The Bai do it that way. Very satisfying. Very effective, but also very brittle, because its a strategy that only works if you are strong without peer and never become weak.
The day you do, then it all shatters.
Threads Of Destiny(Eastern Fantasy, Sequel to Forge of Destiny)
- Thread starter yrsillar
- Start date
- Original Users' Choice!
Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
The day you do, then it all shatters.
- Location
- France
- Pronouns
- She/They
On the other hand, she's shown she isn't rabid. She hasn't picked a fight she can't win against the empire. She waited until she was ready to strike to beat the Hui. I don't think this is a very significant worry on Ling Qi timelines, though I imagine it's a big concern if you're an older cultivator used to thinking in centuries.
I wouldn't be too mad if we take our time to ramp up to it and she gets to destroy a few more chunks of the harmful social order
- Pronouns
- He/Him
On the other hand, she's shown she isn't rabid. She hasn't picked a fight she can't win against the empire. She waited until she was ready to strike to beat the Hui. I don't think this is a very significant worry on Ling Qi timelines, though I imagine it's a big concern if you're an older cultivator used to thinking in centuries.
I wouldn't be too mad if we take our time to ramp up to it and she gets to destroy a few more chunks of the harmful social order
Well sure, but the strong implication (everything short of it being stated explicitly) has been that's due to her wife's influence, and once that influence is gone she'll rapidly turn rabid. So...depends on what you mean by Ling Qi's timeline.
- Location
- Finland
Shenhua is not sustainable, but neither is she easily removed.
We a re not going to put Renxiang on the big seat in less than a century, at the fastest, i think.
Our biggest advantage is that Shenhua knows she is not sustainable, and wants to be removed, the only problem is that we need to prove Renxiang more capable for the role, which is njot gonig to be easy, because it is not enough to be smart and skilled, she needs to also be powerful and have enough of a backing so Shenhua stepping down and/or ascending does not instantly cause a civil war.
We a re not going to put Renxiang on the big seat in less than a century, at the fastest, i think.
Our biggest advantage is that Shenhua knows she is not sustainable, and wants to be removed, the only problem is that we need to prove Renxiang more capable for the role, which is njot gonig to be easy, because it is not enough to be smart and skilled, she needs to also be powerful and have enough of a backing so Shenhua stepping down and/or ascending does not instantly cause a civil war.
- Location
- The Space Between
Linqin isn't preventing Shenhua from going rabid (loss of control, loss of coherence, extreme viciousness), she's giving the Emerald Seas time to form a coherent argument that they can form effective Revolution without Shenhua having to Break more Thrones of Power. It's a simple statement:
if- the current structure of Emerald Seas is incapable of performing Revolution and ousting Shenhua from Xiangmen
then- the current structure must be further Broken and Shenhua will Make something to replace what she breaks (extreme viciousness)
the goal is to have a balance of Power that is capable of Revolution such that those unsuited to rule (Shenhua) are capable of being ousted even if they're significant improvements to what came before (Hui) or not even that bad of rulers (perhaps Early Hui). That those in Power are capable of being ousted even if they're simply not as good as they could be. A balance of Power that will not end up stagnating, but will instead be driven forward by those striding the endless pursuit of a More Perfect World.
I'm more threatened by the idea that Shenhua never finds a Revolution strong enough to depose her than I'm threatened by the idea that she'll Break more and more things until she destabilizes, somehow. Perhaps if we didn't know about so many other global hotspots flaring up on a similar timeframe I'd assume Shenhua could be dealt with by an Imperial coalition . . . but they could be busy enough that a coalition might never fully materialize as she cements Tyrannical Progress further in Creation.
