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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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I tried to make 3-way diff like I have for some prior votes, but Option 2 is just way too different, and honestly I'm a little concerned about that.

Plus, Option 1 gives me the impression that, if we end up fighting someone who can effectively defend against it, they'll be similar enough to us and provoke a "why are we even fighting?" moment.

[X] As starvation is privation of the body, isolation is privation of the soul. From lack and loss is born suffering, in many forms. One soul has but two hands, yet in multitude the chain is unending. The blade Isolation cannot be dulled by one heart alone.
 
[X] As starvation is privation of the body, isolation is privation of the soul. Thus, the greatest foe is I. No hand may reach the one who has clenched and withdrawn. The blade Isolation rends all warmth into cold.
 
[X] As starvation is privation of the body, isolation is privation of the soul. Thus, the greatest foe is I. No hand may reach the one who has clenched and withdrawn. The blade Isolation rends all warmth into cold.
 
[X] As starvation is privation of the body, isolation is privation of the soul. Thus, the greatest foe is I. No hand may reach the one who has clenched and withdrawn. The blade Isolation rends all warmth into cold.

I like this option because it fits very well with Ling Qi's background. It's about how it doesn't matter if the whole world reaches out to you, if you refuse to take those hands. How you can be alone in a crowd, if you refuse to engage with those around you.

The other vote is about how others are needed to counter isolation, while this is about how isolation is a choice if you refuse to engage others.
 
[X] As starvation is privation of the body, isolation is privation of the soul. Thus, the greatest foe is I. No hand may reach the one who has clenched and withdrawn. The blade Isolation rends all warmth into cold.
 
[X] As starvation is privation of the body, isolation is privation of the soul. Thus, the greatest foe is I. No hand may reach the one who has clenched and withdrawn. The blade Isolation rends all warmth into cold.

Ling Qi is the One Who Talks. Some talking is done with blades.
 
[X] As starvation is privation of the body, isolation is privation of the soul. Thus, the greatest foe is I. No hand may reach the one who has clenched and withdrawn. The blade Isolation rends all warmth into cold.
 
Wiggy said:
I wonder how common weaponizing their trauma is for imperial cultivators?
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Here is the deal. It's an unfortunate truth that suffering trauma at an early age develops a monstrous drive in people. A killer instinct to survive. Such events tend to mark and define a person. Some can grow past it, but the signs will always be there.

In the Empire's cultivation system drive and understanding of oneself marks one out as having the potential to develop a proper Way and thus move beyond the great filter of Green.
Sure talent, resources, and support can make an excellent cultivator, but those who have suffered have more...vivid experiences to define the concepts that have deeply marked them.

Examples:
Gan Guangli - saw his father fall from a paragon, a soldier, a man of discipline, to a drunk abusive asshole. - Became the epitome of Soldiery virtue
Yan Renshu - saw his family wallow in dirt and grime, their hard work stolen by nobles jealous of their rightful reward. - played the 'game' the same way nobles do, as he saw it

Weaponizing trauma seems almost a given.
 
weeblypanda said:
Yan Renshu - saw his family wallow in dirt and grime, their hard work stolen by nobles jealous of their rightful reward. - played the 'game' the same way nobles do, as he saw it
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His family was about as wealthy as commoners can be, with multiple cultivators even getting as far as green with ministry jobs so I'm pretty sure he never saw them wallow in dirt and grime :V
 
[X] As starvation is privation of the body, isolation is privation of the soul. Thus, the greatest foe is I. No hand may reach the one who has clenched and withdrawn. The blade Isolation rends all warmth into cold.
 
[X] As starvation is privation of the body, isolation is privation of the soul. Thus, the greatest foe is I. No hand may reach the one who has clenched and withdrawn. The blade Isolation rends all warmth into cold.
 
[X] As starvation is privation of the body, isolation is privation of the soul. Thus, the greatest foe is I. No hand may reach the one who has clenched and withdrawn. The blade Isolation rends all warmth into cold.
 
[X] As starvation is privation of the body, isolation is privation of the soul. Thus, the greatest foe is I. No hand may reach the one who has clenched and withdrawn. The blade Isolation rends all warmth into cold.
 
[X] As starvation is privation of the body, isolation is privation of the soul. Thus, the greatest foe is I. No hand may reach the one who has clenched and withdrawn. The blade Isolation rends all warmth into cold.

This does seem very fitting. After all, Isolation is LQ's sword.
 
[X] As starvation is privation of the body, isolation is privation of the soul. Thus, the greatest foe is I. No hand may reach the one who has clenched and withdrawn. The blade Isolation rends all warmth into cold.
 
[X] As starvation is privation of the body, isolation is privation of the soul. Thus, the greatest foe is I. No hand may reach the one who has clenched and withdrawn. The blade Isolation rends all warmth into cold.
 
[X] As starvation is privation of the body, isolation is privation of the soul. Thus, the greatest foe is I. No hand may reach the one who has clenched and withdrawn. The blade Isolation rends all warmth into cold.
 
[X] As starvation is privation of the body, isolation is privation of the soul. Thus, the greatest foe is I. No hand may reach the one who has clenched and withdrawn. The blade Isolation rends all warmth into cold.
 
[X] As starvation is privation of the body, isolation is privation of the soul. Thus, the greatest foe is I. No hand may reach the one who has clenched and withdrawn. The blade Isolation rends all warmth into cold.
 
[X] As starvation is privation of the body, isolation is privation of the soul. From lack and loss is born suffering, in many forms. One soul has but two hands, yet in multitude the chain is unending. The blade Isolation cannot be dulled by one heart alone.

1 - Prescribes the cure for Isolation, others helping
2 - Describes a cause of Isolation, rejection of bonds

I think while 2 is more potent, 1 is a direction to move forward into.
 
[X] As starvation is privation of the body, isolation is privation of the soul. Thus, the greatest foe is I. No hand may reach the one who has clenched and withdrawn. The blade Isolation rends all warmth into cold.
 
[X] As starvation is privation of the body, isolation is privation of the soul. Thus, the greatest foe is I. No hand may reach the one who has clenched and withdrawn. The blade Isolation rends all warmth into cold.
 
[X] As starvation is privation of the body, isolation is privation of the soul. From lack and loss is born suffering, in many forms. One soul has but two hands, yet in multitude the chain is unending. The blade Isolation cannot be dulled by one heart alone.

Ling Qi is gonna make a terrifying assassin. If she catches you alone, you're gonna have a truly bad time.
 
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