#i want what artem and rosa have

[walnutpeach]

[cn server content]

《Tears of Themis · 末定事件簿》

Fluffy Fuzzy Time｜甜寵萌心 ·下篇

(甜寵萌心 ·上篇 / vyn & luke here)

[queenie-avenue]

Before the sun rises, stay.

—> every part of you is beautiful, so let Artem cherish this moment more.

⤻reader is gender-neutral, fluff, mornings with artem, clingy artem, established relationship, sfw, no content warnings, reader can be seen as Rosa if you want to

🦋 ⤻ archives.

Artem was usually the early bird. Even during the weekends, he would get up at six o'clock right on the dot, not a minute less nor more. People called him a robot because of it, but he didn't see the value in dwelling on others' opinions, but yours? Artem felt on edge every time you glanced at him, and he could not help but wonder what was going on in your pretty little mind.

Do you find me too emotionless?

Do I show you I love you enough?

What would you like me to do?

Shall I do this? Shall I do that, instead? Will you love me more if I do?

Such thoughts plagued Artem Wing's mind often.

Which was probably why he was being like this right now, waking up a few minutes earlier than usual just to stare at your glorious face. It had become a habit.

A bit of sunlight pooled in through the cracks of the curtains that did not cover the window fully, illuminating your glorious face. Even now, as he lay in bed with you, Artem could not believe that he had gotten you — the love of his life — to fall in love with him. What did you see in him?

He reached out to your face in reverence and laid his hands on your soft cheek, caressing every bump or scar you could possibly have as he smiled. Once again, he could not help but wonder what he had done to deserve this.

He leaned in closer, observing every bit of your face; from your lashes to your lips that were chapped from the air conditioning, every part of you was perfect in Artem's eyes. He let out a shaky breath as he lay his head closer to yours, seeking comfort in the crook of your neck desperately. He breathed in your scent and let out a small groan, he really really hoped this was not some sort of dream or fantasy he would have to wake up from.

Suddenly, the alarm for six o'clock rang, and his eyes widened as you stirred in bed, eyes slowly fluttering open to Artem's bewilderment. He watched as your countenance shift from tiredness to adoration as your eyes met his.

Artem quickly shifted to turn the alarm off, never once leaving your side.

"Did I wake you up?" His raspy morning voice asked softly, not wanting to startle you too much so early in the morning.

"Good morning," you greeted first before answering him. "No, you didn't. The alarm did." You joked to him, to which he chuckled back and shook his head.

"I need to remember to turn off that alarm when I wake up next time." Artem scolded himself.

"No, no, it's fine. I need to get up anyway." You yawned, preparing to rise from the comfortable sheets of Artem's bed.

Surprisingly, though, two lean arms pull you downward.

"We don't need to arrive in the office so early today." Your eyes widened at your darling's words. Never before had you seen nor heard this disciplined man suggest the idea of being a tad bit late to the office, even if he wasn't required to clock in early. It seemed that Artem sensed your shock and blushed a deep shade of crimson. "I just thought that..." He started, his arms loosening on your body.

Upon realising the insecurity you inflicted onto Artem, you quickly wrapped your arms around him, returning his bear hug with a goofy grin.

"I just thought that we could spend more time before the sun properly rose." Said Artem, looking up at you for approval.

"That works." You smiled back as you eased into his hold.

This time, it was Artem's turn to flash a goofy smile as his grasp tightened again; not too harsh nor too soft, just enough so you would not be able to escape. He leaned in, his hot breath hitting your nape which caused a shiver to travel down your spine and before you could say anything else, Artem was already assaulting your neck with soft kisses and sweet words to your ears.

"I love you." Artem said as his laps dragged up from the side of your neck to your jaw, peppering excessive kisses — he didn't view it that way — against your skin. "I love you." He repeated again as his lips finally met yours.

"I love you too." You replied and Artem felt like all the weight on his shoulders just dispersed.

Artem looked down at you. You were perfect, that [e/c] shade of your eyes, the way your cheeks felt in his tough hands, the warmth of your body compared to his and the way you looked up at him with so much want yet with a hint of bashfulness.

It was like you were beckoning him to fall deeper into the rabbit hole that was you.

"I love you." He repeated breathily onto your lips as he pressed against them once again.

Not that he minded. He would gladly fall deeper for you if that was even possible.

"I love you more than anything." He promised.

"I love you, too." You giggled back, holding him closer to you. "I love you so much."

He wished that time could stop right now, just so he'd be able to cherish this moment — cherish you — for a longer period of time.

For now, as long as the sun was not fully in the sky, you were his to worship.

[skynapple]

I am actually tired that people keep comparing Artem and Zayne.

Look man I'm an Artem loyalist ok I went into the game thinking Zayne was going to be the one because from an outsider perspective, yeah.

Having spent countless hours in the game now...

Artem being work partners with MC, despite Artem's massive crush it's a slow burn colleagues to romance based on mutual trust and affection. By the time they're dating it's more a confirmation than a confession. With Zayne just from experience he's so reserved that it really almost feels like MC is the one pursuing him and always questioning herself about it. Business Trip makes me a little sad tbh cause yeah it ended well but it's so clear she wants a little bit more of that public casual affection.

They do both have reserved personalities but will surprise you

Artem can surprisingly be very fun and spontaneous and Zayne is extremely calculating and yes he'll go to arcade with MC but it's more just to watch her have fun and be in the same air as her, I think Artem and Rosa (MC) actually go to enjoy themselves and be a little competitive and have fun. From what I've seen Zayne prefers the planned dinner dates and itineraries or just cooking at home. One of his dates is literally... one of those work fairs with like tables and booths. Artem and Rosa's dates spawn the entirety of "grocery shopping and a movie at home" to "we randomly decided to enter a shooting tournament on a whim cause we were in the area"

Not afraid to be bold with affection (Artem freaking proposed at someone else's WEDDING omg Zayne could never I think he would die)

Artem never doubts or coddle MC's ability, complete faith and trust in her ability to protect herself (fortunately all the LaDS boys have this but of the ToT boys I know there's been moments the others kinda coddle her and are overprotective, and of the 4 ToT Artem is hands down the first to say 'Go on without me you can handle this.' You can fight me on this. If you have doubts the last Mystery Little Boss event was wild proof for me.) I just feel like Zayne gets a little overprotective the difference is... he can't really stop her.

In contrast to Zayne, Artem's personality is very warm with MC; he smiles brightly and laughs loudly with her, he'll swing her hand in public, people literally already think they're dating even in the main story. With Zayne I feel like he's so reserved in public to the point I think outside his hospital colleagues who might see her often, people might be surprised to find out if he's even married (I have a coworker like this. So reserved that they handed me their wedding invite one day and I was like???? EXCUSE ME since when did you even have a relationship???). He likes to save his affection for private moments and that's fine and dandy but it's not like Artem to not be affectionate with her constantly and I'm not just talking his confession when he kissed MC in front of the whole theme park or in the middle of the street in front of his mom, no I'm talking just the casual always throwing his arm around her shoulder and holding her casually close to him, even during the recent billiards tournament. I just think it would take a while for Zayne to get to that level of comfortable and for Artem its like, a need.

There's a few more but I'm done. I love Zayne, I do, I'm just tired of people saying he's Artem copy/paste cause he's NOT they could not be more different and if you go into the game thinking you'll get Artem 2.0 then I'm sorry man.

[xelasrecords]

Interpreter Richter's Tragic Endings

I find Vyn's character to be the most tragic in most endings (Artem's is a close runner-up) because no matter the outcome, he cannot win. He loses his freedom for Rosa or loses her for power or simply dies to protect her. What Interpreter Richter truly wants is the freedom that one can only have with power, so he accumulates it at all costs without moral scruples.

These are all from different endings:

This one hurts the most though, because he knew he'd be forever chained to the gang that he wanted to be free from if he helped Rosa, yet he did it anyway. All for her. And she didn't even realise.

[ad-hawkeye]

tot is definitely trying harder because they have more competition in the mobile cn otome scene (esp deepspace lol)but i will not complain it as long as they don’t force us to relive the artem midfest

about the high school au card general thoughts from weibo are holy shit artem why are you making everyone hard pity or almost hard pity smh. the card is good and it does a good job at giving you a cute innocent school romance/crush some posts giving praise to both artem and rosa’s lines + writer/writing team as well

joining the war on love and deepspace on the side of love and deepspace solely to ensure that tot feels pressured to actually write a decent story and to also care about character consistency again

it's interesting from a market perspective. love and deepspace has a really strong grip on those who like "spicy" content, especially because of its 3d models. that's what it's marketed as, and that's what it really excels at. i know of several other cn otome games with better borderline nsfw content too, ones that lean into it fully and a lot more openly than tot. i also know of several other cn otome games that are completely outdoing tot in terms of writing and art - lovebrush chronicles for example.

tot is fascinating bc it originally found a niche as a whodunit mystery game with otome elements and interesting characters. it also had a boost being a mihoyo made game.

but then they noticed people liked the steamier content, so they abandoned their original niche to chase after fanservice at the expense of their storytelling and characters. and now that other games out there are doing the whole borderline nsfw thing much better than they are (because let's be real, tot sacrificed their writing in the name of extremely mediocre softcore porn foreplay and tropes that other games do better), it feels like they're trying to bring back the original writing and are trying to think outside of the box in terms of art and new official art styles.

i wonder where tot will go from here, or if this will work?

god okay, additional side rant incoming. but before i do - that's fantastic news about the high school au cards.. thank you!!

did you know lovebrush had the mls have their first kisses with mc at different times? ayn's happened on white day, cael's happened in an ssr card story following white day, and the remaining boys had theirs happen during their azure island routes. and you know what? it made sense for their characters!

ayn is very blunt and straight forward. cael had several other card stories dedicated to building up their relationship. alkaid is too afraid of upsetting mc and would not make the first move. clarence is still getting used to being in a romantic relationship. lars is a hopeless romantic who seems preoccupied with waiting for the "right moment".

and it just. keeps reminding me of tot's second anniversary. where the writers planned to have luke propose to rosa because of his whole "i'm dying in three years" thing which... makes sense! that makes sense! but why on earth would you make the other three guys propose when it doesn't make sense for them?? i just. ugh.

sometimes i wonder if it's too late for tot to fix their writing.

and the funny thing! lbc has a wedding event in the cn server! but you want to know something even funnier?? it's not an actual wedding! it's a photoshoot event! none of them are engaged!

tot could have gone so many routes and they took the ones with the worst writing and it's mind boggling. you CAN do fanservice with good writing!

[kissofthemis]

surprise for me, surprise for you

"My dear rose, while I have the utmost faith in your guidance and would follow you to the ends of the earth..."

You winced internally, bracing yourself for the inevitable teasing that was about to come your way.

"... in order to avoid any injuries, may I please open my eyes soon?"

Vyn's question ended with an amused lilt, letting you know that he wasn't actually too worried or criticizing you harshly. Nonetheless, you couldn't help but let out a soft "hmph" in indignation.

"I gave you perfectly clear directions," you countered. "And I'm the one who blocked you from running into the door post in the nick of time, so aren't I the one who needs to worry more about bumps or bruises?!"

The soft chuckle that left Vyn's lips stirred your heart like a spring breeze. "That's precisely why I want to open my eyes," he murmured, and despite the fact that his eyes were closed, you still felt a rush of heat flush your cheeks at the thought of him seeing you pout. "If you were to be injured on my behalf, I simply wouldn't be able to forgive myself."

Letting out a resigned sigh, you finally came to a stop, urging Vyn to halt beside you. "Luckily for both of us, we're here. You can open your eyes now."

Vyn wasn't a person who readily showed his emotions. However, even he couldn't fully suppress his surprise as you felt his palm grow warmer in yours and as you heard his breath gently hitch in his throat.

"Surprise!"

Balloons as shiny as sunlight. Streamers as vibrant as flowers. A spread of sweets as alluring as jewels. Smiling faces filling him with a sensation that was growing warmer and less foreign every day.