I basically don't want people to undersell the problem as "well Shenhua is bound to destabilize eventually" when really I think she's probably capable of developing into a perpetual problem. She accelerated to White in a way that's completely unprecedented, and underestimating that sort of genius seems like a bad idea. We need to prove she isn't needed in Creation for Revolution to continue and be continued, lest she decide she should take part in the eternal struggle in a hands-on capacity rather than Ascending and shaking up the Heavens.
if- the current structure of Emerald Seas is incapable of performing Revolution and ousting Shenhua from Xiangmen
then- the current structure must be further Broken and Shenhua will Make something to replace what she breaks (extreme viciousness)
the goal is to have a balance of Power that is capable of Revolution such that those unsuited to rule (Shenhua) are capable of being ousted even if they're significant improvements to what came before (Hui) or not even that bad of rulers (perhaps Early Hui). That those in Power are capable of being ousted even if they're simply not as good as they could be. A balance of Power that will not end up stagnating, but will instead be driven forward by those striding the endless pursuit of a More Perfect World.
I'm more threatened by the idea that Shenhua never finds a Revolution strong enough to depose her than I'm threatened by the idea that she'll Break more and more things until she destabilizes, somehow. Perhaps if we didn't know about so many other global hotspots flaring up on a similar timeframe I'd assume Shenhua could be dealt with by an Imperial coalition . . . but they could be busy enough that a coalition might never fully materialize as she cements Tyrannical Progress further in Creation.
I basically don't want people to undersell the problem as "well Shenhua is bound to destabilize eventually" when really I think she's probably capable of developing into a perpetual problem. She accelerated to White in a way that's completely unprecedented, and underestimating that sort of genius seems like a bad idea. We need to prove she isn't needed in Creation for Revolution to continue and be continued, lest she decide she should take part in the eternal struggle in a hands-on capacity rather than Ascending and shaking up the Heavens.
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- Location
- France
- Pronouns
- She/They
Shenhua want to be removed but she's not going to step down. She wants us to prove her principle by doing our own revolution.
I'm not sure Linqin cares about the Emerald Seas at all, really. Most of what she's doing, she's doing in the framework of Wife-ing good. She brings a significant measure of perspective to Shenhua's goals, allowing more holistic methods and outcomes. And that's basically her drive underlying it; Linqin isn't doing anything for the sake of the province, her clan, or even impossibly adorable cultivators like Ling Qi who cross her path(as bizarre as the possibility might seem). She's doing it for Shenhua.
There's a reason Linqin's petal-shielding around Shenhua that gives bystanders some relief has been described as covetous rather than merciful. These aren't normative human mindsets we're dealing with, and to the extent they remain people, they're not actually nice ones.
Like, I mean, aside from everything else you can't escape the unfortunate fact that they're old. Gross.
There's a reason Linqin's petal-shielding around Shenhua that gives bystanders some relief has been described as covetous rather than merciful. These aren't normative human mindsets we're dealing with, and to the extent they remain people, they're not actually nice ones.
Like, I mean, aside from everything else you can't escape the unfortunate fact that they're old. Gross.
Turn 18: Arc 6-5
"The biggest, most common mistake I find in peoples thinking, is equating impermanence with meaninglessness," Ling Qi said. "I want my works to endure, the good I make to last into the future but… It won't be forever."
"And that is fine," the old man said. "Others will make use of what remains."
She inclined her head. She had said it to Elder Jiao, thinking it was your responsibility alone to change the world was folly. It took more than a few people, no matter how mighty they might be.
"If constructing something, that is so. But there are those who seek ruin," the Crow said, seeming to read her thoughts. "In our world, this can be done alone."
Ling Qi had to incline her head. It was true that breaking things was much easier.
"Eh, kinda true, but I feel like a lot of people gotta fail for one of those types to make the distance," Sixiang drawled. "Even the worst nightmares don't pop outta nowhere."
The old man examined Sixiang critically with his single eye. "There are patterns to ruin's rise. Signs, portents. But the wheel of history does not easily shift from its rut."
