[ChicletPrime]

Sylus is not unlocked in the With Him area -- I have to complete the entire 1-8 Chapters.

Chapter 4: Into Danger

• wow. this is a very swanky crib of black and gold. how the hell did we get here now? the decor seems vaguely impersonal, but there's a crystal stellated hedron of some sort being used a a paperweight on a book, which seem apropos.
  
• and the world fall into black smoke and then a red glare.
  
• why are we feeling completely empty and hollowed out? 
  
• why are we hungry for him specifically? this game is not playing around with its implications.
  
• devouring him... is our power? like.. his power is ours and we want it back? or our power is to drain others?
  
• CLASS: VAMPYR UNLOCKED: Level 0: Vorpal Bunny Hop
  
• Okay, we've been out of it for at least 24 hours. Whatever happened when Sylus and I shot him, it knocked me out cold at the same time. INTERESTING.
  
• Thing One and Thing Two were going to drill my head open!? wow. so rude. i was SLEEPING, people.
  
• i am being gaslit by Thing One.
  
• Do you take me for an utter nitwit, you... nitwit?
  
• Oh my god, Thing Two can't keep it together. muahahah!
  
• FUCKING HELL, gunshot sound out of nowhere. that was startling. hello, flashback!
  
• i dunno if crazy is the word sweet thing, that seems a little too hinged for whatever is going on here. also, that is a very neat little gunhole.
  
• (headdesk. he's so good looking with blood on his face i can't stand it)
  
• "have you figured out how you'll pay me back?" uh. do you.. i have some plushie vouchers? and a 10% off coupon for a pack of juice boxes at the corner bodega.
  
• HE'S DOING THE THING AGAIN WITH THE GET RID OF THE WOUNDS AGAIN
  
• wow. i've been instructed to hold the sentiment for when i actually manage to kill him. i guess i gotta have goals?
  
• he just... reforms. like his crow. slick.
  
• meanwhile, back in the boudoir... that is a lot of black guns on the black wall.
  
• oh okay, so the hand thing that caused some light and a golden shower of sparks there WAS resonance, and it was forced. which is good to know, that we can be brutally shoved into vibrational alignment with somebody else against our will. maybe its just him in particular though?
  
• okay wut
  
• (Even though the Aether Core's other half is in Onychinus' hands, being trapped here puts me in a vulnerable position).  the Aether Core's OTHER HALF? where did THAT tidbit fall from? I do not in the least remember mention that i only have half a piece lodged in my heart, let alone that it's other half is with The Big O.  I had the distinct impression that aether cores were bloody rare but not impossible to find and that Onychinus may or may have one already, that's all.  I am missing something crucial here - was this information glossed over in a previous chapter or alluded to so vaguely that it went over my head?
  
• Thing One now has a name: Luke. hiyas Luke! have a mentioned i like you already?
  
• you do not know what i'm thinking. * i * don't know what i'm thinking most of the time. but point taken about the Nest birds being all atwitter and looking for me.
  
• And Kieran Thing Two! hiii sweetheart.
  
• oh FINE i'll stay here with your boss and be safe. i trust you both to have only my best interests at heart.
  
• hey. morality has only been a burden to me, but i like my compassion, thank you very much.
  
• take a guess..  uh. Kieran is older?
  
• wow, i have turned into a cutthroat mafia moll out of nowhere. i see what you mean about the MC taking on a whole new personality when she's dealing with a specific storyline dealing with just one of the boys. this is wildly out of character for anything she displayed during the first eight episodes. rolling with it!
  

Chapter 5: Desire

• now there's a chapter title i can get behind.
  
• this whole place is vintage black and dried blood red. aaaand all the flowers in the vases have wilted and dropped their petals. this is very Addams Family.
  
• Luke wants my pretend weapon so bad, I can tell (well, the game told me that, but I can pretend it was me reading minds)
  
• oh, these guys are too sweet. how does Luke manage to stay employed by someone like Sylus?
  
• oh, they're taking bets behind me on how far i'll make it. lovely.
  
• Kieran has no faith. I'll show him.
  
• and i pull out my Hunter's Watch from.. where exactly?
  
• aaaand there's a crow sculpture on a short pillar in the hallway. i am not fooled. MC might be, but i am really, really not.
  
• FOLLOW THE CROW: engage EAVESDROP TIME on UNKNOWN PEOPLE
  
• fuck yes, finally some actual juicy bits! "they" plan to implant protocores into humans, yes, i guessed that for sure. then insert human consciousness into Wanderers. really now? wow. huh.
  

/stares into the distance for a bit. how would THAT work?

