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Forge of Destiny(Xianxia Quest)

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Anyway, I'm going to try, and likely fail, at getting some sleep. But first.

@Arkeus Yes, but the idea that it is about empowering allies is not really accurate.

Wing choices are more about worldly detachment rather than any kind of "empowerment". After all, the desire for power is itself a shackle/root. Wings and roots are opposed.

Root choices are about emphasizing worldly attachments.

So the decision to carry your roots is the decision to be unattached by any worldly concerns you haven't decided to personally invest in. It's is not a choice to empower them.
It's also probably the first step toward becoming a cave hermit, but I am not that worried about it at this point in our career.

Edit: Basically, Ling Qi is suggesting that she becomes strong enough to both be worldly and unworldly at the same time. It was also suggested this could hamper growth down the line.
 
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[X][breakthrough] To ensure that none would dare strike at her or her roots in the first place
[X] Plan Bread and Butter.
 
ok so. jokes aside.
Bat spirit of any kind is probably a combo of dark, wind, and sound
Amphibians of all sorts will probably give water-air combo

I think our first spirit should thus be a level 1 bat spirit.
 
Arkeus said:
Wolf might be Moon, Wind and Water as well as pack hunters. Beating that by a lot.
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I think it is far more likely to be wind and darkness rather than wind and water.
... so, like the bat, but also pack hunter and moon association. which is convincing.
Not for the frost wolf btw. but for a type of wolf in general.
 
[X][breakthrough] To ensure that her wings could carry as much weight as she wished
[X][Stat]Manipulation

[X] Plan Bread and Butter.
 
mrttao said:
On the other pseudopod. QM's argument was that he wanted to avoid writing too many things a turn and a "cultivate alone" action is just a simple dice roll with no writeup

While breakthrough actions are huge writeups
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Writing is not equal though. The most frequent thing authors say they find most difficult is character interaction, as you need to have the mindsets for several things and how they work with one another, and ideally use both different words and language structures. Thus it's rather easy to enter editorial spirals, where you correct and nitpick away. So it can take considerably more time, than just writing an introspection scene with just one characters thoughts particularly if you've been thinking about a certain moment or building the setting around a specific thing like I imagine a breakthrough is to Xianxia and this story.

So if the author says five social actions, I'm going to go and take that at face value and believe he means five social actions.

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Moon Fill: At the peak of the outer mountain is a glade containing a rare and valuable moon lily. A disciple is needed to harvest it's nectar, on a moonless night. Damaging the plant is prohibited, but beware,for spirits find the nectar irresistible. 10 points. Unique
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Anyway, it's not really surprising but this is a perfect action for Ling Qi and one she excels at. The difficulty with this task is getting up the mountain, evading anything on the mountain, harvesting the plant, and doing so when the difficulty is ramped up considerably due to it being a moonless night.

Due to Ling Qi's abilities seeing and navigating in the dark is going to be trivial, climbing the mountain can be done with her skills and any difficulty she has Crescent's Grace which negate terrain penalties and can cross gaps, and we get automatic successes to stealth when it's dark. Ths the only difficulties would be harvesting the plant itself which should be easier with us not getting penalties in the dark, and the spirits themselves. Due to us finally reaching Yellow though and with Argent Soul 4, that can be a boon as we can now bind them, and notably a moon spirit as already taken notice of us so there should be further benefits.
 
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Erebeal said:
So, as a distraction I decided to take a crack at drawing Bai Meizhen...

Do people prefer her with eyebrows? or without? I almost feel she works better without them, and it would go with the whole snake thing...
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This is amazing. Without the eyebrows definitely feels subtly unnerving, which I think is a good look for Bai.
 
Erebeal said:
So, as a distraction I decided to take a crack at drawing Bai Meizhen...

Do people prefer her with eyebrows? or without? I almost feel she works better without them, and it would go with the whole snake thing...
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On one hand I think she has eyebrows, it was mentioned when we told her about the vent I think.

But damn her without them really fits that snake like look that she got going for her.
 
@Asael I don't mind the selfishness of 'Wings' (Freedom) but the ones with 'Roots' at their center seems casually cruel to others, so :

[X][breakthrough] To ensure that her wings could carry as much weight as she wished
[X][Stat]Manipulation