"I am only a novice in the field, but for all that I see some patterns. In the end it comes down to the choices of those alive at the time. There is no singular wheel," Ling Qi said, frowning. One could say that each calamity lead inexorably to the next. Tsu's method, of using speech instead of the closed fist, led to the division of the Weilu, which came to exhaustion and apathy in the Dreaming Way, which led to the neglect of their kingdom and finally their disappearance. This led straight to the Xi, a violent spasm in response to disunity, whose failure led to the Hui, who sought to shroud pain in a drug fuelled dream, to which the Cai were like an open handed slap to force the dreamer awake.
She didn't think it was so simple though. There were patterns in the world but they were a background, not some immovable path through which history flowed.
The only exception, she thought, was that the world went forward. Even those who said they wanted to return to the past couldn't change that, only make poor facsimiles of what had come before. Autumn went into winter, winter went into spring, but no turning was alike to the previous.
"Tumultuous. Hmph. I wonder if those who say you can only infect us with your instability are right."
"Well I dunno about that, but its not like things stay the same now, huh? You're both aware of each other. Ain't no going back on that, huh?" Sixiang said.
"I didn't want to comment honored Elder, but it is considered a little rude among us to make plain how easily you skim a lower realms thinking," Ling Qi said. Well not just lower realms. It was something she was going to have to be careful of as well.
"Is it?" the old man said, stopping beside her, they were near to the checkpoint now. "Even knowing it is so?"
"It is only polite," Ling Qi said. "I ask that the Elder keep this in mind."
"A small lesson. I will accept it," the old man said, tapping his stick upon the road. "Go then. There will be much more speaking soon."
Ling Qi bowed her head and took her leave, passing through the checkpoint back into Imperial controlled territory.
As she left the security behind and wound her way back to to one of the many meditative pavilions sprinkled through the Imperial Zone, Sixiang shimmered, dissolved and reformed walking beside her on light, silent steps.
"Working on your songs even while you chat. Still got your nose glued to that grindstone huh?"
"Of course, if I can glean ideas on cold these people are the ones to do it with. Speaking with Jaromila already helped me refine my Art, My Final Frost Serenade," Ling Qi said.
"And what'd you get from this?"
"Certainty, I think," Ling Qi said. The stone pavilion set among the clear grove of straighter growing trees, was plain but idyllic. Moss and vines already growing along the pillars. The little fairies of wood and earth clung to the bark and gnarled roots. She took a set on one of the stone benches.
"I've said it, the greater endings are absolute. It mostly… doesn't matter to me, since I accept that. But there are many who don't. It's a good weapon, inevitability, and I was right to make it the opening theme of my art. Of the whole song, the opening is the part I'm most confident in."
Ice, killing ice, spreading with the tune, rendering the world sterile and white, frost and ice consuming color, cold stealing heat, stealing the motion of things, and making the world grow still. Her melody was the oncoming winter. It could be prepared for, but not stopped.
She could picture it in her minds eye, painted stone frosting over leaves withering and moss dying. Her song bringing the years ending before its time. She wanted to refine it, and the ideas of Fryja, that untouchable emptiness of purpose, showed some appeal. But unlike her final piece she did not think her start needed to change much.
"Chilly," Sixiang chuckled drifting over, literally, seating themselves on the stone go table in the center of the pavilion.
Ling Qi raised an eyebrow, and blew out a puff of air. It crystallized immediately into frost and snowflakes. Beneath her, the stone bench glittered under a layer of clear ice.
Sixiang wrinkled their nose at her waving away the flakes that began to fall under the pavilion roof. "Well, there'll definitely never be a too hot summer day with you around."
"Probably not," Ling Qi said, she drummed her fingers on the iced over bench. "Sixiang, are you really alright, joking just the same way as you used too?"
Better to get it done, to address the issue.
"...If it doesn't bother you," Sixiang said with a frown, resting their chin in their hands. Sixiang's expression was a little downcast. "I really don't want to change that, you know. I like the dynamic, where I point out or imply improper stuff, and you scold me or laugh. Does it make you uncomfortable?"
"A little," Ling Qi admitted. "But, I also know its mostly empty on your end? It's odd since I know you don't really care about physical things, you're still performing for other peoples sensibilities."
