spoilers for Darkbound Souls // the ideal formula of SylusMC
so... is everyone still breathing after this one?
once again i think Sylus' greatest narrative strength is that his very character and motivations are deeply rooted in desire – consuming it, fighting it, this whole pursuit of fulfilment itself. it's such a universal theme, but the writers make it feel very distinctive when explored through him and his story. and we see more and more of that in his latest cards.
tbh, Darkbound Souls and Rainlit Night feel like a new chapter in SylusMC's dynamic. both are major turning points in their relationship, but each focuses on very diff aspects in retrospect. these cards deliberately bring us to earlier stories, in a very intentional order and for a clear reason.
but moving to Darkbound Souls (my yapping abt his bday card is still in drafts... ✨soon✨).
steps to the most crucial desire
oh, they cooked so well with this reversed Shared Bliss plot. i was hoping for this kind of story once they dropped the card's description.
i think it's safe to say this is MC's Aether Core acting up. she's restless, moody, and unable to feel fully satisfied from the very beginning. that frustration spills into everything – sleep, food, revenge, competitiveness, the inability to properly rest because of all that.
at the same time, it feels like a gradual path leading her toward the most important desire of all. the one Sylus describes as "relentless, intense, and nearly impossible to restrain."
i loved that small moment when MC sees the hot spring and is ready to jump straight in, only for Sylus to stop her.
it speaks to that instinct of wanting to rush straight to the point, convinced all she needs is rest. but there's more to it than that. more steps she has to go through before she can finally pursue that deepest desire and feel truly satisfied. and Sylus knows it and recognizes it because he's gone through it himself.
i also think the subtle metaphor of "plunging into the abyss" = surrendering to the deepest desires hidden there feels very intentional in their stories. so the hot spring works nicely as another kind of that abyss.
the steps Sylus helps MC through in this desire checklist mirror the path he went through in Shared Bliss.
what feels esp important here is how MC's right to choose is constantly brought up in all instances. choice is not only an obvious part of one's autonomy, it's the only real way to understand what you actually want. what is your desire, and is it truly yours? what are you fulfilling it for? yourself or some external goal that has nothing to do with your own needs?
the scene with Greymist (the name tho... a callback to Crimson Spirit?) ties directly into "being enslaved by desire alone." that's smth Sylus avoids in Shared Bliss (probably in NoS too). for MC, it's still too early to fully tell the difference between willingly indulging a craving and being dragged along by her Aether Core with no way out.
i love that they brought this up openly and let them talk abt it.
Sylus plays so subtly with MC's own words here – that to fall into this abyss and selfishly surrender to desire completely, you have to cast aside rules, systems, morality, everyone around you.
there's also a strong moment here connected to the earlier point – "one must acknowledge their desire to satisfy it." before you leap into the abyss of wanting, first recognize what it is.
so Sylus is more of a devil's advocate than a devil on her shoulder. he pushes MC, encourages her, and challenges her reasoning to the point she uncovers her genuine, unfiltered desires. and then he immediately says that once she's free of limits, doubts, and rules, he'll gladly satisfy her wants. because only then are those desires truly acknowledged by her.
"you use heartbeats, and i use eye contact"
truly one of my fav lines of his. and there's a reason it came back to my mind.
such an interesting little detail i noticed – how often Sylus talks abt the heart here, almost as if he's deliberately pointing to her Aether Core. it's the source of her desires, after all.
and i love that we actually see his own glowing in his right eye. and that MC herself notices it too.
all in all, i still have so many thoughts clogging my brain abt this card, both the writing and kindled. but i really need to sort them all out, take a breath, and come back with less chaotic feedback.
but wow, that was a great read, no doubt 🐦⬛️
annaxmalina
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