Ask Some Dergs Some Questions...

An interesting question! I’ll do my best to answer this scientifically. Also, no art for this ask, sorry! I don’t think that there is much for me to pen in here. 

CUT BC THERES A GOOD BIT OF LORE BENEATH THE LINE!

So, to go on about dragons and their habits…. Dragons are highly intelligent creatures; like people, and a few other animals, they are aware of themselves and their surroundings. They are capable of making complex decisions. They aren’t merely driven by instinct and the cycle of the moon. To provide a basic idea of where I’m going with this, I’ll pose a question: Do people have a certain breeding season? You can connect the patterns of birth rates throughout a year, indeed, but people do not necessarily follow any such pattern. They follow a system of ability and desire, which are connected to environmental and physiological circumstances, and those vary dramatically between individuals. No two people follow the same reproductive cycle (although I will make a note here that those who posses a uterus and share a space quite often with several other uterus-havers will find themselves eventually sharing a menstrual cycle- this has to do with our ancient ancestors, and the fact that they did likely operate on a breeding cycle. Like with apes and monkeys, everyone in a group having their babies at the same time is very advantageous! BUT I DIGRESS,)Dragons are very similar. A dragon, as an individual, may breed whenever it so chooses ((Mun is adding this in post-haste, whoops!- I will say that breeding in colder areas, i.e. Places That Arent Warm Year Round, Dragons will breed at a time that places their eggs to hatch in warmer months to give their offspring a better chance to survive their first year. This still varies quite a lot, so take it with a pinch of salt!)). This phenomena varies tremendous between species… So if you’d like to know about anyone in particular, I recommend that you ask them! Dragons aren’t shy about this kind of thing. But don’t get offended if they become blunt about it, either. To a dragon, breeding is holds an entirely different connotation.Which I, of course, will take the chance to go over right now.Unlike in people, Dragons breed only to create offspring. The reason behind this being that breeding really isn’t all that pleasant for them to begin with, and beyond that is arduous, time consuming, and in the circumstance of a pair that can produce offspring, requires extensive planning because of how much care a clutch of eggs requires. 

All this sounds awful to our people brains, and if all of these things applied to people, I highly doubt that we would have population issues at all. These reasons factor into why dragons are few and far between, at least in comparison to other species. 

To make things worse… Dragons are very picky about their mates. And I mean very. 

Dragons are naturally opposed to most social interaction, and have a set territory that is generally a no-trespassing zone as far as any other dragons are concerned. Finding a partner can be downright dangerous for some dragons. However, Dragons aren’t entirely violent in nature, and occasionally commune with one another in the hopes of finding a suitable partner. A “Suitable Partner,” as defined by a few characteristics:-Healthy-Able Bodied (Similar physiology, capable of caring for young and partner)-Willing-Agreeable to Some DegreeSome Dragons might have other preferences, but once again… You’ll have to ask. I should also note that breeding partner does not necessarily mean soul-mate, or whatever. It really has more to do with compatibility than emotional connection. In fact, some dragons will only come together to breed, and then split the clutch of eggs between themselves to raise either alone or with another dragon, likely a dragon that better fits the bill of “soul mate”.

That said, “Dragon Break-Ups then Make-Ups” are not entirely uncommon among the species. Dragons will often partner hop frequently until they find another dragon that they best work with and suit, which sometimes means going back to a previous partner. But don’t be concerned, Dragon break ups aren’t as emotionally violent as human break ups! If a pair that does not function properly and chooses to split up, there usually aren’t any hard feelings beyond the typical aloof nature of dragons. A dragon will usually only get upset over loosing a partner if they had been a fantastically functioning pair. Or in Romano’s case, because he got stood up.

I’ll add here that yes, dragons are fully capable of being polyamorus. The essay on that subject is for another post, however. 

Finally…. a short note on the subject of raising hatchlings. 

