Apodemia

adopted by khaleesi
A P O D E M I A
She's tired of hearing the phrase "for a SilkWing."
You're pretty for a SilkWing, they say, looking at her copper-burnished scales. You're smart for a SilkWing, they say, watching her ace her exams. And it goes on and on. They don't see her for who she is. They see her for who she belongs to. And she's tired of it.
She's tired of it all.
This OC belongs to Stardust. Do not steal or face Apodemia's wingless wrath.
Apodemia 	Apodemia
 	
Artist 	Reverb!
Background Information	Background Information
Creator 	Stardust
Main Attribute 	Inner strength
Elemental Attributes 	Thorny barriers / wilted leaves / a tree all alone on a barren landscape / the calm before the storm
Theme Colors 	Dark brown / rich chestnut / faded gold / shining bronze / sooty gray / copper
Theme Animal 	Tigress
Theme Song 	
MBTI Personality 	ISTJ-T
Aesthetics 	Candles in the dark / a crouching cat, poised to spring / ripped butterfly wings / staying up all night / the furious scratching of a quill against paper / a crackling fire, small but bright
Character Information 	Character Information
Age 	9 D.Y.
Gender 	Female
Orientation 	
Tribe 	SilkWing
Goal 	To get equal rights for SilkWings
Residence 	Mantis Hive
Occupation 	Servant to a wealthy HiveWing family
Relatives 	Skipper (father), Brush (mother)
Likes 	Freedom / being alone / social justice / independence
Dislikes 	Herself / servitude / being treated as inferior
Allies 	Buzz, other SilkWings
Enemies 	Almost all HiveWings
Powers and abilities 	Normal SilkWing abilities, academically gifted
Weapons 	Her sharp tongue
Ships 	Apodemia x Buzz
A P P E A R A N C E
I hate what Wasp did to me.
Apodemia cuts a slender figure among the dragons of Mantis Hive. Just like all the other SilkWings, she bows her head and hurries along next to her mistress, but there's a spark in her. A rebellious spirit that wants to fight back.
She carries herself with a very unique air. Her posture may look docile, with her dipped head and slouched back, but Apodemia only does that to look "normal" and avoid punishment. If someone were to make eye contact, they would be overwhelmed by the rebellion in her, her fierce soul that would be barely evident otherwise.
Painfully skinny, Apodemia is underweight, but she can't seem to bring her numbers up. Adding to that fragile, shattered air, she's rather short for her age, standing about a foot below most other dragons. She strongly dislikes her appearance, but she's pretty much stuck with it.
Contrasting the other dragons of her tribe's shiny, colorful scales, Apodemia has tawny brown mainscales with hints of caramel, reminiscent of her namesake. Near the ends of her legs, tail, and head, her scales fade into an ashy gray, giving her the air of being dipped in soot.
Apodemia's underscales are a dark shade of goldenrod, and the inside of her ears, antennae, and bases of her wings are the same color. Her horns and spine spikes are the color of charcoal.
Perhaps one could say that besides her odd coloring, Apodemia has three defining traits.
The first: her eyes. Apodemia's pupils are a bright amber, shot through with golden. She doesn't often look up from the ground, but if you are unlucky enough to be on the receiving end of the death stare, let's just say you would want to steer clear of her for a long time.
The second: her feet. Dark ashy gray, dappled with white flecks like she just stepped in snow. The end of her tail bears these same flecks and coloring as well.
The third: her wings. Or rather, what's left of them. Ragged stumps, torn right down to the bone in what must have been an unimaginably painful form of torture. A reminder to all dragons: don't get on Wasp's bad side.
P E R S O N A L I T Y
Well, I think Clearsight was a stupid idiot who set her descendants up to be all-powerful dictators.
Perhaps SilkWings were born to be servants, born to bow and scrape and have endless amounts of humility. Perhaps they're known as peaceful and gentle, always the peacemakers of a fight.
Alas, Apodemia couldn't be farther from this trope.
At a party, she could be found sitting in the corner as far away from the action as she could get. She's not a huge fan of socializing, and she makes this starkly clear by snapping at unlucky dragons who try to start a conversation with her. As a result, many tend to steer clear of her and the snarky reputation she's carved out for herself. She manages to evade punishment every time due to her benevolent (kind of) masters, though many dragons think it's only a matter of time.
