High Reaches Weyr . PernMUSH: August 9, 2005 Color Information Meeting
Search Cycle: Summer 2005
Color Information Meeting
Aug 9, 2005

Candidate Barracks(#430RAJs$)

You say "Okay! Hi all, welcome to the color meeting. Basically this meeting is a chance for you candidates to hear from people already riding the different colors here at High Reaches and get a feel for what they're all like. S'reit's going to start out with a bit on blue. The general format is that you should save your questions until the end of all the blurbs on that color, and then the riders will be glad to answer any questions before we move to the next. Riders, please make sure to state when you're done with your spiel. :) And with that: S'reit, go for it."

S'reit says "Hey there. There's people who will say brown is the most flexible male dragon, since women can ride them, and they can chase greens -and- golds. To that, I can't argue. But I would argue that blues offer a special sort of flexibility all their own - with a blue you know you'll always be free for the next greenflight that comes up since you won't be stuck on the sands. When it comes to rank, riders of blues can ascend to posts such as Wingleader here, but to do so is probably ICly uncommon, offering something extra to RP around if you do. There's also something to be said for the typical personality spread for the blue. On PernMUSH, of course, blues aren't limited to being the least clever and browns and bronzes don't always have to be the sturdy guy-you-can-depend-on types, but if you would like to RP a daredevil in the sky or a dragon with personality issues, what better choice is there than blue? <tiny bit more>"

S'reit says "Basically, I'm here to promote the blue dragon because I just find the color absolutely captivating. They can be small and slinky; they can be brass and bold. There's something to be said for playing nature's underdog in a rank-focused environment, and there's vast room to let your dragon's personality really shine through. Blue is a color for people who just want to jump in there and RP on the edge of a knife. And Malicith agrees, so there. :)"

You say "Any questions for blue? :)"

Tahiri says ""They can chase queens?"

S'reit sneaks in that if anyone has questions later out of meeting about blues, I'd love to answer. I'm finding it hard to put words to what about blue is so great, but I have to say it's great. Just trust me on that. ;)

L'ian thinks he wants to take awhile S'reit's knife he's on the edge of. ;)

S'reit says "Generally no, Tahiri. I suppose a young blue could get confused and think about it, but they really don't have the instinctual imperative, as far as I know."

Divya did see a queen chase a blue once, but it didn't last long. :)

You say "It's been played a few times, a few places, I think, that a blue's gotten confused and chased a queen. But it's never been played as a trend, that I know of, and they can't actually catch one."

Tahiri says "Ahhhh. :)"

S'reit stares. "A queen chased a blue? That's -really- backwards. Bring it on! ;)"

You say "Oh, and I got sent in two questions, which I'm going to throw out for every color. So: 1. What is the best and/or worst aspect of riding the color you ride? 2. Is there anything that you have done as a rider that you don't think you could (or would) have done as a rider of a different color?"

Ny'ave laughs :)

Satiet coughs.

Satiet eyes Teonath.

Satiet eyes Malicith. Noo. XD

Divya grins and nods. "It lasted for two poses, then he flew off to safety while she went up higher with the other males in chase. My IC boyfriend rode the blue in question."

Satiet eyes the questions too. Heh, it's like deja vu. XD

Josilina thinks the first question especially may get largely answered in the initial color-spiel, so if that's the case, I don't think you really have to repeat yourself. :)

Shalyn eyes Malicith... Oenoneth _likes_ blues.

S'reit says "Oh, the best aspect of riding blue is feeling free to play a personality that's whatever I want it to be - browns and bronzes are more established in the books, personality-wise, I think, so blue is more of an open field. The worst aspect is... uh... well, if you really want to chase queens, you shouldn't impress a blue dragon because you just won't be happy. As Divya's bf's experience shows, however, that doesn't mean you can't get RP out of a queenflight; in fact, ICly, the whole Weyr could be affected by a queenflight, so there's no reason not to -assume- the event is there for your RP convenience. <ducks things thrown by goldriders present> That aside the worst thing might be that people could have preconceived notions that blue was not what you wanted OOCly. So, to stop me getting a bad rep, please don't go for it if you wouldn't love it. ;) ;) ;) Answers to #2 in a moment."

