Lower Cavern Politics
It's a whole ‘nother world down there....
In the Lower Caverns, the girls' residence halls are their own fascinating microcosm of ideas and cliques. For the most part, those who live here are those too old for the creche, but either too young for or are simply without a mate. Here's a glimpse into the minds of the Weyr girls.
The Groupies: Bronzeriders are the movie stars of Pern, and like any stars, they have their fans. These girls avidly watch the lives of the Weyr's bronzeriders (and the occasional tasty brownrider), dreaming of the day they'll capture a bronze weyrmate of their own.
I Wish I Were a Dragonrider: This group is very diverse in its opinions and dreams. Some are content to merely think about how nice it would be to be a man so that they could have a dragon. Some set their sights on gold, trying to impress whatever bronzerider or Searchrider looks their way in hopes that they will be deemed suitable to stand. Some fantasize about a world where it would be alright for them to Impress green or blue ... and some tell themselves that they don't *care* if it's not alright, they want to Impress. A precious few see no reason why it *shouldn’t* be alright, and determine to prove themselves equal to their Candidate brothers and rider fathers.
What If He Were Gay?: These girls live in a male-dominated, sexually open yet biased society. They also get bored. When that happens, interesting things occur, often starting with the words, "But wouldn't they be adorable as a couple?". Any male is up for grabs, be it the stern bronzerider, the mellow brownrider, the courteous herdsman, and the better looking the man, the bigger the target. Even green and blueriders are fair game, though most of the girls consider those to be too easy. Some even make up their own men to play with. All Weyr children learn to read and write, and hidden away in the rooms of these girls are stories innocent in their sedition, though in nothing else.
Who cares about *you*?: Some girls are out to get what they can for themselves. Don’t expect them to give a hoot about anyone else.
I’ll take what I can get: There’s a lot more chromatic riders the there are rankers. Sure, these girls have been taught every chromatic is a whacky pervert, but they’ve also been told they aren’t much themselves. And, contrary to prevailing opinion, not every chromatic is a boy lover. They may be the bottom of the ranking heap- but they are still riders and these girls are nobodies. They’ll still look up to them, they’ll still court their attention and fight over attracting one. They’ll still want a rider lover even if they have to settle for a chromatic. Its good and awkward for the chromatics who *are* gay, too!
The Groupies: Bronzeriders are the movie stars of Pern, and like any stars, they have their fans. These girls avidly watch the lives of the Weyr's bronzeriders (and the occasional tasty brownrider), dreaming of the day they'll capture a bronze weyrmate of their own.
I Wish I Were a Dragonrider: This group is very diverse in its opinions and dreams. Some are content to merely think about how nice it would be to be a man so that they could have a dragon. Some set their sights on gold, trying to impress whatever bronzerider or Searchrider looks their way in hopes that they will be deemed suitable to stand. Some fantasize about a world where it would be alright for them to Impress green or blue ... and some tell themselves that they don't *care* if it's not alright, they want to Impress. A precious few see no reason why it *shouldn’t* be alright, and determine to prove themselves equal to their Candidate brothers and rider fathers.
What If He Were Gay?: These girls live in a male-dominated, sexually open yet biased society. They also get bored. When that happens, interesting things occur, often starting with the words, "But wouldn't they be adorable as a couple?". Any male is up for grabs, be it the stern bronzerider, the mellow brownrider, the courteous herdsman, and the better looking the man, the bigger the target. Even green and blueriders are fair game, though most of the girls consider those to be too easy. Some even make up their own men to play with. All Weyr children learn to read and write, and hidden away in the rooms of these girls are stories innocent in their sedition, though in nothing else.
Who cares about *you*?: Some girls are out to get what they can for themselves. Don’t expect them to give a hoot about anyone else.
I’ll take what I can get: There’s a lot more chromatic riders the there are rankers. Sure, these girls have been taught every chromatic is a whacky pervert, but they’ve also been told they aren’t much themselves. And, contrary to prevailing opinion, not every chromatic is a boy lover. They may be the bottom of the ranking heap- but they are still riders and these girls are nobodies. They’ll still look up to them, they’ll still court their attention and fight over attracting one. They’ll still want a rider lover even if they have to settle for a chromatic. Its good and awkward for the chromatics who *are* gay, too!