Flight Rising Discussion

Plague represents strength in numbers and Nature represents survival of the fittest.

Change my mind.

'Plague is about survival of the fittest.' ??

Plague is defiantly survive on your own as if you can’t on your own, no plague dragon will want you in their clan.

Plague is prove your worth on your own, yet in numbers you can rely on other competent people you KNOW are competent to survive further.

Hot take: All flights are an example of "survival of the fittest" because that phrase was literally just supposed to mean that the animal/species that was most fit for their environment would survive and they've all done that.

[quote name="Shirotsuki" date="2021-10-21 10:34:40" ] Plague is survival by changing yourself to fit the environment. Nature is survival by changing the environment to fit you. Plague is far more 'survival of the fittest' than nature as they actively seek out hardship. If you don't survive, you don't embody plague. Nature is more about growth, and nuturing, helping others through hardship when they'd otherwise die. [/quote] I'm not sure if I agree, because in the site lore Wildclaws (the nature native breed) are presented as a species that hunt and fight both for survival and sport and value individual skills; while Mirrors hunt and live in packs, and don't seem to actively want to run into hardship, just doing what's absolutely needed to survive. [quote name="Twizz" date="2021-10-21 12:46:18" ] Hot take: All flights are an example of "survival of the fittest" because that phrase was literally just supposed to mean that the animal/species that was most fit for their environment would survive and they've all done that. [/quote] That's a good point! [quote name="Empedocles" date="2021-10-21 10:35:49" ] Plague is defiantly survive on your own as if you can’t on your own, no plague dragon will want you in their clan. [/quote] The interesting thing is that mirrors, the native plague breed, actually hunt and live in packs. So it seems kinda hypocritical if Plague dragons do indeed value individual abilities the most.

I think Plaguebringer's version of the term is just not the same as ours, as that clarification post states that

As in Plague dragons are things that actively 'evolve' (though mutate might be a good word here too) in their lifetime through disease. Which makes sense since to me as they are disease elementals, and rapid change is something I find fitting.

So when I see Plague being about 'survival of the fittest' is them mass mutating adaptations to possibly better fight and survive, and the ones with mutations that are not suitable enough dying off in the face of better ones who pass that one through their linages. Me considering Plague Warhammer Chaos worshippers/Zerg hybrid part fifteen.

[quote name="Jaakisaur" date="2021-10-21 10:31:13" ] Plague represents strength in numbers and Nature represents survival of the fittest. Change my mind. [/quote] They're the exact inverse. Plague is growth through survival, Nature is survival through growth. Wildclaw lore details the emphasis on raising gigantic families (by any means necessary, not necessarily blood related) in order to raise one's own status. Meanwhile, though Mirrors swarm together, their lore details leaving any that can't keep up behind, constantly changing their pack, and, overall, only really swarming together to increase their chances of personal survival. There is a lot of overlap- both breeds have an emphasis on proving their own strength, but to different ends. Mirrors do it to bolster themselves- Wildclaws do it to bolster their numbers. And this does resemble a lot of real-life plant warfare, choking out and growing over the landscape. Kudzu is the go-to for Nature's philosophy. [center][img]https://3vq5kdns38e1qxlmvvqmrzsi-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/kudzu1-1.jpg[/img][/center] Now, this does represent individual strength and adaptability for the plant, but this strength would be nothing if it didn't have the ability to physically spread its influence. It needs numbers and size. Plague is a bit of a messier analogy, but you could compare a Mirror pack to an immune system and the infection/illness/etc. within it. Sheer numbers increase the chance of an infection being able to survive and grow, but if the individual lifeforms within that infection can't withstand the forces attacking them (think white blood cells or medication), then numbers don't account for much. Every component has to be as powerful as possible, able to do as much damage as possible before moving on to a different host- in this case, a different Mirror pack. Some parts get left behind or picked off, but the infection still spreads and grows, just without its weaker components. And an individual can still rise above numbers to, essentially, fit it wherever it likes. Again, lots of overlap, but I feel it's intentional. Can't have one without the other.