#10 vyn cards

[themisimagines]

i could sleep inside the cold of you

inspired by: the 'aimed at your heart' vyn ssr card content: heavily draws upon catherynne m. valente's deathless, 2.5k of seduction & smut so buckle up characters: vyn, fem!reader optional background music: house of cards by bts; take me to church by hozier; religion by lana del rey; the anna karenina (2012) soundtrack

“A marriage is a private thing. It has its own wild laws, and secret histories, and savage acts, and what passes between married people is incomprehensible to outsiders. We look terrible to you, and severe, and you see our blood flying, but what we carry between us is hard-won, and we made it just as we wished it to be, just the color, just the shape.” - Catherynne M. Valente, Deathless

The long table is laid with a feast fit for a king. Platters heaped high with glistening honeyed confits, crisp crackling meat, steaming vegetables delicately braised, deep tureens of stew rich in marrow, an excess of riches, accompanied by what you believe are entire truffles, a sharp knife laid beside them for you to shave your desired portion onto your meal, black salt glistening darkly under the chandelier, in addition to a dish of black sturgeon eggs, like so many pearls gathered in a heap for your amusement. 

Entering the dining room on Vyn’s arm, you are shocked by the abundance, the sheer extravagance of it all. You are dressed in a floor length black gown painstakingly embroidered with gold thread, produced seemingly out of thin air by one of the maids, saying that Vyn has requested that you wear it this evening. The material is silky against your skin, making you shiver with every move. The emerald bracelet Vyn won at the Umir Festival is the perfect accompaniment. Vyn, is of course, impeccable in his smoking jacket and tailored trousers. 

‘Are we expecting guests?’ You ask Vyn incredulously, staring at the food. ‘Surely Mr. Wechsler was confused.’ 

‘Not at all. But I believe I once made you a promise that you would never go hungry.’ 

‘Don’t be ridiculous, Vyn, we’ll hardly be able to finish this on our own.’ 

‘My beloved, whatever we cannot finish, I promise that I will allow you to take down to the soup kitchen to feed the hungry populace. Such a role is fitting for the lady of this house, after all.’ 

‘I’m hardly the lady of the house yet,’ you mutter, flushing red at the implication. 

‘Before you launch into another complaint about how you don’t deserve such wonderful treatment, may I propose something, my lady?’ Vyn stops at the door and looks quite seriously down at you from the gold rims of his glasses. You turn your face upwards, marvelling in how beautifully his silver hair frames his face, the way his gaze seems to strip you completely bare. 

‘I’ll allow it,’ you say. ‘What do you propose?’ 

‘Do you trust me?’ Vyn asks. 

Your mind flashes back to earlier in the day, during the hunt. Your bodies pressed up against each other, drawing the bow and nocking the arrow. His quiet instructions in your ear, your breath, held for so long you almost grew dizzy, and then, the blur of victory after, shattering the intimate moment. 

‘Yes,’ you say at length. ‘I do trust you.’ 

‘Then I propose that we play a little game. There is no need for you to speak tonight. Whatever you eat will be fed from my hand. Give yourself to me completely, and trust me to take care of you. If you feel uncomfortable at any point, you can say our safe word.’ 

You stare into his eyes, and he stares back, a small smile playing at the corners of his lips. You nod once, slowly. An assent to his conditions. The game has begun. 

‘Excellent. Your decisiveness is one of the things I most admire about you. And just once, could you say our safe word, before we embark on this little journey together?’ 

‘Pomegranate,’ you say, lips parting to let it slide out in a whisper. 

‘Very good, my beloved.’ Vyn guides you to where the food awaits, seating you on his right hand side, while he takes the seat at the head of the table. ‘I remember peeking at the suppers my grandmother used to host here. My grandfather would sit at the head of the table, here, while my grandmother sat all the way down there, at the end of the table, both of them as far apart from each other as they could get. The length of the table being a gesture of power, to be sure, but hardly conducive for marital harmony. I believe they even ate like that when they didn’t have guests, or took meals apart. So much nicer to sit together like this, no?’ 

You almost open your mouth to say something or ask a question, but Vyn silences you with a finger on your lips. 

‘I would not be asking you to do this if it was easy, my love, I know it is difficult for you. But we are nurturing this fledgling trust you have placed in me, and the game has just started.’ 

You watch Vyn’s slow, careful movements as he tears a hunk of golden bread and dips it in olive oil and black salt, the crumb flecked with herbs. He feeds you the morsel gently, telling you about the special wheat used in making the bread and the fields in Svart where it grows. You listen with rapt attention as his voice carries on, moving from dish to dish. As he promises, he feeds you every first bite with his own fingers, their tips gently grazing against the corners of your mouth, leaving your skin tingling and yearning for more. 

