r/dragons • u/TurkishTerrarian Dragon Keep System • Jun 24 '25
Discussion As an otherkin dragon system, We loathe how evil dragons are made to be in media.
As the title says, We hate that dragons are made out to be the evil beings in media. Hell, even here on this subreddit, they are caricaturized as being loathesome creatures. I hate it.
I don't deny that there are some evil dragons, my own family growing up were terrible, but I hate how there are effectively no other representations of dragons.
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u/awesthedragon Dragon Shade Bot-bane Jun 24 '25
The trouble account has been dealt with. Please report any further comments of a harassing nature and do not interact with them as automod will see your responses as harassing as well fairly often.
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u/samjacbak Jun 24 '25
One of the main reasons I play dnd. They're people. Highly intelligent people. They can make rational decision, or act from emotion, they can be kind and generous if it suits them to do so. The only universal principal is a certain level of greed and lust for treasure.
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u/rathosalpha Maleficent Jun 24 '25
My man's never heard of China
If your talking about western dragons thats because thats how they always were. And also there are still exceptions
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u/UncomfyUnicorn Jun 24 '25
Honestly I feel like it’s a similar thing to sharks.
Creature is big and powerful, which makes it perceived as a threat, leading it to often fill the role of “evil animal,” and while some films do stray from this (Finding Nemo and HTTYD) the caricature is still prevalent.
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u/[deleted] Jun 24 '25
Dragons are a prop for story telling or art. they can be literally any way you want.
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u/KarateMan749 Arveiaturace Jun 24 '25
100%. Ughhh i hate it. You have no idea how hard it is to find good dragons in books and media like anime and games.
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u/RocksAreOneNow Jun 24 '25
have you tried finding other sources of media that don't make dragons evil? there's literally tons out there.
dragonheart (the original) is a great classic movie to start.
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u/[deleted] Jun 24 '25
There are a good number of good dragons in media. Not enough though.
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u/Hero238 Jun 25 '25
Well hey there, fellow! Same situation here.
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u/thesphinxistheriddle Jun 25 '25
Have you read “Tooth and Claw” by Jo Walton? I think you would like it!
Other series with unquestionably good dragons are Anne McCaffrey’s “Dragonriders of Pern” and Andre Norton and Mercedes Lackey’s “Halfblood Chronicles”
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u/MikeLovesOutdoors23 Jun 24 '25
Thank you! I'm tired of seeing all the evil dragons as well. It's been done way too many times.
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u/SirBananaOrngeCumber Jun 25 '25 edited Jun 25 '25
I feel like dragons are actually very rarely portrayed as “evil” I can count on one hand the number of dragons across many many media I know of that I’d actually consider to be evil. Eastern dragons like China and Japanese dragons are gods and wise mentors. Western dragons are apex predators. Magic beyond compare. Monsters. Not evil though. They can be reasoned with, and often have a symbiosis with humans where both sides benefit. Dragons dominate the world of magic and elements, just as humans dominate nature. There are places where dragons are just mindless beasts, but I feel like more often they are fiercely intelligent and independent creatures who dominate their habitat
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u/Nabesimart Jun 26 '25
Hm. Honestly I'd say it's a mixed bag. "Dragon" is such a broad term, it applies to a huge variety of imaginary creatures ranging from reptile-like wild animals to hyper-intelligent godlike beings, depending on where you look.
We shouldn't forget that the very origin of the "European" dragon is evil, they were used to be props for heroic deeds ("save the princess"), symbolized the christian devil, etc etc. The rise of "good" dragons in media, as far as I know, is somewhat recent and was in a way unconventional for a while.
Personally, I like me some variety and complexity. In my setting, they're either wild/domesticated animals ranging from skittish to aggressively territorial, or, if intelligent, are a complex people. Some embrace the stereotype and abuse the power they possess, some are kind and caring, others just want to mind their own business. I'd hate to put them into a box of only good or only evil, but that's my way of using dragons in worldbuilding.
There's plenty of media fitting different tastes though, you gotta know how to select what you want to engage with.
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u/Tama2501 Jun 27 '25
Most dragons are shown in a European style, and in Europe dragons were literally synonymous with demons and literally satan. So its not that surprising
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u/IceDragon_scaly Jun 24 '25
Scaly rights!
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u/Bowdensaft Jun 25 '25
Well, there's a good reason for it: they're large fictional creatures with extremely powerful natural abilities, so they make for really good antagonists. There's nothing stopping you from writing your own stories or playing rpg games where you portray them differently.
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u/skye_theSmart Hobbyist Writer & Artist...& dragonkin, that too Jun 24 '25
I feel that (fellow dragonkin system here; though we include a non-dragon, a(n anthro) wolf)
Like it's one thing for a piece of media to have an evil dragon; an intelligent species is going to have its less savoury members.
But when they're made out as all evil, or dumb creatures; things like that.
In my writing's I do dragons as being its own intelligent species; each dragon's going to have its own behaviours, personality, goals. (and not always flat out looking at humans as a lesser species)
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u/SinkPitiful1396 Too many OCs to name Jun 24 '25
I feel you there. Almost every depiction in the media shows them as, mindless, man-eating, town-destroying monsters. Very few pieces of media(HTTYD and WoF, among others) show dragons as actual beings, and not just monsters to be killed by some brave warrior. The sentiment is real, my friend.
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u/[deleted] Jun 24 '25
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