Satiet throws a duck.

Linnea says "Quack."

S'reit says "And sure, I've done things with Mal that I couldn't have done with, say, a green. Like chase greens. And if Mal was some other male dragon, a brown or a bronze, I would probably feel a little more obligated to play him as if he has a sense of responsibility to Weyr and queens and leadership. <ducks again!>"

Melata sneaks on in.

S'reit says "So a lot of the flexibility I have to play Mal and S'reit as if they're not very nice people, and let's face it - they aren't! - is there because of the color of his hide. Malicith's, not S'reit's. ;) Now, that's just my personal perspective, but it might be worth thinking about for you all, so there you have it."

S'reit is, possibly, done. ;)

Tahiri thinks blues sound kinda fun. ;)

S'reit says "They are. They're great. But don't take my word for it: get one of your own! ;)"

Melata yups, "Blues are fun. Yup."

Shalyn says "By the time we're done you'll all want to imress Polly the chromatic dragon."

Divya snorts. "Konn knows duty, but he's also a big flirt. He definitely doesn't believe in all work and no play.'

Tahiri says "Oh, hey, just a general question- How do the dragons here get their names? Thre's so many pretty ones."

You say "Melata, do you have anything you really want to get in? Or should we start moving on to browns?"

S'reit says "Magic. (I'll let the leadership address that one...) ;)"

Satiet says "Magic."

Satiet ...

B'dran says "The dragon fairy gives them their names."

S'reit woot, I was right!

Shalyn says "Matheny choose them for the most part... I guess Jos and Sat will do it now."

Melata finishes sneaking on in, and speaks up, "As a /really/ long-term bluerider, as well as Wingleader for also a very long time (and as someone who was a tad bit late), I can answer any blue questions and/or Wingleader questions, if you have them."

Tahiri ahs. :)

L'ian says "How many blue dragons does it take to change a light bulb?"

Shalyn says "Dunno how many?"

Rachiel hmms, "One?

Melata answers, "None. Pern doesn't have light bulbs. And if you are speaking of glows, none again. They just eat them."

B'dran says "A whole Weyr-full!"

L'ian grins at Melata. "Good answer." :)

Linnea says "One to get the bronzerider out of the way, and one to actually change the bulb? :D"

Satiet laughs.

Shalyn says "How many queens does it take to change a light bulb."

Rachiel says "One."

Josilina chuckles. "Okay! Anyway - moving on. Any lingering questions can always be paged to a specific rider, or asked at the end. Sria's going to talk about brownriding now."

Shalyn says "Yup, she holds it in place and the whole weyr revolves around her. ;> <ducks>"

B'dran likes that one.

Tahiri chuckles.

Melata grins, "Really, if you have any blue questions, or any questions about leadership positions when riding chromatic, I can answer them, or give you my perspective. Page me or collar me anytime."

Suraiya chuckles silently waves her brownrider flag... and kicks her lagging computer.

Sria takes a breath and an espresso bean. In my opinion, riding any color is pretty much what you make of it. Here, any chromatic can take leadership positions, excepting the obvious Weyrleader/Weyrwoman ones, and there's of course a ton of freedom within each individual personality - completely separate from whatever 'stereotypes' developed in the canon of the books, which - I'm sure you've noticed - don't hold up on this game. That said, brown is of course the best color. Oh, I'm sorry, is my bias showing? :) (more)

B'dran hands out Debian Linux installation disks, "That oughta fix it." :)

Sria says "Basically, browns give you the best of everything. They're not as small and acrobatic as the greens and blues, and not as big and lasting as the bronzes and golds, but they can sample to each side of the spectrum. Browns can chase in both green and gold mating flights, as was said, which allows for the possibility of someday siring a clutch. (Ahem, which is, if I might say, really rather fun.) Color preferences are ultimately about your character, and for Sria, riding brown adds that extra element of a male personality living inside her head. Sruth shapes a lot of how Sria conducts herself, and vice versa, and it's a great dynamic to play. Female maleriding is just fantastic, and I'd be glad to answer questions more specific to that, if anyone has any. (a bit more)"

Divya holds up the 'go browns' banner she takes to all flights. :)

Rachiel says "Did I miss anything?"

