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Forge of Destiny(Xianxia Quest)

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The way I understand matters.

The Dreaming Moon is best for augmenting what is already our strengths--adding Expression to our Moon Drip basically all but guarantees ways to augment our Art mastery, and it'll undoubtedly pay dividends in other ways as well. It's the route of the Phantom Thief, the benevolent Trickster who plays pranks that everyone can sit back and laugh at in the end.

The Hidden Moon is best at unveiling new strengths--tapping hidden potential and secrets, and becoming more mystical in the process. It's likely the route that potentially taps into our Mystery Bloodline the most, because that's exactly the kind of thing the Hidden Moon would want to seek out. It's the introspective, thoughtful route--one in which reveals paths we didn't originally understand, but which are undoubtedly no less potent for the secrets--and as we all know, being Mysterious automatically makes you best. It's the route of the Clever Sorcerer, who plunders secrets from the wicked and protects those of the virtuous.

The Mother Moon makes us best at nurturing the potential of others--of making the lives of those around us richer, and the lessons learned from those interactions all the greater--actions that spiral outwards into a greater aura of good feels that--when returned to you--inevitably end up with you richer for the effort. It's the path of the Mysterious Mentor, who cleverly arranges matters to draw out your fullest potential, making you look back in hindsight and realize just how much work they've actually done for you.
 
[X] Hidden Moon

I think this aspect best suits Ling Qi's goals and demeanor. Look at how she demanded to know Cai's secret thoughts to give any consideration to her offer, for instance. I think it comes naturally to her and will support her in her goals on each of the major routes.

I do think it's a grave mistake to do this 'for Xin', though. This is a step in defining our Way and it's absolutely critical that it's true to who we are.
 
Urgh.

Still don't know what to vote, but until I have really decided I need to keep the dream alive.

[X] Dreaming Moon
 
So... the Moon choice. I do feel like while this is probably not truly final, I suspect there's only so many such selections going forward. There may or may not be the option to 're-choose' as well. Each one has a different appeal, from my perspective. I favor choosing based on how it affects Ling Qi's path, ultimately.

Dreaming Moon:
This is very much about music and dance and revelry. Fluff-wise, music has been a constant companion of Ling Qi for quite a while and has become a major part of her cultivation path. Mechanics-wise, Expression is a strong skill that she's likely to use in any combat - so if the bonus success thing expands to Expression, she'll be hitting it pretty consistently. If, of course. She's not really the 'party' type, but she kind of is the type to bring people together. Consider how she allied Bai Meizhen and Cai Renxiang together, or even how she may have played a role in convincing Han Jian into actively supporting Renxiang's faction. She tried (with not much success) to bring SuSu and Golden Fields together, and did manage to bring Su Ling and the Ma sisters together. The quest's objective might be an actual party, but might be more symbolic "make friends be friends with each other" - perhaps solving the Han Jian/Gu Xiulan tension, or allying SuSu and Golden Fields together.

Going forward, Grinning and Dreaming kind of suggests a tendency towards working behind the scenes to keep things going and everyone on-board. Her home is a place where her allies meet and mingle, where tensions are eased and interpersonal issues resolved (possibly through Ling Qi's Ling Qi-ness). It's full of music and perhaps even laughter, but it's also a place of illusions and tricks.

Hidden Moon:
This is about exploration and secrets. Fluff-wise, while Ling Qi hasn't emphasized the discovery of secrets she has been doing it; the trials, hunting down Yan Renshu's bases and so on. In a certain sense, this is the closest-aligned to Grinning, so Ling Qi doesn't have far to go. On the other hand, that also makes for less interesting interactions between the two phases. Mechanically, I would guess things involving exploration, perception and discovery would be boosted - for example, getting successes from Perception tests. This is Xin's phase, of course - which brings in the question of her reaction. To be honest, though, I don't think that's too much of an issue; the Sisters seem to get along just fine. The quest's objective is to find, I think, a place - less likely to be the hiding place of yet another art and more likely to be a very strong cultivation location - but I could be wrong, of course.

Going forward, Grinning and Hidden is very much the secretive sort. Ling Qi lurks around discovering secrets and possibly repossessing them, using tricks and traps to really make those who offend her miserable. Her home is a secret place, one where her allies can hide and be safe.

Fluff-wise, actually... I think I would actually kind of like to see Ling Qi replace Grinning with Hidden, conceptually. I don't see Ling Qi as doing a whole lot of thievery in the nearish (or far) future, while I could definitely see her exploring to learn secrets, whether it's "secrets of the universe", scouting out enemy encampments or treasure-hunting. She feels bad about taking from or harming those who haven't harmed her - although cleverness and trickery of those who oppose her isn't an issue, and she certainly enjoys the thrill.

Mother Moon:
The rather unexpected one, but considering Zhengui, Hannyi and how she's been thinking a lot about motherhood (Xin, Zeqing, her own mother), it makes a certain amount of sense. This is a bit trickier to place as a consequence, however. Fluff-wise this is very much emphasizing the family part of her home. Mechanically, social actions almost certainly benefit from the bonuses. The quest's objective might be to convince Zeqing to let Hannyi go with Ling Qi rather than keeping her close, or perhaps to 'adopt' other spirits or beings.

