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That's my sister out here, Astrid. If this goes wrong and we don't save her, I couldn't live with myself.
―Tuffnut.

Tuffnut LaVerne Thorston is one of the the main characters in the DreamWorks How to Train Your Dragon franchise. He appears as a ally of Hiccup Haddock III. He has a twin brother named Ruffnut and they share a Hideous Zippleback named Barf and Belch

Background[]

Personality[]

Although never said throughout the show, Tuffnut seems to be dominant. Together, he and his sister love to get into trouble, even if it means getting scolded by the chief of the village. Tuff likes the idea of Ruff being in danger (as he stated that when Ruff was on fire one time, he just watched for a while before he decided to save her). Tuff enjoys the chance to argue and wrestle with his sister. He shares many similar traits with his sister. The only thing that seems to be apparent in difference, is he enjoys gross things as opposed to his sister (as seen in Gift of the Night Fury). Despite having a close sibling relationship, Tuff is frustrated when he has to share everything with his sister, but he's willing to make amends with Ruff to save his dragon. Although sharing rivalry with his sister, on occasion, he will save her if she is in trouble. He often thinks highly of his own skills, claiming that he was the world's deadliest weapon. In the TV series, Tuff appears to show a thrill-seeking and masochistic personality, displaying an attraction to dangerous situations and seems to enjoy or looks forward too whatever bodily harm he receives (usually by his sister).

Ruffnut and Tuffnut seem to actively cultivate the impression of being completely crazy, competing between themselves to outdo each other's outlandish behavior. He always makes a joke in situations and loves being the center of attention. This, along with downplaying his intelligence and exaggerating his difficulty of paying attention, dramatically lowers everybody's expectations of him, allowing him to do virtually no work.

In "Total Nightmare", he and Ruffnut appear to be very keen on theater, acting in a very theatrical manner and using almost Shakespearean words and phrases, which suggests they may actually be very smart. In addition, during "A View to a Skrill, Part 2", not only did he decide to keep track of the Frozen Skrill on Outcast Island, he successfully went undercover as a Berserker named Buffnut and avoided arousing suspicion among the Berserkers, even gaining Dagur's praise for making up a poem on the spot.

In "Living on the Edge", Tuffnut told Snotlout to read more, implying that he often reads, although he was never seen doing so on screen.

Abilities and Talents[]

  • Fighting: Tuffnut has proven to be more effective than Ruffnut in combat and battle tactics, as can be seen in "Twintuition" where Tuffnut single-handedly takes on an entire Dragon Hunter base and wins (for the most part), and "Edge of Disaster , Parts 1 and 2 "where Tuffnut's (and initially Astrid's) defense holds long enough for the other Dragon Riders to save them. Tuffnut is strong enough to carry his sister for a sum of time without getting tired.
  • Zippleback Gas Resistent: In has bee shown in the television series that the twins are the only ones who are not affected by Barf's gas, which can cause disorientation and a sick feeling, possibly because they are either immune or have gotten used to it.
  • Stamina: Tuffnut is shown to have an extremely high pain tolerance, perhaps the highest among the Dragon Riders. This can be seen when he has instructed others to attack him for his own amusement and appears to enjoy being hit at times. He has even been seen to take a rock to the head, only to end up laughing afterward as well as taking several swings from a mace to the head from Ruffnut, which he requested, and appear to recover very quickly. As a Thorston, Tuffnut has an extremely tough skull, which allows him to endure blows to his head.
  • Combat skills: Tuffnut has shown hand-to-hand combat skills in Dragons: Race to the Edge. He managed to whack several giant screaming eels with Hiccup's prosthetic leg, fight off armed Dragon Hunters with a broom in "Night of the Hunters, Part 2", defeat several Berserkers with a mace, go toe-to-toe with his cousin Gruffnut, and temporarily hold his ground against Ryker Grimborn in "Edge of Disaster, Part 2", who is a much more experienced warrior.
  • Stealth and Survival Skills: He has superior than your sister survival and stealth skills. He was able to stake out on his own on Dragon Island and even managed to sneak up on a Changewing, a pretty much invisible dragon.

