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The Path Unending (A Cultivation Quest)

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Yu Narukaze said:
(For the record, the Jin are good at mass production, where the Kong are artisans who make masterworks, but each one is unique. Different approaches for different problems.)
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I think the Jin are better described as noteworthy for being a lineage which didn't allow its greatest members' works to remain as black boxes. They instituted a strong culture of recording and sharing every detail of how each and every Jin charm was made - it's hard to overstate how important that sort of thing is, in terms of fueling further innovation and the craft as a whole.

The Kong family are pure fantasy by comparison, which I think makes it too easy to dismiss the Jin as merely "mass-producing" charms.

The Jin know how their charms are made, and have a codex describing the process for every charm their family ever produced in exacting detail - and the refinements and iterations of those who followed after the original craftsman, as well. Jin Yazhu is a largely unproven charm-maker, and yet the Jin family codex allowed him to craft an entire suite of specialized gear for Mei Daiyu. If one is to consider him incompetent, then that would only speak to the brilliance of the Jin family's records.
 
I think we may have to confront the hard truth that the Jin are long term subordinates of the Zuan and their highly refined and deeply considered methods are perfectly in line with the Zuan ways of cultivation. They plan out, justify, and record everything. They do what they think is optimal, even when that means forgoing unique opportunities. For example, Kun would have passed up the world stream if he was fully following the Zuan Way. Philosophically the Kong / Siani way of seeking novelty and embracing diversity is in natural opposition to this rigid and disciplined mentality.

It's going to be a long term issue if we get Zuan patronage for our family, and realistically that's the only noble path we've left open.
 
[X] Jin! (Write In)
-[X] (Wistful, at the loss of the only rival worth a damn in our generation)
 
CanYouMeme said:
Really?

Because the wistful option reads to me like voting to play Jin Yahzu and his apparent family member like a spirits damned fiddle, turning them to our purposes and making them serve our ends.

See, here's the thing about xianxia settings; acting on emotional claptrap like calling the manipulative option spineless revisionism is a good way to start bloody family feuds. If that's how you want to go, I want some kind of proposal for how we can turn the antagonistic route to profit.
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...
Kong Zhi, the guy with this trait
Vesvius said:
An Uncomfortable Authenticity: Kong Zhi approaches wordplay much like a dog approaches advanced mathematics: with enthusiasm and energy, but not so much skill. But when he speaks the unvarnished truth, he succeeds nonetheless. As long as he speaks with blunt, open honesty, Kong Zhi gains a +1 to his Social Talent for all social roles. However, he is horribly uncomfortable with anything else. For any social rolls in which Kong Zhi attempts to obfuscate or alter the truth in any way, and for all Bluff rolls, he suffers a -1 to his Social Talent instead.
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is going to play someone like a fiddle. By pretending to be wistful for their rivalry.
Just, no. I'd be surprised if it didn't enrage Jin Yahzu. Dude hates us. Best we can do is apply the Mo approach: publicly offer the olive branch (be polite), so that any future antagonism on his part is public perceived as being unjustified.
 
thamuzz said:
apply the Mo approach: publicly offer the olive branch (be polite), so that any future antagonism on his part is public perceived as being unjustified.
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After the Mo shunning, at the very least Kong Zhi could learn something from the fallout. Maybe if we do a good enough job on that end, Yazhu can out himself as a mad dog (Sorry Xue) Skink!

Is this finally the awakening of SocialsZhi no we're that already, so NobleZhi?
 
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[X] "Jin." (Polite)

Because I'm guessing it's too late to get momentum behind
[jk] "Jin." (Lustful)

Silverking said:
[X] "Jin." (Polite)

Wait, did he get kicked out before our whole Talon Creature/Fractal View arc? So he has no context for why we're now cosplaying as the Grim Reaper? That's hilarious!
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I'm kind of surprised he recognized us then! We, uh, look pretty different.
Mr. Prokosch said:
I think we may have to confront the hard truth that the Jin are long term subordinates of the Zuan and their highly refined and deeply considered methods are perfectly in line with the Zuan ways of cultivation. They plan out, justify, and record everything. They do what they think is optimal, even when that means forgoing unique opportunities. For example, Kun would have passed up the world stream if he was fully following the Zuan Way. Philosophically the Kong / Siani way of seeking novelty and embracing diversity is in natural opposition to this rigid and disciplined mentality.

It's going to be a long term issue if we get Zuan patronage for our family, and realistically that's the only noble path we've left open.
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Though if they're primarily Zuan subordinates it makes it odd that Jin wasn't helping the Zuan heir. Maybe their methods are too sloppy for them?
 
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[X] "Jin." (Polite)

Also, did we stop using the Fractal View? This chapter seems to imply we're going around in our cyclopean flesh-horror form.
 
Currently, we look like an ivory statue with too-long fingers and a glowing blue eye. We are absolutely weird-looking enough for it to be commented on and we wear the eyepatch no matter the form, as our eye is pretty much always weird-looking
 
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[x] "Jin." (Polite)

Politeness never hurts. It allows further escalation in any direction depending on how it is received. And while his actions did lead to a lot of good crafts, they did so by forcing problems on Kong that could had some hefty bad effect.

He did leave though and thus I am fine with starting back at polite. Let's see if some time and distance helped him grow as a person just as Khong has.
 
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