"Happy birthday, Vyn!"

Artem, Luke, Marius, and of course you, had prepared a humble but passionate birthday celebration for Vyn in his garden. You felt a swell of pride seeing the genuine shock on your lover's face; while he was exceptionally perceptive and quick to predict the actions or behaviors of others, he seemed awestruck to see the four friends who had prepared a small party in his honor.

"You put this together... for me?" Vyn didn't even try to hide the amazement in his voice.

Somewhere behind you, you heard Marius mutter, "Because jiejie asked me t--"

A quick blur flashed in the corner of your eye, and Marius immediately grew silent. You couldn't be sure if it was an arm or a leg that just moved, but you made a mental note to thank Luke later for preventing Marius from ruining the moment.

"That's what friends are for!" you replied, beaming at Vyn as you reveled in the warmth bubbling inside you. "A little birdie once told me that a certain Dr. Richter isn't too fond of lavish parties, where everyone has ulterior motives and nobody's kindness is genuine." You smiled softly. "Of course, this doesn't compare to the parties you grew up with, but... A small gathering of people who truly care about you isn't the worst way to spend a birthday."

You then turned and nodded to Artem, who nodded back in acknowledgement. "We also brought you gifts, as it's your birthday." He held out a simple but elegantly wrapped package. "I selected a couple of movies that I thought might be to your taste. They're DVDs, but if you use some other method to watch videos, let me know and I'll see what I can do."

Luke came up next with a large bag that looked as though it had been prepared in a hurry. "Being in the antique business, I see a lot of record players," he began. "Rosa told me you have a record player, so I picked out a couple of vinyl records for you. He scratched his nose. "You know who to call if your player has any issues, of course."

Finally Marius stepped up to a covered easel, puffing his chest. "And... I think you need to brighten up your office, so I painted you a little something. No refunds, no exchanges on this one-of-a-kind piece." With a dramatic flourish, he revealed a canvas depicting an exquisitely painted bouquet of flowers, in which one rose stood out as the biggest and brightest flower of them all.

"And... I did my best to bake some of the pastries you showed me how to make," you finished. "Artem lent me a hand, so I hope they're tasty enough for you!"

Vyn chuckled softly. Evidently he had recovered some of his senses, as he lowered his glowing golden gaze to meet your own. Adoration lit up his smile and tinted his nose and cheeks pink. "I'm sure they're perfect," he cooed. "All of this is... perfect." He lowered his forehead to touch yours, and warmth poured off him in waves, flowing into you. "I never knew that I could enjoy birthdays... until I met you. Thank you, my sweet rose, for continuing to surprise me every day with the depth of your love and the beauty of your soul."

He lifted his head for a brief moment, calling to Luke, "Can we please test one of those vinyls now? I have one more selfish request, as the guest of honor for this party."

Now his attention turned back to you, and judging from the smile spread across his lips and the way he squeezed your hands in his, you were the only object of his attention now.

"May I have this dance?"

[dreamerinthemoonlight]

Love Languages (Marius, Artem, Vyn)

Honestly, it's very difficult to do romantic hcs for the Tot guys. Mostly because the game doesn't leave much to head canon about. I should really come up with some fics instead of relying on hcs. (Also, I have a HSR version in drafts too)

Some of these may be spit into giving and receiving, since I don't always think those are the same

CW: non really. Maybe a smidgen of angst in Vyn's, but not bad

Marius x Reader, Artem x Reader, Vyn x Reader

Marius

It's fairly obvious right from the get go that Marius's love language is acts of service. Ok Acts of service and gift giving, though I could make an argument that his receiving love language is words of affirmation.

He doesn't have much time on his hands, so as much as he's probably love to spend a ton a time with you, he has to settle for other methods

But his penchant for acts of service is pretty well established fairly early in the game. Not Marius von Hagen measuring Rosa's shoe size by sight and sending someone to get a pair of flats. He's a little shit, but he's a definite sweetheart

He's the kind of person who lets his actions speak for him. But he also has a habit of letting his money speak for him. That meme that floats around about him buying Netflix? Yeah, he'd totally do it.

Marius is of the opinion that he's part of one of the richest people in the city, why shouldn't he make sure that his s/o has the best of everything.

This all being said, his receiving love language is a bit different. He wants to do things for you and give you things, but he wants words of affection. As many as possible.

I mean, he's always seeking praise and comfort, frequently resorting to puppy dog eyes to get them. This guy does not know how to be upfront about what he wants from people. I mean, look at the world he lives in. I don't envy him

Artem

Sweet, loving, very awkward Artem. I love him so much.

The guy is definitely a quality time guy.

I would say acts of service is his, but Artem is someone who does things for people. That's just a general behavior of his. So I'm not sure it counts as a "love language" as much as it's a fundamental aspect of who he is.

So we're going to go with quality time and, to a smaller extent, physical contact.

I would say that quality time is his primary love language, both giving and receiving. If he's not working he wants to e around you. He wants to do things with you.

And sometimes that quality time also includes plenty of physical contact.

His desire for physical contact is often a very subtle thing. Brushing knuckles, running his hand over your cheekbone. An arm around you when you're cold. As soon as he's aware that you're ok with casual touch, he's more touchy. But subtle touchy.

Of course, in private, it's less so. He absolutely love to cuddle while watching movies or in bed after a long day.

Vyn

Vyn, why are you so hard?

Vyn is so self contained and so damn aware of his behavior. And elusive as fuck .Everything he does is intentional. So I see his giving love language reflecting yours to a large extent.

He's keenly aware of what you need and desires to fulfil that in any way he can. Which I suppose counts as acts of service.

As far as receiving...again he's elusive as fuck, so trying to figure this out is not easy. In a lot of ways it matters less how you go about it but show this poor man some love. Like, lots of it.

Spend time with him, give him compliments, and tons of hugs not me being convinced that hugs fix everything. You're going to have to show the man that he's lovable and fine even if he isn't totally perfect. But everything you give him, I see him returning tenfold.

[vynegar]

Analysis: Which other NXX member it would be most painful for them to see Rosa choose instead of them

Tl;dr

Luke → Artem

Artem → Marius

Vyn → Marius

Marius → Artem

(it was actually an artemsweep until the last minute but we’ll get there)

I really wanted to be able to answer this question with a perfect 1:1 assignment where each member shows up once as the worst option for another, but I just couldn't get it to work. Mostly because of Luke; I don't think he'd be the most painful option for any of the members to see, since there's really no way you can compete with the childhood-friend-reunion AND he's a secret agent who's dying. I feel like the others would have to accept that, since they'd have no chance. He’s also the person who would stay the most aloof during the early (i.e. first year of the game) squabbles among NXX for Rosa’s attention, which separates him out as seeming more secure in his relationship with Rosa because everyone knows how important they are to each other.

Luke → Artem

The same feeling of separation that makes him an impossible choice for the others also made it a bit difficult to decide who it’d be hardest for him to see Rosa with. He’s very much his own biggest obstacle when it comes to them getting together, and the way he’s been concealing his feelings for about a decade makes it feel like he’d already be halfway resigned to Rosa being with someone else. His struggles when it comes to Rosa are so internalized that the pain of seeing the other NXX members just pales in comparison.

Vyn and Marius might worry him because of the danger that their status brings (where is the Luke reaction to hearing Rosa got kidnapped in Unconcealable!!), but sticking with the prompt of what would hurt the most to see, I would go with Artem. Since Artem was also someone who hid his feelings for a long time and tried to care for her from a distance, I think seeing Artem and Rosa together might make Luke think what could have been possible for him, and regret that he hadn't tried confessing. The game generally uses parallels between relationship dynamics to strike an emotional chord, so I think it’s fitting to choose the most similar relationship as the one that would hurt Luke the most.

Marius → Artem

As much as it pains me to not pick his ultimate petty-frenemy-teacher for Marius, I kept forcing myself to stick with the prompt and go from there. The important thing was what would “hurt” the most, so I decided to reason out who would strike the insecurities of each character the hardest. I also tried to think about any recurring themes in the storyline of each character, and that led me to Artem for Marius.

One of Marius’s biggest struggles is balancing the many facets of his life and personality. In Rosa, he’s found someone who not only accepts every face that he has, but also gives him space to take off the masks and truly be himself. Rosa was even instrumental in preventing him from sacrificing his artistic identity Z, so her support for him seems even more powerful and unique. If Rosa ended up with Artem, Marius would be losing that special presence in his life to someone who’s as straightforward and uncomplicated as they come. I think seeing that happen could make Marius question once again how feasible it is for him to keep every aspect of his identity, or at least whether he could find a partner who could handle it.

Another reason why Rosa is important to Marius is that he’s always longed for someone brave enough to face every adventure head-on with him. Marius is the one who most readily accepts Rosa taking the lead on things, their interactions and investigations feel the most like they’re on equal footing, and over and over Marius sees that she can hold her own in each part of his life, business, artistic, or personal. If Rosa were to be with Artem though, they would be partners in an even truer sense because of their shared profession in upholding the law, and that’s a connection that Marius could never have with her.

Artem → Marius

When I started thinking about this question, Artem was the only one I was certain of, and even when I was stumped on the others, I didn't want to give up on this post because I HAD to speak my truth re: Artem → Marius.

I know Artem and Vyn's prickly relationship is so memorable, but since I defined the question as "which person would it hurt to see the most", I had to pick Marius. Yes, Vyn would probably annoy Artem the most, but seeing Rosa with Marius would bring up all those doubts about him not being romantic, exciting, interesting enough for her. Marius is charming and trendy and youthful and perfect for hitting Artem’s insecurity of being awkward and inexperienced.

Vyn → Marius

Up until a few days ago, I actually had Artem down for Vyn (ARTEMSWEEP!!). Then when I decided I really wanted to consider this a meta and try to base it on analysis of canon, I thought over it, once again focusing on insecurities and any recurring themes in the card stories, and went back to Marius.

There are many similarities between Vyn and Marius, but many of the major struggles Vyn might have in the relationship are things that Marius doesn’t have to deal with or is too well-adjusted to be troubled by.

Marius enjoys a high social status on par with Vyn's, but he's free of the kinds of oppressive traditions and customs that caused Vyn to leave his home country. Despite the tragedy and difficulties they've experienced, Marius also has a genuinely loving and supportive family, who also have/had loving and committed relationships. Maybe partially as a result from these factors, Marius is still a relatively optimistic and idealistic person, even while being steeped in the cutthroat world of business. Vyn on the other hand has an extremely strained relationship with his family to the point that he struggles with the idea of it, has mostly seen romance in how it ruined his father, and has become cynical after growing up amongst cruelty and ridicule.

In addition, a major theme of Vyn's second year of cards has been the building desire that he has for Rosa, and his fear of it overwhelming him. Marius is similarly proactive in his romantic pursuit of Rosa, and one of the more forward LIs when it comes to seduction, but fearing that that desire might consume and destroy them isn’t one of the obstacles in Marius’s stories. This could be seen as another issue of Vyn’s that Marius is able to effortlessly keep in check. (I consider this more of a secondary point though, since it could just as easily be a point for Artem and his glacially-paced relationship of two dense bricks. (My other reason for picking Artem would have been too OOC, which is why we couldn’t have the Artemsweep, rip.))

--

Anyway thanks for reading and feel free to let me know if there are any choices you really agree or disagree with! There’s such a gap in canon with the way we never see other the other NXX members when we’re on a certain LI’s route, so things like this are interesting to think about.

