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

Kian · Jun 2, 2020

[X] Find a way to broach the subject, and figure out what he wants. You don't want him to misinterpret things.

Imugi · Jun 2, 2020

Xuan Shi's spirit ancestry is probably from a more land bound xuan wu, so he feels out of place within the Xuan clan. I think Xuan Shi wants a shoal to be a part of and Zhengui's dislike of him is because of that want.

Neshuakadal · Jun 2, 2020

wotaddict said:
As someone on Team no/minimal romance, I am kinda worried that if people push for romance now, Xuan Shi is gonna get an insurmountable first mover advantage in the husbando wars, and that the war itself will be short and decisive. I would much prefer marriage to be put off till way later.

When do cultivators normally get married anyway? 20-30's? Or even later?

It really depends on your cultivation and progress through the tiers. Someone progressing slowly will likely marry earlier than someone like us. For us we are advancing very quickly so we will have better offers eventually since we would be at a higher level of cultivation.

SamuraiNCO · Jun 2, 2020

[X] Leave the subject alone, there is no point in making things awkward. Try to continue as before.

I like the status quo here and I figure I'd vote the other way since the vote is so lopsided currently.

Karugus · Jun 2, 2020

[X] Find a way to broach the subject, and figure out what he wants. You don't want him to misinterpret things.

Kian · Jun 2, 2020

IIRC Meizhen once said in FOD, that in the higher nobility marriage can be pushed back as far as the completion of the first century but most highly talented cultivators marry in their fifties.

At that point they are either peak 4th or early 5th realm and cultivation REALLY stalls out.

Unless you are Cai senior of course, because she hit white in her fifties.

angelofwhim · Jun 2, 2020

[X] Find a way to broach the subject, and figure out what he wants. You don't want him to misinterpret things.

reignonyrparade · Jun 2, 2020

Neshuakadal said:
It really depends on your cultivation and progress through the tiers. Someone progressing slowly will likely marry earlier than someone like us. For us we are advancing very quickly so we will have better offers eventually since we would be at a higher level of cultivation.

At a certain point political realities begin to override that though. If we were independent we'd probably get continuously scaling attempts to marry us into their families, but as is we're fundamentally limited to what people are willing to marry out to a baroness directly sworn to the ducal heir. Which is considerably more than if we weren't sworn to a ducal heir, but still has a genuine limit. Our "cultivation marriage level" eventually outpaces our "political marriage level."

Orkus Majorkus · Jun 2, 2020

qwolfs said:
The idea that Ling Qi, who all but literally runs her life on a spread sheet, has a habit of overspending will never not be funny to me.

I can't think of a single person, ever, anywhere and anywhen that could credibly be considered as efficient and calculating as Ling Qi.

Yeah, she never overcompensates when her family is concerned!

Nowhere did I say she was overspending before, I was simply concerned this kind of pattern is not a good one to get into when she's gonna need all the cash she can get to A: fuel her cultivation to get cyan and indigo while B: maintaining her fief and household on the border, far from the safety of the sect where we currently are.

Bakkasama · Jun 2, 2020

reignonyrparade said:
At a certain point political realities begin to override that though. If we were independent we'd probably get continuously scaling attempts to marry us into their families, but as is we're fundamentally limited to what people are willing to marry out to a baroness directly sworn to the ducal heir. Which is considerably more than if we weren't sworn to a ducal heir, but still has a genuine limit. Our "cultivation marriage level" eventually outpaces our "political marriage level."

Mmm... I might be remembering wrong but at the pace we are advancing, our cultivation level is directly linked to our political status. Iirc (I might not), we are a baroness because we are unafiliated to an already existing family and reached green before 21 but we could get a higher title depending on how high we go. As in, we would be a viscount if we reach indigo before 21 and count if we get to violet by then? I think it was like that but don't take my word on it.