She's painfully sensitive about her ripped-off wings, and if anyone unsuspectingly brings it up, she'll practically bite their head off. When Apodemia's wings were removed, a part of her heart was too, and now she tries to avoid mirrors at all costs. When others confront her about this, she'll scoff and change the subject, but she's really just trying to push down her insecurities and hoping they'll fade away.
Apodemia hides the fact that she has almost zero self-esteem. From her coloring to her personality to her disability, she sees herself as useless in practically every way. She tries to improve herself, a shallow effort, because deep down she thinks she's beyond help. On the outside, she tries to compose herself after lashing out - but on the inside, there's a voice telling her that a leopard can't change its spots.
Apodemia is unusually fierce, and could even be considered aggressive. On good days, she's prickly; on bad days, you wouldn't even want to see her. It's not uncommon for her to make threats against dragons she dislikes, making others view her in a negative light. She's not afraid of much and tends to jump into situations without really thinking it through, being unable to bear seeing cruelty of almost any kind.
She's a bit of a nepotist, usually only seeing the bad side of things. Her sense of humor reflects this, being dark but surprisingly funny. Apodemia has a tendency to rain on other dragons' parades, but surprisingly, this isn't because she wants them to feel bad - rather, the opposite. Her intentions may be misguided, but she firmly believes that dragons should be aware of the horrors of the world, and nobody should be sugarcoating anything.
As a result, Apodemia is a very practical dragon. She's not inclined to believe conspiracy theories or myths of magic, and she'll usually compile a mental list of evidence quickly as to why these things are false. If concepts are unattainable, she believes, then why waste your time? This doesn't mean she has no creativity, of course - it just means she doesn't value imagination as much as others may.
The SilkWing is passionate about one thing: rights for her tribe. She may seem like an introvert - which she is - but mention cruelty, and she'll launch into a tirade of how unfairly SilkWings are treated. She believes in this cause so much, in fact, that it's what made her wind up with no wings in the first place. When it comes to debates about this, she has a sharp tongue that could give anyone a verbal lashing.
Apodemia values her last shred of dignity above anything else, and is too proud to ever beg anyone for help. When faced with a problem, she'll always try to work it out herself, minimizing contact with other dragons. She's also extremely stubborn and won't ever change her mind to humor someone else. Even if she's in an argument and realizes it's wrong, she'd keep arguing anything, no matter the odds stacked against her.
Unfortunately, she has absolutely no filter, always speaking whatever's on her mind regardless of how hurtful it is. She doesn't care what others think of her; so long as she pleases herself. Or so she says.
S T A T S
Do I miss flying? Sure. I'd rather be flying right now than, say, talking to you.
STRENGTHS
SilkWing abilities: Apodemia possesses the vast majority of her tribal abilities. Shooting silk from her wrists, detecting vibrations with her antennae. She doesn't often use these abilities for recreation, instead using them to serve her masters.
Sharp intellect: Apodemia went to a normal SilkWing school, but her brain is quick and picks up new knowledge easily. Her HiveWing friend taught her many things that her tribe wouldn't learn otherwise, so as a result, she has a lot of knowledge and intelligence.
Perseverance: No matter what happens, Apodemia never gives up on anything - except maybe herself. Nothing can hold her back from her goals, and she'll work tirelessly to get something done. She's also very stubborn and closed-minded, a side effect of this quality.
WEAKNESSES
Flightlessness: Due to the punishment delivered by Queen Wasp, Apodemia lost both wings, now only possessing a pair of ragged nubs. She won't ever fly again, which she does feel sad about, despite what she may say. From time to time, 'phantom pains' still haunt her.
Low self-esteem: Apodemia is remarkably insecure about herself. She sees herself as scarred, broken, irreparably shattered. A paradox haunts her: she's acutely aware of all her flaws, but she's still too stuck in the past to try and fix them. Stuck in limbo, refusing to leave.
Insensitivity: Brutal honesty is one of her core character traits, meaning Apodemia will speak whatever's on her mind, even if it hurts. She doesn't particularly care about the feelings of others, seeing them as wishy-washy and weak. To her, the world is black and white, right and wrong. She intends to make that clear to the world.
H I S T O R Y
We're going to fight back.
For such a unique SilkWing, Apodemia was a remarkably mundane dragonet.
Skipper and Brush were as normal as can be. Two average SilkWings met at their average jobs, fell into an average love and laid an average egg. The dragonet that emerged was average too, bright, bubbly, and never questioning the casual cruelty of the HiveWings around her. Sure, her colors were dull, but Apodemia liked them, and she was always chirping about how excited she was for her wings to come in.
