How to train your dragon ruffnut and tuffnut

Tuffnut

Tuffnut

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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.

Appearances

How to Train Your Dragon

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

Ruffnut Thorston

Ruffnut and Tuffnut have a strong love/hate sibling relationship. Although most of the time quarreling and fighting over trivial things in life, they show an inseparable bond with each other and rarely spend too much time apart. They both enjoy the feeling of pain, especially if the pain is inflicted on the other twin. Tuffnut, in particular, has even stated that he had merely watched Ruffnut when she was caught on fire once before deciding to help her.

On occasion, Tuffnut is willing to help his sister. Tuffnut showed concern for her, asking her to leave Scauldy behind when the Changewings were approaching and was happily riding Belch afterward, watching his sister who was safe, despite the sacrifice she made for Scauldy to make his escape. After she says goodbye to Scauldy she starts to feel sad, but Tuffnut quickly teases her about her looking like a boy, in which Tuffnut succeeds in making Ruffnut smile again.

During the events of the episodes, «Edge of Disaster, Part 1» and «Edge of Disaster, Part 2», When Ruffnut is kidnapped by the Dragon Hunters, Tuffnut’s main focus is to get his sister back. He even goes as far to fight Ryker head on to save her.

As twins, Tuffnut and Ruffnut share a strong invisible connection towards each other. They have the ability to understand each other’s thoughts and ideas without speaking, as shown several times to finish each other’s sentences or to have the same idea at the same time. They also have the ability to stay together as they are rarely too far apart for a long time. Wherever one twin goes, the other twin is never far behind, even if they intentionally try to stay away from each other. Ruffnut and Tuffnut also work incredibly well together (when they want to) and can synchronize themselves to do the same actions at the same time.

Barf and Belch

Being their dragon, the twins had to share riding it. The twins care tremendously about their dragon, although not as much as Hiccup. One head is loyal to each twin (Barf and Ruffnut, Belch and Tuffnut) and on occasion, the heads will fight each other when the twins fight each other. Usually, the heads will work in unity if they feel that their riders are in danger and feel that their rider’s constant quarreling is annoying. Both dragon and rider are willing to risk their necks to save each other. Tuffnut even states that Barf and Belch is his «totally awesome dragon» that he shares with his «totally un-awesome sister».

Several times during DreamWorks Dragons: The Series, Barf and Belch are seen to be extremely protective of their riders when they are in danger, as they are willing to fight several enemies, such as a wild Typhoomerang in «Zippleback Down» and a wild Scauldron to defend Ruffnut in «Free Scauldy», as well as leaving the cave on Dragon Island to search for Ruffnut in «The Night and the Fury»).

Despite specifically being Belch’s trainer, Tuffnut does, in fact, care for both personalities of the dragon. During the events of «In Dragons We Trust», Tuffnut is shown hugging both Barf and Belch farewell after Mildew’s trickery gets all dragons banished from Berk.

Chicken

Tuffnut first meets Chicken in the episode, «When Darkness Falls». He loves his chicken and seems to be able to speak to it. When it came running to him, he understood that it was telling him Ruffnut had been captured by the Dragon Hunters. Right before he attacked Ryker, Tuffnut threw Chicken down the cliff to help fight the Dragon Hunters in Team Astrid. Chicken knew that Gruffnut had disguised as Tuffnut, and warned all the dragons. He panicked and was crying when baby Garff shot Deathsong Amber at Chicken. He felt betrayed when Chicken revealed that she had a family. He is shown to be quite overprotective of her but he kind of treats her more than a pet as if she were his girlfriend. He also kissed her once.

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III

Not a lot of screen time is shown between Tuffnut and Hiccup. Most of the time, he follows Hiccup’s commands, although not always done in the right way. On occasion, he, along with his fraternal twin disobey him or misinterpret his orders. Despite Hiccup doubting their abilities most of the time, he acknowledges their abilities to work together if they want to. He gains respect for the twins when they figure out the idea to «fight fire with fire» and Tuffnut’s ability to train Torch in «Zippleback Down».

