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

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The thing about confronting trauma, it feels bad for me. I mean ut's an external force forcing you to confront something unpleasant before you are ready for it, LQ was the one to pick up the inconsistencies from her dream and she was the one to deny it. Forcing the issue with Renxiang is not the same thing, it's forcing her to confront that, not letting her make that choice. Self-assurance is important. It does nothing if Renxiang isn't the one who realizes what's going on, we cannot force it on her, we have to guide her to the realization.

Renxiang issues are also way heavier than Ling Qi's
 
Humbaba said:
Liming needs hugs.:(

At least it looks like Ling Qi's gown likes her, judging by Liming's reaction. It will be nice once it awakens and we can talk to it.
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Has anyone else considered that our dress is basically Liming's daughter? Maybe she just doesn't want to perpetuate the cycle of parental abuse.
yrsillar said:
So I made this comment in discord and it's unfair to not say it in thread too
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On the one hand this indicates that logic actually has a fighting chance. On the other hand you've also told us we only have time for 1 option, so option 1 is still the 'safe' one for the group as a whole.
 
memoryofglory said:
Has anyone else considered that our dress is basically Liming's daughter? Maybe she just doesn't want to perpetuate the cycle of parental abuse.

On the one hand this indicates that logic actually has a fighting chance. On the other hand you've also told us we only have time for 1 option, so option 1 is still the 'safe' one for the group as a whole.
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....oh yeah...wonder what our dress is thinking at this time.

Can it even join us in Dream?
 
We chose Renxiang because Ling Qi has the strongest bond with her, now is the time to see how much she trusts us. 1 variant is shaping like a 100% win with consequences, but it feels like an easy way out. Like we didn't have faith in both LQ and Ren Ren and it's just sad, like we allowing fear to yet again dictate our answers.
So yeah, my answer is 2.
 
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yrsillar said:
So I made this comment in discord and it's unfair to not say it in thread too
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This does change the situation somewhat. If we can increase the complexity enough cracks will form. The question remains if we can do it fast enough to avoid the lost condition of Liming assuming direct control.

I am not currently convinced, but it does mean option two has more wiggle room.
 
Saidoro said:
Object spirits are naturally occurring in talismans that have been passed down across many generations of cultivators, but those are rare because many talismans don't last that long. Shenhua's object spirits are special because she can make them quickly, powerfully and to specification. We don't know Shenhua's techniques, but it's probably some combination of Material expense, because all high level cultivation stuff requires those, and Labor expense, because only Shenhua and her direct disciples can do the work.
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Yeah, thats what I thought as well. Interesting that the fitting process seems to be pretty independent from whatever Shenhua's production techniques are. I can't imagine the Empress would volunteer to be mutilated like CRX. Makes me wonder what on earth Shenhua's secret sauce is.
 
FakePriest said:
We chose Renxiang because Ling Qi has the strongest bond with her, now is the time to see how much she trusts us. 1 variant is shaping like a 100% win with consequences, but it feels like an easy way out. Like we didn't have faith in both LQ and Ren Ren and it's just sad, like we allowing fear to yet again dictate our answers.
So yeah, my answer is 2.
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1 is the obvious answer than Ling Qi gives *based on her bond with Renxiang*. Saying that makes it too easy is sort of missing the point I feel.
 
...I didn't want CRX for a reason. Nothing good to me came out of having to specifically drag her from her own personal dream, and quite frankly having to be the sour-puss might very well end with Ling Qi getting rather painfully sidelined from properly getting socialized. Like.
Ling Qi I see as generally being a VERY gloomy and cold and unpleasant person if you don't know her. But having that 'inner hearth' of warmth of friendship does counteract it-it says she knows joy, but she took the inverted route.
The flipside to that is that if our friends end up in serious need of mental care/dead on an excursion that WE sourced? People will not remember the inner hearth thing, they'll remember the gloomy cold 'Live is suffering and love is asking to be betrayed' messages. Frankly, if our closest friends start ending up traumatized, which it sounds like we did to Meizhen and might end up doing to CRX...People will talk, and I suspect life will go downhill for us really quick if people start thinking of us as some kind of succubi monster.