Hatchlings are the entire reason why dragons go through the trouble of breeding at all. Dragons absolutely adore Hatchlings and eggs, no matter the kind! If a dragon discovers an egg or hatchling unattended, they have been known either to watch over the young until the true parents return, or to outright steal the offspring all together! You can imagine how well that goes over with the true parents. Though care does vary between individuals, most dragons, in a similar fashion to their crocodilian and avian cousins, will quite literally slave over their offspring, adopted or otherwise. This includes starving themselves for months at a time in order to protect their clutch, and running themselves ragged to provide food for their offspring. Dragons are more than willing to risk their lives for the sake of their young, and become incredibly more dangerous creatures when guarding those that they consider their offspring. In fact, many of the human lives taken by dragons throughout history have been because the dragon was guarding a clutch or hatchlings. On a far darker note, not all dragons adore hatchlings… A few dragons, some of the most hated, are ones that seem to have reverted to a limited state of mind. This means that they seem to have rejected or simply lost any maternal instinct when it comes to young, and instead view them as a dragon would view any other intruder: Either as a threat to be destroyed, or as an opportunity for a meal (many, many other species on our planet view even the young of their kind as an easy chance for precious energy, including various reptiles. Even dragons, albeit a very scarce few, are no exception). These dragons are hated and feared equally among their own kind and among people; their total crimes of course often total far, far worse than just infanticide. Typically, these are the most notable and/or frequent dragons that have been recorded in the histories of both species. Rightfully so, these are also often individuals that have been mercilessly slaughtered by either humans or other dragons, although not before wrecking havoc and irreversible damage upon the lands and eyes that witnessed them. 

While most of those evil creatures have been destroyed long ago, a few individuals under such classification still remain today, although well hidden away from the light of day, or possibly even just old rumors from long dead tongues. 

All together, Dragons are a picky bunch with no true mating season as some animals might have, and form relationships that are similar to humans in the most basic of ways, but vastly different from humans in terms of the complex. 

Please, feel free to ask more about the lore surrounding this magical world! Asks concerning these sorts of things will likely be answered the fastest… That said, to everyone else that has submitted an ask-

HEY EVERYONE I SWEAR IM NOT DEAD, I WAS JUST TAKING A WELL DESERVED REST... I WILL BE BACK THIS WEEKEND, HOPEFULLY POSTING SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK!

V: He has a stick up his butt as usual! I like to mess with him sometimes, he’s so protective over his territory! He looks pretty cool, though.

HEY JUST WANTED TO SAY SORRY FOR BEING SO SLOW I JUST GRADUATED HIGHSCHOOL SO WOOHOO FOR THAT, BUT YEAH STUFF IS GONNA BE A BIT SLOW BC OF THAT STUFF 

P: If you’re talking about my eye, don’t worry about it. I couldn’t see well to begin with, so losing an eye didn’t really bother me. Besides, it happened a long time ago, so it’s not like it hurts anymore. 

P:… Although, if you do plan on worrying about someone, then worry about my brother. He’s been missing for a while now… not that I blame him. 

Poor Prussia. He’s been through a lot. Definitely the “tragic hero” type, but also of the sort that can handle hardships and keep trucking on, so don’t pity him. He’ll make it through, you’ll see…!Unless, of course, the issue with his brother gets to him… which it very well could, at this point.

ahhh here’s a really late entry for mermay!!

AND A FUCKING BONUS:

R:…. you could say that, yes.

YEAH I’M BACK AND I’VE BEEN WORKIN’ HARD, BABEY- you better like, shower me in love for this, madi- SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG BUT HEY IT FEELS GOOD TO MAKE SOMETHING STUPIDLY LARGE AND TIME CONSUMING! 

Anyway! Time for mun to provide some ever relevant context for everything that happened here! (under the cut of course, bc this might get long!

@ask-art-student-prussia So, I saw you made some dragon designs a while back (like a month ago, im so late lmao)... Well, here we have Purple Fancy Feathers up top, and Mr. Fighty in blue right there.

I just wanted to say that you’re an incredible artist and author, and you are a big part of what inspired me to start my own ask blog! I’ve been around since you began your blog, and its been awesome to see you go so far! 

R: They are so funny! They break off. Thats why I only have them on one side of my face… But don’t worry, they grow back!

R: I can’t see them, but I know they look nice!

R: You weren’t just messing with me, were you…? I’d prefer if you didn’t…

The magic trio are… not where they should be.

IL: I’ve been…wistful. Others call me melodramatic, but to hell with them. I’ve got a lot on my mind.