Hrrrm...So this is...Gonna be a pain.
I'm going to walk away from the ULTIMATE BATTLE FOR LING QI DESTINY! For a second and think about the Arts we've picked up, the elements they brought, and how it all ties together into Who Ling Qi is, before deciding.
So.
Wind. Wind was our first art, Zephyr Breeze, and has an innate bonii to it that suggested we really wanna go Wind in a big way...
But then the Moon plucked us from the breeze, showing us a path through the shadow in SCS and FVM, the latter of which we've REALLY bonded to and made core to everything we've done. Notably, Ling Qi also had an old family flute, which is probably why we locked on so hard. We could have, say, kept that looted Wood Staff (And a VERY different Ling Qi might have come about if we had!)
From there, Wind got a bit of a boost with Falling Heaven Star bringing it back into favor...Except we can't reliably stealth at range, because FVM& SCS combo is how we stealth. SCS needs darkness and FVM provides it. And Heaven Star wanted Range first and foremost. Good try!
Water I think mostly comes through Zeqing's Ice Music Arts. Which basically makes it our sword, if Darkness is our Core. Oddly enough, Water feels the most 'Isolated/isolation' in a sense? Like...Wind seems to be inborn to us, but being Wind, being able to Fly about, kind of suggests a focus of Travel and meeting others that basically lets us be the 'bridge' bringing peoples together, potentially. Oh yeah, and the first art we got that's Wind is meant to be used in groups. Which might have been the thing Cai picked up on back during that Music Duel we got into, but I'm digressing at here so back on track:
Wind is Friends! Wood is also Friends! But a Shield rather then a Chariot or Caravan. Darkness is ANTAGONISTS, in that we use it when we want to sneak past people or befuddle them. And Water? Water's the Sword, and also isolation, in a sense, because the only other cultivator with that element in a significant manner in our entire social group is Meizhen, unless that Turtle-Formations Expert guy packs Water arts, which he might? Though I'd argue a more concrete thing is how it feels like every Water-person we know is kind of...Isolated in that others reach out to them, they don't reach out themselves. We reached out to Meizhen, Cai reached out to best snek. I imagine she also was the one who initiated with Turtle Monk Xuan, because he's sure not been reaching out to us that much! And let's not forget Zeqing, who sits alone on that icy summit save the company of her daughter. Wind is kind of family/history given our in-born talent for it and the heirloom flute. And Wood is mutual Defense, as well as something that connects us to Zhengui, our 'little brother' so to speak...One could also claim Wood to be the Spoils of Victory as far as Ling Qi is concerned- look how many times we got something Wood-oriented from prevailing over trials.
- We got that Wood staff from a loot pinata girl in the trials, and again when the THUNDERDOME came and she wanted another shot at us.
- We got TRF from fighting the Cloud Shaman.
- We gained Zhengui from that trial with Meizhen, in talking to the big volcano turtle.
And again, spinning around to the element where I started with this: Water is Isolation, It's Zeqing and that's it.
four elements, four threads, and how to weave them together...
Darkness is the Stealth, the Fog that we tend to think of as Ling Qi's Core. I dunno about that, but we tend to have it as a go-to.
the horrormoth approves.
Wind is Friends, is Family, is History, which are oddly static things to draw from the intangible element, but that's my take on it.
Wood, I'd argue is our Armor, our Shield. For when we must take a stand, this is how we do it, especially given how it keeps connecting to Defensive things like ZhenGui or TRF.
Water is the Sword, somewhat also Solitude given the way the Water-aligned folks are all disparate and don't want to reach out.
So what do I want to claim as the most important?...In order.
Water...Actually is my least favorite. Because to me this Water is actually Ice. It's loneliness, and that's something LIng Qi doesn't seem to like.
Darkness...Well, this isn't bad. It's perhaps the most complete package of the lot, given how well SCS&FVM form a basis for how we wish to fight.
Wood...I'm torn between this and Darkness, because while Darkness seems to consistantly worm it's way into a majority of our arts, and thus gains prominence, Wood Stands tall with a few bastions potent enough to earn it's keep.
Wind...This, is Ling Qi's 'JOY!' element. And I'm pretty consistant about wanting her to be a happier and more cheerful person, myself. Arts...It's funny, it doesn't have THAT many arts to it, nor does it have a major link of importance, only our base talents really seem to keep us coming back to it...And yet in a sense, it's something that's informed the majority of what we want to do.
Even more basic then SCS&FVM, Ling Qi wants to Kite things. To be tantalizingly out of reach, while still striking back at her opponents. And I say this because look at some of the alternate patterns beyond the SCS/FVM Doomcloud Ling Qi- The 'if we hadn't been moon-jacked' Falling Star/Zephyr Breeze Archer Ling Qi, the possibly Heart of an Army Wood Ling Qi (just need something more active then TRF to fight with!), the Winter's Death Ling Qi of her connection to Zeqing, possibly amped further by Meizhen possibly thowing us some water tips...
...Then again...If we could somehow tie Wood and Wind together...
[X]Wood
I'm intrigued by this possibility.
