finally got back into my alien stuff. i haven't drawn pegasi in like months so pardon how crusty inconsistent the atleast first image is
pegasus expressions are mostly in their lips and facial feathers. their jowl fins are mobile indicators, raising mostly of anger or shock. tightening the lips and showing the teeth also has negative connotations, i imagine they've had a hard time getting over the way humans smile. their lower eyelid lifting to smile is inspired by actual birds doing that (see: those videos of like pigeons getting pet or something lots of them tend to raise their lower eyelids out of comfort, thought it also has to do with being sleepy i think who knows you get it)
facial feathers bristling is similar to blushing in a way, just indicative of large emotional arousal (negative or positive)
random fun facts about the second image the lady in the dull blue cape is mixed ethnicity (khurol-zechka) and the punkass kids' feathers are a teeny bit duller than average, they slowly grow into their colors as they age and these are like. the equivalent of 15 yo emos i guess
extra yappery under cut, tw for non-graphic mentions of genitalia and modesty standards based on sex positions
terminology refresh: flares are males and gales are females
pegasus modesty compared to ours is pretty chill given the fact half of them don't have external genitals and feathers coat their body. most of the time nobody will mind if a gale walks around nude, but flares are legally required to wear "underwear"/those weird stupid pants due to the presence of a phallus (even if retractable).
what they consider "revealing" comes from their mating position (not pictured because i'm not drawing aliens fucking heart emoji) similar to that of mounting like with birds (and most other animals for that matter). its not as strict, you're pretty much just required to cover your junk if you're a flare and thats it - though it still is of weird reception to see one walking around in nothing but pants, and usually even taken poorly outside of the mating season. flares' dewlaps and throats have connotations (wow i really like the word connotations) related to courtship and chick-rearing, therefore covering it off-season and in the workplaces is seen as aknowledging that its currently not the time for that. their crop is also there, which they produce crop milk from for their chicks (hence the associating flare throats with children) so technically,, its like their boobs i guess? gales are allowed to walk around naked because while that does mean their cloaca is out around in the open air, the length and tilt of their tail covers it from view entirely and obviously its not acceptable to hole flash in public.
their idea of "skimpy" clothing is slightly different than ours - shaped by what they find sexualish on the body, yes - but its more about the idea of wearing clothes and still choosing to not cover that area, kind of like an invitation or putting emphasis on it. a gale with an intentional back window is more obviously sexy than just a gale not wearing clothes likely because they're doing a sweaty (they do kind of sweat!) job or its hot as hell outside.
pegasi can see UV and lots of their clothes have hidden UV patterns or atleast look more striking to their eyes than our trichromat ones. they favor cold colors as their perception toward reds and browns is poor, non-neon orange is on thin ice and yellow is their most easily seen warm color even if it still depends a little on brightness.
pegasi are not extremely conservative dressers and people can wear whatever they want but colorful clothing, more accessories, makeup/body paint and more coverage is seen as masculine, whereas muted, sometimes dark, less excessive clothing is seen as feminine. this heightens during the mating season but both of them cover less of their bodies by then. flares strive to look bright and flashy, and gales aim to appear big and strong. modern day broads won't really care much if you're painting your stripes/dewlap as long as you're hot enough in general, but it still persists in some places and used to be rather popular that utilizing makeup in courtship is disgraceful or cheating, like catfishing kinda. flares will cover their throats back up after they've selected a mate for the season (they only stay together until the eggs hatch) or just never have revealed it in general, those that don't wish to draw sexual attention themselves continue on dressing like in the off-season, perhaps even exaggerating it with dark/pitch black pieces as a crystal clear sign they don't want to be a part of all this. three cheers for asexual alien pterosaurs
common accessories include neck jewelry, hoof paint/body paint in general (masculine), beak clamps/pigments (feminine), rings and leg adornments (unisex). will go over body mods some sunny day. i dont know what else to say im really tired im gonna go bury my face in my musty mattress toodaloo
random fanart for @ophidiacomic. this looked better in my head but ummm Pipey and the creepy man who keeps telling her she's gonna die. i think about them alot
yeah idk i watched the old Animal Farm movie back in like either february or january and this has been in my head since. only got around to finishing it now
and no i don't wanna suck Orwell's balls i know he was a shitty guy but stalinist allegory animals go hard ok
pegasus speech stuffs. most don't attempt to speak through their mouths at all, but some in multispecies spaces have tried to pick it up to imitate humans or whatever else they live by that doesn't talk through throat holes. their speech kind of sounds like voice-mimicking ravens or crows
