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

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This was less of a disaster than I thought it would be. Turtle-man I still believe your Turtle-can.
To be honest, if we want a good introduction into Inner for Su Ling we should start with Shen Hu. Some uncomplicated contacts of how things work. Leveraging the recent expedition's success might be risky and unwanted.
 
me.me.here said:
Ling Qi had SV in the back of her mind pushing her to keep reaching out and trying to forge bonds despite how bad at it she was.
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It was a bit of survival necessity and we got immensely rewarded for it. Xiao Shi and Meizhen could easily survive on their ducal heritage alone. We lucked out with Meizhen, but "making any/all connections" felt more like a literal necessity, regardless of aptitude or not.
 
I'm also leaning towards letting Su Ling have a week or so to get settled, and for us to have a couple of exercises (as I understand it, we have not had one yet?) with the group before inviting her, so as to prevent her from feeling pressured. And from having the group get a new person dropped on them without being asked.

Also, poor Su Ling, she in the big girl club now.
 
Update Summary:

Xuan Shi - So I'm pretty isolated but I noticed you're the Main Character
Xuan Shi - And I figured if I hung around enough I'd end up on your squad of quirky friends
Xuan Shi - End up developing friendships with them in dialogue snippets as we end up going on missions
Xuan Shi - Maybe also get a cool skill if you do my loyalty mission
Xuan Shi - Plus if I get really lucky you'll go for the 'Bookish Quiet Nerd' route and I can just coast into that without having to risk admitting to feelings on my own initiative

Even Shorter Summary:

Xuan Shi reads too many trashy in-universe xianxia novels and thinks he's one of the MC's side characters.
 
yrsillar said:
Behind them, the door slid open, and almost in unison, they both twitched violently, the stencil shifted, and Xuan Shi's brush went off course.

Ling Qi hurriedly turned and found herself staring at the pale and wide eyed face of one of Mothers girls. She held a tea tray in her hands, trembling.

It was only then that Ling Qi noticed the mist curling around the floorboards and the distorted shadows dancing in the corners. The light was dim, and the air was heavy, and a faint ghostly tune mingled with the sound of surf on a stony shore.

...They were both on edge. Somehow, that helped her calm her nerves, just a little. With an effort of will, she dispersed her own domain manifestation and put on a smile. "Ah, the tea is ready? Thank you. Just set it on the table, we will serve ourselves."
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"Oh thank god I am not the only one who is nervous with the close proximity!" ->Ling Qi, after filling the room with spooky mist and menacing shadows while Xuan Shi does his best to ignore them.

yrsillar said:
Xuan Shi awkwardly undid the clasp of his collar with his good hand in silence. "...The hero, Yu Long is the third son of a third son. Born into a clan of carpenters and woodcutters, no wealth or position awaits him. He is less than his siblings, and chided for his lack of skill or interest in the family arts and trades. In this home that does not welcome him, Yu Long dreams of the sea."

Ling Qi gave a hum of acknowledgement, taking a sip of the dark blend. It wasn't a particularly sympathetic backstory to her.

Xuan Shi stared down into his teacup. "One duty only he is enthusiastic for, accompanying the clan's caravan north to the shore, where it is sold to traders. One day, while there, he encounters a group of ruffians troubling an elderly mendicant, and intervenes. He is beaten for his trouble, but the tough's rage is spent. The beggar is thankful, and offers him a trinket, a wooden carving of a ship which fits in the pocket. A charm of good fortune, the beggar assures him, if ever he needs aid, he must simply cast it into the sea."

Ling Qi still couldn't say she was particularly hooked, but she didn't say anything. Xuan Shi's visible expression told her that he was. However trite the tale seemed to her, it was clearly important to him.

"Yu Long thinks little of the matter, he returns home, drudging away at his tasks. Time passes, and it comes to pass that Yu Long's father makes a contract with another family, alliance, in trade for one of his sons. A beneficial bargain for the family indeed, and a good deal for his layabout son as well," Xuan Shi said wryly. "But Yu Long is familiar with his wife to be, and finds the match abhorrent, a greedy and elderly woman of a merchant clan. Known to never allow her young husbands beyond the walls of her house."

That was significantly less amusing. It also felt bizarre to her, if you flipped the genders, it would be a horrifying story, but as it was, she had trouble taking it seriously.

...She supposed though, among cultivators, power was not so limited.

"Despairing, Yu Long remembers the trinket he received from the beggar. Though he expects nothing, he steals down to the docks, and casts the carving into the water," Xuan Shi hadn't drunk a drop of tea yet. "From the ripples rises a ship, tall and proud. Yu Long steps aboard, and never looks back."

"And then comes the temple?" Ling Qi asked. Xuan Shi startled just a bit, but nodded.

"Other adventures come between," Xuan Shi said. "Yu Long discovers a hidden cultivation art among the ships stores, and in his voyage, he clashes with the sorceress Hotene, a hermit from the cold and fog shrouded northern isles, who desires his ship, which he comes to find is an artifact of considerable value, capable of sailing the impassable Maelstrom. The climax is the temple however, and the cooperation between rivals required to escape its confines."

