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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.
Tsu did the multiple bodies thing that higher realm cultivators can do, and then had all of them act differently.
Where characters sit on the yin-yang scale. 1 is mostly yin, 10 is mostly yang.
Yrsillar said:
Karthak said:
Yrsillar said:She is relatively chill for that
- Pronouns
- They/Them
I like how they included well boy specifically just to dunk on him. Though now i'm curious where Salty Man Technique would be in this list.
- Location
- Colorado
Was Well Boy the same guy who tried to jump Ling Qi with a whole posse and an anti-mist talisman during the tournament preliminaries? If so he's at least got a name, even if I don't remember it.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
He was. And we do have a name, yeah, but nobody cares. He's just 'Well Boy' now.
I've got a suspicion the other Shu Yue lesson plan would have worked more seamlessly with the overarching Xiangmen arc. It seemed to focus more on the ways that the Hui twisted themselves in their pursuit of higher (or lower, depending on your point of view) ideals, which just generally meshes better with Ling Qi rubbing elbows with nobility. Both immediately, in what she's getting up to at Xiangmen, and longer-term. It's something of a blindspot of ours, honestly, but I'm getting distracted.
Shu Yue hasn't had much opportunity to comment on our Xiangmen business, as was the plan, with most of it being offscreened. I can't help but wonder if that's a feedback loop of a lot of the noble (un)pleasantries getting shelved because they did not serve illustrative purpose on our chosen path. It's just that we've not been up to business that easily lends itself to root-relevant musings either. There's been bits and pieces, but, eh, I get the sense the pacing and presentation hasn't been to plan- even ignoring delays. The opportunities we pursue, and the way we pursue them, tend to have direct and indirect impact on those sorts of things.
Regardless, on the path that we are on, I'm hoping to see Sixiang's nightmare side come out more. If they're appalled by all the same things, in the same ways, as Ling Qi during this pre-adventure, it'll feel less than authentic to Sixiang's full character, you know? A good chunk of them revels in tearing people down, and it'd be neat to see. Even, and especially, if it creates tension between them and Ling Qi.
Shu Yue hasn't had much opportunity to comment on our Xiangmen business, as was the plan, with most of it being offscreened. I can't help but wonder if that's a feedback loop of a lot of the noble (un)pleasantries getting shelved because they did not serve illustrative purpose on our chosen path. It's just that we've not been up to business that easily lends itself to root-relevant musings either. There's been bits and pieces, but, eh, I get the sense the pacing and presentation hasn't been to plan- even ignoring delays. The opportunities we pursue, and the way we pursue them, tend to have direct and indirect impact on those sorts of things.
Regardless, on the path that we are on, I'm hoping to see Sixiang's nightmare side come out more. If they're appalled by all the same things, in the same ways, as Ling Qi during this pre-adventure, it'll feel less than authentic to Sixiang's full character, you know? A good chunk of them revels in tearing people down, and it'd be neat to see. Even, and especially, if it creates tension between them and Ling Qi.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Yeah, that guy. And he's referred to as such cause his first appearance was way back during Elder Zhou's trial-test-thing, where Ling Qi shoved him into a well like the absolute scrub he is and then stole most of his things.
- Location
- Colorado
Yes, I know that? That's a much more memorable scene than his brief tournament appearance.
Year 45, Month 13 Arc 5-1 Love and Power
Mental Anguish and implied misscarriage
The scents were different, but somehow all too familiar. Floral incense that masked earthier odors, was a mix she was would never forget. But it was cleaner here, a faded thing drifting from the laundry rather than suffusing every breath of air. No, wood polish and pricey wine were the scents du jour there.
And why would it be otherwise? She, Ming Xia was no low class mortal piece, but a work of art, a beauty great enough to be allowed a few precious spirit stones, which would preserve her exquisite beauty for a hundred years and more.
Her darling Wei Jun told her so. And any day now, he would receive his promotion to the fifth rank of the Ministry and take her away from this sordid business. This too he had promised her in oath on a dreamlike journey out beyond the roots, standing under the full moon.
Ling Qi's consciousness spasmed, peeling away from the identity of this other woman. She was not some climber, a concubine who hung her worth on who she…/ Ming Xia hugged herself, whence had come this awful cold and creeping revulsion, as if she should be ashamed of her own skin, her beautiful voice and many talents. Why would she…
Colors blurred, a spike of pain throbbed in Ming Xia/Ling Qi's head.
The vase rocked and her fingernails punched through the polished wood of the tabletop, crackling with shards of growing ice/ Ming Xia frowned, pressing a hand to her temple, this awful headache…
"Oi, Oi Qi don't yank so hard! You'll break something!"
Sixiang's voice took her from a panic/the warm breeze coming from the gate soothed her head and stole the chill.
Ling Qi forced herself to calm/ Ming Xia resumed her walk through the courtyard of the brothel.
