Halos, horns and wings - What about your fantasy creatures?

[TheArtistMinty]

Fairies don't have wings, they just levitate.

Angels are terrifying creations created to guard the floating isles, they're like 'machines' with no real mind or intelligence.

Demons are just shapeshifter that takes on whatever form they'd like, to a limit. Originally taking on forms amalgam of beasts to easily outplay their prey. Then human forms to prey upon them through deception and wit, with no 'humanity' on their mind. But as time goes on, they started to enjoys living human lives and some started prefer living in human societies in disguise over their own.

Other demons can't deny they prefer a humanoid form to utilise tools or the intelligence they've gain to build their own societies and enjoy life in different ways than before. The way I worldbuilt it, demons started off as mindless beasts, but eventually gained the ability to empathise and arguably became humans in most aspects, except for their mortality.

I like the idea of 'angels' to be terrifying things, and 'demons' to be as beautiful as they'd like to be. Though of course most human don't enjoy the idea having demons in their cities and towns living normal lives, they'll never be inherently 'beautiful' in that mannerism. Subjective.

[DasIstWunderblyat]

A question for you? Do angel wings take after different species of birds but happens to be uniformly white, or they have same-y wings shape. It could be very interesting personal quirk on how they fly and such (or maybe something in societal level about it).

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I will spill mine below this spoiler
(I don't like talking about my own series, but probably I can write something to use for my extra chapter because of this thread, so I'll take it.)

Whale folks

Whale folks are a species of toothed whales (resembling a large raptorial sperm whale) who are capable of using magical abilities and have attained human form. They coevolute alongside human inhabitants of Planet Sandur (of Kula region), which they're almost visually indistinguishable from. Their notable magical features are their regenerative abilities, which many takes the esteemed role as healers (albeit many have various jobs). The time proportion of them being in human or whale form differ individually.

They're divided into four large communities (a.k.a 'pod.') Whale folks society are matriarchal and gynocentric; their small population mostly composed of females. Adult males often live in the periphery of their parental pod's territory, or live off grid altogether like in some nearby human cities. They generally are sociable with human and often mingle in human society. Whale folk having intimate relationships with humans is quite common, though they cannot quite hybridise.

Interpods relationship are peaceful and work more like regional division. For each five years; a new interpod leader is elected by following the list of the pod. Males used to hold some leadership positions in the past, but it changed in the recent hundred years.

My series currently feature a male whale folk.
Human form

Whale form (top)

[Shanny8]

The closest "winged: character I have [roughly] designed right now for my comic is the otherworldly entity, The Morrigan, who rules The [Forever] Moors, a vast dimensional bog/marsh wasteland of the dead.

The Morrigan was banished to that realm and cannot escape. The dead spirits that are relinquished to that realm have become her servants; she literally has enough souls that if she were to find a way to our world she could overrun and destroy humanity...

She will appear in a future chapter of Ray Thunder.

[allenT]

My critters are quite 'normal' looking in my story world.
Most are like mixture of animals & some do looked alien, but I don't want them to look mytical or extravagant to stole the spotlights of sentient bipedal animal folks.

Cutterfish, found uniquely on highland (where protagonist lives) small inter-connected creeks, has painful spikes.

This is a Dhare. rabbit like creature.

Grassmower, a slow, gentle beast of burden used for small caravans.

[Lorian]

I have fae but not all fae look like humans in my novel Only High Fae do.
For example, lesser fairies are coming in various types. The most creaturous faeries are Shadow Faeries.
They have ashen skin with fire cracking under it and their shadows are made of cinders.They can transform nightmares into reality and reality into nightmares.
Lesser fae usually have wings, High Fae don't.
The High Fae have visible and touchable auras. Lorian can kill with it, forming it into all consuming darkness.
The animals in human world conquered by High Fae are literally monsters now, infested by mushrooms and rot.

[mythgital-creatures]

My most featured species in my stories are the Draman, which are the more humanoid dragon, part human and part dragon.
I actually did get asked the question once whether they will get the chance to see a 'dragon' parent but I replied that it's not a thing unless adopted as they are their own unique specie as they were a creation by a god where he messed with genetics of human and particular types of dragons. Draman are only compatible with each other or maybe human but that is rare.
There is 8/9 species with unique traits and abilities there is Western, Eastern, Runic, Tropic, Swamp, Frost, Legendary (name is actually unknown) and Fae (named but extinct). The 9 part is to do with a folklore tale of heaven and hell but does a 9th really exist? All are capable of taking on a dragon form. I will be here forever talking about them individually.
Being a creation of god would make people think they are perfect but they have flaws, whether flaws in the eyes of the creator or flaws due to the potent nature of the dragon genetics.

Something that is slowly being covered over the course of the stories, who are the dragons of choice and so on.
I do also have other type of characters which are human, anthro, types of fantasy creatures and feral creatures. Aiming to bring a good variety which will appear in the various stories.

[helldancer]

Thanks a lot for all the additional information!
That's really an interesting concept. Do all the shapeshifters know when a Dunamis is born? And does a Dunamis have to make decisions for his kin? Since they live in colonies, I think they have some kind of regional leader?
Ahaha, sorry if I'm too curious.

Yeah, you can always relying on humans to be too self-centered to be aware of such differences.
And this cloaking ability sounds powerful!