Intelligence: Tuffnut does not seem to be too bright. He is unable to sit still and pay attention without fighting and/or getting into trouble with his sister, causing most of the other Vikings to doubt their abilities. Often, the others of the group have to explain to him (and Ruffnut) when they're about to execute a plan. Despite his inability to pay attention, he always knows how to make people or dragons angry, often proving helpful for him to act as a distraction or bait. In the television series, Tuffnut has been shown to often have outbursts of intelligence and a smarter outlook on life, alongside Ruffnut, revealing that the twins are much more intelligent than they initially seem, which suggests that they simply choose not to think. He seems to be smarter than his sister, often being the one who devises the plans as in "A View to Skrill, Part 1" where it occurred to him to follow the outcasts.

they initially seem, which suggests that they simply choose not to think.

The twins also have a strange ability — purposely or not — to get in trouble no matter where they are, even in an empty room. Tuffnut, as seen when he sneaked onto Outcast Island, seems to have some ability in humor and acting, as he was able to convince Dagur the Deranged that he was a Berserker and more so, for Dagur to like him even more, as seen in the episode, "The Night and the Fury". Tuffnut is also able to speak "post-lightning Snotlout" — which is gibberish that Snotlout may speak after being struck by lightning — and is the only known Viking to speak it, as seen during the events of "A View to a Skrill, Part 1".

Dragon Training and Riding: He is moderately skilled in training dragons, as shown in several episodes. Tuffnut was able to spot a Changewing once, as seen in "Gem of a Different Color", and was even able to sneak up on one and tie it down. Tuffnut trained a Terrible Terror and taught him how to ram heads with his sister's ("Worst in Show"). He also demonstrated impressive skills in training a Typhoomerang, despite being caught in a trap at the time as well as being able to teach him basic hand signals and simple obedience, as shown in "Zippleback Down". He did well training their dragon Barf and Belch, though he claims he did more of the work than his sister did, in "Free Scauldy". He was also able to train the Night Terrors as pets in "Team Astrid" and summon them ("Edge of Disaster, Part 2"). It is revealed in "Ruff Transition" that is better at training dragons than his sister.

training their dragon Barf and Belch, though he claims he did more of the work than his sister did, in "Free Scauldy". He was also able to train the Night Terrors as pets in "Team Astrid" and summon them ("Edge of Disaster, Part 2").

  • Pranking Skills: With the help of his sister, they are a great team to make many pranks on yaks, as shown when they pranked Snotlout in believing that he was going to die. They also did some "yak-tipping", as seen in "How to Pick Your Dragon". In "Dragon Eye of the Beholder, Part 1", they even decided to turn their pranking skills into a profession.
  • Acrobatics: Tuffnut has been shown to be fast enough to perform somersaults.
  • Understanding Abstract Images: It is shown that in the episode, "Buffalord Soldier", he and Ruffnut are shown to be experts at understanding abstract art and images. He was able to tell that a few drawings made a map. He was also able to guess the abstract images Ruffnut was holding.
  • Officiator: Tuffnut was learning to become an officiator from his mentor but he never completed as his mentor jumped off the cliff. Though he clearly knew a lot more than he thought as he didn't realize when Fishlegs Ingerman was teaching him as he made his own sister and Fishlegs to be untruly married. Though he made them feel like perfect the couple as they did seem to be happy at the end as Fishlegs felt very scared and uncomfortable at first, though he learns the truth that Tuffnut never completed his lessons.

