Night furies are actually perfectly evolved for hunting and killing other dragons and the only reason they aren't a dragon-hunting species like the death song or deathgrippers are is because DreamWorks couldn't have their adorable main character dragon be a "cannibal"
(below I'm gonna try to summarize what we've figured out in a convo with friends on discord)
(also tw animal death via predator)
First of all yes I'm aware that pretty much every decision made about their design was with consideration of the effect it would make on human audiences but hear me out
Night furies are most iconically known as dive-bombers. They are built for speed, high maneuverability, night-time camouflage and for striking targets from above. If we remove human settlements out of the equation (which would not have existed long enough to actually influence night fury evolution, come on), what does that leave us with?
They aren't built for catching fish for sure, they aren't very hydrodynamic and their head is round, wide, and their teeth are dull. Honestly, the monstrous nightmare is much better suited for catching fish, with its long neck, almost pelican-like jaw and rhamphorhynchus teeth
Compare to
Yeah the jaws look kinda like a porpoise of some sort but for that the whole body would have to be a lot more aquatic imo. The light fury looks a lot closer to an aquatic diver, it has a sleeker body, rounded fins instead of spikes, and a long neck.
I don't really see them hunting land animals either, they just don't look like they're adapted for that minus the resemblance with large felines and even then, they're too large to effectively hunt in forests.
The one thing I can kinda imagine them hunting is large mainland megafauna, but we're working with a setting that takes place pretty much exclusively on islands. And overall, dragons are the only abundant species there with the exception of fish and human-bred sheep and chickens.
In general, night furies have duller teeth, smaller claws and are smaller than most dragons. Disregarding the movies making Toothless weirdly OP, a night fury would be disadvantaged against most dragons in a 1v1 fight and besides, it has four huge weak spots that would highly discourage it from a direct physical fight - the primary and secondary tail fins. One unlucky rip in the membrane and the night fury is fucked.
The night fury however noticeably resembles falcons, given their dive-bombing ability and high maneuverability.
Falcons too have smaller beaks and weaker claws compared to most birds of prey, and for that they compensate by simply picking up speed, balling up their talons and Punching. Really. Hard.
And they use that ability to kill other birds, even much larger ones, by knocking them right from the sky.
Here, the night fury's plasma blast works the same way as a falcon's punch. Dragons are fire-resistant, so what the plasma blast does is really just a densely packed bolt of energy that has the effect of either stunning or outright killing prey by damaging its spine. And what the plasma bolt doesn't do, rapid contact with the ground would finish. And if even that doesn't do it, the night fury's wide jaws and dull teeth are just fine for simply clamping around the unlucky dragon's neck and strangling it, like a lion or a pitbull.
The night-time camouflage allows the night fury to soar for extended periods of time perfectly unnoticed in the night sky, and by the time it strikes, the dragon wouldn't even know what's coming.
Unless
Say the hunting night fury is aware of other dragons sleeping under the trees, as most dragons probably would at night (village raids aside, most dragons seem to be diurnal), so how does the night fury get them in position where it can use its signature attack? Well, there's That Iconic Screech Of Death. Since in the movies it tends to appear not just during dive-bombings but also when charging up a blast, I imagine it's something the night fury is able to control to some degree. So by simply fake-diving in close proximity to sleeping dragons, it can effectively terrify them into leaving their hideout and fly out into the open where it can easily take them out.
I dunno, the possibility of night furies as predators to other dragons just makes so much sense to me, I really don't know what other reasons there would be for them to evolve these particular adaptations.
And one more little headcanon to add to this whole rant - since night furies are significantly smaller and less equipped for dragon vs dragon fights and are primarily speed-based predators, I imagine there is this very likely scenario:
There is one dragon who resembles a hyena, a lil bit
Whumpee kneeling in front of Caretaker, gazing up at them with the most pathetic puppy dog eyes, pleading for Caretaker to keep them. Please. Please don’t send them back, please let them stay, they’d be so good, they’d do anything they wanted.
A/N: My newborn nephew owns my life rn but I was able to write a blurb(?) for the white boi of the month and since it’s 4th of July it still counts as Jason’s birthday he is THE american boy -Danny
Warnings: Spoilers for the BIg Fish movie and playful death threats (affectionate)
Hiya! Here a late Christmas present I guess??? It is kinda short?? Also I suck at titles.
Request:
Jason: ‘Are you still awake?’
Hope you enjoy!
-Asnyox
’Are you still awake?‘ No of course you wouldn’t be. You had a tiring day after all. Jason thought about how you asked him to teach you how to fight with a sword. Jason agreed on teaching, and he must say he didn’t go easy on you. But you seemed to appreciate it when people won’t go easy on you. And if they did go easy, you would make sure that they wouldn’t anymore for the next time.
