[jk] Ask which book was his favorite
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.
It will remember us by our weapon. Not many people wield a flute
I would have voted for it
Last edited:
Anyone else see the light behind GG's eyes and think it might be his new spirit? It could also a part of his domain, but his spirit has been described as immaterial so it would fit.
i dont think Ling Qi would've spared the time to peruse "the silly books" so she be bullshitting it. that be bad .
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I'm more inclined to believe it's due to the nature of his character. His resolve is very strong as a result of all of his struggles during his upbringing while trying to enact justice. It's the same with CR's resolve helping her in this chapter.
Of course these kinds of things can become part of one's domain I imagine, so it might be resolve made material by his domain.
Hmm.
I really didn't enjoy that much at all. It was well written, and I suppose it provided useful insight into our possible teamwork but it lacked the spark(?) of our previous adventures somehow.
Renxiang was useful with her aura, but for the leader she didn't really seem to, well lead? She was somewhat passive really. Not necessarily a bad trait, but she didn't really stand out much (unusual for someone who radiates such a blinding aura). I think a big part of that is that her big contributions, organising the teams etc. was a couple of lines about what she did offscreen. We didn't get to see her actually doing much in the area she should shine. Also her aura being a perfect counter to the thing on hand feels a bit eh.
Gan was nice to see. Didn't contribute much but was good to see.
Meng Dan feels unpleasant. I think he's meant to seem like a history buff but comes across as far to mercenary. Especially his line at the end urging us to find the loot that must be here. Not sure if that was the intent given Ling Qi is also pretty sure there is something useful here, but that's how it felt.
Also Xia Lin totally validated my fears that she wouldn't know when keep still and silent. Please stop trying to piss off the super spirit sword that could trivially murder us all.
I'd also say that I feel the reactions to Ling Qi sharing her map with them are really muted? Like, this is a pretty huge deal. She isn't just sharing the location of one site with them either. She's showing them the whole map and they're all examining it together for over an hour. That's a massive show of trust when Ling Qi could hold it to herself and probably do a lot better out of it, and it mostly gets brushed over with a 'thanks Money!'. Instead it's treated It's an area I feel could benefit from a private scene with Renxiang to properly show her appreciation as Ling Qi's liege. Especially after last chapter where Renxiang was already feeling guilty over picking Ganguli rather than choosing further rewards Ling Qi after her loyal service.
Overall this felt... unearned? Yeah I'll go with that. I know it's a mini-quest but it really felt pretty unearned. Everything goes far too smoothly. Even when one of the party insults the powerful spirt nothing even mildly tense happens. *Edit:We don't even get any "and things were looking a bit dicey until..." moments to show off teamwork and skills *End edit.
Everyone goes and gets information, its fine. Cai background organises and then has the perfect counter to the dangers here so they get through easily. Here's your choice or possible rewards.
I really didn't enjoy that much at all. It was well written, and I suppose it provided useful insight into our possible teamwork but it lacked the spark(?) of our previous adventures somehow.
Renxiang was useful with her aura, but for the leader she didn't really seem to, well lead? She was somewhat passive really. Not necessarily a bad trait, but she didn't really stand out much (unusual for someone who radiates such a blinding aura). I think a big part of that is that her big contributions, organising the teams etc. was a couple of lines about what she did offscreen. We didn't get to see her actually doing much in the area she should shine. Also her aura being a perfect counter to the thing on hand feels a bit eh.
Gan was nice to see. Didn't contribute much but was good to see.
Meng Dan feels unpleasant. I think he's meant to seem like a history buff but comes across as far to mercenary. Especially his line at the end urging us to find the loot that must be here. Not sure if that was the intent given Ling Qi is also pretty sure there is something useful here, but that's how it felt.
Also Xia Lin totally validated my fears that she wouldn't know when keep still and silent. Please stop trying to piss off the super spirit sword that could trivially murder us all.
I'd also say that I feel the reactions to Ling Qi sharing her map with them are really muted? Like, this is a pretty huge deal. She isn't just sharing the location of one site with them either. She's showing them the whole map and they're all examining it together for over an hour. That's a massive show of trust when Ling Qi could hold it to herself and probably do a lot better out of it, and it mostly gets brushed over with a 'thanks Money!'. Instead it's treated It's an area I feel could benefit from a private scene with Renxiang to properly show her appreciation as Ling Qi's liege. Especially after last chapter where Renxiang was already feeling guilty over picking Ganguli rather than choosing further rewards Ling Qi after her loyal service.