Sria is also always pagable for more questions, since it's been a long day and I'm not entirely coherent atm, as evidenced. Quickly, the best aspect has always been the way Sruth and Sria fit so perfectly, and as a brown, the way every part of being brown comes into play for both of them - his size, behavior during flights, Searching, all that. The worst I'd have to think about, and what I've done with brown that I couldn't do with another color? Lots of things, the most recent of which being the clutchsire gig. That's my bit for now :)

Tahiri thinks browns rock. and can't think of any questions...

S'reit waves his bluey flag. Curse these brownriders and their well-considered arguments. ;)

Divya agrees that siring a clutch is fun. Konnevath did that at Ista, and got to be at the beck and call of a female for a cycle. I enjoyed RPing that with her.

Sria is at Satiet's beck and ... er. Wait.

Satiet says "How come I didn't know about that?"

Melata is definitely in the blue camp.

You say "Any other questions for brown before we go on?"

Tahiri says "So they can sire clutches then. Cool. The way the books put it makes it sound like they can't."

Lisle is all good, question-wise. :)

B'dran tells Brinath to burn S'reit's bluey flag.

Divya says, "it was more common in the past that it is these days. I think Macami did it twice."

Satiet says "The books are part of the unreliable narrator sort of viewpoint. Have to remember the time period most of them were written in. :) Dragonsdawn and the short story Second Weyr actually mentions something about brown sired clutch records etc... afaik."

Linnea says "They can't make gold-babies if they sire, but they can make the other colors. :)"

L'ian says "A lot of times I've seen, the search co might need to keep it open for a gold egg just in case they have a good candidate. I like when brownriders win when they know for sure there isn't going to be one."

S'reit notes there's something to be said for a less stressful candidacy in that case, too. ;)

B'dran says "I wonder why they didn't change that part of the DNA when the changed the other aspects."

You say "If that's it for brown questions for now, Shalyn's going to start us off for green... Remember you're also always free to talk to people after the meeting, especially if they say they're questioning-okay. :)"

Shalyn sips at her mug of klah before slaming back a tequila... Greens! The lovely emerald jewels of the sky. People may look a the bronzes and queens as being the strongest, biggest and best. Or the browns as the most versitile and the blues as the most flexable. However one comparison that's stuck with me has always been when you fly a green you fly the fastest, most agile fighter in the sky. While the bronzes and golds are the lumbering freighters that we can fly rings around. One of the advantages of flying a green is that you don't have to have a clutch every time your dragon rises to mate.



While it is true that Greens are the smallest of the dragons that just means that the best things come in small packages. In game greenriders can also hold any position in the weyr with the exceptions of weyrleader/woman of course. Personality wise it's as wide rangeing as the players although greens tend not to have the aspect of self-importance that golds posess. If you'd like a female dragon but don't hanker for the load of responisbility that comes with a queen (or if you're male), then greens for you. ICly you're not held to the high standard of behavior that weyrwomen are... (Hands Sat a red 'A' to stick to her tunic) ;>. In short if you want to be able to RP anything from paroachial to liberal then green is the thing for you. :)

S'reit seems to recall something in the DLG saying that browns carry the full spectrum of the gene pool, which would mean they ought to be able to sire golds, but in mushing it's commonly accepted they do not, so that's where we are. :D

S'reit shuts up now, sorry. ;) Go greens!

Satiet .... XD

Satiet howls.

Suraiya idly tackles the twin.

L'ian says "for some reason, that reminds me of the line 'shallow end of the gene pool' from The Lion King."

Satiet says "@name me=Hester ? XD"

Shalyn :diden't say anything. ;) ICly greens are some of the most valuable when filling out a wing, being more dexterous and being able to turn on a wing tip are they can cover more sky than the larger colors even if they (cannonly) can't fly the whole threadfall.

Tahiri thinks greens are kinda neat... but knows his character couldn't handle one. XD "Is it true that they're moodyish around flight time or is that just another stereotype thing?"

Josilina does note though, "Greens can be /acting/ Weyrleader - any color can. But they can't hold the position permanently."

L'ian raises his hand with a question. :>

Shalyn says "Any female dragon gold or green get's proody prior to rising to mate yes."

