Heeeeey I am back for a review !! I feel like I'm giving out too many great grades lately but it really surprises me how steady (and better) the writing and their relationship dynamics become every year.

Card review : Marius - Purity of Self

Notation (very subjective) out of 20 :

• Art : 5/5
• Reason : When I saw the art last year, I was so stunned by the beauty of it. The traditional outfit, Marius’ expression and then the contrast with the post-evolution art with an usual Marius but with the dim lighting and petals… I love it a looooot. 

• Story plot (the idea of the story, how interesting/emotional and good it was) : 7/8

• Story writing (flow of sentences, of the story, translation, how it's written, how the characters behaved) : 7/7

• Special bonus point (for the card I especially liked) : 1/1
• Reason for the bonus point : /

Total : 20/20

Lore card, Fluff card or Action ? : Lore

Story Keywords  :

#teaceremony

#family

#business

#partnership

Act per act summary : 

Act 1

In the study of the von Hagen estate, Marius and Rosa are practicing the Ten Tea Ceremony Steps, over the supervision of Austin. Soon, there will be a tea tasting gathering which is a family assembly held every five years at the von Hagen estate, reuniting the main and the branch families. It is an important ceremony to honor the ancestors and talk about everyone's achievements. This time, Marius will be representing the main family so he has to learn the tea ceremony étiquette. Sensing that his son is conflicted, Austin reassures him, pointing out he has a lot of support behind him. Rosa also has a role to play since she'll be introduced as his fiancée there. As the father leaves the room, Marius suggests going to the garden to relax while admiring the roses he asked to be planted there for her. As their conversation goes back to the tea ceremony, he says that his father is, for the first time, being strict with him to see if he is ready to stand in the spotlight. Rosa understands behind his words : he slowly gained fame and trust within Pax, so people are asking for him to become the official president. But doing so would mean announcing Giann's death. Austin would gladly take over the burden for Marius, but he doesn't want to make him work so hard again since he retired. Feeling guilty, he also wonders if it's right for him to drag Rosa in all of this. She affirms that she has been ready since their engagement, which seems to give Marius courage as he details which parts of the ceremony he's looking forward to doing with her, especially the purification ritual, which seems to fluster Rosa. They hug each other before going back inside to practice for the ceremony. Marius is getting better but the ceremony isn't about taste : drinking it or not means approval or opposition to the plan for Pax. Despite the family's rules and tradition to prioritize harmony, some are trying to compete directly with Pax, ever since Austin retired. Marius then starts retelling how the last family assembly, which was Giann's first time presiding over it, went. 

Act 2

Flashback. After Giann presented his plans for the future of Pax, the branch families' representatives are sceptical and don't immediately drink the tea. They argue about the possible loss and nitpick every single detail of his proposition. Marius, observing his calm brother, is the only one drinking. After Giann counters every criticism, half of the representatives start to drink their tea. But, at some point, one of the representatives brings up the Orinn assets and shares, their mother's, which Austin put solely under Marius’ name in the past. He points out that the Orinn head must favor Marius instead of him and heavily hints that Giann is the head “for now”. He criticizes him, saying that if they can't manage their household's affairs, they can't be expected to lead the von Hagen family. Since the death of Carenina Orinn, their mother, their connection to Zoran Orinn were severed so they have no idea of his true feelings on this whole succession matter. Marius decides to firmly announce that he can transfer his shares to Giann at any time and he won't be a pawn to the branch family before leaving the meeting room. 

