#specifically leander from touchstarved

[vamprel]

Nasty Dog trend on tiktok but make it Touchstarved and it’s Leander and it’s traditional art and I can’t animate

I’m so tired, also I didn’t know who to draw for the other person so it’s just me 😞 NEXT UP FOR THIS TREND IS AIS AND VERE BE PREPARED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And at the end I tried to draw myself in their chibi art style because I had no other ideas 😞😞😞😞 also here are the silly drawings

[pigeonliker420]

whatevers wrong with this man i like it

[hollana]

Template by @redstrewn

My first post actually post in the TS fandom…I retreat back into my hidey hole now.

[theogonies]

what they look for in a partner ft. the cast of touchstarved

characters: ais, mhin, vere, kuras, & leander

word count: 2k

content warnings: some suggestive elements but nothing explicit, mentions of corruption kinks (ais), brat taming (kuras), and light exhibitionism (vere and leander), leander is a little emotionally manipulative

AIS.

Considering his relationships with MC and Vere, it's not exactly a secret that Ais has a thing for brats. He loves teasing, and wants a partner who can keep up with him, giving as much as they get. He's all about the thrill of the chase, learning exactly which buttons to press to get you flustered--so don't make it too easy on him.

Surprisingly, he's not usually the one to make the first move. He'll flirt, but struggles to take initiative when things start to feel too real for his comfort.

He finds people who can find a cool head in moments of crisis insanely attractive. Whether it's pulling him back when he's about to pick a stupid fight or constructing a perfect alibi on the spot when you find yourself in trouble, the contrast between your self-control and his impulsivity always gets him itching to push your limits even further.

Humans and Monsters alike, he's grown accustomed to the absolute devotion of his followers. So being around someone who isn't constantly bowing and scraping to him is a refreshing change of pace.

He still greatly values loyalty, and it's something that he's more than willing to return--he's a ride or die type of guy. What he's not interested in is empty flattery; telling it like it is is, in his eyes, a much more valuable kind of devotion than total obedience.

I definitely think he's got a bit of a corruption kink, and is drawn to people with a more innocent, even naive personality--easier to get them flustered that way. More importantly, though, he enjoys the interplay between his impulsivity and his partner's willingness to stick by their personal code of ethics, no matter how impractical. For all the teasing he does, he has a very deep and genuine admiration for people with strong moral principles and sense of self.

The only thing he loves more than drawing out your hedonistic side is knowing that he's the only one who can do it. It's a very specific, psychological kind of possessiveness, knowing that you want him enough to show him the greedy, impure side of yourself that you hide so carefully from the rest of the world.

On the other hand, narcs are a major turn off. It's one thing to tell him off for fucking up, and another entirely to get others involved. He fantasizes about a Bonnie and Clyde, us against the world type of love.

MHIN.

Another one who isn't particularly subtle about what it takes to get them heated. Mhin loves it when you can keep up with their acerbic personality. Even more than sharp tongues, they're drawn to people who are physically assertive enough to follow through on their threats.

Mhin is all bark and no bite, a fact that they're very much aware of. Deep down, they desperately want to feel safe and protected. It's not exactly that they're insecure; they don't have any hang ups about their own strength. But it's exhausting to keep their guard up all the time. So, they figure that their perfect match is their perfect equal--and 90% of their bluster is just that, a test so see who's willing to break past their emotional barriers and strong enough to keep up with them.

They're a switch, and definitely have a thing for size difference. One of their biggest fantasies is dominating a partner who's bigger than themself.

One of Mhin's most immediate turn-offs is people who look too clean and polished all the time. They're enamored by scarring and callouses--basically, the physical traces of a person's life, especially those associated with hard work. They're not particularly interested in fashion or flashy clothes, either; rather than being with someone who's always up on the latest styles, they admire those who know how to make things last, and who would rather underdress than overdress.

