Eradicating evil was always on my to-do list (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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bakerstreet2013-02-24 05:27 pm
cerebel) wrote in bakerstreet2013-02-24 05:27 pm
The Dragonriders of Pern AU Meme
WARNING: Contains situations of dubious consent, violence, and triggers. Click with caution.
Pern is a planet with an unusual problem. Every 250 years or so, orbits in the system bring the planet into a fifty-year shower of a substance they call Thread. Thread consumes every organic substance it comes into contact with, dissolving plastics, plants and people alike. It is stopped only by metal and stone. In order to combat this menace, the early colonists on Pern created dragons.
Now, thousands of years later, dragons are an ordinary institution. They carry passengers and transport messages, since they are able to go Between, a teleporting ability that produces several seconds of cold sensory deprivation every time it is done. They live in weyrs, places reserved solely for dragons, riders and support staff, usually in caves, often in volcanic areas in order to create warm grounds for egg-laying and hatching.
The dragons themselves bond with, or Impress, humans immediately upon hatching, creating a deep, psychic and very intimate connection. Dragons and humans are a pair, and they tend to bond based on personality, gender and sexual orientation. This comes into play during mating flights, when female dragons go into heat and fly away, requiring a male to catch her and mate mid-air. Often, sex between the riders of the mated dragons is not optional, no matter who the riders are or what they feel about one another. This creates a general atmosphere of sexual openness in the weyr.
That's a dragonrider's life. Skipping out to fight the latest shower of Thread, taking care of their dragon, hopping Between, and dealing with the occasional unwanted desires from a mating flight.
For more info, feel free to check out Wikipedia!
HOW IT WORKS:
1) Post with your character and canon. Feel free to take this opportunity to make a note about which sort of dragon your character would have, and any roleplaying preferences.
2) Tag around, and dragon this shit up.
3) Stick to canon, if you like; disregard it, if you like.
4) Have some goddamn fun with some goddamn dragons.
CANON:
Gold - the largest of the dragons and most rare, queens and egg-layers. Those who Impress a dragon like this generally end up in a weyr's leadership. These dragons canonically always have women as their riders.
Bronze - second largest, male; the gold's mating pool tends to draw from these. These dragons canonically always have men as their riders.
Brown - slightly smaller than bronze, male, steady and strong with a lot of endurance. These dragons canonically always have men as their riders.
Blue - the smallest male, and a somewhat awkward compromise between strength and small size/agility. These dragons canonically nearly always have men as their riders.
Green - quick, agile and flighty, without much endurance, making up about 50% of all canon dragon population. Female. Greens almost never lay any eggs, and lack much of a maternal instinct. These dragons may take riders of either gender.
NON-CANON/SLIGHTLY MODIFIED CANON:
(In case you'd like a few more options to play with.)
White - A mutation, but a surprisingly common one. White dragons have little to no sex drive, and are very small, but unusually intelligent and sometimes have strange and unique abilities.
Black/Dark Blue - Another rare mutation. These dragons can be of either gender, but are incapable of chewing firestone and producing flame. They tend to take dragonriders who are deceptive, sneaky, clever. They are often used as messengers or as night-riding spies.
Red - Female and medium-size, this dragon is a fighting dragon that does clutch, if not as numerously or as productively as the golds. They tend towards passion and strength, deep emotions that make them fervent fighters.
Yellow - Male, on the small side, jumpy and often somewhat thick-headed, yellows take longer to mature and are more difficult to train to work in groups, but once you do, the result is worth it. They are impulsive and brave and vicious.
Purple - Another dragon type that can be male or female. Small-bodied and huge-winged, this type is somewhat rare but ideal for long patrols. Their eyesight is famous and keen, so they're good spotters as well.
Other - If you have a particular idea, feel free to make up your own!
1 - Threadfall. Time to get out there and burn this stuff before it manages to hit the ground. Hopefully you won't find yourself or your dragon in the path of this stuff. Otherwise, you might be out of commission for a while, and the scars never heal.
2 - Gather Day. It's a festival today! Get out there and spend some money, hear some music, and have some lovely food.
3 - Hatching. The candidates are ready, and those eggs look hard enough to break. Hatching could happen at any time. Are you ready for Impression?
4 - Feeding/Bathing. Dragons need a lot of taking care of. Whether it's feeding a hatchling an enormous basket of meat, taking a full-grown dragon out to hunt, or having a bath in the lake outside the weyr, keeping your dragon happy is a full-time job.
