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Threads Of Destiny(Eastern Fantasy, Sequel to Forge of Destiny)

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Thor's Twin said:
Man, I hope that the stuff we found in our scouting isn't remnants from the time before the stars were sealed.
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I actually hope it is, because that sounds absolutely awesome. The stars in this setting are like the lovechild of Excrucians and Judgements, and damn if that doesn't get me giddy for some Diablo-esque dark fantasy type adventures.
 
Valmond said:
How many years do you have for trial and error?
Because while we might technicly be able to keep going without this method, it would be slow, and we don't have time for slow.
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Erebeal said:
Yes, it *can* be done but it's not what they teach at the Sect. LQ doesn't know those methods. Moreover, our ancestors had a horrific mortality rate. The Imperial system in large part gains its power from the fact that it's perhaps the safest and most reliable path of cultivation - even if not always the fastest.
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CrimsonOddball said:
Snip
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Since several of you don't seem to be getting the point I am trying to make I will try and be more clear. The issue isn't that Ling Qi is performing Integration. It's the narrative process of getting her there.

Ling Qi clearly didn't do her research on what integration actually is. Hence asking Renxiang. She is then clearly disturbed by the revelation of what is involved and in particular the effects this can have on personality. However, rather than take some time to think about this and it's consequences., or do some research she immediately decides to press on in what is clearly established as a decision she has previously come to on what art to integrate despite new information coming to light on the possible effects this could have on her personality.

Essentially Ling Qi goes from clearly disturbed about this new medical procedure she is to perform on herself and what it did to Renxiang to entirely accepting and ready to go within 2 lines.

This could easily be solved by having a couple of lines about Ling Qi having done some more research before hand and merely asking Renxiang for a more personal account. Or by having a short period of "break" (a few hours or days) where Ling Qi narratively takes some time away to do research on what the old "trial and error" was, and to think about which art to pick in light of the new information about personality changes.

@yrsillar Pinging to try and clarify what my issues were.
 
Wait, our Domain weapon emits a screeching noise? For the longest time I thought the vote for a 'harmonious sounding' domain weapon won?

And if it is a 'screech', then FVM and FSS really are what fits best unless we can flip TRF to 'screech' due to its defense holding against an attack or something.
 
Jensaarai said:
I actually hope it is, because that sounds absolutely awesome. The stars in this setting are like the lovechild of Excrucians and Judgements, and damn if that doesn't get me giddy for some Diablo-esque dark fantasy type adventures.
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Yes, it seems that one or more of the stars ran underground to escape Hidden Moon's Naming and Shaming. Their foot soldiers on the ground also were forced to dig deeper, if any survived, and became Ratmen abominations *or* the abominations are of the escaped star and the rats were corrupted underground into the soldiers of the stars we see today. Actually, that makes more sense. The worms and the rats of the deep becoming corrupted and martyr-nihilist-destroyers of the overworld that broke the rest of the stars.

They're spiteful cowards. Yan Renshu should be watched because he is powered by spite after a moonlady went and stole his power and ripped apart his system of tributaries because he is a coward full of spite.

He is cultivating star-shit like the worms and the forbidden tributary shit he had and the hungry, hungry summons that block/clog/steal qi. That's a bad route, and he should be watched.
 
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FVM seems the best of all things, it great from a mechanical power up. It fits with the weapon theme we picked. It is a strong narrative part of LQ and its repsents a part of herself that we want her to both not forget but also move on from emotionally.
 
Humbaba said:
Since several of you don't seem to be getting the point I am trying to make I will try and be more clear. The issue isn't that Ling Qi is performing Integration. It's the narrative process of getting her there.

Ling Qi clearly didn't do her research on what integration actually is. Hence asking Renxiang. She is then clearly disturbed by the revelation of what is involved and in particular the effects this can have on personality. However, rather than take some time to think about this and it's consequences., or do some research she immediately decides to press on in what is clearly established as a decision she has previously come to on what art to integrate despite new information coming to light on the possible effects this could have on her personality.

Essentially Ling Qi goes from clearly disturbed about this new medical procedure she is to perform on herself and what it did to Renxiang to entirely accepting and ready to go within 2 lines.