"Cooperation that ends with their becoming romantically involved," Ling Qi said, keeping the accusation out of her voice.

"...That is the structure of the character's arc," he admitted, looking pained. "But the book does not end so, such events develop over many volumes and adventures, and in each one the ship fills more and more, as new crew is taken on and new bonds forged. It is a story of belonging, of the lonely and outcast acquiring home and love through their own efforts. Whatever the first drafts intent, that is the theme of the passages this one has committed to memory."

Ling Qi stared at him, with his hat tilted back and his collar open, Xuan Shi seemed strange to her eyes. The uncharacteristic passion in his voice was even stranger, almost as if he were an entirely different person for a moment. "It seems strange to be so invested in a story," Ling Qi admitted.

For just a second, shame flitted across Xuan Shi's features, but it was gone by the time he had lowered his head. "It is so, Miss Ling."

Ling Qi looked away, toying with a strand of her hair, twisting it between her fingers. "It is… not necessarily a bad thing," in the end a story and a song were both similar things, vehicles to carry an artist's meaning to their audience. If this tale had spoken to him so strongly… that was simply down to the writer's skill. "You see yourself in Yu Long then?"

"...This one is far more fortunate," Xuan Shi replied swiftly. Perhaps a little too swiftly. She remembered his words yesterday, about not knowing the faces of his parents.
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Xuan Shi: The hero of the book comes from a lonely life of common origins yet manages to befriend a motley crew and grows in strength thanks to a unique cultivation art. Wherever they travel, adventures and supernatural ocurrences follow.
Ling Qi: That seems a tad bit unrealistic.
Xuan Shi: ...

yrsillar said:
"I see," Ling Qi sighed. "Xuan Shi, why are you so willing to spend such time and effort helping me?"

She looked up, meeting his eyes and this time it was Xuan Shi who looked away. "...Those who spend their days in thy presence are fulfilled. Miss Ling seems to have skill for defeating the isolation of others, and thou art always surrounded by friends and companions. This one… had perhaps hoped to capture some of that for himself."

Ling Qi felt bewildered, was that how he really saw her? She wasn't… she had never been… "So it is not really about me?" Ling Qi asked. It seemed that it really was a misunderstanding after all.
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Ling Qi: You think I am like that?
Xuan Shi: Well, you seem to have made it your thing to choose the most unsociable or dangerous people you meet and attempt to befriend them.
Ling Qi: Oh yeah? Name five!
Xuan Shi: Bei Meizhen, Su Ling, myself, that one frost spirit in the outer sect mountains and Xiu Lan.
Ling Qi: Zequiang was a dear! You take that back!

Ling Qi is like a puppy in that when she sees someone dangerous her first instinct is poke her nose in and wag her tail.
 
as a reminder, last time we voted to expand the Wang training group:

[] You have been trying to improve your social game. Keep pushing it. See if you can arrange something with not only Wang Chao, but also Alingge, Liang He and possibly others. (Social Benefits. Less focused training. Lower but wider skill bonuses. Zhengui gets more experience with other cultivators.)
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and
That aside, looking at them talk, she didn't get the sense that Wang Chao was interested in that way. Ah, that was it. Wang Chao was isolated. She dimly recalled lessons with Cai Renxiang, the Wang were new to their lands and position, and had very few viscount vassals, and not even that many barons in relative terms. So compared to someone like Luo Zhong…

"I'm just not very skilled at setting up gatherings you know? I was hoping you might assist me with that as well," he wouldn't have the wide base of vassal acquaintances needed to really play the same game as the others. "Of course, I'd be happy to accommodate anyone you wanted to invite as well."

Wang Chao brightened up considerably, and she was certain that she had hit the mark. "Oho, I see. That is what you mean. An interesting proposition Miss Ling!"

"Gui doesn't quite get it, but Big Sister wants to fight lots of people?" Her little brother questioned. He had worked himself out of the dirt, and was resting his forelegs on the lip of the crater, peering up at them.

"Something like that, you could meet other spirit beasts as well, I'm sure," Ling Qi said, crouching down to rub his dusty head. "I think it's a good idea."

"Miss Ling's ambition has grown since we traded our first words," Liang He said dryly, only to quail as she shot him a look.

"Do not be like that Liang He," Wang Chao said, clapping him on the back. "We can use more sparring partners," it looked like he was increasingly into the idea of having something like Luo Zhong's parties to his name. "Hm, hm I'll have to look into booking one of the good training grounds. And we would need sparring licenses…"

"I can see to those if you give me a list of names," Ling Qi said lightly, standing back up. "I would not want to make you do all of the work."
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this means it likely wont just us meeting the 3 from last time. it will more likely be a bigger social gathering.

