Chanyeol is a college student by day and an underground mini-bot combatant by night. Obsessed with adrenaline and the thrill of competition, he enages in illegal, high-stakes battles in the slums of the city under the alter ego of Phoenix. He employs the advanced neural tech he invented (the titular Sagittarius) to control his bot, something that is not allowed by the rules of the mini-bot combat ring. A chance encounter with the enigmatic Longwei, founder of the League, promises an invitation to elite competitions—but at what cost?
Sagittarius is a finished EXO Real-Person Fic that was written by arias-of-the-snow in 2016 and is hosted on both Wattpad (read it here
) and Archive of Our Own (read it here).
See Reminiscencia for a rather similar EXO fic by arias-of-the-snow.
Tropes:
- 20 Minutes into the Future: While it's never mentioned the year in which the story takes place, the setting is identical to Korea during the mid-2010s except for how much more advanced robotics and technology are. For one, college students, prodigious as they might be, are capable of developing stuff like force shields and brainwave-synchronizing tech.
- Allegory Adventure: Sagittarius is a pseudo crossover with Big Hero 6. The author mentions that she got the inspiration for the basic setting from the beginning scene of that movie (the one in which Hiro participates in illegal robot fights and gets arrested, along with his brother Tadashi, for it). Here, Chanyeol is also introduced as a robotics genius who, out of boredom, uses his neurally synchronized technology (micro and minibots, anyone?) to earn a lot of money in illegal robot combat rings. Incidentally, they are both introduced fighting an overconfident, bulky opponent whom they trick. Baekhyun shares shallow similarities with Tadashi, as both scold their friend/brother because they want them to use their genius for something productive. Other similarities include the tech fair the characters participate in to promote their inventions for commercial/governmental use. Also, the use of self-made armor during their adventures. Finally, although for differing reasons, there's a time in Chanyeol/Hiro's life in which Baekhyun/Tadashi is not available, which prompts him to invent Sagittarius/Baymax. Since, other than advanced tech, the setting scores low on the Sliding Scale of Like Reality Unless Noted, it's likely Big Hero 6 exists as an animated film in-universe as well.
- Animal Motifs: Lynx, a recurring but minor character, has a robotic panther as his mini-bot. His combat style relies on agility and he is described as moving very gracefully. He certainly embodies many feline traits.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: This is the central theme of the fanfic. Chanyeol, an adrenaline junkie, got caught up in the glory of the League and mini-bot battles to the point of feeling euphoric about having been invited to the legendary League instead of being suspicious about the suspicious men who approached him at night and seemed to know everything about him. Competing in the League, however, can and will (in Kyungsoo and Baekhuyn's cases) leave you financially ruined as it's nothing but a scam to swindle young, naive tech geniuses out of their inventions.
- Catchphrase: Chanyeol's go-to answer in the face of a challenge, especially one issued by either the League's Master or Aldebarán, is a defiant "¿Por qué estaría aquí, si no?" (lit. "Why else would I be here?"). On occasion, he's uttered a variant, such as ¿Y para qué se supone que iba a competir, si no?" (lit. "And what else was I supposed to compete for?").
- Color-Coded Characters: All mini-bot combatants craft their own armors with leather and metal plates. The color of the materials used serves to distinguish them from one another, as each endeavors to stand out. This also applies to their mini-bots.
- Chanyeol is Phoenix. His suit is made of gold platings and red leather (for all he is morally gray, Red Is Heroic). On top of that, his armor also fits his Red Hot Masculinity—he's a Straight Gay with a messy room and very stereotypically masculine interests (robotics and tech).
- Aldebarán's suit is made of blue leather and silver platings. Blue Is Heroic and he's ultimately trying to dismantle Golden Dragon, the villainous corporation behind the League that steals the combatant's tech.
- Master Longwei, founder of the League, has a Red and Black and Evil All Over color scheme; blood red plating and leather plus a heavy black cape. Chanyeol's narration notes he looks like a video-game Big Bad, which is actually foreshadowing of his nefarious intentions.
