Meizhen told us that they are a bit young for the arrangement
Edit: damn, a bit too slow
Threads Of Destiny(Eastern Fantasy, Sequel to Forge of Destiny)
- Thread starter yrsillar
- Start date
- Original Users' Choice!
Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
Meizhen told us that they are a bit young for the arrangement
Edit: damn, a bit too slow
fictionfan
Please sir, may I have some Meows?
- Location
- Tempe, AZ
Well the first step would be to make a standard disciple object. Then give then a set of actions to do each turn. That gives a very basic simulator.I've got the api framework open right in front of me.
Lets do this.
- Location
- USA
- Pronouns
- He/Him
That's setting up for something a lot more nonlinear than is standard in the gacha genre, though. A campaign based on a version of Meizhen's journey would be more approachable and easier to monetize. The linearity lets you tune the difficulty curve, which is an important factor in ruthlessly capitalizing on gacha monetization.
- Location
- United States of America
ah whoops, but still come on
how much do people need to read in to every little sentence
- Location
- USA
- Pronouns
- He/Him
If you aren't interested in a close reading of the chapter you're free to ignore it and discuss art keywords or whatever else. You don't really get to dictate what we find interesting, though.
- Location
- United States of America
meh, I call it like I see it
seems like a waste of a favor to get your handmaiden (that you would have gotten anyway) a little bit early
unrelated what's good on this site besides this?
do people have any good recommendations?
OctarineShrike
Avatar of Mandos
Xianxiawise? White Collar Cultivator by Bob's Beard. Dead but it was fun while it lasted(Mortal shanghaied into multiplanetary Xianxia bureaucracy dealing with the foibles of Cultivators)
White Collar Cultivator - Original - Fantasy
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fictionfan
Please sir, may I have some Meows?
- Location
- Tempe, AZ
I don't know what a gacha is. I am thinking of a sect simulator game with lots of replay value.
- Location
- Europe
On a first read this is genuinely my favorite xianxia story/quest.
On rereads it loses a bit of something for me, but damn, that first binge read is amazing.
- Location
- United States of America
oh cool I'll check it out
I'm not too tied to any one genre, mostly I just want good writing
anything really western fantasy, sci-fi, xianxia, mashups
- Location
- The Maple Syrup Mountains
A gacha machine is the Japanese version of those 'put in money and get out a random toy' machines. Gacha games are that in game form: you pay currency (in-game or otherwise) to get a random in-game thing like a character or a weapon or what have you.
I don't know that much about them, but they're relatively easy to make and can be pretty addicting if you get invested in your collection (just like real gacha machines!).
Ooo, I just had a new art idea, mostly just trying to think of what would be a better replacement for AE for us.
Something like:
Thousand Shadows
Shadows are everywhere, their flickering patterns creating phantom terrors, and providing cover and opportunities. The user of this art manipulates shadows to hide their form, and conjure flickering terrors to harass their foes and open defenses.
Keywords: darkness, shadows, monsters, opportunity
Lung/Arm?
Something like:
Thousand Shadows
Shadows are everywhere, their flickering patterns creating phantom terrors, and providing cover and opportunities. The user of this art manipulates shadows to hide their form, and conjure flickering terrors to harass their foes and open defenses.
Keywords: darkness, shadows, monsters, opportunity
Lung/Arm?
Cloak of Shadows
Wrapping themselves in a mantle of flickering shadow, the cultivator blends into the background, increasing their stealth. + stealth + armor + sneak attacks?
Night Terrors
The shadows are alive. Imbuing them with their qi, the cultivator brings the shadows to life. Monsters to distract and harass the enemy, and drain their strength.
Create not!Heartless minions out of shadows to attack people? Maybe have things like shadow teleportation, sneak attacks, ability to pin people by massing on their shadow, or increased multi-attack bonuses to reflect their intense distracting this as they come at enemies from all angles taking to find openings?
Sudden Nightmare (idk, can't think of a name)
When ones enemies are beset by others, this can open up ideal opportunities to strike and take them down from the shadows. Basically, like, a sneak attack themed version of PC. Maybe combo of Night Terrors with the minions leaving debuffs opening effects like PC does? Or maybe just something that doesn't buff alllies at all, but just gives a bigger dps boost to us based off how many allies we have attacking them?
