- Location
- Cali
The problem with discarding idle dreams that inspire is that Sixiang is a Dreaming Moon muse. She is literally an idle dream that inspires.
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
I don't think anyone is particularly sure, but the myths that seem to have inspired Zeqing and Hanyi has the child weigh like a boulder when people attempt to carry them.
A more, in world, explanation could be that the weight of Hanyi is the desire that Zeqing has not to part with her. As such, when people try to take Hanyi away, the weight increases dramatically so that they are dissuaded from taking her.
- Location
- Fabulously Rainbow Ireland
And putting in work to make those idle dreams true counts as discarding them to you?
- Location
- The United States
- Pronouns
- He/They
I can't find the timeline, but Xin seems a likely suspect.
When did Jiao join the sect again?
Also, for the vote, I'm thinking
[] Face the world as it is. While idle dreams can inspire, only toil and sweat can create beauty.
Or
[] A harsh ending is sometimes necessary, for a beautiful lie is poor foundation for a new beginning
- Location
- At the end of the world
[] One person's desires cannot, alone make a home nor a family.
This one just strikes home (pun unintended) so much and for LQ and for Zeqing.
This one just strikes home (pun unintended) so much and for LQ and for Zeqing.
al103
Grumpy Russian Bear (SV edition)
- Location
- Russia, Krasnoyarsk
Ugh. Insight is something new. And not description of what we have already. We gain least from learning something we knew already.
And I really, really disagree with it. And soooo against this choice if it's true. There are plenty of things I got "just because" (like, damn it, my parents love) that I really cherish. And there are enough of things that I worked hard to acquire but which are useless crap and/or that I'm not attached to. Yes, it's easier to get attached to something you worked for, but that's it - easier, nothing more.
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
Uh.
It's not saying "Ignore dreams", it's saying "Don't count on your dreams to just be handed to you, you need to make them happen yourself."
al103
Grumpy Russian Bear (SV edition)
- Location
- Russia, Krasnoyarsk
...
I'm don't understand why you quoted me with that. Don't remember saying anything that contend that?
Domain are what people /are/. It's not necessarily something new, that redefine the person. It can just be an affirmation of what they are.
- Location
- United States of America
Sundancer
Always drifting~
- Location
- Germany
You aren't wrong here, and I did simplify. Effort is *not* the only measure of value, even if the Insight does imply that. But it's pretty hard to say something meaningful in one or two sentences that holds true universally, so I go with 'I can see that, yeah'. Basically, I am saying if you take the words as written for any possible Insight, it's possible to construct it into something that is untrue, a lie, or just plain silly. So I am not worried at all that an Insight isn't strictly *true*.
It's a narrative. A story you build, and tell yourself. Something you convince yourself of and can live with. It doesn't *need* to be universally true. Not at all.
That said, it's perfectly fine and valid if you don't like the narrative of 'you need to have spend effort to truly value something'. You can craft a narrative without that expect, and chances are, I might like it just as much as one with it.
Still, for the record, I do like the approach of 'effort means you value something more, or have thought about it and realized you want/need it' here for Ling Qi. In a way, it runs counter to the broad approach of 'Darkness' to like and want everything. It is more a conscious choice of what you want to keep and hold close and dear.
Hm...
So these are all some mix or another of the Insights we already possess, fascinating.
For reference,
-Sincerity is the measure by which the worthiness of the self and ones guests should be measured. <- From AM.
-There are endings and Endings, only the very last one is final. Just as winter ends in spring, small endings are new beginnings. <- From FSS.
-Though a path might be hard and lonely, it has worth if you can present something of beauty to those you care for at the end. <- From FVM.
-There are endings and Endings, only the very last one is final. Just as winter ends in spring, small endings are new beginnings. <- From FSS.
-Though a path might be hard and lonely, it has worth if you can present something of beauty to those you care for at the end. <- From FVM.
A mixture of the insights from AM and FVM - 'Sincerity' and 'work to make something of beauty'.
This seems to just be an advancement of our 'base domain' insight, from back here:
Home. A place that was hers, and people to inhabit it. Family. Her bonds were frayed, Mother flickered in her sight, features changing to one icy and imperious, and then to one of warm silver eyes. She did not dare invite the girl behind her closer, afraid of what it could mean. Only Zhengui stood solid and wholly real at her side.
She clung to her friends, gave gifts freely, but held them at a distance still. Desperate to convince them of her worth. She didn't share of herself, except in the smallest ways. Would they even speak again, when the year was up, or the one after that? When duty and responsibilities tugged them all apart? Could she hold them too her? Bind them, keep them?
She looked to her right, and saw Zeqing's face looking back. No, that wasn't right. Things changed, and that was fine. She would have a home one day, a place to return when the adventure ended. A place for the people who would stay with her always. A place distant friends could come to and visit, to give her new tales to spin into song.
Ling Qi smiled as she reached the peak, where eight maidens danced, sang and played, remote from the world below. She glanced to Zhengui, and the phantoms at her side. One day, she would have a family so lively.