*Bonus: if the question was “who would it piss them off the most to see Rosa with?”, it would ABSOLUTELY be a vynsweep with vyn → artem. no there is no reasoning for this it’s just something you feel with your gut

[y0noirs]

anyone want an analysis on the newest tears of themis MR cards from the cn server? no? here it is anyway. obvious spoilers for the new MR card set (empyrean touch) under the cut. you can see the PV here. you can see the cards in HD here, and the cards in video form here (credit to both nxx_eun_03 and NXXgallery respectively for those)

i’ll mostly be writing about the visuals of the cards and the imagery (in my own interpretation) in this post. there’s other analyses on twitter about other parts of the PV and the cards, but i just want to talk about the visuals because they are causing me great agony and yearning. also to note, for transparency’s sake: even though i look at the new cards, i do not read story spoilers that often. my frame of reference is still what’s released on the global server. even then, i mostly pay attention to my favorites (that being marius and luke). i may get things wrong or miss things. 

right off, the cards are referencing one of the pre-release(?) promotional pics for tears of themis, as well as the login screen in-game. there’s a great thread that analyzes it here, which i will be referencing here and there. for the most part, all you need to remember is that rosa is depicted as lady justice, or the greek goddess of truth, themis. depictions of lady justice include: scales, a blindfold, a sword, and a snake. artem, vyn, luke, and marius are in those respective positions, which the linked thread goes into.

also interesting is that there’s absolutely no dialogue in this PV. usually, the boys will have a line or two that they say, somewhat related to their MR card. but it’s just music and visuals here, which is interesting! not sure how exactly but it is!

side note, it’s interesting, given that the CN server is approaching the 3rd anniversary of the game, that they chose to return to this original promotional picture. the boys are wearing the same outfits and designs in the picture as they do in the MR cards. i believe we’re approaching a very important point in the story for the game, seeing as this set has a lot of implications for rosa and the boys. but enough of that - let’s get into me agonizing over these MR cards!

starting with luke, he’s already interesting right off the bat. you can notice that, of all the other leads, he’s not touching the statue at all. it’s already one thing that he was gripping a sword in the original promo pic to the point where he was bleeding, but it’s another to have him make absolutely no contact with the statue whereas the others are intimately touching it.

you could say that he’s in a position of worship with the statue. his face reaches up, tries to lay a kiss on the surface of the statue’s face, but doesn’t make it all the way. he’s kept his face close, almost as if that’s all he can let himself do. like it’s almost blasphemous to love a deity this intimately. additionally, his hand remains wrapped around the sword’s blade, but it no longer draws blood like it did in the promo pic.

this can be seen as growth. people have pointed it out, but the fact that he’s no longer bleeding could symbolize the fact that he’s no longer pushing himself as far for rosa’s sake in the story. their relationship, which was previously sort of unbalanced due to the lengths luke would go to for rosa’s happiness, is now one of equal standing. he is still very devoted to her and would likely do all he can for her, but he no longer keeps himself at length from her to preserve her happiness. he’s not hurting himself anymore when it comes to their relationship. 

he still has a lot of hang-ups, but he’s definitely devoted, almost worshipping rosa. and the aborted kiss in his card definitely reflects the yearning, and possibly the control he tries to maintain when it comes to her. 

next is artem in the position of the scales. he has a rather intimate position with the statue, but to focus on is how his hand holds onto the statue’s hand.

in the original promo pic, artem has his hand directly on the scales, almost as if he were keeping them balanced. however, in his MR card, he is instead holding up the statue’s arm, while the statue herself holds the scales on her own. i believe this symbolizes a sort of equality in their relationship. one of the more concerning things between artem and rosa is the fact that they were in a working relationship where artem was technically rosa’s boss. however, they moved past that as much as possible as they became partners.

with the support he offers to the statue’s arm, as well as his arm around the waist, i believe his MR card evokes how artem supports rosa. their relationship isn’t unbalanced - instead, he provides support and guidance when she needs/wants it. through her struggles, artem will keep her steady, and when it comes to justice, he will assist her. he doesn’t influence her sense of justice. i don’t think he ever has. he always supports her view as much as possible.

i think his MR card has depicted their relationship in a very lovely and intimate way. in the context of worship, he will trust in her judgment, because he trusts her wholeheartedly.

the meaning of the blindfold is, as we know it, the protrayal of “justice is blind.” as the thread linked above says, it was also a depiction of deception. however, the statue in the MR shows that themis herself is removing the blindfold, while the promo pic has vyn simply holding the blindfold, possibly taking it off.

of note is that vyn is holding rosa’s chin up, as well as pressing a kiss to the blindfold/her eyes. he also has the other end of the blindfold in his other hand, signifying that he is taking off her blindfold with her. my initial belief was that his lips on her blindfold was a reminder that justice must remain impartial as possible. that she must remain steadfast in her judgment.

after further thinking, i believe that vyn truly is taking off her blindfold so that she can see the world as it really is. throughout the story, he doesn’t really shy away from showing her the truth of things. vyn taking off her blindfold is a reflection of that, but holding her chin up symbolizes how he will support her in the struggles she may have while facing the truth. his hand is a reminder that she will struggle. that the truth is often not pretty. the cracks on the statue’s face reflects this. but he will be there for her, to help her through her hardship. there’s an almost melancholy expression on her face that implies he knows what sort of hardships she will have.

even if it hurts her, even if he is aware of the suffering she will face, he will be there for her to encourage her through the pain. 

the hand that marius holds is supposed to hold the scales of justice. in his MR card, though, the statue no longer holds them; instead, he has entwined their hands together with a necklace that has a snake on it.

there were a lot of theories of marius in the place of the snake for the original statue. with the snake being the symbol of evil, and the original statue of lady justice stepping on a snake to symbolize her triumphing over evil, it was almost like they were setting marius up for this position of betrayal and evil - especially since he and his family are so closely associated with serpents.

but in the in-game login screen, the statue of themis is not stepping on the snake. there was never going to be a scenario where rosa would defeat marius or anything. marius’ MR card means something entirely different, with meanings completely true to him and the development of their relationship.

by entwining their hands with the snake necklace, marius is willingly involving rosa with his family and his name. his hold on her hand is gentle and intimate, almost in the same degree of worship as luke. he boldly holds her close, leaning in as if to whisper in her ear.

i personally think that the act of whispering in her ear is marius is trying to ask/beg something of her. marius is not the type to burden others, keeping his suffering close to his chest so that he can appear the tall, confident heir to pax. with his position of bringing her close, whispering in her ear, and entwining their hands, he makes a request: to bear the burden of his name and legacy, maybe even help him purge the evil in his name. again, marius is not the type to ask for help. but as he grows closer to rosa, and grows more selfish, he will allow himself to burden her and request things of her. it’s a very good reflection of how his character progresses through the story.

anyway that’s a lot of words to describe how insane this MR set makes me. the yearning and love, the accurate symbolization and representation of character growth and dynamics, this is a very beautiful card set. i can’t wait for when this comes to global, and i can’t wait to see what 3rd anniversary has in store (:

(and just a reminder - this is all very biased and possibly even inaccurate. most importantly, this is my interpretation. i’m open to talking about it, though, because holy hell this MR card set makes me insane!)

[qiangweirosa]

late nights

" Artem receives an uncharacteristic text from Vyn on a late night. Feelings ensue.

or, vyntem drunken confessions fic i guess "

relationships: artem/vyn, background marius/luke/rosa, rosa & artem tws: alcohol, some angst wc: 4009 extra: my longest fic to date! + not beta'd, please ignore any inconsistencies

read on ao3!

Artem should have been in bed by now. He had been working late, and perhaps if he hadn’t, this never would’ve happened. 

Or maybe it would have either way. He knew Vyn’s messages had a way to catch his attention no matter what the time was. 

Either way, when his phone vibrated and lit up with a notification, Artem absentmindedly glanced at it. He told himself he’d check it out later, until it chimed again with more notifications. 

His eyebrow raised. Why was Vyn messaging him so late?

A quick raise of his eyes informed him that it was past two in the morning. He frowned. Was Vyn in some sort of trouble? Why else would he message the senior attorney at all, and especially this late?

He grabbed his phone and opened the messaging app. Artem was greeted with several messages, lacking Vyn’s usual formal and precise typing. Instead, his texts were littered with typos, improper punctuation, and contents that made Artem’s eyes widen. 

And his heart beat faster, although he’d never admit it.

From Vyn, 2:03am: Artem

From Vyn, 2:03am: Artem…

From Vyn, 2:04am: Yuore so incredibly annoynig, yoy know

From Vyn, 2:04am: Uts so ynfair 

From Vyn, 2:05am: How csn you be si handsome yet so annoying

…

From Artem, 2:06am: …Are you drunk, Vyn?

Artem stared at his phone in disbelief. Vyn wasn’t the type to get drunk ever, or to even drink alcohol, if he didn’t need to. Let alone to message Artem saying such… things. 

He didn’t notice he had been in a daze until his phone chimed again with a new message. 

From Vyn, 2:06am: Im not durnk

Right. Of course. 

From Artem, 2:07am: Go to bed, Vyn. It’s late anyway. 

The response was almost immediate. 

From Vyn, 2:07am: No

From Vyn, 2:07am: Youre not here

Artem ignored the way his face heated up as he read the message. 

He let out a sigh as he shook his head. Perhaps if he tried long enough, he would manage to convince Vyn to go to sleep. 

From Artem, 2:08am: We have a meeting tomorrow anyway, we’ll see each other then. 

From Artem, 2:08am: Just go to sleep. 

Once again, the response was almost instantaneous (was Vyn actively waiting for them?).

From Vyn, 2:08am: In ttoo long 

Another sigh left Artem’s lips. Why was he so stubborn? Vyn had always been stubborn, but it had been working the bounds of reason, and he never went too far in his stubbornness. So why now?

Sometime during his thinking, Artem had closed his work computer and folders, and gotten up. At least he was still relatively dressed; he grabbed his keys and headed outside.

He had forgotten he had left Vyn on seen until his phone chimed again as he walked to his building’s parking. 

From Vyn, 2:11am: Artem

He stopped in his tracks momentarily to respond. 

From Artem, 2:11am: Yes?

…

No response. 

He shrugged and shoved his phone inside his pocket, walking - albeit a bit faster, no, not out of concern or anything, of course not - to his car and getting into the driver seat. 

He saw his phone light up a few times from its place on the center console, but Artem was a responsible man, he didn’t use his phone at all when driving. He was going to see Vyn anyway; there shouldn’t be any harm in checking once he’d arrived. 

Artem drove as fast as the speed limit allowed, not wanting to arrive too late in case Vyn had gotten injured or worse. 

A little voice in the back of his mind also wishes to see him as soon as possible. 

Soon enough, Artem could see Vyn’s house appear and get closer. He parked in his usual spot in the street, right next to the entrance (Marius and Luke both had complained about having to park further from the house - Artem had told them to simply arrive earlier.).

Once he was right in front of the door, Artem pulled his phone out to text Vyn to open the door. He still tried to open the door first; unsurprisingly, the door was locked. Vyn may have been acting weird, but he wasn’t one to compromise his oh so important safety and privacy. 

He was greeted with several messages he hadn’t yet seen, as he had been driving when Vyn sent them. 

From Vyn, 2:14am: Are you askeep

From Vyn, 2:14am: You probabbly are 

From Vyn, 2:15am: I hate you somych

From Vyn, 2:15am: Artem

From Vyn, 2:15am: Even justy our name infuruiates me

From Vyn, 2:16am: Such  a perfect name

From Vyn, 2:16am: For osmoene like you

From Vyn, 2:16am: I gues sit kinda fits

A sigh left Artem’s lips. He really needed to get Vyn to bed, lest the Svartian man say something he’d most definitely regret tomorrow.

He would probably regret what he already said, but still. Artem wanted to do some damage control.

From Artem, 2:17am: Can you come open the door?

His message was left on seen, and a few minutes later he heard the door being unlocked. Artem’s eyes widened as he saw Vyn behind the doorway, his heartbeat unwillingly accelerating at the sight. Vyn was wearing one of his night robes, loosely tied around his waist. One of the sleeves was sliding off from his shoulder, revealing not only the aforementioned shoulder, but also his collarbones and his oh so alluring chest- Artem snapped his eyes back up. However, that didn’t help his case; somehow, the sight of Vyn’s face made his heart beat even faster. His hair was uncharacteristically messy and tangled, his face was flushed a light red color, coloring his cheeks in a way that Artem found probably more attractive than he should. Vyn’s eyes were glazed over, his glasses were crooked, and he leaned on the door for support.