"Yeah, that's true. Though I appreciate aesthetics? You're pretty," Sixiang grimaced. "I still don't know exactly what I'm doing. I can scale it back?"
"I… think its fine. It's enough that we're in our own heads," Ling Qi said, closing her eyes. "What are you planning to do now. Will you go back and visit Li Suyin?"
"Mm nah. Don't have the hang of going far away from you, coming back is easier," Sixiang admitted. They raised their hands as they saw her frown. "Hey, no blaming yourself. I coulda said something. I'll hang around here. Meng boy and the Hidden squirt are here right?"
"They are," Ling Qi said. "That's my last meeting actually, Meng Dan and I have a little work to cover over tea."
"Oho! I'm getting outmaneuvered the second I leave," Sixiang laughed. It was only the muses total lack of any real upset that made her able to smile at the words. "Well, other option. That big guy, the Zheng I think. He's got an interesting feel. Might go have a chat with him. Seems like the type not get huffy with my antics."
"As long as he doesn't egg you on into new antics," Ling Qi said with a performative sigh. "You are coming to visit home with me."
"Am I?"
"Yes," Ling Qi said.
"Okay," Sixiang agreed quietly. "...Want me to swing by when you're doing letters and notes?"
Ling Qi tilted her head. "I don't want to make you do something…"
"Yeah, you write the replies. I'll do the reading."
"I can't imagine how many people I'll offend if someone ever spies on us," Ling Qi said, laughing quietly.
"Pfft, like you won't find some new and inventive way to offend folks."
"I'm not like that," Ling Qi groused.
"...Really did miss you."
Ling Qi lowered her head in a nod.
"So, where you going with Meng boy?" Sixiang asked, waggling their eyebrows.
"It's for work," Ling Qi said, indignant.
The waggling did not stop.
[ ] They were just taking lunch at the main embassy.
[ ] They were taking dinner in the observatory gardens.
[ ] They would be having tea in a private coach on the way back to White Cloud Town.
AN: Alright, little short but lets keep on here just a bit of a transitional update and then into the final arc of the turn!
+2 Ending XP
Ending Advances to III
Ending Advances to III
Ending is absolute, all things fall and wither and rot in time. The greatest folly is conflating impermanence with meaninglessness.
"And that is fine," the old man said. "Others will make use of what remains."
She inclined her head. She had said it to Elder Jiao, thinking it was your responsibility alone to change the world was folly. It took more than a few people, no matter how mighty they might be.
"If constructing something, that is so. But there are those who seek ruin," the Crow said, seeming to read her thoughts. "In our world, this can be done alone."
Ling Qi had to incline her head. It was true that breaking things was much easier.
"Eh, kinda true, but I feel like a lot of people gotta fail for one of those types to make the distance," Sixiang drawled. "Even the worst nightmares don't pop outta nowhere."
The old man examined Sixiang critically with his single eye. "There are patterns to ruin's rise. Signs, portents. But the wheel of history does not easily shift from its rut."
"I am only a novice in the field, but for all that I see some patterns. In the end it comes down to the choices of those alive at the time. There is no singular wheel," Ling Qi said, frowning. One could say that each calamity lead inexorably to the next. Tsu's method, of using speech instead of the closed fist, led to the division of the Weilu, which came to exhaustion and apathy in the Dreaming Way, which led to the neglect of their kingdom and finally their disappearance. This led straight to the Xi, a violent spasm in response to disunity, whose failure led to the Hui, who sought to shroud pain in a drug fuelled dream, to which the Cai were like an open handed slap to force the dreamer awake.
She didn't think it was so simple though. There were patterns in the world but they were a background, not some immovable path through which history flowed.
+2 Cycles XP Cycles advances to II
Repetition and Patterns guide. Past Cycles inform Choice.
Repetition and Patterns guide. Past Cycles inform Choice.
The only exception, she thought, was that the world went forward. Even those who said they wanted to return to the past couldn't change that, only make poor facsimiles of what had come before. Autumn went into winter, winter went into spring, but no turning was alike to the previous.
