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.
I know the vote is basically over, and I'm not going to change anyone's mind here. And trust me—I'm not the guy you'd go to for dating advice. But I just want to say: I don't think Sixiang is owed a relationship, but a date? Yes.
You're not obligated to go on a date with any random stranger who asks you out—but with your best friend, who's confessed their feelings? If it were me, I'd appreciate that Qi had thought it through and given me the chance to make my case ( I know it's not a rational thing, and etc). A date, just one, not as a friend, but as a potential partner—even if it's unlikely to go anywhere.
I think an uncomfortable dinner is the least you owe him, considering your whole history and friendship.
Any subsequent dates or anything more? No
Black Noise
Curious
- Location
- About 1AU from Sol
Might as well vote for a decision like this:
[X] Sixiang the companion, the friend… and perhaps something more, it would make her already tricky situation trickier, but… she felt she could try.
because sometimes life is a complicated mess and that's lovely to read about.
[X] Sixiang the companion, the friend… and perhaps something more, it would make her already tricky situation trickier, but… she felt she could try.
because sometimes life is a complicated mess and that's lovely to read about.
[X] Sixiang the companion, the friend… and perhaps something more, it would make her already tricky situation trickier, but… she felt she could try.
I've always been of the opinion that Six shouldn't be a romantic interest for LQ, I believe I've even argued against it here once.
However, now that Yrs has put forth the option it means that he thinks he can write the potential relationship well and I'll trust him on that. It does seem a lot of fun to read about.
I've always been of the opinion that Six shouldn't be a romantic interest for LQ, I believe I've even argued against it here once.
However, now that Yrs has put forth the option it means that he thinks he can write the potential relationship well and I'll trust him on that. It does seem a lot of fun to read about.
Damn they're really called the husbando wars for a reason, huh? Wonder how the rest will turn out...
Yeah it's no problem, I have faith in your writing skills and even if I'd have enjoyed the premise of the Sixiang possibilities a bit more I'm confident I'll still have fun reading your rendition of the winning path.
damn i really though i was gonna be in the minority, if not be another vote were i am literally the only descenting vote
guess i underestimated the power of friendship
guess i underestimated the power of friendship
Now that that's done with, there was an argument that was mentioned at some point but wasn't discussed.
And I think it's important that we do for future "Husbando War" votes.
It boils down to : What should we allowed to vote on, and what shouldn't we?
Some people have mentioned the similarities of this vote with Meizhen's Lakegate. At that time, the thread wasn't allowed to vote to turn LQ into a lesbian or even bi, because it had already been established she was straight. And I agree that we shouldn't be allowed to vote on that.
So, how does that apply to our official suitors?
I also agree with the general sentiment that all of the "husbandos" deserve an equal chance to make their appeal and advance their suit, and we already have different adventures and opportunities for them to do so.
But equality of opportunities doesn't mean equality of results, or even dedicating the same number of actions to each of them,
If one of the candidates (whether Meng Dian, Xuan Shi or miraculously Bao Qian) really manages to gain LQ's attention and affection, then it would be natural for her to spend more and more romantic turns with them and fewer and fewer with the others.
It's an obvious snowball effect. (And for the record, I would argue the same regardless if it was Meng Dan or Xuan Shi).
However, I can already see the arguments that because the last few romantic scenes were with one of them, that means it's the others's turn because it would be unfair otherwise.
Or even arguments that precisely because LQ is locking in with one of them, the other ones deserve a chance to win her back.
I disagree completely with those hypothetical arguments.
But at what point has the snowball of affection rolled big enough to justify sidelining the others?
I honestly don't now. But we should start thinking about it to avoid future voting problems.
And then, of course, we have the issue of the "final vote" similar as we have had with Sixiang.
Should we even have one? My answer is that no, we shouldn't.
It wouldn't make any sense for LQ to build a relationship of affection and trust with one specific candidate just for that being suddenly overturned on a final vote with fearmongering arguments such as "But this candidate will dissapear from the story if he doesn't get together with LQ while the others will remain! So we must choose him or we'll lose him!"
The "winner" of the husbando wars should have already been decided before reaching that point.
Though again, I don't know how we would make the official decision then either.
And I think it's important that we do for future "Husbando War" votes.
It boils down to : What should we allowed to vote on, and what shouldn't we?
Some people have mentioned the similarities of this vote with Meizhen's Lakegate. At that time, the thread wasn't allowed to vote to turn LQ into a lesbian or even bi, because it had already been established she was straight. And I agree that we shouldn't be allowed to vote on that.
So, how does that apply to our official suitors?
I also agree with the general sentiment that all of the "husbandos" deserve an equal chance to make their appeal and advance their suit, and we already have different adventures and opportunities for them to do so.
