The Path Unending (A Cultivation Quest)

[Horium]

When Fa asked Zhi was there ever a charm he was satisfied with, he replied that there wasn't.

Meaning, no matter whether Zhi DDed or not, he was never satisfied. Zhi's a perfectionist artiste, there's nothing more to it.

Also, considering that the people who are arguing that DD is somehow inherently harmful to Zhi are the same people who hate that mechanic, heavily suggests to me that rather than an objective fear this is blatant fearmongering in order to have the voterbase stop voting for it.

 

[Catpetter1981]

He in character would have Doubled Down on Digging Sticks for a pig.

Click to shrink...

I voted against DD-ing on Fractal View, but I would have pushed for DD-ing on the Digging Sticks for Pigsy if there had been a vote for that.

Also, I voted against DD-ing on Fractal View, but I'll also vote against re-litigating the Fractal View DD-ing vote. The choice was made, the "cost" of DD-ing are the AP spent and the opportunity cost of not spending that AP on other activities, and any argument that DD-ing incurs additional hidden costs (beyond the opportunity costs) is not supported by the evidence.

 

[esktasy]

[X] You will pursue Xu Yun and attempt to comfort him. Mei Daiyu may have rejected him, but at least he tried! And there are always others that will be more than happy to go to a festival with him!

 

[Knight-Radiant]

Also, considering that the people who are arguing that DD is somehow inherently harmful to Zhi are the same people who hate that mechanic, heavily suggests to me that rather than an objective fear this is blatant fearmongering in order to have the voterbase stop voting for it.

Click to shrink...

OI

Gotta love the selective reading on this guy.

I voice my approval for DDing VR and the Box, and yet I apparently Hate the DD mechanic? If you look back, I was one of the people who voted to DD Vr and the Box.

If you're gonna throw shade, at least be accurate.

I don't have a problem with DDing charms, I have a problem with us abusing the mechanic by DDing every charm. Especially when the only reasoning is some lame stuff like "Not DDing the Charm means we are half assing it" or "not putting our all into this charm"

That argument reeks of fearmongering to me, saying that we'd be punished narratively for not using the DD mechanic when we have ZERO evidence of that being the case.

 

[Edkose]

I would not be against DD Fa's Axe as she's one of our mainstay allies so empowering her effectively empowers us to an extent never mind the fact that we're closer to her than anyone else in the sect besides Nokai. I also wouldn't be overly upset if we didn't either as it wouldn't be that big a deal.

Click to shrink...

Personally I'd be against DD Fa's axe. It's gonna be a BT ~40 axe after RnD rolls. It's more than good enough.

I'd rather spend some actions with Fa.

 

[Rashnork]

[x] Go and find Xu Yun. Sit beside him, and let him speak, rather than trying to correct the problem with words or tell him how to feel, and offer your support. The situation is not something that can be fixed by words, but perhaps your presence will offer some comfort. Mention that you planned on taking your catch to Ming Hui, and invite him along as a means to distract him and replace a bad memory with good.

 

[Spacegnom]

What a huge update! Nice to read some social interactions. As for my vote...
[] You will pursue Xu Yun, though you do not fully know what you will say when you find him. (Xu Yun Write-in) So about that Ox skull you found a while back...
Kick'em while they're down


[X] You will remain with Mei Daiyu in hopes of distracting her. That may have been awkward, but there's no reason to let one moment cast a shadow over an enjoyable afternoon! You will invite her to continue sparring, perhaps using techniques this time to jog her out of her stupor..

1st choice would have been MD charm talk, because that feels like the natural topic KZ defaults to when things become awkward. I don't care too much about whom we prioritise here, since these have both become good friends to us.

 

[Sib]

[X] You will remain with Mei Daiyu in hopes of distracting her. That may have been awkward, but there's no reason to let one moment cast a shadow over an enjoyable afternoon! You will invite her to continue sparring, perhaps using techniques this time to jog her out of her stupor..

 

[DkArthas]

[X] You will remain with Mei Daiyu in hopes of distracting her. That may have been awkward, but there's no reason to let one moment cast a shadow over an enjoyable afternoon! You will invite her to continue sparring, perhaps using techniques this time to jog her out of her stupor.

I want more mei interaction and honestly, we are one of her very few friends. I would rather make sure she's fine. We can invite Xue later to the spa.

And, honestly, the current leading Xu option is pretty shit imo.

 

[pblur]

Meanwhile, Fa's bedside manner even when she's trying to help someone she's care about can be quite rough, and I'm not really sure Xu Yun is going to really respond that well to tough love at the moment.

Click to shrink...

