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Description
Melody's back struck hard against the bark of the tree as Phoenix pinned her to it, the vampyrum's claws at her throat holding like a vice, slowly beginning to cut off airflow.

"Why?! Why you?!" Phoenix snarled in her face. "Do you have any idea what you've been doing to me?!"

"I didn-"

"Shut up!" Phoenix interrupted her, pulling back slightly to slam her against the tree again. "Ever since you showed up everything keeps reminding me of her. Your movements, your gestures. Why do you look so much like her? Why is your voice so much like hers?! It's driving me insane! How dare, how dare you be so much like her?!" Her face was still twisted in that hateful snarl but as she kept speaking tears began to spill from her eyes, voice growing more and more pained with every word.

"I- I don't know who you're talking- about." Melody could barely get those words out, hands clutching Phoenix's wrists, trying to pull her away but unfortunately being no match for the vampyrum's strength. She was running short of air.

"Of course you don't". Phoenix said bitterly. "But it doesn't matter, I'll be rid of you soon and then you can't torment me anymore." She applied even more pressure, claws digging into Melody's neck and drawing a bit of blood.

Panicked now Malody began struggling more frantically, tears welling up in her own eyes, but no matter how much she tried she could not free herself. In her desperation she managed to cry out one last time as tears spilled from her eyes. "Phoenix, please stop!"

A look of shock overcame the vampyrum as those words cut through her like a knife, echoing an old cry from ages long past. And before her eyes the image of Melody melted away, warping into an all too familiar scene. Brunette hair into black, greenish-yellow eyes replaced with bright blue ones. Phoenix's hands around her throat, stained in red.
In an instant Melody was released, dropping to the ground and heaving for breath between coughs. Her hand at her throat trying to soothe the ache.

Phoenix slowly backed off, overcome with confusion, shock, and shame. "No, no it can't, it can't be..." More and more memories flooded her mind, tearing open old wounds and drowning her heart in pain she once buried so long ago. Seraphina's image flashing before her in Melody's stead. "It- I..." It was too much, all too much. Unable to bear the implications of what just happened, Phoenix turned away and fled. Leaving behind the Silverwing who could do nothing but look after her in confusion.

***

Welp... That was something different. We interrupt your regular bug content for bats! It's been quite some time again since I drew anything non-Hollow Knight related, and now this happened. So let me explain, some time ago Lilgrimmapple held a contest that was about creating "what if" scenarios for her fanfic Gone Batty, back then I had neither time nor ideas to join really, but two mornings ago I woke up with this whole thing popping into my mind, so now I'm dragging y'all into this rabbit hole with me. Of course the contest itself is long over and I doubt there will be a crackship contest later on, so this is merely a bit of gift art for Anna.

So here is my "what if" scenario, what if Seraphina had been in a relationship with Phoenix instead of Aktun. Not the type of thing I would go for normally but I quickly realized that would add some very interesting twists to the story. Mostly because unlike Aktun/Goth and Seraphina/Melody, Phoenix was never reincarnated so she would still have her memories of everything that happened, it was just a matter of time for her to put the pieces together.

Let me give you a rundown of the events as I can see them transpire, though some things are still unclear as we don't yet know the full story of what happened back then with the trio, and also because Eclipsed isn't finished yet.

