deliberately different from other dragons; they appear to be less... I suppose civilized? (though that seems like the incorrect term) than the other types in their encyclopedia entry, with heavy emphasis on their predatory nature/general distastefulness as considered by other breeds.

Or, y'know. Magic.

Sorry, I find this kind of thought behind fantasy species and how they relate really fascinating.

Uhh... so I also draw, and occasionally write fanfic/original stories, and I apologize frequently out of nervousness, oops. And I love discussing weird facts/headcanons/re-interpretations of things with people! So if you have any thoughts or ideas or whatever about dragon-stuff, hit me up! I would love to talk shop.

(also today is my birthday. I am shameless, sorry.)

@Frogspawned
Bahaha I love it when people actually think about the origins of fictional/magical species. It's really interesting, isn't it?

Hi, I'm technically new too!

(Technically because I joined months ago and only recently began playing)

Also happy birthday!

@Liquorice Thanks! :D It's nice to meet a fellow newbie. Oh, man, it is so much fun to think of how certain characteristics came to be in various and sundry fantasy/sci-fi stories. Like... why did this culture evolve this way and not this way? What were the influences? What events and people shaped the course of history? Why does X creature have eight limbs and Y creature only have four? What was it like for settlers in (x) world, long before the story is established? What are the background stuff and the mundane details of the average citizen in a given franchise.

@Frogspawned

Yeah, it really is isn't it? It adds even more layers to the story--really makes it more... well, real, I guess? Gives it more depth.

I'm particularly interested in the evolution of fictional species, though I'm not exactly all that educated on the matter.

@Liquorice

Neither am I, lol. I'm totally a layman, I just know a little about a few things and try to fill in my gaps whenever I can. (here's a pretty inclusive rec list of evolutionary development, if you want some recs :D)

It totally does! It's like a whole story behind the story. You have to ferret out little clues and hold them together and try to figure out everything. It's reminds me vaguely of archaeology - you're piecing together the bones of a world, and sometimes you get something new and it totally destroys your previous theory and you have to rebuild everything from the ground up and it's so fun.

What I think is really cool about the idea of dragons with forelimbs, legs, and wings is that at some point during their development, a species in the early days of their evolution had six limbs. And it's pretty cool to think of this little thing - I like to think of it as being similar to Eoraptor in stature, except maybe with longer forelimbs and shorter legs and early feather filaments - leaping around, maybe being a tree-climbing omnivore with manipulative fore legs and the secondary arms perhaps being use primarily for balance and/or grip. Then just... as the generations pass, those secondary arms get a little longer, a little more feathery. The feathers become less hair-like. Brighter coloring starts to appear as they encounter less threats; like, the early plumage is for display and maybe a little gliding, each generation getting a little better at it. And eventually it's a little more like Archaeopteryx, though some subgroups perhaps didn't retain the feathering due to genetic fluke (or an early divergence), but still had the bright colors and it was still advantageous. The first dragon that manages self-sustained flight - I mean, what a cool moment. (Also super neat: the lack of sexual dimorphism in the dragon species with regard to coloration, and few physical disparities. That's just... so rad, I love it.)

All the different groups evolving along their own way due to their surroundings; the mirrors are long legged and less flight worthy, and they live on the plains and rely on endurance and land speed to hunt their prey. The Coatls are primarily in a hot environment and perhaps use thermals to ease their flying (their wings are awfully short for self-sustained flight; like, I think they could do it, but it would be pretty taxing and not for very long. Unless they beat like hummingbird wings, which would be adorable.), evolving the brightest colors because they lack as many predators in their environment, and later due to cultural bias. There is less emphasis on function and more on form because their society has evolved to the point where it is less of a concern.

And it's also, like. When they interbreed, their offspring are still entirely one species or another? Like, if a Wildclaw and a Skydancer breed - though they have several aspects in common - they will still only produce Skydancer and Wildclaw babies, and no hybrids. Obvious caveat due to the function of the site, but I can't think of a good biological reason behind it.

Some species are more regressive and such, but - I think it would be cool to kind of imagine like... my Imperial/Ridgeback babies having some traits in common with both parents. Maybe the Imperials have little nubby ridges on their backs that never quite manage to ever grow spines, and are mostly hidden. The Ridgeback offspring are a little longer than the average, their torsos ever-so-slightly slanted downwards at the front. Mirrors/Coatls that end up mirrors but every now and again grow some patches of feathers that quickly moult off. A four-eyed Coatl running around.