Your mouth is filled with rich flavours of cream and wild fowl, preserves and pickles, salt and fat, acid and heat. Vyn keeps up the one-sided conversation, reading your mind to say your answers for you, his low tones sending a shiver up your spine. The wine makes your head light and airy. As the meal comes to a close, Vyn feeds you a last mouthful of dessert, his long index finger swiping away a trail of honey from the corner of your mouth. A burst of words comes from you as you impulsively grab his wrist and then place a kiss directly in the palm that has been feeding you all evening. 

‘I love you, Vyn,’ you barely whisper, voice hoarse. 

Vyn extracts his hand and gives a loud sigh, standing up from the table. ‘You were doing so well, my darling. Like Orpheus, who turned back just at the very last minute and lost Eurydice, so have you lost our little game.’ 

His eyes are dark, but with a distinct sense of amusement and mischief behind them. ‘Had you won, your prize would have been a fairytale ending, where I swept you off your feet and carried you to the fireplace in the hall, where a magical bower of furs and pillows have been prepared, and you would have sweet love made to you all night—’

‘I don’t care about fairytale endings,’ you interrupt Vyn, standing and moving toward him, a defiance in your tone calculated to push him off the edge, to turn his beautifully crafted game on its head. 

Vyn growls and then pounces on you, lips seeking yours harshly, in an attempt to punish you. You kiss him back just as fiercely, biting his lip and drawing blood, smearing it over both your bottom lips, the taste of iron and salt with the sweet still lingering on your tongues. He pushes you both back onto the table, until your legs are wrapped against it and your spine is bent backwards, dress sliding upwards until your thighs are visible. 

When he pulls away, it is to admire how rumpled he has left you, how wanting. Your hair is loosened from its carefully piled topknot, lying curled and ragged around your face, which still bears a slight trace of his blood. Your chest, heaving, the tops of your breasts exposed. Legs slightly spread to accommodate his waist, his face looming over yours as if he is about to devour you. 

‘Since you seem to be evading my best attempts at seduction, I cannot promise I will be gentle,’ he warns with a smirk. 

‘Maybe that was my intention all along,’ you make an effort to retort, although you are aware of how vulnerable a position you are in. 

Vyn pushes the dishes off the table, everything landing in a loud clatter on the floor. 

‘Vyn!’ You exclaim, turning to look at the food, but he lifts you up onto the table, then pushes your dress upwards around your hips, ripping aside your flimsy underwear. You are about to say something in protest, but then his mouth is on you, trailing heated kisses along your inner thighs, hot breath making you squirm even as he keeps a vice-like grip on your hips. When he licks a hot, wet stripe up the length of your cunt, you cry out in pleasure, spine curving upwards to get more of it. 

‘Hm, you seem to be enjoying yourself,’ Vyn pauses to comment. ‘Should I continue?’ 

‘I will never forgive you if you stop now,’ you pant, and then reach down to encourage his head back between your legs. 

He laughs, then applies himself fully to the task, tongue endlessly swirling, and then thrusting inside, all while your hands are twined in his hair, tugging so hard that you are briefly afraid that you have hurt him. He doesn’t show any sign of discomfort, diligently licking and sucking until you are so close to coming, your body a tightly wound mass of nerves. You catch his eyes flicking up to watch your reactions, and just as you are about to come, he pulls away, wiping his mouth away on his sleeve and grinning viciously. You cry out at the sudden loss of heat, writhing in distress. 

‘Don’t you think you deserve some punishment for ruining our evening? You didn’t think it was going to be that easy, did you?’ He hisses, then pulls you toward him, forcing you to turn around. Disoriented from the disrupted orgasm and sudden movement, you flail for a moment, then hear the clink of Vyn removing his belt behind you. He grabs your hands and holds them together, using his belt to wrap your wrists snugly, but not too tight. Before anything else happens, he leans forward to where your face is, brushes your hair gently aside to whisper in your ear, ‘Pomegranate?’ 

You shake your head desperately. ‘Good girl,’ he tells you, stroking your hair. 

Then the brief moment of tenderness quickly passes as Vyn grabs your hips, your face sliding across the polished wood of the table and ass sticking up in the air, your cunt completely exposed, only your legs holding you up. Unable to see what’s going on behind you, you can only tremble in anticipation, the feel of Vyn’s hands roughly positioning you so he can enter you. 

His first thrust is not at all gentle, burying him to the hilt in your hot, slick cunt. You both cry out from the fullness, at how ready your cunt is for him. 

‘Look at you clenching around me, such a needy, desperate little slut,’ Vyn purrs, painfully dragging out his first few thrusts so that despite your limited range of movement, you are squirming and begging for more. 

‘More,’ You beg. ‘Please, Vyn, I need more.’ 

