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

Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
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[X] Boundaries Untrodden

The WC is better with the current theme but I really want to ace the spy subplot. For bonus points with MoL and grumpy uncle chun
 
yrsillar said:
She shared a look with Gan Guangli, and returned his nod. This was all looking remarkably well. More than simple agreement, Ling Qi thought she was truly beginning to see investment here. People were honestly thinking of what this was all going to look like, what it would be like.

They were seeking advantage for themselves of course, but that meant they seriously saw this as something which could grant advantage.

They were really doing this, this impossible thing.
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Props to the squad this, Ling Qi and co have done something that no one expected they could do and then made it a reality.

yrsillar said:
"To success!" Gan Guangli boomed, raising his cup.

"To success," Ling Qi said, smiling wryly, holding up her own.

"It is early yet, for celebration, yet… for your efforts, I will allow it," Cai Renxiang said. At the table where they sat, she alone did not yet have her drink, because naturally their liege had insisted on hand brewing her own tea. The pot was bubbling away, but not yet ready.
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Nice to see the gang celebrating their progress.

yrsillar said:
Ling Qi thought that this might be just a little taste of what Xin's plots were like. She was right to say that life was a game without any clear players. That destiny only existed in hindsight. Choice and Mystery, and the secret that those who thought themselves masterminds and seers hid even from themselves. You could not control everything, could not plan for every factor.
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LQ may be an intrigue character but it's great to see that she's keeping in mind that she can't control everything.

yrsillar said:
The Starless Shroud was not one she could wear, in the long term, she thought. There were pieces of it, pieces she could use. The contemplation of Mystery, in the unseen depths. The notion of supreme wholeness, the ability to take any harm but remain herself and whole. But… she was not certain she had much more to gain from the art itself, beyond its value as a building block for something of her own.

Well, she did have an idea, an idea going all the way back, to the Thousand Ring Fortress and its source. Of a mystery she had left in the Dream. She remembered seeing the shadow of a reptilian behemoth in the dream and an ever regenerating corpse. Of her little brother and what was likely his 'real' mother.
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I agree that the Starless Shroud is a dead end but that doesn't mean LQ can't take elements and inspiration from it. Mimicking super scary Dreaming Reptiles monster is a really badass idea and I'm here for it. Tank Qi shall reign ascendant.

yrsillar said:
"How will we even advance a proper campaign?" Ling Qi wondered about the caves and the corruption. "What, is your Mother going to burn a borehole big enough for a division and its supply lines down into the earth?"

She chuckled, as did Gan Guangli. Cai Renxiang did not.
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Welp shit Glorious Oppression Mother doesn't screw around.

yrsillar said:
"...Best is that the matter be blamed on an individual, lost in studying the leftover weapons on the enemy. Foolish, a black mark on the clan, but… will have minimal collateral, if all goes well," Cai Renxiang said. "But… it cannot be a lie either."
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Yeah this seems like the best way to sell it. Blame it all on the crazy Elder and have Glorious Oppression Mother burn out the rot.

yrsillar said:
AN: Alright end of section, moving into the next week. Starless Night's final project will be getting modified and connected to a nice dreamquest for post summit as implied here, details to be revealed there. So here are the options for cultivation in the Culture Dialogue and knowledge sharing section.
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I'm really excited for the Final Project of Starless Night and how LQ is going to do a DreamQuest for it.


[X] Winter's Crown

This covers both Want and Power both of which are nearing to leveling up, it also gives Physical Cultivation XP. Winter's Heart is a really cool trait that I want advanced more and Hanyi is coming back. I also really like the themes of it.
 
[X] Suggest in the interest of authority and further warding against tribal violence that outposts in the unclaimed section be fully shared structures, staffed by personnel from both nations. (-1 WP favorability, -1 PT Favorability. Improved road defenses and further mingling and cultural contact. Better response time to incursions against the road.)
 
Juugo said:
[X] Suggest in the interest of authority and further warding against tribal violence that outposts in the unclaimed section be fully shared structures, staffed by personnel from both nations. (-1 WP favorability, -1 PT Favorability. Improved road defenses and further mingling and cultural contact. Better response time to incursions against the road.)
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I think you copy-pasted from the last vote.
 
I might write a more involved post when I have time, depending on how the conversation is going.

Way I see it is both projects are philosophically pertinent to this arcs. They're both meditations on what Ling Qi wants and the nature of pursuing it. Different lenses, but both relevant. I'd also say both are maybe a bit awkward to fit into the current arc, in little ways.

The bigger question for me is spy stuff, but obviously we can't tell what that's going to look like? The meta answer is maybe yrs gives us the appropriate spy shit regardless of the order of arcs and art projects, but we don't actually know that.

I'm leaning towards Boundaries Untrodden because it makes sense to me that Ling Qi would prioritize sharpening her spycraft after the outcome of her last efforts, though. Close calls can't really be settled for with the stakes what they are.
 
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