Also kudos to the designers of the dragons - the wings connect along the length of the body. This is excellent. If the wing membrane only connected at the shoulders (as it does in most dragons in media) they would not be able to achieve lift at all. Such a great little detail.

@Frogspawned

Coatl flight = hummingbird?

Headcanon: accepted.

I like to think that there are slight influences to the offspring of mixed parents, like you suggested. For instance, my avatar dragon Melinoe is a pure Coatl, but her mother's parents were a Mirror and a Guardian. Assuming she might've been a Guardian as well, perhaps that may have been passed on to her daughter in the form of an overall larger frame than average--not too much, but noticeable when she's amongst other Coatls.

In regards to the lack of proper hybrids, I wonder if it could be suggested that an entire breed might be a trait in itself? As in, in a pairing like TundraxImperial, Imperials are rare/regressive and therefore the common/dominant Tundra trait would be exhibited in the offspring, save for the odd genetic hiccup.

... But then I suppose that wouldn't be applicable to common breed pairings, as they're literally something of a coin flip, ahaha.

I should try to get my mitts on some of those books. I've always wanted to read The Origin of Species.

@Liquorice Oh my god, the idea of this one enormous Coatl (comparatively) just towering her head over all the other ones in a gaggle.

The breeds being a trait in and of itself. Hmm... I could see that. Maybe it would be like a coyote/wolf hybrid - theoretically possible but in reality maybe the hybrids are too sickly/weirdly proportioned and die in egg or right after hatching. Like maybe their heart is too big for their chest or their organs just don't fit/function correctly if it is just so. So the more common breeds are just more aggressive genetically? but maybe amongst the common types, there is a little more passover, but it becomes weaker as you get to the rarer types. Like a Fae/Tundra baby that got the Tundra genetic lottery would be smaller than its peers, and a Tundra/Spiral would have less Spiral in it, and a Tundra/Coatl may have some few traits in common (a wedged ruff, maybe), but if that offspring ended up Coatl it would share almost no traits genetically with the Tundra? Did that make sense?

Ooh, ooh, flight headcanons! I also think that Fae dragons fly like butterflies - really erratically with huge wingflaps, and sort of zig-zag through the air. They can't be effective fliers. Too many frills and it seems like their wings are skewed toward aesthetics rather than function, biologically speaking. Which makes sense because they do not rely on physical attacks and their food source is plentiful and easy. So I like to think about those huge colonies full of chaos, with Fae hurling in from all directions and somehow managing to not collide. Also, terrible landings - like they just latch onto whatever, or sort of hop-skip-bounce when they land on the ground.

- Imperials, I think, are power gliders. Sort of like an albatross? Like, it's difficult for them to get themselves airborne, so they prefer strong winds and optimally something higher up to leap off of. But in the air they are sort of serpentine , with these very subtly circling long stretches and an occasional slow flap.

- Tundras are glorified hoppers. They fly rather slowly (a lot of drag) and for short duration. Flight, especially for a heavy creature, is expensive, energy-wise, and also would sap body heat, especially when considering wind chill/upper atmosphere/ice domain. So they tend to spend more time walking and their flight muscles are not as developed as other species. Also arctic winds, yo. Not the most conductive to flying.

- Mirrors dislike flying and generally use their wings as a short glide/extension of a jump. And I imagine they flap them over-enthusiastically because they aren't that graceful in the air and it is slightly alien. Maybe mixed clans would be a little bit better about it because they would be more used to it, but traditional roving packs are all like "crap crap akalsjdflldsjf where is ground oh no there it is whoopsie-daisy" and don't often land well from extended flight. I think they would also have an extremely hard time getting airborne without a running start. But on the ground they are a terror.

- Wildclaws are divers, and strike like peregrine falcons. They like to be up high, an among ledges and such so they can stoop down unseen.

@Frogspawned

Those are all perfect! I'm giggling at the idea of a Tundra attempting flight. They seem to be the tauntauns of this particular world.

You know, I never really cared for Mirrors, but now that you've suggested that method of locomotion, I think I'm beginning to find them significantly more endearing.