Although finding him and his sister annoying from time-to-time, Hiccup is shown to care for them as he and the other Vikings attempted to find them after their disappearance and were relieved to find out that Ruffnut and Tuffnut were both okay. He also acknowledges their decision to follow Alvin’s ship to spy on him in «A View to a Skrill, Part 2». They also care about Hiccup — even though it’s hard to tell — like when they, along with the other Riders, were very happy to see that he was alive after the battle with the Red Death and when he fell down a hole. In the episode «Gruffnut» Hiccup calls Tuffnut his best friend indicating they have a good friendship.

When Hiccup ascends to become the new chief of the Hooligan Tribe, Tuffnut can be seen cheering for him.

In the third film Tuffnut feels that it is his duty to help Hiccup out with his relationship with Astrid, and ultimately helps them get married.

Astrid Hofferson

Although they rarely interact in the show or movie, they remain neutral to each other and will work together when it comes to it. Most times, Astrid will get angry if they do something wrong, especially if it’s because they’re not paying attention or just being silly. Like Hiccup, she doubts their abilities as Dragon Trainers due to their inability to pay attention, once stating «You know, we don’t have to bring them every time«, although it is assumed that she gained respect towards the twins when they put out the fire and trained Torch. On occasion, she will punch Tuffnut if he angers her, although Astrid is never shown on-screen to hit Ruffnut. Astrid was one of the Vikings who attempted to find the twins after they were blasted out of the sky in «A View to a Skrill, Part 2».

It is presumed that off-screen, she had attempted to find them, although Stormfly soon grew exhausted, showing that she does indeed care for the twins.

Snotlout Jorgenson

Snotlout and the twins share a close relationship. Often times, the twins will follow Snotlout and act as one of his supporters when he bullies Hiccup and possibly Fishlegs as well in the first film.

In Dawn of the Dragon Racers, they listen to Snotlout’s plan to cheat in the competition against Hiccup and Astrid.

Snotlout often thinks the twins are incredibly dumb and in return, they sometimes exclude Snotlout from their ideas, as seen during Auvandil’s Fire in the episode, «Fright of Passage». Although sometimes siding with Snotlout, they occasionally bully him back, like how they fooled him into thinking he was dying in «The Flight Stuff». Tuffnut also made things up when Snotlout was pursuing his sister by telling him that she likes terrible terrors.[2]

It is presumed that Snotlout had attempted to find the twins (as stated by Hiccup) after they disappeared after being blasted out of the sky, which shows his apparent caring personality towards them, as seen in «A View to a Skrill, Part 1».

Fishlegs Ingerman

Fishlegs and the twins rarely show any screen time together. Sometimes, the twins are seen to bully Fishlegs because of his size, although Fishlegs bests the twins in terms of knowledge. The twins, particularly Tuffnut, find it annoying that Fishlegs knows a lot of things. Fishlegs attempted to find the twins after they were blasted out of the sky along with Meatlug but ended up over-exhausting his dragon. Even so, in «A View to a Skrill, Parts 1 and 2», he offered to join Hiccup on his search again and shows worry when Hiccup tells him that there was no sign of them. Just like Snotlout, Tuffnut played pranks on Fishlegs when he was pursuing his sister by telling him that his sister had a sixth toe.

Stoick the Vast

Stoick is well aware that the twins are capable of causing dangerous accidents and pranks, as well as notorious for causing mischief. Ruffnut and Tuffnut show a level of respect for Stoick, possibly because he’s Hiccup’s dad, but also like to make fun of him when he’s not around. He’s the one who possibly created the saying «Where there’s smoke, there’s the twins.» in the episode, «Zippleback Down».

In How to Train Your Dragon 2, Tuffnut and the other Dragon Riders were deeply saddened by Stoick’s death, and fired a flaming arrow to Stoick’s ship, showing that he had always respected and honored his chieftain.

Windshear

Following its attack, Tuffnut became infatuated with Heather’s Razorwhip, Windshear. Tuffnut loved its style and was even willing to marry it. He almost did, thinking he was dreaming until Heather snapped him out of it, as shown in «Have Dragon Will Travel, Part 1».

