SylusMC "trancelike" intimacy lore deep dive
I have to say as a Sylus main, Darkbound Souls was 1000/10 for me, not just in terms of the kindled, but in terms of how well fitting this story is for their relationship. Sylus has always tested MCs boundaries but with the incident around Graymist, he really doesn't showcase his "devil on her shoulder" personality whilst still respecting her decision making.
But that's not what I want to talk about; I need to talk about that slap. Full disclosure: I found the whole kindled scene so freaking hot, except for that slap. I'm not saying he does it without her desire for it (the opposite in fact), its just not my taste. Everything else... completely my taste! So, because the slap is so against what my tastes are, I've obviously not stopped thinking about it and trying to justify it.
So here's my interpretation:
Whenever MC and Sylus do the deed, she seems to fall into a "tracelike" state Sylus's bites, taps and teasing is a way to keep her present. Here is what I've gathered so far:
- In No Defence Zone, she dreams of using the crop on him and taps his left cheek where his aether is (Sylus taps her left cheek during Darkbound Souls).
- In Night of Secrecy, MC pushes Sylus away saying she can't breathe because she feels the weight of him suffocating her. He also covers her eyes and tells her not to look because he wants to hear her say it's him she desires without his overwhelming power scaring her off
- Shared Bliss has the BIGGEST giveaways with the lore behind his aethercore, their intimacy and his fears. First, she resonates with him and feels this intense burning through her which somewhat satisfies his needs. But during that scene she enters a trancelike state where she can't help but move closer to him and ends up scratching him so hard that he bleeds, all the while hearing the voice that tells her to devour him. They go to sleep and she has a brilliant slumber, and awakens extremely thirsty. Later, when he tells her its not the aethercore thats the problem, its that he needs her, she basically tells him she can handle it (harking back to LAR) and he asks if she's scared, but she trusts him and knows he won't hurt her - "you believe in my self control that much?" The whole night is a delirium where she's not sure how much time has passed and awakens again very thirsty.
- Crimson Spirit is all about hunger and thirst on a carnal level. Once again, when MC goes to drink from Sylus the first time, she seems to be in a trancelike state where she is subconsciously drawn closer to his body. First she listens to his heart before she listens to his neck and their heartbeats sync up as they drink from one another (honestly, this is the most seductively intense scene there has ever been between them). He lets her drink from him and her understanding of dreams and reality mixes so she cant tell the difference.
- Primordial Chaos sees that desperate between them return and the idea that their intimacy leads to dizziness and confusion for MC. At first he bites her lip as a way of punishing her for thinking about breaking their engagement and thats followed by kisses that are "scorching hot" like the destruction of a planet. Again, she struggles to breathe underneath him until she syncs with his heartbeat but hears a rhythmless beat in her ears. Then she says the world around us fades... theres only each other's breaths, touch, warmth and scent" In silk bedsheets "our consciousness drifts among the cosmos. Underneath the stars brilliance, our bodies are intertwined". Feels to me like their intimate moments are deeply entwined within the fabric of the cosmos.
- Then we get to Darkbound Souls. During and after the kindled, MC is constantly shown again in a trancelike state. The entire story is about being in command of your desires, being the master of them rather than being enslaved to them. Time and time again, we have seen MC enter a trancelike state when she desires Sylus, to the point of potential destruction of him. She doesn't want that. Her choice not to kill Graymist is an example of how she wishes to command her most carnal desires. Sylus tells her she doesn't have to worry about the consequences, she just has to be in control of what she truly desires. And this dialogue continues into their intimate scene, and during which MC is CONSTANTLY flitting in and out of blurriness, dizziness and being in control. Here, Sylus controls her. He bites her lip to "bring herself back to him"; he pulls in her jaw whilst he's behind her to make her focus on kissing him; he slaps/taps (however you want to interpret it) her cheek to ensure she's still looking at/focusing on him. And when she loses control and enters that trancelike state, she starts to strangle him -hurting him just like in Shared Bliss in a way that she can't control. But Sylus tells her they will keep feeding her desire, before he pulls away from her grip and once again tells her to look at him and says they will keep doing this until its woven into their souls.
- At the end of this, it feels like their "act" seems to birth a "most beautiful" creature which could be a number of things but I most liken what they are saying to a Qilin which is like a Chinese dragon-horse, a bit like a unicorn (which would make sense seen as the town they are in is known for horse riding, Sylus is a dragon and MC is frequently referred to as a Unicorn in the research notes).
TLDR: It seems that when Sylus and MC enter into acts of intimacy, she often goes into an uncontrollable, trance-like state and the imagery used is often that of intense burning/dizziness/hunger/thirst and, most importantly, disorientation. It feels like when they are at it, MCs mind seems to be controlled by some other force, a force that wants to consume Sylus. This is most likely cosmic and something we could discover with further myths/main story updates. Either way, Sylus just wants MC to be with him and the "pain" (bites, nips, taps) he causes her is translated as her pleasure in order to bring her back reality, and to him.