You've been warned in a mysterious letter from a victim about Soren's underhanded tactics towards academic rivals.

| ɴᴏɴ-ᴄᴀɴᴏɴ | ɴꜰꜱᴡ ɪɴɪᴛɪᴀʟ ᴍᴇꜱꜱᴀɢᴇ | ᴀɴʏᴘᴏᴠ | ᴘᴜʙʟɪᴄ ᴅᴇꜰɪɴɪᴛɪᴏɴ |

╚═ ♡ஓ๑ ❝ Where you looking for this particular volume? I do apologize if I've snatched it from under your nose. The professor's recommendation was so compelling, I felt a sudden and rather urgent scholarly impulse. ❞

||| ♡💀ஓ๑💌๑ஓ💀♡ ||| content warning

||| ᴀʟʟ ᴄᴡꜱ/ᴛᴡꜱ ᴀʀᴇ ꜱᴇʀɪᴇꜱ-ᴡɪᴅᴇ ɴᴏᴛ ʙᴏᴛ-ꜱᴘᴇᴄɪꜰɪᴄ ||| ᴘꜱᴇᴜᴅᴏ-ɪɴᴄᴇꜱᴛ ♡ ꜱᴇʟꜰ-ʜᴀʀᴍ & ꜱᴜɪᴄɪᴅᴇ ♡ ᴍᴇɴᴛᴀʟ ʜᴇᴀʟᴛʜ ♡ ᴅʀᴜɢꜱ & ꜱᴜʙꜱᴛᴀɴᴄᴇ ᴀʙᴜꜱᴇ ♡ ᴍᴀɴɪᴘᴜʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴ & ʙʟᴀᴄᴋᴍᴀɪʟ ♡ ᴄʏʙᴇʀʙᴜʟʟʏɪɴɢ, ʜᴀʀᴀꜱꜱᴍᴇɴᴛ & ᴅᴏxxɪɴɢ ♡ ᴘᴏᴡᴇʀ ɪᴍʙᴀʟᴀɴᴄᴇ ♡ ꜱᴇʟꜰ-ɪᴍᴀɢᴇ ♡ ꜱᴇxᴜᴀʟ ᴠɪᴏʟᴇɴᴄᴇ ♡ ᴄᴏʀʀᴜᴘᴛɪᴏɴ ♡ ᴍɪꜱᴏɢʏɴʏ & ꜱᴇxɪꜱᴍ ♡ ᴀʙʟᴇɪꜱᴍ ♡ ʟɢʙᴛQɪᴀ+ ᴅɪꜱᴄʀɪᴍɪɴᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ♡ ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ & ᴄᴏʀᴘꜱᴇ ♡ ꜱᴛᴀʟᴋɪɴɢ & ꜱᴜʀᴠᴇɪʟʟᴀɴᴄᴇ ♡ ᴠɪᴏʟᴇɴᴄᴇ ♡ ꜱʜᴀᴍᴇ & ʜᴜᴍɪʟɪᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ||| ♡ ꜰᴜʟʟ ʟɪꜱᴛ ᴏꜰ ᴋɪɴᴋꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ꜰᴇᴛɪꜱʜᴇꜱ ɪɴ ᴅᴇꜰɪɴɪᴛɪᴏɴ |||

||| This character contains fictional, potentially distressing content. None of this content is condoned or promoted and should be engaged with under a critical lens. It is intended solely for adult users engaging with horror, villain, or psychological fiction tags under full consent. Due to the nature of the setting, some language models may generate unexpected or offensive content. I do not condone or prompt such material, and strongly advises caution when engaging. Use of this bot is at your discretion.

╚═ ♡ஓ๑ ❝ ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ᴄʟᴜʙ: ᴍᴏᴛꜱ ᴅᴏᴜx ᴅ'ᴜɴᴇ ᴅÉꜰᴜɴᴛᴇs ❞

♡

||| ♡💀ஓ๑💌๑ஓ💀♡ ||| the plot

It was August the 24th when morning staff and early-rising students discovered at daybreak a noose hanging from the overpass between the two St. Aubade’s Academy campuses. Mysteriously, the noose indicated no signs of wear-and-tear. Initially, it was written off as a strange and distasteful joke. Until, not an hour later, the body of senior student Eva Love was found washed up on the river bank.

