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

Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
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As an ardent supporter of Queen Girlboss Shenhua and her REVOLUTION, I am compelled to vote for anything that nudges the Empire towards destabilization.

[X] Encourage and lean into this strange thinking about the Emerald Seas. (+1 Community XP, ???)
 
[X] Encourage and lean into this strange thinking about the Emerald Seas. (+1 Community XP, ???)
 
[X] Encourage and lean into this strange thinking about the Emerald Seas. (+1 Community XP, ???)

I think it's quite intriguing that for Ling Qi, this whole mindset is 'strange'. She is somewhat wary of it. She sees it like something to either exploit for her goals, or something to try to encourage, even if she herself doesn't quite 'get it'. At least, for now.

Has she ben so isolated all her life than these sorts of matters were of little interest to her, becase survival and day-to-day life mattered more than the nebulous concept of 'the future of the nation'?
 
sergit said:
[X] Encourage and lean into this strange thinking about the Emerald Seas. (+1 Community XP, ???)

I think it's quite intriguing that for Ling Qi, this whole mindset is 'strange'. She is somewhat wary of it. She sees it like something to either exploit for her goals, or something to try to encourage, even if she herself doesn't quite 'get it'. At least, for now.

Has she ben so isolated all her life than these sorts of matters were of little interest to her, becase survival and day-to-day life mattered more than the nebulous concept of 'the future of the nation'?
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Growing up Ling Qi knew she was a citizen of the Empire, knew some stories about golden fields and the heavenly peaks, but she barely knew anything about her own province. I don't think that could really happen in any other province besides maybe the Heavenly Peaks and that's because they view themselves as the Empire itself. For clan kids the stories probably different with them having their own clans and ways of doing things to identify with but it says something that the idea of being an Emerald Sea's citizen didn't permeate down to the lower classes. If strong cultural identity was present in the Province Ling Qi would have grown up knowing about the Duchess, The Horned Lords, the proud history of the argent sect while being much fuzzier on the imperial details.
 
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[X] Encourage and lean into this strange thinking about the Emerald Seas. (+1 Community XP, ???)
 
[X] Encourage and lean into this strange thinking about the Emerald Seas. (+1 Community XP, ???)

I feel like a bit of important texture to this choice is the eventual civil war with the Bai and Zheng and the other old blood versus the Empire and the sects, as the final manifestation of backlash against restrictions on the power of those families--a conflict where, in all likelihood, we're more likely to end up supporting the anti-Empire side. If we're still under Shenhua at the time, then "heaven is wrong": if the choice is between revolution and stability, I'd expect revolution. If we've already overthrown her, then strong odds are that the Bai and Zheng and the other forces on that side were our allies, and Imperial forces an unwelcome complication. Regardless of the order of events, I think our choice between the two sides is largely already made, unless there's a substantial political realignment between now and then. (Though I'm about 90% sure Shenhua is first, she's got those final boss vibes.)

Given that fact, keeping the messaging more consistent affects how well we can pivot to supporting anti-Imperial forces without suffering internal political damage, and it affects how strong our connection to the rest of that coalition will be. After two seismic events like that almost back-to-back (by powerful cultivator timelines), we want our relationships as strong as they can be to help weather the aftermath.
 
[X] Encourage and lean into this strange thinking about the Emerald Seas. (+1 Community XP, ???)

Because this fits well the gift from Hou Zhuang in that there are many among the lower ranking clans who value the Cai above their own clans, and a province uniting to defeat a tyrannical white would certainly be a way of cementing a shared sense of unity among the survivors. Still I'll laugh if Ling Qi managed to build the notion of being patriotic toward what the Emerald Seas should be instead of what it currently is, and that would fit all too well with what Renxiang said about laying the foundation for something that would endure beyond the time that is given to them.
 
[X] Encourage and lean into this strange thinking about the Emerald Seas. (+1 Community XP, ???)
 
[X] Encourage and lean into this strange thinking about the Emerald Seas. (+1 Community XP, ???)
 
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Snowblossom River
  • Apocrypha
    • Snowblossom River

    Snowblossom, Snowblossom, beautiful riv'r;
    bobbing ice, drifting flows, stillness moving.
    Snowblossom, Snowblossom, majestic riv'r;
    languid rills, stilling becks, motion freezing.

    Churning, frothing, cascading down steep falls;
    like blue silk parting wild untamed mountains
    Cutting, delving, falling over jagged walls;
    like a spray from deftly crafted fountains

    Descending, vanishing, where does it go?
    Hidden by the earth and by the darkness.
    Seeking, moving, never stopping its flow;
    bubbling up from shelter into harshness.

    Snowblossom River, Snowblossom River;
    harsh, serene, it takes, but will deliver.    ​

    Snow/blos/som, Snow/blos/som, beau/ti/ful /riv'r;
    bob/bing/ Ice, /drift/ing /flows, /still/ness /mov/ing.
    Snow/blos/som,/ Snow/blos/som, /maj/es/tic/ riv'r;
    lan/guid/ rills, /still/ing /becks, /mo/tion freez/ing.

    Churn/ing, /froth/ing, /cas/cad/ing/ down /steep/ falls;
    like/ blue/ silk /part/ing/ wild/ un/tamed/ moun/tains
    Cutt/ing,/ delv/ing,/ fall/ing /over/ jag/ged /walls;
    like/ a /spray /from/ deft/ly /craft/ed /foun/tains

    De/scen/ding, /van/ish/ing, /where/ does/ it/ go?
    Hid/den/ by /the/ earth /and/ by /the /dark/ness.
    Seek/ing, /mov/ing, /nev/er/ stopp/ing/ its /flow;
    bubb/ling /up /from /shel/ter/ in/to /harsh/ness

    Snow/blos/som/ Riv/er, /Snow/blos/som/ Riv/er;
    harsh, /    ser/ene,/ it /takes/, but /will/ deli/ver.

    A/N: @yrsillar another omake for the omake throne! Now that we have the name of our wonderful river, I figured it would be a good time to do a poem about it. Again, this is in the style of a Shakespearean sonnet, and if you have any questions or critiques let me know. I hope you all enjoy the poem!
     
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  • Apocrypha
    • sergit said:
    [X] Encourage and lean into this strange thinking about the Emerald Seas. (+1 Community XP, ???)

    I think it's quite intriguing that for Ling Qi, this whole mindset is 'strange'. She is somewhat wary of it. She sees it like something to either exploit for her goals, or something to try to encourage, even if she herself doesn't quite 'get it'. At least, for now.

    Has she ben so isolated all her life than these sorts of matters were of little interest to her, becase survival and day-to-day life mattered more than the nebulous concept of 'the future of the nation'?
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Nationalism, as we know it, does not exist in the empire. The "good of the nation" is a bizarre idea because there aren't any nations to consider the good of.

    They have a religious obligation to obey the empress, a legal obligation to obey their liege, and the obligations to the ducal seat are unclear. That's it. There is no "nation" just certain individuals/families that can command you.
     
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