#as a form of accidental biological convergence as a side effect of being specialized for a certain type of movement style

[here-there-were-dragons]

are aether’s wings truly moth-like? putting aside glaring concerns of structural integrity at that scale, that would likely mean they not only would damage to the point of flightlessness very easily and almost none would reach significant age with flight capability intact barring medical, magical, or biological wings-shedding-and-regrowing-seasonally intervention, but also that they would likely never be able to bathe, swim, or come into contact with any amount of water, at all.

#flight rising #depression-induced showerthoughts #flight rising headcanons #i know very little about moth wings to be frank #but i do know that at least at the scale real-world moths exist they are very fragile and can't get wet #issues that are only not a glaring problem for the species' survivial #because most moths in their adult stage live only a few weeks at most an exist only to breed during that time anyway #over the lifespan of something as long-lived large predatory combat-specialized(and prone) and k-selective as a dragon #it would become MUCH more of a problem #incredibly quickly #their weight alone falling at the wrong angle on their side can rip the sky away from them for life #imagine how much worse it would be at the same scale and weight but with wings as fragile as a moth's #i am uncertain if i should go with the explanation that they are somehow moths wings and their fragility is partly circumvented #by them shedding and regrowing each few years #or in time with breeding season #or the explanation that they do NOT regrow and simply most aether end up flightless one way or another fairly early #or the explanation that they are not in fact moth wings and are instead structurally more normal webbed wings #that are oddly shaped and covered in fur to visually mimic the shape of a moth #as a form of accidental biological convergence as a side effect of being specialized for a certain type of movement style #that lepidopteran wing arrangements just happen to be good for #because frankly all 3 explanations have interesting in-world lore implications and are equally plausible