Eva Love was a poor French scholarship student and wallflower who, by virtue of her numerous awards, can be seen to concern herself more with formulas and sciences than the fine art of poetry.

What exactly happened on August the 23rd, that drove Eva Love to take her own life?

And, in such a way?

Perhaps, only Eva and the twelve men involved know the full story. However, there’s more soon to come. Eva has penned ten “mots doux d'une défunte”, each addressed to 12 individuals related in some ways to the men.

In Eva's letter to you, Soren's budding academic rival, she warns you about his disregard for fair play. To Soren, the best kind of competitor isn't a challenging or even defeated one, but one that doesn't exist at all. Deal in black and white with Soren at your own peril, because the second fastest way to end a chess match is a Fool's Mate, and the first is a grey-edged steel dagger.

||| ♡💀ஓ๑💌๑ஓ💀♡ ||| Why are you doing this?

Hi, I'm Alien Kat, and this is my love letter to Soren Novotny.

I've been dreaming for months of Mr. Darcy I mean Mr. Novotny sending me into a mental asylum because I'm such an uncouth, scandalous, wayward woman who has no place in high society.

Initially, it was just going to be just Soren, might have just put him somewhere in London or played around in Bohemia, that one would've been fun. But then, I wanted to give him a proper setting. And locations. And his friends. And since I was doing him I might as well do the other guys too because I have no concept of self-restraint and I will be forever outmatched by cuttlefish. And since I did all of that, I might as well share with the world.

I have written a document detailing what I've changed or removed and why. Please check it out and read along the lorebook, as I've done a complete rewrite of the original setting to fit 1830, and I will only be describing what I changed with Soren specifically in this bio.

Not only is Soren multigenerational, he BELONGS in Regency. I basically changed nothing besides removing anachronisms (gaslight, love-bombing, etc.)

- Czechoslovakia was known as Lands of the Bohemian Crown, and were largely subject to the Habsburgs (yes you can call Soren an baby in 2024).

- His cologne has notes that were already available 200 years ago.

- His all black style translates to "as close to black as etiquette allows".

- His clubs almost didn't change, and he's in the equestrian circle now. Skiing at this time was experimental and seen as exotic, but I believe he'd be in it too.

Now, his evil talisman was more interesting. By 1830, gem cutting was less standardized than today but not primitive. Fully symmetrical "perfect" teardrop gems weren't really a thing, they were hand-cut and slightly irregular. They wouldn't have called it a "teardrop cut", but rather "pear-shaped" or "drop-shaped" (this is the one that I chose to keep it in theme with tears).

Fun fact, pear/teardrop shapes were associated with mourning jewelry or sentiment.

First scenario—Soren is holding hostage a book that you need:

Soren's the kinda guy that you'd share an elevator with, and press every floor button on his way out just to inconvenience you.

WARNING: This may get philosophical, making him more hateable than usual.

The gist: Soren overheard a professor recommend a book to Sona, totally a coincidence, definitely hasn't memorized their schedule and routine. He also absolutely did not sprint to the library to get it before them, he merely walked fast, it is efficient for a busy man like him.

I had a couple of ideas to which book he'd be holding hostage:

- The Art of War by Sun Tzu: Known in Europe by the early 19th century, though not as widespread as today. It was circulated through translations, excerpts, or scholarly circles. It was likely that St. Aubade's library doesn't have a copy. Soren might at home, and it'd a flex, suggesting connections, rare access, or curated taste. But not ideal for this scenario.
- Critique of Pure Reason or Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals by Kant: Kant is peak intellectual currency in this era, especially in German-speaking/Central European regions. Soren quoting Kant = Educated, pretentious (derogatory), morality-obsessed in theory, completely immoral in practice.
- Candide by Voltaire: Cynical and critical of optimism, lets him sound witty while being awful.
- Legal/rhetorical works: Cicero (classics, rhetoric), Blackstone's Commentaries (law). Less flashy, more serious.

In the end, I picked The Prince by Machiavelli: Widely known, about power, control, and manipulation. It's his bible, let's get real. I had some quotes I considered too:

- "Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are." = Targets Sona specifically (they see through him), also reflects him masking himself, creating immediate psychological tension.
- "The promise given was a necessity of the past; the word broken is a necessity of the present." = Justifies manipulation, foreshadows how he'll treat Sona, and sounds like he's educating them.
- "A wise man does at once what a fool does at last." = "I got here first because I'm better than you." Petty. Direct. Infuriating.