Overall this felt... unearned? Yeah I'll go with that. I know it's a mini-quest but it really felt pretty unearned. Everything goes far too smoothly. Even when one of the party insults the powerful spirt nothing even mildly tense happens. *Edit:We don't even get any "and things were looking a bit dicey until..." moments to show off teamwork and skills *End edit.
Everyone goes and gets information, its fine. Cai background organises and then has the perfect counter to the dangers here so they get through easily. Here's your choice or possible rewards.
Last edited:
MY BOY'S RETURNED
You are right, but this is just too funny to ignore
too bad xuan aint here, he would be all over this and that
actually why isnt he? might actually be something to increase ties over
actually why isnt he? might actually be something to increase ties over
Before, the idea of inviting Xuan Shi on the expedition was an interesting political/personal debt brainstorming project. Now, with this entity and the way it's been connected to the narrative, it looks like an actual missed opportunity we never had. He should have been here for this. We can't develop a narrative with a character if he's left out of the developments that concern him. Too late in the arc to shift gears now, though.
[] Question if the blade has any insights regarding the lands of ice in the far south. [certainty of actionable information, knowledge of a peoples homes grants insights]
It's a good bet the elder and the blade has travelled as far as to see icy wasteland lands.
[] Question if the blade had ever met any of the peoples descended of the mountain tribes. [uncertain actionable information, may reveal previous imperial contact?]
Main concern here, for me, is that "peoples descended of the mountain tribes" is kind of, well, vague. We don't have that deep of a knowledge of these people, and we have no clue what knowledge base the sword has. We could easily get info on some unrelated descendants on this side of the Wall. Which could theoretically be useful, but it's iffy. Especially if they're extinct.
[] Question if the blade has any insights regarding the lands of ice in the far south. [certainty of actionable information, knowledge of a peoples homes grants insights]
It's a good bet the elder and the blade has travelled as far as to see icy wasteland lands.
[] Question if the blade had ever met any of the peoples descended of the mountain tribes. [uncertain actionable information, may reveal previous imperial contact?]
Main concern here, for me, is that "peoples descended of the mountain tribes" is kind of, well, vague. We don't have that deep of a knowledge of these people, and we have no clue what knowledge base the sword has. We could easily get info on some unrelated descendants on this side of the Wall. Which could theoretically be useful, but it's iffy. Especially if they're extinct.
Yeah I do agree there, and I think that goes back to the question of whether or not there was enough room for this. I like the way that the spirit and elder lang are being used to make the adventure relevant to our mission while tying back to older arcs. But the adventure itself was kind of rushed through in a very tell-y blunt way that left it feeling kinda hollow.
This doesn't mean I think it should be fleshed out more though - I think that would be inappropriate and narratively unhelpful. Rather I think it's just the result of two competing problems - the need to flesh out 5 different characters and their dynamics while showing an adventure vs. the need to keep things brief and not distract from the main plot.
Mmm, I think that's an understandable response to have if you're a Xuan Shi fan. At the same time though, my feeling is that for those who just aren't that into Xuan Shi or have accepted that he's just not that important and his arcs aren't a focus it's actually a good move. It ties back to Ling Qi's experiences with him, and makes that arc feel relevant to Ling Qi's story - which is, after-all, the focus.
It's mostly the understandable response of my pessimism with setups to spend time or focus on characters "later". But that aside, I just don't agree with your assessment here. Making a callback to our prior abortive experience with Xuan Shi is narratively incoherent for any purposes except a) trying to sell some kind of lesson, which isn't happening here, or b) laying the ground for some kind of interaction later. It's pointless and part of the problem, otherwise.
But then my concern is things are basically being done in the wrong order. It's using now, the politically charged and relevant "main storyline" time to dangle hooks/reminders for a character. The actual interaction would happen later, where it's almost certain to lack the same kind of weight. Like, forget whether it's squandering the focus of this event, partly because it basically isn't since there was going to be SOMETHING here, it's just setting the schedule for an experience that has no real connection or relevance to Ling Qi's narrative.
There's this whole big background Xuan/Cai political dimension to things going on, but you wouldn't know it based on the interaction the two of them have. It's just such a big huge squander of things. It's sad.
Which is precisely why he should have been here, where his name automatically incorporates him into some semblance of shared geopolitical relevance with Ling Qi.