JohnnieBoy123 · Jun 2, 2020

reignonyrparade said:
At a certain point political realities begin to override that though. If we were independent we'd probably get continuously scaling attempts to marry us into their families, but as is we're fundamentally limited to what people are willing to marry out to a baroness directly sworn to the ducal heir. Which is considerably more than if we weren't sworn to a ducal heir, but still has a genuine limit. Our "cultivation marriage level" eventually outpaces our "political marriage level."

I suspect a big tipping point is Cyan. Anyone (from a noble family and with unlimited resources) can reach Green and so that isn't noteworthy in itself. But a Cyan, especially as quickly as we are likely to do it? That's when you start becoming someone relevant to the Empire as a whole. Admittedly this will mostly be "worth having their name at the end of the book under 'other figures'."

I also expect that Ling Qi will marry late because she is extremely uncomfortable with the idea.

Bakkasama said:
Mmm... I might be remembering wrong but at the pace we are advancing, our cultivation level is directly linked to our political status. Iirc (I might not), we are a baroness because we are unafiliated to an already existing family and reached green before 21 but we could get a higher title depending on how high we go. As in, we would be a viscount if we reach indigo before 21 and count if we get to violet by then? I think it was like that but don't take my word on it.

Admittedly we don't know what breaking into Cyan involves, much less breaking into Indigo, but getting to Indigo by 21 seems unlikely for just about anyone. I suspect that they relax the age requirements as you climb the ranks. No one is going to tell a White that they are too old if they ask for a duchy and are willing to play along with everyone else.

Sirrocco · Jun 2, 2020

wotaddict said:
As someone on Team no/minimal romance, I am kinda worried that if people push for romance now, Xuan Shi is gonna get an insurmountable first mover advantage in the husbando wars, and that the war itself will be short and decisive. I would much prefer marriage to be put off till way later.

When do cultivators normally get married anyway? 20-30's? Or even later?

CRX has specifically told us that we'd be well-served to hold off on making marriage commitments for a while. Our value in such things is only going to rise for the next while, and I suspect (though this was not stated at the time) the value to her of such specific contacts will be greater a bit later on, when she's thrown more fully into the diplomacy side of things

reignonyrparade said:
At a certain point political realities begin to override that though. If we were independent we'd probably get continuously scaling attempts to marry us into their families, but as is we're fundamentally limited to what people are willing to marry out to a baroness directly sworn to the ducal heir. Which is considerably more than if we weren't sworn to a ducal heir, but still has a genuine limit. Our "cultivation marriage level" eventually outpaces our "political marriage level."

I *think* I see what you're getting at here, but I note some interesting details.
- I believe that if we crank our cultivation level up high enough, fast enough, we eventually wind up getting automatically promoted to a higher tier of nobility, just like we were automatically bumped up to Baron.
- Our value as handmaiden to CRX also increases over time, as it becomes more sure that we will hold that position, and as CRX herself consolidates her hold on the position of heir.

Still, yes, the fact that us being the handmaiden means that they're marrying out rather than marrying in is a significant aspect of this.

Bakkasama said:
Mmm... I might be remembering wrong but at the pace we are advancing, our cultivation level is directly linked to our political status. Iirc (I might not), we are a baroness because we are unafiliated to an already existing family and reached green before 21 but we could get a higher title depending on how high we go. As in, we would be a viscount if we reach indigo before 21 and count if we get to violet by then? I think it was like that but don't take my word on it.

Yeah, that.

Also, it's possible you meant this already, but it's not about being purely unaffiliated. The fact that we're sworn to the Cai doesn't change the effect. It's the fact that we're the head of our own line.

Saidoro · Jun 2, 2020

Bakkasama said:
Mmm... I might be remembering wrong but at the pace we are advancing, our cultivation level is directly linked to our political status. Iirc (I might not), we are a baroness because we are unafiliated to an already existing family and reached green before 21 but we could get a higher title depending on how high we go. As in, we would be a viscount if we reach indigo before 21 and count if we get to violet by then? I think it was like that but don't take my word on it.