"Tumultuous. Hmph. I wonder if those who say you can only infect us with your instability are right."
"Well I dunno about that, but its not like things stay the same now, huh? You're both aware of each other. Ain't no going back on that, huh?" Sixiang said.
"I didn't want to comment honored Elder, but it is considered a little rude among us to make plain how easily you skim a lower realms thinking," Ling Qi said. Well not just lower realms. It was something she was going to have to be careful of as well.
"Is it?" the old man said, stopping beside her, they were near to the checkpoint now. "Even knowing it is so?"
"It is only polite," Ling Qi said. "I ask that the Elder keep this in mind."
"A small lesson. I will accept it," the old man said, tapping his stick upon the road. "Go then. There will be much more speaking soon."
Ling Qi bowed her head and took her leave, passing through the checkpoint back into Imperial controlled territory.
As she left the security behind and wound her way back to to one of the many meditative pavilions sprinkled through the Imperial Zone, Sixiang shimmered, dissolved and reformed walking beside her on light, silent steps.
"Working on your songs even while you chat. Still got your nose glued to that grindstone huh?"
"Of course, if I can glean ideas on cold these people are the ones to do it with. Speaking with Jaromila already helped me refine my Art, My Final Frost Serenade," Ling Qi said.
"And what'd you get from this?"
"Certainty, I think," Ling Qi said. The stone pavilion set among the clear grove of straighter growing trees, was plain but idyllic. Moss and vines already growing along the pillars. The little fairies of wood and earth clung to the bark and gnarled roots. She took a set on one of the stone benches.
"I've said it, the greater endings are absolute. It mostly… doesn't matter to me, since I accept that. But there are many who don't. It's a good weapon, inevitability, and I was right to make it the opening theme of my art. Of the whole song, the opening is the part I'm most confident in."
Ice, killing ice, spreading with the tune, rendering the world sterile and white, frost and ice consuming color, cold stealing heat, stealing the motion of things, and making the world grow still. Her melody was the oncoming winter. It could be prepared for, but not stopped.
She could picture it in her minds eye, painted stone frosting over leaves withering and moss dying. Her song bringing the years ending before its time. She wanted to refine it, and the ideas of Fryja, that untouchable emptiness of purpose, showed some appeal. But unlike her final piece she did not think her start needed to change much.
Year's End Aria
Potency: G4
Type: Bind, Cold, Drain, Song
Duration: Scene
The beginnings of a song of endings, sharp as an arctic wind, eerie as a forest canopy wreathed in glittering ice. With the progression of the melody comes the winter cold. Frost and ice crystalizing in a spreading wave, it encrusts and encases all, even the wind itself may become a driving sleet which further freezes and slows. Within, heat and motion dies and the world slowly grows still, and flowers of frost bloom from cold cracked flesh, a-glitter with lost life. Reduce the Movement Trait of enemies in the scene by one. Enemies in the vicinity are slowly drained of qi.
You may choose to focus the effect of the Aria on a single target. For the focused target, their movement trait will be continually reduced, until it reaches zero, rendering them helpless until dispelled.
Potency: G4
Type: Bind, Cold, Drain, Song
Duration: Scene
The beginnings of a song of endings, sharp as an arctic wind, eerie as a forest canopy wreathed in glittering ice. With the progression of the melody comes the winter cold. Frost and ice crystalizing in a spreading wave, it encrusts and encases all, even the wind itself may become a driving sleet which further freezes and slows. Within, heat and motion dies and the world slowly grows still, and flowers of frost bloom from cold cracked flesh, a-glitter with lost life. Reduce the Movement Trait of enemies in the scene by one. Enemies in the vicinity are slowly drained of qi.
You may choose to focus the effect of the Aria on a single target. For the focused target, their movement trait will be continually reduced, until it reaches zero, rendering them helpless until dispelled.