Edit: edited for coherency and adding an @Erebeal to, I believe, alert you of this lazily
Last edited:
- Location
- The Temple of the Winds
that is blatantly untrue.
There are three other deaths for a blade: the slow death of history where the weight of time slowly grinds it to dust as it is exposed in a museum or a private gallery; the abrupt death of a broken blade on the battlefield it's strength violently impacting against others until it gives into weakness and failure in a last sundering clash; and the rebirth of a melted blade that through heat and sweat is turned into something else, returning it to a new turn at life.
Mmm, I think that read is still making this about Xuan Shi though. I more meant that this callback makes the "exploring the temple adventure" seem more relevant to Ling Qi's story. Is it perfect? No, and if I were editing Threads as a book I'd still be inclined to ask if that arc is necessary - but it's still making it more relevant than it was before.
...he's a fan too isn't he?
Reforging is actually terrible for blades due to all the differential hardening going on, though I suppose a storied blade may lend additional potency.
Last edited:
TimEd
Meteor maker
Ahh, but this sword is sapient, and what I understood from their line was not the end result of their physical form, but the death of their wielder.
And that bit regarding "there is no other end like this" to me meant less like
"all weapons end like this"
and more of a
"this is the ultimate endpoint of a weapon"
where the "perfect" weapon in and of itself, is destined to always outlive its wielder. If used by someone else, to the PoV of the weapon, this just repeats the cycle until the weapon fail or it doesn't and its weilder again dies/leaves/etc. After all, if a weapon is still in use, then it is still not its "end". Thus it will be ultimately left to its own devices, where "just a weapon" will be forced to inactivity since it knows nothing other than being weilded by someone.
tldr; the sword was talking about the endpoint from the PoV of the weapon, which mirrors what we assume is the situation of her Aunt, only living to be the weapon of Shenhua.
Last edited:
- Location
- The United States
- Pronouns
- He/They
Blade of Glass....
Light shines through glass unimpeded...
Light shines through glass unimpeded...
[X] Question if the blade had ever met any of the peoples descended of the mountain tribes. [uncertain actionable information, may reveal previous imperial contact?]
The other option might reveal actionable information, but just kind of actionable... environment alone isn't all that much. Roll 'dem bones for greater rewards, I say.
The other option might reveal actionable information, but just kind of actionable... environment alone isn't all that much. Roll 'dem bones for greater rewards, I say.
Last edited:
- Location
- Canada
To each their own I guess. I really enjoyed the chapter. I think one of the main differences is the mental framing. The idea of this not holding up to Ling Qi's previous adventures never even registered to me, because in my mind this isn't a separate adventure at all, it's the first leg of the expedition. For me the adventure has only just started.
Again, personally I feel you are giving what feels like a prologue too much weight. But ignoring that, I thought the "No wonder Cai Renxiang so easily parted it" line was absolutely badass and a perfect encapsulation of why she's the leader. Your right in that she didn't see a lot of action, but that purity of purpose more than made up for it for me.
Gan: I agree, didn't do much, though to be fair to him, the nature of the chapter didn't give him too much room to act.
Meng Dan: This is the only point where I 100% disagree. I was loving his interactions with Ling Qi the whole chapter. And while I'm a believer of no-ship is the best ship, I am looking forward to these two becoming better friends. Beyond the interactions though, the idea that he may have flaws (still don't know him enough to even say he does, of course) is exciting for me. It is the flaws of Bai Meizhen and Gu Xiulan that make them my favorite characters, I hope to see Yrs continue the trend.
Xia Lin: While not personally my favourite character so far, didn't she do exactly as you asked and not antagonize the spirit? After her initial statement about this being a poor memorial, she (admittedly grudgingly) kept quiet.
Not much to say here, I didn't dislike how Yrs did it, but I can easily see myself enjoying a scene done this way.
Again, this, I think, wraps back around to the mental framing of the chapter. If you are thinking of this as its own arc, then yeah it's underwhelming, But I don't think it should be read that way. Look at it as the first real chapter in the larger Expidition Arc. Yrs even mentioned we are heading right into the actual expedition after this, so it fits nicely I think.
Last edited:
- Location
- Washington
It contextualizes what this sword is and what elder they were a spirit for. You might not care for this point but it is objectively not pointless.
[x] Question if the blade has any insights regarding the lands of ice in the far south. [certainty of actionable information, knowledge of a peoples homes grants insights]