It's not hard to get them flustered. Put them in a good ol' fashioned kabedon, whisper simple praises in their ear, and they'll absolutely melt (not that they would ever admit that to you, of course). Mhin's affection is very subtle, blink and you'll miss it (they're big on acts of service, and usually quite sneaky about it), but they like partners who are more forward than themself, whether verbally or physically.

While they are a loving partner (once you break past those oh-so-strong emotional walls), Mhin isn't a super relationship-oriented person. They have goals of their own outside of romance, and would prefer to be with someone who feels the same way, supporting each other in the pursuit of their own, independent dreams.

VERE.

It's not exactly that Vere is a commitment-phobe. When he falls for someone, he falls fast and hard, and he's never been one to be secretive about his feelings. But he views relationships of all kinds--platonic, romantic, sexual, even antagonistic--with a kind of levity that can be offputting to many. Love, to him, is a game, and he has zero interest in dropping out of the race the moment he takes the lead, so to speak.

Even in a committed, monogamous relationship, Vere is a flirt and a bit of a player--with his partner and outsiders alike. In his eyes, it's not a sign of disloyalty, but rather, a way of keeping the spark alive. Possessiveness is an immediate dealbreaker for him (although he's not opposed to a good ol' jealousy fueled romp in the sheets--that's half the fun of teasing).

Vere tends to bottom more often than he tops, but he's attracted to switches far more than he is fully dominant types. He likes having dynamic interplay in a relationship, especially sexual, and wants to be with someone that isn't content with always falling back into the same old routines.

Physical attraction is very important to Vere, although he doesn't necessarily require that his partner is conventionally attractive. He's especially drawn to unique senses of style and physical traits--a particularly intense look in a person's eyes, a scar or blemish that gives their face an interesting character, even an interesting tilt to the way they hold themself. The only thing he loves more than standing out in a crowd on his own is hanging off the arm of someone who does the same, intentionally or not.

He likes to imagine himself and his partner as a power couple--the two most powerful personas in the room, the ones that everyone else wants to either fuck or become.

While he is very attracted to confidence, there's a bit of a feedback loop here, because he's also extremely good at psyching up his partner's self-image--stick with Vere long enough, and it's hard not to see yourself as someone powerful and desirable.

Massive tit guy. 'nuff said.

KURAS.

Kuras is also attracted to oddballs and quirky types, although unlike Vere, he's not super interested in physical appearance or their ability to stick out in a crowd. He's much more drawn to interesting personalities: people with unique tics, speech patterns, responses, and the like.

His favorite part of relationships (sexual, romantic, and otherwise) is gradually learning what makes the other person tick, so unless he gets the sense that there's something interesting lingering under the surface, it can be hard to get his attention. He needs to feel like there's some kind of puzzle to be solved, and a tricky one at that.

On the other hand, once his curiosity has been captured, he's an incredibly attentive partner--even if it's not entirely unlike the kind of attention an entomologist would give a bug under the microscope.

He's also drawn to outspoken, forthright personalities to counter his more polite and subdued persona. There's something he finds incredibly amusing about a person who speaks their mind even when they know it'll get them into trouble.

For that reason, Kuras is, much like Ais, attracted to bratty types. Unlike Ais, he expects them to learn the rules at some point down the line. While his form of discipline is a gentle, cool-headed one, he still views himself as more of a teacher than a playmate.

He very much prefers to feel in control of a given situation (even if that isn't immediately obvious in the way he presents himself). It can make him stubborn, to the extent that he'll reject the advances of a person he's interested in just because he wants to be the one to confess.

While this characteristic can make him come across as rather clinical in his approach, it gets its chance to shine when paired with his detail-oriented nature. From a grand confession of love to a simple weeknight dinner date, he's extremely methodical about preparing the perfect romantic atmosphere for his partner's tastes, from the locale and decor to the scent of his cologne.

While his partner needn't necessarily come across as kind at first impression, it is deeply important to Kuras that they have a good, generous heart. All the better if he gets to be the one to make them feel safe showing it to the world.

He likes 'em a little clingy and needy, too. Independence isn't necessarily a turn-off, but he needs to feel like all the effort he puts in is appreciated, or he'll move on to some other curiosity.