Going forward, Grinning and Mother has a pretty strong protective streak. Ling Qi's home is a place where her allies are safe, where they can recover their strength, and where she can raise her 'family'.

Concluding Thoughts:
Mother Moon is... well, it's just harder for me to envision. Ling Qi is just too young (and uninterested in starting a biological family) for this to really fit. Perhaps when she has gotten married and when her home is established, but not at the moment. Hidden Moon is a better fit, but in some ways it's too good a bit. There's enough overlap with Grinning Moon that feels like there'd be 'wasted' space in Ling Qi's Way.

Dreaming feels like the most interesting, going forward, and the one that'd contribute most to the maturation of Ling Qi's Way. That could simply be my lack of imagination at present, but for now I think that's the one I favor slightly. Hidden... to be honest, I regret a bit Ling Qi choosing Grinning before. At the time a big influence on the vote was gratitude, and I feel like that was perhaps a mistake - and one that shouldn't be made now. If one votes for Hidden, it shouldn't be because it would please Xin, I feel. That said, I definitely think there are other reasons to choose it, so I'm not saying "don't vote for Hidden" by any means.

EDIT: Ah, right - I do enjoy discovery and seeing Ling Qi learning about the setting and such. Hmm...
 
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Grinning isn't just about thievery though, it's also about outwitting and tricking. Almost every route of ours involves going to the frontier for a while to bully barbarians, and they're legitimate targets for pillaging and sabotage.
 
[X] Dreaming Moon

Having thought about this some more, while I wouldn't spill any tears over the Hiden Moon, I geel like the main reason to vote for it is Xin... and I'm just not fond of that idea. We should direct our cultivation towards the person we want to be, not merely someone who fits the alignment of the people around us.
 
yrsillar said:
Then those loathsome men arrived, and upon a word from my elderly guest hurled themselves to the floor in kowtow. I… was somewhat nonplussed. While I do not profess to fully understand the conversation that transpired then, but I understood the title they referred to him by. What in the world did you do to bring the Senior Judge-Magistrate for the entire central region to the outermost district of Tonghou?
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Cai definitely scored a point with me here. It show a complete non respect of the law ( after all that guy isn't supposed to help random people but rather judge important stuff). Given that my issue with her is her justice, it's a great sell for me.

Also our tutor is 6th? Given that a genius take a dozen year to go to core sect, and that there are 16 people a year that go into the inner sect, it make him pretty fucking great. That's nice. Also superior beefcake. He go on the husbando chart.

Now for the choice. I am hesitating between hidden and mother. The rrick being that hidden interest me mostly because of Xin and therefore the choice is the one about interpersonnal relationship moon.


[X] Mother Moon
 
CircleTheSkies said:
Concluding Thoughts:
Mother Moon is... well, it's just harder for me to envision. Ling Qi is just too young (and uninterested in starting a biological family) for this to really fit. Perhaps when she has gotten married and when her home is established, but not at the moment. Hidden Moon is a better fit, but in some ways it's too good a bit. There's enough overlap with Grinning Moon that feels like there'd be 'wasted' space in Ling Qi's Way.
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I think you're being to quick to dismiss Mother Moon here, and pigeonholing it a bit - this it's nurturing, but combined with Grinning, it basically fits where Ling Qi is right now, she's a somewhat selfish girl, but she's expanded that circle of selfishness past her self and onto a circle of friends. She makes her home safe, and parasites those outside of it for the benefit of those within.

Basically, this is a really natural expansion when you stop and think for a minute, because we're already there. And we socialize more then we fight at this point in the quest, so some social bonuses would be quite nice.
 
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Adhoc vote count started by archangis on Mar 2, 2018 at 7:20 PM, finished with 53403 posts and 70 votes.
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[X] Dreaming Moon

I really like Xin but I think this is the better choice for Ling Qi based on the kinds of actions she's been taking lately, and likely the one that will have the most influence on her relationships with Outer Sect members after she graduates and leaves them behind.
 
Also, you know, Hidden moon is all about finding and hoarding secrets. The passives this next phase will give us will be based on that.

How often do we do things along these lines, really?.


Grinning gave us motive and boon for theft. Dreaming will probably give us motive and boon for expression.
 
[X] Hidden Moon

I don't mind Xin one way or the other, but I feel this fits better. Looking for secrets hidden in the darkness, keeping and dealing in information, it fits a spy/thief

On the other hand, Ling Qi has vehemently denied that Zhengui is her son, so I don't think she would chose Mother Moon given that it implies mothering him.

And while Dreaming Moon may give benefits to her art, after having been dealing with Shexiang she should be a little wary of all things Dreaming...
 
[X] Hidden Moon

I would love to see Ling Qi go tomb raiding, or just adventuring in general. Some of my favorite events were the trial with Bai and stealing the contract book from its hidden, underground base.

In short, I want Ling Qi to become a true RPG protag and go hunt down Purple and Orange loot.
 
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