History Main / OurDragonsAreDifferent

* ''ComicStrip/OnTheFastrack'': The Moat Monster that lives in the moat around the Fastrack, Inc.'s headquarters is a talking, dragon-like creature that was spawned by Fastrack dumping excessive amounts of toxic waste there... and which is so acclimated to her environment that she regularly eats the stuff and was convinced not to accept a job somewhere else by Fastrack buying other companies' own waste products and dumping them in her moat. She can also shapeshift into an attractive human woman.

[[labelnote:L - R, top to bottom]][[Videogame/SpyroReignitedTrilogy Cyrus]], [[Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings The Great Protector]], [[Literature/WingsOfFire Glory]], [[Franchise/DragonQuest a Wyrtle]], [[Anime/FairyTail Acnologia]], [[WesternAnimation/DungeonsAndDragons Tiamat]][[/labelnote]]]]

Compare GiantFlyer, {{Kirin}} and other DragonTropes. Supertrope to CatlikeDragons, DelightfulDragon, {{Dracolich}}, DraconicAbomination, DraconicHumanoid, DragonAncestry, DinosaursAreDragons, DragonsAreDemonic, DragonsAreDivine, FairyDragons, FeatheredDragons, LazyDragon, SeahorsesAreDragons, ShoulderSizedDragon and {{Weredragon}}.

Further, it's also become fairly common for dragons to come in different flavors of ElementalPowers, especially in settings where ElementalRockPaperScissors are enforced. This may simply manifest in their BreathWeapon, or it may affect all properties of the dragon. Elemental [[UndergroundMonkey rainbows]] of dragons are most common in video games and tabletop games where diversity of creatures and gameplay balance are considerations. While [[PlayingWithFIre fire]] remains the most common breath weapon among fictional dragons, ice or freezing air is a common alternate -- [[AnIcePerson ice dragons]] tend to show up as one-off variants, often in contrast to "regular" fire dragons, even when other types of elemental dragons do not. When multiple types of breath weapons are possible, {{poison|ousPerson}}, {{acid|Attack}} and [[ShockAndAwe lightning]] are common choices. [[{{Dracolich}} Undead dragons]] are also not unheard of, usually breathing ice or poison.

Naturally, all of these may be in play, making "Dragon" more of a higher Taxonomic rank like "Order" or "Class" than Species or Genus. By this reckoning, other [[MixAndMatchCritters reptilian or avian mixed]] mythological creatures, particularly the '''{{Sea Serpent|s}}''', '''[[BasiliskAndCockatrice Basilisk]]''', '''[[BasiliskAndCockatrice Cockatrice]]''' and '''[[FeatheredSerpent Quetzalcoatl]]''', may be considered types of dragons or similar creatures in some works.

Further, it's also become fairly common for dragons to come in different flavors of ElementalPowers, especially in settings where ElementalRockPaperScissors are enforced. This may simply manifest in their BreathWeapon, or it may affect all properties of the dragon. Elemental [[UndergroundMonkey rainbows]] of dragons are most common in video games and tabletop games where diversity of creatures and gameplay balance are considerations. While fire remains the most common breath weapon among fictional dragons, ice or freezing air is a common alternate -- [[AnIcePerson ice dragons]] tend to show up as one-off variants, often in contrast to "regular" fire dragons, even when other types of elemental dragons do not. When multiple types of breath weapons are possible, {{poison|ousPerson}}, {{acid|Attack}} and [[ShockAndAwe lightning]] are common choices. [[{{Dracolich}} Undead dragons]] are also not unheard of, usually breathing ice or poison.

* ''Fanfic/TheBridge'': Several varieties from two worlds show up:

[[caption-width-right:350:Some are your best friend, others can be a real drag.\\[[labelnote:L - R, top to bottom]][[Videogame/SpyroReignitedTrilogy Cyrus]], [[Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings The Great Protector]], [[Literature/WingsOfFire Glory]], [[Franchise/DragonQuest a Wyrtle]], [[Anime/FairyTail Acnologia]], [[WesternAnimation/DungeonsAndDragons Tiamat]][[/labelnote]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Some are your best friend, others can be a real drag.[[labelnote:L - R, top to bottom]][[Videogame/SpyroReignitedTrilogy Cyrus]], [[Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings The Great Protector]], [[Literature/WingsOfFire Glory]], [[Franchise/DragonQuest a Wyrtle]], [[Anime/FairyTail Acnologia]], [[WesternAnimation/DungeonsAndDragons Tiamat]][[/labelnote]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:L - R, top to bottom]][[Videogame/SpyroReignitedTrilogy Cyrus]], [[Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings The Great Protector]], [[Literature/WingsOfFire Glory]], [[Franchise/DragonQuest a Wyrtle]], [[Anime/FairyTail Acnologia]], [[WesternAnimation/DungeonsAndDragons Tiamat]][[/labelnote]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:L - R, top to bottom]][[Videogame/SpyroReignitedTrilogy Cyrus]], [[Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings The Great Protector]], [[Literature/WingsOfFire Glory]], [[Franchise/DragonQuest a Wyrtle]], [[Anime/FairyTail Acnologia]], [[WesternAnimation/DungeonsAndDragons Tiamat]][[/labelnote]]

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[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon2 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_hqdefault_5.png]]]]

* Very old (Greco-Roman, and a few medieval cultures such as [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_dragon Germanic-Nordic]]) dragons are presented as more serpentine than the more recent ones -- if winged, the wings are usually their only limbs; and some were totally limbless, just ''enormous'' serpents. This type of dragon may be referred to as a '''wyrm''' (pronounced "worm"). Sometimes, however, "wyrm" will refer to a different type of dragon, or to particularly old and powerful ones, or my simply be a synonym for dragons in general.[[note]]Etymologically, "wyrm", pronounced roughly the same as "worm" or "wurm", was an Old English word referring to worms, snakes, and dragons alike.[[/note]]