Wrapping themselves in a mantle of flickering shadow, the cultivator blends into the background, increasing their stealth. + stealth + armor + sneak attacks?
Night Terrors
The shadows are alive. Imbuing them with their qi, the cultivator brings the shadows to life. Monsters to distract and harass the enemy, and drain their strength.
Create not!Heartless minions out of shadows to attack people? Maybe have things like shadow teleportation, sneak attacks, ability to pin people by massing on their shadow, or increased multi-attack bonuses to reflect their intense distracting this as they come at enemies from all angles taking to find openings?
Sudden Nightmare (idk, can't think of a name)
When ones enemies are beset by others, this can open up ideal opportunities to strike and take them down from the shadows. Basically, like, a sneak attack themed version of PC. Maybe combo of Night Terrors with the minions leaving debuffs opening effects like PC does? Or maybe just something that doesn't buff alllies at all, but just gives a bigger dps boost to us based off how many allies we have attacking them?
DeusExBritannia
Red-White-Black-White
- Location
- Texas
That reminds me... @TehChron, how's that Forge/Threads of Destiny card game going?
Chu Song Negaverse 2
Chu Song Negaverse II: The Out-Foxening
There was only one thing for it, in the end.
You paused, before ultimately nodding to yourself. There were a bunch of hangers-on that the Demon and her little minions had assembled in the past year, and most of them were unable to make it to Inner Sect. Well, it was only right. If you couldn't get in that year, what right did suckups like Gan Guangli have to benefit from the resources of the Inner Sect along with those offered by that vile Demon? None, that's right. But just because Guangli and his ilk of suckups were still in the Outer Sect meant that everyone left behind was still loyal to the Monsters of the previous year.
You nodded again, preparing to gather your faithful minions. Time to go hunting.
...
[Speech Rank D12]
"So." You concluded, deep in the forests of the mountain, near one of the pit traps that had been reported by one of your boys. Your quarry was before you, fanged teeth bared over a lip as their eyes glanced at you warily.
"So...what?" Su Ling replied back, fox ears twitching in agitation as your escorts fanned out around her. The girl was one you had only seen once, accompanying that Rat, Ling Qi, in the previous year before you had fought against that Bai Snake. She seemed sensible at the time, fighting for her friends but not for the Cai Demoness. There was room to negotiate there, you think. It's not like she had tried to go for the Inner Sect as well.
[Perception Rank B15]
That meant that she wasn't motivated to stick around the Demon or her retainers. Hell, not even her little friend with the blue hair and the eyepatch. It was just her, all alone.
"I've got a deal for you." You reply, puffing up your chest proudly, looking down on the little half-breed. Sure, she was a mutt for sure, but she was supposed to be some kind of skilled multi-faceted pill-maker and fighter. If the rumors you heard had any merit to them. And based on what you were seeing about her ability to capture and harvest Spirit Beasts...You could see that she'd be a hell of an asset.
"A deal, huh?" Su Ling replied, an eyebrow raised. A pair of furred tails twitched from where they were wrapped around her waist.
"Yup~" You really pop that word, the girl wasn't starting a fight. And that meant you were off to a great start. You felt good about this! Now, to make the pitch, "I know that you didn't want to move for the Inner Sect. Too much political crap, too much competition, too much trouble, am I right?"
The half-breed nods her head, "Sure, let's go with that." You feel yourself grinning toothily at the accuracy of your guess.
"So here's the deal: You work alongside me out here, help me out a bit with those pillmaking skills you're so famous for, and when I get the Chu Clan back up and running you'll have a great spot to help us back up to our proper place in the world." You nod, throwing your head back to finish your pitch, "It'll be like getting in on the ground floor, only you'll be destined for greatness! Sounds pretty good, right?"
Su Ling nods, her eyes shifting to the side as she considers your offer, "Sounds good, but I do have a condition."
What? A condition!? The runt was lucky you were offering her a space among your future retainers in the first place! But...you could afford to be magnanimous, if only a bit considering the desperation of your position, "Alright, let's hear it."
The fox-girls eyes narrowed, "There's a Fox spirit at the Fourth Realm. Goes around abducting mortals and killing them."