This is COMPLETELY contrary to Fa's character. Look in this very chapter. She adroitly manipulates Zhi into joining them sparring. The only time I believe we've seen her be rough was to motivate Xu Yun (who wasn't taking duel prep seriously.) Otherwise she's always been careful and smooth. She manages conversations and people extremely well.

 

[Skippy]

Alternatively it was a scene of Zhi zoning out so Ves didn't have to write a big crafting scene of Zhi making minor tweaks and polish while also segueing into Fa showing up which then leads to the sparring session.

*eyeroll* whatever. If something of Fractals significance isn't worth a DD to you then I really have to wonder what the fuck is.

Just as DD isn't something we should use for every charm neither should it be something we only use unless we absolutely have to when we're in a pinch of some kind. If you disagree then fine, whatever, you do you.

Click to shrink...

Fucking. Woosh. I've mentioned this before but Fractals BT means jack shit to me. Could not give less of a damn if I tried. I didn't vote to DD it to give it a bigger number. I wanted to DD because of it significance narratively. I wanted Zhi to make it the best he could because of how important it is to him as a character. I don't care that it now has a bigger number. I don't care that it cost a bunch more actions.

Click to shrink...

let's keep it friendly
I get that arguments about resource allocation in Quests can be pretty fraught, because at the end of the day there's only so many shinies to go around and we all have different things we want to do with them as players. But please, let's try to keep the tone friendly and polite, because otherwise it is easy to say something unkind which we later regret, then the other person does, and things spiral. (I've been there.) You have not been infracted, but let's take this as a general reminder for the thread to try to keep the tone friendly. Personally I've found taking even a five minute break from the computer before replying can really help.

Thanks for your time.

 

[nothingtoseehere]

[X] You will remain with Mei Daiyu in hopes of distracting her. That may have been awkward, but there's no reason to let one moment cast a shadow over an enjoyable afternoon! You will invite her to continue sparring, perhaps using techniques this time to jog her out of her stupor.

 

[Zampano]

[X] You will remain with Mei Daiyu in hopes of distracting her. That may have been awkward, but there's no reason to let one moment cast a shadow over an enjoyable afternoon! You will invite her to continue sparring, perhaps using techniques this time to jog her out of her stupor.

I want more mei interaction

Click to shrink...

same

 

[pblur]

[X] You will remain with Mei Daiyu in hopes of distracting her. That may have been awkward, but there's no reason to let one moment cast a shadow over an enjoyable afternoon! You will invite her to continue sparring, perhaps using techniques this time to jog her out of her stupor..

 

[Chopak]

[X] You will pursue Xu Yun and attempt to comfort him. Mei Daiyu may have rejected him, but at least he tried! And there are always others that will be more than happy to go to a festival with him!

Staying with Mei will imo give Xu Yun bad ideas. And If Xu Yun lashes at us saying stuff like "Go away! She likes you more!" or something like that, then even better, we will finally deal with that elephant in the room.

 

[Corvo Montés]

[X] You will remain with Mei Daiyu in hopes of distracting her. That may have been awkward, but there's no reason to let one moment cast a shadow over an enjoyable afternoon! You will invite her to continue sparring, perhaps using techniques this time to jog her out of her stupor.

 

[Sickul]

Staying with Mei will imo give Xu Yun bad ideas. And If Xu Yun lashes at us saying stuff like "Go away! She likes you more!" or something like that, then even better, we will finally deal with that elephant in the room.

Click to shrink...

Well I don't think Xu Yun would know what we do, since he's already left. He might guess we stayed with her, but he would just be guessing.

 

[Chopak]

Well I don't think Xu Yun would know what we do, since he's already left. He might guess we stayed with her, but he would just be guessing.

Click to shrink...

If Fa goes with him, he might add two and two together and get that we stayed with Mei. But yeah, he would be mostly guessing.

 

[Edkose]

"I wish," Xu Yun answers. "To struggle with something is to know it, and I still do not have the faintest idea what my third aspect is. The wind and water were easy to identify- but the third aspect? It still escapes me."

You narrow your focus on Xu Yun's core. Sure enough, familiar notes of wind and water anam are clear on the surface. But there is indeed a third aspect swimming below the first two, lurking beneath them like a shark stalking its prey. It is like nothing you have ever studied personally before. It reminds you of Beast Anam, but only on the most superficial level. Other parts of it almost seem to resemble Hunger Anam- but no, that is not correct either. It is closer to Hunger than Beast though.

Click to shrink...

For a fraction of a second, you see Xu Yun as you have never seen him before- stricken, as if he has just been lanced through the heart. He may as well have been. Though Mei Daiyu's words were soft and her excuses coached to deflect pain, there is no doubt in anyone's mind that Xu Yun has just been completely rejected.