This could easily be solved by having a couple of lines about Ling Qi having done some more research before hand and merely asking Renxiang for a more personal account. Or by having a short period of "break" (a few hours or days) where Ling Qi narratively takes some time away to do research on what the old "trial and error" was, and to think about which art to pick in light of the new information about personality changes.

@yrsillar Pinging to try and clarify what my issues were.
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this seems like something which could be part of the next update honestly like its hard to write LQ thinking about that stuff without also know what art and insights she is putting in. Also kinda a thing best addressed in post quest editing maybe?
 
JowKeen said:
Yes, it seems that one or more of the stars ran underground to escape Hidden Moon's Naming and Shaming. Their foot soldiers on the ground also were forced to dig deeper, if any survived, and became Ratmen abominations *or* the abominations are of the escaped star and the rats were corrupted underground into the soldiers of the stars we see today. Actually, that makes more sense. The worms and the rats of the deep becoming corrupted and martyr-nihilist-destroyers of the overworld that broke the rest of the stars.

They're spiteful cowards. Yan Renshu should be watched because he is powered by spite after a moonlady went and stole his power and ripped apart his system of tributaries because he is a coward full of spite.

He is cultivating star-shit like the worms and the forbidden tributary shit he had and the hungry, hungry summons that block/clog/steal qi. That's a bad route, and he should be watched.
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I think most of the monster things underground are not directly from the stars but from the "corpses" of things killed before and during the making of the world.
The stars are the things left outside that hate the world.

We even have some evidence that stellar qi is extra toxic to the impurity beings of the underground.
 
Two hours have elapsed.

[X] Her oldest active art, which had seen her through so many trials Forgotten Vale Melody
 
Nagon said:
We even have some evidence that stellar qi is extra toxic to the impurity beings of the underground.
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Where do we have that?

The beings that attacked and killed the Nameless Mother and Father and became entombed with them are the same branch of beings that now circle the world as stars.

The bubbling ichor that sank below the earth is likely just as poisonous as unfiltered stellar qi. I can easily imagine that both the ichor and the stellar qi are very similar.
 
Humbaba said:
You're literally contradicting what you said in the update, where our ancestors were able to ascend in a different manner. Using trial and error to achieve the same skill level without this process.
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Personally I've found the best way to understand the underlying cultivation system in this setting is with analogies to technology.

Suppose you'd learned about something called gunpowder and you wanted to try making it yourself. The easiest way to do that is generally going to be finding someone who already knows how to make it and can instruct you on the process. You could of course also try to make it yourself by mixing some random stuff together until something happens but most of the people who do that won't create anything gunpowder-like at all, and most of those who do manage to get close to gunpowder will create some new and exciting way to set themselves on fire rather than anything useful, and most of those who create useful gunpowder won't do so with as good a process as the one that would be produced by a big coordinated society of gunpowder makers collaborating on the best techniques.

And cultivation is a lot more complicated than gunpowder, and has many more exciting ways of setting yourself on fire.

Overall, saying "I'm the protagonist so I should be capable of recreating the whole tech stack from the ground up" is the much more questy option.
 
@Humbaba While I might need to give the update an editing pass for clarity in the final exchange I think part of the problem is that your treating the word surgery like a scare word where ling qi just isn't. She's been doing spiritual self modification for awhile now. Maybe I should just use a word other than surgery?
 
[X] Her oldest active art, which had seen her through so many trials Forgotten Vale Melody
 
Yeah, like, it's worth noting that opening meridians is basically surgery as well.

Also, look at her first physical breakthrough:
yrsillar said:
Crack

She felt something change within her, a poorly healed fracture in the bone of her upper arm shifted, sending a knife of pain through her body as it realigned, and the bone grew smooth and straight once more. Another needle of pain followed, followed by a thousand more as the affects of years of malnutrition began to reverse, the qi in her body beginning to surge riotously, sending painful shudders through her frame.

She almost screamed as the barrage of sensation blacked out all conscious thought. The Qi she had built up was draining away precipitously, no longer simply layered within her bones and muscles, but instead fusing and becoming part of them, forcing out mortal impurities as it did. She felt like she was baking beneath a high summer sun, drowning in her own sweat.
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She's used to this.
 
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