I can't recall the exact categories, but the cultivation requirements for Viscount and Count were based on whether you had a cultivator of the appropriate level at all, it's only baron that cares about when you reached that power level. Nobles could get demoted from those ranks if they failed to have an appropriately ranked cultivator for a long enough period of time.

Mellithae · Jun 2, 2020

Saidoro said:
I can't recall the exact categories, but the cultivation requirements for Viscount and Count were based on whether you had a cultivator of the appropriate level at all, it's only baron that cares about when you reached that power level. Nobles could get demoted from those ranks if they failed to have an appropriately ranked cultivator for a long enough period of time.

That makes much more sense than Indigo by 21. (Let alone Violet.)

I would be surprised if anyone has ever gotten indigo by 21. Unless you count spirits, I guess.

Karnax626 · Jun 2, 2020

IMO Xuan Shi and Ling Qi do at least share an appreciation for adventure, as seen with the Temple. Tbh I'd argue the same w.r.t. romance, though Xuan Shi oddly enough seems to be more experienced in that regard than Qi, if only via books.

reignonyrparade · Jun 2, 2020

Sirrocco said:
I *think* I see what you're getting at here, but I note some interesting details.
- I believe that if we crank our cultivation level up high enough, fast enough, we eventually wind up getting automatically promoted to a higher tier of nobility, just like we were automatically bumped up to Baron.
- Our value as handmaiden to CRX also increases over time, as it becomes more sure that we will hold that position, and as CRX herself consolidates her hold on the position of heir.

Still, yes, the fact that us being the handmaiden means that they're marrying out rather than marrying in is a significant aspect of this.

Also, it's possible you meant this already, but it's not about being purely unaffiliated. The fact that we're sworn to the Cai doesn't change the effect. It's the fact that we're the head of our own line.

For the first part, I didn't mean to say that it had happened ALREADY, just that there is a point where the political concerns begin to restrict what benefits can come from the cultivation concerns.

For that last bit, we'd also be the head of our own line if unaffiliated, but there would be no political pressures keeping us from just merging our nascent line into an existing clan.

BungieONI · Jun 2, 2020

Mellithae said:
That makes much more sense than Indigo by 21. (Let alone Violet.)

I would be surprised if anyone has ever gotten indigo by 21. Unless you count spirits, I guess.

Yeah, and then there's also that estimate you did yesterday about what "turns" Ling Qi would possibly get to Cyan, with it being in the range of "turn" 40 to 43. (They wouldn't be actual turns, this thread isn't going to go that long and a new one will be created before this breakthrough happens for those wondering. If however you extrapolate out each turn being a month like this thread does, that's where these turn numbers come from. It's between months 40 to 43)

Which is towards the end of her eighteenth year.

Just looking at that proportion of how much time she will spend in green, about 3 years from 16 to 18, spending less then three years in the even more difficult Cyan realm seems odd and unlikely.

Sirrocco · Jun 2, 2020

Katreus said:
I'm sure he's more important now than he was pre-Sect, but Xuan Shi was both allowed to go to Sect, is not a mainline Xuan or at least, not important enough for a xuanwu companion, and was at one time scheduled to be engaged with Meizhen pre-Sect when Meizhen was not a particularly high ranking white serpent. None of that speaks to importance.

I'm sure they're fond of Xuan Shi, but that the Twin Admirals chose to show up is indicative more of Cai Shofenhua and Bai Suzhen's appearance just as Bai Suzhen's appearance at the New Year's Tournament was more to cement the alliance with Cai Shenhua than her niece, of which Bai Meizhen has clearly indicated that so far, she is second fiddle to Bai Suzhen's work and politicking (i.e. in her interlude, she says she's only seen Suzhen a few times).

"grand-nephew of the Twin Admirals" sounds pretty mainline to me. Sure, when they let him go off to the sect, they didn't think all that much of him. They're turtlesnakes. The whole idea is that you lay a bunch of eggs, and then you see which ones survive and thrive. He was being sort of unimpressive, so they deprioritized him. Now he's done quite well, and they're adjusting their opinions accordingly. He's rising in the family, and he's mainline enough to be promoted into whatever position he might qualify for.