5 - Mating Flights. It's time. Your dragon is feeding on the blood of their kill, and they're about to take off. Who's going to catch them this time?
6 - Other. Wild card, if there's any other situation you'd like to explore!
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[ It sounded as if he meant it, sure, but he wasn't the sort to rashly start killing anyone who sneered at them. He didn't want Chrome to take the blame for his actions. It made him fairly discontent with their life, actually, having to act pleasant and (mostly) obedient for no reason other than that was just how things worked. ]
My eyes are better than any Purple's once night has fallen: as long as the work is at night, I don't mind where we are sent. And if those riders give you grief about it, I may just follow you around and scare them off myself.
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[Chrome mostly worried about people taking things out on Mukuroth, really. After all, it was possible for a rider to live after their dragon died, so they might justify it to themselves.]
That's true! When we go back, I'll see if we can get sent out here permanently. Once we have the caves arranged to your liking we can try to find lots of things to tease them with? Sometimes I wish we could just...leave and never go back. They'd come looking, though.
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[ And so on and so forth. It's amazing what a dragon can learn when they're assumed to be sleeping. Eventually he pulls himself back to the more pressing topic at hand. ]
Why don't we? You know I will follow you wherever you decide to go. I don't care if we have to run and hide for the rest of our lives; we would be free.
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[She murmurs softly to his mind. She might, too. The nettles, at least. She was good at sneaking around.]
Really? You wouldn't miss being with other dragons? I don't need anyone but you...not really. I can be your hands, and you are so very good at everything you try.
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[ So he sneers as he crushes down a pang of loneliness within himself. The dragons weren't so prejudiced towards him as their riders were, though some were, of course. Since Mukuroth usually spent most of his time sleeping during the day, it wasn't often he got to interact with other dragons anyway.
The point was, even if he didn't see another dragon, it would not be a big change for him. Or so he thought. ]
...I don't need their company, but I won't mind if there are other dragons of my colour living with us.
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I like the other Dark Blue riders. They understand. Why don't you talk to the others like you, see if they want to join us and make a little Weyr of just our kind?
[The fact that dragons could, if they wanted to, talk to any other dragon despite distance meant that Mukuroth could float the idea past his fellows without ever going close to a large Weyr again. It would serve the rest of the Dragonriders right if they had to learn to get along without their night-flying brethren.]
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[ It would take a few days to contact the other five since they were rather spread out. But then once they were in agreement, they could simply fly out the next night.
As he spoke, his eyes spotted the slight change in the horizon that meant the approach of land. ]
We're almost there.
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[Just because she didn't need them didn't mean she wouldn't miss some things if she had to abandon them.]
Oh, good. I'm starting to get a little hungry myself.
sorry for the delay ;;;
[ It was an unnecessary warning, because really, they'd been partners for so long Chrome knew not to let herself be caught doing anything if she could help it.
The land mass on the horizon grew quickly, and in less than an hour he was making a pass over the cliff face that they had marked out as a point of interest some time ago. Dark holes pockmarked the rock, overlooking the long, sandy beach from which a pleasant heat was rising. ]
Where do you want me to land?
It's fine! I'm in no hurry!
[She didn't mind the reminder. It was never, ever a problem to go over plans more than once, after all. Repetition kept things from going wrong.]
Oh, anywhere that's convenient for you. I just need some space to make a fire, and then I can get started on hiding caves
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Are you sure you don't want to try dolphin just once? [ he asked her with a measure of humour. ]
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No, I think not. Regular fish will do me just fine. Besides, they're too big.
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As you wish. I will return shortly.
[ Cover your eyes, Chrome. His departure kicks up a lot of sand and grit, and for a short while he can be seen circling the ocean. He dives down a few times and returns briefly to leave the wriggling fish on a rock, amongst a bed of seaweed, and then wheels away to hunt for his own stomach. ]
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Thank you!
[She called out briefly as he headed for the herds, beheading and gutting the fish before starting a fire to roast them.]
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Wake me in an hour, [ he sends to her sleepily, before curling up and shutting his eyes. Ahh, it really was lovely, this sand. ]
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Okay! I'll scrub you down then, too.
[It was nice, really. Doing something for them instead of for the Weyr. Sure, the Weyr was better than living with her mother, but still. She hated being made to feel as though she should be grateful for scraps of respect when Mukuroth deserved so much more.]
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