Jason smiled to himself. You were so stubborn sometimes. But that is one of the things he loves about you. He also loved how you would put others before yourself, or how you would smile when you told somebody a joke. Adorable.
Jason remembered the first time he met you. You had befriended Leo while working on the Argo II, and Leo had asked you if you maybe would want to go play games with him and Leo. According to Leo you had agreed, but when he saw you, you were anxious and already looking for ways to leave. Jason asked you if you were alright, and you nodded a bit extensively. Just when it was getting awkward Leo came in with the games. At the end of the day you came up to Jason and apologized for being so tense. Jason had waved the apology of, and told you to just come and find him if you ever wanted to talk.
Jason moved some hairs out of your face. You opened your eyes a bit. ‘Jay? Why are you still awake?’ You mumbled softly. Jason stayed silent, wondering if he waked you. ‘Couldn’t sleep?’ you asked, sitting up a bit. You were about to rub in your eyes with your hand, when Jason grabbed your wrist. ‘Don’t. Go back to sleep.’ He kindly ordered you. ‘Not without you.’ You told him.
Jason pulled you close to his chest. ‘Alright.’ Jason whispered. You felt him press a small kiss on your head, and smiled. Engulfed in the warmth and smell of your boyfriend, you closed your eyes to go back to your peaceful slumber.
Most of these weren’t technically requested because y’all weren’t aware we were making them, however, you cannot tell me that these aren’t dating headcanons and therefore I will add a request to this one.
Pairing: Jason Grace x reader
Request: Dating jason grace headcanons maybe?? tyy!!
Warnings: None
Word count: 1.8K
→ synopsis ; you couldn’t have slipped from his grasp that easily, could you ? surely it was a nightmare, something so horrid could never happen in real life, right ? jason thinks so. so, where were you ?
→ request ; jason grace x reader angst-to-fluff scenario/one shot where he wakes up from a nightmare before reaching over to his s/o for comfort only to find that they’re not there and thinks maybe the reader left him or something happened but they were just in the kitchen getting some water? thanks!
→ word count ; 1789
→ pairings ; jason grace x reader
→ genre ; slice of life | angst | fluff
→ warnings ; depictions of death, depictions of bodily harm (strangling & broken spine)
You weren’t supposed to be there
It was too high, too unsafe, and all he could think was that you weren’t supposed to be there. Where did you come from, actually? Last thing Jason remembered was being at the top of the Empire State Building, being threatened by his step mother over something trivial.
It was loud and he couldn’t focus and all he could think about was that you weren’t supposed to be there.
it has been 5 years without my beloved ao3 by my side. i have tried alternatives, but every time i think of the word ‘fanfic’ or ‘tags’, it brings me back to the days of pure bliss and joy. scrolling through that one fanfic from years ago about my favourite rarepair, giggling whilst reading, and my heart dropping when i don’t see that sweet ‘next chapter’ button…the memories come flooding back whenever i try to find other sources.
ao3…my beloved wife…if you are still alive, and somehow seeing this, please know that i will never forget you and the joy you brought into my life. when i die and rot, i shall wait for you at the pearly (or firey) gates. if you are not here, you are always in my memory. i miss you, ao3. please come home soon, dinners on the table…
꒰ contents ꒱ jason grace x reader. demigod!reader (cabin unspecified) lots and lots of fluff... like seriously,,, these saps need to get a room.
✎ᝰ. letter from jj . . . another repost!! i just copied and pasted the one i have saved without re-editing it because i kinda like the little typos and imperfections on them. one of the first headcanon specific post i've ever made actually. if you've seen this before, welcome back!! nothing much have changed except for the new layout. if this is your first time reading this hi!!
jason buys you flowers every two weeks or so from the store and he'd arrange them himself for you and make it look pretty. he does it like it's his job to make them perfect.
and he'd have the audacity to be all bashful like, "i arranged them myself. it's not perfect but i hope you like it" 👉🏻👈🏻 while it looks like a damn masterpiece.
listen.... he cooks. and it's lowkey gourmet since he learned to cook for you. like he'd bring you breakfast in bed and everything.
you both cook dinner sometimes, and a lot of those times were spent dancing to the music in the background while cooking— which did lead to a certain mishap a couple times (the food burning/small fire erupting because you were too focused on each other, but you both agreed that none of that ever happened)
the sidewalk rule. he never, ever, ever lets you take the side closer to the road, he has to be the one there.
he's the one who looks around while crossing the road.
if you wear glasses, you'd switch glasses with him playfully out of nowhere. (he kisses your nose because "you're so cute." when you're wearing his glasses.)
this man is CHIVALROUS. i think we all know that already. he opens doors for you (yes even car doors), pulls out chairs for you, lets you take the only empty seat in a crowded bus, everything.
writes you love letters and little notes on post-its just because.
kisses your hands. a lot. kisses you everywhere. but your hands, forehead, temples are his fav spots ehehe im giggling just thinking about it.
would call you sweetheart, darling, my love, like an old man.
speaking of old man, this man loves listening to old love songs, like he LOVES it. something like 'it's been a long, long time' would be heard playing every morning on your record player. and he'd hum along to them.
hear me out,,, he randomly takes you flying sometimes. (but if you're scared of heights he wouldn't pressure you) but if you aren't, he will carry you in his arms and fly away.
bonus: you both sings along to 'a whole new world' when you're up in the clouds.
he knows your style, so sometimes when he's out and sees an item of clothing that he thinks you might like on a window display, he'd get it for you.