But equality of opportunities doesn't mean equality of results, or even dedicating the same number of actions to each of them,
If one of the candidates (whether Meng Dian, Xuan Shi or miraculously Bao Qian) really manages to gain LQ's attention and affection, then it would be natural for her to spend more and more romantic turns with them and fewer and fewer with the others.
It's an obvious snowball effect. (And for the record, I would argue the same regardless if it was Meng Dan or Xuan Shi).
However, I can already see the arguments that because the last few romantic scenes were with one of them, that means it's the others's turn because it would be unfair otherwise.
Or even arguments that precisely because LQ is locking in with one of them, the other ones deserve a chance to win her back.
I disagree completely with those hypothetical arguments.
But at what point has the snowball of affection rolled big enough to justify sidelining the others?
I honestly don't now. But we should start thinking about it to avoid future voting problems.
And then, of course, we have the issue of the "final vote" similar as we have had with Sixiang.
Should we even have one? My answer is that no, we shouldn't.
It wouldn't make any sense for LQ to build a relationship of affection and trust with one specific candidate just for that being suddenly overturned on a final vote with fearmongering arguments such as "But this candidate will dissapear from the story if he doesn't get together with LQ while the others will remain! So we must choose him or we'll lose him!"
The "winner" of the husbando wars should have already been decided before reaching that point.
Though again, I don't know how we would make the official decision then either.
So I decided to go back through all the Sixiang stuff since the tribulation to remind myself of things given that it has been over two years now. Now I've got a pile of random quotes and comments that may or may not be of interest to people.
Timeline
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This is probably the area where I'm now most interested in seeing what @yrsillar was intending with these because I'm kind of getting an unclear picture over Sixiang's sexuality here?:
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Timeline
- Year 45, Month 4 (17): we do the tribulation at the start of the month, Sixiang eats the idol to make a physical body and spends some time apart annoying people at the Sect
- Year 45, Month 5 (18): Summit prep. Sixiang returns later in the month here to hang around and support, staying out of LQ
- Year 45, Month 6 (19): Summit. Sixiang hanging around to provide support. LQ lets them back in to help out with dream stuff. Feels better. Still generally staying out and about though.
- Year 45, Month 7: Recovery arc begins. Sixiang has gotten a puppet body from Suyin to recuperate in, only a little talking.
- Year 45, Month 8: Sixiang helping LQ out again for Ling Nuan's adoption ceremony (arc 1).
- Year 45, Month 9 - 11: not around
- Year 45, Month 12: Sixiang returns to Shenglu along with Suyin and Su Ling when they came to go on the cave dive (arc 3).
- Year 45, Month 13 -> Year 46, Month 1: Xiangmen II arc: Sixiang generally much more present throughout, and often in LQ's head. Shu Yue's lesson probably most notable section in terms of thonks?
- The big gap was during the recovery arc between month 8-11. Ling Qi missed Sixiang a bunch, but didn't really do any thinking about their relationship or her feelings at all.
- In terms of thinking about relationships here, Sixiang may not actually be sexually attracted to Ling Qi? Or at least the story here is kind of mixed.
- Sixiang is probably the most intimate relationship Ling Qi has. Not just in the obvious terms of them literally being in her head, but also physically. They're very casually physical with each other in a way that proprietry would bar for all her other friends. Ling Qi has physically slept with Sixiang in the current arc.
~~~~
This is probably the area where I'm now most interested in seeing what @yrsillar was intending with these because I'm kind of getting an unclear picture over Sixiang's sexuality here?:
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Thoughts on Sixiang and Ling Qi
On Sixiang's nature
I think it's important to look at what Sixiang is. Sixiang is:- A dream
- A muse (specifically Ling Qi's)
- A spirit of chaos
- A spirit of revelry
It's also worth considering, like, Sixiang's general positivity which is often used to contrast LQ's negativity. One of the biggest things Sixiang brings up that actually annoys them is Ling Qi's negativity about herself, and that's not rooted in them being a muse imo. I'm pretty sure they have plenty of cousins who would be all "oh yeah that's the good shit write an angsty song", but Sixiang is a happy muse. They were born to party. They want Ling Qi to be happy and let go of her fears and have fun.
I'm also not even sure anymore that Sixiang necessarily wants a romantic, or at least sexual, relationship with Ling Qi? I'm kind of getting the impression that a lot of this is driven by Sixiang's need for enrichment as Ling Qi's muse - they want to be important to her, they want to inspire her, they want her beauty to shine forth and for her to be happy and have fun and get over her fears. Them trying to become her romantic partner could be as much a push to try a role change that could help them pursue those things as them wanting a romantic relationship in the way that Ling Qi would conceive of. Maybe. I don't know - again this is an area where I'm really interested to see where yrs goes with things since we've got some mixed quotes there.