Back to the present. After this since there was no more argument about the heir, the meeting concluded without incident but it showed the divide between the families. Marius explains that people like the one who opposed Giann want to undermine Pax to have a bigger business but he'll be prepared for it. Rosa trusts him and promises to herself to support him as best as she can. They continue to talk about the matter at hand, when suddenly, she recalls another matter they barely discussed : the Orinn family. Marius sadly explains that they barely had any contact after the death of their mother and Austin looks guilty whenever his sons’ grandpa is mentioned. Marius tried to go see his grandfather once but was turned away by the family, who said he needed to rest. With all the complicated emotions this matter brings to the table, Marius switches the topic back to their plan for the tea ceremony. The key of it will be the new consulting firm he plans to create. Rosa tells him she'll help to review the legal documents. As she suggests for him to take a nap, Vincent calls him to report a problem from one of the branch company's businesses, where they didn't pay for over a year. After explaining how it was overlooked and highlighting another problem related to the issue Marius gives orders to make sure that their finances are straight while he'll handle everything else. Rosa points out that, with the timing, it might be a trap from the branch family. Before Marius can head out, she stops him, saying how sensitive the issue is since employees’ pay is involved but she firmly asks him to consider his sleep schedule. He says that he often forgets about rest but Rosa tells Marius she'll be here to remind him, hugging him to bring him comfort. 

Act 3 

After seven days of purification and fasting, it's finally time for the family assembly. As Marius is waiting in the inner hall, he hears footsteps and rushes to meet Rosa, only to find his father, who understands him immediately. Seeing his son so grown, Austin reminisces about the last time, when Giann pushed Marius to offer incense. They both seem to contemplate the situation : last year they were father and sons but now they are father and son. Austin tells Marius how he used to thank his ancestor for having him and Giann and that the feeling became bigger each year. He remembers he never asked his son about what he talked five years ago when offering the incense, so Marius start recalling the moment. 

Flashback. After he does everything required for the ceremony, there's still time for the incense to burn entirely. Despite not being a believer, Marius starts to pray for his father and grandfather to be able to share some tea. He continues praying for Giann and Ailine, to be happy together, especially with Giann’s tendency to shoulder everything. Marius always felt puzzled by his father's and brother's attitude when their beloved was mentioned so he asks to find someone like this for himself too. He asks for protection for the von Hagen family, so that they can stay with their beloved ones. He continued to pray like this every year since that moment. 

Back to the present. Austin explains to Marius that his and Giann's grandfather is protecting them in his own way, but he's stubborn and he doesn't have the right to persuade him to let go of some things. He then comments on how his son asked about love in front of the ancestors, which embarrasses him. Austin tells his son he should thank them since he found someone wonderful to be by his side and he should cherish her, which Marius promises. The bells signaling the ancestral worship ceremony rings so Marius leaves to change. 

On the other side of the Estate, Rosa is coordinating the seating with Payton. With the document about every representative member in hand, she helps to make seating arrangements so that two people harboring hostility against the other won't be seated near. Payton tells her she reminds him of Marius’ mother and Ailine. While he is offering incense, she checks with Vincent if everything is good and for now, all is running smoothly. Suddenly, one person who opposed Giann previously, Miguel, comes to her, making a backhand comment about her modest background. Rosa stands her ground, answering firmly that she met Marius as an equal and their relationship is the same. While she continues to gracefully defend herself and render Miguel speechless, Marius comes, confirming that he wholeheartedly trusts Rosa and her expertise as a lawyer, revealing part of what she did for Pax over the years. He tells him to go outside and sober up when he notices the wine glass and then excuse them as they have to finish preparing for the tea-serving ceremony. By including Rosa in it, he shows that she is a member from the von Hagen family. 

Act 4

In the inner hall, Marius and Rosa serve tea to Austin. They discuss what just happened, understanding that the branch family might have prepared to attack them all together. Austin tells her that, unlike his late wife and his daughter in law, she doesn't have any shackles coming from her lineage, so she is allowed to join during the actual meeting. He tells her to do whatever she wants to. Marius chimes in, telling her she is his armor and not a weakness to exploit. After finishing talking to Austin, they gather the last documents needed before heading to the tea room. There, Marius presents his new company plan, while rebutting arguments and criticism from Miguel and an older, more influential branch family representative, Kyler. Then, when the time has come, Marius carefully prepares the tea as he learnt and serves it but the discussion about his qualification continues, leaving the conversation at a standstill. 

