#unshackledlight

here is my new fanart for War of Hearts, these are all for chapter 9!

I think these are better than the last which i might change later 😅 jsjsj. Read War of hearts its so good👀👀, and if anyone wants to yap about it im always here jsjs

His quiet, "Lux," sounds strangled, hand clenching in your hair. When you pull back to check on him you're shocked to recognize that his eyes are misty in the moonlight, and that's all the warning you get before he swoops down and crushes your mouth beneath his. The intensity slams into your ribs, bowling you head over heels, but the moment his thumb caresses your jaw you're lost. Ruthless and tender. His reluctance from your first kiss is nowhere to be found, angling his head to deepen it with an urgency that sweeps your sensibilities right out from under you — like he's trying to imprint all the words he hasn't said onto your skin. It's everything you've been craving, it's all and it's more. It's an endless well of unsatisfied yearning, it's need and desire and adoration, the world collapsing as though this right here, this long-resisted and hard-won union, is the only thing that matters. Your fingers wind their way into his hair, a sigh on your lips as he coaxes you open beneath him. The sharp edges of his shackles dig into your waist as he squeezes you flush against his chest, his hard metal collar digging into your sternum, and you're certain his arms are the only thing keeping you somewhat upright as the force of his attention dips you backwards. When the kiss ends his palm strokes your cheek, lidded eyes darting between yours with a naked want he's been remarkably good at obfuscating until now. His thumb graces your bottom lip only a moment before he kisses you again, softer, and your knees go weak as his grip at your ribs tightens. "You have no idea," he murmurs, and you can hear the thickness in his throat, choked and helpless, and your mind spins dizzy at the depths implied in that emotion. "No idea what you mean to me." He holds you like a treasure, like some precious thing in his grasp, a magnitude of affection so strong that all his restraint and careful distance has been abandoned entirely, so you can't imagine what more he could impress upon you. The cage of his shackles is uncomfortable, even a little painful, but you like that he can't seem to hold back from embracing you any longer.

You ever care about somebody so much that it hurts? Yeah.

Your cheeks are definitely burning, now, but you lean into his touch. It's not his gratitude you were concerned about; Sylas has always wanted proof you were on his side. You felt his arrogance and obsessive need for control meant he'd snatch any peace you offered and carve out whatever more he could get from you. But he hasn't, for as long as you've kept him at arm's length. Will that change, if you let him in again? At some point, trust is a choice. To step onto that rickety bridge and pray it holds your weight. [...] His brows draw together and something in his eyes retreats, wary, his palm hovering away from your cheek, but he doesn’t say anything. He’s near enough to easily close the distance if you wanted, which you do. You feel the short, rough hairs of his beard under your fingertips as you trace his jaw, curl your fingers to run your knuckles along it in turn. You lean forward, gaze falling, eyes lidding, until you feel his breath on your lips, and he’s still as a statue, but he lets you. He always lets you, like he’s starved enough for touch to take anything you offer him whether it’s a kindness or a punishment. But this time, it’s a kiss.

awww anaimade trust me i feel the same way 😭

I finally, finally got a job (I haven't had one of those since before I started writing War of Hearts), and while it's not a job in any of the industries I've, you know, spent time and money studying in, it is at least some form of income. But it does take up quite a lot of time, so War of Hearts has fallen to the back burner.

I'm still working on chapter 11, and I'm even writing another Sylux fic that's hit 22k words (!), but the writing is going a bit slower. Chapter 11 is also shaping up to be one of the longer ones, there are a few more emotional hurdles for Lux to hit before the climax.

But I'm happy to give you a sneak peek! [Disclaimer that things are subject to adjustment as I edit, of course.]

Context: Lux sneaks into Terbisia and spies on some mageseekers going through her library.

boy, where do i start? i'm usually busy telling people the actual canon information about them that nobody knows because only like 20 people played The Mageseeker, lol.

(Examples: I am so very tired of people saying Sylas is twice Lux's age, he's twenty-seven and she's twenty. I'm also tired of people saying he groomed her when that was very much not grooming. We only see him do one actively manipulative thing to her (weaponize her guilt for being a Crownguard to pressure her into getting Durand's notes), and then he stole her magic. Yes it was a dick move that traumatized her. It was still not grooming. He also regrets hurting her, apologized for what he did, and has given her her space ever since.)

The following headcanons shift based on what AU they're in. I feel like a lot of these show up in my fic War of Hearts, because that's my vision of how things would happen in canon.

Lux confesses first. Because it's going to take a long, long time for her to warm up to him again, let alone trust him. In Mageseeker, Lux was in Sylas' thoughts often, and he was nigh-constantly thinking about how he missed her and wanted to apologize to her, but ultimately he decided that it was more important for him to give her space. (Sylas' deep respect for Lux is one of the big things that really got me shipping them, lol, and Lux's mutual respect for him is literally the rock-solid foundation for any good enemies to lovers tale.)

Lux fell first, Sylas fell harder.

I think it'd take a while for Lux to start using petnames, but would eventually settle into "honey" and "dear". Sylas uses pet names way more, lol. Obviously has "little light", but also likes "sweetheart". Maybe a "honey" and a "princess" in there occasionally. Like that one tumblr post that's like "princess (derogatory) to princess (pity) to princess (begrudging respect) to princess (affection)". In the Anima Squad AU I really like Lux as a battle dove like Seraphine, so Sylas uses "little dove" for her there.

Neither of them can cook much but Sylas is still a better cook lmfao. Lux lived in a household with professional cooks, and any cooking/baking she ever did was just for fun. She only ever worked off of recipes. Sylas didn't get a chance to learn cooking at all until he joined Leilani's rebels, and Leilani did teach him how to cook her soup. His education was more focused on the basics of making food taste good, so he's a lot more flexible than Lux is. ...He's also less picky.

Sylas struggles with emotional intimacy, but he still enjoys PDA without shame. Lux appreciates PDA because she avoided touching people for so long out of fear that they'd sense her magic, so once she has someone she feels safe with regarding her secret, she gets to indulge. (Not to mention that even if she did start losing control of her magic, Sylas could easily absorb it and not get hurt.) Lux can get embarrassed by excessive PDA but still enjoys it.

I don't often imagine my ships with kids (because kids shouldn't be a given in any relationship), but I think Lux would want kids. Not anytime soon, as long as Demacia needs her for other things, but maybe a few years down the road she starts really considering it. She reminds me of those girls I knew in high school who'd fantasize about their future kids and choose names for them, but she never dwelled on the fantasy for too terribly long because of the whole "keeping her magic a secret" thing making relationships difficult. Sylas is a lot more resistant to the idea of having kids at first. Yeah, he's got Rayn, but Rayn was already old enough to take care of herself, somewhat. Sylas doesn't like the idea of a child's entire life trajectory on his shoulders. His own parents kinda screwed him over for the sake of honor and duty, after all.

In Anima Squad, until Lux officially ends up in that universe, I imagine that she and Sylas have a solid friendship. Lux is constantly trying to get him to be less reckless in battle, but Sylas is too busy having competitions with Jinx and Vayne for who can kill more primordians.