Meatlug

Tuffnut has shown to agree with Snotlout that Meatlug is a slow dragon making Meatlug feel upset about herself. He even is shown to have a good relationship with her when he had made Fishlegs and Ruffnut got married by accident and she called Meatlug his sister. He even plays with Meatlug by making her bull cow ride.

Hookfang

Tuffnut inadvertently rides Hookfang so that they are able to rescue Snotlout when he is being hunted by female Razorwhips in Wingmaiden Island. Tuffnut praises on how Hookfang’s speed can rip a person’s face off.(«Snotlout’s Angels»)

Abilities, Skills, and Talents

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.

Ruffnut

Ruffnut

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Contents

Personality

Ruffnut is tomboyish in nature, mostly because she is a Viking, but she does tend to find it offensive when Tuffnut negatively comments about her physique.

Ruffnut can often be smug, snarky, anarchic, irresponsible and sometimes downright vicious but she also has a strong compassionate and selfless side as she was willing to cut her braids off so that they could serve as a substitute for a rope to save Scauldy. She also stubbornly stood her ground when the gang tried to persuade her in leaving when the Changewings were approaching, refusing to let Scauldy die. In the same episode, it’s revealed that when the twins were little, while Tuffnut was afraid of the dark, Ruffnut used to be afraid of her brother. While Tuffnut was talking with Barf about Ruffnut in the episode, «Zippleback Down», he concludes that she has a lot of rage and frustration because she feels trapped since she’s «a woman in a man’s world«.

In the DreamWorks Dragons: The Series, despite having tamed Barf (and technically Belch), she seemed to have a slight fear of wild dragons that could potentially kill her and would often panic in situations in which she encounters a wild dragon. It’s also shown that she might be afraid of dying, even to the point of naming the Scauldron «Please-Don’t-Kill-Me».

Ruffnut loves punching and wrestling with Tuffnut. In «Twinsanity», despite their quarreling, on occasion, she is shown to pull herself and Tuffnut out of danger. Ruffnut dislikes having to share everything with her brother and had a brief fallout, but they reconciled when they realized Barf and Belch were in danger. In the first movie, she has a short-lived crush on Hiccup but seems to have outgrown it when Hiccup didn’t return the interest. In How to Train Your Dragon 2, she starts crushing on Eret, Son of Eret instead.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut seem to actively cultivate the impression of being completely crazy, competing between themselves to outdo each other’s outlandish behavior. This, along with downplaying their intelligence and exaggerating their difficulty paying attention, dramatically lowers everybody’s expectations of them, allowing them to do virtually no work.

She and Tuffnut appear to be very keen on theater, acting in a very theatrical manner and using almost Shakespearean words and phrases, meaning that they could actually be very smart, as is evident in «Total Nightmare».

When she was captive of Grimmel the Grisly Ruffnut wasn’t even the least bothered by her imprisonnement and greatly annoyed her captor by talking endlessly about herself and her love life and by taunting the dragon hunter unashamedly and directly.

Ruffnut can also be really thoughtless as she inadvertently revealed to Grimmel the existence of New Berk during her captivity and did not bother to check if Grimmel was following her after he released her, even saying to Hiccup that she never looks back, which allowed him to find New Berk and to capture Toothless and all the other dragons on the island.

Appearances

How to Train Your Dragon

Joining the same Dragon Training class as Hiccup, at first, Ruff delights in taunting Hiccup over his poor performance, although she doesn’t have much success either because she couldn’t get along with her brother in battle. Later, however, when Hiccup displays an amazing talent for subduing the Dragons, she becomes his avid fan (often pushing and shoving Tuff to be the first to talk to him). In addition, Ruff seems to develop a crush on him and flirts with him (before Astrid pulls her away). Finally, Ruff decides to help Hiccup fight the Red Death and bond with the Zippleback trapped in the training arena before.

How to Train Your Dragon 2

Ruff has grown and, like the other Viking teens, plays Dragon Racing. She has shown that her childish acts still remain with her in some ways.

Relationships

Tuffnut Thorston

Ruffnut and Tuffnut have a strong love/hate sibling relationship. Although most of the time quarreling and fighting over trivial things in life, they show an inseparable bond with each other and rarely spend too much time apart. They both enjoy the feeling of pain, especially if the pain is inflicted from each other.

As twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut share a strong invisible connection with each other. They have the ability to understand each other’s thoughts and ideas without speaking, as shown several times to finish each other’s sentences or to have the same idea at the same time. They also have the ability to stay together as they are rarely too far apart for a long time. Wherever one twin goes, the other twin is never far behind, even if they intentionally try to stay away from each other. Ruff and Tuff also work incredibly well together (when they want to) and can synchronize themselves to do the same actions at the same time. It’s also possible that they are able to sense where the other is and what happened to them, as other twins are able to do.

By the time of Dragons: Race to the Edge, the two do not fight as much as they used to. Ruffnut shows her care for her brother when she tries to prove to him that he is not turning into a Lycanwing. Later, she said that her brother was the most important thing in the world to her and that she refused to spend her life doing anything without him. Ruffnut also hugs him in relief of her brother finally being safe in «Bad Moon Rising». In «Edge of Disaster, Part 2», Tuffnut gets worried and anxious for Ruff when he sees her get kidnapped by the Dragon Hunters, and is willing to do anything to save her.

Barf and Belch

Being their dragon, the twins had to share riding it. The twins care tremendously about their dragon, although not as much as Hiccup cares about Toothless. One head is loyal to each twin (Barf and Ruff, Belch and Tuff) and on occasion, the heads will fight each other when the twins fight each other. Usually, the heads will work in unity if they feel that their Riders are in danger and feel that their rider’s constant quarreling is annoying. Both dragon and rider are willing to risk their necks to save each other. Tuffnut even states that Barf and Belch is his «totally awesome dragon» that he shares with his «totally un-awesome sister«.

Several times during the TV series, Barf and Belch are seen to be extremely protective of their riders when they are in danger, as shown as they are willing to fight a Typhoomerang to defend Tuffnut in «Zippleback Down», as well as leaving the cave to search for Ruffnut.

Despite specifically being Barf’s trainer Ruffnut does, in fact, care for both personalities of the dragon. During the events of «In Dragons We Trust», Ruffnut is shown hugging both Barf and Belch farewell, after Mildew’s trickery gets all dragons banished from Berk.

Fishlegs Ingerman

As shown occasionally, Ruffnut, along with her fraternal twin are seen to bully Fishlegs because of his size, although Fishlegs bests both of them in terms of knowledge, and this leads them to find it annoying that Fishlegs knows a lot of things. However, in «A View to a Skrill, Parts 1 and 2», Fishlegs attempted to find Ruffnut and her twin after they were blasted out of the sky, along with Meatlug but ends up over-exhausting his dragon. Even so, he offered to join Hiccup on his search again and shows worry when Hiccup tells him that he couldn’t find any sign of them.

Although being slightly annoyed at them at the start of the episode, «Free Scauldy», Fishlegs complimented Ruffnut for her great work with Scauldy.

Three years later, Fishlegs was inadvertently married to Ruffnut when her brother said he studied under Berk’s officiator. Fishlegs was annoyed when Ruffnut brought a dead shark, tossed his dragon models out, and pushed out Meatlug. Though Fishlegs was relieved that he was not officially married, he was touched when Ruffnut kissed him on the cheek in «Snotlout Gets the Axe». But in the last season and last episode of Dragons: Race to the Edge, it is shown that he and Snotlout are fighting over Ruffnut at the end of the episode.

In the second film, Fishlegs and Snotlout are now competing for Ruffnut’s attention, although you can see Fishlegs is jealous, as well as Snotlout, when Ruffnut starts flirting with Eret, Son of Eret.

In the threequel, Ruffnut rambles on to Grimmel the Grisly about how she’s conflicted over Fishlegs and Snotlout. By the end of the film, Ruffnut sees Fishlegs tear up at Hiccup and Astrid’s wedding and tells him that he wins and that she likes sensitive guys.

