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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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[X] Ending is absolute, all things fall and wither and rot in time. The greatest folly is conflating impermanence with meaninglessness.

Ending is our hurtiest thing, and I like how this beings it back to something punchy. I agree with Erebeal's analysis that the "Ending is absolute" part means not that nothing is left, but that it applies to everything, nothing is exempt from Ending.

The second part does also remind me of Sixiang, and the conversation mentioned earlier about fearing death. Their attachment caused their fear of death, but everything is impermanent... something something hold less tightly and you won't crush them...?
I almost had something, anyway.
 
[X] Ending is absolute, all things fall and wither and rot in time. The greatest folly is conflating impermanence with meaninglessness.
 
Adhoc vote count started by Killer_Whale on Jun 10, 2023 at 2:53 AM, finished with 76 posts and 51 votes.
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[X] Ending is absolute, all things fall and wither and rot in time. The greatest folly is conflating impermanence with meaninglessness.
 
[X] Endings come and Endings go. To create, what came before must end. Knowing that your works too are but the materials for the next beginning is wisdom.
 
[X] Endings come and Endings go. To create, what came before must end. Knowing that your works too are but the materials for the next beginning is wisdom.
 
[X] Endings come and Endings go. To create, what came before must end. Knowing that your works too are but the materials for the next beginning is wisdom.
 
[] Endings come and Endings go. To create, what came before must end. Knowing that your works too are but the materials for the next beginning is wisdom.

I don't like the expression that creating something new implies the end of came before.
That's the foible of the Jungle Goddess and Shenhua. Change for change's sake, even at the cost of destroying the good that already exists.
Old things can protect and nurture new things. Inspire and guide them. An enabling force rather than something that an obstacle that has to be teared down.
There is no such harsh divide between old and new. Old things can, minor changes that end up giving birth to something completely different. Can you even pinpoint when something "ended", in that case?

[X] Ending is absolute, all things fall and wither and rot in time. The greatest folly is conflating impermanence with meaninglessness.

I like this one much better.
Rather that giving worth to the present by arguing it will give way to new things in the future, it argues that the present itself holds value by itself, even if it ends.
It's a greet way to keep in contact with the mortal world even as Ling Qi's cultivation advances. Just because mortals don't live long, doesn't mean they don't matter.
I also think it's a good counterpoint to the Soveregnity of higher realms. Remember what Gridya said about the Iron King: "The first duty of a king is to perpetuate themselves".
Ling Qi isn't working so she or what she builds lasts forever. But it still has meaning. She is spending so much effort becuase she wants to improve the lives of the people living now, as well as the one who will come in the future.
 
[X] Ending is absolute, all things fall and wither and rot in time. The greatest folly is conflating impermanence with meaninglessness.
 
[X] Endings come and Endings go. To create, what came before must end. Knowing that your works too are but the materials for the next beginning is wisdom.
 
[X] Ending is absolute, all things fall and wither and rot in time. The greatest folly is conflating impermanence with meaninglessness.
 
[X] Ending is absolute, all things fall and wither and rot in time. The greatest folly is conflating impermanence with meaninglessness.
 
[X] Ending is absolute, all things fall and wither and rot in time. The greatest folly is conflating impermanence with meaninglessness.
 
[x] Ending is absolute, all things fall and wither and rot in time. The greatest folly is conflating impermanence with meaninglessness.
 
[X] Ending is absolute, all things fall and wither and rot in time. The greatest folly is conflating impermanence with meaninglessness.
 
[X] Ending is absolute, all things fall and wither and rot in time. The greatest folly is conflating impermanence with meaninglessness.
 
[X] Endings come and Endings go. To create, what came before must end. Knowing that your works too are but the materials for the next beginning is wisdom.
 
[X] Ending is absolute, all things fall and wither and rot in time. The greatest folly is conflating impermanence with meaninglessness.

I am picking this because it seems like the more flexible insight. It says that "ending is absolute" but we already acknowledged that in previous insights. The second part clarifies that even if things are going to end, they can still be important. We can clarify what we find meaningful in future insights, and it will not clash with this one. I like that.

Both of these insights will change how Ling Qi treats attachment. As an example, let us consider our shattered flute. We entered the sect with it, used it, lost it, remade it, and lost it again. We have not remade it because it is currently dust, and we have not replaced it. The first option has us consider that the flute was important and accept that it is gone. It was important and it was temporary. The second insight has us consider that the flute was destroyed the first time and was made into something better. Now it is more thoroughly destroyed and can be replaced by something even better. The first insight promotes attachment. Even though something is temporary, it can be important. The second insight promotes detachment. Losing something grants an opportunity for something better to take its place.

Ling Qi's current attitude meshes with the first insight better. Why have we not replaced our flute? Why did we get it remade the first time? It is because even though it was old and weak, it was important to us. However, this attitude will be problematic in the future. We will lose more important things in the future. Most of the people we know are going to die. Are we going to spend months or years mourning that lost connection? The second insight changes how Ling Qi views loss. Loss can be an chance to make something new. A lost flute means buying a new one. A lost friend mean having time to find a new one. You can mourn, but endings are a chance to make new beginnings.
 
[X] Endings come and Endings go. To create, what came before must end. Knowing that your works too are but the materials for the next beginning is wisdom.

I like tying our understanding of endings into creation. I also think this fits very well with the tasks we picked up.
 
[X] Ending is absolute, all things fall and wither and rot in time. The greatest folly is conflating impermanence with meaninglessness.
 
[X] Ending is absolute, all things fall and wither and rot in time. The greatest folly is conflating impermanence with meaninglessness.
 
[X] Endings come and Endings go. To create, what came before must end. Knowing that your works too are but the materials for the next beginning is wisdom.
 
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