"And what about it?" You reply.
"I want to kill it. And I want you to make it so that it can happen. That's my condition."
[Spirit Lore D5]
You pause, considering. Honestly, between hearing about the stories of your clans former glory before being cast down by the House of Cai, you had heard a few stories about a Cyan-level Fox Spirit that wandered around the nearby regions of the Emerald Seas. And how there was a certain Count Family that tolerated its existence among its retainers land. The reasons for it were unclear, given how it was a memory from long before you awakened, but you wouldn't be able to make that happen. You needed the Counts on your side for when it came time to knock the Cai off their stolen throne in the Emerald Seas, and you certainly weren't about to put that at risk for the sake of some Second Realm Mongrel.
[Speech D12]
But that didn't mean you had to follow through with it. You nod once, with a smile on your face, "Deal." And you extend a hand forward to the half-breed, mind already shifting to how you'd put this new resource to it's best use. There was a faint squeaking sound, but you ignored it. Probably just some random spirit beast fleeing after sensing your amazing Qi.
"So, uh...What do you need me to do?" Your latest minion asked, not reaching for your hand.
"Well, first we're going to fuck over that bastard Guangli." You say confidently, "You were supposed to be friends with Ling Qi last year, right?"
"Sure." Su Ling nodded in response, her voice and demeanor casual.
"So we'll use that. Get close to Guangli with that as an excuse, and then we'll set up an ambush and mess up the bastard. Probably steal Yan Renshu's old Pill Furnace. That'd be a nice move, you know? Really mess up his ability to get the new meat on his side."
The fox girl nodded, "Nah, I don't think that'll work."
You pause, blinking. Did you hear that right?
"Well..." The half-breed shrugs helplessly, "It's just that I know you're lying to my face about helping me with taking out the ol' Fox, and that's just not something that makes me wanna work with you, you know?" Wavy brown hair shifts, and a leathery wing pokes out from behind the mutts neck. You feel your arms tremble in growing rage.
"And so what?" You all but spit, "You should consider yourself lucky for someone like me to even be willing to take you on anyway, you stupid half-breed!"
"And another thing," The fox girl nods, her arms folding over her leather outfit, "You actually weren't the first person to search me out today."
The sound of leaves rustling gives way to a sound that was anything but subtle, "FUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"A familiar laugh booms through the air, "Did I not say that you would be searched out by the malcontent rebel remnants, Lady Su?" Gan Guangli strides forward, a pair of ham-sized fists clutching the faces of two of your subordinates with a casual strength, his Demon-given armor gleaming in the morning sunlight.
Su Ling shrugs, "That ya did" Two more interlopers arrived then, a pair of girls wielding a mace and harp between them, and the damn mutt gave them a meaningful look, "So, how are we gonna do this?" Her tone had grown more casual after the three minions of the demon had arrived, almost as if she had begun to relax in their presence.
You grimaced.
You were sure that you still had the group outnumbered, the mutt and the new arrivals topping out at Late Yellow Realm in either Spiritual or Physical Cultivation, but the real problem here would be Guangli. He may have been behind you in Cultivation, but it was only just, and his Domain Weapon would probably be as easily a match for your own as Ling Qis had been.
Choose One:
[] Flee
[] Fight
-[] Write-In
twochron said:
Boateus said:
bungi angel said:
White Noise said:
larsilly said:
A.N. And there you go, a bit messy and incoherent on my end, but I still enjoyed writing it and it's not like it was ever going to be canon. So here you go @yrsillar another Omake to restore my eldritch power over shoving success points into Formation Skills for next turn!
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- Location
- United States of America
I must say that I am super excited to see what arts are derived from the tags that made it into the top 6. There is a lot of cool things that can be done with connections, music, stealth, perception, wind, and darkness. It's going to be a blast!
what
I never said Id make an IRL equivalent myself, just that I'd put together a scheme for us to make it work in-narrative.
Honestly, it'd be some kind of hybrid lovechild between vanguard, MtG, and YGO based on the nature of the different wincons, resource requirements, and theming at best I imagine.