She… she. Was…I was Ming…
She was Ling Qi, riding behind Ming Xia's eyes.
Colors settled, pain settled, the ache in her spirit became a twinge, more akin to a pulled muscle than a limb being torn off. She was not Shu Yue, she could not… she could not become another person.
Not if she wanted to come back from it.
There was not a whole person in this vase. But the mask it held was detailed enough to become her face if she wasn't careful. And indeed, she had already slipped up, looking inside, gone too deep to quick, there were filaments of Ming Xia running through her spirit anchored in her meridians now… She understood at the least, the first point of this exercise. A whole person could have swallowed her up far more easily, even with her techniques in mind. She appreciated far more the nuances of her own method now.
Now she had a chance to learn better how to escape from too deep a dive.
I gotcha qi, it'll be no differen't than combing out the tangles, yeah?
…No one else knows better whats you and whats not.
Ling Qi had missed it, being able to rely on Sixiang. But it was never quite the same. She watched now, with half her attention, bserving closely the touch upon her mind and spirit, where she bled, where Sixiang bled, picking at the thorns there. The knowledge she had earned in the Nightmare King's dream was not something that could go away.
And it shouldn't. Trusting someone so deeply…
Please. I need to focus on keeping the distance between myself and the mask steady.
To far and she would rip something in her meridians, tooo close and she would again be Ming Xia. She had to stay as she was, like a swimmer just skimming under the surface of the water. But it ached badly, it felt like she was trying to hold a house over her head.
And despite everything, she did trust Sixiang still.
Ming Xia shook herself again. There again, that strange ache… she'd been having those more of late, flashes of heat, soreness and more. She had not said anything yet to the madam. Surely… surely she was only a little ill. There was that illness of the stomach that had gone around hadn't there? Yes, she had probably consumed something made from the tainted shipment that had caused that. A trifle. Nothing to worry anyone over.
Especially if it would make her late to her meeting with her beloved.
Ling Qi felt a sick churning in her stomach, she could scent the self deception in this mask like the stink of rotting meat. But that was not the real thing that made her so uneasy.
Love. Deep, unthinking, total infatuation. It felt like being immersed in tar, or perhaps honey for its eye watering sweetness. She felt her spirit recoil whenever Ming Xia's thoughts went to this man, this Wei Jun. She had thought of men as handsome before, she even felt the stirring of something more when Meng Dan spoke or when Xuan Shi had made his earnest plea by the lakeside, but this… It felt almost like drunkenness. Like she had just downed a wineglass of unwatered delusion nectar, rather than a thimbleful.
Unconditional, without doubt.
And as she struggled to stay in that narrow band of safety beneath Ming Xia's face, and she met the man through her eyes, her own senses told her that he was tipsy with it too… though far less drunk than Ming Xia was. But that was nothing a woman only barely awakened could see.
They were so sickeningly happy.
"…Qi c'mon that's a bit much even for you."
Ling separated herself as much as possible, from the… sensations. Lips and… and
Improper, beyond improper. But that wasn't the problem.
Sixiang didn't reply. They knew.
They might not be a nightmare of tragedy like their cousin, but they knew that that vase was not a container for happy things. It was a vessel for a grudge. Or maybe... that was the point. That didn't bother Sixiang in the same way.
Their silence felt uncomfortable, almost guilty.
"People come apart, fall apart. That's part of me, yeah. 'S why I'm not scared. Even if this Ming girl were still alive, I'd take her apart from the inside out and pull you free of her, if it came down to it. This? Spooks can get mad I broke their vase later if that's what you need."
She didn't quite know what to do with the cold edge that had crept into Sixiang's voice. Not yet. Not yet. Sixiang was deft enough that they didn't need to be crude.
Ming Xia's life played out before her eyes in snippets and swatches, patches of clear bright memory appearing like festive lanterns on a river of muted and blurred sensations, the moments of life that passed forgotten.
Ming Xia was not a stupid woman. She wasa merchants daughter, whose father had fallen on hard times. She was educated, in her way, with a wit and charm forged in need. She entranced her clients, raised her status, became the sought after prize of the district, the house's most exclusive.
She didn't feel the horror and shame Ling Qi did at the thought. She was happy with her accomplishments and proud of her skills.
But everything had changed when she met Wei Jun. he was not her highest rank client for all that a Law clerk of the sixth rank was not a low position so far as the rootways were concerned.
Speaking with him was just a joy, he neither a brute nor meek man, and appreciated all of her talents. She could admit, before they had met, she had begun to feel she had plateaued. While she would not age as mortal women did, there was still a point where she could rise no higher…
Wei Jun… despite everything, she felt a nervous flutter in her stomach when she thought of the odd bouts of sickness she had felt in the past months. The suspicion that had grown into knowledge.