Sria also clarifies, not -all- weyrwomen are held to a high standard of behavior, for the record. That's a character choice, not a color one. :)

Shalyn says "True Sria but generally Bronzes and Golds hold the spotlight more than the chomatics."

S'reit notes that 'moody' is not necessarily the only descriptor for proddiness, however. A proddy dragon can be played many ways. Some might eat extra, or not at all, or sleep too much, or too little. Emotional range varies. :)

Linnea says "And how you want to play 'proddy' is up to you, whether that's cranky, tidy, distant, clingy, flirty, etc."

L'ian says "How often do greens get to rise icly, compared to gold dragons? And how often oocly can a goldrider expect to be able to have a flight compared to a greenrider? It might be important to those who like greens because they like running flights."

Sria says "Proddy can mean many different things, however - right, S'reit and Linnea got to it first :)"

Shalyn says "Icly greens can rise to mate every 5 to 6 months."

Divya says, "Konnevath loves trying to flirt with greens when they're proddy, to make them feel better. Of course, he also likes to flirt when they're not proddy."

Melata says, "You can't throw things (food, knives, ect) because that is already taken.

Tahiri says "Browns and blues are the ones that fly them, right?"

L'ian says "my greenrider knitted sweaters and baked a lot. She was completely hyper. And some of the things she baked were kind of...strange."

Amilin dives right in, Dasmareth is is actually -calmer- when proddy. Ami gets neurotic instead.

Linnea says "Bronzes can, on the game, though it is more canon for blues and sometimes browns to win, yep."

Shalyn says "Queens can have only 1 NPC clutch a RL year I believe, pluss their pc clutch according to their place in the clutching cycle."

Melata nods, "Blues and browns. Bronzes can fly greens, but they tend to be a bit at a disadvantage for the more manuverable colors."

L'ian says "But with all the off camera flights, if your bronze wins green flights, it's not like it's necessarily strange."

Tahiri nods.

Amilin says "Greens can go up every 6-8 RL week/IC months."

L'ian says "They're at a disadvantage, but they can catch them."

Shalyn says "Bronzes generally are too large to catch greens, I play Oeneoneth as having a preference for blues... but like everything else that is up to the PC. Ami and G'non have been weyrmates for ever... and their a bronze/green pairing."

You say "Does anyone else have any green-related questions, or should we move on to bronze?"

Sria would say bronzes catch greens on-camera just as often as blues or browns do. You're not, as a greenrider, required to favor any color.

Amilin chuckles and didn't know I was that old. Forever, is it now? ;)

Divya says, "If you're not happy RPing a flight, you can play proddy and then have the flight off-camera. Konnevath's won two flights that way."

Linnea also notes that of course, TS is never an expected outcome of a flight or of any rp, just to reassure people. And if you're not comfortable as a greenrider holding a flight, you can have them off-camera or npc. :)

Tahiri says "How do flights work anyway?"

Amilin says "A lot of times, it's mostly bronzes that show up for flights, so they catch a lot."

Shalyn says "Flights will be covered in weyrling training."

Satiet says "I know some people skip the proddy part. Basically, in a nutshell, you generally do not have to RP anything you don't really want to about color stereotypes."

Satiet says "Yeah."

S'reit actually believes browns have the majority in showing up for flights overall, with strong showings both at greenflights and at goldflights. However, bronzes probably do outnumber blues at flights. So, like, get a blue and give me a hand here, folks. ;)

Shalyn says "But suffice to say running flights is a lot of fun, and a great way to meet players from other weyrs. :)"

Amilin will be glad to answer any questions candidates have about flights later though, as that's a bit more involved than color meeting foo :)

Linnea is also happy to answer green questions later if anyone has them. :)

Shalyn says "We could use some more male greenriders. :)"

Josilina nods. Any other questions about flights and the details thereof can be asked separately of this meeting - I'd be glad to answer questions too - but they're off-track here. I think we should move on to bronze, if anyone has any more questions they can ask after the meeting or over page. L'ian's going to take the floor now with bronze...