She grew up happily, attending a SilkWing dragonet school in Mantis Hive and working as a servant for a wealthy HiveWing family. They taught her propaganda instead of the truth, but of course, Apodemia didn't know that. Her life was one of blissful ignorance, unaware of the struggles in the outside world. That is, until they were brought into her very own home.
Brush began running into difficulties at her HiveWing-supervised job, and these spilled over into their home. She was pushed under more and more stress, which manifested as heated arguments - about the HiveWings at first, Skipper on their side and Brush on her own, but over time, the focus shifted to them. To their family. Little Apodemia wasn't sure of much, but one thing was clear: whatever was happening to her parents' love, it was the HiveWings' fault.
The day before Apodemia turned two, Skipper and Brush had their biggest argument yet and parted ways a week later. Apodemia stayed with her father. Brush struck out on her own.
This experience left an imprint on Apodemia. She learned lots of things that other dragonets might not have picked up on. A: The HiveWings were not as good as they seemed if they broke apart her family like that. And B: Romantic love was not a thing to be trusted.
After that, Apodemia grew up more cautiously, and this time she noticed things. She saw the way HiveWings treated SilkWings like machines, trusting them to do whatever they said. She saw the way SilkWings treated HiveWings like gods, never questioning them, no matter what they did. And she saw herself: an intellectual dragonet, looking at the basis of her world and wondering why.
She grew angry. How could she not, when her tribe was being treated like this?
One day, when Apodemia was four years old, she lashed out at the HiveWing she was working for, a dragonet about her age. When she told Apodemia to get her water absentmindedly, like she didn't even care, the SilkWing snapped and yelled at her. "Do your own work!" she spat. And the HiveWing, spooked, fled.
Apodemia didn't feel guilty until the HiveWing came back. To her surprise, she apologized for treating her insensitively, and introduced herself as Buzz. They weren't close, at first, but when Apodemia found out that Buzz was struggling with her homework, she helped her, at the HiveWing's request. And in return Buzz excitedly offered to a not-so-excited Apodemia to teach her extra knowledge. The things HiveWings learned, and SilkWings didn't. This was an uncommon occurrence, and Apodemia accepted.
After this incident, they remained the same in the public eye, but privately, they were best of friends. Buzz was overjoyed to have a new friend, being the extroverted ball of happiness she was. And Apodemia? Apodemia was hesitant, of course, to admit that she found someone she could trust. If anyone asked her if they were close, she'd snap "No." But this was a lie. Turns out, she liked Buzz too.
Flash forward two years, to Apodemia's sixth birthday, the two of them still thick as thieves. She got her wings, and she walked around with a smile on her face for a week. They were beautiful, a smattering of brown and copper and gold onto something as gorgeous as stained glass. She went flying with Buzz every day, relishing her new freedom.
Around this time, a social justice rally broke out in Mantis Hive. It was incredibly unusual to see something like this, a massive crowd of SilkWings hollering for their rights, the amount of mind-controlled HiveWings simply not enough to restrain them. Apodemia, fearlessly excited, jumped right in. Buzz did too, her loyal companion.
The march was cleared up in a few minutes, but Apodemia thought about it for days. She joined the Chrysalis and quickly rose to the top of the rankings, despite her young age. She was a compassionate speaker, empathetic yet firm, strong-willed and unflinching. In the darkest corners of the Hive, she began stirring up rebellion, getting more and more SilkWings to join the movement.
After a year of this, the Mantis Hive Chrysalis had amassed nearly 80 members, double its original size, almost solely because of Apodemia. And she decided to lead a march, the thing that had gotten her into social justice in the first place.
They stampeded through the streets, roaring for justice, for freedom, Apodemia in the lead and Buzz at her side because of her staunch refusal to leave. It was terrifying, but also electrifying, the surge of pride that shot through Apodemia's veins. This was her tribe, fighting for their freedom. For a moment, she thought they were winning. She thought Wasp was listening.
Then Buzz's eyes flickered white, and all her hope died.
"I take care of you," Wasp/Buzz hissed, her tongue flicking out from between her teeth in a very un-Buzz-like way. "I give you work. I give you lodging. And this is how you repay me."
Apodemia, trembling, found the courage to stand up to her. She didn't know how. Perhaps it was because, well, it was Buzz. Her friend would never hurt her.
"Set us free," she said, her voice shaking. "We won't bother you again." (This was a lie.)