LEANDER.

We all know that this man loves to flirt, and in a much more grandiose, romantic sense of the word than Vere or Ais at that. In the same way that he gets a bit of a rush putting his strength to use in a fight, he likes using his charm and good looks to get a reaction out of people.

That's not to say his teasing is ingenuine; Leander comes on strong because he knows what he's looking for, from his partner's looks and the way they carry themself in a crowded room to the way they respond to his advances. He wants to be with someone who'll fall as fast and hard as he does, and as manipulative of a tactic as it may be, he's willing to put on the mask of a romantic until he finds the one that responds in kind.

Leander doesn't play games. Once he commits himself to a person, that's it. His absolute devotion is yours, and he expects that loyalty to be returned. Some of his biggest turn-offs are people who don't seem sure of what they want, or who won't express their feelings to him straightforwardly. He'll put up with some level of shyness, but too much beating around the bush and he starts to feel more like a therapist than a partner.

Total ass man. He has no compunctions about grabbing it in public to get a rise out of you--not to mention how utterly shameless he is behind closed doors.

He also really likes long hair. He has a lot of restless energy and tends to fidget when forced to stay still for long periods of time, so playing with your hair is one of his favorite ways to calm his mind. Braiding it and running his hands through it if it's straight, or spiraling your curls around his fingers--he doesn't mind either way, just wants it silky-soft and long enough to play with. (He also loooooves helping you wash and care for it.)

He's very physically affectionate in private, and even more so in public. He likes showing his partner off, and being shown off by them. To some this might make him come across as rather shallow (his favorite date nights involve going to bars or out dancing--anywhere that gives him the opportunity to turn some heads), but to him, it's a way of demonstrating that no matter how many may want him, he's decided you're the only one deserving of his attention.

[cupcakesmoothie]

I did all three backstories for Touchstarved (I have 12 hours on this thing and it's only the demo)

Kuras and Vere don't seem to have red options, but Vere does have a secret ending and Kuras... I don't know, holds you for a bit longer?

For Mhin, it really is just picking The Alchemist backstory. You can call them short or whatever and you'll still get it.

For Leander, you have to take the flowers and keep touching him. It's okay if you hold back the first time even.

For Ais, you gotta tell him fuck you and pet the soulless, and after that red option pretty much all yours.

Differences I found between the three backstories:

It is pretty much like how they tell you, Oracle gets premonitions, Hound has experience with people and survival, and Alchemist has knowledge about magic and science, so there's different things you find out with each one.

The Alchemist:

I may be a little bit biased, but think The Alchemist is the most informative (It's also the first one I picked). There's the expected info of noticing that Vere's collar is enchanted, or knowing about how strong Leander really is when it comes to magic, but it's got the added bonus of MC's mentor having been in the Senobium in the past.

Compared to the others, The Alchemist is more familiar with Senobium, albeit through word of mouth. It's interesting how many times the MC says something similar to "I didn't know the Senobium did that." It calls into question whether MC's teacher was lying, or more interestingly (and what I think might be the case), the Senobium has changed a lot recently. It's talked about, even without the Alchemist backstory, that the Senobium used to be somewhere you could go to for help, but now most of the characters you meet do not like the Senobium, so what changed?

The Hound:

The Hound (the least popular option, apparently) was pretty fun. The Hound notices more about Ais, specifically that he's very suited to be a leader, and that the number of scars he has (one) seems suspicious for his temperament (or "how seasoned he acts", as the MC puts it).

One thing that I found very fun was doing Mhin's route as the Hound. They're somewhat able to keep up! They can (or tried to) recognize tells, and noted that Mhin was one of the few people who was able to sneak up on them. They also weren't sure how Vere managed to get their key. They were also prepared to steal to survive.

The Oracle:

While The Hound notices physical things, the Oracle notices... how do you say, otherworldly things. The Seaspring seems to be hiding a lot (of course it is), but the MC notices a heartbeat. A presence. They feel something from Ais. The name Ocudeus means something, they can feel it. They feel like they can see Ais' tattoo move.