Act 5

Rosa, who had time to observe the room and everyone’s reactions, decides to intervene after confirming with Marius thanks to a glance. She defends his integrity on her lawyer's honor and he backs her up. Then, he aims to the branch representative who had the emergency problem not long ago, Stuart, pointing out that his new company could help him for such situations. Marius insists on the need for the main and branch families to get along and cooperate to not lose to other industry giants. After listening to Marius, Stuart agrees to cooperate with him, which makes other branch representatives fidget, wondering if they should follow. But the most influential ones stay unaffected. Kyler starts attacking the main family again, suggesting an election system to vote for the family leader and abolishing the rules of harmony the von Hagen had since old times so that they all compete against one another. But Marius points out that free market and trade isn't all sunshine and their companies will all risk way more than Pax. As he suggests giving time to his idea to show results, he adds that he has backing and then Vanessa Walker, a board member of the Orinn family Austin prepared to help Marius. The older lady gives Marius a gift from his grandfather, which is a badge in the shape of a carnation. After making her support for Marius clear, she leaves the room and the whole mood obviously switches. At the end of the meeting, even Kyler drinks the tea.

After the assembly, Marius and Rosa try to rush to Mrs Walker's hotel to talk to her but she has already left, leaving only a letter apologizing on the behalf of his grandfather. Feeling his sadness, she comforts him with kind words, which manages to make him act in his childish and cute way. 

Act 6

After the assembly, branch representatives leave Stellis which leaves Marius and Rosa the task to launch the new company in his office. She instructs Vincent on how to deal with the media trying to get information as her fiancé is busy signing documents. As he leaves, she and Marius tease each other while snuggling, exchanging sweet pleasantries between two work associates and lovers. She promises him they'll spend more quality time together once everything will be wrapped up. 

Days later, the board meeting about the new project happens. Marius confidently gives his speech announcing the new company, which results in a warm applause. Right after it, he and Rosa take a much needed break before the press conference. 

After the long day, Rosa is going back to the hotel they took first. She thinks about what she can do to welcome him in an unfamiliar hotel, while thinking with fondness about how their morning goes at home. As she opens the room, she hears music and sees the room with scattered rose petals all over. Marius is lying down, with chocolate dessert in front of him. She comes to snuggle against him while he tells her about how he went to his father's place to enjoy the tea his grandfather loved. The bitter and sweet taste reminded him of life and made him understand why his father and grandfather loved that tea. After saying that the sweetness he now wants is her kiss and they share countless kisses which wash away all the bitterness. 

Personal opinion

General (made along my reading) :

Birthday cards are so long, two hour videos omg, I didn't even add all the details wow

But the story was PACKED and very good !! I'm not into business usually, but everything that happened around the card made it so much better and enjoyable. Marius has several sides, the artist, the businessman, and this card captured the second part very well, showcasing at the same time how grown he is. It feels fulfilling to see how he acted in this card, mature in serious situations, bashful with his father and cute with Rosa. Talking about her, Rosa was such a strong support in this card omg, she was absolutely fantastic and you feel that she's a great lawyer and partner for Marius from the way she acted from start to finish. It was a great, awesome card, very worth it. 

What I liked (bullet points) :

• Austin von Hagen. 
• The father’s and son’s talk during the 3rd act omg
• ROSA IS SO DAMN STRONG, BEAUTIFUL AND FIRM WHEN SHE CONFRONTED THAT ONE DUDE, I love her soooo much
• How Rosa and Marius' personality and bond shone through this. 

What I disliked (bullet points) :

• Not enough sweetness but hey, there wasn't room for any seeing how busy they were 😭 But ngl, the sweet parts were so sweet and they felt extra special soooo

Would I recommend getting this story ?

YES ABSOLUTELY. This card is very very very good, even if you don't like business talks (like me), there is so much about the von Hagen family, the bond between father and sons, how Rosa is such a strong and gorgeous partner… It was a really good card to read. 

Well, that's it ! Feel free to comment your opinion about the story