So there's a legitimate question of whether or not LQ and Sixiang actually fit together well despite how much they love each other, and whether or not LQ is actually healthy for Sixiang. And people talk a lot about Sixiang needing to spend more time away from Ling Qi and find other interests and change and I feel like that's kind of missing the point? It might not be bad relationship advice, and I'm not saying that a bit of that can't be helpful, but I don't think it would be narratively satisfying and I think it would be ignoring the real character arcs and issues here. Specifically, Ling Qi's issues because a relationship has two halves and she is the main character and things do actually need to come back to her.
On Ling Qi's issues and character development
Sixiang shouldn't be the only person who needs to change here. In fact, Ling Qi has a whole insight dedicated to this: One person's desires cannot, alone make a home nor a family. We can't just hold her constant and change Sixiang to accomodate her - indeed that happening is a large part of the current conflict. Sixiang's nature is, in part, to be Ling Qi's muse. They want to be her dream, they want her to be their dreamer. This is not a problem. They have spent time apart and what that has reinforced is that, even without romance, they are both very close and intimate with each other and this is actually their preferred state of affairs. This is also a good follow on from the tribulation itself, which heavily revolved around questions of trust and control. Ling Qi being intimate with Sixiang like this is an expression of that trust and her addressing her fears - to say they need to spend more time apart is kind of undermining that.Speaking of Ling Qi's character development and her needing to change for Sixiang, her problems with parties also tie into a lot of things. Again they tie back into the fears she has and that were raised again in her tribulation. And while I'm not one to say people should go to parties, it is also something relevant to her cultivation. As Sixiang noted, it's an important part of socialisation and community that she's shying away from, as well as a venue for music. There's a lot of reason to tackle this.
The Muse issue is complicated, since it does have to do a lot with what people are actually doing in quest. I do think though that for this to be addressed Sixiang needs to do things that are relevant to Ling Qi and that they can take back to us to provide inspiration, affect change etc. If Sixiang is just doing their own thing with nothing to do with us then that is, to an extent, "resolving" the problem by writing them out of the story and just saying their issues are unaddressable. I also think it probably needs to involve interrogating the question of what Ling Qi's dream is, and how Sixiang, as a muse, can help bring that to life and push Ling Qi forward.
So yeah, a lot of thoughts there and in some ways I'm kind of feeling like the apparent dichotomy being presented in the vote here is possibly not even accurate to what Sixiang and Ling Qi want, and almost a distraction from the real issues they need to address if they want to stay together.
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Adding my own spitballing to the above, rejecting monodirectional changes where the needs of one dominate the other's is exactly what brought the tribulation to its head, where the two had to take a desperate bid at invoking Huisheng. Which is also what gave Ling Qi [Communication], the synthesis of that very sentiment and conviction.
So, imo, Ling Qi's gotta meet Sixiang somewhere in the middle, and besides just resolving some of her own issues. She has an obligation to reach out to, and for, Sixiang. One of the bigger issues that lead to the tribulation in the first place was the persistent dynamic where Sixiang would express a preference, desire, or opinion, and then Ling Qi would proceed to do the opposite, almost without fail. The one counter-example I can think of was the choice of which aspect of dream parties to check out at Xiangmen an in-game year ago, right before Sixiang's granny showed up to lay down that a tribulation was on our horizon.
This dimension of the relationship troubles hasn't really been addressed since the tribulation, besides token agreement to change how Sixiang's involved with Ling Qi's administrative burden, something which was mostly off-screen anyway. The big war and geopolitics events intruding hasn't made fixing this issue any easier, admittedly, but yeah. It's a looming, lingering issue.
Kinda similar to Renxiang issues, in a way? Renxiang's our boss, but in the quest format it's difficult to consistently portray this. There's a constant need for Renxiang to make demands of us, which we can fall short of. Same deal with Sixiang. C'mon, boss us around more.
So, imo, Ling Qi's gotta meet Sixiang somewhere in the middle, and besides just resolving some of her own issues. She has an obligation to reach out to, and for, Sixiang. One of the bigger issues that lead to the tribulation in the first place was the persistent dynamic where Sixiang would express a preference, desire, or opinion, and then Ling Qi would proceed to do the opposite, almost without fail. The one counter-example I can think of was the choice of which aspect of dream parties to check out at Xiangmen an in-game year ago, right before Sixiang's granny showed up to lay down that a tribulation was on our horizon.