"Chilly," Sixiang chuckled drifting over, literally, seating themselves on the stone go table in the center of the pavilion.
Ling Qi raised an eyebrow, and blew out a puff of air. It crystallized immediately into frost and snowflakes. Beneath her, the stone bench glittered under a layer of clear ice.
Sixiang wrinkled their nose at her waving away the flakes that began to fall under the pavilion roof. "Well, there'll definitely never be a too hot summer day with you around."
"Probably not," Ling Qi said, she drummed her fingers on the iced over bench. "Sixiang, are you really alright, joking just the same way as you used too?"
Better to get it done, to address the issue.
"...If it doesn't bother you," Sixiang said with a frown, resting their chin in their hands. Sixiang's expression was a little downcast. "I really don't want to change that, you know. I like the dynamic, where I point out or imply improper stuff, and you scold me or laugh. Does it make you uncomfortable?"
"A little," Ling Qi admitted. "But, I also know its mostly empty on your end? It's odd since I know you don't really care about physical things, you're still performing for other peoples sensibilities."
"Yeah, that's true. Though I appreciate aesthetics? You're pretty," Sixiang grimaced. "I still don't know exactly what I'm doing. I can scale it back?"
"I… think its fine. It's enough that we're in our own heads," Ling Qi said, closing her eyes. "What are you planning to do now. Will you go back and visit Li Suyin?"
"Mm nah. Don't have the hang of going far away from you, coming back is easier," Sixiang admitted. They raised their hands as they saw her frown. "Hey, no blaming yourself. I coulda said something. I'll hang around here. Meng boy and the Hidden squirt are here right?"
"They are," Ling Qi said. "That's my last meeting actually, Meng Dan and I have a little work to cover over tea."
"Oho! I'm getting outmaneuvered the second I leave," Sixiang laughed. It was only the muses total lack of any real upset that made her able to smile at the words. "Well, other option. That big guy, the Zheng I think. He's got an interesting feel. Might go have a chat with him. Seems like the type not get huffy with my antics."
"As long as he doesn't egg you on into new antics," Ling Qi said with a performative sigh. "You are coming to visit home with me."
"Am I?"
"Yes," Ling Qi said.
"Okay," Sixiang agreed quietly. "...Want me to swing by when you're doing letters and notes?"
Ling Qi tilted her head. "I don't want to make you do something…"
"Yeah, you write the replies. I'll do the reading."
"I can't imagine how many people I'll offend if someone ever spies on us," Ling Qi said, laughing quietly.
"Pfft, like you won't find some new and inventive way to offend folks."
"I'm not like that," Ling Qi groused.
"...Really did miss you."
Ling Qi lowered her head in a nod.
"So, where you going with Meng boy?" Sixiang asked, waggling their eyebrows.
"It's for work," Ling Qi said, indignant.
The waggling did not stop.
[ ] They were just taking lunch at the main embassy.
[ ] They were taking dinner in the observatory gardens.
[ ] They would be having tea in a private coach on the way back to White Cloud Town.
AN: Alright, little short but lets keep on here just a bit of a transitional update and then into the final arc of the turn!
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Hmm, initial reactions
[ ] They were just taking lunch at the main embassy.
Professional, generic, boring
[ ] They were taking dinner in the observatory gardens.
Ooohhh, is this a date~
[ ] They would be having tea in a private coach on the way back to White Cloud Town.
Kyaa~ "private". Also check out those LQ time optimisation strats. Kinda makes it feel more authentic lol
[ ] They were just taking lunch at the main embassy.
Professional, generic, boring
[ ] They were taking dinner in the observatory gardens.
Ooohhh, is this a date~
[ ] They would be having tea in a private coach on the way back to White Cloud Town.
Kyaa~ "private". Also check out those LQ time optimisation strats. Kinda makes it feel more authentic lol
NoxOfUmbra
Shadow of the night
- Location
- Colombia, South América
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
[X] They would be having tea in a private coach on the way back to White Cloud Town.