[X] Plan Bread and Butter.
Adhoc vote count started by Rhydarson on May 24, 2017 at 5:26 AM, finished with 8489 posts and 34 votes.
  • [X][breakthrough] To ensure that her wings could carry as much weight as she wished
    [X] Plan Bread and Butter.
    [X] Plan Bread and Butter.
    [X] Resources Used: 2 Red Stones, Buy an Argent Accumulation Pill (2 Red Stones) and Gushing Spring Pill (2 red Stones) and use them. Equip Hawk Talon Armguards
    [X] Spend some time with Gu Xiulan, to celebrate your breakthrough, and see if she might be willing to tone things down in regards to Li Suyin
    --[X] Ask her about breakthroughs to Silver, and what kind of prior masteries, cultivation and strengthening exercise can maximise its effect.
    [X] Help Suyin train and cultivate at the vent
    --[X] Argent Soul
    -[X] Go along with Meizhen to this meeting Cai Renxiang is calling.
    --[X] Ask Bai Meizhen about the requirements to take the test for Inner Sect disciple at the end of the year.
    -[X] Breakthrough to Silver
    -[X] Breakthrough to Silver x2
    --[X]If not at peak Gold, cultivate physical with Han Jian and co after buying and using an Elexir Argent.
    [X] Cultivate on your own
    --[X] FVM
    [X] Manipulation
    [X][breakthrough] To ensure that none would dare strike at her or her roots in the first place
    [X][Stat]Manipulation
    [X] Plan: Break On Through to the Other Side
    [X] Plan: Break On Through to the Other Side
    -[X] Resources Used: 2 Red Stones, Buy an Argent Accumulation Pill (2 Red Stones) and use it. Equip Hawk Talon Armguards
    -[X] Breakthrough to Silver
    --[X] Breakthrough Again if successful: Else, buy an Argent Elixir (10 stones) and Cultivate Physical
    [X] Help Suyin train and cultivate at the vent
    --[X] Argent Soul
    -[X] Go along with Meizhen to this meeting Cai Renxiang is calling.
    [X] Spend some time with Gu Xiulan, to celebrate your breakthrough, and see if she might be willing to tone things down in regards to Li Suyin
    -[X] If Breakthrough Fails, Cultivate Physical
    --[X]If Breakthrough Succeeds: Spend some time with Su Ling, perhaps you can learn a little bit of hunting tactics from her
    [X] To ensure that her wings could carry as much weight as she wished
    [x][breakthrough] To ensure that none would shackle her unwillingly
    [X] Manipulation +1
    [X]Plan Obligations
    -[X][ethos] To ensure that her wings could carry as much weight as she wished
    -[X][stat] Intelligence
    -[X][X] Breakthrough to Silver (x2). If you fail on the first, default cultivate physical on the second
    -[X] Go along with Meizhen to this meeting Cai Renxiang is calling.
    -[X] practice with Han Jian and Crew (FVM)
    -[X] Cultivate with the girls (AS)
    -[X] If you're at peak gold, breakthrough Silver. Else look into sending some money to mother
    [X] To ensure that none would shackle her unwillingly
    [X] Breakthrough
    [X] Increase Intellect
    [X] Plan Solidify Place
    -[X] Train with Han Jian and his group
    [X] Look into sending some money to mother
    -[X] Go along with Meizhen to this meeting Cai Renxiang is calling.
    -[X] Breakthrough to Silver
    --[X] if successful, breakthrough again. If not, have a self indulgent pity party with Gu Xiulan, and maybe talk about the Li Suyin issue.
    [X] Help Suyin train and cultivate at the vent
    --[X] Forgotten Vale Melody
    [X] Spend some time with Gu Xiulan, to celebrate your breakthrough, and see if she might be willing to tone things down in regards to Li Suyin
    [X] Look into sending some money to mother
    [X] Visit the Archive
    [X] Help Suyin train and cultivate at the vent
    [X][breakthrough] To ensure that her wings could carry as much weight as she wished
    [X][Stat]Manipulation
    [X] Plan Bread and Butter.
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Erebeal said:
So, as a distraction I decided to take a crack at drawing Bai Meizhen...

Do people prefer her with eyebrows? or without? I almost feel she works better without them, and it would go with the whole snake thing...
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Even the one with eyebrows has them as very subtle eyebrows. much more subtle than a normal human.
And she supposedly has them IC. so yea, i'd go with the eyebrows version.

amazing art though
 
Erebeal said:
Do people prefer her with eyebrows?
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With.
Kai Merah said:
But... damn, poor Suyin. I feel though, like she's picked up some kind of... clarity, somehow? She got badly injured, but she and Su Ling managed to drive off the attackers, and intend to make them pay in the future. I feel like... this is probably just my guilt justifying it, but I feel like if we'd been there, we'd have fed into Suyin's self-loathing since we'd have undoubtedly been doing the most in the fight. But here... She drove off those attackers all by herself (with Su Ling).
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They didn't drive off the attackers, they were driven away from their home, which the attackers have ransacked since, and needed Huang Da to cover their escape to avoid a worse fate.

Speaking of... think what you will of Huang Da, but at least he is funny, which is more than we can say about most of our adversaries. I can't keep the grin off my face reading the scenes with him. The guy tries so hard.

Plus, I find this state of his *ahem* uncertain loyalties intriguing.

If Bai Meizhen has a snake theme, he reminds me of mantises, if not for the fact that those rely on sight to locate their prey.

[x][breakthrough] To ensure that any who brought harm to her roots would be punished
 
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Nevill said:
They didn't drive off the attackers, they were driven away from their home, which the attackers have ransacked since, and needed Huang Da to cover their escape to avoid a worse fate.
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Well actually, Su Ling mentions in the update that "I even managed to light the other two bitches hair up before they ran off for their friends." So what seemed to have happened was that Li Suyin decided to do that thing she did on Huang Da, the "I wonder how long it will take to fix that many burst veins…" comment. Which ended up with the attackers running away to get help. So they drove of the first attackers but ended up having to run anyway when those scavengers returned in greater number. Huang Da did intervene at that point though.

