History YMMV / FlightRising

* VideoGameCaringPotential versus VideoGameCrueltyPotential: Exalting, the mechanic by which dragons leave the game, is one or the other depending on player interpretation. Dragons either go to serve eternally by the side of their deity, or are sacrificed by their clans for the sake of elemental Dominance bonuses and bragging rights. WordOfGod has insisted on the former, though it doesn't mean players listen -- and even when they do, they don't always follow the most sunny of interpretations.

* SugarWiki/FunnyMoments:
** Sometimes the festivals experience... technical difficulties, such as [[TyopOnTheCover Lameforger's]] Festival and the [[MemeticMutation Festival of the One]].
** The World Map update of 2021 included the ability to see the multiheaded [[{{Dracolich}} undead Imperial dragon]] Luminax wander around for the first time. The majority of users found Luminax endearing to the point of the staff giving out Luminax-themed convention merchandise apparel for AprilFoolsDay that year because the site's collective excitement over "the undead Imperial amalgam" reminded them of conventions.
---> '''[[https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/frd/2994062/5#post_47087589 Aequorin]]''': We shouldn't have been surprised by the fact a game's player base would see a rampaging monstrosity of death and destruction and respond with ''"precious baby, must protect!"'' but we were.

* WinBackTheCrowd: The release of Aberrations Dragons could arguably be a case of this because it gave a better depiction of the Plague flight and Ancient Breeds in general. The latter ties into how Veilspuns were the second ancient to not [[https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/ann/2666061 "break the 'One head, four legs, two wings, one tail' template"]] that was initially teased for ancient dragons (Banescales were an exception). Meanwhile, the fandom had been very exhausted by how staff handled the depiction of the Plague flight based on the [[BrokenBase already-contentious reactions]] to the Riot of Rot festival in 2020, Plague-themed skin submission rules, frustration with the LifeDeathJuxtaposition between Plague and Nature flights, and frequent cases of FanDislikedExplanation for Plague's official lore. Regardless, the excitement for an inevitable Plague ancient was enough to incite discussions, though was heavily preceded by a lot of talk about it either having a plain appearance or being a Plague/Nature hybrid ancient that represented both flights instead of individually, with players swearing to quit if either option was the case. This mindset significantly decreased over time with the release of Obelisks[[note]]which disproved the notion that certain flights were "doomed" or pigeonholed to have a certain type of dragon such as "ugly" rock-themed dragons for Earth flight[[/note]], the [[https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/ann/3042688/1 sneak peek]] of a multi-headed fourth ancient, and finally announcing [[https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/ann/3042688/58#post_48534491 that "dual-element" ancients were not planned]]. However, the actual release of Aberration dragons was definitely what won any potential detractors back as it addressed several concerns and requests from the fandom: a Plague breed that focused on the flight's adaptation theme over its somewhat-outdated SocialDarwinist-esque MightMakesRight themes, and an ancient breed that better fulfilled the initial promise of keeping ancient dragons different from modern dragons.

** Whether the Exaltation mechanic or Baldwin reducing familiars kills the dragon or familiar in question. Site lore is that it definitely doesn't in either case, but that doesn't stop some players from enjoying darker interpretations of the mechanics.