‘You will get more when I decide you deserve more,’ Vyn warns, slowing his hips even more, the promise of more friction hanging just out of reach. ‘It’s my turn to enjoy myself.’ 

You cry out in frustration, and are met with a ringing slap on your ass, the pain tingling deliciously. 

‘Can’t be helped,’ he sighs, pretending that you have forced him to this point, when you can tell that it is taking all of his own self-control not to just thrust into you with wild abandon. ‘You’re forcing me to play my hand, you naughty little thing. Do you want to see me lose control?’ 

He punctuates the last sentence with a vicious thrust, going deeper than before and making you squeal. The sound makes him stop, and he reaches beside you for a napkin. 

‘I think we need to work on your silence,’ Vyn says, hips still moving gently while his hands have left your hips and are doing something else. He leans down, pressing his weight against you and hand coming toward your face with the folded napkin. 

‘Open your mouth,’ he tells you, then puts the napkin delicately between your teeth. ‘Now, bite down. If you let the napkin fall, I can only assume it is because you intend on using our safe word, and in any event, that would mean our little game is over. If you want to continue, your only choice is to behave yourself.’ 

You bite down on the cloth napkin, and Vyn cocks his head sideways to look at your trapped face, giving you a wink before returning to his position behind you. He starts off with slow thrusts again, searching for the right angle, hips snapping leisurely into your ass, the sound of skin on skin turning you on more, if that was even possible. Your soft moans are muffled by the napkin, which is slowly soaking with saliva. 

‘Such a good girl,’ Vyn cooes as he thrusts deeply and you give a low, dull moan, trying to stifle your noises. ‘Let’s see how you do under more difficult conditions.’ 

He reaches down to grasp a handful of your hair, pulling your head upwards so that your spine is arched like a bow, and begins moving faster, each thrust of his cock a blinding shaft of light in equal parts pain and pleasure. If anyone were to walk in on you both right now, or even listen in on what was happening, they would hear a symphony of moaning, Vyn growling to tell you what a good girl you are, how well you are taking his cock, as if you were made for him. Your hands behind your back, back impossibly arched as he grips onto your hair, subject to the pleasure that is invading every part of your body. 

Vyn’s thrusts grow harder and more needy, and your cunt has begun to spasm, craving sweet release. 

‘I want to see your face when I make you cum,’ He rasps, and then pulls out, flipping you effortlessly onto your back, hair spilling out in all directions. Your arms are crushed behind your back, but the pain of your stretching shoulder joints is welcome, only adding to your pleasure. He is stretched out on top of you, mouth hungry, diving for your breasts, teasing your nipple with his tongue, hand reaching down to rub your clit in agonising circles, then slipping back inside you and groaning at the sensation. You cling on to the napkin for dear life, terrified that if you drop it, he might really stop, and leave you empty and wanting, just like that. 

But Vyn doesn’t stop. His eyes locked onto your face, he rubs your clit ceaselessly as he pounds into you, again and again in a vicious, desperate pace. 

‘Come for me, my love,’ he whispers, and like that, you are undone, waves of pleasure crashing through your body as your cunt clenches, legs shaking from the effort. A few more hard thrusts and Vyn joins you, thrusting deeply inside you one last time and then collapsing, his cock still throbbing as it fills you with cum. 

He only allows himself a few moments before quickly sitting you up to undo the restraints around your wrist, examining them for chafing, pressing a light kiss to each one when he finds you perfectly well and unharmed. 

‘Was I too rough?’ Vyn asks, hurrying to hand you his jacket. You shake your head, a mischievous grin on your face as you refuse to drop the napkin between your teeth. He blushes and removes it. You stretch your jaw a few times, which is slightly sore from clenching so hard, but will be fine in a few moments. 

‘Please, Vyn, I would have used the safe word if I was being hurt.’ You reassure him. ‘The only thing I regret is that I’m probably too tired to go through all that again.’ 

‘Too tired?’ Vyn’s smirk returns. ‘I hope not. There’s still a fireplace and a floor full of furs waiting for us.’ 

In the blink of an eye, you are swept up in his arms, and he is carrying you to the door, like a bride over the threshold of her new home. He hasn’t even bothered to put on any clothes, trousers long forgotten, and his dress shirt hanging loose. 

‘Vyn,’ you say, an idea suddenly coming into your mind. ‘You knew I wouldn’t be able to keep quiet, didn’t you?’ 

‘I will neither confirm nor deny my initial hypothesis,’ Vyn says. ‘But let’s just say, the outcome was above and beyond what I expected.’ 

As he carries you to the hall and the fireplace, two of his fingers have secretly slipped into your cunt once again, and you sneak a glance at him, grinning. 

[vynegar]

"Albie" (main story 11-21)

At the end of Episode 11 (Part 1), we find out that "Albie" is simply a name that Vyn made up on the spot when Rosa asked. He may have been inspired by his own birth name, Vilhelm Richard Albert de Haspran.