This dimension of the relationship troubles hasn't really been addressed since the tribulation, besides token agreement to change how Sixiang's involved with Ling Qi's administrative burden, something which was mostly off-screen anyway. The big war and geopolitics events intruding hasn't made fixing this issue any easier, admittedly, but yeah. It's a looming, lingering issue.
Kinda similar to Renxiang issues, in a way? Renxiang's our boss, but in the quest format it's difficult to consistently portray this. There's a constant need for Renxiang to make demands of us, which we can fall short of. Same deal with Sixiang. C'mon, boss us around more.
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The other thing I'd like to say is that - and I say this as someone who likes the SixQi ship - I think the shipping is in many ways a distraction. Yes, the vote encourages us to focus on it but I think getting too attached to the question of romance here is a mistake.
What's important here imo is less getting clear answers or saying whether LQ is or is not attracted to Sixiang, and more actually asking questions about their relationship and what they want. Actually tackling how LQ has been neglecting Sixiang's needs. These tie into important character development, cultivation issues, and the place of Sixiang in the story. There's a ton of stuff they need to unpack and discuss here, and what's important is that they do that and move forward productively in a way that can work well with the quest and story.
What's important here imo is less getting clear answers or saying whether LQ is or is not attracted to Sixiang, and more actually asking questions about their relationship and what they want. Actually tackling how LQ has been neglecting Sixiang's needs. These tie into important character development, cultivation issues, and the place of Sixiang in the story. There's a ton of stuff they need to unpack and discuss here, and what's important is that they do that and move forward productively in a way that can work well with the quest and story.
I agree with all points made by both of you, the SixQi Ship is not the most important thing about the story, but it is something of importance. Maybe I'm just being a bit of a sore loser, but I really want at the end of the conversation with Six, a DM Classic:" Are you sure you wanna do this?"
Take the results of the past vote as the current opinion of LQ, not her definitive one.
Then, have a better structured and proper vote, maybe a meta one made pedantically specific what it means exactly each option. A vote veering away from a "Hard No" option, and instead of going for the jugular right of the bat, some more innocent questions can be asked first, like:
-"Can Six be a suitor?" or better yet "Do you accept Six's formal suit?" (both options are very different in my view, one doesn't allow Six to even try - a Hard No option) or maybe something even more innocent than that, since it skirts away so close to a Hard No option, like: "Six has asked LQ to go on a date. Does she accept it?"
-"Can polygamy be allowed?" (Doesn't necessarily states that LQ and Six relationship will be poly, the more specific and innocent the question being asked, the better)
In light of all that, and given that discovery has already been made, I would like to appeal Sixiang's case on behalf of the Dyed-in-the-Wool SixQi Shippers Association.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd0vZ4PE8T0&ab_channel=BushWizard
- Location
- United States of America
Nah that would just bring salt , it's over man it's ok /hug
Piccolo has blown up the moon .
The association must retire and give back their badges . You may keep the complimentary coffee and donuts in the lobby
Well, I agree that there are still a lot of tensions and knots to explore and straighten between LQ and Six. A lot of room for their relationship to develop and change.
However, giving a firm No to that relationship turning romantic doesn't preclude any of that from happening in the slightest.
Heck, I would even argue not having every interaction dealing with those undertones will actually help with that.
However, giving a firm No to that relationship turning romantic doesn't preclude any of that from happening in the slightest.
Heck, I would even argue not having every interaction dealing with those undertones will actually help with that.
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Year 46, Month 1 Arc 7-5
"What do we want to do?" Ling Qi said wryly, looking down at the wild dream avenues. The sound of groaning wood and breaking stone echoed upward, a building caved in, and laughing spirits spun out, carried on a flood of glittering gushing from some broken source within. A horrible accident in reality was nothing but an amusing jape in the dream. But that was how dream spirits were in their base states, wasn't it? Dreams didn't have consequences, not direct ones.
"I am always the one who decides what 'we' want to do, aren't I?" Ling Qi said. "What do you want to do, Sixiang?"
"I can't exactly decide that; kinda a two-way street," Sixiang said. "But I guess I get what you're trying to get at."
She let out a breath. "I am sorry, Sixiang, for letting things linger too long, for avoiding conversations when we could have had it. So let me ask you this. What do you want, what is the most important thing for you, what do you not want to lose, no matter what?"
"There's an obvious answer there," Sixiang said. "It's you. It's always been you. But…you're not the only one whose senses have gotten sharper. I get when you're using one word to stand in for a bunch more."
They went quiet for a minute, looking out. "Fuck it."
The vulgarity made Ling Qi blink.
"Fuck it," Sixiang repeated. "I was going for this big serious talk time, but that's just not how I work, is it. C'mon Qi, I see a food stands I want to stop at."