- Phoenix and Seraphina meet and gradually fall in love over time. One way I can imagine this happening is by Phoenix being tasked to hunt down Seraphina but eventually developing begrudging respect for her when Seraphina keeps managing to slip away and outwit her. And things develop from there.
- However Zotz finds out about it eventually and possesses Phoenix, forcing her to kill Seraphina.
- Phoenix is sent to the mines as punishment for her disobedience, in addition to that she is being manipulated and gaslighted by Zotz to believe that what happened was her fault. That she is a monster and that this never would have happened if she wasn't so weak and gave in to her emotions.
- Over the years Phoenix suppresses her memories of Seraphina out of grief and shame, falling further and further under Zotz's manipulation in her vulnerable state. Eventually becoming the cruel and heartless vampyrum we know.
- Fast forward the events of Gone Batty play out unchanged, but things do take a turn in Eclipsed. This time instead of jealousy over Melody being a threat to her claim over Goth, Phoenix has more issues with Melody directly. Mainly the fact everything about her is reminding her of Seraphina, thus digging up those old painful memories and slowly driving her insane.
- Eventually she can't take it anymore and corners Melody, fully intending to kill her and bury that part of her past once and for all. The above scene happens. (I imagine Melody must have somehow lost her pendant during that time.)
- After some time of avoiding Melody, Phoenix eventually comes to the full conclusion that yes Melody is Seraphina's reincarnation, creating a huge inner conflict for her. She wants to remain loyal to Zotz but she also can't ignore her heart and can't bring herself to endanger Seraphina once more. She eventually makes up her mind to remain at a distance emotionally but still look out for Melody and make sure she at least gets out of this whole mess unharmed.
- From then on Phoenix splits her time following Zotz's plan and making sure nothing happens to Melody. Meanwhile Melody does try to confront her about what happened and why Phoenix is following her around now but doesn't seem to have any intent of hurting her again. However Phoenix avoids giving any straight answers and tries to remain abrasive.
- The two of them do slowly build a bit of a tentative companionship, but it's still rocky due to what happened, Melody's compassion is what keeps things together in that regard. However things start heating up as the eclipse is nearing and Zotz most definitely wants Melody dead. Thus Phoenix is left with no choice but to try and convince Melody to leave the jungle.
- The rest is still unclear due to the fanfic itself having not gone much further yet and again some lack of information. Like Goth could have a more villainous role in this AU, if all his kindness stems from his relationship with Seraphina in a past life, then the lack of it now would make him more evil and so a main antagonist for this AU. I can also imagine Karma figuring out something is fishy about Phoenix and starting to follow her, thus becoming a bigger antagonist herself as she would be all too ready to throw Phoenix under the bus to raise her own status in Zotz's eyes and basically replace Phoenix as his favorite. So yeah there is definitely a lot of possibilities.

This is all I got so far tho, I admit this whole thing is basically a huge character study for Phoenix as I do quite enjoy going into the psychological aspect of characters. Tho in this case it also leads to a bit of a darker story than the original fanfic. I just think this has potential, tho of course I very much love the original story as it is and I am still all aboard the MelodyXGoth ship. But I just wanted to explore this route to see how it might play out.

So y'all enjoy this bat art before I fall into bugtopia again.

P.S. Anna I'm so sorry if I just accidentally launched a crackship with this.

Gone Batty, Melody and this version of Phoenix (c)
Silverwing series (c) Kenneth Oppel

Description
Melody's back struck hard against the bark of the tree as Phoenix pinned her to it, the vampyrum's claws at her throat holding like a vice, slowly beginning to cut off airflow.

"Why?! Why you?!" Phoenix snarled in her face. "Do you have any idea what you've been doing to me?!"

"I didn-"

"Shut up!" Phoenix interrupted her, pulling back slightly to slam her against the tree again. "Ever since you showed up everything keeps reminding me of her. Your movements, your gestures. Why do you look so much like her? Why is your voice so much like hers?! It's driving me insane! How dare, how dare you be so much like her?!" Her face was still twisted in that hateful snarl but as she kept speaking tears began to spill from her eyes, voice growing more and more pained with every word.

"I- I don't know who you're talking- about." Melody could barely get those words out, hands clutching Phoenix's wrists, trying to pull her away but unfortunately being no match for the vampyrum's strength. She was running short of air.

"Of course you don't". Phoenix said bitterly. "But it doesn't matter, I'll be rid of you soon and then you can't torment me anymore." She applied even more pressure, claws digging into Melody's neck and drawing a bit of blood.

Panicked now Malody began struggling more frantically, tears welling up in her own eyes, but no matter how much she tried she could not free herself. In her desperation she managed to cry out one last time as tears spilled from her eyes. "Phoenix, please stop!"

A look of shock overcame the vampyrum as those words cut through her like a knife, echoing an old cry from ages long past. And before her eyes the image of Melody melted away, warping into an all too familiar scene. Brunette hair into black, greenish-yellow eyes replaced with bright blue ones. Phoenix's hands around her throat, stained in red.
In an instant Melody was released, dropping to the ground and heaving for breath between coughs. Her hand at her throat trying to soothe the ache.

Phoenix slowly backed off, overcome with confusion, shock, and shame. "No, no it can't, it can't be..." More and more memories flooded her mind, tearing open old wounds and drowning her heart in pain she once buried so long ago. Seraphina's image flashing before her in Melody's stead. "It- I..." It was too much, all too much. Unable to bear the implications of what just happened, Phoenix turned away and fled. Leaving behind the Silverwing who could do nothing but look after her in confusion.