In Chinese, Vyn choose the name "阿明". "阿" is a prefix used to form nicknames, "明" can be a name but also means "bright, clear". In Vyn's Romantic Rail Getaway card "Food for Thought", he tells us the meaning of his name:

You can see the character 明 appear in the word 明亮 ("bright"), although 明 is such a common character that I wouldn't say that this Chinese text alone is enough is sufficient evidence to show the connection between the two names. It's the way that the "Albie" and "阿明" happen to coincide in the name "Albert", which made me take note of Vyn's "careless" choice in name.

If the Chinese name was intended to subtly reference "Albert", I can certainly imagine imagine this as one way to preserve that reference through translation, even if it becomes more obvious. We do have an example of the translation preserving plot-relevant wordplay in a name: Lowe Leare ("Lowly"), originally 萧仁 ("小人", both pronounced "xiao ren" but with different tones). However, there's also an incident of a plot-relevant name being missed through translation, though it was in an event (not the main story) that probably foreshadowed a distant plot point and had infamously bad translation issues.

Anyway, it remains possible that "Albie" is a coincidence. However, after Vyn and Rosa wrap up their conversation about Albie's name, the narration makes a comment on the importance of that moment:

It isn't until the whole case is settled that you are surprised to realize something... You had briefly touched on the key to cracking the case at this very moment.

...which at least gives me enough confidence to not feel silly writing up a whole post about it. We've only seen part of this case, and there's a lot of mystery still surrounding Vyn's behavior so I don't have any definitive hypotheses on why Vyn might have chosen his own name for Albie. Is there something that made Vyn seen himself in Albie? Did the delinquent's attitude remind Vyn of the cruel, stratified world that he was born in? Is he reminded of how people who have imperfections will be tossed aside and abandoned? I guess we'll see when part 2 of this episode is released.

[salt-and-vynegar]

[pendr4gonz]

i got this game like 2 days ago What happened here. is this where my lovebrush luck went to

[avian-hearts]

i've never been this Lucky with vyn cards before,,,,,,,,,,,,

[papaziggy-devblog]

nsfw alphabet for Vyn?

And here we go .w.

Alphabet under the cut~

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex) Man is all about that physical affection and words of affirmation… He's cuddling and coddling you, massaging your sore bits, telling you how good you did and calling you all sorts of sweet things, his lips more often than not peppering your forehead and cheeks

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s) Neck… That boi is licking and biting and kissing it every chance he gets

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically) Thick and heavy, mildly salty, pumps out enough that you'll definitely feel it a good while after

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs) If you're in a relationship he steals your shirts to use when he's… having fun ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Usually cause they have your smell on them… I'll like just… drape it over his face and go at it

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?) A little bit of experience, he hasn't had many partners, like one or two, but he definitely knows what he's doing

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying) Sideways… When you're both laying on your sides with your back against his chest, him lifting your leg up n all that

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.) Goofy in the beginning sometimes, but he gets more serious once things are getting hot and heavy

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.) He trims but he has a bit of a happy trail and a bit of hair down there, he washes regularly though

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect) It all depends on the mood… He loves making you all blushing and flustered and getting into the moment if that's the vibe at the time

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon) He doesn't do it too much when he's not in a relationship… But when he is in one or he's interested in someone, usually twice a day minimum

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks) Breeding, Bondage, Dirty talk, Words of affirmation, Man loves to drag his tongue all over you, biting, fingering, begging, oral (Both giving and receiving), recording/photos, degradation, etc..

L = Location (favorite places to do the do) Sneaky places… Bathrooms, the back room of the bar he works at, behind buildings… He likes the risk factor

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going) Touch is a big one for him.. and he loves being teased and taunted… Know he's working? Send him dirty pics when he can't do anything about it… By the time he gets home the man's fixin' to snap

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs) All the usual no's

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.) He likes giving and receiving equally… as for skill like… 7.5-8/10? He's got the tongue for it and it's pierced :)

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.) He prefers rough a little bit more, but he's fine with either

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.) Loves a good quickie from time to time, especially if its somewhere you shouldn't be doing it :)

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.) 100% yes

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?) Can go for like… a good 3-4 rounds… He's got good control too so he can get you to finish a couple times at least before he does

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?) He doesn't really own any toys, but he isn't opposed to using them

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease) Man LOVES to tease… He'll tease and taunt you until you're crying as you beg :)))

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.) Lots of noise… Groans and grunts, moaning, either dirty talk or words of encouragement depending on the mood

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character) Gets off BIG time on hearing you moan his name, he'll tell you to repeat it again and again… Order you to tell him who you belong to… that kinda stuff

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes) 8.5 inches, his body is pretty lean

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?) When not interested in someone it's pretty low… When he is it skyrockets

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards) Usually up coddling you for at least an hour or so or until you fall asleep

[laciefuyu]

//TW Server

I guess he wants to be forgiven for dragging me all the way to 80 pulls for his 4th bday card in glb (10 pulls for 5th Bday!)