She blinked owlishly and reached out to take Sixiang's extended hand. Her muse stamped their foot, and the platform they had been standing on shattered into glittering motes. They fell, the wind whipping at Qiyi's hems until Ling Qi managed to right herself and land in a quickly scattered clearing in the street. Sixiang was beside her, landing light as air. He immediately threw out a hand to gesture toward the streetside, where a massive bulky deer-headed spirit was squeezed impossibly an otherwise normally sized streetside festival grill, wearing a tiny chef's apron over its bulging barrel chest.
"Two skewers!" Sixiang announced cheerfully.
"You wanted to try those yourself, huh?" Ling Qi said dryly as the giant passed Sixiang's order over, pinched between two thick fingers.
"Yep!" Sixiang agreed, taking them and passing one over, giving her hand a tug as they began to walk. They took a bite and paused, their hair comically standing on end as tears prickled in the corners of his eyes. "...Damn, its a bit different directly."
"It is," Ling Qi said, nibbling at her own. The fire qi was just as potent as it had been in reality, but it was subtly different. It was only an idea, seasoned by memory, after all.
"You said that we was usually you," Sixiang said, chewing thoughtfully as they brushed the crowd, bumping shoulders with the menagerie of revelers, surrounded by the kind of humid heat that only an immense crowd generated.
She didn't object even if she hadn't said those words exactly.
"It's true. The thing I want most is to inspire you, you know? I'm a muse. Even that ass Kongyou is like that, in their way. I want to inspire you… and somewhere along the way, I decided I wanted to inspire you to be happy. But I wasn't very good at it; you're real resistant to being nudged out of bein' gloomy," Sixiang chuckled.
Ling Qi huffed, stepping around an impromptu dance off between two spirits who flared their glittering moth-like wings as they postured at each other through the beginning of their contest. "Well, I will admit to being reserved, probably more than I need to be."
"You have gotten a lot better," Sixiang said fondly. "Though I dunno if I can take any credit. I did make myself kind of a doormat."
"You asked what I want most, what I won't let go of. I think if I dig down, the thing I absolutely can't accept losing is making you smile. Relaxing with you, joking with you, teasing you about being a gloomy dork, and... I want you to make art more, I feel like you're leaving that behind or letting it become just a tool. I... don't want that," Sixiang said.
The fire qi burning on her tongue was a good cover for her thoughts, leaving her an excuse to let those words tumble around in her head, letting her clear up her own thoughts and…
"What I most want to keep, what I can't accept losing, is the Sixiang who I can freely confer with about anything, who teases me and prods me when I get too wound up in my own head, to focused on utility... I've seen the end of treating everything as a tool to advance your goal… I can probably use a harder knock or two on that," Ling Qi said, only to frown, hunching her shoulders.
"...And I want to be better, not just to trample over your wants and advice, whether you let me or not."
"It seems like we both have some matches there," Sixiang said, their bright smile dimming just a little, a little sad, a little thoughtful. "Oh! Look over there. There's some kind of street show. Let's check it out!"
Bumping into passersby and pushing through a crowd was almost nostalgic. She didn't do that anymore, not in reality. She could move through and around people with such ease, without ever being so crass as to use an active movement technique. But, she had to admit, it did have its charm.
A rickety stage, erected from stray musings and discarded ideas and the idle scraps of discarded art rose above the whirling crowds, the components of it flashing and glinted, seeming from moment to moment to shift between hastily hammered scrap wood, haphazardly stitched cloth and half-carved stones Spirits capered on stage, an ephemerally beautiful fairy woman with silver hair wearing a gown of swarming bees and a small rotund, frog mouthed spirit wearing a pair of tiny spectacles acted out the grand drama of a fruit merchant navigating the Ministry of commerce for a lost shipment manifest and finding love with the diligent clerk assisting them… They watched from among the chortling, jostling crowd of admiring dream spirits as the story unfolded.
"Most dreams ain't so grand when you get down to it," Sixiang chuckled. "But if you say things with the right cadence and tone, a trip down to market can sound like an epic quest, huh?"
"I think it would be better to say, every person sees their own trials as a great struggle, worthy of song," Ling Qi said, observing the dramatics on stage, nibbling a little more at her skewer. "Well, maybe that's a little exaggerated, but…"
"Nah, I getcha, a little dramatic exaggeration, but you're right at the base. Jeez, this is surprisingly cute as a story, isn't it?"
"It is," Ling Qi said, but despite the absurd spectacle of dream spirits enacting such a mundane 'drama, ' her thoughts were elsewhere. "Can I ask you something, Sixiang?"
"Go ahead!"
"What do you understand romantic love to be?" She asked.