Also, the MC feels something from Mhin and Kuras (in his clinic at least), which is interesting!

If I had to decide which love interest was better with which backstory...

Vere: The fact that the Alchemist thought that they could tell what enchantments were on his collar if only they could touch it feels promising! And both their connections (though I mean connection in the loosest term for MC here) to the Senobium makes it feel like you might very well find something.

The Hound might be one of the few who can actually survive this guy if I'm gonna be honest. (I mean you can still get killed by him but. You know.)

Ais: The Oracle's sixth sense makes going to the Seaspring a lot more interesting compared to the others, and the way they can feel something from Ais is very cool.

The Hound can tell his character better than the others, and I wonder how that will come into play later on.

Kuras: The Alchemist knows their way around spell-crafting and alchemy (When I picked this I wondered if they would be able to help Kuras around the clinic, which doesn't happen, but hey it might).

The Oracle seems to also feel something from him.

Mhin: First things first, their red option literally requires you to have the Alchemist backstory. Mhin's precision is noticed by the other MCs sure, but not to that detail.

Watching the Hound observe where they could be was so fun to watch. It feels like this MC will be able to keep up.

The Oracle feels something from Mhin, something inhuman.

Leander: The Alchemist was able to tell that the flash of magic was a barrier spell, and that most magic (or at least the ones they're familiar with) uses an incantation or spell circle. His didn't.

But either way, there will be things to find no matter the backstory you choose, and all of the character's stories are intertwined, so don't let this dissuade you from a specific backstory! There will always be things to find, you just need to look.

Extra: I found it pretty cool how each MC has a different way of knowing what a Groupmind is. Story-wise this makes sense of course, but each of their reactions to it are slightly different, from I heard this from rumours of people in cults (Hound), to I used to be told I could put people in a groupmind (Oracle), to legends suggest it was possible with a strong enough catalyst but it's never been done before (Alchemist).

Also, it's interesting to know what they each think of surroundings (specifically the Amaryllis district). They all have different opinions from I used to be told bizarre things about this place and now I kinda get it (Alchemist), to it's not that different from the place I grew up in (Hound), to it's VERY different from where I grew up in (Oracle).

And if I'm not mistaken, the reason Vere gives for your desperation is different for all of them!

You can find gameplay from me on my Youtube channel, or watch me getting all the red options and secret ending here:

I didn't read it out loud cause my mic sorta sucks and sometimes it peaks and gets a bit shrill. Also you see how my mouse moves sometimes? It means I'm screaming. I don't think I'd have been able to keep calm enough for this. Also my reading kinda sucks anyway hope you like it lol

[hauntedrabbit]

Touchstarved HC's + mini-scenarios: The LI's as dads/parents, gn!MC

Content warnings: in certain parts it will mention MC being pregnant but I will tag that as “pregnant!MC” but other than that you can imagine the children are adopted :>, a bit of suggestive content(especially around Kuras’s), mention of vomit in Vere’s part, mention of manipulation in Leander’s part, overwhelming wholesomeness

Word count: 7.8k

Author’s note: I ended up loving this way more than I thought I did and I kinda want to turn this into a little mini-series so if you have any asks related to them as dads please feel free to send them! ^-^

AIS

In full honesty I can see this man having a big family, he won’t admit it, but he would love having a lot of kids 

Like I’m talking 6 kids, MINIMUM 

For Pregnant!MC: But even after that when you were 8 months pregnant with the 6th one he was asking when could you both “get to work” again and you lowkey had to threaten to cut his balls off(starting to think he might have a breeding kink)

But now to the babies themselves 

I lean more towards girl dad!Ais heavily but I also feel like he would be an amazing dad to some little boys, so with that said, I would say he has

Twin boys as the eldest(most likely ages 8-9)

A girl(6)

Another girl(4)

And one more girl(3)

One more boy(8 months)

