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Weyrlinghood: Month 8
Mating Flights: A Step-By-Step Guide
Hey there! Don't be daunted by the length of this document. You don't have to memorize it! We're providing it as a resource, and just ask you to read it over and be familiar with it as a part of weyrlinghood. The idea is that herein contains everything you need to know to run a greenflight at Ista Weyr or to chase in any flight anywhere on NorConMUSH. Read on!
First step: Prepare!
Scheduling: Planned or impromptu?
Most flights are planned at least a few days in advance so that people can plan to come, but it's not unheard of for a greenrider to hold a flight at the spur of the moment. The '+events/flight' command provides a list of scheduled flights - maleriders, you may want to include this in your @aconnect!
The list is first come, first serve. If there is a flight already listed, it has precedence; impromptu flights should only be held on days when other flights are not occurring. If you are scheduling a flight in advance, please be respectful to other greenriders and try to schedule yours a few days away. If, for some reason, you need to schedule your flight closer than two days to another rider's flight, it's most polite to +mail them to ask if they mind. Why so much space between flights? Well, maleriders might want to participate in all of the flights they can, but flight RP can be intense and it can be tiring to do them in quick succession. Giving the malerider population a rest after a flight is a good way to ensure that they'll be ready to attend the next one!
All the details for how to use +events to list flights can be found in '+help events'.
If you don't feel like +events is enough advertisement, you can also make a +bbpost. This is particularly helpful if you plan on doing something out of the ordinary during the flight and would like to give potential chasers a heads up. You can extend personal invites via +mail if there's someone in particular that you'd like to include. Noting your flight in your @doing is another way to get the word out. Flight Outline and Poses
The female's rider may wish to prepare a simple flight outline to help keep the event within a time limit (we recommend a maximum length two hours) or to save too much decision-making during the event itself! Usually this outline is very simple - just a list of poses in each 'stage' of the flight. For example, a typical flight might be planned thusly:
- Pre-flight proddy RP until scheduled time
- Greenth moves to the feeding grounds at start time
- 2 rounds of blooding poses
- 1 round of takeoff poses
- 3 rounds of flying poses
- 1 round of catch poses
- 'Caught' pose and after-flight RP
Some femaleriders like to take this a step further and pre-write their poses. This is a matter of preference; it can take a lot of stress off of the female rider during the actual flight and allow him or her to focus on reading the chasers' poses. One technique that offers some benefits from both prewritten poses and off-the-cuff poses is to prewrite short poses and flesh them out in response to chaser poses as needed.
If the flight's outcome (winner) is predetermined it's appropriate for the female rider to mention this in the +bbposts. Most green flights that are open to the public are not predetermined, but predetermined queen flights (particularly senior flights) are typical as there is often more than just RP involved.
Prior to the flight!
Proddiness
You've all heard of PMS, right? Proddiness is a lot like that. It affects each femalerider differently. Some female riders might find themselves extra irritable or have trouble concentrating; they may crave specific foods or feel more amorous than usual, or perhaps they're just unusually chipper. Proddiness is an excellent time to explore your character or put a new spin on them. It is not, however, an excuse for drastic action! PMS doesn't cause people to be temporarily insane or to behave way outside the bounds of norm; being proddy won't cause those things either. Although proddy riders are expected to remain within the Weyr's immediate area, even a proddy dragonrider is responsible for drills and other duties. You won't be allowed to take a few days off just because you're feeling a touch out of sorts. Dragonriders are expected to have more control than that. On-camera proddiness is unlikely to last more than a few IC days. In RL time that means the best times to play proddiness are the day before or the day of your flight. Please remember that being proddy does not mean that your char is the center of the scene. Be gracious. Pre-flight RP
For both maleriders and the femalerider, we recommend being around for RP about half an hour before the flight is meant to begin. For the femalerider, this can boost flight attendance and improve your ability to start on time. For maleriders, the femalerider will no doubt appreciate the show of support ahead of time! Announcements
About fifteen minutes before the flight will begin, the female rider generally makes an announcement on the public channel or sometimes just asks on the dtu for interested parties to come on over to the chosen RP spot. It's good to have a place in mind where the rider RP should begin. The bowl, living cavern, and other public areas are popular choices, but feel free to mix it up with something unusual and out of the way!
The Flight!
Instructions
When it's time for the flight to begin, the female's rider might choose to make another announcement on the public channel or invitation on the dtu. The female's rider will normally give instructions about pose order, where to gather for the RP, and anything else; these instructions can be given by multipage to the chasers. It's a good idea for the female rider to mention what sort of criteria he or she plans to use for selecting a winner, and if the flight's outcome is predetermined it's appropriate for the female rider to mention that again at this time.