:thinking:
:hmm:
*glances at two Apocrypha Omakes*
@yrsillar i think the math here might be off, unless Formations became an attribute when I stopped paying attention?
deadcrystal
Slaaneshi Cultist
- Location
- The Warp
Chu Song - Treats literally everyone like festering garbage
Also Chu Song: Why does no-one want to team up with me?!?!?! It must be a conspiracy, there can be no other possible explanation.
I did
However no matter how accurate, no points for edits. I'm sorry
laugh while you canI did
However no matter how accurate, no points for edits. I'm sorry
time for me to begin portraying zhenguis breakthrough vision
Warm Dreams
Warm Dreams
Zhengui remembered...dirt. Trees. Stinky water. Eyes drooping. The smell of the young man, whom he called thought of as his not-fish cousin. The familiar smell of smoke and burning. As the young xuan wu fell into rest, the last thing he saw was his Big Sister's face. Caring, slightly worried, and always watching them, Zhen and Gui both.
Always watching them.
Like something to protect.
Her darling, irreplaceable, precious Little Brother.
...
"Wake up!"
Four eyes snap open, bright sunlight filling them with an irritating sensation. What would pass through his mind but solely confusion? 'But we only just fell asleep! Why do we have to wake up so quickly?!' the pair wailed as one.
"Wake up, Zhengui! You're going to be late!" Maybe it was the sun, starting to heat the cooled fire in their veins. Or perhaps it was the familiar voice, calling up to them from a short distance beneath them, but something about the situation roused the youthful turtlesnake to full wakefulness, and for the first time since waking took a proper look at their surroundings. It certainly was an unfamiliar place. Neither the home that their Big Sister had shared with the Bais, nor the cave that they had moved in to recently. Nor even did it resemble the tiny home in which their Little Sister resided, nor snowy peak with which Zhengui had grown so very accustomed.
No, what surrounded those two pairs of inquisitive eyes were...White walls. Not like the White Room in which their Big Sister had spent so many weeks cultivating only a short few months ago, but simply a set of walls - and a ceiling - that were stained a uniform, plain white.
"W-where are we, stupid Gui?" The beasts upper half asked with an audible gulp.
The beaked head beneath simply shook from side to side in negation, "Gui doesn't know either." His voice came out with a strained trill.
"Zhengui, so help me if Big Sister has to come up there..." A very familiar voice called, and whatever heat had filled their veins abruptly vanished, the two sets of eyes glancing towards one another in a sudden, ingrained fear at the tone being used. Yet even then, a spark of hope flared.
"Coming, Big Sister!" The two cried out in unison, walking through the wide doorframe fit to accommodate his size easily. But then they faced their greatest challenge yet: A set of steep stairs, too narrow for them to move down comfortably, the steps too tiny to fit their feet on comfortably. It was great care that Zhengui moved down then, each movement accompanied by a loud groan as the wood beneath them strained under the Xuan Wu's immense weight.
"Hurry up, Little Brother, or else your food will get cold!" That, more than anything else, grabbed Zhengui's attention. And with a single minded focus the two of them made their way across the strange building in a blur of speed and excitement, tracking down the familiar voice into a spacious room. One which the inquisitive creature quickly recognized as a kitchen.
What greeted them there was a sight both known, and unknown. The figure was something Zhengui would never forget. The very first thing they saw in this world. The loving, and loved, face of their precious
Zhengui, for their part, was confused. Ordinarily, Ling Qi hated to wear tight-fitting clothing, as if she didn't like showing off the shape of her body for reasons unknown to the Turtle Snake. What would cause her to wear such an outfit? Along with such restrictive footwear? And were those glasses?!
However, her smile was still the same as ever, and even then all questions were left unsaid as their beloved Big Sister set down two plates. One with fragrant wood wrapped in the familiar scent of Steel Bear Flank, and the other with a set of cores of the same.
"Now eat up, you two." Ling Qi said politely, reaching over to a large cardboard box emblazoned with the, unknown to Zhengui since he couldn't read, characters for "Pill-Os". Retrieving a bowl for herself while singing a low, haunting tune, the pair watched the taller woman fill the bowl with the fragrant contents of the container, before grabbing a spoon and shoveling them into her mouth with an appreciative hum.
Two pairs of eyes stared at each other.