Yea I know, a lot of babies 

He definitely used the excuse that the temple is big enough for all you when you asked how are you gonna take care of all of them

He wouldn’t tell you but he would thoroughly enjoy the times when he returns home and hears the sound of giggling and small feet running around 

With his little boys he is very playful and sometimes you have to tell him to chill on the roughhousing(the boys never mind it honestly)

Like if he’s not with you, out somewhere, with the girls, or whatever else he’s with them wrestling as if his life depended on it 

Meanwhile the youngest boy is just sitting there, giggling and clapping watching his dad and brothers fight 

Lowkey can barley cook for shit but dw, he’s more than happy to spend god knows how much money(or steal if we’re being honest) on food from restaurants in Eridia 

O m g he literally spoils his little girls to death(he spoils the boys too dw) 

Yes he has limits on what he can do or buy, yes he is fully aware that he can say no, but can you resist those adorable little puppy eyes?

Everytime you send him out and they go with him, he returns with what you wanted, but at least 5 other bags with him(spoiler alert they all belonged to the girls)

Whenever you confront him for it he just looks at you and sends his most innocent smile “I know I could’ve said no sparrow, but look at those faces? How can I resist that?”

Vere sometimes visits (Visits as in randomly walks in whenever he pleases) and plays with the kiddos, often giving you and Ais enough time to leave and spend some “alone time” together in Lowtown. He pretends he’s annoyed by them but you and Ais both know he’ll die for those kids. 

Honestly if anything you both expected them to be afraid of Vere but given that you have Princess as the family pet and live in the wastelands they have better things to be scared of

I’m sorry but his smoking habits do not go away even when he has kids T^T

He simply just learns to hide it better 

Aka he only does it when he’s away from them or their asleep and in the case where they catch him he throws it not giving a fuck where it could’ve landed 

Would most def give his kids names of japanese origin I’m sorry you cannot argue with me on this 

Moving on to the serious bits 

He has one huge rule that all the kiddos have to follow no matter what 

“Under absolutely no circumstance do you go near the sea spring.”

Ais specifically made it a priority to have your “house” parts of the temple far from it so they would never need a reason to go there

But unfortunately these are small children we’re talking about so of course their curiosity gets the best of them

The oldest twin was wandering around one day and stumbled upon it, voice began echoing in his head, luring him closer to the deadly waters. And just as he leaned down and was about to drink the mysterious liquid, a roaring voice yelling his name ripped him away from the waters 

Ais had never experienced pure terror so intense as he had then, and he never wants to feel that again(Ocedus lowkey took over for a moment when he was scolding the kiddo but he would never know that)

But moving on from the angst 

One of the best dads, genuinely 

He raises his boys to be strong but also knows it’s okay to have bad moments, and no one will judge you for them. But he also raises his young girls to be the same way, but he’s just a “tad” bit more protective of them. 

This demon loves his big family so much and wouldn’t trade them for anything

You and Ais were both laying down in your shared bed, you cuddled up against his chest while his arm was wrapped around you. You both were enjoying some time of relaxation in the early morning before any of the kids woke up, because unfortunately you knew once one was awake, the rest will all come piling out of their shared room in due time.

After a few minutes, Ais’s face pulls into a soft smirk, sighing sarcastically before looking down at you.

“Here comes trouble.”

Whelp, shit 

That’s when all of the sudden, the sound of rapid footsteps came racing, and then you and Ais were being crushed by both of your sons.

“Papa! [preferred parents name]! Get uuuppp!” The eldest yelled at the two of you.

“Alright alright you little gremlins we’re coming.” Ais says while laughing before pulling both of his sons into a headlock.

But just as you were sitting up and getting ready to stand, that’s when two of your daughters came racing, screaming for you and Ais also jumping onto the futon. You catch the both of them and let out a surprised noise, holding them close to your chest. 

But finally, your oldest daughter walks in, carrying your youngest son in her arms while giggling. Ais notices the baby with her and raises his eyebrow.

“Sweetheart, what did we say about sneaking in here and taking your little brother?” 

