Would love to hear your thoughts on Pandoran leather/what critters would make the best leather also very important question of would Elias ever gift Vaughn one of his leather work creations
PANDORAN LEATHER IS SO FASCINATING TO ME I have Thoughts and Ideas. I'm not a big expert on leather, so bear with me.
Right off the bat, the worst leather would probably be whatever you could take from a rakk hive. Too rough and blemish-y to really be worth the effort that would go into skinning one. Let alone killing one
Skag skin is too easy, but it makes sense, considering that its use is mentioned in canon, and most likely super easy (comparatively) to source it. Reliable, tough, but scaly. It's probably used for hyper-specific purposes. Like rabbit pelts. You wouldn't make a belt with a rabbit in the same way you (probably) wouldn't make a coat from a skag.
Rakk are an immediate no, since I think most wouldn't really produce enough to be useful. Outside of being decorative, but does anyone want to decorate with rakk? probably not.
I really want to say bullymong hide would be a good option for leather, because it's probably thick, there's plenty of it, and it's got that pretty blue color to it that I can imagine would tan to a really nice color, but I'm put off by the fact that theyre like. a step away from primates. at least visually. If I was into the idea, this would be my pick for best leather, but...? Do I really want to say that? Maybe
Threshers and stalkers are both relatively scaly, but their scales aren't as intense as skag scales. Threshers- presumably being something like amphibians as we know them- probably aren't a good option. The skin would be too porous and it would need to be constantly moisturized to keep it from falling apart. Useless. Stalkers are probably the best option based on process of elimination. The only issue is that they don't seem to be as widespread as skags, but otherwise they have similar qualities and fewer scales. Their "wings" are implied to have pretty sturdy membrane stretched over them too (if i remember correctly), so it might be just as valuable, if not more so, than the rest of the hide- which I assume would behave something like a thicker (and slightly smoother) snakeskin once treated. Still wouldn't make a coat with it.
As for the kind of things Elias might make for Vaughn... Harnesses, belts, perhaps a nice holster... Practical stuff mostly. They're very focused on practicality in their work. Sometimes though I think they might use scrap pieces to make bracelets and other little accessories. They claim it's to reduce waste, but it's also nice to be able to sell little things like that for a quick buck. Side hustle.