Appearances[]

How to Train Your Dragon[]

Joining the same Dragon Training class as Hiccup, at first Tuff delights in taunting Hiccup over his poor performance although he doesn't have much success either due to the fact that he couldn't get along with his sister in battle. Later, however, when Hiccup displays an amazing talent for subduing the Dragons, he becomes his avid fan (often pushing and shoving Ruff to be the first to talk to him). The twins decide to help Hiccup fight the Red Death and bond with the Zippleback that had been trapped in the training arena before. To confront the Red Death, the twins mount a Hideous Zippleback, which fits their fractious relationship, the two naming the dragon Barf and Belch. Each head seems to agree with one of the twins in particular - Ruff taking Barf and Tuff Belch, and they ride it to great effect in the final battle and afterwards. Notably, they were the only ones not forced from their dragon in the final battle.

How to Train Your Dragon 2[]

In the second film, Tuff would not let his dragon be taken by Drago Bludvist. Tuff was disgusted by his sister's attraction to the Dragon trapper Eret. Following Stoick's death, Tuff rode one of the baby scuttleclaws despite difficulty in riding them back to Berk.

Relationships[]

Wiki
DreamWorks Wiki has an article focusing on the relationships of Tuffnut.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • Tuffnut is a character from the book, How to Train Your Dragon (Book), unlike Ruffnut who is an original character created for the film franchise.
  • It is revealed in the episode "Sandbusted" that Tuffnut will cry when he hears the word "tears."
    • However, in previous and later episodes, the word "tears" is mentioned and Tuffnut doesn't cry.
  • His name indicates the phrase "tough".
  • Tuffnut is the older twin by five minutes.
  • Tuffnut appears to have a favorite blanket, as it is seen and heard many times in the series: "Give it back, it's my blanket!", although it was always said while he was sleeping, or possibly, dreaming.
  • In the books, Tuffnut has the same name as his father (Tuffnut Senior), so his name in the Book Series is Tuffnut Junior, which, ironically, means his name would be T.J. Thorston, the same first name as his voice actor.
    • Tuffnut is also an only child in the books.
  • While Tuffnut is shown eating chicken early on in the series and the first film, he seems to no longer do so since he befriended Chicken.
  • Tuffnut's vest is a different shade of gray in the series.
  • Tuffnut is the only character from the movie who did not appear in any of the Racing for the Gold clips.
  • Ruffnut and Tuffnut are two of the only Vikings on Berk who have a known sibling, in this case, each other. Other only known Viking siblings Dagur and Heather, and Ryker and Viggo ("The Night and the Fury").
  • Ruffnut and Tuffnut are two of the only Vikings on Berk to have more than two horns on their helmets (The twins have four horns). The only other person to have more than two horns on their helmet is Mildew with six horns (but he joins the Outcasts later on).
  • Tuffnut gets far less focus and screen time than his sister in the sequel movie.
  • Tuffnut is the only known Viking that speaks "post-lightning Snotlout" (which is a gibberish language developed by Snotlout after he has been struck by lightning, allegedly a dozen times)
  • Both Ruffnut and Tuffnut have trained a large dragon and later released into the wild. It's also possible that the dragons they trained (Torch by Tuffnut and Scauldy by Ruffnut) are counterparts to each other.
    • Scauldy was trained by Ruffnut, Torch was trained by Tuffnut.
    • Scauldy is a Tidal Class dragon (dwells within the water and sprays water), while Torch is a Stoker Class dragon (dwells on land and manipulates fire and air to attack).
    • Scauldy was hostile and a danger to the Viking Teens, while Torch was more civil and friendly from the beginning.
    • Scauldy was the one who was saved by Ruffnut and Torch was the one who saved Tuffnut.
  • The twins seem to show a level of intelligence when they caught the Eel Pox in "The Eel Effect", doing experiments on air resistance, inventing ice cream, and speaking with advanced vocabulary.
  • In the episode "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", he develops a crush on a mace he dubs Macey. This is still carried on in Race to the Edge.
    • In "Twintuition", Macey 'dies' in an attempt to hold back the flood gears to save the Riders, and is given a proper Viking Funeral in a water trough.
  • It is possible that Tuffnut has either a tattoo or a birthmark that looks like a tattoo, on the left side of his body.
    • This is revealed in the first movie in a conversation between Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut when Fishlegs gasps; "[at Tuffnut] Your mom let you get a tattoo?" to which Tuffnut returns with "No, it's a birthmark.". Ruffnut then challenges his statement with, "Uh, I've been stuck with you since birth, and that was never there.". At this Tuffnut says, "Yes it was, you've just never seen me from the left side until now."
      • It may be a birthmark, as, so far as we know/have seen, Ruffnut is always on Tuffnut's right side.
    • The mark is not seen, as the camera is intentionally panned away; possibly to prevent from encouraging teenage tattoos, or to create an aura of mystery, or because Tuffnut was making it all up.
      • However, many different characters like Dagur have tattoos.
  • It is revealed that Tuffnut once trained to be an officiator, but he never completed his training since his mentor jumped off a cliff.
  • In Dragons: Race to the Edge, Tuffnut has sectoral heterochromia; most of his irises are a dark grey-blue, however, towards the top they are a yellowish-brown color. For unknown reasons, his eyes are a solid and brighter blue in all other appearances in the movie franchise.
  • Tuffnut and Ruffnut both reference things from the modern day such as hospitals, ice cream, popcorn, sliced bread, and even a spin-off pig Latin (dubbed "boar Latin" by the twins) for humorous effect. 
  • Ruffnut and Tuffnut seem to be much smarter than they pretend to be as Ruffnut knew what a rhetorical question was ("Edge of Disaster, Part 1") and Tuffnut knew about symbiosis and parasitism as well as Mesopotamia ("Living on the Edge").
  • Tuffnut seems to know a lot of Spanish as he speaks full sentences of it countless times throughout the tv series, or speaks in English with a Spanish accent. It is unclear whether or not he really is fluent, or has just picked up phrases. It is likely, however, that he does indeed know Spanish as a second language. In addition, sometimes he pronounces phrases or short sentences in Italian or French. How or why is unknown.