• fuck with people and wanderers - code name: the fountain of atei
  

/heads for less-shitty google search. all results are to do with LaDS, so its a made up thing

• even muffled, Sylus is instantly recognizable. and he doesn't care about whatever is going on in the secrets labs of Ever(lasting)'s dysfunction. if you don't care Sylus, who is this guy and why is he talking to you in your house?
  
• damn it, Kieran was right. i didn't even make it 10 steps.
  
• Sylus: "And Mephisto... said you lied. You're not even telling me everything."  this VA is fantastic, that was sardonic, threatening AND bored all at the same time.
  
• unknown guy is a double agent? and Sylus is about to end the doubling?
  
• nope, just contract termination. you have become unuseful, peon. show yourself out, i have a boudoir to ruffle.
  
• or maybe he did just disperse that guy like he did Mr Kidnapper?
  
• oooh, i've been invited in? how long did you know i was standing here, my new old friend?
  
• there is a lot of wine and liquor strewn about all the places so far, I gotta say.
  
• (this feeling again.. I'm hungry all of a sudden...)  what is the pull, here?  Sylus.. uses his power for something and i get hungry for it? or we're connected somewhere and the tank drains a little and i feel compulsively like i need to replace it? or maybe Sylus is just that delicious. vampyr power couple.
  
• oh GOD we grabbed a knife again! what is WITH us?
  
• the urge to murder in this place -- i feel like somebody needs to call an exorcist, or maybe an excavating crew to check for a burial ground under the kitchen.
  
• oh boy, and he put a gun down on the table in case it need it in the N109 zone. I have a knife, a nearby gun and a glass of wine. I am woman of many talents.
  
• Sylus' hands are HUGE. noticed it before but it's really obvious in this cutscene with the way he's standing.
  
• "i'm giving you a way out. how about we make a deal?" ooookay.
  
• i'm gulping wine like water, because i'm so thirsty.
  
• i am an utter fool - chapter name. Desire, capital D. what is desire but to crave something.
  
• "as long as you have desires, there will always be deals to make." am i going to be making 'deals' with Sylus for the rest of my mortal life and possibly my immortal one?
  
• uh oh, his eye is starting to do the thing again. there have to be SOOO many fics about that and as soon as i'm through the story, i am going to track down all of them.
  

• "so many days have come and gone. you should know your own desires by now."  you might be talking about the four days i've been in under your controls (only three of which i've been partially conscious of) but i have a feeling you meant something very different.
  
• "only i can give you want you want..."  give me grandma back! and Caleb! you can't do either of those things, not at all and i will stick a knife in your heart again just because i can. "...and you will agree to my terms."  oh. oh boy. WILL i now? just because you said so? I WILL GNAW YOUR KNEECAP OFF.
  
• yeah, confront him with the resonating thing. not a great idea to get that close though. do we still have the knife?
  
• "i resonate with you and you give me the Aether Core from Onychinus' auction." oh, it is not going to be that simple is it?
  
• "even touching his hand faintly brings forth a sense of dread."  yeah, this guy is as creepy as he is hot and murderous. a veritable trifecta!
  
• "release me. you can't do that just yet."  what? but you said ... you wanted... i am so confused. and possibly drunk.
  
• how does that face manage to look that supercilious when its made out of pixels?
  
• there's a struggle in his gaze for a hot second? oh, he's tempted! he wants to! baby, i'll make it so good for you, it'll be so much better when you don't have to force me.
  
• VERY GOOD QUESTION, GIRLFRIEND.  where does the power in his eye come from and why does it feel so familiar (aside: it feels familiar? nice, noted) is it related to the aether core?
  
• hey. wow. hang on. does Sylus have an aether core as well, only he knows how to properly use his? IS HIS AETHER CORE THE OTHER HALF OF MINE?
  
• okay, sold. lets meld.
  
• nope, there's no resonance. i suck at this so hard. bad. whatever.
  
• honestly, this dude just oozes menace just standing there.
  
• he's right, i am terrible at this. what is wrong with me? Zayne has his issues, but his Evol always responds when he wills it to.
  
• sigh. i'm a weak kitten. sopping wet. sadness.
  
• oh! dinner time! and how about that, i'm insatiably hungry, i bet.  and then a specifc threat of dissolution and a 10 minute deadline. i'd better use both hands.
  

hah! i close out of the quest, Rafayel is reminding me that i need to go to sleep and if i need help, he's happy to be there for me. then i get a text message from UKNOWN NUMBER with a status message of "Bad signal. Contact me later."  Hello, Sylus! like Xavier, i don't want to know how you got my number.

crap. Kieran is younger. le sigh.