Ten years after the events of the third film, Ruff and Fishlegs are still romantically involved as seen in Homecoming. He puts his arm around her while she points out an axe she’d like for Snoggletog. Later during the Snoggletog Pageant while working together as stage hands, they flirt with each other, and are finally seen kissing on the lips. It is uncertain, however, if they had ever gotten married.

During a brief appearance in the following special Snoggletog Log, Ruff blows kisses at Fishlegs from across the room, and puts her arm around him at the end when they partake in eating Gobber’s mutton soup.

Hiccup Horrendous Hadock III

Most of the time, Ruffnut follows Hiccup’s commands, although not always done in the right way. On occasion, she disobeys him or misinterprets his orders. Despite Hiccup doubting her abilities most of the time, he acknowledges her abilities to work together if they want to.

In «Zippleback Down», he gains respect for her and her brother when they figure out the idea to «fight fire with fire» and Tuffnut’s ability to train Torch. Although finding her, along with her brother annoying from time-to-time, Hiccup is shown to care for them as he and the other Vikings in «A View to a Skrill, Part 2» attempt to find them after their disappearance and were relieved to find out that both of them were okay. In the same episode, Hiccup also acknowledged their decision to follow Alvin’s ship to spy on him.

Although it is hard to tell, Ruffnut cares about Hiccup, like when they, along with the other Riders, were very happy to see that he was alive after the battle with the Red Death in How to Train Your Dragon and when he fell down a hole and came out okay later.

In «Portrait of Hiccup as a Buff Man», she found the painting of Hiccup very attractive, however, she wasn’t as vocal as Astrid.

In How to Train Your Dragon 2, when Hiccup ascends to become the new chief of the Hairy Hooligan Tribe, Ruffnut can be seen cheering for him.

Astrid Hofferson

Although they rarely interact in the show or movie, they remain neutral to each other and will work together when it comes to it. Most times, Astrid will get angry if she, along with her brother does something wrong, especially if it’s because they’re not paying attention or just being silly which frustrates the twins to no end. Like Hiccup, she doubts their abilities as dragon trainers due to their inability to pay attention, although it is assumed that she gained respect towards the twins when they put out the fire and trained Torch in «Zippleback Down». Although Astrid is never shown on-screen to hit Ruff. On occasion, she will punch Tuff if he angers her. It is assumed that Ruffnut and Astrid are on mutual friendly terms as they are the only girls in the group, however, they get along quite badly.

Astrid was one of the Vikings who attempted to find the twins after they were blasted out of the sky by the Frozen Skrill. It is presumed that off-screen, she had attempted to find them although Stormfly soon grew exhausted, showing that she does indeed care for the twins, as seen in «A View to a Skrill, Part 1».

In «Edge of Disaster, Part 1» and «Edge of Disaster, Part 2», Astrid was forced to work with Ruffnut and Tuffnut to create more defenses for Dragon’s Edge. Astrid was not pleased by this and was further irritated by the Twins’ incompetence. Eventually, it got to a stage where Astrid lost her patience and began to berate them. Ruffnut, who was fed up with Astrid’s constant criticism, began to scold Astrid for her high and mighty attitude and ended up mortifying her. Astrid eventually apologized for her behavior and they made up. In «Shell Shocked, Part 2», Ruffnut hugged Astrid and appeared to be very happy about Hiccup and Astrid’s relationship. However, when the two kissed on their wedding day she seemed disgusted before Fishlegs embraced her.

Snotlout Jorgenson

Snotlout and Ruffnut, along with her brother Tuffnut share a close relationship. Often times, the twins will follow Snotlout, as shown in Dawn of the Dragon Racers, where they listen to Snotlout’s plan to cheat in the competition against Hiccup and Astrid, as well as act as one as of his supporters whenever he bullies Hiccup and possibly Fishlegs as well in the first film.

Snotlout often thinks the twins are incredibly dumb and in return, they sometimes exclude Snotlout from their ideas. Although sometimes siding with Snotlout, they occasionally bully him back, as shown in «The Flight Stuff», where they fooled him into thinking he was dying. It is presumed that Snotlout had attempted to find the twins — as stated by Hiccup — as in «A View to a Skrill, Part 1», after they disappeared after being blasted out of the sky, which shows his apparent caring personality towards them.