Navigation[]

v - e - d
How to Train Your Dragon logo
Media
Films: How to Train Your DragonHow to Train Your Dragon 2How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

Shorts: Legend of the Boneknapper DragonGift of the Night FuryBook of DragonsDawn of the Dragon Racers
Spin-off series: DreamWorks Dragons (Episode List) • Dragons: The Nine Realms
Video games: How to Train Your Dragon

Characters
Film Characters: Hiccup Horrendous Haddock IIIAstrid HoffersonStoick the VastValkaGobber the BelchFishlegs IngermanSnotlout JorgensonRuffnut ThorstonTuffnut ThorstonEret, Son of EretGothiSpitelout JorgensonDrago BludvistGrimmel the GrislyWarlordsZephyr and Nuffink

Spin-off Characters: Dagur the DerangedMalaHeatherHeather's ParentsAtaliGustav LarsonMindenBucketMulchSilent SvenTrader JohannAlvin the TreacherousViggo GrimbornRyker GrimbornMildewCaptain VorgKrogan
Dragon Characters: ToothlessStormflyMeatlugBarf and BelchHookfangCloudjumperSkullcrusherGrumpRed DeathToothless' RivalScauldyWindshearShattermasterTorchLight Fury
Dragon Species: Night FuryDeadly NadderGronckleMonstrous NightmareHideous ZipplebackTyphoomerangThunderdrumHotburpleFirewormScauldronWhispering DeathSmothering SmokebreathChangewingScreaming DeathFireworm QueenFlightmareSkrillLead StingerSpeed StingersStormcutterTimberjackBewilderbeastSeashockerRazorwhip

Songs
How to Train Your Dragon: Sticks and Stones

How to Train Your Dragon 2: For The Dancing And The DreamingWhere No One GoesInto A Fantasy
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World: Together From Afar

See also
Locations: BerkItchy Armpit

Objects: Hiccup's ShieldInfernoDragon EyeDragon Eye II


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