* MemeticMutation:
** what if coatl had no leg? [[labelnote:Explanation]]Started with a thread in the main forum wherein coatl dragons were photoshopped with various... [[BodyHorror anatomical]] [[CrossesTheLineTwice improvements]]. Then came the snowclones where coatl were photoshopped into all kinds of things, which eventually grew so numerous that the moderators were forced to lock every thread except the original to keep the first page from being flooded with coatls.[[/labelnote]]
** Phoatlshop [[labelnote:Explanation]]A portmanteau of Photoshop and Coatl, created in the aftermath of "what if coatl had no leg?" to refer to absurd image edits of dragons.[[/labelnote]]
** Sunshine! [[labelnote:Explanation]]Before officially announcing a big update to dragon colors, the artist Undel created a template thread that only consisted of a picture of an orange (sunshine-colored) coatl labeled "Sunshine!". Theories about its purpose quickly sprang up, and the thread derailed into a memefest that reached ''over 800 pages'' before the proper thread came up.[[/labelnote]]
** Thanks, Arcanist. [[labelnote:Explanation]]The Arcanist is known for his ability to screw things up royally, having been [[MikeNelsonDestroyerOfWorlds the cause of two apocalypses (and counting)]], so people tend to blame him whenever something goes wrong. [[/labelnote]]
** "Thenks mather" and "flambebe". [[labelnote:Explanation]]The Fire flight [[RougeAnglesOfSatin is not good at spelling.]] "Thenks mather" specifically came from an unrelated picture of a guy with a tattoo that said "Thenks mather for my life". "Flambebe" (as in "flame baby" but misspelled) is just the name of the blue-and-orange-colored Fire Tundra dragon subspecies, the player-determined mascot of the Fire flight.[[/labelnote]]
** plagueisweenies2k15 [[labelnote:Explanation]]The Plague flight were called "weenies" for not participating in a dominance battle. They proceeded to [[InsultBackfire take it and run with it.]][[/labelnote]]
** The Stormcatcher doesn't have subjects, he has ''employees.'' [[labelnote:Explanation]]A case of InsistentTerminology regarding the Lightning flight.[[/labelnote]]
** Naomi, queen of glitches. [[labelnote:Explanation]]A bug caused certain npcs, such as the courier dragons who send mail related to the auction house, to be replaced by an account with a female fae avatar simply called Naomi. The name showed up frequently in random places, such as dragons being exalted to Naomi or Naomi replacing dragons in offspring lists, leading many to theorize that a sinister conspiracy was afoot...[[/labelnote]]
** Making up increasingly ridiculous names for the Bogsneak dragon breed, usually a distorted version of the name. Bagsnips just can't catch a break from the players. Poor blorgsnarks.
** he purble [[labelnote:Explanation]]A user bought an entirely purple dragon, covered it in purple apparel, and put "he purble" in the bio. Another user who had been saving to buy the dragon made a melodramatically furious Tumblr post directed at Purble's owner, accusing them of ruining the dragon just to spite people who would have wanted it. Nobody who read it was particularly sympathetic.[[/labelnote]]
** Glimmer & Gloom [[labelnote:Explanation]]The most profitable game on the Fairgrounds has reached infamy for being difficult to some people, to the point where there are training hubs to help people out.[[/labelnote]]
** Imperial Scrolls [[labelnote:Explanation]]The rarest item on the site, which is used to change a dragon's breed into an imperial. People have joked about possible scenarios with them, such as an user getting one, using it, and [[RefugeInAudacity exalting the dragon]].[[/labelnote]]
** Galore used Eliminate on the Eliminate economy. [[labelnote:Explanation]]The Eliminate battlestone is very powerful and very sought-after as the keystone to most of the most popular Coliseum builds, since it does massive amounts of damage and - this is key - refunds Breath to the dragon who used it if it kills the enemy. A combination of these qualities and the stone not being in the drop pool of the most popular Coliseum venue had its price in the player-to-player marketplace climb higher and higher over time, putting it well out of the reach of casual or new players. Well, Galore decided to give every clan two Eliminates in May of 2019, and combined with the stone later being added to that venue means that while the stone is still valuable, it's not going for anywhere near its prices from the peak of its inflation.[[/labelnote]]
** Thomas[[labelnote:Explanation]]During the Dustcarve Dig event, some new ancient ruins were discovered to not be made by dragons, leaving the possibility that it was made by either Beastclans or the humanoid people from the Second Age, prompting the community to joke that humans will be added to the game. The meme quickly took off when people starting posting stock images of a white-collar office worker and named him "Thomas", both for RuleOfFunny and also to lampshade how immersion-breaking it would be to add modern humans to a fantasy world full of dragons. Of course, the hype (and discontent) for humans died down once the developers confirmed that there won't be humans, though the meme itself still lives on through occasional mentions on the forums. When free G1 Obelisks were handed out at the end of the event, ''hundreds'' were named Thomas in honor of the meme.[[/labelnote]]
** tundra_v3 [[labelnote:Explanation]]The first glimpse players had of the Obelisk breed was a low-resolution image of them as [[TakenForGranite statues]]. Due to their mane and stocky shape, a lot of players mistook them for tundra dragons, and joked that staff was re-doing tundras once again (the second time being the Gaoler breed, who ''are'' the canonical ancestors of tundra dragons). This was even picked up by staff as the official announcement of the breed contained an image of the new dragons named "tundra_v3.png".[[/labelnote]]
** soup [[labelnote:Explanation]]All exalted dragons leave their clan to go serve the deity of the player's flight. Since The Plaguebringer's home is the Wyrmwound, a place most dragons avoid since it's a large cauldron-like pit that she brews viruses in, players like to joke that dragons that get exalted in the Plague flight are probably thrown into the Wyrmwound like it's soup. Ended up becoming a bit of an AscendedMeme as all jokes and theories about plague dragons casually swimming in the MutagenicGoo or the mysterious plague ancient breed hiding in it have become canon, as Aberration dragons were indeed hiding around the Wyrmwound and can swim in it to make themselves stronger. However, it's made clear that it's still deadly enough to most dragons, even Aberrations, if they soak in it too often.[[/labelnote]]
** They yassified Baldwin [[labelnote:Explanation]] Baldwin's 2022 art update has the Bogsneak in a pose that includes him placing a hand on his hips, in addition to looking thinner. The userbase quickly made jokes about the update making Baldwin look more attractive than before.[[/labelnote]]
*** THE GILF GOT A GLOWUP YA'LL [[labelnote:Explanation]] A since-deleted comment reacting to the Baldwin art update referring to him with a slang term equating him to a SilverFox. Since an admin quoted the comment before deleting the original post, the statement has been preserved but not the identity of the poster. Cue people cracking up at the statement and wondering who had the audacity to refer to Baldwin in that manner[[/labelnote]]
** Schrodinger's limb[[labelnote:Explanation]]Due to the way the artwork for male Tundras is drawn, it's unclear if the one visible appendage on the Tundra's far side is an arm or a leg. This isn't helped by various sets of gloves and footwear apparel taking different stances on the matter. It eventually reached the point where Undel, the person who drew the dragon art in the first place, [[https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/frd/3177613/3#post_52518585 had to clarify]] that the limb is supposed to be a leg.[[/labelnote]]