In «Bad Moon Rising», Ruffnut convinced Snotlout to be of assistance such as when he helped her prove that her brother was not bitten by a Lycanwing despite suffering bad effects of numerous bites. She then somewhat forced him against his will to be subject to the numerous bites, which Snotlout seemed to have only feeble objections to.

In How to Train Your Dragon 2, Snotlout is shown to be flirting with Ruff, although she merely grunts in annoyance and flies away. Snotlout is also one of those responsible for saving Ruffnut during the war, when she falls off her dragon, although Fishlegs also plays an equal part in her rescue.

Stoick the Vast

Stoick is well aware that the twins are capable of causing dangerous accidents and pranks, as well as notorious for causing mischief, andb thus regards them with caution. Ruff and Tuff show a level of respect for Stoick, possibly because he’s the chief, but also like to make fun of him when he’s not around. He’s the one who possibly created the saying, «Where there’s smoke, there’s the twins,» in the episode «Zippleback Down». In How to Train Your Dragon 2 along with the other Riders, she searches for Hiccup being enforced by a worried Astrid, against Stoick’s rule of no dragon flying while Drago is preparing for war. She also, along with the other Dragon Riders, Valka and Eret, Son of Eret, cries after Stoick’s death as well as at his ship burial. She fires a flaming arrow to Stoick’s sailing ship in honor of her chieftain legacy, and out of respect.

Eret, son of Eret

When the Riders were in the midst of rescuing Hiccup and Toothless, Eret shot a net at the twins and Ruffnut instantly fell for him as evidenced by the way she said; «Me likey.» in slow motion.

This is also shown when she is willing to become Eret’s prisoner when she says (in slow motion as well); «Take me.» while throwing her hands up in the air (while Tuff stares at her like she’s crazy) followed by her and Barf getting caught in Eret’s net. On Drago Bludvist’s ship, she gazes in awe of Eret’s muscles as he sets Stormfly free from Drago’s trap. It is also shown when Astrid and Stormfly capture Eret, Ruff immediately wants Eret to ride with her, but instead, Eret pulls away, so Ruffnut’s bites at the air. In another scene, Eret has shown some respect to Ruffnut when they work together for a couple of seconds when Eret asks Ruff, «Is anyone coming?» She simply replies back, «I don’t know, just keep doing what you’re doing.» Ruffnut and Eret’s relationship seems to be respectful, but in an awkward way, although Eret does count Ruffnut as a friend.

Heather

When Ruffnut first met Heather in the old series they didn’t interact much but seemed to be on neutral grounds. When Heather showed up again three years later, however, Ruffnut was shown to be deeply impressed by her. Despite Ruffnut’s warm welcome, Heather never really bonded very closely with her, choosing to become best friends with Astrid instead as they shared more similarities with one another.

In «Edge of Disaster, Part 2», Ruffnut headbutted Heather and later received a punch in the face from Heather as payback.

Viggo Grimborn

Since Viggo is an enemy of the Dragon Riders, it can be implied that Ruffnut dislikes Viggo to some extent. However, she and Tuffnut think that his name sounded cool before they met him.

Grimmel the Grisly

Ruffnut enjoys annoying Grimmel strongly, making comments about how long his face is (and how small his brain is), her love life, her hair, and her diet.

Abilities, Skills, and Talents

Fighting: Ruffnut is moderately skilled in combat, usually sparring freestyle or attacking Tuff when they are arguing. She was able to take on several Berserkers with a spear, and, with the juvenile Razorwhip Wingnut on her back, she could defeat three Dragon Hunters with ease.

Zippleback Gas Resistant: It has been 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 have gotten used to it.

Thievery: Ruff is also a very experienced thief and pickpocket. Following an attack on Berk in «Team Astrid», she was able to loot damaged homes. However, Ruffnut was told to return the items when someone found out about them and complained about an ‘unknown theft’. She was also able to pickpocket by pretending to beg, such when she and the Dragon Riders were first captured by Ryker’s Dragon Hunters. In «Night of the Hunters, Parts 1 and 2», she was able to steal a piece of chicken and the keys from one of the Hunters.

