: Re: What if a concept on my story differs greatly from the common trope? I'm planning of giving a -possibly very unpopular - interpretation to a very loved concept in the genre of my story and

@Correia211

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If you're worried about how the readers will take it, I have two suggestions:

Build the world as ENTIRELY unique and different, built upon a premise (in your case, "evolution"), filled with other fantastical creatures, some that might be borrowed from other sources or genres, some that you invent yourself, so that the audience isn't so disappointed/confused by the arrival of a winged yet flightless dragon
Make the mood of the story self-aware and humourous, not just with the Western trope of dragons but other tropes that line up with the genre you wish to subvert

Given your explanation of the origins of such a biological structure, I think that you would want the first suggestion, though blending the two might be a fun experiment (there are many humorous and self-aware stories that also build a rich lore around it). If a dragon evolved like this through evolution and changes in environment over millions of years, I would also be naturally curious about how other mythical creatures have come to be.

How did they interact with each other?
How deeply do the history of these creatures follow evolutionary thought?

Subverting tropes aren't new, but they can often be very fun to do. But there are bad ways and good ways to subvert them. The bad ones throw out half-ideas and blanket statements, implying an agenda against the culture they wish to question. The good ones show that they respect the culture that they're borrowing from, criticizing or poking fun at it while also showing that they respect why people love the originals and that the authors understand them by offering a similar feeling around the substitute.

Though another good way is to just be utterly silly with it, which is fine too!

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