"Perhaps you are only overthinking things, stupid Gui." The serpentine head muttered with a hiss.
"B-but you were just as confused as I was!" The turtle trilled back. But in the end, the two were of like minds in the same self, and they were hungry this morning. As they always were. Strange clothes and stranger home aside, Big Sister acted like Big Sister, and that was enough for now. Especially with such tempting food before them.
It was only the work of moments of gorging upon their meal that a light knocking sound reached their ears, and three heads turned towards it's source. The tallest of them sighed, glancing into her empty bowl with a gaze full of longing, "I guess it's time for us to head out, Little Brother." Zhengui's Big Sister nodded, reaching to grasp a bag and leaving the kitchen.
Dutifully, the young xuan wu followed the young woman to the front door of the house, where a familiar sight greeted them.
"Is Zhengui awake yet?" Came a soothing voice, crackling like a flame.
Ling Qi smiled, "Well good morning, Linhuo, did you have any trouble trouble waking up Xiulan this morning?"
A feeling of excitement filled Zhengui then. This would be the first time the pair had had a chance to see the little sprite in ages! With an energetic shuffle, the pair charged forward, two heads peering around the opened door to see a floating, humanoid figure composed of flame with a core of heavenly energy. Her form bobbing up and down in the air energetically, as Gu Xiulan stood further away, her expression set in an unamused scowl.
"You know how she is!" Linhuo giggled, "She's always staying up late and pulling an all nighter!"
A dark skinned hand adjusted those glasses, "Really, Xiulan? How many times has this happened this week?"
"We all have our own natural talents, Qi." The shorter woman replied with a huff, folding both arms under her chest as if in emphasis, "You are efficient at work. And I am efficient in more..." She twirled her hand mysteriously, "Social settings."
Zhengui's Big Sister frowned for a second, as if considering a response, before shaking her head, "Well, whatever. We're going to be late." With a satisfied nod, Zhengui and Ling Qi both walked towards Gu Xiulan, accompanied by Linhuo. But as Zhengui's feet left the house, they were struck with a new, almost uncomfortable feeling:
They could not recognize the sensation beneath their feet. It was some hard, unliving substance like stone. But stone like nothing they had ever experienced! It was less carved bricks they strode upon, but more as if someone pulverized a rock into a paste beneath them to walk on! So caught up in this new sensation were they, that Zhengui simply followed Ling Qi's lead before a hand gently nudged the snake head that rested on top.
"Not this way, Little Brother." Their Big Sister said with a chuckle, "School is that way."
"School?" Two heads asked in unison.
"My, you really are still asleep, aren't you?" Ling Qi replied, her smile growing, "Just follow Linhuo you two, and try to pay attention to your surroundings, will you?"
Blankly, the heads of the xuan wu nodded together, and thus found both heads patted simultaneously, "Have a nice day at school, Zhengui." And with that, Ling Qi departed, engaging in high speed chatter with Gu Xiulan as she always did.
"Come on, sleepyhead!" The unfamiliar voice of the forest fire sprite called out, warm hands tugging at Zhen's snout, "You're going to make us late!"
Nodding dumbly, Zhengui marched forward along the unfamiliar material. In the unfamiliar land. The path which Linhuo lead them down was not familiar in the slightest.
...
It was as the three of them made good time running their way to "school" that Zhengui ran into their first obstacle. A strange sensation, almost as if they were being watched, fell over them. With their own senses, the young xuan wu paused, casting out into the earth and plants around them to try and locate the source of that curious feeling. But there was nothing to be found, and the feeling itself shortly faded, eventually forgotten as Linhuo kept on driving Zhengui to greater and greater speeds, tearing down the "street" as fast as they could go.
So fast, in fact, that when a blue shape passed a corner and entered their vision, Zhengui had no time to react, let alone truly stop themselves.
A loud thump, and a louder shout announced the result of their collision. Whatever Zhengui had hit had been quite heavy. And shouted with an incredibly familiar voice. Four eyes blinked in unison at the well-known sight of Hannyi, a piece frozen mouse poking out of her mouth, and her dress riding scandalously high over her blue-tinged ankles.