"Enough," Wasp said silkily. Buzz's body stalked toward Apodemia, who felt a flicker of horror at seeing her best friend look at her like... this. "You have defied me too many times." Her tongue flicked out, tasted the air again. "I see you in the shadows, recruiting SilkWings. A futile attempt." Her eyes focused on the SilkWing, dangerous, deadly. "After today, you will never rebel again."
After that, Apodemia only remembers pain, screaming, and the numbness of sleep.
She woke up to the sound of sobbing. The plaza was empty, all the other SilkWings having fled. Buzz had her head buried in her talons and was crying, her tears dripping onto the ground. The ground stained crimson...
The HiveWing lifted her head and seemed to break down at the sight of Apodemia muzzily waking up. "I'm sorry," she wailed. "This is my fault. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."
Apodemia followed her gaze along a spattering of blood. To her wings, her beautiful wings, shining in the light. Detached from her body. Ripped off as a punishment by Wasp. By Buzz.
Pain in her spine was triggered by that sight. Terrible, gnawing, roaring pain, clawing at her insides, howling as the ghost of what had once been.
She felt faint, and she lost consciousness once more.
She woke up in her father's house, Skipper watching her with a concerned look. Apodemia broke down and told him the whole story, and he reacted just as a father should: calm, collected, caring. It was bitterly ironic that it was only now his familial instincts kicked in.
Surprisingly, it didn't take all that long for Apodemia to heal. Her father confined her to bed and ordered her to stay there - a declaration that she actually followed, despite his predictions. And why wouldn't she? Her only friend was avoiding her, and she obviously couldn't go anywhere like this. But all too soon, she had stumps on her back instead of cuts, and she could stand up without being sucker punched by nausea.
Walking through Mantis Hive felt completely surreal. Apodemia was still on "break" from work, since Buzz's family had promised she could take as long off as she needed. So not having a job, going outside simply to go outside, was a new experience. In addition, the lack of her wings made her feel far more exposed. Everywhere she went, dragons stared at her. She hated it, from the bottom of her soul.
Apodemia resigned from the Chrysalis. She never wanted to march again.
During this time, at perhaps the most inappropriate time of her life, feelings began to make themselves known. She hadn't spoken to Buzz since the accident, which was probably a good thing. However, whenever Buzz crossed her mind, Apodemia wanted to feel angry, but instead she felt... giddy. Hearing the HiveWing laugh from across the marketplace sent her into a fit of smiles, despite their history.
Apodemia had no idea what this was, and she had no intention of finding out. She convinced herself that it was simply longing for a friend, nothing more. Nothing more. And if it was... love... well, it couldn't be. When her parents had fallen out of love, they had been devastated. Apodemia didn't want to go through that kind of pain. So she bottled up her feelings, ignoring the joy whenever she thought of Buzz, the strange stammering whenever she saw her. It meant nothing to her.
Eventually, Apodemia was forced to go back to work, if not for the lack of money that she and her father were suffering from. The first few days were horribly painful, a tense silence between the two of them as they went about their schedule. Apodemia refused to talk to Buzz, often turning away and leaving the HiveWing with teary eyes. (She wasn't angry, though. She was never angry. Just broken.)
But one day, Buzz cornered Apodemia in a little side street and told her she was sorry. Actually, 'told' might be too light of a word. She broke down in tears and stammered out a heartfelt apology between the sobs. Apodemia, not sure what to do, fled. Emotions were a language she'd never spoken before.
During the night, she mulled it over. On one hand, Buzz was sort of the one who had permanently maimed her. On the other hand, she hadn't meant to do it, she still wanted to be friends, she had apologized, Apodemia still had those pesky feelings, she wanted that extra knowledge...
The evidence was overwhelming.
That didn't make it easy.
The next day, Apodemia forced a smile and said hello. Buzz almost burst into tears again.
Over time, Apodemia made more of an effort to put herself out there. She managed to coax words out of herself - it was difficult at first, but conversation flowed more easily with time. Apodemia knows Buzz wasn't the one who hurt her, so that made it easier to forgive her. After a few weeks, her friendship with Buzz was as strong as ever. She returned to a daily schedule, acting as Buzz's servant in public and friend in private.
Yet there's still something missing in her life. Her wings, of course - she'll never fly again. But that day, she lost a bit of herself too. Her pride, her lust to fight back. Whenever she considers joining the Chrysalis once again, the pains come back. She'd never admit it, but she's scared now, terrified of what Wasp would do to her next.
