Threads Of Destiny(Eastern Fantasy, Sequel to Forge of Destiny)

Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
Instrument dependent though. Like, the piano or recorder or violin could work (if they exist), but the flute is apparently best left till they're bigger.

Edit: apparently the issues are a) developing enough lung capacity (actually being able to make the flute make noise is apparently quite difficult, which wouldn't be encouraging to a five year old), and b) difficulty actually being able to hold and play it comfortably if they're too small, which can also lead to bad habits and posture issues (reminder that Biyu apparently takes more after our mother than us and is probably very small)

I kinda assumed it would be childs flute. Like similarly the drums wouldnt be drums used be adults, they would be small ones designed for the small amount of force a kid can give.
 
True enough. A child would have trouble holding a full sized concert flute.
Actually, I started on the recorder myself at around six. Biyu is what, five or six ish?
This is fifth birthday.

Yeah, the question there though is if recorders exist here.

I kinda assumed it would be childs flute. Like similarly the drums wouldnt be drums used be adults, they would be small ones designed for the small amount of force a kid can give.
I mean, I'm looking up here what people say about what ages are appropriate for different instruments. I think that those kinds of things are accounted for :p

But yeah, broadly I think it's perhaps worth thinking about the difference between "train instrument now" and "encourage interest in music", and maybe try to think about the best way to do the second instead?

Though hmmm, I guess there's always the possibility that cultivators have worked out enchanted baby flutes in order to cheat physics and start training musicians earlier...
 
[X] Kite

Edit: I think that dancing shoes could also be rather nice.

[X] Dancing Shoes
 
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[X] Kite
[X] Trompo
[X] Chinese yoyos, Diabolos
[X] Dancing Shoes
[X] Drums
[X] Formation: Durability

This is what I like in no particular order. Just stuff I think she would like being a kid full of exitment.
 
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Mmm, well, now to stick needles into the currently winning picture book votes.

People need to, I think, temper their expectations here. We're not in our world, with readily available colour printing allowing the mass production of encyclopedias and books with nice big colour pictures. If Ling Qi goes for this, then she has too commission it to be done by hand. According to @yrsillar it is *viable*, but on the borderline of what can be done with her budget of a few RSS.

It would, however, also require LQ to do a lot of work herself. Remember that mortal artists also aren't going to know what Emerald Seas or cool animals look like. They don't have the internet, and travel is hard. LQ would have to compile a lot of bunch of stuff herself.

(Illustrated fairy tales probably much easier I'd guess, and probably much more common as something rich people commission)

But yeah, my general feeling here is that we should temper our expectations about what is actually available here.
 
I'm actually not that worried about that. Like string instruments, small woodwinds have more or less been developed independently by most cultures.

There is actually an entire class of micro Chinese flutes. (Koudi)
I doubt we'll need to go that small though.
I feel like we should research that rather than requiring @yrsillar to do it though...

Also I'm a little worried about voting straight flute, though that might just be paranoia because when I asked if I was bringing too much realism into things by looking up the appropriate age to start the flute he said, quote "Not necessarily no"

Which is slightly vague, and potentially ominous :p
 
[X] Dancing Shoes

On furthest thinking this is prob the best option here . For one it doesnt push any type of instrument on her like some worry about, but it also does require music to dance to which could lead her to discovering a love for music on her own without any molding.

Two: it allows her to let off some of that pent up energy in a way that's both productive, in that she is building a neccesary life skill that will help her in court, social, possibly combat , But also fun in that we can all dance with her, from mom, to us, hanyi potentially , maybe even zhengui wants in on the fun.

Three- no nerds here, simply a love of movement and rythm and footwork ( all combat neccesary skills ) she can be a jock still!! Praise be to the jock!!!
 
[X] Arts and Crafts set (including paints and the like)

In my experience kids love art stuff. A lot of these other presents don't seem very fun to me, based on memories of when I was a kid.
 
