// cn server spoilers, tw: discussions of su*cide, self destructive tendencies, su*cidal thoughts and ideation
I've noticed something that has consistently been implicated in a lot of Vyn's card stories that I haven't seen too much discussion around. Particularly pertaining to Vyn Richter's mental health.
As a psychiatrist, a lot of Vyn's appearances will involve some discussions of psychology and the mental health of other characters. But of course, doctors are not immune from mental illness themselves, and there also happens to be several references to Vyn's own concerning mental state.
One of the first introductions we receive of Dr. Richter from his character story mentions that, in spite of being someone "who always observed the volatile human emotions from the outside, Vyn never expected himself to become one with the same emotions." Which immediately leaves us with the implication that Vyn is someone who experiences "volatile human emotions".
This was one of the very first descriptions I had read in regards to Vyn, and for the longest time, I was left perplexed as to what kind of volatile emotions Vyn was supposedly experiencing. I figured perhaps it was nothing noteworthy initially, but on the contrary, they were in fact rather vague with their implications in a way that could be quickly missed.
Vyn has the tendency to speak in metaphors and riddles, which can make it a little confusing when it comes to understanding what he's trying to say. But not only does the way Vyn speaks tend to be metaphorical, but the writing itself can include metaphorical scenarios that actually pose as a direct reflection of Vyn.
An instance of this was in Vyn Richter's first sweet chapter SSR, "Hungering Desire". Towards the end of the card story, there is a kitten (who suspiciously matches Vyn's traits, with white fur and golden eyes) that Rosa comes back to the lake to check up on. The kitten is sick, and weakly resting by a rock. Rosa says something along the lines of "I heard animals will choose to hide themselves when their life is coming to an end, and welcome death on their own..." and she then quickly bundles the kitten that seems to have given up with her coat.
Vyn refutes this by saying that the cat stayed in the area in an attempt to survive, to which Rosa thinks "Then have you also made a lot of similar attempts in the past too...?" and imagines a young Vyn in Svart. Instead of questioning Vyn, Rosa rephrases her question to ask if the kitten knows the spot it chose to hide in wasn't the best for it. Vyn then says the kitten had no better choice, but it thankfully met Rosa in the end to avoid its cruel fate.
It becomes quite clear that this kitten is supposed to represent Vyn. A kitten who fought for survival and had no choice but to sit alone until it succumbed to death, up until Rosa comes in and saves the kitten.
This card story was also paired with the release of Vyn's first sweet chapter, which simultaneously makes another similar implication. Vyn has to treat a patient who nearly jumped from a building to commit suicide, but she does not comply with Vyn. Towards the end of the sweet chapter, the woman reveals to Rosa that her reluctance to work with Vyn had nothing to do with him personally, but because when speaking with him, she felt that Vyn spoke to her like he related too much to her own circumstances. Hearing this made Rosa panic, and hurriedly run to be by Vyn's side.
It can't be by any coincidence that these two instances were released at the same time, and they raise a red flag with the state of Vyn's mental health. Both stories implicate that Vyn himself has dealt with suicidal thoughts to some degree, and judging by Rosa's reactions, she seems to have come to that conclusion as well.
There's also a lot of other behaviors that Vyn has the tendency to exhibit in stories that key in he's not entirely mentally well.
Vyn is also rather self-destructive and anxious; he frequently fidgets, his palms get cold and clammy, and there have been a number of instances where Vyn's breathing was described as being uneven and erratic when he panics. He also doesn't seem to care whenever he's injured, refusing medical attention and accepting injuries without flinching or complaining. Not only that, but he has also intentionally harmed himself in game.
There were at least three occurrences I can think of where Vyn hurt himself knowingly out of guilt or in order to seek comfort and validation:
One of the more well-known instances was when Vyn pepper sprayed himself in the eyes because he was ashamed of his own actions towards Rosa, intentionally punishing himself.
In "Hungering Desire", Vyn had also expressed that he wished to get sick to experience being taken care of. As sweet as the sentiment was to desire Rosa's care, it really can't be said it was all that healthy of him to desire sickness for the sake of seeking comfort, especially when coupled with the implications of the kitten later on in the card story.
In Main Story Ch. 11 Part 2, Vyn exhibits self-destructive behavior yet again to a much more dangerous degree, going so far as to drinking tea that he knew was poisoned (by someone else) with insecticide after being called out by Rosa, having to get his stomach pumped at the hospital.
And most recently in the CN Server, we actually have an explicit story of Vyn being suicidal in The Last Dragonbreath, this card even making parallels to another card in Tears of Themis's present timeline. He's afraid of losing control and believes he should die, ultimately making Rosa kill him. Vyn also rips out his own dragon scales without much of a reaction, similar to how he behaves canonically with his injuries.
The parallel card in question is actually his Top-Up SSR, "Aromatic Dream". This card was quite possibly one of the most explicit instances where Vyn's suicidal ideation and thoughts show through. He experiences insomnia for a couple of days after dealing with a case where a friend of his killed himself after feeling as though he was losing control of himself, even though he seemed alright and was in a happy relationship. Vyn mentions his fear of going "mad" during his relationship with Rosa, revealing that his insomnia arose because he was afraid of repeating the same fate as his friend whose circumstances felt similar to his own (i.e. killing himself too).