I want to see this lmao
I want to see this lmao
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CedeTheBees
Probably high right now
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- They/Them
[ ] They were taking dinner in the observatory gardens.
[ ] They would be having tea in a private coach on the way back to White Cloud Town.
MENG DATE MENG DATE MENG DATE
[ ] They would be having tea in a private coach on the way back to White Cloud Town.
MENG DATE MENG DATE MENG DATE
- Location
- The Space Between
For context the work that we'll be doing with Meng Dang is settling the Meng proposal for handling Foreign Guests utilizing the Observatory:
~~~~~~~~~~
If she took Jaromila's words to heart, the White Sky lacked the fine glassmaking necessary for devices like this, but did desire such things. A small number of experts was much easier to move than a great caravan of goods. If their idea of a foreign quarter was to bear any fruit, then they would need something to provide an official draw.
"Meng Dan, may I ask what sort of compensation might satisfy your clan on this subject?" Ling Qi asked.
He cupped his chin, frowning deeply. "...That depends on several things."
He gave her a long look, in which she read his meaning. It would depend on the balance of internal Meng factions, who managed to tug at the clan heads ear, and convince him on this matter one way or the other. She took a deep breath. "Then if we go forward, I hope to speak with your uncle on the matter. I hope a reasonable price can be found."
Meng Dan considered, heard her unspoken question. "I believe that is possible, Lady Ling."
~~~~~~~~~
So we're going to see how well the internal Meng politics have shaken out for us here. For the record, last we checked in we were at:
-Meng Clan: -1
--Weilu Conservatives(50%): -1
--Weilu Reactionaries(25%): -4
--Weilu Reformers(25%): 3
and the option we chose is (Faster turnaround on Labyrinth Loot, Smaller bonus for identification and safety. Reformer/Conservative Meng like this)
so the good news is that 75% of the Meng like the route we chose and that should help us have better results here. While we're mostly aligned with the Weilu Reformers, this Observatory has value for the Conservatives as well and we're giving them preferential treatment here. There's a chance that some Conservative members are taking the opportunity to be obtuse, but that would probably be less about ourselves and more about their relationship with the Reformers. Probably.
By contrast
-4: Greatly Disliked- The organization will oppose you whenever doing so is both possible and matches with their other goals
if opposing us matches their other goals, they'll do so. We don't know their explicit goals, but this is probably an opportunity to expand on the explicit goals/beliefs of the Reactionaries as a group.
Hopefully the 75% of interested Meng are able to bring about a reasonable deal for us and our foreign visitors to the Observatory. We'll have to see next update though
~~~~~~~~~
Besides the one option that's strictly a working "date", the other two are more ambiguous. I don't actually know which one is more date-like. Stealing a moment for business between eachother while traveling to another place of work certainly seems more like Ling Qi's personality, but I have no idea if it's more or less date-like than the nice dinner date at the garden. I think it's probably safer to do the observatory dinner because it's less intimate and personal, but the carriage is very Ling Qi and unorthodox (I repeat myself). Hrm.
I'll wait to see if there are any arguments before voting
~~~~~~~~~~
If she took Jaromila's words to heart, the White Sky lacked the fine glassmaking necessary for devices like this, but did desire such things. A small number of experts was much easier to move than a great caravan of goods. If their idea of a foreign quarter was to bear any fruit, then they would need something to provide an official draw.
"Meng Dan, may I ask what sort of compensation might satisfy your clan on this subject?" Ling Qi asked.
He cupped his chin, frowning deeply. "...That depends on several things."
He gave her a long look, in which she read his meaning. It would depend on the balance of internal Meng factions, who managed to tug at the clan heads ear, and convince him on this matter one way or the other. She took a deep breath. "Then if we go forward, I hope to speak with your uncle on the matter. I hope a reasonable price can be found."
Meng Dan considered, heard her unspoken question. "I believe that is possible, Lady Ling."
