EternalObserver
eYe Gaze baCk
- Location
- The Void
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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.
- Location
- United States of America
It will be interesting to see if we are able to get the same peak behind the curtains of CRX that Sixiang got after the bandit arc. It'll also be interesting to see if Sixiang will be able to provide any insights on how to navigate the desirous dream from her insight into CRX, or if she will hold to her commitment not to communicate those insights even when pressured by time and circumstances.
pblur
Reminiscing over the halcyon days of Ymaryn
- Location
- Lawrence's Wagon
I may have missed that; do you know which sidestory it was in?
- Location
- Somewhere
- Location
- United States of America
I don't think it was a side story, let's see if I can't pull up the relevant text.
There it is! In the post above me. I was looking for it, but couldn't quite find it.
- Location
- Canada
Honestly, this pumps me up. Knowing that extra effort is going into the update I've been most excited for in a long time is awesome.
- Location
- United States of America
It certainly does rack up the tension, doesn't it?
To further that tension, I noticed that the Royal Road version got a bonus chapter that's not listed in the thread that has super important information about a minor plot point:
Bonus: Macabre
Enjoy.
Bonus: Macabre
Enjoy.
- Location
- United States of America
Li Suyin is going to be staying in the sect. I suspect for the entirety of her career. The Argent Sect has a fantastic Talisman and Production department under Elder Jiao, which Li Suyin would likely enjoy the benefits of participating in given that she is developing into largely unknown territory with the experimentation of the impurities and the resources found below the surface. The Bao likely have some measure of such materials, given the hints we have received, but it is unlikely that Li Suyin will be able to, or even benefit from, their insights with the direction she is heading in.
More importantly, though, the Argent Sect wants Li Suyin to stay with them long term. It is likely that the Argent Sect will be able to at least secure some semblance of reasonable harvesting from the corrupted caverns, either through receiving tribute or simply given how deep they are able to express their influence. Turning those resources into something useful and valuable is something that Li Suyin is an expert in, as demonstrated by the meridian cleansing pills/talismans. As Li Suyin grows more powerful in her cultivation and more skilled in the uses and manipulations of those resources, her value will continue to rise (especially if we give her a recipe to assist in the breakthrough to Cyan).
I can easily see her eventually entering the core disciple section of the Argent Sect and possibly, depending on luck/talent/drive I could see her even becoming an Elder in the Sect. The resources she needs to really expand her repertoire and use are a stones throw away, she is receiving substantial support in developing her projects and expanding her cultivation, and she has found a niche in the Sect that she seems happy existing in and developing. Furthermore, there is no family pressure to return home to a clan or take positions in administration in the government. Without that pressure, and being happy in the Sect, I don't see a reason for her to leave.
All that being said though, the Sect will most certainly treat Li Suyin well and will be more than happy to help develop her projects, especially if it lets them win this war and any future wars in the corrupted caverns.
The way you're talking about this, it seems that you want her to be like those anime characters? The kind that only ever dates one person, and ends marrying that person.
I figured we were going for a more realistic/healthy romantic approach.
why can't part of LQ's youth be normal?
- Pronouns
- He/Him
LQ's youth can't be normal because she was traumatized and hasn't dealt with it. The first person to prove they're safe/comfortable to her are likely going to be around a VERY long time. I'd prefer for her to get some therapy or something but she's too busy play spirit mom and denying that role too.
... So I was right?
We know what she had to deal with in her past, but at this point it seems that you are using circular logic to have those events define that part of her life forever, and I just don't understand... why?
People are using her trauma as a blanket reason to make her emotionally unavailable for romance, but at the same time, she can't "deal with it" because she isn't allowed to mature that way by questers.
"Part of her youth" can be normal if she's allowed to explore, make mistakes, and grow past what she had to live through on her own.
I don't see why we need to have her be saved by a hypothetical perfect individual in the future. Or maybe there's actually something to her situation that appeals to many, which is why she's kept the way she is.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
You're misrepresenting what I'm saying.
It's not circular logic to say that because she had something happen and hasn't dealt with it she's going to continue reacting similarly when put in the situation. If anything it's consistency.
She's not experiencing "part of her youth" because she isn't letting HERSELF do it. I'm not arguing that she's going to be or should be saved by some perfect husbando, hell the guy could be a massive douche, but if he convinces her to let him in I expect she's not going to want to let him go after (you know because of her way/domain?). You could even argue we're seeing that to a degree with Meizhen, she's not a great person overall (torture/low levels of empathy for people outside her circle), but she's OUR person and first friend. I'm not saying it's healthy, but it is interesting narratively.
- Location
- The Star Kingdom of Manticore
The questers don't have as much control over Ling Qi's actions as you might think. A prime example is the lake scene. That wasn't a vote.
There have been no votes to have Ling Qi explore this "normal youth" you want her to have. More often than not though the questers have voted for Ling Qi to confront her trauma. We voted for her to have the dinner party. We voted for to accept an exploration invitation. We voted for her to spend time with family.
But trauma isn't fixed in a single choice. Trauma isn't fixed in an afternoon. Trauma shouldn't be dealt with by a single vote.
The trauma that is preventing Ling Qi from having healthy relationships with any romantic levels is a problem the questers are trying to chip away at, but Ling Qi's views towards the situation is out of our hands. We just don't have the control to give Ling Qi that "normal youth".
Obviously we haven't been given a direct vote (which is for the best), but there has been times we could have nudged things that way, and it seems to me that when it comes to the romantic aspect of her issues, she's been made to artificially stagnate.
But it's true that I probably overestimate the amount of"control" we have.
Actually no, every time we pushed the possible romance, its more likely that she backlashes because she's simply not anywhere near ready, and doing so aggravates that issue further.
I can assure you Lakegate was at least in part driven by an attempt to try some shipping, and Ling Qi reacted so badly with the one person she trusts most at the time doing so that their relation nearly ended right there.
She's ironically safer to be courted from a just-same-hobby perspective, just-politics or a just-business perspective, because those are relationships where she feels in control and can build affection without fears that the affection may be turned against her, even when she's specifically disadvantaged in those areas.
They're just too far removed from her childhood for her to react to viscerally.
Ling Qi still isn't 16 yet just turned 16. She spent her childhood in a brothel, watching women get used by men, getting eye-f'd by customers in the same way herself despite her young age, customers that her mother may not have been able to stop due to their greater power. That instilled a strong fear of being used similarly that left her with a very negative view of sex and romantic relationships by extension. Hearing how her father abandoned her mother didn't help in the least. Her fears even wrecked her trust in her mother, motivating Ling Qi to prefer living as a homeless 10 year old on the streets rather than with her mother in that brothel.
As a result I don't have an issue with Ling Qi taking as much time as she needs before getting romantically involved, regardless of whether it takes 1 year or 10 years. The last thing she needs is even more bad experiences reinforcing her negative expectations and scarring her emotionally. Until she starts feeling safe enough to let go of her fears and lower her walls that's all she'll have, bad experiences.
As a result I don't have an issue with Ling Qi taking as much time as she needs before getting romantically involved, regardless of whether it takes 1 year or 10 years. The last thing she needs is even more bad experiences reinforcing her negative expectations and scarring her emotionally. Until she starts feeling safe enough to let go of her fears and lower her walls that's all she'll have, bad experiences.
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