Sixiang looked away from the show, focusing on her face. The lights of the lanterns and torches lighting the street glinted off of his black eyes. "Huh. That is actually a pretty good question."
He turned back to the sage, watching the waddling frog man take a comical pratfall, upending a cabinet full of papers that rained down like snow. "Its hm… intimacy, total trust, confidence that your partner will always have your back, and you'll always have theirs. That you want to spend the rest of your lives together. It's well, being a bit crazy for the other people, willing to go beyond, and changing yourself for them. That's the part that scares you, right? Feeling like you'll BE changed rather than deciding to change?"
Ling Qi listened, only half of her attention on the play. "Yes. Though I understand a bit better… people don't actively choose to change most of the time, they just do, bit by bit."
She supposed that was why cultivation appealed so much. It was much more deliberate. "When you tease me about attractive men, is that all it is, or do you actually… like looking too."
She felt like she wanted to wither up on the spot, only the rather bawdy shouting of the reveling dreams around her kept her from sinking herself into the street and disappearing, for asking such an explicit question.
Sixiang laughed out loud, high and clear, shoulders hunching as she glared at them, until at last they managed to stifle it a bit. He tossed his empty skewer aside, and it dissolved into drifting rainbow dust. "The look on your face. I'm sorry, Qi. I know you're no good with this stuff."
"I am fine and normal about 'this stuff, '" Ling Qi huffed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a few spirits looking toward them. She fixed the rowdy revellers with a look frigid enough to put frost in their fur. They looked away. Good.
"You know, sad part is you're not wrong depending on which part of the real you're standing in," Sixiang said, wiping a tear from his eye. "But… I like looking, yeah. I think you're really pretty; I think Gan Guangli is hot as hell, too."
"Sixiang!" she hissed.
"What! He is. Su Ling's a lucky gal, so's this… Jia lady, I guess?" Sixiang said, before shaking his head. "But like… I don't…"
They paused, scratching the back of his head as his features wavered from a more androgynous look back to a more masculine one. "But like, I don't feel the… fleshy stuff, no?"
They spoke haltingly, hesitating.
"Fleshy stuff?" Ling Qi said blandly.
"I mean I can be explicit if the ladies ears can handle it," Sixiang drawled. Ling Qi grimaced and shook her head.
"What I mean is… I like this face, you know? But I like it the same way you like your earrings, if you get me?" Sixiang said.
Ling Qi nodded; she understood what Sixiang was saying. Physicality was… mutable to them, instinctively foundationally so.
"But like, even then, I appreciate your eyes, your hair… there's art to that. I like the look of your spirit even more; it just makes me want to hug you all the time and warm you up even a little," Sixiang rambled.
Ling Qi shifted from foot to foot. It was hard not to react to such words.
"But like… the … reproductive' bits, nah. I don't really like… get that, I just know you like being teased about it… within limits," Sixiang said. "Heck, it's hard to talk about this stuff with all the limitations put on it…"
"I think that's the point of them," Ling Qi huffed. "But.. I admit, to me… those things… those things are tied deeply into romantic love."
"Yeah, I do get that. It's why you couldn't return Meizhen's feelings, right?" Sixiang said. "I thought about trying to look more like the kind of guys you oggle too but… I dunno, felt manipulative. Not what I wanted to go for," Sixiang said wistfully.
"I appreciate that," Ling Qi said. "How about the tea shop up there next?"
"Mm, deal. I wanna scare up some festival games, but I don't mind taking a minute to sit."
AN: Alright, probably at least two more of these, there's a ton to unpack yet as people have pointed out.
"I am always the one who decides what 'we' want to do, aren't I?" Ling Qi said. "What do you want to do, Sixiang?"
"I can't exactly decide that; kinda a two-way street," Sixiang said. "But I guess I get what you're trying to get at."
She let out a breath. "I am sorry, Sixiang, for letting things linger too long, for avoiding conversations when we could have had it. So let me ask you this. What do you want, what is the most important thing for you, what do you not want to lose, no matter what?"
"There's an obvious answer there," Sixiang said. "It's you. It's always been you. But…you're not the only one whose senses have gotten sharper. I get when you're using one word to stand in for a bunch more."
They went quiet for a minute, looking out. "Fuck it."
The vulgarity made Ling Qi blink.
"Fuck it," Sixiang repeated. "I was going for this big serious talk time, but that's just not how I work, is it. C'mon Qi, I see a food stands I want to stop at."
