How do threads work?

Question

In Golden Sky Stories, characters build Connections during a story, which can then be converted into Threads at the end of a story.

I know that the Threads contain the contents of a character's connection to and from a person, but what I don't understand is how the threads are then used later in another story.

The rules suggest that you can start a new connection with a character if you have a thread with them, but makes no mention of how strong the connection will be, or if the Thread 'strength' has any bearing on the connection.

This paragraph in particular confuses me:

For example, at the start of a story, a connection with a friend typically starts with a strength of 2, but if you had a story with them before, you start with a connection at 3 (or 4 if you have two Threads with them). Furthermore, if the narrator has you make an Impression Check for a character he or she has introduced, the connection is strengthened by the number of Threads you have to them.

This makes it very unclear how the threads are supposed to be used to renew connections, and how strong they're supposed to be when started - or how the threads are spent and when.

So, in simple terms, how does a Connection get made into a thread/threads, and how are those threads used during new stories? Do they retain their old strength, or are they started anew with each story?

Answer 1

Having started our game, we've come to a conclusion on how the Threads should be used:

You get one thread for each connection you have to a person from a previous story - that is it, save for the bonus thread for reaching 5 across for both connections "To" and "From".

When a character appears again in a story, you immediately get a connection, which is as strong as however many threads you have for that person.

You can then make an impression check separate from this to improve the strength of this connection to 2, but no further than 2.