Acting: Ruffnut is shown to be a good actress as she was able to pickpocket a guard by putting on a theatrical act.

Intelligence: She’s unable to sit still and pay attention without fighting and/or getting into trouble with her brother, causing most of the other Viking teens to doubt their abilities. Often, the others of the group have to explain to her when they’re about to execute a plan. Despite her inability to pay attention, she always knows how to make people or dragons angry, often proving helpful for Ruffnut to act as a distraction or bait. In the television series, Ruffnut has been shown to often have outbursts of intelligence and a smarter outlook on life, alongside Tuffnut, revealing that the twins are much more intelligent than they initially seem, which seems to imply that they simply choose not to listen or think. She even thought of using her hair as a rope to help Scauldy and able to fool Tuffnut by thinking they share the same pain and making believe he has an invisible tail.

Checkmate

Ruffnut and Tuffnut, Inseparable Siblings

Ruffnut and Tuffnut are always fighting. That comment is just as irrefutable as the fact these words are typed on the internet. An incredible amount of tension exists between the two of them – taunts, insults, and physical attacks – yet to reduce the relationship between the two of them to mere bickering would be a shame. Even to simply list their shared interests in explosions and destruction only captures a small portion of how the twins relate to one another.

For if you really boil it down, Ruffnut and Tuffnut relate to each other a lot more than through insults and explosions. I believe they have an incredible emotional bond. More than just being twins or jointly owning Barf and Belch explains why they are always together. They are very close, and though it is not expressed aloud, definitely care a lot about one another.

Body Language and a Lack of Physical Boundaries

The relationship between Ruffnut and Tuffnut is very tactile, not only in terms of punching one another, but also in terms of more friendly means. I do not mean that they run about hugging one another – that is not their style – but a number of other physical actions demonstrate their underlying affection. They high-five all the time and give each other the headbutt during particularly triumphant moments. Further showing their closeness, there never is a misreading; they always instinctively know when the other twin is going to high-five or headbutt.

There is a certain wonderful casualness about their body language in general. Without even needing to ask or think twice about it, they crack nuts open on one another’s helmets. During “Thawfest,” you see the two of them moving their hands like puppets to taunt Snotlout’s jabbering. They often perform the same actions without verbal communication, or even intention. Being able to mimic one another’s actions and predict what the other does demonstrates is a common sign of closeness. The twins even complain about completing one another’s sentences.

Watching their body language, Ruffnut and Tuffnut show considerable interest in one another. They often stand turned slightly toward one another. And even when they do not speak aloud, the two twins often simultaneously turn to make eye contact. This includes the scene during Stoick’s Ship. Both of them, crying, turn to look at one another in shared mourning and hope for comfort.

Inseparability

There is no reason for the twins always to be together. However, it is incredibly rare to see them apart. Whether in the Dragon Training ring or on a day off, where you find one twin, you find the other. And even when they are in the same location, they are usually standing right next to one another, as well. People place themselves in the proximity of those they want to be around. While I have met many twins who separate themselves to try to experience a greater sense of personal individuality, Ruffnut and Tuffnut have almost no such qualms. They enjoy one another’s company and are almost inseparable in any scene, acting together more often than not as one.*

* As a side note, I would like to emphasize that, even in the face of all these similarities, DreamWorks definitely wrote two different characters. Tuffnut is more outspoken and outgoing than Ruffnut, his sister a bit more reserved and introverted. Tuffnut is more likely to express enjoying pain, Ruffnut far more likely to enjoy inflicting it. Ruffnut is sassier, but also demonstrates a gentle side in “Free Scauldy”. Tuffnut is more likely to try something new and has a little bit of a poet hidden behind his non-intellectual interior (he comments on phrases rhyming, and at one point he improvises a metrically precise limerick on the fly that outmatches any of Fishlegs’ mushy poetry attempts). Ruffnut is completely bold expressing romantic interest in another man, whereas Tuffnut’s greatest flirtation is with a mace. Each twin has expressions only they use – you know immediately the quote “This is awesome and scary,” comes from Tuffnut without checking a script. Thus, when we see the twins communicating with each other and acting in similar manners, it is definitely not because they are underdeveloped as similar characters – it is because the twins are relating with each other.