This is also a good time for the female's rider to ask the chasers to page him or her should they not want to win the flight.
The most common posing scheme is one pose per chasing dragon per the female dragon's pose. Pose order is rarely strictly followed, but it is typical for the female rider to wait for all males to have posed before posing the female dragon again. Posing among the riders in a public area typically follows the usual rules of thumb (pose order observed in small groups but not in large ones, etc.), but once the group moves to a guest weyr (or private weyr in some cases) the female rider may sometimes decide to forego rider posing and declare the guest weyr an OOC space. Blooding
The males generally start first and some greens choose not to blood at all. Once the blooding begins, the riders usually retreat to the guest weyr or the female rider's private weyr (at the female rider's discretion). Rising and Chasing
The dragons take flight from the feeding grounds; the female usually goes first and the males follow after her. It's a good idea for the female's rider to let the chasers know whether they should pose takeoffs in the feeding grounds room or in the sky room being used for the chase; sometimes poses below can't be heard above (or vice versa). After a few rounds of chasing it's time for the female to be caught! The Catch
Typically, the female rider will OOCly announce a round of 'catch poses' in which each of the chasing dragons may pose an attempt to catch the female. Then the female's rider OOCly chooses who will win and ICly poses the female dragon being caught by the catcher. ICly, the female dragon does not 'choose' a winner, though she might try to fly nearer a favored male or try to avoid one she dislikes; she is just caught by the one her player decides on!
There are no 'rules' for how a winner is chosen, but often flight outcomes are determined according to RP or according to potential for a storyline or plot. Due to the need for an involved and active clutchsire, a history of activity, OOC qualifications, and other concerns often apply to selection criteria for queen flights.
After the female's rider has put out the female dragon's 'caught' pose, he or she should congratulate the winner and thank all of the other chasers on the flight channel. Often the chasers will also congratulate the winner at this time, and all chasers should thank the female's rider for holding the flight. After the Catch
The flight's winner may wish to pose their dragon's response to having caught the female. If there is rider RP in the guest weyr, it is not uncommon for a simple pose indicating that the two riders find one another to be provided either by the female's rider or the male's. It is good form for the chasers to pose their dragons' reactions (and, if there is RP in the guest weyr, their rider's) before leaving the RP.
After the flight!
Chasers who Didn't Catch
Just as female dragons' riders tend to be out of sorts before a flight, male dragons' riders can be pretty worked up if their dragon didn't win the flight. The dragon's heightened emotional state can offer a slight new spin on your rider's usual personality. Again, riders are expected to keep themselves under control, but that doesn't mean your rider has to be happy about it! This is a great time to retire to another place for after-flight RP. Some common choices include bars (to drown one's loss or look for some company), lakes and rivers and baths (for the proverbial cold shower), or visit (with OOC warning) an IC friend or lover. There's great RP to be had in playing the loser!
It is never, never appropriate to page or +mail or otherwise contact the female's rider with complaints. A female rider's choice of winner is final and he or she is in no way obliged to explain the choice to the chasers. If you are upset, take some time away from the game to relax and cool off. Being a good sport is important - it may even be key in your chances of winning future flights! The Mating Dragons and Their Riders
It is important to note that neither party is required under any circumstances to roleplay the sex that occurs between riders as a result of their dragons' flight! When the players decide not to 'TinySex' (TS), it's common to pose a 'fade to black' that ends the scene. Pressuring a flight winner or female rider to TS as a result of a flight is in poor form and can result in charges of harassment that could have the offending party removed from the game - so if your RP partner doesn't want to TS or if they pose something that looks like a fade to black, respect their wishes!
On the other hand, if both parties are interested in RPing the sex, that's fine too - but we suggest for your own protection that you make sure both of you are of legal age. You must also move the RP to a private room (explicit RP is not allowed in public rooms, including guest weyrs, on NorConMUSH).
Whether or not it is RPed, the dragons' riders will and do have sex. It is very common to fade to black, then pick up RP 'the morning after' (or afternoon after or whatever) so the characters' reactions to what has happened between them and their dragons can be explored. Post-flight RP can be great for character development! Thanks and Announcements
It's nice for the female rider to bbpost the result of the flight for the curious masses. Flights are complex, sometimes stressful RP events to hold - chasers should always page or mail gratitude to the female rider for having hosted the flight, and the smart female rider will thank his or her chasers too so they'll feel good about attending again next time! :)
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