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

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[X] She proposed that any ducal representative wishing to speak with the White Sky ask her to arrange an appointment, which she would personally mediate. (Reduce chances and severity of diplomatic insult. Claims some of Ling Qi's 'free' negotiation time)

This sounds like an excellent idea to get a better idea of what the different scions really want rather than what they're willing to tell us. Our 'free' time is likely going to be spend putting out fires from events like this that end up going unsupervised so it doesn't hurt my feelings to give some of that up to prevent problems in the first place.

Edit: I was quite early to this one
 
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yrsillar said:
Sun Liling hummed to herself. "Well, now we're really getting off track huh? Since I'm feeling generous though… Yeah there's something like that, a place where the mountains go low. Sealed off though, some real nasty growth there. Good thing Gramps hasn't decided to chop through it yet, huh?"
Click to expand...
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Interesting that it's plant growth rather than ice or something blocking the pass. I wonder if that's just the sign of the sunflower's border with Freya, or if it is to actively hold Freya's influence back from entering her territory, which is the other way around from what I expected.
 
I like option 2. At the end of the day, they're observers, and wasting negotiation time to cater to them will take time away from the purpose of the summit.

I like option 2 because it's the middle ground that allows us to do the things we want while allowing people to do what they want.
 
[X] She proposed that meetings could take place in the still being constructed meeting hall at specific times, when the primary negotiations were in recess. She would merely coordinate appointments. (Does not claim any of Ling Qi's time. No penalties or bonuses to diplomatic insults)
 
[X] She proposed that meetings could take place in the still being constructed meeting hall at specific times, when the primary negotiations were in recess. She would merely coordinate appointments. (Does not claim any of Ling Qi's time. No penalties or bonuses to diplomatic insults)
 
[X] She proposed that meetings could take place in the still being constructed meeting hall at specific times, when the primary negotiations were in recess. She would merely coordinate appointments. (Does not claim any of Ling Qi's time. No penalties or bonuses to diplomatic insults)
 
[X] She proposed that any ducal representative wishing to speak with the White Sky ask her to arrange an appointment, which she would personally mediate. (Reduce chances and severity of diplomatic insult. Claims some of Ling Qi's 'free' negotiation time)
 
[X] She proposed that meetings could take place in the still being constructed meeting hall at specific times, when the primary negotiations were in recess. She would merely coordinate appointments. (Does not claim any of Ling Qi's time. No penalties or bonuses to diplomatic insults)
 
[X] She proposed that any ducal representative wishing to speak with the White Sky ask her to arrange an appointment, which she would personally mediate. (Reduce chances and severity of diplomatic insult. Claims some of Ling Qi's 'free' negotiation time)
 
[X] She proposed that any ducal representative wishing to speak with the White Sky ask her to arrange an appointment, which she would personally mediate. (Reduce chances and severity of diplomatic insult. Claims some of Ling Qi's 'free' negotiation time)
 
[X] She proposed that any ducal representative wishing to speak with the White Sky ask her to arrange an appointment, which she would personally mediate. (Reduce chances and severity of diplomatic insult. Claims some of Ling Qi's 'free' negotiation time)

I'm willing to give up some time in order to get fun negotiation scenes with this cast of characters. Mediating with Ducal representatives is also important enough that I think it warrants our direct involvement. Even ignoring their... colorful personalities, we've observed enough cultural differences between both sides that making sure someone is there who can smooth over the ruffled feathers would be ideal, and we're the best at that.
 
[X] She proposed that meetings could take place in the still being constructed meeting hall at specific times, when the primary negotiations were in recess. She would merely coordinate appointments. (Does not claim any of Ling Qi's time. No penalties or bonuses to diplomatic insults)
 
[X] She proposed that meetings could take place in the still being constructed meeting hall at specific times, when the primary negotiations were in recess. She would merely coordinate appointments. (Does not claim any of Ling Qi's time. No penalties or bonuses to diplomatic insults)
 
[X] She proposed that meetings could take place in the still being constructed meeting hall at specific times, when the primary negotiations were in recess. She would merely coordinate appointments. (Does not claim any of Ling Qi's time. No penalties or bonuses to diplomatic insults)

Letting people do whatever isn't a great idea, but I don't really want to hand our guests the ability to dictate, or influence, our personal schedules here either.

