Dragon Types That We Don't See Enough

Hey'a, everyone! This week's post topic comes courtesy of my lovely roommate, who suggested it when I said I was going to write a dragon-themed post this week. (Why dragons? Yesterday, if you missed it, was Dragon Appreciation Day! I celebrated by posting pictures of my cute dragon stuffies on social media and writing a D&D episode featuring a dragon that most of my players appreciate quite a bit.) Today we're talking about dragon types and interpretations that we'd like to see more frequently in books and other media. I'm including some wished-for dragon types from my roommate, some from me, and some from both of us. Of course, if I'm putting it on this list, it's safe to assume that I'd like to see it more often too, so . . .

 Dragon Types That We Don't See Enough

1. From my roommate and I: Asian-style dragons. Asian-type dragons, like a lot of Asian fantastical beings, are tragically underused in literature. I know they're featured in the Invisible Library series (yet another reason I love those books) and that's the only one I know for sure. But I feel like there's a lot of untapped potentials there . . . and I feel like certain authors (*cough*KyleRobertShultz*cough*) could have a lot of fun with interactions between Asian and Western dragons if they showed up in the same series.
2. From my roommate: More human-shaped dragons. In the sense that they're dragons that can take on a humanoid form as well as their dragon form but they still act like dragons and they're not under a spell or whatever. (And yes, I have told her about Invisible Library and the Afterverse.) This is actually a pretty fun trope, one I've used in a few of my yet-to-be-published books, and I agree that it's rather underutilized. (At least, outside of sketchy fantasy romance novels . . . And, on that note, I'd like more of these human-shaped dragons to be not primarily objects of desire or desiring after other characters . . . can they just be friends with their non-dragon companions? Please?)
3. From me: Dragons in more personalities and archetypes. At the moment, I feel like dragons get typecast a lot. You have the Kilgarrahs (ancient mentors who mostly give advice in varying degrees of crypticness), the Saphiras (loyal and dedicated companions who provide support and offer to eat antagonistic people), the Smaugs (villains of immense villainy), and the Celestes and Gymns (can be large or small but aren't on the same level as a human character). You do sometimes get dragons who play other roles, but those are comparatively rare, and I'd like that to change.
4. From my roommate and I: Dragons with unusual and non-traditional hoards. Ok, yes, Jessica Day George did this and did it super well, but why is no one else doing it? Give us a literal book dragon. Give us a dragon who hoards blankets, the softer and cozier the better. Give us a dragon who hoards replica dragons, everything from statues to paintings to stuffed animals. As my roommate suggested, give us a dragon who hoards emotions or experiences and whose hoards' physical element seems to have no unifying factor because everything is connected to something bigger than itself. Or give us a dragon who has an obsession in place of a hoard. There are so many things you can do with this and no one is doing it. It's tragic.
5. From my roommate and I: Intelligent pocket dragons. Look. We want all the other stuff on this list, yeah. But what we and everyone else really want? Tiny, brilliant, imperious dragons. Dragons that can fit in your pocket or ride on your shoulder but can think and communicate with all the devious, mischevious intelligence of a Saphira or a Smaug. Miniature grumpy librarian dragons. Mischevious dragon companions who get way too excited over puns and wordplay and riddles. The dragon equivalent of Bard Eanrin. Please, someone, make it happen.

What types or interpretations of dragons would you like to see more frequently? And have you read any books that feature dragons in the ways my roommate and I would like to see more of? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)