I'll read after I finish reread Artem's Cowboy Card, Okie? XD

Cards that come home in 10 pulls in TW server so far beside Vyn 5th Bday:

(Now Marius I am still holding a grudge that 70 pulls for 4th Anniv but you refuse to come home >:( )

[leastdatablebracket]

ROUND 3, MATCH 7

Propaganda under the cut!

Vyn Richter

Propaganda

hes just genuinely really manipulative and shady, like he is a walking red flag. the first time u see him in the game's dream-like prologue, its when hes taking u out of a hypnotic trance. and he says, and i quote, "that may have been a dream, but this may not be reality" WHAT?? plus the way he treats his patients (hes a psychiatrist) bothers me. to quote the wiki about a 10 year old boy, "Vyn Richter discovered after reassessment that Huey did not meet the diagnostic criteria for autism, but rather had learned to use the diagnosis as a defense mechanism to avoid social interaction." hes just gross and i wouldn't trust him with a pet fish, much less an autistic child (or myself! an autistic adult!)

Vyn IS manipulative af, but he's also overall a irresponsible doctor? It is said that he's pretty successful and apparently his methods work, but he divulges private information of his patients, especially to the MC. In his personal story Vyn allows the MC to visit one of his patients (a dancer who is very unstable and totally not up to see a random girl) who don't even know each other and with no authorization whatsoever. There's also this card's story where he exposes the MC to a violent and unstable patient. While I haven't read that story myself, I know Vyn takes a hit trying to protect the MC, the illustration being his arm with blood. iirc the MC then bandages his arm but still, why would you expose her like that? He also says he likes the MC because she doesnt feel shallow, or not like other people, which is basically giving different and new answers to his funky psychological tests. He has no reason to do that. It's not even an "i can fix him" situation bc none of these things are ever acknowledged not even as problems

Rock

Propaganda

He is just.. so useless. 

Rock is such a fuck boiiiiiii. He's lazy as can be and flat out tells the farmer upon proposing that he will not work under any circumstances, and is truly one of the only marriage canidates in the game who won't help the farmer with any chores once they start living together. He's also really stupid, and not in a cute himbo kind of way. More like straight up irritating. He also tries to have this playboy charm about him, but it comes across as being more sleazy than anything. For a character that does nothing but talk about how awesome he is, there is NOTHING about him that backs it all up lol

[surely-galena]

ToT Main Story 10 Thoughts/Commentary (Part 3)

[1] [2] [3] [4]

Whoa MC!! It's really easy to forget that she's got experience in drama/theater because it's mostly in the card stories (Artem's 1st birthday, SSR Por Una Cabeza), but she definitely hasn't lost her touch because she's still a good actress!

(Actually, more about acting later. That's why there are four parts to this HAHA.)

But in the moment, even in the stress, she's still able to believably act as if she's turning on Vyn, as if she doesn't know him, as if she is perfectly capable of killing him. Even if she was just in a near-death situation, she's really good at keeping her cool. MC/Rosa is definitely not to be underestimated.

Ah, the NSB is coming up again. I'm still not really sure how I feel about their involvement (I'm still suspicious), but I guess they're probably the best people for this sort of task.

Okay, this last line really struck me.

"Truths may not only be exposed in the light. Sometimes, the truths in the shadows will have greater value."

As the main story has progressed, we have slowly edged closer and closer into darker territory -- the shadows, if you will.

I always come back to main story 6 when I think about this because that was our first ever episode without a trial at the end. That was also the first one where MC was directly involved in a near-death experience with the main villain and one where it was difficult to truly bring the truth "in the light" because everything was just so messy. It was difficult to salvage the pieces of main story 6 and bring it to justice, because there wasn't anyone left to bring to justice at that stage.

So it makes sense that MC and the NXX Investigation Team are probably going to go into even darker areas, not necessarily for justice, because that's not quite the point here, but for truth. When they play it safe, it's harder to get the full story. Only when they step into the shadows can they really unravel everything that is going on.

Right, okay. I'm... kind of confused by Jerome's mixed signals. We know he's not to be trusted (especially with the scene near the end where he's reaching out to Brigid), but he also seems to be... dropping hints?

Does he want MC to figure out the truth? Is he deliberately setting a trap for the NXX by baiting them with information, like some kind of setup or long con? Jerome is still very much a mystery to me, but if there is one thing I can be certain of, it's that he's been gradually appearing more and more throughout the main story. I don't doubt we're going to be seeing more of him as the mystery continues to unravel.