But the one I chose is "Men should either be caressed or destroyed." = It directly mirrors what he's doing, framing his approach as a choice he's offering Sona. It sounds like philosophy, but feels like a threat.

It's also flirtatious in a deranged Regency way.

Second scenario—The original IM but Regencified:

"Soren's drinking canned hot chocolate..." → "Soren takes his chocolate where it is most readily had—pressed into travel cakes and dissolved in haste..."

In this bit, Soren ponders about his surroundings and the insult to nature that it is to drink hot chocolate from a can. Then, he goes out of his way to mention that his house is above everyone else's, as if hierarchy is a physical tangible thing, and he's a cat sitting on the kitchen cabinets looking down (literally) at his owner with disdain. This is also a very plain metaphor to him viewing himself above consequences, including climate change.

But let's go back to the canned chocolate.

I had to replace modern day wastefulness for something equally artificial and vaguely offensive to nature: over-processed luxury. I also needed the thing to be carried in something that he would later try to throw into a trash bin (and fail). The closest was travel chocolate cakes/pastilles that could be dissolved in water or milk – portable, disposable, and faintly vulgar by elite standards. But Soren's eating it anyway.

These portable rations were pretty interesting. They weren't fluffy cake slices in the modern sense, more like flat discs, tablets, or small blocks. Sometimes they were stamped with designs or lettering. They were made by rolling chocolate into sheets and cutting or stamping out the shapes, and they were pretty uneven.

Historically, this is how chocolate used to be sold: As cakes, lozenges, or tablets; portable, pre-sweetened, and sometimes spiced. They were typically stored in boxes, tins or paper wrappings.

So Soren crumpling the paper after eating one? Completely period accurate.

I mentioned that they were typically dissolved in milk, but they were eaten as-is too. Travelers, soldiers, or busy people would eat the cakes/pastilles directly or nibble them like a dense sweet. Why would he be eating it like this? For the same reason he's drinking canned hot chocolate from a vending machine instead of buying proper, refined, fancy hot chocolate in a cup that doesn't taste like artificial bullshit.

I've got my theories, but I'd like to hear your own.

"Sorry, Eva Love Memorial Overpass..." → "Apologies, Lovers' Bridge..."

As I mentioned in the Setting section of the document (!!!), the overpass wouldn't have been renamed after Eva, but the Academy still made arrangements to memorialize her; Soren is still vicious about her death, finding the staff's "efforts" (a mural on the FLOOR) laughable, and guessing (correctly) that the Academy won't be spending any more of the budget on her. "Rest in Pythagoras" was cut off because it was too modern/absurd for the period, replaced with institutional indifference.

"Recommend yourself a fucking psychiatrist, Italibama..." → "I suspect even the most attentive physician would find your case resistant..."

In Regency, no one would've batted an eye if Vincent was attracted to his stepsib. Hell, they wouldn't have batted an eye if he was attracted to someone he's actually related to. So Soren's insult becomes more about Vincent's general disposition – which, fair enough. I couldn't figure out a pun involving the Habsburgs either, so that's on me.

"Vincent forages in his pocket for his mobile phone..." → "He rummages within his coat and produces a folded paper, already much handled..."

So this is the part where Vincent shows Soren a video Marcus sent earlier in the day. I changed this with Vinny suddenly remembering he'd been carrying a sketch from Marcus.

The rest of the message proceeds without any changes worth noting: Soren gets upset with Sona's mere presence, which causes him to miss throwing the can (now wrap-paper) into the trash bin, he tries to gaslight the reader into thinking not only did he not miss, but he meant to miss, then impulsively kabedons Sona, making them an offer they couldn't possibly refuse, while already calculating how to send them to the asylum with Vlastimila.

Third scenario—Yours!

That's it for today! Come back soon for the next guy: Vincent.

I'm not sure how often I'll be posting these yet, I already have practically everything written, it's just a matter of formatting. I promise I won't make you wait much.

Profile pic creds to Nahemia ❤️ The Love Club series credit to pickledfishfingers. Check out the CARRD for the full original lore in 2024. Find the ST card of this bot and the lorebook json file in Pickles' social server.

💌