She was certain she had kept up with the right dosages of her teas. There must have been a problem with the preparation of the leaves.
Ling Qi felt like she was immersed in ice, that feeling was one she had never, ever really considered, and even now the mere thought sent fluttery panicked thoughts winging down the corridors of her mind.
Lesson the second. Even barring active attempts to repel you, it was all too easy to find things that would put you viscerally off balance in the thoughts of others. She needed to be able to face that, keep the thin skein of distance even as she rode behind another's eyes.
"The department head has been very pleased with my work of late, Xia. He has said I would make a fine vice head one day, with only some tutelage. My chance has finally arrived."
Elation, buzzing in her chest, the bloom of happiness.
"That is wonderful Jun. I have always known your merit would be recognized soon," she said happily.
But she was not a stupid woman. Reading her clients clearly was the root of her great skill and acclaim. The rush passed, and her smile wavered. His eyes were downcast. My chance. Always before it had been 'our chance'
Trepidation was a like a trickle of icewater down her spine.
"He has introduced me to his daughter. She is a fine woman, in every way, if not half so lovely as you, Xia."
Her throat closed, she felt like she couldn't breath.
"...There is no place in the upper ranks of the ministry for an unconnected man. I have been… made to see that truth. Allowing me to become connected is a great kindness."
Her Wei Jun sounded so terribly sad. But she did not want that. She did not want…
"Jun… I have missed three moonflows now, as of this last week."
She did not know why she said it then. What she hoped it would do. He looked up sharply at her, across the tea table. She saw many things, panic, confusion, a dozen things. None of them were the happiness she wanted to see at the revelation.
"What? You cannot be… the house guarantees against that. The medicine teas…"
She squirmed in place, alarm and cold filled her chest. "There must have been an impurity in the leaves," she whispered.
Desperation and alarm, heating up. "Xia…. This is the only chance I will have. You must…"
"Must what? Surrender you to some higher borne twit?"
It was the wrong thing to say, she knew that before the words had finished leaving her lips.
Accusation. Anger now, rationalization, she opened her mouth to deny the words she already knew were coming.
"...An impurity in the reagents. Very convenient."
"Jun, no, I would never have…"
Ling Qi peeled herself back from the conversation, feeling like she wanted to vomit. This was far different than viewing memories as an outsider. From watches boxes of dusty remembrance be shuffled around "Sixiang. Sixiang, please tell me you're making some progress."
"Hey, hey getting there, you can feel it right? Got a bunch of the tangles undone.
She could. The fatigue of holding herself as she was drained relief from the sensation but, now that she spent a moment, she could feel less stinging anchors in her spirit, it was what even now let her pull herself away from Ming Xia's gut wrenching self recriminations.
But… her own weakness' aside, this didn't seem… the most awful? This was supposed to be the root of a hate that could drive a person to self destruction?
"...Qi you're just tempting Gran and Gramps like that. You know better."
Illness. Fever and heat and trembling limbs an awful stabbing agony in the stomach. Blood, soaking her sheets and trembling thighs
A whisper heard through a carelessly cracked door, in the middle of a feverish fugue.
"Good that her health wasn't impacted. Imagine upsetting a client like that out of stubbornness. You can report that the dosage was enough, and we can put this unpleasantness behind us."
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I feel gross
Really hitting all of Qi's buttons here, ones she hasn't even thought about yet. Forcing a miscarriage at the end...
I kinda wanna laugh at the people who campaigned for this option saying it would make Ling Qi want to canonball into romance without hesitation.
Cecylene
Eternal Idea Engine
- Location
- Massachusetts
- Pronouns
- He/They
Oh.
Oh yeah that uh.
That's is a forced abortion and treating the woman like a thing.
That certainly would give someone the kind of motivation to commit murder without really worrying about if they'll live through it as long as the other one(s) are dead.
Interesting to be able to relive the experiences and identity of another from a bottled grudge. I wonder if this phenomena can be adapted to learning skills?
The grudge also seems dangerous with it threatening to subvert Ling Qi's identity requiring Sixiang to play mission control. Is that due to a particular vulnerability in Ling Qi's way? Or are memories and emotions a danger when you let them in regardless of your personal power?
The grudge also seems dangerous with it threatening to subvert Ling Qi's identity requiring Sixiang to play mission control. Is that due to a particular vulnerability in Ling Qi's way? Or are memories and emotions a danger when you let them in regardless of your personal power?
It's a danger in general with all liminal things. Hence why it's generally not recommended to dive into the liminal before cyan where your identity is much more fortified. Qi has been doing things early for a while, which is why her enemies are constantly surprised when she shows true liminal capabilities.
- Location
- Space between realms
- Pronouns
- He
Yeeesh! Qi'll probably have a little bit of a backslide if we're not on top of this. Maybe mama Ling will have some advice?
I think a more specific content warning at the top would be helpful, in a spoiler tag