It's been a while since I've seen her sprite, but Matthew bears a very strong resemblance to Jill/Reina Richter (I think it's Reina now, right?). It's cool seeing the artist incorporate common details between biologically-related characters (e.g. Marius & Giann & Austin, Artem & Kimberly).

Ohh. The Richters are getting involved? Okay, so maybe Vyn does have more stakes in the situation than the missing NXX members.

-

Truth and Heroism

A mini segment about some themes I've been mulling over (in relation to ToT).

I feel like a lot of the VNs I've been thinking about lately have been talking about truth and apparently ToT main story 10 is no exception to that. I think it's important that in MC's pursuit of the truth, she does stop and remind herself that truth can be cruel in the moment. There may be even more horrifying things in store for her and the NXX Investigation Team. But even as they edge closer and closer to painful answers, they have to see everything through to the end. Even if it hurts. Even if things turn out to be worse than they ever imagined.

And then this last bit struck me because in a way, the NXX Investigation Team are heroes. They're a little glorified because MC is part of that team and also all the guys are love interests, but with MC, they've been helping to bring justice to Stellis or learn more about the greater plot.

But Brad Gries is different, because he's just some guy who doesn't even have a sprite, who thought that something had to be done in order to avoid a worse thing happening. And he's dead, and it wasn't a pretty way to go, and that's apparently case closed on main story 10 (final scene aside). There's something tragic about that. Maybe, in a way, Brad is somewhat of a microcosm of the people of Stellis. People who are fighters -- people who hope for things to happen or not happen, people who MC tries so hard to help and bring justice to. People who aren't always saved. People who don't get to see justice in their lifetime.

[sinful-liesel]

Tears of Themis: Stackable Figures, OST Giftboxes, & New/Re-Run Merch GO

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[lydskisses]

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➡️ ETA: Late December 2023

➡️ Payment Deadline: 2 June 2023, 18:00 SGT

💖 Purchase Bonus: For every 100 yuan spent, you can choose one bonus from the following: (a) a Character Polaroid 3-pc Set, (b) a Character Lenticular Card, (c) a 4-pc clear card set, (d) 4-of Bookmark Set.

Re-run merch do not add towards the purchase bonus.

✅ DM to order:

・Acrylic Shikishi Empyrean Ver. SGD$15/ea

・Oval Can Badge Empyrean Ver. SGD$7/ea

・Vyn Series Glitter Can Badge SGD$7/ea

・Vyn Series Acrylic Shikishi SGD$15/ea

・Vyn Series Acrylic Display SGD$18.90/ea

・Chibi Sweet Dreams Keyholder SGD$12/ea

・Chibi Sweet Dreams Notebook (11.5 x 8 x 1 cm) SGD$9/ea

・OST Commemorative Metal Pin (4.7 x 4 cm) SGD$12.90/ea

・Acrylic Magnet Display SGD$13/ea

・Acrylic Display Beach Ver. SGD$18.90/ea

・Round Can Badge Beach Ver. SGD$7.50/ea

・Long Can Badge Beach Ver. SGD$7/ea

・Quicksand Glitter Acrylic Art (15 x 10 cm) SGD$23.50/ea

・Stackable Dolls Full Set (of 4 Characters) SGD$85/box

・Stackable Dolls Character Set SGD$26/set

・OST Gift Box SGD$55/box

(Item may be heavy do take note!)

➡️ Re-run Merch (Preorder)

* Does not add towards the purchase bonus

・Round Can Badge Marriage Ver. SGD$7.50/ea

・Other Can Badges SGD$7/ea

➡️ Re-run Merch (While Stocks Last)

* Does not add towards the purchase bonus

・Too many to list. DM for prices. Recommend to let me know asap as they usually go out of stock immediately🥹

#mihoyo #tearsofthemis #artemwing #mariusvonhagen #lukepearce #vynrichter #otome #otomegames #未定事件簿 #陆景和 #莫奕 #夏彦 #左然

[chuluoyi]

Will you be taking part in the 3rd anniversary chu? :D

Who's cards are you aiming for? I'm guessing Marius and Luke?

Also also! I fav is vyn! Well he wasn't before but....i got struck with that white haired men disease so here we are :'D but I'm not complaining ��

♪ヽ(*´∀`)ﾉ

-🪻

i so am!🥹 i’m gathering the s chips as we speak :’) i realized i haven’t done main story chapter 11 and artem, marius and vyn’s blossom chapters yet so i’m farming a lot haha :’D how is your hunt for s chips, hyacinth nonnie?🥹

and yes! marius and luke come first in my list🥲 i’ll gacha artem/vyn only after i obtain both of them🥹 aside from vyn, do you have any other favorites??

i knooow the feeling!😭 bc i used to not like vyn but i started to like him ever since main story chapter 10-11 :’) he’s so cool actually i’m actually impressed

[foxandbird]

I was sad thinking that I wasn't going to be able to get this event Vyn's card because I am saving for another but I did a 10 pull with the free tears and then I got it and a other SSR!?!

