I just realized that as a parrot owner, there’s a public service I should have performed a long time ago.
This is of course all how it works for real-world feather owners. By nature, any
human that has wings and can fly is a fantasy critter, so the real-world
rules don’t apply to them except insofar as you want them to. Also, feathered wings are of course not the only type of wings. But I hope you find this at least entertaining and maybe inspiring!* Feathers smell kinda dusty, even when they’re still in.
* Feathers are ‘dead’ structures–like human hair that has already grown in. If you cut one, the feather’s owner won’t feel it. If you pull it out, it’ll sting but not do real damage.
* On the other hand, they’re still attached to the feather-owner at the follicle, so they can still feel it when the feather is touched. In fact, much like fur, this translates the sensation a little bit into the skin, making them fairly sensitive to touch.
* Parts of a feather: there is the shaft–the long rigid bit up the middle. The soft hairlike bits that come off either side of it are called barbs. Each barb also has tiny ‘barbules’ which come off the sides of that and are what make the feather sides stick together in those sleek shapes when you stroke it.
Oh PA, now I want all of the wingfic.
You know, I honestly tried to write wingfic a couple of times. But all I ended up with was communal-grooming awkwardness and then I got derailed with trying to imagine functional sex positions when people have these enormous yet easily sprained 20 foot pinions on their backs.
And then I was like…how would they fold without dragging in the dirt? What do chairs look like? Wait, does this mean humans have six limbs? ARE WE INSECTS IN THIS FREAKISH WORLD I HAVE BUILT?
And then it never got finished.
“What do chairs look like” turns out to be a real stickler.
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