She lets out another giggle, holding her brother closer while walking to you and Ais. “But he wanted to play with us! I know he did!” 

Ais then releases the two boys from his arms, quickly reaching over to grab your daughter and son and pull them onto his lap, before proceeding to tickle her.

You put down your other kids before leaning over to grab your son and coo at him as he reaches his small hands towards you.

Ais eventually stops tickling the young girl and lays down again with her in his arms, signaling over to you to lay down with them. Before you know it, you, Ais, and all of the kiddos are cuddling together while wrapped around blankets, guess whatever playing they were doing before coming here wore them out surprisingly fast.

As the kids all fell asleep once again, you and Ais remained awake for some more time. Peering up at him, you send him a small smile, basking in the comfort and warmth of the room. He looks right back at you with an expression that only can be described as loving, he leans down, pressing a soft kiss against your lips, quiet whispers of “I love you” echoing through your ears.

He truly couldn’t ask for a better way to wake up.

LEANDER

Although I can definitely see him as a family man, I feel like Leander would like to have some space between when he has kids instead of rushing to have one after the other 

Getting A LOT of girl dad vibes from this man, he would love to have a little princess and you can’t tell me otherwise 

I can see him with one shy little one who’s always hiding behind her dad’s leg when he’s talking to people

He’s extremely extroverted and she’s the definition of an introvert so everyone’s wondering where she got it from(most likely you)

For pregnant!MC, he treated you like a god throughout the entirety of those 9 months. Even tho he was a bit disgusted by some of your cravings, he wanted to keep you happy

“Sure sweetheart of course I can get you cookies with a side of pickle juice ^-^”

He loves that little girl to death omg

As in whatever she wants, she gets

If she wants to have a tea party with him featuring some of the bloodhounds, guess what? Grab him a tiara and a tea cup that can barely fit in his hand

Unfortunately one of the issues that came with her was now he couldn’t spend as much time at the Wet Wick as he would’ve pleased, sure most of it was still gonna be spent there but how would he explain why he had a 6 year old with him at a bar?

 So that led to him eventually finding a home as close as possible to the damn place so at least he wouldn’t have to walk far(He asked the owner at first if he can actually have the spare room upstairs for all three of you and she almost banned him all together)

Loves taking her out on adventures in Lowtown and even has a little handmade bloodhound cloak made for her

I’m sorry for anyone who will find this cringe but he would unironically call her “babygirl”

I just get those kinda vibes 

Literally takes at least an hour once a day to teach her a little bit about magic because she wanted to be able to conjure her own flowers

Most of her wardrobe is filled with the nicest dresses and outfits money can buy(50% of the money is what he gets from jobs and the other 50% is whatever is left over from his allowance of when he was still living with family)

Aside from her shyness, she is literally a mini him 

You lost count of how many random small animals she’s brought home and begged to keep

“Honey I understand that it was hurt after falling off some boxes, but that is a soulless.”

On occasion you’ve caught her using the little bit of magic Leander taught her to make her stuffed animals walk around, but you thought the sight was so adorable you didn’t say anything about it

He has been singing her lullaby’s since she was a baby and it’s to a point where she can recall every lyric in a heartbeat

It makes him cry but he denies it everytime 

Seems like the kinda guy that would name her something like “Skylar”, “Rosemary”, “Magnolia”, or “Tallulah”

Definitely something that sounds beautiful or adventurous 

A little more angsty headcanons 

Giving that the biggest analysis we have of his character is that his whole kindness act is a facade and that a monster hides beneath that 

As she continues growing, Leander becomes increasingly more protective 

Sure she has other friends and most likely people she can spend time with, but how would Leander be able to keep an eye on her if he isn’t around?