~~~~~~~~~
So we're going to see how well the internal Meng politics have shaken out for us here. For the record, last we checked in we were at:
-Meng Clan: -1
--Weilu Conservatives(50%): -1
--Weilu Reactionaries(25%): -4
--Weilu Reformers(25%): 3
and the option we chose is (Faster turnaround on Labyrinth Loot, Smaller bonus for identification and safety. Reformer/Conservative Meng like this)
so the good news is that 75% of the Meng like the route we chose and that should help us have better results here. While we're mostly aligned with the Weilu Reformers, this Observatory has value for the Conservatives as well and we're giving them preferential treatment here. There's a chance that some Conservative members are taking the opportunity to be obtuse, but that would probably be less about ourselves and more about their relationship with the Reformers. Probably.
By contrast
-4: Greatly Disliked- The organization will oppose you whenever doing so is both possible and matches with their other goals
if opposing us matches their other goals, they'll do so. We don't know their explicit goals, but this is probably an opportunity to expand on the explicit goals/beliefs of the Reactionaries as a group.
Hopefully the 75% of interested Meng are able to bring about a reasonable deal for us and our foreign visitors to the Observatory. We'll have to see next update though
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Besides the one option that's strictly a working "date", the other two are more ambiguous. I don't actually know which one is more date-like. Stealing a moment for business between eachother while traveling to another place of work certainly seems more like Ling Qi's personality, but I have no idea if it's more or less date-like than the nice dinner date at the garden. I think it's probably safer to do the observatory dinner because it's less intimate and personal, but the carriage is very Ling Qi and unorthodox (I repeat myself). Hrm.
I'll wait to see if there are any arguments before voting
It's finally time for Qi to have a date without her having a panic attack!!!!
[X] They were taking dinner in the observatory gardens.
[X] They would be having tea in a private coach on the way back to White Cloud Town.
[X] They were taking dinner in the observatory gardens.
[X] They would be having tea in a private coach on the way back to White Cloud Town.
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I'm going to speculate that these options will influence what topics we cover. There's probably a common 1 or 2 between all three, but we're choosing either an additional topic or a topic for greater focus.
[ ] They were just taking lunch at the main embassy.
Since it's at the main embassy, we might expect it to cover mainly summit-ish topics. Could be more info on that uncle of his that we'll be meeting sooner or later.
[ ] They were taking dinner in the observatory gardens.
This seems likely to focus on astronomy stuff. Might offer more of a wrap-up for some things brought up with our talk with Astronomer Wu.
[ ] They would be having tea in a private coach on the way back to White Cloud Town.
This kind of depends on why he's heading to the town, I think? It's plausible he's visiting the Argent Sect archives to do some more research on common cultural/historical ties with the White Sky/Polar Nations, which is always a neat topic. I could see this theoretical topic and the one I assigned the first option being switched, though, since for us heading to White Cloud Town is a family matter and it could invite similar talk from him. i.e. his uncle(and factional tensions)
[ ] They were just taking lunch at the main embassy.
Since it's at the main embassy, we might expect it to cover mainly summit-ish topics. Could be more info on that uncle of his that we'll be meeting sooner or later.
[ ] They were taking dinner in the observatory gardens.
This seems likely to focus on astronomy stuff. Might offer more of a wrap-up for some things brought up with our talk with Astronomer Wu.
[ ] They would be having tea in a private coach on the way back to White Cloud Town.
This kind of depends on why he's heading to the town, I think? It's plausible he's visiting the Argent Sect archives to do some more research on common cultural/historical ties with the White Sky/Polar Nations, which is always a neat topic. I could see this theoretical topic and the one I assigned the first option being switched, though, since for us heading to White Cloud Town is a family matter and it could invite similar talk from him. i.e. his uncle(and factional tensions)
CedeTheBees
Probably high right now
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- They/Them
[X] They would be having tea in a private coach on the way back to White Cloud Town.
It's been 2 hours
It's been 2 hours
- Location
- scrabbling
[X] They would be having tea in a private coach on the way back to White Cloud Town.
date date date date date date
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