[salt-and-vynegar]

hey, hope bakerlon's treating you well! i just wanted to ask you since you usually note things like this, have you seen any references to LIs' card stories during the event gameplay? tbh i've been tapping through/speed reading some of it so i'm sure i've missed some stuff, but i did screenshot the "wordless love letter" mentioned in a crystal research task (artem's card iirc) and i think there was sth earlier in the event story about an organization that would leave a sign/calling card (luke's card)...? --vynegar

@vynegar

Heyo!

Thank you for the ask! :)

I wish I had better news about Bakerlon. The pulls haven't been going well on my end, but it's the nature of the game, unfortunately. I'm 60 pulls in, and the only SSR I got was Vyn's Romantic Rail Getaway card from over a year ago. lol.

I don't have enough to go any further, so I have to call it.

For the Bakerlon event, there are references to the other LI's card stories! Most of them are under the Crystal Research parts of the event. Due to storage issues and being unfamiliar with the general event card stories, I've missed a few of them, but I have caught a couple.

There's a creator on Hoyolab that has compiled the general screenshots where the event references the stories, and I'll link it here. I'll throw it under the cut in case of spoilers.

Many thanks to Michellexylee from HoyoLab for compiling all the complete screenshots.

Luke's card story reference (A letter with a Twifoil Mark. Accompanying this reference is an explanation from the librarian about the Twifoil organization.)

Marius card story reference (A piece of paper with the words: Eris International Trade. In addition, there's an additional piece of dialogue - "Miss [Y/N], interview for office secretary at 2pm at 10 Shaudik Street.)

Vyn card story reference (An old book pulled from the utility closet with the title: Tellus Travelogue. In addition, there's an additional piece of dialogue Rosa says, "If the destination takes me to an unknown world, I'm willing to accept the invitation."

Artem's card story reference (A card found in the utility room that has a blank front, but has a handmade sketch of a rose in the back corner, along with a line of illegible words. Talking with Dr. Miller reveals that the card is a wordless love letter, one of the most romantic expressions of love. Wordless love letters say nothing and everything at the same time.)

[otomelavenderhaze]

HELLO FA HOW ARE YOU FEELING?????? ARE STILL ALIVE CAUSE FOR ONE AM DEAD!!!!! DEAD I TELL YOU

omg hoyo is blessing us marius looks so so slutty i cannot but also so cute cuddling rosa while they share a shirt????? i?? the duality of that man.

on another note how have you been doing? good luck with your anniv pulls sending you lots and lots of luck!!!!

HELLO GIRLY, TODAY WAS A BLESSED DAY WE NOT ONLY GOT A NEW WHOLE ANNIVERSARY SET BUT WE ALSO GOT THE PROPOSAL, I AM FERAL!!!!

They decorated a place to live with her 🥹💕 they gonna live together now 🥹💕 they're BANGING AGGRESSIVELY 🥹💕 happy birthday for us, honestly, we deserve it.

Rosa is a boss, she went ahead and tied Marius up and he DARES to SMILE LIKE THAT 🫣 and his face on the next day 🥺💜 he looks so happy and soft, AND TIRED 🔥🔥

I got actually so happy for them, it feels special right?? We saw them met, get to know one another, fall in love, confess, get through tough and thin, then the proposal and now living together 💜 if you wanna see more of my thoughts I posted so many about it already kkkkk

I am doing fine, how are you??? How your anniversary pulls went??

My went well!

I think it was around 60's pulls??? It came early, so I am now playing on Vyns just so I can get the name card, I am missing 10 pulls to get it, be free to play is hard but all I can do in this economy 😔

I hope yours went well!!!

[vynegar]

ch 10 liveblog

just the quick reactions i have while reading the chapter! updated as i go. i'm making a separate post for translation-related things, but that'll be posted when i finish the whole chapter

so for artem/mc interactions, he feels normally protective and careful of her but the awkwardness is still there he doesn't know if she's mad at him TT (immediately blocking her from view in the car!! and realizing now that he was so shocked because things were awkward between them!!!) also i'm gonna note his reasons for taking the case as close enough to the post-ch9 predictions

hmm artem's acting being SHIT in this chapter. clearly he can act when he wants to, so i'm interpreting this as him thinking the prankster is such a clown that he can half-ass this performance xDD

vyn on leave of absence w/o informing us... they really ARE functioning separately omg

also this guy thinking he has leverage over them with vyn. LMAO. i'm starting to see why vyn was so cruel with him in that screenshot

so bold of this to be in an artem-focused chapter. they knew what they were doing

wHAT????