Ling Qi is too important to the summit negotiations as a whole to commit the least replicable resource she has, time, to side chats.

And on that note, I don't even expect personally mediated meetings to make it on screen, really. Doesn't seem worth losing out on more flexibility to engage with parties of interest as things unfold.
 
[X] She proposed that meetings could take place in the still being constructed meeting hall at specific times, when the primary negotiations were in recess. She would merely coordinate appointments. (Does not claim any of Ling Qi's time. No penalties or bonuses to diplomatic insults)
 
[X] She proposed that any ducal representative wishing to speak with the White Sky ask her to arrange an appointment, which she would personally mediate. (Reduce chances and severity of diplomatic insult. Claims some of Ling Qi's 'free' negotiation time)

Apply that luck
 
[X] She proposed that meetings could take place in the still being constructed meeting hall at specific times, when the primary negotiations were in recess. She would merely coordinate appointments. (Does not claim any of Ling Qi's time. No penalties or bonuses to diplomatic insults)
 
[X] She proposed that meetings could take place in the still being constructed meeting hall at specific times, when the primary negotiations were in recess. She would merely coordinate appointments. (Does not claim any of Ling Qi's time. No penalties or bonuses to diplomatic insults)

We have a bunch of things to do during the summit
We'll be one of the voices, or maybe the only or most prominent voice for the Empire that the White Sky would follow. We'd be BUSY.

That's ignoring how we'll also need to cater to the Emerald Seas clan, be a mediator for crises, and pursue our interests. For example, talking the Wang into accepting White Sky methods, or the observatory for the Meng, or even how including the Jia as soldiers or something to satisfy them.

I absolutely believe that LQ and Renxiang being mediators will extend to the summit too, not just the construction. We've not seen the results of the event roll yet, but they extend to the summit. That's why we can't see the full list yet.

And then, apart from all those things, there's the personal component too, with creating Thief of Names and all.

I don't think managing the observers is worth our time, especially when it takes time away from what we've been working towards for how many irl months now?

So taking the neutral option, scheduling meetings during negotiation recess for the ducals to talk if they want to, seems like the best option to me.

I'm usually gung-ho for adding things to the summit, but those are usually relevant to the White Sky or the Emerald Seas - all the people who have a reasonable stake in this. The ducal observers...don't. They're called observers for a reason.
 
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[X] She proposed that meetings could take place in the still being constructed meeting hall at specific times, when the primary negotiations were in recess. She would merely coordinate appointments. (Does not claim any of Ling Qi's time. No penalties or bonuses to diplomatic insults)
 
[X] She proposed that meetings could take place in the still being constructed meeting hall at specific times, when the primary negotiations were in recess. She would merely coordinate appointments. (Does not claim any of Ling Qi's time. No penalties or bonuses to diplomatic insults)
 
[X] She would not propose to limit her ducal guests so crassly, indeed if they wished to speak with the foreigners they could speak as part of the Empire (No separate chances of diplomatic insults, may complicate the main negotiations.)

I feel like the downside isn't that bad. Diplomatic insults might be agravating in the short term, the "complications" alluded to might actually be a good thing, such as Ducal Scions making individual deals with the White Sky which might mean faster growth in relations.

Plus, allowing the Ducal representative to speak as part of the Empire might make them more invested in the success of the endeavour and half our subordinates. The more Ducal scions we can get on our side, the stronger our hand against the MoI.

Also, in general, this is the option that is more likely to let characters rise to their potential, and considering how many of the people present could almost have been MCs or main villains of their own story, if feel like letting them interact freely is bound to be interesting.
 
[X] She proposed that meetings could take place in the still being constructed meeting hall at specific times, when the primary negotiations were in recess. She would merely coordinate appointments. (Does not claim any of Ling Qi's time. No penalties or bonuses to diplomatic insults)
 
One thing is, like, we don't really want other Dukes, or even Counts, getting up to their elbows in diplomacy with the south. Certainly not in the opening stages.

A lot of our personal future rests on having a position of prominent influence in the international politics. Dukes and Counts have the resources to sideline us.
 
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