The sailor's feelings vanish almost instantly though. He nods in seemingly amiable acceptance and chuckles, muttering something about knowing better than to plan than to try and compete with Seniors. But he does not linger long. Bare moments later, he rises, dusting his robes off, and makes his way from the group. "My thanks for your invitation, Jai Fa!" he calls over his shoulder. "It has been a most rewarding afternoon! I cannot wait for our next gathering."

Then he is gone, jogging up the side of the crater without so much as a pause to gather his robes.

Click to shrink...

So an unknown aspect that is a mix of Beast and Hunger, with more Hunger than Beast, + hurt feelings.
Nothing can possibly go wrong!

Xu Yun begins to list all of the great things he has acquired from patrolling the tunnels- though from what he says, it would be easier to list the things he has not found. He has found herbs, materials, petrified wood, Spirit Beasts he had gotten the full claim on,

Click to shrink...

We definitely need to ask him about the Green Stone hall, our only Regalia clue so far.

 

[Catpetter1981]

[X] You will remain with Mei Daiyu, though you do not fully know what you will say to her. (Mei Daiyu Write-In) - "You are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. Would you allow me to accompany you through the village during the Festival of the Tear-Drenched Moon?" (Bonus for An Uncomfortable Authenticity)

Click to shrink...

I want to advocate for my write-in option, which is (as Reader of All has pointed out) a dick move, but a sincere, non-joke. write-in dick move.

This option:

(a) Will provide maximum adolescent drama and awkwardness. Whether Mei Daiyu rejects or accepts Kong Zhi's invitation, the news will eventually make its way to Xu Yun, Bi Hai and then the rest of the Eighth Circle. Then the drama fully begins. It'll be like having a Kong Ves situation in the main Kong Zhi plotline. It'll be fantastic and hilarious to read.

(b) Is not necessarily out-of-character for Kong Zhi. Seeing Mei Daiyu reject Xu Yun may well lead to an epiphany where he realises "Mei Daiyu is really pretty => It could well be that many people other than Xu Yun likes Mei Daiyu => Mei Daiyu is really pretty => Mei Daiyu is not just pretty, she's the most gosh-darn beautiful angel I've ever seen in this life or any other life => If I don't confess now, she might accept one of her other suitors first => This is it, do or die, here goes!"

(c) Could very well provide an Insight for Kong Zhi. It's not exactly "Kiss a boy and a girl at the same time" as Aunt Bi advised, but "Confessing to a close friend right after she has rejected another close friend while a third close friend is still right there at the scene" should come close.

 

[Chopak]

I'll be honest wth you. That sounds like drama just for drama sake.

 

[WillRobinson]

I'll be honest wth you. That sounds like drama just for drama sake.

Click to shrink...

Yes.

[X] You will remain with Mei Daiyu, though you do not fully know what you will say to her. (Mei Daiyu Write-In) - "You are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. Would you allow me to accompany you through the village during the Festival of the Tear-Drenched Moon?" (Bonus for An Uncomfortable Authenticity)

 

[veekie]

You narrow your focus on Xu Yun's core. Sure enough, familiar notes of wind and water anam are clear on the surface. But there is indeed a third aspect swimming below the first two, lurking beneath them like a shark stalking its prey. It is like nothing you have ever studied personally before. It reminds you of Beast Anam, but only on the most superficial level. Other parts of it almost seem to resemble Hunger Anam- but no, that is not correct either. It is closer to Hunger than Beast though.

Click to shrink...

So lets see, its a powerful Wonder of Wind and Water, tied together by a third aspect.
This aspect is related to base instincts/urges.
This aspect is similar to Hunger.

A form of Desire.
...did he wind up with Love Anam or something?

 

[Zampano]

So lets see, its a powerful Wonder of Wind and Water, tied together by a third aspect.
This aspect is related to base instincts/urges.
This aspect is similar to Hunger.

A form of Desire.
...did he wind up with Love Anam or something?

Click to shrink...

Wind + Water + Hunger = Hummingbird Anam

hummingbirds must drink calories in the form of nectar at all times

hummingbird gives him a connection to Mei. It's perfect!

 

[Edkose]

So lets see, its a powerful Wonder of Wind and Water, tied together by a third aspect.
This aspect is related to base instincts/urges.
This aspect is similar to Hunger.

A form of Desire.
...did he wind up with Love Anam or something?

Click to shrink...

I doubt it. This doesn't really seem like love:

Xu Yun's core is a cold thing, a heavy thing that lies over his heart. Running your sixth sense over it brings you feelings of pressure, of depths, of something lurking deep within the waters. Danger lurks within Xu Yun's core; studying it brings the feeling of being watched, the feeling that you are being studied in return by something cold and other and-

Click to shrink...

Some kind of intelligent beast? I think someone speculated in Kraken anam or something way back then.