#dragon behavior

[aguynamelex]

It's Smaugust, decided to at least draw one dragon, here's a small domestic one

[avarithian]

emriss wants u to hug her!

[wigglesthedragon]

There is a special thrill I get from downloading AO3 fics and organizing them on my little memory stick. I have almost 3000 fics that I can just carry in the palm of my hand and access, no internet required. It gives me a sense of wealth and security....

....am I a dragon? Is this my hoard?

[averygamin2]

@look-back-month-challenge day 7!

A toy you like, but don’t want any more of

I am a big collector. Of basically everything I like. If I decide I like something, I usually want all of the series/more merch of a specific game or show.

Blame my dragon instincts I guess. 🤷‍♀️

[dragonology101]

Myths and Misconceptions: Dragon Hypnosis

Snakes are famous for being able to charm or hypnotize their prey, and so are dragons... but neither of them are actually capable of it. Luckily, this myth has somewhat faded out in the past few years as more people become aware of the wildlife around them, but that doesn't mean it's not still a prevalent idea in the popular consciousness.

Unlike other misconceptions about dragons (such as their supposed ability to breathe fire), an ability to hypnotize doesn't stem much from actual observable behavior as it does from urban legends and folk tales. It's likely these originally spread due to some predatory species outside of the family Draconidae becoming aggravated at eye contact combined with the admittedly fascinating sinuous winding of various snake species. While I wouldn't recommend looking, say, a tiger in the eye if you're being stalked by one, dragon body language doesn't put much stock in eye contact, and I can pretty confidently assert that they aren't any more likely to attack you if you look them in the eyes as opposed to at their claws or wings. (And I already have a post written about how unlikely dragon attacks really are!)

Interestingly, certain species seem more prone to having this myth applied to them than others. Wyverns in the family Avidraco (the only extant members of which being Avidraconis vulgaris and A. rhamphosodonis) are often the primary targets due to the common name "Cockatrice" having unfortunate connotations involving a deathly stare. I can confirm, as someone who has looked into the eyes of an A. vulgaris on several occasions, the only ability they possess is a deep desire to peck your eyes out! I consider that to be pretty far from hypnotic petrification. Larger species of wyrms such as the Mountain Wyrm—Dinodraco sulcata, not to be confused with the Lesser Mountain Wyrm of North America—also have hypnosis commonly attributed to them, but are equally incapable of it.

(Also, as a word of advice, don't look up scholarly articles disproving the various myths about this by typing "dragon hypnosis" into Google. The results are extremely unhelpful.)

[probablydragonrpgideas]

Have your dragons have personalities and names. Don't just jumpscare your players by having a dragon show up in a dungeon crawl. Build them up, name them, give them legends surrounding their terror.

[itsladykit]

Does Atypical Twist have any preening behavior? I can imagine Edge being surprised/annoyed by how often Twist grooms him when he was the only hoard member

Oooh. Man. Yes. Yes, I love that!

I think it’s something he does when he’s either anxious, as a self-comforting mechanism, or as an expression of extreme contentment.

To Edge (and, later, the others), it just seems like Twist is very tactile. He runs his hands down the back of their neck and along their mandible. He’ll rub his cheek against them—something he’s especially fond of doing while in his dragon shape. He’ll also take their hands and rub press his face into their palms and wrists.

For him, it’s pure instinct, really. He loves them, so he’s happy when he touches them like that. But, from a biological standpoint, what he’s doing is rubbing his scent on them—claiming them, as it were. It’s not something he’s exactly conscious of, but that’s definitely where the instinct comes from. (It’s a bit like a cat rubbing themselves against you.)

Edge has grown to tolerate this behavior, mostly because Twist is very hurt when he tells him not to. (To Twist, it feels like a strong rejection, even if Edge is really only mildly annoyed.)

Rus loves it. He sometimes mimics this behavior and starts doing the same thing to Twist—and Twist melts. He starts purring uncontrollably and pretty much allows Rus to do whatever he wants after that. (Again, instinctively, Twist feels that Rus is ‘claiming’ him. If another dragon were to do it, it would start a fight because it is a highly dominant behavior. Since it’s one of the hoard, though, Twist basically rolls over and submits. Twist is…a bit odd? For a dragon? Blackberry would pitch a fit if one his hoard tried that on him.)