But...Enough of me bellyaching about the choice made. CRX we grabbed and now we've a choice to make.
Liming is coming and if she grabs CRX it's TRAUMA TIME! But if we trauma CRX ourselves that's not much better, either.
...
I think option two, doubling down and praying we don't roll low is the way to go here. But...If that fails...We'll need a backup patron, and we'll need one FAST, or we'll have ourselves a quick 1v1 with Sun post-Sunflower daughter adoption.
 
We are the retainer who tells her harsh truths even when it's not fully proper. I don't want to hurt Cai Renxiang, but like there is an obvious choice here, it's just a harsh one.

We should remind her of her fitting. If we had more time, I'd love to do the logical approach, but we don't have that. It's harsh, but it's true.
 
[X] Use every scrap of reason and rhetoric you can muster to open her eyes.

Renxiang hates when people make decisions for her. It's the recurring theme throughout her life, and option 1 is *exactly* that. It's applying her worst memory to her idealized best one, in an attempt to override any counter-argument. Option 2 gives her the agency to wake *herself* up.
 
Erebeal said:
1 is the obvious answer than Ling Qi gives *based on her bond with Renxiang*. Saying that makes it too easy is sort of missing the point I feel.
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No, 1 is the obvious answer so obvious that anyone who knows Liming is CRX's dress could give it, because Liming being locked out of the way and CRX not remembering they ever existed is a blatant hint that something is wrong.

[X] Use every scrap of reason and rhetoric you can muster to open her eyes.

Actually being able to explain what's wrong with the world, now that'd be proof Ling Qi actually understands CRX and what CRX wants to achieve.
 
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I'm leaning towards reason and logic because that's sorta the culmination of their relationship. CRX tried very hard to instill and inspire her ideals in LQ, primarily through leading by example, but also smaller things like making her read mind-numbing legal tomes, teach her swordsmanship, do paperwork and learn how to navigate a giant bureaucracy.

Basically instill in her a sense of nobility and civic duty, and function like a responsible, mundane member of society.

I see CRX's utopia is a gentle place governed by reason and logic (and paperwork, lots of paperwork), not ruled by might or magical horrors, not filled with trauma in the scramble to survive and hoard resources.

So LQ should take everything she's been taught by her liege and throw it back in her face, respectfully of course. She should trust that she possesses sufficient will and wisdom to see past this illusion and hold true to her convictions. She can't help people if she's stuck in a fantasy after all.

I'm sure CRX wouldn't blame her if she just tore the band-aid off and ejected her from the dream the hard way, but I feel it would kinda be a missed opportunity to show her we learned something.

[X] Use every scrap of reason and rhetoric you can muster to open her eyes.
 
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Neshuakadal said:
This does change the situation somewhat. If we can increase the complexity enough cracks will form. The question remains if we can do it fast enough to avoid the lost condition of Liming assuming direct control.

I am not currently convinced, but it does mean option two has more wiggle room.
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If we pick option 1 it will be traumatic.
-The likely consequences are CRX being a bit traumatized and we might lose a bond rank with her.
-The mitigating factors are that Gan Guangli is here and that we managed to recover from lakegate with Meizhen.
-Potential positives are that Liming probably won't wake up and it's honestly better for CRX to confront a trauma like this as early as possible. If she doesn't rip the Band-Aid off soon then it'll show up post-sect when she's trying to break through to Cyan or beyond, which could have way more dangerous consequences.

If we pick option 2 it might be a lot gentler or it might be unimaginably traumatic.
-The consequences of failure are that CRX is way more emotionally traumatized, everyone else is at best walking wounded, her trauma is compounded by having hurt her subordinates, especially Gan Guangli who she particularly begged for permission to bring along. Also everyone loses more confidence in us. Also potential diplomatic ramifications from eating this ice spirit.
-Not really any mitigating factors for the fail state.
-Success means all but flawless victory. Possible increase of trust in Ling Qi by CRX.
-Possible flaws are allowing CRX to continue imagining a world she isn't bound to Liming might create a much more dangerous heart demon the longer she waits to confront it.

Personally Gan Guangli decides things for me both ways. He's here to support her if we pick option 1. But if we pick option 2 and fail I'm not sure CRX will ever forgive us for trying to spare her feelings at the expense of getting him hurt.

[x] Remind Cai Renxiang that has already had her fitting
 
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