After a murmur of his name from Vyn, Artem realized he’d been staring, and stepped inside after clearing his throat. He made sure the door was locked, before taking one of Vyn’s arms and wrapping it around his shoulder. His own arm wrapped around Vyn’s waist, supporting the pale man up. Vyn immediately leant into Artem, putting his weight on him and letting himself be led.

Thankfully, Artem already knew the way to Vyn’s room - after all, the NXX team had met up here every so often for meetings, and Vyn’s house was as organized as he was -, so the walk there wasn’t that long. 

Although a part of him deep inside his heart did wish it was longer, when he finally let go of Vyn’s waist and had him sit in his bed.

Vyn held onto Artem still, his grip strong despite his intoxicated state. Artem tugged his arm away a few times, to no avail as Vyn still wouldn’t let go. 

He eventually gave in with a sigh, and proceeded to help Vyn get under the covers to the best of his ability. Once that was done, Artem spoke up in a hushed tone, not wanting to disturb the silence that had settled between them. 

“I’m going to bring you a cup of water.”

Only then did Vyn, although reluctantly, let go of Artem’s sleeve, allowing the senior attorney to walk to the kitchen and fill a cup with water to bring it to him. 

When Artem walked back into the room, he saw Vyn staring intensely at the door through half lidded eyes, his gaze lighting up as soon as Artem walked into the room. 

Artem found it odd. Vyn usually had such a strong hold on his emotions, he never let anything past his facade that he didn’t want others to see. And he had a feeling Vyn definitely wouldn’t have wanted him to see this. 

Nonetheless, he walked back to the bed and sat next to Vyn, placing the glass on his bedside table to help the pale man sit up comfortably. He then held the glass to Vyn’s mouth and helped him drink it, and Artem had to consciously stop himself from becoming all but too aware of Vyn’s soft-looking lips so close to his hand. 

Some of the water dripped down Vyn’s chin, prompting Artem to take one of the tissues on the bedside table and wipe it. He placed the now empty glass back down and gently wiped the water on Vyn’s chin, neck, and he paused at his collarbone, wondering if he should keep going. 

His face felt hot as he quickly wiped the few water drops on Vyn’s chest, soon looking away and clearing his throat to clear some of the embarrassment. 

“Alright… You should get some sleep now. I’ll get going then.”

Artem moved to stand up and leave, only to be stopped by his wrist being held. He turned his face to look at Vyn, his eyes slightly wider in surprise. 

Vyn stared at him with such longing in his eyes that Artem couldn’t help but blush, his mouth parted to whisper:

“Can’t you stay?”

——

Artem had been lucky to have a day off the following day. 

His eyes fluttered open later than he usually woke up at; it must’ve been around 9 in the morning. 

And yet, at such an early hour of the morning, he felt as if he’d been attacked by the view in front of him: Vyn was laying on Artem’s chest, his arms resting a bit higher. His eyes were shut, showing off even further his long lashes, and god Artem could’ve sworn that he looked just angelic. 

Artem couldn’t move. His heart was beating unnaturally fast, and he didn’t want to wake up Vyn either way. 

(God knows that waking up Vyn earlier than he’d like could result in terrible consequences. 

And Artem didn’t exactly want this moment to end.)

He closed his eyes again. It couldn’t hurt to get some more sleep, he supposed. 

He stirred awake again two hours later, when Vyn himself woke up. He stretched and blinked at Artem a few times, still evidently processing the situation through his hungover and sleep clouded mind. 

Suddenly, his eyes narrowed, glaring at Artem. 

“What are you doing here?”

His words were spoken slowly, the anger behind them quite obvious. 

“You didn’t let me go home.”

Vyn’s eyes widened, and he looked down at his position, straddling Artem’s waist. He quickly moved off, sitting on the bed and allowing Artem to sit up. 

“What are you even talking about?”

Artem stayed quiet a few moments, trying to figure out how to answer. Seems Vyn didn’t remember what happened last night. How was he even supposed to recount that?

“You messaged me while you were inebriated. You wouldn’t go to sleep, so I came here to do that. And then you asked me to stay.”

“And you did?” 

“Am I not here right now?”

Vyn sighed, his hand coming to pinch the bridge of his nose. 

“Whatever… Just go. Get out of my house.”

Artem moved out of the bed, stretching his limbs as he did so. He could feel Vyn’s glare on his back as he moved, quickly getting out of the house. Once he was in his car, he noticed how disheveled he looked. Grabbing his phone to check the time, he also noticed he wouldn’t have the time to go back to his apartment and change, then come back for the meeting. With a sigh, Artem settled on just waiting in his car, and trying to fix his appearance as much as he could. 

Vyn grasped his head and walked to the medicine cabinet in the kitchen. 

“God, I have such a headache…”

——

It had been about three weeks since Artem half willingly spent the night at Vyn’s house. 

He wished he could say it hadn’t been that important, but unfortunately it plagued his mind ever since. 

He still remembered Marius’ comment that same day, wondering why Artem looked so unusually disheveled, and even making a joke about him having had “fun activities before coming here”. Needless to say, Artem couldn’t wait for that meeting to finish. 

But every night since, Artem would glance at his phone, and some part of him wished that Vyn would message him like he did that day. Of course, it hadn’t happened yet, which maybe was for the best, and-

“What’s up with you recently?”

Artem was brought out of his daze by Rosa’s voice, his work partner placing the documents in her arms on his desk. He blinked at her. 

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve been spacing out a lot, and you always seem to have something on your mind?” She paused. “Did something happen?”

Artem sighed in thought. Perhaps it would be a good idea to tell someone about it? Besides, Rosa was relatively trustworthy - relatively, because she was dating Luke and Marius, who definitely weren’t -, and she probably would give good advice. 

“It’s.. a bit of a long story. Something happened between Vyn and I, and it's been on my mind ever since.” 

He could see her stifle back a laugh at his words, before she coughed and recomposed herself. She took a seat next to Artem on his office couch, nodding to prompt him to continue. 

And so he told her what happened - omitting, of course, the strange feelings seeing Vyn like that caused in him. 

Rosa seemed deep in thought as he finished recounting the events of that night. 

“Have you considered that Vyn likes you?”

“…What?”

His eyes widened as he looked at her in disbelief. She gave a laugh at his reaction, before elaborating. 

“I mean, I’d say those messages are pretty telling by themselves, but considering the way he acted too? That seems like the only logical option to me.”

Artem stared at her in silence, before shaking his head no. 

“No. There’s no way. It’s Vyn we’re talking about, Rosa.”

She raised her eyebrow and sighed. 

“If you don’t believe me, so be it. But that’s the only explanation I see.”

She shrugged. The two of them soon went back to their work, the previous conversation topic forgotten. 

Once they were done and ready to head out, Artem turned to ask her. 

“Should I come pick you up for tonight?”

Rosa gave a bright grin as she answered. 

“No, there’s no need. Marius is picking Luke and I up, so you only need to drive Vyn.”

He nodded, and they went their separate ways. Him and Rosa had been invited on behalf of Themis Law Firm to a formal event, and the other members of the NXX ended up revealing their own invitations afterwards (how did this keep happening?). So they would all be meeting up at the event. 

Artem headed to the underground parking and got into his car. He first drove to his apartment to get dressed and fix his hair to look more appropriate for an event. One side of his hair was pinned back, and he put on one of his better quality suits. 

Once he was dressed, he headed back to his car and typed a quick message to let Vyn know he would be on his way, before turning the car on and starting to drive towards the Svartian’s house. 

He couldn’t help the way his face flushed as he came closer to the house, memories of that night flooding his brain again. He shook his head to try and stop thinking about them. 

Thankfully, Vyn was standing on the porch of his house, immediately walking up to Artem’s car as it stopped and getting in the passenger seat. He didn’t seem to enjoy having to be driven by Artem, but he had to go along with it either way. 

The drive to the venue was mostly quiet, only a few words shared between the two men. They went their separate ways almost immediately after arriving. 

Artem found Rosa, Luke and Marius soon enough, and after a short time spent with them as well, it seemed he would spend the majority of the evening on his own. He didn’t necessarily mind, and either way, guests soon started coming up to him themselves. 

He spent the evening exchanging with people who wanted connections with Themis Law Firm, and specifically with this one woman who seemed to follow him around, from how many times they’d bumped into each other. 

She was... very touchy with him. More than he liked. He had told her to stop touching him quite a few times, yet she kept doing it, which was slowly getting on his nerves, if he were to be honest. 

Artem didn’t see Vyn at all the entire night, almost as if Vyn was avoiding him. It saddened him, for some reason. 

The woman was still standing near him, rambling off about whatever. Artem usually tried to pay attention to whatever was being told to him, but this woman had been talking to him for so long, he had stopped listening a while ago. He just hoped for this event to come to an end soon. 

After what felt like an eternity, Rosa walked up to him, followed by the other men of the team, to tell him they would be taking their leave. He bid farewell to the woman, and left the venue as quickly as possible. 

Once they were out and ready to go their separate ways, he noticed the way Vyn was holding onto Luke to stand. Marius sent him a quip, but he didn’t listen, his gaze trained on Vyn. 

They had a short talk before Vyn started holding onto Artem and they walked to his car, waving goodbye to the other three. 

Vyn was stumbling, his face was flushed and most of all, he smelled of alcohol; it didn’t take a genius to figure out Vyn had drunk quite a large amount of alcohol. 

Artem sighed as he helped Vyn get into the passenger seat again. If the ride to the venue was quiet, the ride back was even quieter. Vyn seemed upset, or rather angry, and kept glaring at Artem. Although he was focusing on the road, Artem kept sending concerned glances at Vyn. 

Perhaps not only concerned, as Vyn did look even more beautiful than usual. Not that Artem typically thought about his beauty, of course. It was simply an objective fact. Obviously. 

As Artem drove into Vyn’s neighborhood, he noticed the man beside him shift ever so slightly, most likely only moving to be more comfortable. He parked into his usual spot, getting out of the car and circling around it to open the passenger door. 

Vyn stumbled out of the car, Artem rushing to hold him up. He wrapped an arm around his waist, and reached to place Vyn’s arm around his own shoulders. 

His touch felt burning. But Artem couldn’t deny how much he had craved it. 

They stumbled together to the door, Artem muttering an apology before reaching into Vyn’s pockets to grab the keys to the house. He had seen before Vyn open the front door, so he had a subtle idea of which key was the one. Once he had opened the door, he walked inside, Vyn still clinging onto him. 

He made sure to first place Vyn onto the closest couch, taking care to lay him down comfortably, before walking back to the front door and closing it. As he turned back to face Vyn, he saw the younger man trying to sit up and reach for Artem, incoherent words spilling out of his lips. 

Artem frowned in concern. He made his way to Vyn, checking for his temperature first. It was higher than it should be, especially considering Vyn’s usual cold body temperature, but he blamed it on the alcohol for now. If it kept up, Vyn would surely be able to take care of himself. 

Vyn was… lighter than he had imagined. As Artem carried him in his arms, the Svartian curled into him, his face buried in Artem’s neck and deeply inhaling his scent. Artem’s face was most likely a deep red by now, trying to ignore Vyn’s oddly affectionate touches as he carried him to his room. 

For the second time, Artem made sure that Vyn was in bed, and brought him a glass of water, preparing to leave. 

And for the second time, Vyn asked him to stay. 

And perhaps, when Vyn glared at Artem while laying on his chest, muttering insults at him, Artem couldn’t deny how fast his heart was beating. 

So much so that he found himself barely paying attention to what Vyn was saying, too focused on his face. 