Slim thinks it’s hilarious and adorable. He’s happy to let Twist “groom” him, and his wolf seems pretty pleased by it too.

Twist hasn’t tried it with Cash yet. I don’t think he will until Cash is more settled and is more open to affectionate displays.

[sansy-fresh]

Brooding

Wow, this certainly took a while, sorry @itsladykit TnT But here it is finally :D More of the Atypical Fic Chain!

Part 1

Part 2 

Tags: Typical Dragon Behavior, Anger, Threats of Murder

Nowhere was far as the dragon flies, but even as Braise lead the way, Twist flying high just behind him, he had to admit the way home felt longer and longer every time he took it.

It was strange, unnatural and highly unpleasant, going to Twist for help. It went against his very nature to leave his hatchlings behind to go ask for assistance, from Twist of all people, but there was no way he was leaving his brood unprotected while he took care of this new upstart that seemed to not care of the way of their people. And Twist was...what Braise knew of Twist outside of their heats wasn’t much more than a dragon protecting his territory. But there were moments...brief, so brief that he nearly had forgotten them, of Twist being gentle with him, after heat.

He’d always left immediately after he’d regained his energy, and Braise had never expected or thought more on it. As a dragon himself, he had no interest in one of his own kind outside of heat. But...somehow, he knew that Twist wouldn’t leave his own hatchlings unprotected.

He rumbled lowly, the frequency carrying through the air around him, an answering roar coming from behind. They were close.

If he looked down he could see the tiny black dot moving along at near illegal speeds to keep up with them. It looked like a beetle from so high up, traveling along a brown branch surrounded by leaves. If anything happened to Twist’s hoard down below, their flight would stop immediately. But, as he caught the glint of the lake his home was situated next to, he rumbled again, letting the air flow under his wings lessen as he began to descend.

The two massive dragons landed on a deck Braise had built out over the water, the wood creaking and water splashing up from the force of the wind coming off the beats of their wings as the two of them slowly transformed back into their usual forms. Twist was still making noises of discontent, the displeasure at his hoard being so far from his territory and so far into Braise’s more than apparent.

Instead of attempting to console him, Braise ignored him, leaving his back unguarded as he headed down the deck to the sliding glass doors of the massive wooden lodge. He breathed deep as he opened them and stepped inside, savoring the wood and smokey smells of home. Leaving the door open, he grabbed a simple robe from the hooks by the door, wrapping it around himself before moving across the large front room to stand in the middle.

Twist had already stepped inside, clothed in the simple shirt and shorts he’d packed in the satchel tied to the inside of his rib cage.

“You can let your...mates in through the front door down that hall, love. I’ll wait here.” He nodded to an offshoot from the main room, sitting on one of the leather couches with his hands in his lap. Twist glared at him for a long moment, before finally growling.

“If I come back and ya aren’ here, I’ll tear ya apart.”

Braise smirked. “Gotcha.”

Twist clicked his fangs, clearly unpleased with the whole situation, then marched down the corridor. Braise soon heard the sound of several people talking from down the hall, watching carefully as Twist came back with the vampire and the other two right behind. The vampire regarded him with a ferocious wariness, standing between him and the other two new hoarded. Then, eyes moving back to Twist, Braise stood, hands behind his back.

“I suppose its time to...introduce my brood.” His eyelights lit up, flashing a dark, deep crimson. “If any of your hoard hurt them, I will not hesitate to kill them.”

Twist growled, huffing smoke through his nasal aperture even as he scraped his foot against the floor. “They won’t. Ya have my word.” It was clear just by the look on his face that he didn’t intend on giving Braise the chance even if something did happen. But...there was also a distinct angry indignation on the expression of the vampire. It quelled his worry, not by much, but enough to make him relax his offensive stance.

Braise tilted his head, then nodded, waving for them to follow. He hoped, for his hatchlings sake, that nothing unpleasant happened.