oh ok he had me in the first half i'm not gonna lie

wait hang on this actually reminds me of artem personal story ch 1... maybe this whole separation charade thing is also to help develop mc's independence...? much to think about...

rhino horn spotted on the workbench in the investigation section! which reminds me, i should add a thing about that in the translation post for some added cultural/language context that non-chn speakers probably wouldn't catch

just screenshotting this since it feels important, as part of artem's philosophy of the role of a lawyer

omg the person who scratched marius is coming back as a plot point. also MARIUS <333

screenshotting the marius convo to think about later. is his other purpose for investigation luke and/or artem since they also got talismans? but i don't think he would know that, or at least he should be pretending he doesn't know in order to feign distance

omg that's another entry for the ch 10 translation post. why does marius keep getting shafted by the eng translation TT he keeps ending up harsher and more CEO-like (but the jp dub makes him sound softer so maybe it evens out? lmao)

the contrast of his appropriate distance at the detention center vs his insistent closeness when they seek out jonah zahn... add that to the theme of closing the distance from the first year of cards... nice nice very nice

a follow-up to his encouragement from ch 9 that mc could handle this?

also another patient of vyn's (or someone who sought treatment at his research center at least) who met a tragic end....

FELICIA LUO YOU ARE SUCH A GIRLBOSS FOR THIS

oh nooo )): jerome is like 100% framing felicia securely for this case. kind of ironic because he told her to go through all the trouble of making a show out of it to ensure justice for her husband, but then he went through so many hoops to frame her instead... also tot is kinda interesting in just how much public opinion affects how the cases play out. here felicia was told having the "curse" cause a stir was the only way to catch the true culprit, but another common thing in stories is the harassment that rosa and artem face as attorneys for high-profile cases... another thing to think about. court of public opinion and whatnot

ok hate to admit it but... AI voice kinda slayed that line. ladkfjadsfj vyn i'm so obsessed w you when you're on a warpath

oh u know that vyn secretly loves having rosa threaten him like this

this is what vyn haters THINK he's like. I FUCKING WISH

anyway. CONTINUED evidence of putting on a hostile performance. just wondering when we can get some answers

uhhhh so CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT bryan wing has connections to a secret auction where selling humans isn't off the table?? oh things are getting dark

i have no words...... first of all, writers turning THIS into a comedy moment with the clown bgm.... "capiche".....

LOL

i think another interpretation of artem's acting is that he's particularly good when it comes to being aggressive/arrogant/A. i like to believe all interpretations especially overly specific ones

vyn what the hell are you involved in that you have sway over something like this

OH WAIT??

PFFFFFTTTTT NO WAY ARE THEY USING THE CLASSROOM BACKGROUND FOR THE AUCTION 🤣🤣🤣 I CAN'T TAKE IT SERIOUSLY LIKE THIS VYN IS JUST ABOUT TO GO UP AND EXPLAIN THE PRIMACY EFFECT

ugghhh okay it's really getting good now but gotta sleep :// also might be translating some parts of vyn and ogier's convo (10-19) bc there are slight paraphrasings that i'd like to keep the original implications of

oh i was actually thinking about this during the scene... i'm sorry vyn i have failed u....

this entire scene feels very significant... another thing to go back and chew over...

the way i instinctively yelled "NO! >:(" at the screen

ROSA WHAT THE HELL KIND OF IDEA i know we readers have semi-omniscient pov but oh my god

nah there's still gotta be something with this report. maybe jerome lied. we can't just rule it out like this

ok so the black market drugs are still more like medicinal with severe side effects including hallucinations, while the traces on the cup had acute poisoning levels of NXX (just taking notes)

LUKE'S THROWING IT AWAY?? NOT EVEN KEEPING IT FOR EVIDENCE OR RECORDS OR WHATEVER?? AND DID YOU ALREADY TAKE THE MEDICINE?? (i feel like it's a psych-out but still??)

长命百岁。。。。。

oh hell yeah an entry for the translation post

hmmmm ok jerome is REALLY getting the potential-redemption/sympathy edit?? idk just this continued gentleness that they keep showing from him. i feel like it's going beyond the level of just "this villain is emotionally intelligent enough to garner allies and manipulate others"

VYN!!!!!!!1

god he's so insufferable (affectionate)

wait so vyn has talked to brigid too? ok so basically confirming that he's doing the aforementioned psychotherapy

wow vyn is really just the only therapist in stellis or sth

OH SHIT???????? HERE WE GOOOOOOOO

lasdljfks;alsdjf okay what a chapter. lots to think about and i need to process it. honestly i'm kinda tempted to just go directly into reading ch 11 since i can xDD