“And I can’t believe you’re so oblivious that you can’t even tell I like you.”

Artem’s heart skipped a beat. 

His eyes widened, and his mouth opened with a gasp. Had he heard him right? No. There was no way. Besides, Vyn was drunk. He wasn’t thinking clearly. 

Still, some part of Artem’s mind wished he was telling the truth. 

“…What??”

“Did you not hear me? I like you, you absolutely exasperating idiot.”

…Vyn was speaking oddly clearly for a drunk man. Artem cleared his throat, looking away. He was sure that his face reflected his flustered state, as much as he tried to cover it. 

This would be a problem for when Vyn wasn’t drunk. 

…

This time, Vyn hadn’t kicked Artem out immediately. He had half-heartedly thanked Artem for taking care of him - in his own way, of course -, and insisted on treating him for breakfast, at the very least. 

Artem was stiff. His mind replayed the events of the last night on loop, not wanting to leave him alone. He tried his best to keep his gaze off Vyn, yet he still found himself staring more than once. Each and every time, he forced himself to look away, a blush creeping up his neck. 

Vyn must have noticed - of course he did, that’s his job -, because he eventually turned back to Artem, glaring at him with an eyebrow raised. 

“What is it?”

A beat passed. They stared at each other, Artem debating whether or not to say it. 

“You confessed to me last night.”

Another beat. Vyn swiveled around quickly, and if Artem looked closely, he could swear there was a touch of red blossoming on the Svartian’s neck. He heard him sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose before looking back at Artem. 

“I hadn’t expected to tell you so soon… Or ever, as a matter of fact.”

Vyn fully turned, his usual gaze shining with only the tiniest bit of vulnerability. Really, Artem couldn’t have noticed it unless he knew what Vyn’s look was like, and-

Oh. 

Oh. 

Perhaps now wasn’t exactly the time to be realizing how much Vyn made his heart flutter, how much he craved and longed for him. Or maybe it was. After all, Vyn was confessing to him. 

“I do have feelings for you. I’m not expecting you to reciprocate, so let’s stop talking about this.”

Vyn was about to turn back around when Artem spoke up. 

“What if… I do reciprocate?”

He froze in his steps. 

“I beg your pardon?”

Artem found himself at a loss for words. How was he to explain what he was feeling to Vyn when he had realized exactly 30 seconds ago and couldn’t understand what he felt anyway?

“I… I’m not entirely sure yet, but I believe I may have… feelings… for you as well.”

His words were slow, and Artem was sure his face was a bright red by now. Vyn scoffed. 

“You believe? Goodness, Artem… What am I going to do with you.”

Despite his words, when Artem snuck a glance at Vyn through his embarrassment, he could see a fond smile on the man’s face. He gave a smile of his own, watching Vyn step closer to him. 

As their lips pressed together, Artem realized that perhaps Rosa had been right. 

[rosa-qing]

Themis-Scenario

Artem Wing

Day 9 : late night cravings

Summary : she's pregnant and suddenly has a late night cravings

Artm426-23 Masterlists

In the middle of the night, and all she could think about is eating some pudding. She tries to sleep again to push away these unnecessary thoughts.

But whatever she does all she could think about is pudding.

She glanced at Artem's sleeping face, and didn't have the heart to wake him up for this. It's been three consecutive days that she is having cravings during the middle of the night.

Every time he wakes up and goes out to buy her some food. Even if he has an early morning meeting tomorrow Artem will still buy her the food she likes if she wakes him up.

Her lips turn into a frown and tears slide on her cheeks. She can't help but hate these unnecessary cravings.

She hates these cravings, hates that she can't do it herself cause she's 7 months pregnant and she hates everything

As if he sensed something wrong with his wife. He woke up and found her leaning on the headboard. Her face buried in her hands suppressing the sound of her crying.

"What's wrong" he quickly sat up and gently hugged her.

She looked at him with tears in the corner of her eyes.

"Pudding, I want some pudding" She solemnly said and burst into tears.

Seeing her state, he quickly got dressed to buy her the pudding she likes.

"I'll buy you some, wait for me" Artem left in a hurry

---

"Did you like it?" Artem asks as he sits across from her on the kitchen table

She looks up at him and smiles, before eating another spoonful of pudding. He reaches out wiping off the syrup on the corner of her lips.

"You can tell me right away, if you want to eat anything." Artem said

"But you have an early meeting, and i keep waking you up these past few days" She look down avoiding his gaze

Artem stood up and went over to her side. He kneels down placing a gentle kiss on her baby bump.

"Nothing is more important than my family. You and our children will always be my priority" he looks up and hold her gaze.

She wonders what did she ever do to deserve a man like this. She's so lucky to have him in her life.

© rosa-qing 4-08-23

[aikofanfan]

Obey me, Themis!

Part 2 is out!

Summary: Rosa is your childhood friend and you decide to visit her and Luke. But it’s you. Things are never that easy.

Pairings: None. For now. I may fold on that in later parts.

Warnings: There is a small reference to Ep 3 of ToT, if you played it you know if not- drugs and child abuse. Very small tho just letting ya know.

A/n: Obey Me! x Tears of Themis crossover that was supposed to be a small dumb little drabble for shits n giggles became a bigger story with every word I wrote. So expect more parts cuz skdjsndns

“Wait really??!” Rosa jumps up from her desk, phone in hand and a huge grin on her face. “When? Around what time?? So soon?”

Everyone in the room looked at her as she walks around her desk, talking to whoever it maybe.

“No no my shift ends soon! Yes I know but I wish you would’ve called sooner I could’ve gotten food or something ready!” She laughs. “So much has happened since we last spoke!”

She walks and talks some more than noticed people staring. Ah right she is still at the office after all.

“I’ll see you soon!” She says before ending the call. She goes back to her desk and sets her phone down, Hm maybe she can get some take out ready to pick up if she orders now. She can get it on her way home.

“Rosa?” A sudden voice snaps her back to reality and she sees Artem by her desk.

“Oh hi Mr. Wing! Sorry about that.” She says sheepishly.

“It’s okay. Did something happen?” He asks, looking slightly worried.

“Oh no no not at all! That was my old friend MC!” Rosa explains. “I haven’t seen them in a long time and they called to tell me they’re coming here to Stellis!”

Artem recalls a few stories about this MC. Seemed like the polar opposite of Rosa when he thinks about it. MC had visited Stellis with family one year during their childhood in the summer and had gotten to know Rosa, they managed to keep in touch even after all these years as pen pals before exchanging phone numbers.

“They should be waiting for me by the time my shift is over.” Rosa glances at the time.

“Well if it really has been that long, you can leave now.” Artem suggests. Rosa doesn’t even fight it, jumping up and gathering her things and giving Artem a big hug and a quick thank you.

“Oh relax would ya.” You snicker, DDD in hand. “I’m not gonna get dragged into any of her cases. I’m not a lawyer or agent or whatever.”

You were outside of Rosa’s home waiting for her to get back. In the mean time you talked on your DDD with an over protective demon.

“You get dragged into all kinds of trouble without trying.” Lucifer sighed on the other end.

“Mmm true but still.” You snickered. “I’ll be fine.”

“MC!!!”

“Oop gotta go!”

You hang up and put your DDD away just in time to catch a smaller figure crash into you in a tight hug.

“Rosa!” You laugh and set her down. “Ah still so tiny.”

“Hey! I’ve grown at least a little bit!” Rosa pouts. “My boss let me out early and I got food!”

She turned around to grab the bag of take out she set down a ways away. Only for you to flicker your wrist and have it hover over and land in your hand.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that.” She says in awe. She was one of the few people outside of your family that knew about your mmm other worldly trips and lessons.

~~~~

From murder cases to crazy trails and tests to mundane things and a bit more still mundane things the two of you share many stories back and forth.

“Sounds like Luke is still Luke you’re still you.” You grin.

“Yeah and it seems you’ve changed the most.” Rosa sighs. You could tell there was far more she wanted to share but clearly had her reasons to keep quiet. You don’t mind, the life of a lawyer must come with its own secrets.

“Change? Nah. Still just as hot headed as when we were kids.” You wink. “Only my eyes glow green when I get mad.”

Rosa sits up straight and blinks at you. You only give her a lope sided smile and she giggled.

“If I wasn’t so aware of your adventures I would’ve questioned that a bit more.” She giggled lightly. “Oh! You should come with me to the office and meet everyone!”

“Will I get to meet this Artem Wing you always mention in your texts?” You ask and wiggle your eyebrows at her.

That got you a pillow to the face.

~~~~~

“MC!” Luke waves to you and Rosa as you walk to a big building. Themis Law Firm if you recall correctly.

“I texted Luke to see if he wanted to stop by and see you.” You hear Rosa say before getting hugged by said man.

“It’s so good to see you! When did you get here???” He pulls away and gives you that blindingly bright smile of his.

“Just last night.” You state. He doesn’t know about you and magic. It’s not that you don’t trust him it’s just…you just don’t think his heart could take it. Seeing as how protective he is with just Rosa. But enough of that.

“Hmmm I dunno Rosa.” You hum, hand on her head and raising it to your own than to Luke’s. “You still look pretty tiny to me.”

Rosa gasps and Luke does his best to hold in his laughter but that only annoys Rosa more.

“I am not that small!!” Rosa swats her hands on your shoulder and Luke finally loses it. It was this moment that made you realized you missed these two knuckleheads more than you thought. You want to share all your adventures with Luke and Rosa but you still remember how Rosa reacted on a video call when you told her why you went missing for a year.

“WHAT?!” She gasps and you nearly dropped your phone.

“Look I know it sounds crazy but-”

“Other realm or not that breaks so many laws! And you aren’t the least bit upset!?” She asks, propping her phone up and flipping through some folders. “Abduction, forcing a person to do something against their will, having no say in the matter, oh my gods!”

“Rosa hey relax!” You laugh. She smacks the folder in her hands down and gives you a bewildered look. “So you believe me?”

“Of course I do! I looked into your missing person case after you were declared dead. Nothing made sense and now you telling me all this, everything makes sense.” She sighed. “No signs of struggle, no one having it out for you, nothing. You just…vanished.”

“You looked into my case?” You smiled. Rosa once again looked at you like you were crazy for asking such a thing.

“MC, we may have known each other over a summer but you quickly became my best friend. Of course I would.” She stated like it was obvious. “You really aren’t upset about this?”

“No it’s…complicated.” You sigh but had a small smile.

“Sounds like you were the force of nature those boys needed huh?”

“YEESSS YOU GET IT!”

Rosa laughed hard at your outburst.

Back to the present, Luke had to run off but made you and Rosa promise that you all had to hang out together at least once before you had to go. Now you were walking into the building and heading to Rosa’s floor.

“Is that phone even sturdy?” You ask, eyeballing the piece of glass in Rosa’s hand that she claimed to be a cell phone.

“It’s a lot tougher than you think.” She says with such confidence she might give Mammon a run for his money.

“Oooh is this the famous MC we’ve heard so much about?” A new voice says as a woman walks over to you two.

“MC this is Celestine.” Rosa introduced and you shake her hand. More and more people come and go to meet you. Did Rosa really talk about you that much?

“You make me out to be some celebrity?” You teased and she just grins at you. You get to her little cubicle and sit by her, watching her work. You get bored within half n hour and start to spin around in the wheelie chair you’re sat in.

“MC don’t do that. You’ll crash into someone.” You hear Rosa warn.

“Oh I’ll be fine- OH SHIT-” You slam your feet down just in time so you don’t smack into whoever was right behind you. You glance up and seen cold blue eyes staring down at you. If you were a normal person you’d be intimidated but being around the likes of Lucifer, you just wave at the guy.

“Well hello there pretty boy.” You grin and hear Rosa choke on her tea behind you.

“And you must be MC.” He says.

“That’s me. And you?” You ask.

“Artem Wing.”

……..