She blinked owlishly and reached out to take Sixiang's extended hand. Her muse stamped their foot, and the platform they had been standing on shattered into glittering motes. They fell, the wind whipping at Qiyi's hems until Ling Qi managed to right herself and land in a quickly scattered clearing in the street. Sixiang was beside her, landing light as air. He immediately threw out a hand to gesture toward the streetside, where a massive bulky deer-headed spirit was squeezed impossibly an otherwise normally sized streetside festival grill, wearing a tiny chef's apron over its bulging barrel chest.
"Two skewers!" Sixiang announced cheerfully.
"You wanted to try those yourself, huh?" Ling Qi said dryly as the giant passed Sixiang's order over, pinched between two thick fingers.
"Yep!" Sixiang agreed, taking them and passing one over, giving her hand a tug as they began to walk. They took a bite and paused, their hair comically standing on end as tears prickled in the corners of his eyes. "...Damn, its a bit different directly."
"It is," Ling Qi said, nibbling at her own. The fire qi was just as potent as it had been in reality, but it was subtly different. It was only an idea, seasoned by memory, after all.
"You said that we was usually you," Sixiang said, chewing thoughtfully as they brushed the crowd, bumping shoulders with the menagerie of revelers, surrounded by the kind of humid heat that only an immense crowd generated.
She didn't object even if she hadn't said those words exactly.
"It's true. The thing I want most is to inspire you, you know? I'm a muse. Even that ass Kongyou is like that, in their way. I want to inspire you… and somewhere along the way, I decided I wanted to inspire you to be happy. But I wasn't very good at it; you're real resistant to being nudged out of bein' gloomy," Sixiang chuckled.
Ling Qi huffed, stepping around an impromptu dance off between two spirits who flared their glittering moth-like wings as they postured at each other through the beginning of their contest. "Well, I will admit to being reserved, probably more than I need to be."
"You have gotten a lot better," Sixiang said fondly. "Though I dunno if I can take any credit. I did make myself kind of a doormat."
"You asked what I want most, what I won't let go of. I think if I dig down, the thing I absolutely can't accept losing is making you smile. Relaxing with you, joking with you, teasing you about being a gloomy dork, and... I want you to make art more, I feel like you're leaving that behind or letting it become just a tool. I... don't want that," Sixiang said.
The fire qi burning on her tongue was a good cover for her thoughts, leaving her an excuse to let those words tumble around in her head, letting her clear up her own thoughts and…
"What I most want to keep, what I can't accept losing, is the Sixiang who I can freely confer with about anything, who teases me and prods me when I get too wound up in my own head, to focused on utility... I've seen the end of treating everything as a tool to advance your goal… I can probably use a harder knock or two on that," Ling Qi said, only to frown, hunching her shoulders.
"...And I want to be better, not just to trample over your wants and advice, whether you let me or not."
"It seems like we both have some matches there," Sixiang said, their bright smile dimming just a little, a little sad, a little thoughtful. "Oh! Look over there. There's some kind of street show. Let's check it out!"
Bumping into passersby and pushing through a crowd was almost nostalgic. She didn't do that anymore, not in reality. She could move through and around people with such ease, without ever being so crass as to use an active movement technique. But, she had to admit, it did have its charm.
A rickety stage, erected from stray musings and discarded ideas and the idle scraps of discarded art rose above the whirling crowds, the components of it flashing and glinted, seeming from moment to moment to shift between hastily hammered scrap wood, haphazardly stitched cloth and half-carved stones Spirits capered on stage, an ephemerally beautiful fairy woman with silver hair wearing a gown of swarming bees and a small rotund, frog mouthed spirit wearing a pair of tiny spectacles acted out the grand drama of a fruit merchant navigating the Ministry of commerce for a lost shipment manifest and finding love with the diligent clerk assisting them… They watched from among the chortling, jostling crowd of admiring dream spirits as the story unfolded.
"Most dreams ain't so grand when you get down to it," Sixiang chuckled. "But if you say things with the right cadence and tone, a trip down to market can sound like an epic quest, huh?"
"I think it would be better to say, every person sees their own trials as a great struggle, worthy of song," Ling Qi said, observing the dramatics on stage, nibbling a little more at her skewer. "Well, maybe that's a little exaggerated, but…"
"Nah, I getcha, a little dramatic exaggeration, but you're right at the base. Jeez, this is surprisingly cute as a story, isn't it?"
"It is," Ling Qi said, but despite the absurd spectacle of dream spirits enacting such a mundane 'drama, ' her thoughts were elsewhere. "Can I ask you something, Sixiang?"
"Go ahead!"
"What do you understand romantic love to be?" She asked.
Sixiang looked away from the show, focusing on her face. The lights of the lanterns and torches lighting the street glinted off of his black eyes. "Huh. That is actually a pretty good question."