She had but to build it.
She clung to her friends, gave gifts freely, but held them at a distance still. Desperate to convince them of her worth. She didn't share of herself, except in the smallest ways. Would they even speak again, when the year was up, or the one after that? When duty and responsibilities tugged them all apart? Could she hold them too her? Bind them, keep them?
She looked to her right, and saw Zeqing's face looking back. No, that wasn't right. Things changed, and that was fine. She would have a home one day, a place to return when the adventure ended. A place for the people who would stay with her always. A place distant friends could come to and visit, to give her new tales to spin into song.
Ling Qi smiled as she reached the peak, where eight maidens danced, sang and played, remote from the world below. She glanced to Zhengui, and the phantoms at her side. One day, she would have a family so lively.
She had but to build it.
This seems to be a mixture of her domain baseline and the AM insight, in which she acknowledges that other people can - and frequently do - have conflicting desires, and that it's the desires of the group that results in a home and a family, not the desires of any singular member, no matter how strong or skilled.
A mixture of the Insights from AM and FSS - 'Sincerity' and 'Small endings are new beginnings'. A false ending is worse than a true one, no matter how much the latter may hurt, and will leave room for failures moving forward.
...
I do like all of these, not sure what to pick; hm...
- Location
- into cup
Idk if I agree that this insight is strictly about work ethic. You're obviously right that Ling isn't lazy or workshy, but the focus of her efforts have been very narrow so far: she works hard on her cultivation so she'll become stronger, for... what reason exactly? Just because Cai expects her to and pays well? People itt talk about making a home and the various metaphysical extensions they attach to that idea, but what does that mean in practice?
There have been several story beats that paint Ling as kind of a passive character; she signs up for Cai without really committing to her ideals or understanding what motivates her, she's subjected to an atrocity by the Bloody Moon and rails impotently about it to Liao, etc. In the current subplot, by contrast, Ling is the only character with any agency. She's putting life and limb at risk to save two people she cares for from sleepwalking into disaster. There's room here, I think, for her to really internalise the idea that making a difference requires directed effort and a clear idea of what you want. If Ling was serious when she said justice shouldn't be cruel, then she'll need to figure out exactly what justice means to her, roll up her shirt sleeves and set about creating it. All of those things will require conviction of a different kind than the one that makes Ling stick to her Goku workouts and never miss leg day.
I dig this insight, personally, and will be voting for it.
Without claiming to understand the metaphysics at work here, I would make two observations:
- Zeqing doesn't want anyone to take Hanyi away from her, and physical reality is currently in the process of shutting up, sitting down, and behaving as Zeqing damn well instructs it to.
- Hanyi herself is at best deeply ambivalent about leaving her mama alone when she's obviously in pain.
- Location
- United States of America
I wonder what Meizhen's trial will be, or lead to. The same for Lady Cai, or Sun Liling. Has the trial already occurred for Lady Cai (given Duchess Cai was here and had personal time with Cai) or is it yet to come?
How intense does the trial/tribulation need to be in order to have a chance at triggering an insight? Does increasing the intensity increase the chances of an advanced insight?
Either way, it certainly seems like Meizhen's statement in the previous thread about how conflict is necessary for growth is true beyond a simple worldview. In order to pass beyond middling green and reach the heights of cultivation, there needs to be a conflict to overcome. A trial that pits you against a wall that you must break through in order to continue your advancement.
It'll be interesting to see what advanced insight (if we can even see it) will come from the trials that Meizhen must face. Her powerful domain already has problems with control, and if it gets more powerful from an insight that control might become even more difficult to acquire.
Anyway, assuming Ling Qi survives, there will be interesting times ahead.
Xicree
Murder.Malice.Might
[X] One person's desires cannot, alone make a home nor a family.
Each of these have a strongly positive and strongly negative side. This one in particular as a negative affirms that personal connections can be one sided, and if they are they can turn poisonous. On the other hand as a positive you can take it another way... those desires can be a starting point, alone being the operative word, you alone grasping for something doesn't guarantee that it will happen, but reaching out to offered hands and seeking ways to MAKE it work helps.
~Reaches for that Meizhen future!~
Each of these have a strongly positive and strongly negative side. This one in particular as a negative affirms that personal connections can be one sided, and if they are they can turn poisonous. On the other hand as a positive you can take it another way... those desires can be a starting point, alone being the operative word, you alone grasping for something doesn't guarantee that it will happen, but reaching out to offered hands and seeking ways to MAKE it work helps.
~Reaches for that Meizhen future!~
- Location
- The Star Kingdom of Manticore
[X] One person's desires cannot, alone make a home nor a family.
- Location
- United States of America
Now... there may be some questions regarding whether what we are experiencing at the moment is also a Zeqing inspired dream. The dream that we could break out of her siren's call after all.
However, I have just one thing to say to that.
That's loser talk.