L'ian says "I'm not going to say bronze dragons are the best. Because they could be the best for you, or something else could be the best for you. All dragons have good things about them and it's about finding the one that fits the character the best. I like playing a bronzerider because I have the opportunity to try to catch in a gold flight and sire a clutch, something I haven't done before. I want to do it for the new type of roleplay, but also because I'd like to learn more about search from a different angle. Though this can be done with browns as well. I also like having a large dragon, and I've enjoyed Rojieth's personality. I don't think everyone who tries to impress bronze should necessarily expect that they'd have to take on ooc responsibilities in the future, but there's a reason you go through an extra application. What I like about the color is that the highest responsibility is possible but you still have to earn it and prove yourself just like any other color. I haven't experienced the fishbowl effect you hear about, though I'm sure it affects goldriders more than bronze. Or maybe it's there, and I'm just oblivious. But I don't feel different playing a bronzerider than another color rider. I don't feel like people treat me differently if that's what someone is looking for. There is one downside I want to mention. Because your dragon is large, some greenriders will feel that it's not realistic for you to win their flight. So you might chase and pose well, but still not have a chance to catch. Or you might not be allowed to chase at all. As had been mentioned, bronzes have the disadvantage of less maneuverability, but a combination of stamina and luck could net them the catch. And since ooc flights balance out bronze/green wins, it's not something that would necessarily be strange. But it's important to remember that it's the greenrider's choice how they run or choose the winner for their flights. (answering the questions next)."

L'ian says "oops, it didn't look so long before."

S'reit woooooooooot ;)

L'ian says "They basically got answered. But here's some more info. I like chasing rather than running flights, so I could have done that with any color but green. I want to someday sire a clutch, so brown would have worked as well. Nothing else I've done or plan to do in the near future I couldn't have roleplayed with another color. It's important not to lose your character's personality in your dragon's, and a lot of the things I rp are to develop L'ian with Rojieth and not the other way around. *done"

Melata wows.


Melata wows at the stunned silence as people read.

Tahiri applauds. "Woohboy. That's a novel, that is."

L'ian says "that is not a novel :P Though for people who know me, it's typical ;)"

L'ian says "though really, it wasn't that big when it started. I just kept adding things as we went along. ;)"

Amilin chuckles :)

Tahiri gives L'ian some cookies for a job well done. ;)

L'ian grins. :)

Amilin should add you to my share list sometime, L'ian. I always forget my buffer goes on, and on, and on...

Josilina grins. "Anyone with bronze questions?"

Melata thinks of several questions, but none of them strictly PC once the innuendo is read through.

Melata grins.

Satiet has none. XD

Lisle says "No questions here. :)"

Tahiri says "Nope, no questions. :)"

Suraiya has none for now ^^

L'ian decides to say something else short. :>

L'ian says "I love it when you really understand your character and know what you want. There's nothing wrong with that. If you have questions, you really should ask as many as you can. One time I applied for search and my first color choices were green first and definitely not blue. I ended up going blue only after the color meeting. (repose)"

Amilin grins, Not just you ;)

Selvorin says "Apparently it got mad at a lot of people."

L'ian says "yeah, but I'm the one who spammed it. ;)"

Melata args as she lags.

Josilina pokes the game. And like I was saying... "So I think that's it for this meeting, then. Thanks to everyone for coming, candidates and speakers alike, and if you've got any questions, as you've heard there are plenty of people willing to answer them. I'm also also question-okay, via +mail or page, so don't hesitate."

Satiet is page-ok, +mail ok, question-ok and anything else. I think the most important thing to remember is being happy and having fun. Understanding your character and what would be best is part of the whole having fun process. :)

You say "And of course, a log will be available shortly on the website for referance (at www.hrweyr.net)"

V'rin is also available for answering bronzerider-related questions, in +mail or page. (I'm a slow typer, so if you page during RP, have patience. :))

L'ian says "even if you aren't paging during rp, patience is a great virtue ;)"

Melata is always available for blue questions, or any questions. And she types way too fast sometimes.

Satiet is not as scary as rumors say I am. Really. XD So feel free to page and all that jazz. I'm as sweet as a fluffy kitten. ;)

Satiet says "And ever so modest. :)"

Amilin 's available for color questions, rider questions, or what life as a weyrling might be like, etc ;)