Also, you're trying to say both "They allowed him to go to the sect, so obviously he doesn't matter." and "One year after he went to the sect, the admirals showed up, but it obviously wasn't about him - it was about being there where the amazing politics were going down." There's some disconnect there.

Still, it's clearly the case that you believe this quite strongly, and I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt and assume that what's going on is that the information thus far provided is not entirely clear on the matter. Fortunately, Ling Qi has been taking at least a few lessons on things like (etiquette and the like) this from Cai Renxiang herself, presumably with particular focus on how they apply to her own role in society. @yrsillar - does Ling Qi have any idea what the probable outcome would be of a match between her and Xuan Shi? Presumably she wouldn't marry into the Xuan (no matter how welcome Zhengui might make her there). Would he marry into the Ling? Would they both stay in their respective clans and try to make it work anyway? Would it simply not be done in the first place?

veekie · Jun 2, 2020

Orkus Majorkus said:
Lol Meizhen and Xuan Shi have the same taste in women.

IIRC Xuan Shi was originally expected to reach out to Meizhen, but he latched onto Renxiang instead, and then he dropped his pursuit quietly at some point.
Meizhen did the exact same thing >.>

FallenPears said:
So I wonder, is this something unique to Xuan Shi, or do Xuan in general like bury their babies in the sand and then wait for toddlers to run out into the ocean where they then fish them out to join the clan?

Might be.
Whats next? Releasing the kids in a custom settlement to run around as street urchins and learn humility until they reach their teens and formally get inducted into the clan?

picklepikkl said:
...I absolutely want to see Sixiang have a conversation with Qingge about LQ's baggage, with Six providing the "here's what's going on in her head" info and Qingge providing the "ah, here's what spurred that and here's some human context," while LQ sits there and writhes with embarrassment. That would be amazing. They can do it, too, now that Sixiang can manipulate wind currents to talk!

I think that might be considered a war crime somewhere...

Lena27 said:
I originally hoped that Qingge would be someone LQ could go to for advice for this sort of thing...but it seems that Mom's baggage colors her own perception of men in the same way as LQ, just as much. Of course I expected Qingge to have a lot of trauma associated with men in general but... I guess I was a little too optimistic in hoping she might be more impartial. Its kinda crazy that her mom could suspect LQ would think men to be anything other than dangerous, given what LQ had witnessed as a child and the environment she was raised in. However parents often underestimate how much children understand and remember. She didn't have the luxury worry about LQ's mental wellbeing until 1.5-2 years ago and since then...LQ has become a powerful cultivator. I'm sure in Qingge's eyes, her daughter seems to have no trouble leaving the past behind.

I'm not referring to LQ's time on the streets because of course Qingge can't realistically know what her daughter experienced there. However, if Qingge had even the slightest idea of how heavily impacted her daughter was mentally by the things she had seen as a child, she would know better. This interaction shows how little she knows her daughter. Of course I'm not saying that as a criticism. It makes sense that even though time has passed, they still don't know each other that well. We just have a long way to go.
Also, LQ may have to find someone else to ask for advice. A different mom, one not traumatized and with a less difficult past, might say that as long as propriety is observed, there no harm in a little flirtation. A different mom wouldn't automatically worry about men taking advantage of or expecting obligations from her daughter, wouldn't immediately warn LQ about the dangers of men and the danger of letting your guard down. However, Qingge sees a potentially predatory mind in any man.
Once again, I am not criticizing Qingge here. I feel bad for her. In hindsight, its certainly not surprising that she has this attitude.
However, LQ is still gonna have to find someone else to talk to for the immediate future about these matters, while she works on her relationship with her mom.
Gu Xiulian, why did you have to go...

Parents tend to see themselves, especially their own past mistakes, in their children. In this case, Qingge has to adapt rapidly, not only to the changes brought on by her time as a runaway, but also to the changes from cultivation, defaulting to assuming similarity to her own youth when nothing comes to mind.
Ling Qi hits enough of the same beats that she's genuinely worried.