He turned back to the sage, watching the waddling frog man take a comical pratfall, upending a cabinet full of papers that rained down like snow. "Its hm… intimacy, total trust, confidence that your partner will always have your back, and you'll always have theirs. That you want to spend the rest of your lives together. It's well, being a bit crazy for the other people, willing to go beyond, and changing yourself for them. That's the part that scares you, right? Feeling like you'll BE changed rather than deciding to change?"
Ling Qi listened, only half of her attention on the play. "Yes. Though I understand a bit better… people don't actively choose to change most of the time, they just do, bit by bit."
She supposed that was why cultivation appealed so much. It was much more deliberate. "When you tease me about attractive men, is that all it is, or do you actually… like looking too."
She felt like she wanted to wither up on the spot, only the rather bawdy shouting of the reveling dreams around her kept her from sinking herself into the street and disappearing, for asking such an explicit question.
Sixiang laughed out loud, high and clear, shoulders hunching as she glared at them, until at last they managed to stifle it a bit. He tossed his empty skewer aside, and it dissolved into drifting rainbow dust. "The look on your face. I'm sorry, Qi. I know you're no good with this stuff."
"I am fine and normal about 'this stuff, '" Ling Qi huffed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a few spirits looking toward them. She fixed the rowdy revellers with a look frigid enough to put frost in their fur. They looked away. Good.
"You know, sad part is you're not wrong depending on which part of the real you're standing in," Sixiang said, wiping a tear from his eye. "But… I like looking, yeah. I think you're really pretty; I think Gan Guangli is hot as hell, too."
"Sixiang!" she hissed.
"What! He is. Su Ling's a lucky gal, so's this… Jia lady, I guess?" Sixiang said, before shaking his head. "But like… I don't…"
They paused, scratching the back of his head as his features wavered from a more androgynous look back to a more masculine one. "But like, I don't feel the… fleshy stuff, no?"
They spoke haltingly, hesitating.
"Fleshy stuff?" Ling Qi said blandly.
"I mean I can be explicit if the ladies ears can handle it," Sixiang drawled. Ling Qi grimaced and shook her head.
"What I mean is… I like this face, you know? But I like it the same way you like your earrings, if you get me?" Sixiang said.
Ling Qi nodded; she understood what Sixiang was saying. Physicality was… mutable to them, instinctively foundationally so.
"But like, even then, I appreciate your eyes, your hair… there's art to that. I like the look of your spirit even more; it just makes me want to hug you all the time and warm you up even a little," Sixiang rambled.
Ling Qi shifted from foot to foot. It was hard not to react to such words.
"But like… the … reproductive' bits, nah. I don't really like… get that, I just know you like being teased about it… within limits," Sixiang said. "Heck, it's hard to talk about this stuff with all the limitations put on it…"
"I think that's the point of them," Ling Qi huffed. "But.. I admit, to me… those things… those things are tied deeply into romantic love."
"Yeah, I do get that. It's why you couldn't return Meizhen's feelings, right?" Sixiang said. "I thought about trying to look more like the kind of guys you oggle too but… I dunno, felt manipulative. Not what I wanted to go for," Sixiang said wistfully.
"I appreciate that," Ling Qi said. "How about the tea shop up there next?"
"Mm, deal. I wanna scare up some festival games, but I don't mind taking a minute to sit."
AN: Alright, probably at least two more of these, there's a ton to unpack yet as people have pointed out.
*****
A small afterward, If you enjoy the quest, please consider dropping a few dollars to the patreon or for a fun bit of merch. For patrons even as quest followers you get early access to commissions, full access to Journey to the East as well as the new sidestory featuring Meizhen's trip in Zhengjian that is now complete. Launching a new story focused on Liling and Ji Rong this week!
Check out them out!
Patreon
and
Destiny Store
Thank you your readership and participation in the Quest!
*****
In addition, currently launching a Bluesky account Join me there for news and such if you wish!
A small afterward, If you enjoy the quest, please consider dropping a few dollars to the patreon or for a fun bit of merch. For patrons even as quest followers you get early access to commissions, full access to Journey to the East as well as the new sidestory featuring Meizhen's trip in Zhengjian that is now complete. Launching a new story focused on Liling and Ji Rong this week!
Check out them out!
Patreon
and
Destiny Store
Thank you your readership and participation in the Quest!
*****
In addition, currently launching a Bluesky account Join me there for news and such if you wish!
Sixiang is ace!! 🏳️🌈
Thank you for informing me!!
CedeTheBees
Probably high right now
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- They/Them
The vote ended yesterday unfortunately
Well! That was rather well done and alieved alot of the feelings im sure a number of people had regarding Sexiangs place in the husbando wars. Tastefully done I must say.
Six really said don't forget your roots, Flute Qi!