- Comedic Hero: For all that Chanyeol is a robotics genius, crafting a neural wave-synchronizing technology as his college scholarship project, he's an absolute ditz at anything else. Escaping a police raid? While he manages to think quickly and sneak out through the bathroom window, he gets caught and can't come up with a convincing lie to explain why he is wandering the city's slums at three in the morning; which gets him summarily thrown in the police station lockup for a night. It's only by playing a (more) idiotic persona and disposing of his combatant gear that he manages to avoid charges. Then, when it comes to confronting Golden Dragon, he charges in recklessly without a plan and it's only because Bakhyun was already trying to expose it and then rushes to save him that he earns his happy ending.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Lynx might be all for stealing technology from foolish sods who also happen to be robotics genius, but he draws a line at murdering two people just because they unveiled what the League truly is about. As a result, when Longwei orders him to burn an old industrial warehouse with Baekhuyn and Chanyeol trapped there, he pretends to obey, only to linger long enough to free them.
- Lovable Rogue: Chanyeol is an adrenaline junkie who competes in illegal mini-bot combat rings not because he's hurting for money (although he's not going to reject it either) but for the thrill of the win and a desire to spice his life up. As a couple of characters point out to him, those must be the dumbest, most egotistical reasons to risk expulsion from college. Fortunately for Chanyeol, he's such a Comedic Hero—on top of an actual good person when it matters—, that readers find him likable and entertaining.
- One-Word Title: The fic is simply titled Sagittarius after the ninth sign of the Western Zodiac and Chanyeol's neural-sync technology, which he uses to direct his bot without a remote control.
- Scary Impractical Armor: Most mini-bot combatants show up obscuring their identity in some manner. While for most a mask and hoodie suffice, the most famous ones, such as Phoenix and the ones accepted into the League, appear in self-made, shiny armor and helmets made of metal and leather that look very impressive. Unfortunately, Chanyeol is quick to discover they are rather cumbersome when one wants to flee the police.
- Secret Identity Vocal Shift: Since mini-bot combat rings are illegal, all the fighters and judges use some sort of headgear or mouthpiece that distorts their voice to make it sound robot-like, which is very thematically fitting. They also adopt some sort of alias to further obscure their identities. This is more evident in the most seasoned fighters' case, as they put on flashy, leather-and-metallic armors as well.
- Sliding Scale of Like Reality Unless Noted: The fic's setting is that of a late 2010s Korea, but with the addition of high-tech robotics so advanced that talented college students can invent stuff like Deflector Shields and neuro-synchronizing robots for their final projects.
- Two-Person Love Triangle: Chanyeol's unresolved sexual tension with Aldebaran reaches an abrupt peak soon after they meet. Between the former's hero idolatry and crush on the latter due to being a daring, highly-skilled mini-bot fighter, and the truth behind the latter's identity as none other than Baekhyun, the attraction is immediate. Baekhyun, who has had hopes of becoming Chanyeol's Childhood Friend Romance, is jealous in the background.
- Unified Naming System: All the important mini-bot combatants have picked an alias related to the Western Zodiac, related minor constellations, and the stars found in them. The protagonist is Phoenix (a minor constellation), his love interest is Aldeberán (a star in the Taurus constellation), Do Kyungsoo becomes Hydra in the ring, and a couple of minor antagonistic combatants are Lynx and Mizar (after the Ursa Major). Furthermore, Chanyeol's neural-synchronizing tech is called Sagittarius, the ninth zodiac sign.
- Zodiac Motifs:
- Despite his mini-bot combatant alias being Phoenix, Chanyeol's name for his Sagittarius tech describes him much better. He's reckless, freedom-loving, and very adventurous. After all, he crafted his combat mini-bot solely to chase the euphoria and adrenaline of winning. Moreover, when he confronts the villains, he does so with not much of a plan. Due to his alias, he also has a very minor metaphoric association with flames.
- Aldebarán is the brightest star in the Taurus constellation and, also, Byun Baekhuyn's mini-bot combatant alias. This is very pragmatic in his approach to both mini-bot fights and dismantling the League and Golden Dragon. The fact that he's fought his way to the top of the League twice, didn't let the villains' sabotage end him, and keeps insisting on making Chanyeol leave the League while he can will tell you he's stubborn to a fault. Also, the Taurus sign is associated with the Love Goddess Aphrodite, and he's Chanyeol's main love interest.
