hi its phantom-tamer oc again this time im just dropping a batch of things u made up for phantoms ahdvdjfm
- hypercarnivores that will regurgitate anything that isnāt meat out of their stomaches. They can drink water too, but prefer blood
- they have barbed tongues, meant for licking blood and meat off of bones and also for preening one another
- in my version theyāre not undead mobs, but their equivalent of burning in sunlight is getting blinded if theres too strong of a light source (eg sun or glowstone)
^ - if theyāre forced to look at bright sources of light they can become permanently blind within minutes :(
- phantoms generally live in groups of colonies up to 10-50 (depending on habitat, could be even more)
^ - some people refer to groups of phantoms as ānightmaresā much in the same way youād call a group of bats a cauldron :]]
- phantoms rely heavily on camouflage when hunting in groups.
^ - this also means that whenever a phantom happens to be born with albinism, it is almost always eaten no matter how old it may be
- within phantom colonies, they tend to travel around area to area but typically reside in biomes with bad weather or dense forests usually with fog. anything bright is a no no (caves are also a good nesting spot but are more risky with spiders willing to take a bite out of them)
- places where phantoms nest or reside are usually very visible: scratches on trees and torn off, mauled branches, bones littering the ground, the constant distant trilling of one.
^ - phantom nests r usually called āgraveyardsā :3
- phantoms have a VERY in depth communication system, almost akin to regular humans
^ - the most similar thing that is able to be compared to their communication system is sign languages: simple words or āmeaningsā that can string together a sentence just via specific calls, screeches, trills, etc
- their level of intelligence is the same of a 9 year old (able to recognize body language, remember faces, locate weak points on prey, etc)
^ - they can also feel emotions much the same (empathy, compassion, etc) which most people usually donāt realize about them (usually assuming its like a snake thing where they donāt feel affection) (but phantoms do!! my oc would know that with how some of her phantoms smother her in really unneeded affection)
^ - also kind of obvious but they can make really strong bonds with one another
- in my lil version they have two sets of eyes: one on top, aka the normal pair of eyes and then their bottom eyes
^ - lower eyes dont have eyelids, meaning they do the gecko lick thing, even in their sleep
- whenever they spot prey their top eyes diliate from a full green to two pinpricks of green in full black (essentially tracking their prey very closely)
- ALSO also in my version they dont have any back legs, having a somewhat wyvern shape with their bodies
^ - they perch via the claws on their wings (on like. The elbow part. or something idk what to call it)
- they have this sort of ribcage section on their bodies that is able to openā it has two main uses
1.) secretes stomach acid (which is. very strong) onto caught prey in order to soften them for biting
2.) childbirth (they just sort of spit the babies out)
- two rows of teeth (ouchie)
- male phantoms tend to be smaller in size but faster in speed, females tend to be larger (child holding reasons) (also to protect said children from potential attackers), have larger claws, and have more steady flight meant for long distances
- most colonies have some sort of leader; one that usually tends to be biggest and most brutal, and is the one that takes charge when finding new areas to nest in
- you probably guessed this already but theyāre nocturnal :33 during the day when they sleep in their dark areas they hang upside down like bats, or hold onto branches with their wings spread out
^ - they have glowing markings that look similar to eyes and use it to scare away predators (similar to moths having eye camouflage!!)
- most phantoms find strength in numbers, meaning when one finds itself lost, old, or heavily injured the rest of the colony will usually leave it behind once it either doesnāt return or is unable to fly. (Phantoms that formed a strong bond with the sick phantom will usually offer comfort and fetch one last meal for them before killing them)
- phantoms are able to mimic cries and sounds from all kinds of species, usually being cries of horses or the whining from dogs, and very rarely human screams.
^ - there have been folklore made about those screams before people found out it was from phantoms
^ - they use said screams and cries to lure unsuspecting prey in
- phantoms have their own form of mating dances and courting !! this usually occurs in winter when the weather sucks and it gets darker quicker
^ - male phantoms will offer certain kinds of trinkets to appeal to a possible mateās preference, show off to them, make a nest, or do some sort of feat to impress the potential partner
- above clouds and after hunting sessions, phantoms enjoy playing with one another (chasing, nipping one anotherās tails, interlocking tails and going into free fall with one another for a moment, races, etc)
- baby phantoms are the sized of month-old kittens when first born :3 their diet also mainly consists of bugs and rodents until growing larger and consuming bigger prey
i love these vulture sized man eating blue wyverns .okay ramble over thanks š£ļøā¼ļø
You inspired me! Iām at work so itās on paper, but hereās some sketches!
I love the idea of phantoms being likeā¦ vulture sized. Perfect to pick up under an arm. Theyād be really nice to use similarly to falconsā probably good to bring in to catch stray vexes or birds or whatnot!
I have made a couple headcanons off of yours, so feel free to bounce them around if you donāt have them already!
- Phantoms likely are a sort ofā¦ bat/snake mixture (I had some shark ideas tooā face shape or teeth!) My drawings are somewhatā¦ bat/snake/dragon/lizard/shark/bird comboā¦ a lot of elements, lol.
- Theyāre surprisingly light for their size, averaging roughly 10-20 pounds (more similar to wild turkeys rather than condors, and perhaps lighter bones for easier flight)
- They have talons and feet similar to owls, with their third digit able to rotate so they can have it in the front or back for better grip on prey. They prefer to fly firstly, then crawl, then walkā theyāre usually in the air!
- Maybe they could spit venom also? Like how you said with the stomach acidā they might just be able to spit it on cue, because itās a little more accessible and would make their bites more of a nuisance to people. Good for defense too, especially for baby phantoms!
- On that note, they prefer to bite rather than claw. Theyāre notorious for their bites, with those rows of razor-sharp teeth (not to mention the bite strength of like. A parrot, if given a good shot), but they sometimes use their talons to pick up smaller prey like rabbits, chickens, parrots, baby animals in general, etc etc. Iād think theyād mostly eat on the spot, preferring to cache tiny little bits of food (or eating a good fill and keeping it in their crop for later) rather than trying to lug around whole killsā¦? Like. Eat a rabbit foot instead of carry a rabbit back, if thatās anything?
- Maybe they lay eggs? I feel like theyād have a good brood patch of sorts going on, their underbelly being super warm.
- Their outer ribs/bones thing going on is either the ends of their spinal column poking out for defense against predators (perhaps activated at will with the ribs, like that one newt species), some good coloration, or maybe even semi-translucent skin/scales!
- You mentioned second eyes! When I think of that, I imagine them to be more like iguanasā something sort of vestigial, a simple eye that detects movement and brightness. That way, they can stay alert to subtle changes that they might be blinded by something soon!
- If they get blinded as you say, rather than burning up as in game, I can only imagine the chaos after a sunrise when the phantoms are out late. Youād probably end up with a bunch of injured and half-blind phantoms on your doorstep (does your oc rehabilitate?).
- Their tailās a little longer to act like a rudder! Instead of flapping sporadically like a bat, I feel theyād flap a little slower, but more determinedā¦ maybe even like swifts? Like, capable of gliding up at super big heights up in the wind columns, but theyād dive down and flap like sparrows to get back up to where they were to get another shot at it.
Thatās all I can think of right this second, and itās a pretty long train of thought! I havenāt really proofread all that much because Iām working a lot this week, but Iāll have more time soon! Thanks for your asks, I love hearing about it, phantom anon :) (phanon? Who knows) Anyways, have some drawings!