Bonding Time

And there is nothing like good sibling bonding than enjoying great times together. The two of them spend an incredible amount of time together during their free time, and consequently have many stories to share. The two of them have explored the tunnels beneath Berk together. They decide to teach the baby Thunderdrums how to belch on command. They work together to train Butt and Head the Terrible Terrors to run into one another. Together they play many practical jokes on the other teens – be it teasing Fishlegs or forcing Snotlout to bring them two rainbow colored chickens, a singing Terrible Terror, and a sturgeon dressed like Stoick. The willingness to engage together in mischief certainly shows a closeness between the twins. Really, when two people do everything together, you expect them to either be romantic partners, best friends, or, as with the case of Ruff and Tuff, extremely close siblings.

The Argument

You can really see the importance of Ruffnut and Tuffnut’s sibling relationship during the one episode it is unstable, “Twinsanity.” Tuffnut’s monologue halfway through the episode is incredibly touching. “I’m sick of ‘ours’,” he says, with an incredible combination of anger and hurt in his eyes. “For just once, I want something to be just ‘mine’.” You can tell Tuffnut hates saying it, and you can tell how much the argument pains him, for immediately after his monologue, he announces to Hiccup and Astrid he plans to go to his “dark, soggy, alone place. Not to cry.”

For the tension – true tension, and not just fights and jokes – really impacts both of the twins. It upsets Tuffnut to the point he has to retreat and be alone, perhaps the one and only time you see him and his sister really emotionally struggle. Beyond Stoick’s death, it certainly is the only time they cry. And if a fight with Tuffnut’s sister causes all that, it proves that he and Ruffnut really do have a strong relationship with one another. “This house,” Tuffnut mourns, “it has too many memories.”

Sibling love. Sibling love everywhere.

And to prove the point about physical closeness – their argument make-up is spitting on one another’s hands and giving a resolute head-butt.

Tuffnut’s NOTPs

Let us jump ahead to five years and the events of How to Train Your Dragon 2. As entertaining as it is to watch Ruffnut’s extravagant flirtations and Eret’s equally expressive faces, I find Tuffnut’s responses to his sister’s adventures just as hysterical as Ruffnut’s antics herself. Whether the man be Snotlout or Fishlegs, you can tell how very much Tuffnut loathes the idea of one of those men hooking up with his sister.

First of all, Tuffnut knows that Ruffnut hates both Fishlegs’ and Snotlout’s flirtations. Consequently, he roots for his sister rather than for either of his male peers. When Snotlout tries to hit on Ruffnut in the middle of the dragon racing match, Tuffnut jubilantly calls out, “Note: still hates you!” He shakes his head, flabbergasted, when Snotlout tries to give Ruffnut some food and brags he grew facial hair for her. And when Snotlout watches Ruffnut flirt after Eret on one of Drago’s ships, he impishly remarks, “Aw, pathetic. You can still jump.”

Tuffnut’s response to Eret is a bit more complicated. You can see how positively flabbergasted he is when Ruffnut shouts out, “Take me!” and surrenders herself to a dragon trap. At that point in time, of course, Tuffnut has no idea what ridiculous idea is coursing through his sister’s head. However, he shows just as shocked and potentially repulsed an expression when Ruffnut begs Astrid for Eret, recently kidnapped, to ride with her. Disgusted, he turns his dragon head away to avoid watching. Tuffnut is not a fan of watching his sister act like this, and one could maybe even venture so far as to say Tuffnut does not want his sister flirting with someone who very well could be their enemy. And if such (or really, in any case), then he wants to watch her back.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut are the comic duo of How to Train Your Dragon. However, there is a lot in their characters beyond humor. Just like any face we meet on Berk, they have a lot to offer. And a lot to offer each other. For while they are fun for their pranks, love of violence, and slow-witted comments, I also find them incredibly lovable for the relationship they have for each other. This is the only sibling relationship we see on screen in the How to Train Your Dragon world. And just like all the other familial relationships shown, this one does not disappoint.