“OH.” You stand up and bow a little. “I am so sorry, Mr. Wing! Rosa has told me so much about you! Ha ha ha!”

“Don’t be so tense.” Artem chuckled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

You shake hands then sink back down into your chair. You glance over to Rosa who was currently coughing into a tissue.

“Well I’d say that’s a new record for me.” You grin then look back to Artem. “So!”

You stand back and give Artem a once over. He must’ve noticed as you see a bit of blush form on his cheeks and he fiddles with his tie.

“Rosa told me a lot about you as I mentioned and her description of you was spot on. Easy on the eyes and has gorgeous eyes too!” You state and hear Rosa make a squeaky noise.

“Well it’s almost my lunch time! Come on MC!” Rosa finally speaks up and grabs your wrist, dragging you away from Artem.

“Rosa also told me you got a nice waist. I can see it! You’re totally her type!”

SMACK

“CUT IT OUT!”

~~~~~

“I can’t believe you.” Rosa pouts and takes a bite of her sandwich. You two were in a park, sat on a bench under a tree.

“Am I wrong though?” You ask with a knowing look. She merely glares but shyly shakes her head.

“Knew it.” You say with a wink. You chat some more until a guy walks over.

“Hey Miss attorney. Who’s this with you?” He says, taking the empty spot on Rosa’s right side.

“Oh! MC this is Marius. Marius this is my friend MC. They’re visiting Stellis for a few days.” Rosa introduced you two to each other.

“Marius, Marius.. ah right.”

“Yep. Marius von Hagen at your service.”

“Oh I was gonna say the blueberry play boy.”

“Huh?!”

Rosa laughs as you snicker at the man’s expression. You remember Rosa mentioning a Marius in your texts and you gave him the title of blueberry play boy because of his hair and eyes.

“We’ve only just met and you’re already being so mean.” He says in a fake hurt tone. Now why does that seem so familiar?

“But truly I’ve met bigger names.” You state. “Not really impressed by titles nowadays.”

“Oh? Who have you met?” He asks, thinking you’re being serious. Meanwhile Rosa looks surprised, are you going to-?

“Nobody you need to know. Rosa has told me all about you so it feels like I’ve already met you and the shock has drifted away.” You joke and Rosa sighed. Just then your DDD rings and you get up. “Excuse me for a moment.

Rosa nods and you walk off to the side before answering. Right away you hear bickering on the other end, Asmo, Levi and Mammon if you’re hearing correctly. Of all the times to call-

“OI!” You snap and silence follows. “I told you guys I’d be busy the next few days. What is it?”

What follows was mingled words of Asmo saying Mammon stole his jewelry, Mammon denying it and Levi whining about-something; you aren’t sure what. You pinch the bridge of your nose, contemplating on whether you should text Lucifer for help or not.

When an evil idea comes to mind. You look over to the bench and no matter how they look you know Rosa and Marius are trying to listen in on the conversation. So you wave your hand and when they notice you, you point at Marius and make a “come here” gesture with your hand.

“Yeah?” He asks, confused. You mute yourself on your end and say:

“Just follow my lead, okay?” You say and he nods. You unmute yourself. “Look you guys, I don’t really have time for this.”

“But MC-!”

“I have a lot of sight seeing to do. You can be good and figure this out for yourselves right?” You ask. “I’m sure Lucifer can help sort this out.”

“Lucifer?” Marius asks and the three boys on the other side grow silent real fast. Got em.

“Who’s that?” Mammon asks.

“Oh this is Marius. He’s a friend of Rosa’s, I just met him.” You explain calmly. “He’s part of the Pax Group. The ceo if I remember right.”

“PAX GROUP?!” The three voices simultaneously shout, making you and Marius jerk back from the volume of it.

“Oi he isn’t tryin to steal ya away is he?” You hear Mammon hiss.

“Oh relax.” You rolled your eyes. “I just had him talk just to tease ya. Call it karma for the headaches you lot give me.”

“You’re so mean!” Asmo whines but you knew they were used to this. You tease but never mean any ill intent.

“Now if all matters are settled, I’m going to hang up now and you aren’t going to call me anymore right?” You state.

“But-”

“Right?” You repeat, eyes flashing green for a second. The three agree and hang up. You put your DDD away with a sigh and glance to the young ceo beside you. “Why are you staring at me like that?”

“Did your eyes glow…green? How did you do that?” He asks.

…oh shit-

“HEY ROSA YOUR LUNCH BREAK IS OVER LETS GO!”

~~~~~

“He noticed? Oh he’s not going to let that go.” Rosa sighed as she typed on her computer.

“I had a feeling he was that kind of prick.” You huff, slumping into your chair.

“He’s not a-prick- he just likes to tease. Like someone else I know.” Rosa comments, side eyeing you with a smirk.

“Are you saying we’re similar??? I’m hurt!” You gasp in fake offend. You two keep talking as she works, your head spinning at all the legal talk. It makes magic and potions look like pre school levels of easy in comparison.

“Using a kid as a test subject for drugs? Hmmm wonder if Diavolo could find that guy in the Devildom.” You mumble to yourself after Rosa explained one of the cases she worked on.

She looks at you, making a face like she wanted to say or ask something but frowns with a small pout.

“Something on your mind?” You ask.

“If you could find him that would really help things but- I don’t think that would be something that could be explained in court.” She pouts. Right. Things are still odd between the realms. You’d bet everything that Diavolo would help in a heartbeat but things aren’t that easy.

“Someday, Rosa. Someday.” You pat her back. To lighten the mood again you spin in your chair- and fall over with a loud thud.

“I’m okay!” You hold a thumbs up and hear Rosa laugh before she’s helping you up.

“You didn’t learn from earlier today did you?” She asks.

“Nope!” You grin.

“I’m assuming this is the MC I’ve heard so much about.”

You glance behind Rosa and see a man with glasses and Hm white? Platinum hair? Meh who really knows.

“Based on the way you dress, you must be V-” Rosa elbowed you. “-Dr. Richter.”

“Correct.” He chuckled as you rub your side, softly glaring at Rosa.

“Well look at that, I’ve met all three of these new guys.” You announced.

“Friends, MC. My new friends.” Rosa corrected you but you just shoot her a look. You bicker back and forth but feel eyes on you still. Looking up, Dr. Richter hasn’t moved or walked away.

“Something wrong, Doc?” You ask.

“No no it’s just-how do I put it. You seem different from others I’ve met.” He explains. Your eyes narrow, you can tell this man is far more than what he looks to be. Rosa must’ve sensed the growing tension before she wheels her chair in between you and this doctor, holding her hands up.

“MC is just a very interesting person like that. You know?” She laughs kinda nervously, looking up at the man.

“I’m not going to cause any trouble if that’s what you’re trying to imply.” You spoke up after a moment. “I’m just here to visit two childhood friends, is that so wrong of me?”

“No not at all.” Dr. Richter agreed. He gets called away and walks off, but you could still tell he was wary of you.

“He totally knows.” You said once you were sure he was gone.

“No I don’t think it’s that he knows, maybe he can just tell there’s more to you than meets the eye.” Rosa explains. “Either way, just be extra careful around him.”

“And by that you mean don’t knock his lights out.”

“Especially that.”

~~~~~~

“He’s just a Psychiatrist! Why was he sizing me up like some criminal?!” You pace around as you vent to Rosa and Luke. You were in Rosa’s apartment hanging out like Luke basically made you promise to do.

“I mean-are you?” Luke asks and you grab a pillow then chuck it at him. He laughs as he catches it. “He’s just like that. Comes with the job I’m sure.”

Grumbling, you slump back down into a chair. You shouldn’t let this bother you so much but it does. Then again you should be used to this, the students at RAD were the same way once upon a time.

“So how long are you planning to stay?” Rosa asks, effectively changing the topic.

“Not sure yet. Maybe a few days. I know you guys are busy.” You answer.

“Oh come on! Stay longer!” Luke urges. “We have so much catching up to do!”

“He’s right. I don’t have any major cases right now.” Rosa adds. They both give you puppy dog eyes and you groan in defeat.

“Alright alright.” You give in. “I’ll stay longer.”

They celebrate their victory and pull you into a small group hug.

~~~~~~

“You weren’t trying to test MC, were you, Vyn?” Rosa walks into the NXX headquarters with Luke behind her and clearly caught the doctor off guard with her question.

“Of course not.” He says. “I’ve met a lot of people in my line of work and there’s just something different about them.”

“You’d be right about that, Doc. I met them and their eyes glowed green.” Marius pipes up and oh boy.

“Green?” Artem questioned, joining the conversation as he walks over. Luke makes a confused noise and looks down to Rosa.

“You were seeing things.” She tried to shrug it off.

“They’re our friend, if there was something new with them they would’ve told us by now.” Luke spoke up, not liking how the others were acting as if MC was suspicious. Rosa nodded in agreement.

“Not like we have a right since we can’t tell them about this.” Rosa adds, gesturing to the whole headquarters. The topic is changed once Artem starts talking about a new case that came in.

Strange substances going around the city that’s causing strange side effects or worse, death. But no one knows where it came from or what it even is. It was like it came from a different world all together.

“It’s only been recorded to have be here in Stellis only as of right now.” Artem explains.

“And if we don’t find out where it’s coming from, it could spread.” Marius adds. Rosa looks at the sample careful that was in a small baggy. Reddish with bits of black and leafy like.

“May…I make a suggestion.” Rosa spoke up. All four of the men look at her. “I think I know where we can start.”

[moonsickcafe]

I’m not gonna lie, I just don’t see what people are hating about Artrem’s characterization in the second anniversary. I thought it was pretty true to form.

My only real beef is that it felt shorter and off theme compared to the other 3 cards which is a huge shame and feels gross considering it’s such a momentous canon card.

BUT

Artem in the 2nd anniversary doesn’t feel super out of character.

He’s putting off engagement because he feels paralyzed by the act of telling Rosa what he feels/wants because he doesn’t know how to convey his feelings or propose in a way that matches his own expectations.

He’s being distant and aloof as a result, and Rosa is doing what she does best and hyper analyzing his behavior with wrong conclusions (that reflect more on outward situations than internal, since Artem still isn’t great at being open up about that stuff unlike Vyn who knows how to communicate well but withholds as a concerted choice, for example).

All of his background cards see him bobbing and weaving not just how Neil and his parents have affected him in front of Rosa, but also when Rosa or anyone else hurts his feelings/comes to a wrong conclusion about him/his intentions, with fleeting exceptions.

Master of deflecting further questions or the topic at hand with (mostly work) segues.

He’s still being cheered on and brought to reality by his work big sis Celestine, who is so invested in Artem and Rosa that she views it as a cherry on top to see them engaged after her wedding. Which is so lovely. And very in character for her—she loves to see the fruits of her labor happen front and center and now she can hold this memory close not just in regards to her wedding but in regards to Artem and Rosa, who she cherishes. Especially Artem! (Also the fact that Mr. Rodriguez is so on board….busy body power couple)

This in particular is where I feel people are just beefing to beef. Celestine has ALWAYS meddled. And this feels very in character for her to guide Artem where he needs to go in a way she likes. She does it in almost every card she’s in!

And he is still struggling with his abandonment issues from Neil being gone and his parents not being around as much. He feels SO hard for Rosa and in a moment of high emotion and still a bit tipsy off alcohol he makes possessive comments which is also not out of character.

To me, it’s Artem feeling comfortable and going to the next step physically (and emotionally) by REALLY admitting that he’s insecure and his fears are manifesting as possessiveness ie YEARNING for Rosa and for more with her. He feels secure with Rosa. And he fears losing her just like he’s lost others. And he wants it to feel real. He doesn’t want to lose her to a case (Neil) or a career (his mother and father) or anything else!

He wants to feel like it isn’t a dream. He wants it to be solid, fully grounded in reality, in a way a lot of his personal relationships never get to be. No one could know about NXX and the full extent of his relationship with Neil (or the other members). He actively hid who his mother is and by extension who he is to her. Despite his relationships with Celestine and Rosa, he feels leagues away from his co-workers at large.