Have to add, Li Suyin is bloody scary when she decides to actually attack someone.
 
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I think this may be the latest I've caught a recent update :(
yrsillar said:
"No, I simply helped them escape their pursuers as they fled, a bit of misdirection allowed me to guide them away from the cave that the beast girl lead them to hide in."
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Damn, he is playing hero. Luckily he's not Ling Qi's type and if just being helpful was enough she'd be crushing on Han Jian. Oh well, suppose we could just appreciate the helpfullness while it lasts?
yrsillar said:
"Trusting in civility was a mistake," her friends voice sounded dull and tired, and when Ling Qi got a glimpse of her she understood why.

Li Suyin was seated on a flat stone platform, her shoulders sagging tiredly. The whole right side of her face was still streaked with blood, and more was crusted in her unkempt blue hair. The shoulder of her gown was torn and hanging loose, exposing a new scar on her upper arm. What really drew her eye was the makeshift patch tied over her friends right eye, and the four jagged scars emerging from beneath it to cross her cheek and neck, which didn't indicate anything good.
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yrsillar said:
Li Suyin replied absently, looking off into nothing. "I wonder how long it will take to fix that many burst veins…"
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yrsillar said:
Li Suyin replied sharply, causing Ling Qi to blink in surprise. "I will fix it myself," she added determinedly. "I… broke through with my technique, so it's not impossible," she shook her head. "And its not your fault… I-I am not a child you need to care for, and neither is Su Ling."
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yrsillar said:
"I-I won't be weak anymore. I'm going to destroy that girl, Xu Jia, and her friends. I won't let them get away with this," her normally meek voice was filled with determination.
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Looks like she's taken a lesson in badass and dropped her naivety the latter while being sad is a part of growing up. She's stronger now and I don't regret being there for Meizhen or gaining personal power, plus now she can be a jaded arsehole like the rest of us! :)
yrsillar said:
It did not involve you… but I suppose that man has made it your business when he chose to strike at you," she responded slowly and thoughtfully. "I am going to kill him of course," she added without a hint of hesitation or thought, as if she were merely commenting on the weather.
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Meizhen is best snek and best friend. Love seeing her getting all violent and scary!
yrsillar said:
Once they had reached the inner street, it was simply an issue of selecting a target. It didn't quite go down as she had imagined though. Instead it simply came down to Bai Meizhen having a very… calm discussion with the current owners, and an exchange of a pouch full of spirit stones for their inconvenience.
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yrsillar said:
Roll one. Target number 65
16

Breakthrough success

Roll two. Target Number 65
40.

Breakthrough Success
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The house finding and the breakthrough were both easier than I thought...
[][breakthrough] To ensure that her wings could carry as much weight as she wished
Complete freedom loses just as much as it gains but it's a very in character choice for someone who ran away from home at 10 and lived on the streets. Strength to pass limits and do what needs to be done just seems like a logical choice
yrsillar said:
You now have Six Actions to choose from.
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Yay, looks like Yellow was the right choice
[] Discuss with Meizhen what you can help her with
We have just had a lot of time spent with Meizhen but I really want this

[x][breakthrough] To ensure that her wings could carry as much weight as she wished
[x][stat] Manipulation
[X] Plan Bread and Butter.
 
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Arkeus said:
Wolf might be Moon, Wind and Water as well as pack hunters. Beating that by a lot.
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Wolves might be pack hunters, but this one is spotted to be alone.

There's supposedly some concerns on lone wolves' behavior, depending on why they are solitary. Either being exiled for not conforming to pack behavior, too weak or injured, or having their pack destroyed. Either way, such wolves tend to be desperate and hungry that they'd attack humans.

Now, compound this observation with spirit beasts, who are both more intelligent and more powerful.
 
[X][breakthrough] To ensure that none would dare strike at her or her roots in the first place
[X] Plan Bread and Butter

Yeah, this is Xianxia. Has to be ruthless.
 
Nevill said:
They didn't drive off the attackers, they were driven away from their home, which the attackers have ransacked since, and needed Huang Da to cover their escape to avoid a worse fate.
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first they were attacked. then after losing an eye suyin destroyed that one girl's veins and fluffy tail set the other two on fire. so they ran away to get their friends. and suyin and fluffy escaped at that point
 
Hmmm, will probably abstain from voting this time, unless something that really hits home for me is a close option. Gotta say, though, that my personal mindset is probably closest to either of the root options. I tend not to form connections to people easily, but for those that I do? I would do anything.

Honestly, if someone gave me a gun with 100 bullets, and put a hundred strangers in front of me, (men, women, and children randomly selected with the only stipulation being that neither I nor any friend of mine knew them.) then gave me a choice to either kill the hundred personally or let one of my friends die? I would not hesitate to put a bullet into each person, and I wouldn't feel guilty over it. Granted, I frequently have to remind myself that people I don't know or don't like are genuinely people, too.
 
[X][breakthrough] To ensure that her wings could carry as much weight as she wished
[X] Plan Clearing the backlog
 
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