She might have a heart attack if we told her about Lakegate.

Sirrocco said:
Worse yet, Zhengui doesn't like him. This isn't a huge issue all by itself, but apparently it's fundamental to the breed, which means that Little Brother (who we're already committed to forever) is always going to have at least some friction with him. I'd rather not have that friction be part of our life.

This isn't quite correct.

yrsillar said:
"I think there is. I have been rude before." Avoiding him for months on end certainly counted. "...And I know Zhengui has been trying about your presence."

"It is only expected," Xuan Shi said shortly.

"Why is it expected though?" LIng Qi asked with a frown. "Sixiang thinks it might be some misplaced territorial instinct, but I'm really not sure if Xuan Wu are like that. Text's on their nature are scarce."

Xuan Shi didn't respond at first, tracing his finger along the curve of a painted character. "Within the shoal, xuan wu are communal creatures, caring little for territory or personal items. Conflict arises when shoals meet."

A shoal was the word for multiple xuan wu, if Ling Qi remembered right. "I thought all xuan wu were members of the Xuan though," she asked. "Or are you talking about sub groups."

Xuan Shi let out a huff of dry laughter. "The Living Isle's brood is the mightiest and most fecund shoals, but others swim in distant seas. On the coast of distant Kem in the north, and far to the west beyond the land's end, where the Great Maelstrom churns. Those more kin to thy brother once walked amongst the lands beyond the Golden Fields as well, though none now know their disposition."

"So it is something of the sort," Ling Qi said to herself. She couldn't help but feel like he was deflecting though. She could tell that there was no good in prying more.

Assuming its just the territorial instinct Zhengui's issues stem with boundaries. Xuan Shi is on his territory, but not part of his territory.

If he gets past that identification, Zhengui is expected to be likely to be fiercely loyal and cooperative. He showed similar aggressions to Hanyi initially as well, but accepted her rapidly(possibly via the route of Zhengui ~~Son~~Brother of Ling Qi Student of Zeqing Mother of Hanyi, with the teacher-student relationship being said to be as strong as the parent-child relationship in Ancient China).

Xuan Shi is meanwhile almost but not quite one of the in group, so theres a lot of petty aggression...on the flip side, Zhengui finally deigned to call him by his Name rather than a derogatory.

Neshuakadal said:
It really depends on your cultivation and progress through the tiers. Someone progressing slowly will likely marry earlier than someone like us. For us we are advancing very quickly so we will have better offers eventually since we would be at a higher level of cultivation.

That said like the Gu said previous...theres not a lot in the way of better offers once you're batting in the Ducal range.

[X] Find a way to broach the subject, and figure out what he wants. You don't want him to misinterpret things.

Figure out what he wants, and if neither of you are ready you could table such matters for far far later. And if its a misunderstanding then having it out in the open rather than mucking up their relationship is better.

Saidoro · Jun 2, 2020

Ling Qi's increasing value as a marriage prospect as she gets more cultivation fundamentally comes down to decreasing uncertainty.

A son positioned as the husband to the personal retainer to duchess Cai Renxiang would be almost incalculably valuable, but there are a bunch of ways something could go wrong between here and there. She could hit a wall in cultivation and fall behind, we could lose Renxiang's favor, we could get killed by rat men, Renxiang could hit a wall in cultivation and fall behind, Shenhua could decide she prefers Renxiang's little sibling, Renxiang could be killed by rat men.

Renxiang is reasonably confident that those uncertainties will all be resolved in our favor, broader society is less sure and will only believe what Renxiang and Qi can back up with demonstrated results, so Qi's value goes up over time as obstacles are passed by as Renxiang planned. Unless we get killed by rat men anyway.