He wants people to KNOW that he has a truly personal relationship. He doesn’t want to for others or himself to see a large distance between himself and Rosa—like they’re strangers attached by business (like others in his life have been). Rosa is his partner, in all senses of the word.

Not just that, but it’s been a full year since Artem and Rosa started dating. In what world is it out of character for them to be familiar with intimacy. I kept seeing a lot of people saying Artem was too sexual and all he did was hold her and kiss her which he’s done……a lot, probably. They’ve been dating a year by now! The ending implies what we see is something they’ve done before but Artem would like to go farther. And Rosa is all for that but has never heard him say that before now! Because the repressed guy has been giving her repression.

Is the expectation truly that Artem’s first time making out and feeling up Rosa is this card? For real?

I have no idea what future cards will bring and I’m not interested in knowing until I can pull them in Global, but personally it feels like frustration toward future events is bleeding onto this card. Because what was presented does not feel disconnected from Artem’s side story, cards, or characterization as a whole.

There was just less time allowed to expand on what was presented which I agree is not ideal or even acceptable, especially for the 2nd anniversary. It should have been on par with the 1st in that regard, full stop.

But acting like this card pulled away from his established characterization in other cards in a huge way feels disingenuous. It did not! It was just rushed which I HATE SO MUCH. Like Rosa and Artem felt like they had the least time actually interacting within these 2nd anni cards!

And among these 2nd anni cards a big theme was family. Artem’s parents are certainly not dead so their exclusion from this proposal warranted at least some form of explanation. ESPECIALLY since his mother is someone Rosa knows and thinks fondly of and it certainly would have been interesting to see Celestine and Artem’s mother interact together.

His card lacked time to explore what he was feeling and cohesion to the 2nd anni theme, for sure. Which is really sad considering he is one of my favorite NXX guys. Like there are criticisms for sure but mine are more toward the structure of the card

[kzhnyas]

Late

| Artem Wing x Male reader

originally uploaded onto ao3 on 09/11/21

ao3 account

this is OLD. but still one of my favorites

[ bottom artem, cock warming, office sex, uniforms, orgasm denial ]

NSFW under the cut

Opening the office door without warning, you strolled in with a suitcase in hand. Hearing pens and pencils clash against the desk, you chuckle. "Celeste let me in."

Whiping his head up, Artem rose a brow. "You could have knocked." He stated, picking up the cups that he had accidentally hit with his elbow.

"It's past midnight, who else would be here?"

"I don't know... Celestine?" Sighing, he shuffeled a few papers on his desk, setting them to the side. Taking a sip from his freshly brewed coffee, he took a look at the clock. "But- ahh.. You're here a bit early.."

You deadpanned, rolling your eyes and putting the suitcase down in a chair near the door. "Early? Artem, it's two in the morning." Leaning over the desk, you noticed the dark bags under his eyes and how messy his hair had become. "Let me drive you home..."

For a second he thought about it.

Then, of course, he shook his head. "I still have work to do.. Just wait a bit, okay?" Frowning, he put a hand against your cheek, a gentle smile forming on his tired exhausted face. "I promise I'll be done in.. Lets see," Clicking through a few things on his laptop, he pulled a tab up. "Thirty minutes."

Half an hour, that isn't as bad as you thought.

"..Fine." It was just thirty minutes. Taking a mental note of that, you shuffled over next to him.

You were bored out of your mind, but you could wait half an hour. All you had to do was watch whatever the attorney was doing- which was.. Files.

Rosa told you all about how tired her partner looked, so you couldn't help but lay around and try to think how to reenergize him. Coffee helps, but all that caffeine can't be healthy..

He dislikes alcohol, so offering him wine wouldn't do anything either. Nonetheless, he can't even handle it.

Standing up and wrapping your arms around his shoulders, you leaned in and buried your face into his neck. His cologne was still thick on him, the scent you missed having on yourself everytime you two were to meet.

Thumbs pressed into his shoulder blades, circling around the soft skin. He's been here all day since sunrise, he deserves a nice massage.

"Sadly I can't lay you down," Whispering into his ear, you nuzzled your face into the crook of his neck. "but I can at least give you a quick shoulder rub, right?"

Placing a hand on the base of his neck, you felt him swallow hard, a small smirk forming on your face. "Th.. Thank you, love.." A small stutter had made its way into his sentence, his composure starting to fall.

You had to kill time somehow. That, and you've been pent up for a while with how Artem has been staying back at work much longer than you had liked.

Reaching over, you loosened up his tie. "It must be suffocating wearing it that tight all day, huh?" Leaving small chaste kisses on his neck, he remained quiet, focusing on the reports he had to fill out.

A loud gasp left his mouth, the mouse in his hand dropping onto the table when you had harshly bit down on his delicate skin.

He's always been so sensitive on every inch of his body, it was no wonder that he was starting to get so worked up over a bit of kissing and biting. You found it quite cute, fun to toy with him.

"What is it?" A deep mark was left on his neck, your hands gliding down to unbutton a few of the buttons near his chest. "Focus on your work, darling.You wouldn't want me to wait more than thirty minutes, would you?"

Artem's breath hitched, his hands shaking and his mind fogged. Biting his lip, he nodded, typing away on his laptop.

But, with the way his heart rate fastened at every touch, and with how he would shift in his seat everytime your hands would make contact on his exposed skin, its become clear that... He most likely won't be able to take much more of this.

Five buttons popped open as you let your warm hands heat up his cold body. Your fingers made its way down to his chest, flicking and gently pulling at the small buds that were hardening.

Small muffled whimpers were heard through his bitten lip, his brows furrowing as he found it hard to type on the keyboard in front of him. Squeezing his legs together, he tried his hardest to not pay attention to how his body was being pleasured by you.

Then you pulled away.

"Mmh?" Looking up, he saw your smug smirk. "W-Why'd you..." Averting your gaze, he felt his face start to heat up.

Artem knew he should just do his work and then go home with you, but god did you know how to use your hands on his body. It was addicting to feel your soft nibbles on his neck.

Ignoring him, you made your way to the suitcase you had set down a bit ago. Flipping it open, he simply assumed that you had your own things to finish at your job.

All of that tension for you to do nothing to him? While he wasn't expecting a lot to happen in his office, he at least wanted something more than just a bit of biting.

It wasn't like he was about to complain, but now he's all pent up and his boxers were uncomfortably tight.

Sighing, he was about to wipe off the saliva and button back up his shirt— until you stopped his hand.

"Huh?" Tilting your head like a puppy, you gave Artem a quick innocent angelic smile. One that could fool anyone, including him. "Who said I was done with you?"

He was ashamed to admit this, but he did want you to do even more with his body.

The sight of Artem getting excited over you playing around with him made images flash through your mind. What else could you do to him— to make him shake in pleasure?

Oh, the possibilities are endless... With how adorably sensitive he is to everything, it would be easy.

Perhaps you should tease him the entire night? Use your fingers and thrust them into his tight hole?

Or, better yet..

"Stand up for a second for me, Artem." Hiding your hands behind your back, he simply complied, leaning over the desk so that he could still at least do a bit of work.

He had no idea what you wanted him to stand up, but with all the things you were doing to him, it must... Be something, right?

The sound of the chairs rollers squeaking against the carpet underneath perked his ears up. A loud metal clink was heard across the room, he figured you threw something there.

A hand made its way around his waist, caressing his hips. Another was on his thigh, a thumb in his inner. Slowly, it hooked around his belt and pulling it off, dropping to the ground in a final swoop.

This should be humiliating, he should be ashamed of himself for doing this in his own office at work. But god, did it feel so good.

"Come here~" Gently being pulled down, he loudly gasped and his eyes widened when he felt something hit his back. Your cock was out, against his bottom and dripping.

Unzipping his pants, he squeaked when your hand palmed against his hard erection that had formed.

Your grip on his waist tightened when he unconsciously rubbed himself up against you.

Gulping loudly, his whimpers growing when you lowered down his slacks and boxers. "Please, please.." Backing up against your member, he rubbed his ass against it, his hand holding it in place.

"Patience, darling." Opening up a bottle, the cap popped off and you dripped the liquid down into your palm.

Realization set in when he recognized the sound from the numerous nights before this. "How do you... Have lube..."

"I get bored at work."

"Thats so unprofessional of y—!!" His words were cut off when your pointer finger slid into him with ease, a small moan replacing the sentence instead.

Balling his pants up from the intrusion, he whined when a hand enveloped his member tightly. The sensations made his brain turn into jelly, barely even noticing the fact that you were leaving dark purple hickeys on him.

"Get back to work, Artem." He jerked his hips back into you, mouth open as he breathed heavily. "You still have emails to reply to~" Reminding him, he bit his lip and nodded.

Another finger was inserted, his eyes starting to grow blurry and cloudy with lust.

So good, it felt so good.

He should be at home doing this in the bed you two sleep in together.

But here he is, the attorney getting pleasured inside of his office.

The emails, right. He has to reply to five more and then finish up the report he was writing.

His tight walls gripped around your fingers, the small whimpers filling up the room. "You're doing so well for me~.." Lifting his shirt up, you placed light kisses on his back.

"Haa.. ha... ♡ " A third finger penetrated him, his mind dissolving into dust. The fast clicks on his keyboard slowed down and he struggled to even move his mouse.

your fingers curled up inside of him, eyes rolling back into his head. You made sure to remind him everyday of this moment by leaving small little love bites all over his shoulders and back.

"Whats your color?" Wrapping his waist with your arms, you leaned in and rested your chin on his shoulder.

Heavy breaths left him as he placed a hand over yours. "Green, green... Please give me more.."

With your cock in your hand, you gave it a few rubs before slapping it on his back. "You ready?"

Artem nodded, impatiently clawing at your leg to urge you to move. All the teasing was starting to get to him, the tip of his sex red and swollen.

Grabbing his hips, you lifted them up and slowly guided him down onto your member. "Mnn..♡ " Biting his shoulder to mask any sounds you were making, he let out soft whimpers as it went into him.

Putting your hands on his stomach, you caressed the sides, comforting Artem as he tried to adjust to your length.

Moonlight shined down through the window, the only other light source being the small lamp on his desk. He looked beautiful on your lap, the light hitting his skin in all the right ways.

Tapping your hand, he was ready for you to move.

Chuckling you shook your head a left a small kiss on his jaw. "Sorry, sweetheart," With a single finger, you dragged it up from the base of his cock up to the tip. Electricity shot through his body, whining when your thumb and finger wouldn't stop massaging the tip. "but you still have to do your work."

Holding him down, you were sure he wouldn't be able to move around with your grip on him.

Shakey hands made its way to the keyboard, red lines appearing under words as he tried his best to reply to a client. Gulping, his eyes looked down to see your hand completely wrapped around his sex.

How can he focus like this?

Every small movements you made your cock would slightly thrust into him, causing him to moan out. Trying to get some sort of pleasure, he started backing up into you.

Shushing him, you balled his hair up and gently pulled him back. "Don't move, darling." Yelping when he felt your hand harshly pinch his nipple, he nodded, but not without complaining.

"You're s-so..." Pushing his head to the side to have access to his neck, you bit down to leave a painful red mark. "—Nng..!! —c-cruel..."

He accidentally pressed one too many buttons while typing feeling your hand roughly squeeze his cock. "Says you. Youre the one whos been staying back here after closing hours." Suddenly thrusting up, Artem cried out and arched his back, your finger running down his spine.

"Hnn.. ♡" Wrapping your arms around his slender waist, you grinned when you noticed the brunettes frustrated pout.

The pulsating cock deep inside of his ass made him swallow hard, the fullness becoming more prominent by the second. His feet weren't even touching the ground, they were dangling since he was sitting so snuggly on your lap.

He felt ruined from doing this inside of his office, but he loved every second of it.