So the shapeshifters are friendly towards humankind, but just don't want to get into focus?
Heh, good they're experienced in technology too!

[helldancer]

Energy wings! That's cool.
No wonder they can be used as weapons, they really seem powerful.

Not that sure how it works with the proxy. Are these humans? Willingly, forced? Or am I all on the wrong way.
If you like, I would like to hear more.

[helldancer]

Levitating fairies, sounds kind of cute.

Ooooh, interesting take on the angels and demons!
I like it, when clichés are "broken", here the angels, usually the "good guys", as mindless killing machines and demons as monsters turned to (kind of) humans.
Ah, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right?

So, humans know about demons living among them? And what do they have to do with angels, do they ever meet them?

Thanks for sharing!

[helldancer]

Thank you for sharing!
Was the Morrigan banished to the Forever Moors because she was powerful (and dangerous) before, or is she just now planning to overrun/ destroy humanity (kind of because of her banishment)?
Hope it's okay to ask.

Oh, and you can share any fantasy creatures you like, not only winged ones. That was just for example, sorry for the confusion.

[helldancer]

Uh, seems like I wouldn't like to encounter those fish.
The Dhare and the Grassmower look really cute!

Thanks a lot for sharing!

Ah, and if I got it right, your protagonists are not "normal" humans too (cause you called them "sentient bipedal animal folks")? Would you like to share some facts about them too?

[helldancer]

Aww, thank you for your question!
In fact, the angel wings all have the same white, feathery, bird-like form. But when it comes to demons, the wings are all different, some more like birds, some more like bats, some even like insects.
Some demons are too vain to show their wings, if they don't fit the appearance they want to have. But it's more about personal taste than about society. (Okay, some demons can't fly, their wings just won't carry them; they are sometimes looked down upon.)
There is one demon (demonlord to be exact) whos wings are really pretty (in contrast to his behavior ), a bit like those of a dragonfly, colorful and iridescent. They make it possible for him to stand in the air; an ability other demons need additional power/ shadow magic for.

Oooh, it's a pity you don't like to talk about your story! From what I've read you've put a lot of thought and detail into your species and their society/ interactions with humans.
I don't want to force you to write more or drag the infos into the open, so I won't ask questions.
But I want to say at least a big Thank you! for sharing!

[helldancer]

Oh, wow, these Shadow Faeries sound like they have a terrifying appearance!
But we all know that this doesn't mean they're the most dangerous.
The ability to transform nightmares/ reality is fascinating! So is the concept of these auras that can be even used as weapons.
Ooh, so the animals still look a lot like they used too, but kind of corrupted now, if I remember right?

Thank you for sharing!

[helldancer]

Whoa, seems like you have a very rich world with lots of interesting creatures/ species!
Thanks a lot for sharing!

Just to clarify for me: The Draman are a god-created species, but it's not one, but eight (or nine ) different forms of them?
Do they prefer to live as humans or dragons? Or is this something that is different from form to form/ person to person?
Do they live beneath other species or do they live usually among their own kind? Do the species forms mix?

Ahaha, sorry for being so curious.

[kyupol]

Willingly for angels but for demons, as long as "legal rights" are established. By that meaning, you must sin and by sinning you "sign" the "legal contract" with or without your actual "consent". And the more your sins, the more demons you get in both quantity or quality.

In both cases, like attracts like. There has to be some "chemistry" between proxy and demon/angel

[mythgital-creatures]

Thank you! And that is fine, I don't mind answering some questions
For the first question, yes there is 8(9) different species, they have similarities here and there but each specie has their own unique traits in terms of abilities and appearance. Example that Eastern species are more based off of Oriental dragons while Western are more European dragons and it goes on.
Second answer: They stay in their main humanoid form as their dragon forms can be draining, so the dragon form is taken on in situations as it requires a lot. The forms tend to be triggered in intense emotions or tough situations, there can be a rare few that don't need these requirements.
Third answer: They can happily live with each other and with non-Draman species, some can be spotted in other regions living out their lives. This doesn't apply to Legendary and Frost species though, Legendary live a solitude lifestyle with their own kind in the mountains. Meanwhile the Frost species are the only type to withstand the harsh cold environments so they are the only ones to exist with the feral creatures that roam the icy region.
Crossbreeds are actually rare due to how they naturally have interests in their own respective species, though sometimes they can develop love interests for a different Draman species.

Feel free to ask anymore questions

[helldancer]

Oh, okay, I see! Seems very fitting for me. Thank you for explaining!

[helldancer]

Ah, thanks a lot for your explanations!
1) I see. I have ideas what Swamp Draman or Frost Draman could mean. Could you give me an example for Runic Draman? What are their treats?
2) So the human form (with some dragonic features?) is the "default", but they can go full dragon, cool! Is their dragon form taller than the human form and do they change their abilities (I don't know, gaining fire breath or something )?
3) Makes a lot of sense!

Again, thank you for sharing.

[allenT]

They're just anthros (furries)
Mostly mammalians, then reptilians/amphibians & avians (flightless for a big percentages of avians). Most of them have 4 digits per arm/leg , avians mostly have 5 digits per arm (big pseudo fingers) & 4 digits per leg (looks better on the design). Sometimes they have unique species (like hybrids of 2 or more animals) or unusual colors.

[helldancer]

Oh, so quite a variety!
Sounds like an interesting world to be. Thank you for the additional information!