Spoiler alert, he has bloodhounds follow her around and report everything back to him 

She’s out at the market with some besties getting food? Cool, he’ll pretend he didn’t already know that when she comes back home to tell him all about it

However, unfortunately, one of those bloodhounds couldn’t be careful enough and she found out 

Cue an hour long argument where she’s telling him she can protect herself and doesn’t need him stalking her

Cue him saying it’s to keep her safe and that she should be lucky he isn’t keeping her in the house 24/7(whoopsie the bad side slipped out a bit)

Eventually you have to step in and tell the both of them to relax and talk when they're both calm :( 

Back to the wholesomeness though

He genuinely cherishes her and always makes sure that she has whatever her heart desires 

But he also teaches her to protect those who can’t protect themselves 

But even after she grows into a strong fighter, at the end of the day she’ll always be his little girl

Leander was sitting at his desk, quietly filling out some paperwork after a long week of back to back jobs for the bloodhounds. He was exhausted, but there was work to be done. 

But as he was busy writing out some reports, the door to the small study opened, and in walked none other than his daughter, who was holding one of her many stuffed animals close to her chest.

“...Daddy?” She called out to him in a hushed tone. 

Leander quickly looked up from the paper, eyes drifting over to the small girl who was standing in the doorway. He sat the pen he was holding down and set the huge stack to the side. That all can wait, what was more important was making sure she was okay.

“Hey there baby girl, everything okay?” He stood up and walked over to her, crouching down so he was on her level.

She looked down at the floor shyly, trying to muster up the courage to continue talking. She hugged her teddy bear closer to her, hiding her face within its fur. “I can’t sleep..Can I stay with you?”

Leander’s face automatically lit up, and he shot her a wide grin. “Of course you can! Come on.” 

After saying that, Leander leans over to pick the little girl up, sliding his arm underneath her body so she can hang off of his side. He then walks back over to the desk, sitting down and adjusting her so she is now resting on his lap. 

“Comfortable?” 

She nodded slowly, snuggling closer into his arms so her head was now resting on his chest. 

Leander smiles down at her, wrapping his right arm tightly around her body so she is secure. But as Leander was about to return to his work, she spoke up yet again.

“Daddy? Can you sing that song from last night?”

Leander glanced down at her again before letting out a light chuckle, “If that’s what my princess wants.” 

Leander clears his throat and sits back in the chair, the little girl grinning in happiness as she hears the sound of her father’s voice beginning to echo throughout the room. 

Some time later you're wandering around the house, searching for your daughter. You wanted to check on her after putting her to bed some time ago, you were honestly beginning to feel worried as you hadn’t even heard her leave the bedroom. But then you remembered there was one place you hadn’t checked, Leander’s study. 

Taking light steps down the hall, you're eventually able to slowly open the door, and the sight you're greeted with almost brings you to tears. 

Leander is resting back against the chair, his arms securely wrapped around your little girl as if he’s trying to protect her from whatever might appear through the door, and head shifted to the side, facing her. Your daughter is laying across his lap with her head against his chest using it as a makeshift pillow, with her holding her teddy bear closely to her body. 

You smile warmly, using your hand to cover your mouth as you walk over to the two of them. Once you reach the chair, you lean down just enough to press a soft kiss on Leander’s head, using your right hand to caress his cheek and swipe some hair out of his face. You then do the same thing to your daughter, placing a kiss on the top of her head and readjusting her a bit so she won’t potentially slip out of his arms, although judging by how tight he’s holding on, you doubt it. 

After kissing them goodnight, you slowly walk towards the door again, not wanting to wake either of them. Before closing the door, you whisper a small “goodnight my loves”, and leave the two of them alone for the night. 

KURAS

The question we should be asking is can this man even have children?

He’s quite literally a biblical angel who has been alive for centuries. Are we sure he’s even fertile?????