Beads of sweat slicked his back and dripped down his forehead. It felt as if his skin was on fire, burning to the touch.

The documents were typed with obvious typos and extra letters that weren't suppose to be in the word. Everytime you would lean in to kiss his neck, your waist would unknowingly shift and the cock inside of him with grind up.

Gripping the mouse in his hand, Artem's sweat slicked forehead had hair sticking to it. His cock twitched in excitement when feeling a hand wrap around it once more.

Light feather touches dusted against his thighs, the sensation causing him to buck up against you.

He hung his head low, mouth agape to take in heavy deep breaths. Holding your wrists that were wrapped around him in his hands, he squeezed them. "Sir, sir... Pl.. —ease..." Looking back with pleading eyes, there were tears starting to form in them.

"Don't you want to finish up your work?" goosebumps rose on his skin and he shuddered when he felt you pull your arms away and pour cold lube onto his bottom.

"Y-Yes.. But..."

"Then focus on that." You ordered, gripping his chin to make it face the bright white computer screen that illuminated his face. "Either way, you look so pretty like this." Mumbling low enough so that Artem could just barely hear, you groped his inner thigh.

It was covered in precum, his stomach was as well with a few drops. Such a beautiful sight for you, and only you to see.

The fullness inside of him, it was unbearable. Clenching his legs and rubbing his knees together, he ached for some type of pleasure.

Now, the room was spinning with how drunk on lust he was all over a little bit of teasing from you.

Artem, he was slowly going brainless- his mind turning into mush from your cock buried deep in him and the constant edging you had been doing.

Taking a quick peak on the screen, you notice that he only had one more email to reply to. Your hot breath tickled his neck, making hairs stand up on his body.

"Okay, I can't do this anymore." Grabbing his hips, your fingers gripped them harshly. He shot his head up, surprised by the sudden touch. "I need you right now." Biting down on his shoulder, you pulled out and slammed right back into him, causing him to cry out in pleasure.

"Hnn! W-Wait- Warning first!" Whining on your cock, he had his hands on the edge of his desk, knuckles turning white with how he had to hold himself up.

Holding his ass in one hand, in your other you were pulling back his hair, his neck straining.

Lewd squelches were heard in the room, Artem's moans echoing. "Ha—! Mnnn~—!!!!" Digging his nails into the wood, they were sure to leave pale marks into the table.

Important documents and files started falling off of the desk as you pulled on his soft brunette locks, making him arch his back further.

Artem's eyes widened- then rolled back into his head when feeling one of your hands tightly grip his hips. His legs shook in delight, drool seeping down and coating his swollen bottom lip.

With your thumb rubbing the head of his sex, you held his hips in place as he bounced on your lap. He was about to explode, his cock pulsating in your hands and his bottom rutting against you.

Needy pleads and moans echoed throughout his office, clawing at your leg and urging for you to pleasure him. That was all he could think about— pleasure.

You let out a moan while your member pulsed inside of him, not exactly expecting Artem to act like this. Who were you to complain though?

"Love, you're so close aren't you?" Teasing him, you stayed deep inside, grinding against him and consantly rubbing that little spot that sent shockwaves throughout his entire body.

Nipping at his neck you felt him try to pick himself up and create some type of movement. He was so desperate to climax that he would do anything at all to reach it.

"S-..So c-..lose....." Breathy sighs left him and a loud squeal erupted throughout the office when you held his hair tightly, pulling him back into your chest. Putting his head into your neck, you made him lean backwards and tried to adjust the position enough to make him still feel comfortable.

Holding up his legs and spreading them to have just a bit more room, you saw his cock twitch in anticipation. Slick was already starting to drip down, he was so close to bursting.

' cant think - cant think — ' Gritting his teeth, his vision blurred and hips bucked. Pushing his knees together with your hands right underneath them to keep him in place, he found it hard to do remotely anything other than moan and cry out your name.

Your hand back on his member, you started rapidly jerking your wrist. His body trembled and shook as he covered his mouth, unable to contain the loud moans.

"Ple—ase-" With a high pitch whimper, his eyes nearly looked starstruck with pleasure. "Let me cum—!" Panting, Artem felt you nod against his neck.

You were just as breathless as he was. The foreplay you were doing earlier really made your mind fog up with lust, all the lewd scenarios involving Artem clouding your thoughts.

"Please cum on my back—" His voice was shaky and small light tears were starting to drip down his rosy cheeks. "-need to feel it.. o-on m— haa- ♡ !" Digging your nails into his hips, he jerked up and whipped his head back.

Your thrusts grew sloppy as you had difficulty keeping up, your breaths hitching everytime Artem would slightly shift to the side or clench around you. Burying your head into the crook of his neck, you squeezed your eyes shut while moaning.

He was stuffed- full of your hard erection that was hitting all the right spots within him. He felt like he was in heaven.

You leaned him down into his desk, putting all of your weight onto his body. Shoving the keyboard to the side - as well as other irrelevant items that were there- you could feel him quiver from his soon to come high.

With a loud high pitched moan, you lifted his button up shirt up and shot your seed all over his back. His arousal shot skyward when feeling you spill yourself all over his back- painting him in white.

Leaving marks into the desk, his knees buckeled and he started losing his balance when the heat in his sex grew.

Rubbing his hips gently, you nipped at his neck leaving small little bruises. Purring into his ears, your grip around him tightened every now and then- much like a pulse. "You're doing so well for me, darling." You whispered, giggling when all he could do is whine.

Arching his back, his mind completely went blank for a split second and his vision was white. His eyes rolling back, Artem shot his load into your hand.

"♡♡♡!!!" His eyes shot open when he felt your tongue glide across his back, the wet sensation making him tremble in delight. Licking your lips, you chuckeled. You couldn't leave too much of a mess in his office after all.

With heavy deep breaths, you fell back into the chair with Artem still on your lap. Holding him close, you breathed in his scent while savoring his warmth in the cold office.

You two stayed still for a moment, overcoming the climax first before doing anything else. You still couldn't feel your legs with how intense that was.

His hand went atop of yours, tracing little shapes into the back of it. "Let me get aaaa—" Reaching inside the white coat you had flung to the side next to you, you pulled out a small packet of wet wipes.

Sighing, Artem narrowed his eyes. "Do i even want to know why you have this..?"

"Honestly? No, you don't." You stated honestly, grinning after seeing him sigh in disappointment. Placing a quick peck on his cheek, you gestured for him to lift his bottom up.

Wiping him down with a few wipes, you started cleaning yourself up as he tried his best to tidy himself up and dust off anything on his work clothes.

Just before he could shimmy himself away from the desk, you grabbed him by the tie to give him a gentle kiss on his soft lips.

Flustered, he pulled away once it was over and cleared his throat, face beat red once more.

Sighing, he stared at his legs. "You tore a hole in my pants.."

Raising a brow, you threw all the dirty wiped into his trash can. "Wasn't that you? You were gripping your pants pretty tightly."

"What? No..." He stopped midway buckeling his belt, trying to think back. "Well ...? Maybe?"

Hooking a arm around his waist, you kissed over the marks you left on his neck. "Its fine~ I'll stitch them up for you."

Nodding, he yawned into his hand, peering up at the clock. "Hey, can we go home now? I'm tired.." Leaning back into your touch, he crooned his cheek into your hand went you went to caress him. "You did offer to drive me home after all."

"I completely forgot that I was suppose to be driving you home." Chaste pecks covered his face as he tried to hide his embarrassment. "Alright, lets go home now, okay love?

"Yeah.. Lets go home.."

[ad-hawkeye]

Having absolutely no context for your Lovebrush posting almost makes me want to stay clueless about the plot because there's something so funny about seeing the same guy be this really nice sweet guy and then next post is about his war crimes. Please keep it up I'm deeply enthused - an Artem follower

JHGJLJFLGJFH EHLP! oh my god OKAY OKAY OKAY. FIRST OF ALL. THANK YOU! FOR STICKING AROUND I GENUINELY APPRECIATE IT AND APPRECIATE YOU!!!!

second of all - this made me laugh so hard. im not even joking i stashed this in my inbox for a bit because i wanted to reply properly. so i apologize for the wait!!

lbc is. so stupidly complicated and i love it so much. okay. so like. the sparknotes summary. if you want it.

the mc is a "traveler", aka someone who can travel through space and time. there is only one of her across every universe.

cael (one of the love interests) is also a traveler and is from a War Criminal Planet universe where war crimes are the norm and emotions are SO not cool. there is also only one of him across every universe. he is also immortal.

the other love interests (ayn, alkaid, clarence, lars) are "paragons", who are basically four guys who manifest in every alternate universe and act as their worlds' last line of defense in the event they are ever threatened.

two different au versions cannot exist in the same universe as their souls will either combine, or one will take over the other.

their alternate selves are all different people, but are the same at their core. they have the same "nature", but very different "nurtures" due to the differences in their backgrounds and home planets.

of course, this means there are also "paragons" on the War Criminal Planet cael is from. so while they have some similarities due to their nature deep down, their nurture has made them. uh. well uh. insane??? lmao??

so basically this means while each alkaid tends to be friendly and patient, you also get the prefect luminary, who was raised in a world where our morals are flip flopped and what is good here is bad there. the fun in lbc is seeing how these two very different alkaids are similar, and how they are VERY different due to their upbringing.

for example, alkaids tend to be very image conscious. this manifests in modern alkaid as coming across as unassuming and nice to everyone to get them off his back. while it is in his nature to be nice, it is also in his nature to be perceptive and sharp as a tack. something he tries not to be too open about in the modern world for backstory reasons.

in the prefect, this manifests as someone who feels the need to overcompensate and try to exert their power to be the prime example of a prefect in the empire (war criminal planet). any deep down kindness is smothered. his perceptiveness and sharpness, however, is on full display.

these two alkaids' ways of "fitting in" are veeery different due to their environment.

BUT YEAH. basically take the au cards in tot and just. imagine rosa going through time and space and meet all of them and each of them have a route and stuff.

[thegirlwhoimagined]

If Artem is so innocent, why hot?

I just can't stop thinking of how much Artem and Loid have in common. They both have malewife behavior, they are oblivious, they can cook. Both are tall and have big dicks. Both are smart but clearly are dumb when it comes to anything other than their work/jobs.

Is that the formula for the Dream man? They also both like the same type of women. Yor and Rosa are very dedicated to their jobs and are both kind with crazy brother figures that are involved in dangerous jobs in their life.

Coincidence? I think not.

HOLY SHIT SPYFAM X TOT CONSPIRACY??!??!?

I honestly think the dream man formula is a man being a malewife and not seeing what's so "rare" about it.

I hat to bring him up but take N*d Fulmer for example, he was BARELY a malewife. All he did was like bake bread and cook once in a while. And he kept on about how he 'loves his wife'. Because he knew that the bar for men was in hell, and that going even 5% beyond it was enough to gain fame and fortune. But he left alot of things to be done by Ariel. Why? Because, to him, it's a woman's job. It may not have been something he thought actively, but the undercurrents of it were there. In fact, its so instilled in all of us, that we all end up thinking and acting that way subconsciously. Because its our learned response, it doesn't mean we WANT to think that way, its just the way that we think because it was reinforced in us over and over.

Loid and Artem, however...

They don't do house chores and cook and stuff to be called malewives, they do it because it needs to be done. They take an active part in household chores because they understand that its their home too so they need to do equal amounts of work to maintain it.

Both of them grew up in situations where they didn't have a traditional home life. Loids parents were killed and Artem presumably lived in a home where neither of his parents were around for things like house chores. They both have also lived a large part of their adult lives living alone. Which means they had to do all the chores for themselves, because neither of them are the type to neglect their surroundings - because being a spy and a lawyer takes precision and attention to detail.

So yeah, they don't do chores FOR Yor and Rosa, they do it because its part of life. They don't hold it over them or constantly recount it to them - as if them doing it was a favour. That's what makes them dream men.