Andelevion · Jun 2, 2020

Lena27 said:
The thing is, what is considered by you to be a bland and boring reason to like someone is probably the only reason LQ may ever consider him a close friend.
Note that when I say close, I mean as close as Meizhen. Rank 4 SL.
I think in most cases, plenty of people would find those aspects boring--but LQ's baggage is very unique and so the reasons she might consider any guy a romantic prospect ever would have to be pretty unique too. Inoffensive, nonaggressive, reserved...all things that I'm sure many people would find boring in a character but nevertheless are necessary for LQ.

I'm not saying it's not possible to work out, I'm just saying it's personally not a very interesting relationship for me to read about.

I'm less invested in healthy vanilla Relationships than interesting ones for good or bad lol, that's just how my fictional tastes are programmed.

qwolfs said:
I mean, the idea that Xuan Shi is blandly McBlanderson is a bit unfounded.

This is the guy that went to a distant sect because he was so deeply invested in a book series he was reading that he then braved an actual literal Adventurer Dungeon for it.

Just cause he's not a sexual tyrannosaurus or whatever doesn't mean he's bland.

I think Xuan Shi has interesting aspects to his character, it's just never been apparent to me how people find him interesting in conjunction with Ling Qi. The relationship is kind of...hmm? He's helpful sometimes, and we've talked some, and....honestly he just doesn't stick in my mind for me.

Ultimately I'm Just not very titillated by the shipping ideal of (what I've seen Thread people describe as) "two bottoms miserably failing to make a move" lol.

Lena27 said:
Yeah and just 'cause he's not as suave, smooth, confident or overtly badass as Liao Zhu doesn't mean he's bland either. It took us seeing him in action last turn to realize how badass he can be. Liao Zhu on the other hand makes it obvious how cool he is, which has its own narrative appeal. I can't see that realistically getting past LQ's defensiveness and paranoia. Ignoring everything else Liao Zhu is her superior and thus is in a position of power--not something most people would be comfortable with, let alone LQ.

Look, I'm not gonna get into all the reasons I like Liao Zhu just cause I'm a fickle bitch who jumped from male character to male character from the beginning of my journey with FoD lol

I like male characters with a core of competent confidence, and I think his interactions with Ling Qi from the position of an experienced senpai have been a lot of fun. I think Ling Qi deserves a lot of teasing, and there's something inoffensively light about how he goes about it, but he's also got moments of seriousness where Ling Qi does get to see alternative sides to how he presents himself.

I think his moon aspects are fun to contrast with Ling Qi's and there's an undercurrent dynamic of conflicting philosophy there despite his general supportive presence. The slight relentless lighthearted front kind of feels good contrasted against Ling Qi's pretty unswavering airheaded seriousness?

Honestly don't give a shit about the position of power rn considering I'm thinking it'd be years and years before literally anything would Ever happen, at which point it'd honestly probably be a nonissue.

but also because what I'd find fascinating and fun to read about in fiction doesn't apply to reality and power dynamic bullshit is unfortunately right up my delicious alley.

It's not what I'd actually involve in my shipping of the ship, and I never even considered that tbh, but you unfortunately just made it that much more tantalizing lmao RIP

Damn I really talked myself into this, Huh........

...was mostly on a side of "I don't want any actual shipping" but I may need to doodle shippy art at some point.

Actually I don't pay the thread that much attention these days so I'm not sure if I'm the only person really hefting a sail for the ship or not, but I'm used to shit ship taste so that's fine

Sleepy edit: NGL if it turns out that Xuan Shi had absolutely zero romantic inclinations and this is a horrible misunderstanding, I will laugh my ass off, becuase that's the funniest possible resolution I can imagine

tryingtobewitty · Jun 2, 2020

[X] Find a way to broach the subject, and figure out what he wants. You don't want him to misinterpret things.

Killer_Whale · Jun 2, 2020

Andelevion said:
Sleepy edit: NGL if it turns out that Xuan Shi had absolutely zero romantic inclinations and this is a horrible misunderstanding, I will laugh my ass off, becuase that's the funniest possible resolution I can imagine

Even funnier; If he didn't think he had any feelings, but now that the topic has been brought up, he realizes that he does.