My main criteria is mostly something which meets the following requirements:
-Immediate payout. She's five. Patience is not reliable, something which doesn't give tangible immediate results is harder.
-Longevity. Whatever it is needs to be able to tolerate some rough treatment and be usable more than a handful of times before its tucked away in a storeroom somewhere.
-Fuss. The result shouldn't drive Qingge battier than most parents get and ideally shouldn't require her commitment of time beyond what she already does.

-Musical instruments are a mixed bag.
--Wind and string instruments tend to take a bit more dexterity and practice to get any immediate payout beyond the noise, but they got good longevity and Qingge is fairly likely to teach her the flute anyways.
--Percussion instruments and bells offer more payout, and she pretty much could experiment on her own.

-Books have decent immediate payout, assuming the material is compelling enough, and they have some reusability. Qingge would need to read them to her unless its a picture book, but once she's literate that isn't a problem anymore.

-Art and crafts depends on the craft.
--Painting...well, seen enough kids with a paint set, or crayons or markers or highlighters to know that its probably human instinct to take Thing Which Makes a Mark and Surface Without Marking and doodle all over. It'd be a bit of a headache to clean up after though!
--Wooden blocks likewise, but with less fuss.
--We can disregard sewing, toy cooking sets and the like for now.

-Toys are great but not much of that seen in the vote, probably because they don't inherently suggest a career without some further thought and everyone's getting right on that.
--I'd have expected at least one suggestion of an animated wooden pony that trots around :p
--Toy weapons are a problem mainly because I'm not sure how Qingge would take it at this age, given the last argument we had.
--Dolls are pretty much universally loved I think.

-Clothing and the like score well on immediate returns, looking pretty and fancy is readily acknowledged to be a nice thing, but she's five, any dress, gloves or shoes are likely stuff she'd grow out of within a year and then never seen again.

-Ornaments have the same issue as toys, though a hairpin, bracelet or brooch are fairly classic gifts.

-If she was a little older I'd probably think a mirror or telescope could work, but still too young to appreciate those much.
 
[X] Illustrated fan depicting spirit animals of the emerald seas playing instruments while dancing

Cower in your various inadequacies as you behold the one TRUE vote.

Edit: also this one is alright I guess
[X] Dancing Shoes
 
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[X] Big Picture Encyclopedia: Emerald Seas
[X] Formation: Durability
[X] Formation: Moving Pictures

[X] Illustration Book of Myths and Fables
[X] Arts and Crafts set (including paints and the like)
 
If she's going to get [] Dancing Shoes why not at least get a formation to make them soundless. Dancing Shoes influence her to enjoy expression and movement, which later in life would cultivate into physical dexterity and Expression. It sets her to cultivate much like Ling Qi.

If we add a muffle or speed formation to it she can get into mischief and follow our footsteps, challenging herself to sneak around the house. A formation that makes her lighter would make her dance more impressive, her movement faster and her steps make less sound. It would be a small enhancement, just enough to matter if she practice. It's also something Ling Qi probably wouldn't have trouble making herself between cultivating sound (Music), Silence (FSS), general sneakiness and most importantly Crescent Step and Wind Thief.

[X] Shoe Formation: Light Steps

[X] Big Picture Encyclopedia: Emerald Seas
[X] Illustration Book of Myths and Fables
[X] Formation: Durability
[X] Formation: Moving Pictures

[X] Flute
 
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dycouza with how your describing the shoes It almost sounds like were getting Hanyi 2.0 like this.
I LOVE IT

I can already imagine her dancing with ghosts and fairies while were playing music for them by the little pond, that would be something to remember.
 
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But yeah, my general feeling here is that we should temper our expectations about what is actually available here.
YRS opened this pandora's book when he told us to write in, and we can always ask CRX's uncle what CRX had and what they added to try and make it more fun and child-friendly. I'll be very sad if there is nobody we can commission this from, or if this isn't already a thing being sold somewhere. Everybody likes pictures and colors and learning :[

my fall back is probably a puppy for the house. They're typically guard dogs, but there are plenty of bored and stressed household folks and we could get them all a nice dog talking to Luo about dog breeds (but maybe after talking to CRX about if it's weird to talk to luo about dog breeds haha)
 
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