So she plays the part of a quiet SilkWing servant while (re)forging a friendship in the shadows. Perhaps she'll rebel again, one day. But for now, she's still healing.
R E L A T I O N S H I P S
Sorry, I don't really do making friends anymore.
Skipper: Apodemia and her father drifted apart after her parents got divorced. It wasn't a conscious thing. It just... happened. The two of them floated away from each other, becoming more like distant relatives rather than father and daughter. However, after Apodemia got her wings ripped off, their relationship seemed to repair itself. Today, she still lives with him, enjoying his company and talking to him every day. They like to spend time together, talking about nothing and everything and anything in between.
Brush: After Apodemia's parents got divorced, she lost contact with her mother almost entirely, since she moved to the other side of the Hive where they wouldn't be able to see each other easily. Apodemia doesn't remember much about her mother, really, only that she was kind when she was small but argued as she grew up. Every once in a while, she sees Brush, maybe out of the corner of her eye at a marketplace or a march. But she doesn't blame her mother for tearing her family apart. No, that's the HiveWings' fault.
Buzz: The only HiveWing that Apodemia can stand, Buzz may be her only friend as well. Even though Apodemia is her servant, Buzz doesn't really act like it, laughing and joking like she's her companion instead of her master. Recently, though, Apodemia has felt... more toward Buzz. Her stomach flutters whenever they get close. She's more excited to see her than anybody else. Apodemia doesn't understand it. Is this a crush? Infatuation? Love? She has no idea, but what she does know is that she definitely doesn't look at Buzz as just a friend anymore.
The Chrysalis: Apodemia admires them all that they do. In fact, she used to be part of the Chrysalis, leading the Mantis Hive wing, giving speeches and recruiting members. But after she lost her wings, all that changed. Instead of a passion, the Chrysalis became a cruel reminder of all that she had lost, bringing her pain every time she stepped in the headquarters. So she stepped down and resigned, leaving the movement. Someday, she might go back. But right now, it's far too painful for her to even think about.
HiveWings: Apodemia despises almost all HiveWings. She thinks they're cruel slavemasters who were set up by their ancestors to be all-powerful, when the tribes should really be self-governing. Apodemia won't spit on HiveWings or anything in public, but in private, she could rant about them to Buzz for hours. However, she has a soft spot for Buzz and her parents, who she works as a servant for. They treat her well for a SilkWing, which is something she appreciates (even if she doesn't show it).
SilkWings: Even though SilkWings are technically Apodemia's kinsmen, she feels slightly resentful toward their ancestors for letting them wind up in this position in the first place. Sure, she respects them, but there's also a permanent frustration simmering just below the surface. They just don't seem to get it, that HiveWings are treating them wrong, that they need to break free. She tolerates most SilkWings (a few get on her especially bad side), but only just. She hopes to show them the truth someday.
T R I V I A
How do you know I'm weird? Maybe you're the one who's weird and I'm the one who's normal.
* Will not accept any nicknames, for her or for others
* Actually likes school
* Has a streak of dark humor, which some find offensive
* A decent weaver, though not good enough to make it her living
* Will probably continue serving the family she is today after school
* In steady denial about her crush on Buzz, believing romantic love is faulty
* Extremely good under pressure
* Enjoys arguments and debates
* A terrible dancer
* Definitely has a sweet tooth
* Desperately wishes she had flamesilk
* Fits the stereotype of "loner" and "leader" at the same time
* Usually wears a neutral expression in public
* Strongly dislikes the SilkWing stereotypes of being passive and weak
* Very protective of her possessions
* Hasn't talked to her mother since her parents split up
G A L L E R Y
And who gave you the right to criticize me? Hm?
1C2B9136-972A-4807-A658-DCA3EAC62C10.jpeg|By Lacey
CFFE798E-F023-4BAF-BD3F-05E9DDA76E5D.jpeg|By Yinjia
DC2D3059-23E7-4D21-9852-9D7A3F63A7C7.png|Jadabase colored by Twi
ApodemiaCloud.png|By Cloud
IMG 2215.png|By Wolves
ApodemiaGraphiteHeadshotByModern.jpg|By Modern
apodemia_bruh.jpg|late art by Arti
Category:SilkWings
Category:Characters
Category:Females
Category:LGBT+
Category:Disabled
Category:Occupation (Staff)
Category:Content (KhaleesiA)
Category:Status (Rebel)