Yun · Jun 2, 2020

[X] Find a way to broach the subject, and figure out what he wants. You don't want him to misinterpret things.

Here goes nothing.

storryeater · Jun 2, 2020

Andelevion said:
I have actually zero idea how many people want to husbando Xuan Shi, but he's not very attractive to me personally with Ling Qi.

I'm biased of course ever since my true husbando showed up lol, but it's not a dynamic that I find interesting?

... It's kind of bland to me. The only aspect of Xuan Shi being appealing to Ling Qi being his inoffensive and nonthreatening status....rubs me the wrong way as a foundation? I think being nonthreatening is such a.... meh reason To like someone.

I suppose that's one reason I do like the light flirtatiousness of some of the other dudes who've interacted with Ling Qi before is because they've always been an inoffensive way of teasing her while also respecting her boundaries? (Moon senpai mentioned it but I think I agree that she needed different things from him than Su Ying and well, I also think it's cute when she's teased)

It's never been the focus of the situation basically, and I feel like she'd be more comfortable with a light touch in terms of relationship building. Someone's whos happy when she's there but not necessarily bothered when she's got her own life to live, whose got their own life to live?? Their own shit to do.

(drop in on Ling Qi like a hurricane and dip out just as she's getting overwhelmed lol)

honestly, Lanlan's cousin could have worked-ish in terms of personality, but the arrangement was wayyyy too heavy for Ling Qi from the start. He *was* someone loose enough to let her dip out whenever she's uncomfortable And comfortable about it, but active in terms of expressing their appreciation and pursuing opportunities.

[X] Find a way to broach the subject, and figure out what he wants. You don't want him to misinterpret things.

leaning this way because I'm a proponent of healthy communication.

I do not....want to actually go down a romantic path with Xuan Shi. I'm not sure it'd affect my reading of the Quest but.... I would keep thinking about how they'd be kind of incompatible a both of them settle into a "thing"??

Rip shipping politics

I'd personally be happy for this quest to remain nonromantic lol. Don't really see Ling Qi as ready for romance at all. Let's check back in after a hundred years lol.

Let me say that I do not think Xuan Shi is perfect... he is just better than all other suitors.

The two other guys that have courted us this far are, honestly, less interesting than him.

Liao Zhu seems interesting, but I am not sure we actually know him at all, considering his "what she needed" speech. Moreover, a relationship with a person wo acts like a mentor to help shape us is... unhealthy.

Gan Guangli I can go for, but I have a feeling the thread won't, plus it would actually be harming Cai as it'll mean she'll control 1 baron instead of 2.

Ji Rong is a rival/frenemy. While, yes, that kind of relationship can be fun, I just do not think we have that kind of chemistry with Ji Rong. Plus he already has a crush.

Every other interesting male figure is either an antagonist, or much older than us.

Xuan Shi on the other hand is very interesting. He is reserved and doesn't like to stand out in general, he likes his literature, he is a litle out of touch with reality and he seems to have an interesting backstory. Unlike our other suitors, it doesn't feel like he is trying not to tread on eggs, but rather than that is genuinelly how he is. He also seems to have an interesting worldview based on his comments on the outer sect. Finally, he seems to be the broest of characters all considered, always helping everyone when help is needed and only getting angry when someone really breaks the rules.

OneArmedYeti said:
He probably wouldn't be named Xuan then, the Xuan(to my knowledge) aren't like the Bai where it's more ethnicity than Clan.

Its more likely to be standard orphan stuff or the Xuan might just not do parents.

Wait....sea turtles don't have parents....they hatch in sand then return to sea as their family migrates back past only knowing that they're part of the same hatching group and family unit.

Huh.

I thought all of the ancient spirit blooded ducal clans are more of an ethnicity though? The Bai, the Zheng, the Xuan and I forgot who else definitely have enough ancientness to be... extremely large, population wise.

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

There is always a greater fool

Pedantic

Seven gremlins in a trench coat

Pedantic