All of these scenarios in game are just the ones that I have seen thus far, and it's entirely possible that there are more stories or that I might have missed any hints in earlier cards. They don't appear in the most explicit fashion, which can make it difficult to catch with everything else that happens in Vyn's stories, but it happens far too often to merely be coincidental.
Though Vyn expresses that he's gotten better after studying psychology himself, with the abusive environment he grew up in and the way he behaves in the present, it's not difficult to imagine how his mental health must have been from his child to teen years.
Vyn is a self-destructive character that struggles with his own mental health. While he does self-evaluations to keep himself under control and most likely showed improvement through his relationship with Rosa, it certainly still peers through from time to time.
do you think the nxx ever cries or just… don’t deal with their emotions in a healthy way? they must be so emotionally repressed!
im so sorry but this is worded in a way i find absolutely hilarious omfg. do they cry or do they suck it up til the end of time? KJAHVSJFHAVSLFSFKJA
i like to think they Do cry, but my god it takes a Lot. this goes for All of them. like, we've seen in canon when the nxx boys and rosa cries, and it's usually during/after very high stakes or very emotional situations. some examples off the top of my head are
marius cries in SSR Unconcealable, the card where mc gets KIDNAPPED and then both of them get TRAPPED IN A FREEZER FOR A HOT SEC
mc cries in SSR Peaceful Place because she thought luke got shot and DIED,
luke cries in his Blossom Chapter Personal Story 4 because he thought mc DROWNED AND DIED
artem cries in SSR Two Hearts as one because he got so emotional acting like he was choking mc
vyn cries in...well, several cards like SR False Tears and SSR Neon Melody but those were 1) not exactly a "healthy" way of dealing with emotions or 2) caused by pepper spray KJHVSKJDF. im behind on vyn's cards, idk in which ones he cries honestly due to genuine in distress
so like, they DO cry. but it seems to take rather a lot to get them there. the flipside is that they also cry when overcome with immensely positive emotion (like, mc was on the verge of tears when luke finally proposed in SSR Orange Scent) so at least theres that!!!! but it's not much, chief....
all members of the nxx team all are IMMENSELY repressed. i think the most emotionally healthy of the team is DAVIS, which isnt a good sign, given that hes not even human
anyhoo this ask inspired me so
here are some misc headcanons on the nxx team and crying
i hc that luke as a kid was Such a crybaby. he'd cry over everything: when he saw a sad movie, when he saw a happy movie, when he saw a dog being walked but the dog was so dang small, when mc cries and his high empathy kicks in to make it Our Cry Session, just...he cried over IT ALL. he was just a very emotionally sensitive child, even to emotions from others. he eventually got emotionally steadier as he grew up but i think there are innocuous movies that, due to him crying over them as a kid, still make luke cry as an adult
[nxx movie night]
marius: man i love this movie, absolute classi---WHY ARE YOU CRYING??
luke: because ANYBODY can COOK!! EVEN A RAT!!!!!
mc, silently glaring at marius over luke's shoulder as if to say "Don't You Say A Mean Word To Him Right Now": O_O
(yes, they were watching ratatouille)
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vyn has mastered crying on cue and can do it at the drop of a hat, but when he REALLY TRULY ACTUALLY is hit by the genuine need to cry for any reason, be it positive or negative, he cannot stop it at all until its run its natural course.
which is just AGONIZING for him, surely, but this is the price he has to pay for the power of being able to cry on command: not be able to stop when it's for realsies
marius: HAHA, CRYBABY
vyn: //throws a book at him because just cuz he cant stop crying, doesnt mean he cant attack
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it slightly pisses everyone off a teensy bit that artem can cry artfully.
like, the single tear. the lines of silent tears streaming down his face. even the more desperate sobs. doesnt matter whether theyre stage tears for another play or if theyre during high stakes situations, artem seems to naturally cry in a cinematic manner
artem: //shedding a few tears because of the stress of an nxx operation or something
luke: hey it's okay, everyone's alright
luke internal thoughts: why is he so pretty while crying?????? .....wait what
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and lastly, marius can hold back tears like nobodys business. like luke, he was a huge crybaby as a kid. but unlike luke, he held it back so much that when he DID cry as a child, it was REALLY CRYING. like wailing, like sobbing. it's heartbreaking to watch
so via his Entire Life Of Repressing Weakness And Related Emotions, he became rlly powerful at holding back the need to cry. it only happens during VERY EMOTIONALLY INTENSE scenarios ORRRR
during horror movies
because hes such a horror weakling and he gets so spooked that tears literally come out
mc: how did that jumpscare make you tear up but not the intro scene to Up
marius, hiding behind a pillow to avoid any more jumpscares: im a man of endless mystery, miss
I feel like marivyn would be such a clingy couple ;-;
if they eventually grew fond of one another over time, between Marius's fear of losing his loved ones and Vyn's desire to love and be loved for the first time in his life, those two would be stuck together like glue bsjhbdAJSH
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