“saw this earlier on my way home and i thought you'd like it. you don't have to wear it if you don't like it though...”
the two of you has a lot of shared playlists. you'd play them on car rides and would just have the time of your lives singing along.
whenever you'd have a fight, you'd always find a way to resolve it by communicating. and he never raised his voice at you.
if it's a bad one, you'd give each other some space to cool off, then you'd try to resolve it again the next day.
back to the fluff... he can draw, right?? yes. and he sketches your face, most of the times when you're busy or occupied and he'd sit on a chair across from you and just sketch. he has piles and piles of sketchbooks filled with random stuff, but mostly you. you're his muse.
he's so so supportive of you. and he's never shied away to show you and tell you how proud he is of you.
you both have matching lockscreens— jason's of you, and yours of jason.
you'd both each get the same book, read it, annotate it, and once you're done, you switch the books and read it again from each other's point of view.
whenever you'd see a stray cat, you both will stop walking and pet the cat and give it as much pets and attention as possible. and will be sad when you have to leave it after.
he's not big on pda and neither are you, so you'd just try to keep it simple in public— i.e. holding hands, locking pinkies, his hand on the small of your back as you walked, his fingers running up and down your spine (🦋🦋🦋🦋), and keep most of it in private.
he gets jealous of your celebrity crushes or fictional crushes. he's subtle about it, but it's obvious enough that you'd tease him sometimes.
you'd go to a café on the weekends to get breakfast.
he braids your hair. THIS MAN BRAIDS HAIR. idc. idc. it's canon in my head.
you'd pamper him sometimes, and he let's you because who is he to deny his love of anything?
at first he was a slight relunctant (because come on, that man was raised with wolves) but then he'd give in and lets you put on your fluffy headband on him to keep his hair away and put on your facemasks.
you and jason each bought a journal to put random entries of your daily life, some doodles and sketches— sometimes you'd stick some polaroids on the pages too. and once they're full you'd keep it in a box for your future children to see.
King, leader of the Redcloaks, forfeits his gilded sabre. It would identify him too easily, and not only that, but it is a mark of everything he used to be. Everything he isn't now.
In its place he takes up a greatsword. Made by the Redcloaks' gifted blacksmiths, the blade is a deadly work of art, gleaming silver, double-edged and nearly as long as he is tall. A sword that could cleave a man in two with one fell swing.
Shane adjusts to it readily, combining his swordsmanship with his new, incredible strength. He may carry a smaller weapon with him in case of close combat, but his greatsword is the one he charges into open battle with. This behemoth of a sword kept the Great Leopard at bay for a dreadful, heart-stopping moment.
All the good swords have names, the smiths tell him, and Shane listens. He names the greatsword after his fallen crocodile. Grahv.
Grahv is not even a name. It is a word in the Stetriolan language that means something akin to monster or demon. Shane loathed his Bile-bonded spirit animal, and even after subduing him, his fear remained; the reptile was naught but a tool, to be used and promptly put away.
Shane had little respect for the animal while it was with him. He is not as understanding of the natural way of things as Abeke. When Grahv burst from the water and snapped his jaws around the kangaroo's head, he could not see an animal that needed to feed like all the rest. He saw a soulless creature that thrived on inflicting pain and terror. This is why he felt no remorse for binding the crocodile to his will for so long. He was completely, utterly devoid of empathy for the creature.
And at first glance, Shane choosing the same name for his sword seems callous. The sword, an inanimate object, is an uncomfortable reminder of how Shane viewed his spirit animal.
Rollan can say what he likes. The truth is, Shane reveres his sword. From the moment he first saw it, it filled him with awe. There is nothing that invigorates him more than the steel ringing when he pulls it from its sheath. He treats it with the dignity he now knows the crocodile deserved, spending hours polishing it, sharpening it, cleaning his enemies' blood and entrails from it as he nurses his own wounds. It has become a part of him in the same way that the crocodile itself is taking over his body. An extension of his arms. A heavy weight strapped to his back. It has saved his life, Abeke's life and those of his people many times over.
This time, he is using Grahv for good.
Shane's choice of name for his greatsword is a nod of respect, a silent apology and a glimmer of compassion. Most of all, it is his acceptance that the two of them are forever linked.