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** 2021's AprilFoolsDay prank involved dragon images being rotated with no option to disable the effect, disorienting users with visual processing disorders to the extent of being unable to engage with the site for the day. The lack of a toggle for the effect was seen by the community as a lapse in judgement, especially considering that similar pranks in the past had the option to disable seeing them. Site staff apologized for the negative experience before the day was out, and the next year's prank brought along a toggle to disable seeing April Fool's Day events entirely.
** The Beastclan's lore had long been rightfully criticized for being uncomfortably reminiscent of colonialism -- with the players ''being the invaders'' on Beastclan territory. This lore was acknowledged as harmful in the December 2022 update, and would be entirely retconned; in the updated lore, dragons and Beastclans do not conflict for territory, and Beastclans have their own, organized societies which do not solely exist to fight dragons.

** The Beastclan's lore had long been rightfully criticized for being uncomfortably reminiscent of colonialism -- with the player's ''being the invaders'' on Beastclan territory. This lore was acknowledged as harmful in the December 2022 update, and would be entirely retconned; in the updated lore, dragons and Beastclans do not conflict for territory, and Beastclans had their own, organized society who do not solely exist to fight dragons.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: 2021's AprilFoolsDay prank involved dragon images being rotated with no option to disable the effect, disorienting users with visual processing disorders to the extent of being unable to engage with the site for the day. The lack of a toggle for the effect was seen by the community as a lapse in judgement, especially considering that similar pranks in the past had the option to disable seeing them. Site staff apologized for the negative experience before the day was out, and the next year's prank brought along a toggle to disable seeing April Fool's Day events entirely.

** Schrodinger's limb[[labelnote:Explanation]]Due to the way the artwork for male Tundras is drawn, it's unclear if the one visible appendage on the Tundra's far side is an arm or a leg. This isn't helped by various sets of gloves and footwear apparel taking different stances on the matter It eventually reached the point where Undel, the person who drew the dragon art in the first place, [[https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/frd/3177613/3#post_52518585 had to clarify]] that the limb is supposed to be a leg.[[/labelnote]]

** soup [[labelnote:Explanation]]All exalted dragons leave their clan to go serve the deity of the player's flight. Since The Plaguebringer's home is the Wyrmwound, a place most dragons avoid since it's a large cauldron-like pit that she brews viruses in, players like to joke that dragons that get exalted in the Plague flight are probably thrown into the Wyrmwound like it's soup. Ended up becoming a bit of an AscendedMeme as all jokes and theories about plague dragons casually swimming in the MutagenicGoo or the mysterious plague ancient breed hiding in it have become canon, as Aberration dragons were indeed hiding around the Wyrmwound and can swim in it to make themselves stronger. However, it's made clear that it's is still deadly enough to most dragons, even Aberrations, if they soak in it too often.[[/labelnote]]

* AuthorsSavingThrow: 2021's AprilFoolsDay prank involved dragon images being rotated with no option to disable the effect, disorienting users with visual processing disorders to the extent of being unable to engage with the site for the day. The lack of a toggle for the effect was seen by the community as a lapse in judgement, especially considering that similar pranks in the past had the option to disable seeing them. Site staff apologized for the negative experience before the day was out, and the next year's prank was preceded by an announcement stating that there would be a toggle for it.