***

Welp... That was something different. We interrupt your regular bug content for bats! It's been quite some time again since I drew anything non-Hollow Knight related, and now this happened. So let me explain, some time ago Lilgrimmapple held a contest that was about creating "what if" scenarios for her fanfic Gone Batty, back then I had neither time nor ideas to join really, but two mornings ago I woke up with this whole thing popping into my mind, so now I'm dragging y'all into this rabbit hole with me. Of course the contest itself is long over and I doubt there will be a crackship contest later on, so this is merely a bit of gift art for Anna.

So here is my "what if" scenario, what if Seraphina had been in a relationship with Phoenix instead of Aktun. Not the type of thing I would go for normally but I quickly realized that would add some very interesting twists to the story. Mostly because unlike Aktun/Goth and Seraphina/Melody, Phoenix was never reincarnated so she would still have her memories of everything that happened, it was just a matter of time for her to put the pieces together.

Let me give you a rundown of the events as I can see them transpire, though some things are still unclear as we don't yet know the full story of what happened back then with the trio, and also because Eclipsed isn't finished yet.

- Phoenix and Seraphina meet and gradually fall in love over time. One way I can imagine this happening is by Phoenix being tasked to hunt down Seraphina but eventually developing begrudging respect for her when Seraphina keeps managing to slip away and outwit her. And things develop from there.
- However Zotz finds out about it eventually and possesses Phoenix, forcing her to kill Seraphina.
- Phoenix is sent to the mines as punishment for her disobedience, in addition to that she is being manipulated and gaslighted by Zotz to believe that what happened was her fault. That she is a monster and that this never would have happened if she wasn't so weak and gave in to her emotions.
- Over the years Phoenix suppresses her memories of Seraphina out of grief and shame, falling further and further under Zotz's manipulation in her vulnerable state. Eventually becoming the cruel and heartless vampyrum we know.
- Fast forward the events of Gone Batty play out unchanged, but things do take a turn in Eclipsed. This time instead of jealousy over Melody being a threat to her claim over Goth, Phoenix has more issues with Melody directly. Mainly the fact everything about her is reminding her of Seraphina, thus digging up those old painful memories and slowly driving her insane.
- Eventually she can't take it anymore and corners Melody, fully intending to kill her and bury that part of her past once and for all. The above scene happens. (I imagine Melody must have somehow lost her pendant during that time.)
- After some time of avoiding Melody, Phoenix eventually comes to the full conclusion that yes Melody is Seraphina's reincarnation, creating a huge inner conflict for her. She wants to remain loyal to Zotz but she also can't ignore her heart and can't bring herself to endanger Seraphina once more. She eventually makes up her mind to remain at a distance emotionally but still look out for Melody and make sure she at least gets out of this whole mess unharmed.
- From then on Phoenix splits her time following Zotz's plan and making sure nothing happens to Melody. Meanwhile Melody does try to confront her about what happened and why Phoenix is following her around now but doesn't seem to have any intent of hurting her again. However Phoenix avoids giving any straight answers and tries to remain abrasive.
- The two of them do slowly build a bit of a tentative companionship, but it's still rocky due to what happened, Melody's compassion is what keeps things together in that regard. However things start heating up as the eclipse is nearing and Zotz most definitely wants Melody dead. Thus Phoenix is left with no choice but to try and convince Melody to leave the jungle.
- The rest is still unclear due to the fanfic itself having not gone much further yet and again some lack of information. Like Goth could have a more villainous role in this AU, if all his kindness stems from his relationship with Seraphina in a past life, then the lack of it now would make him more evil and so a main antagonist for this AU. I can also imagine Karma figuring out something is fishy about Phoenix and starting to follow her, thus becoming a bigger antagonist herself as she would be all too ready to throw Phoenix under the bus to raise her own status in Zotz's eyes and basically replace Phoenix as his favorite. So yeah there is definitely a lot of possibilities.

This is all I got so far tho, I admit this whole thing is basically a huge character study for Phoenix as I do quite enjoy going into the psychological aspect of characters. Tho in this case it also leads to a bit of a darker story than the original fanfic. I just think this has potential, tho of course I very much love the original story as it is and I am still all aboard the MelodyXGoth ship. But I just wanted to explore this route to see how it might play out.

So y'all enjoy this bat art before I fall into bugtopia again.

P.S. Anna I'm so sorry if I just accidentally launched a crackship with this.

Gone Batty, Melody and this version of Phoenix (c)
Silverwing series (c) Kenneth Oppel