"Eesh! Watch where you're going you stupid sled!" The snow-child shouted with a familiar glare at the xuan wu, "You could've killed me!"
"Hmph." The crackling voice of Linhuo replied with a huff, blue sparks shooting out from minuscule nostrils, "No way Zhengui could've killed a fatty like you."
Hannyi's jaw dropped, her half-eaten mouse dropping to the ground, "I-i'm not fat!" The snowgirl's skin turning a bizarre pumice, the color of frostbite, "I'm just at a perfectly normal weight! Momma said so!"
The fire sprite merely chuckled, "Is that right?" Her arms crossed under her chest, "Then why were you eating on your way to school? An extra snack because you can't live without ten meals a day? Fatty."
"Uhm not hungry." Hannyi replied bitterly, glancing to the side.
"Then you won't mind if I just get rid of this, will you?" Linhuo snapped her fingers, and the blackened rodent caught fire, burning away into cinders as the larger girl fell to her knees with a cry of anguish.
"Why would you do such a cruel thing?" Hannyi muttered, cradling the smoldering ash in her hands, choking back a sob.
"C'mon, Zhengui we're gonna be late!" The fire sprite said, charging ahead down the road.
"Coming!" Gui shouted back, as Zhen rested his head on their friends shoulder consolingly. Gui joined shortly after, nuzzling his beak into her hand before chasing after Linhuo before they could lose track of her.
Hannyi rose to her feet then with a mucus-filled sniff, "You're such a good-" The snowgirl paused, glancing back at her now empty hands. She blinked, looking up towards the swiftly trundling form of Zhengui, already vanishing into the distance.
"You little glutton!"
But he couldn't help it. In the end, Zhengui thought to themselves, they were still a growing boy!
...
It was a short while later when all of them, panting heavily save the fire sprite, arrived at what Linhuo and Hannyi referred to as the "School". It was a building unlike anything they had ever seen. A large number of buildings, highly angular in design, surrounded by a relatively short wall with the only entrance being a single, wrought iron gate that Zhengui felt they would be able to tear down with some ease. At the gate, however, stood a tall, hairy figure. A giant, blood-red ape glanced at the three of them with a raised eyebrow, before addressing them in an almost maternal voice.
"You're almost late, children. Come along now." An oversized limb gestured towards the gate, and the trio moved to enter the grounds when something else arrived. A sleek, black carriage without anything pulling it nor an obvious driver. Uncommonly short, only coming up to around twice Zhengui's height, it made up for its lack in that department with an incredible length. Tinted black windows reflected the faces of the three companions, when with a soft click Zhengui's eyes were met with two yellow ones, glowing with an inner light that contrasted deeply with emerald scales.
"Good morning, Zhengui." Bai Cui hissed out in greeting, a ghost of a smile on her expression, and the paired consciousness of Zhengui stilled for a moment.
"Good morning, Lady Cui." Zhen, as ever, was the first to respond to her, both heads greeting the Bai scion with shallow nods which the great snake returned. The moment was ruined, however, by a burst of intense bloodlust, vanishing as quickly as it arrived, shaking Zhengui out of their stupor, and causing Bai Cui to narrow her own eyes in annoyance. A forked tongue flicked against the air, before returning with an audible huff.
"Well, whatever." The great snake began to unfurl itself from the back of the carriage in which it had sat, slithering towards the schoolgrounds, and past the two humanoid girls who glared in turn with their own varying levels of hostility.
""Bai-Sempai.""
The arched form of Cui simply flicked her tongue at them in passing, giving no other indication of acknowledgement before her massive length passed fully through the gates. The red furred ape, however, coughed loudly.
"You might want to hurry, you three."
A bell began ringing, and as Linhuo and Hannyi scrambled to get into the schoolgrounds, Zhengui decided that he had no choice but to follow their lead.
A.N.: And there we go, as promised the first part of "Zhengui, Harem Protagonist"
I decided to go all in on seeing if I could run this in such a way as to make it canon, so now imma gonna sell it as a literal fever dream for Zhengui! Yes, Precious' entry into becoming a teenager will be after experiencing his life as the dense protagonist of a Slice of Life Harem Anime! How appropriate! How terrible!
By the way, @yrsillar here you go now there's no escape
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