* MemeticMutation: The site's gathered a fair few memes.

* WinBackTheCrowd: The release of Aberrations Dragons could arguably be a case of this because it gave a better depiction of the Plague flight and Ancient Breeds in general. The latter ties into how Veilspuns were the second ancient to not [[https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/ann/2666061 "break the 'One head, four legs, two wings, one tail' template"]] that was initially teased for ancient dragons (Banescales were an exception). Meanwhile, the fandom had been very exhausted by how staff handled the depiction of the Plague flight based on the [[BrokenBase already-contentious reactions]] to the Riot of Rot festival in 2020, Plague-themed skin submission rules, frustration with the LifeDeathJuxtaposition between Plague and Nature flights, and frequent cases of FanDislikedExplanation for Plague's official lore. Regardless, the excitement for an inevitable Plague ancient was enough to incite discussions, though was heavily preceded by a lot of talk about it either having a plain appearance or being a Plague/Nature hybrid ancient that represented both flights instead of individually, with players swearing to quit if either option was the case. This mindset significantly decreased over time with the release of Obelisks[[note]]which disproved the notion that certain flights were "doomed" or pigeonholed to have a certain type of dragon such as "ugly" rock-themed dragons for Earth flight[[/note]], the [[https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/ann/3042688/1 sneak peek]] of a multi-headed fourth ancient, and finally announcing [[https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/ann/3042688/58#post_48534491 that "dual-element" ancients were not planned]]. However, the actual release of Aberration dragons was definitely what won any potential detractors back as it addressed several concerns and requests from the fandom: a Plague breed that focused on the flight's adaptation theme over its somewhat-outdated SocialDarwinist-esque MightMakesRight themes, and an ancient breed that better fulfilled the initial promise of keeping ancient dragons different from modern dragons.

* WinBackTheCrowd: The release of Aberrations Dragons could arguably be a case of this because it gave a better depiction of the Plague flight and Ancient Breeds in general. The latter ties into how Veilspuns were the second ancient to not [[https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/ann/2666061 "break the 'One head, four legs, two wings, one tail' template"]] that was initially promised for ancient dragons (Banescales were an exception). Meanwhile, the fandom had been very exhausted by how staff handled the depiction of the Plague flight based on the [[BrokenBase already-contentious reactions]] to the Riot of Rot festival in 2020, Plague-themed skin submission rules, frustration with the LifeDeathJuxtaposition between Plague and Nature flights, and frequent cases of FanDislikedExplanation for Plague's official lore. Regardless, the excitement for an inevitable Plague ancient was enough to incite discussions, though was heavily preceded by a lot of talk about it either having a plain appearance or being a Plague/Nature hybrid ancient that represented both flights instead of individually, with players swearing to quit if either option was the case. This mindset significantly decreased over time with the release of Obelisks[[note]]which disproved the notion that certain flights were "doomed" or pigeonholed to have a certain type of dragon such as "ugly" rock-themed dragons for Earth flight[[/note]], the [[https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/ann/3042688/1 sneak peek]] of a multi-headed fourth ancient, and finally announcing [[https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/ann/3042688/58#post_48534491 that "dual-element" ancients were not planned]]. However, the actual release of Aberration dragons was definitely what won any potential detractors back as it addressed several concerns and requests from the fandom: a Plague breed that focused on the flight's adaptation theme over its somewhat-outdated SocialDarwinist-esque MightMakesRight themes, and an ancient breed that better fulfilled the initial promise of keeping ancient dragons different from modern dragons.

* VideoGameCaringPotential versus VideoGameCrueltyPotential: Exalting, the mechanic by which dragons leave the game, is one or the other depending on player interpretation. Dragons either go to serve eternally by the side of their deity, or are sacrificed by their clans for the sake of elemental Dominance bonuses and bragging rights. WordOfGod has insisted on the former, though it doesn't mean players listen -- and even when they do, they don't always follow the most sunny of interpretations.

** The new item drop system that was previously added in Dustcarve Dig made it so that players can receive certain holiday items from more tasks and activities on the site, including exalting dragons. So what happened when dragons were exalted during Sunparched Prowl 2021, a meat-themed holiday? ''Players had the chance to randomly receive an edible slab of meat after exalting a dragon''. While exalting doesn't actually kill dragons, a lot of players still found it incredibly morbid or [[AscendedMeme just downright hilarious since it's not too uncommon for Plague users to "make soup ingredients" out of exalted dragons]].