Su Ling is likely going to be very uncomfortable when she joins the gathering and if you look at it, there are quite a few pitfalls someone at the gathering could trigger. For example, remarks about her being spirit blooded. or that she didnt study how to interact with her noble peers yet, so she will likely seem somewhat rude. there is also the part that she is only recently broken through and is still mostly using outer sect arts besides her natural gift, so she is probably going to be one of the weaker people around at the training group. Also, as far as i see it, Su Ling has about 0 interest in politics.
Then we have Alingge who might actually try to be friendly by saying something positive about Su Ling's fox heritage. Or Wang Chao, who even if he means well, has shown in the past (think back to that cai party) that he can come of as a bit blustering/confrontational.

with this kind of mix i doubt just throwing Su Ling into the group and then going of to focus on training with Zhengui and befriending Wang Chao is going to work. I guess Ling Qi could use this training as a chance to introduce Su Ling and teach her about how this kind of gathering works, but i think this would mean we make this training more about helping her and less about friending Wang Chao.
 
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yrsillar said:
Was her discomfort the source of his? She thought she had been hiding it well, but… she probably shouldn't doubt the senses of a ducal scion.
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She said as the wailing phantoms and twisting shadows pour out from her in rime soaked waves and the wooden beams begin to smoke from the intensity of her staring at them and only them.

Now imagine if Ling Qi's composure was her dump stat!
 
[X] Hold off, Let Su Ling settle into the Inner Sect for longer before springing new social groups on her.

I really think this is the correct option. I am strongly in favor of helping Su Ling make connections in the Inner Sect. But she's said many times that she is uncomfortable with the spotlight, and we know she cares about her privacy. This is not a great venue.

While Su Ling definitely has a lot of social cachet right now, we know that she tends to be prickly around new people and that she prefers working out new techniques in private or with trusted friends (like when she was training her sword/mountain arts with us), not in a group setting (the training with Golden Fields crew went... poorly, and we were way better friends with them than we are with the Emerald Seas nobles). If she asks us to vouch for the people there to be sure it doesn't go like last time... we really can't. We barely know any of them, and furthermore we know that the guy we started this whole training group to befriend in the first place (remember, our assigned mission is to befriend Wang Chao) is also a very prickly, prideful guy -- we spent most of our last interaction with him arguing about how much we needed to tiptoe around his ego. If Wang Chao and Su Ling come into conflict because one of them says something and the other takes offense, we'll be torn between backing up our friend and our duty to our liege. Do Not Want.
 
naths said:
as a reminder, last time we voted to expand the Wang training group:


and


this means it likely wont just us meeting the 3 from last time. it will more likely be a bigger social gathering.

Su Ling is likely going to be very uncomfortable when she joins the gathering and if you look at it, there are quite a few pitfalls someone at the gathering could trigger. For example, remarks about her being spirit blooded. or that she didnt study how to interact with her noble peers yet, so she will likely seem somewhat rude. there is also the part that she is only recently broken through and is still mostly using outer sect arts besides her natural gift, so she is probably going to be one of the weaker people around at the training group. Also, as far as i see it, Su Ling has about 0 interest in politics.
Then we have Alingge who might actually try to be friendly by saying something positive about Su Ling's fox heritage. Or Wang Chao, who even if he means well, has shown in the past (think back to that cai party) that he can come of as a bit blustering/confrontational.

with this kind of mix i doubt just throwing Su Ling into the group and then going of to focus on training with Zhengui and befriending Wang Chao is going to work. I guess Ling Qi could use this training as a chance to introduce Su Ling and teach her about how this kind of gathering works, but i think this would mean we make this training more about helping her and less about friending Wang Chao.
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If it's such a huge gathering then it will be about a lot of things, especially as it will be recurrent. As it will be recurrent, the ones on the "ground floor" will be the ones that are the best seen by others.

We have already seen that not going to gatherings is considered looking down on other people, and currently Su Ling is as close as she can be to a 'good moment' to meet people.

There aren't really going to be a better time, here, I think.
 
[X] Hold off, Let Su Ling settle into the Inner Sect for longer before springing new social groups on her.

This feels like the right call. Su Ling really liked privacy and moves slowly into new things. This attention and sudden jump in rank has got to be setting her teeth on edge. Let's give her some time to breathe and regroup before trying to halp her some more.
 
[X] Hold off, Let Su Ling settle into the Inner Sect for longer before springing new social groups on her.
Ehh...This feels like a good way to learn WHY people look down on Spirit-Blooded the hard way. Which is dumb since we had that whole spiel with Bai way back when that kind of explained it.
 
[X] Hold off, Let Su Ling settle into the Inner Sect for longer before springing new social groups on her.

Ling Qi: Xuan Shi, I am sorry to disapoint you, but I am not the kind of person you think I am. You admire my ease to make friends, when in truth I cheat with social skill arts and a spirit giving me advice in real time.
Xuan Shi: Actually, that is why I admire you. It is genius! I even got my own liminal spirit partner so I can copy you! SOON, ALL THE FRIENDS WILL BE MINE!

Though now that I heard the plot of the book series, one question jumps to mind. Did Xuan Shi study formations in order to build a magic boat too?
 
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