We shall find out 

I feel like Kuras was very conflicted on the idea of children for a while, he’s a doctor who is constantly on the job and probably doesn’t have time for most personal pleasures 

But after a time where a panicked mother brought her son to the clinic because he was hurt while playing with some friends, he was considering some things

Seeing her worry so much for him, care so much about his safety that she ran god knows how many blocks to get here? It interested him 

Pregnant!MC, it honestly shocked you a few weeks later when Kuras confirmed you were in fact carrying his child. Mostly due to the fact that Kuras isn’t even remotely human

But alas, here you are

I can see Kuras as both a girl dad and a boy dad 

But I can see him with a little boy that is literally a carbon copy of him 

Pregnant!MC, you were very disappointed when you spent 9 months cooking him in your stomach just for him to pop out with only some of your features 

But if we’re talking adoption then the young boy just straight up snatches his entire personality and his intelligence 

Imagine going to the doctor’s clinic for a check up and you here him ask for some bandages but your confused since no one else is there

Just for a few seconds later a boy who looks no older than at least 10 comes into the room and hands him the bandages and leaves as if that exchange was completely normal 

I get the kind of vibes that he would name him something fancy sounding. Like “Emil” or “Alaster” 

Something that definitely rolls off the tongue nice 

But given that your son got his intelligence, that also means he got his sass 

You thought the reason your little boy was struggling to make friends his age was because his maturity level was a little too high for them, but turns out it was because he kept pulling pranks and roasting the absolute fuck out of them

So that led to you and Kuras having to sit him down and explain to make friends he had to be nice not give them a bottle of basically the equivalent of a fart bomb while lying and saying it was a “good smelling flower”

Of course he listened and was able to make some friends, but unfortunately, the pranks did not go away. He just only started doing them after he knew them for a while 

He definitely fake gags whenever he sees you and Kuras being affectionate with each other 

“Ewwww your basically swapping saliva”

The way he and Kuras get along is bonding over science 

Sitting around the clinic for hours going through different books and papers 

There have been occasions where you’ve came back and saw him passed out in Kuras’s arms because Kuras was reading a book about astronomy to him 

It was so wholesome you almost cried 

A bit of angst

Now we all know Kuras’s worst flaw is his lack of empathy 

It’s not that he doesn’t care at all, it’s just he struggles to understand other people’s emotions 

So this caused some conflict between him and his son :( 

It’s been theorized that whatever Kuras’s “true form” is, is something extremely similar to a biblical angel 

And with that we can guess if you had your son through biological means, that form passed to him as well (we love genetics)

There was a day where Kuras witnessed a crowd of people, adults and children all running away from a specific area. At first, he wondered if someone could’ve gotten injured, so that’s why he went straight in the opposite direction that everyone else was going. Unfortunately, someone was in fact injured, even more unfortunate, the cause of that said injury was his son. Someone had been bullying one of his friends and in a moment of anger from wanting to protect him he accidentally transformed. A day that Kuras wanted to be far from now 

(If your son is adopted then you can pretend that he just got mad and beat up the other kid and felt bad about the fact that he lost his cool)

So that led to Kuras having to carry the injured boy while you carried your son that was currently bawling in your arms after he realized what happened 

After treating the young lad and waiting for his parents to come and find him. Kuras brought his son to his room to talk (that he somehow had personally made. Where did he get the money from? Does he even know how to build a room???) 

At first the talk did not go well. Kuras had to sit there and explain to him how his abilities work, where he got them from, and attempt to do an even better job in comforting him over the situation. And your son, still being emotional (which is understandable he just horribly injured a person without knowing), felt like Kuras didn’t care enough.

So as a result, he refused to speak to him for days. Like daayyyyssss

It wasn’t until Kuras convinced you to make his favorite dish (because remember he can’t cook for shit), and have it for dinner so then he’ll have to speak to him. Which eventually led to them making up and your son being all smiles again :>

But moving on from the sadness

Kuras wants to make sure his boy grows up being the best person he can be. Giving him all the resources he needs (practically home schooled him), teaching him all the life lessons he needs, and making sure he always cared for others

Can’t have him making the same mistakes as he did 

Even though he might not show it a lot, he loves that kid more than anything, and he wouldn’t trade your little family for the world ^-^

After putting your son to bed, you and Kuras finally had some sort of alone time. With you still trying to find a way into the Senobium to find some information linked to your curse, and Kuras having patients day in and day out, you guys barely had any time with each other. So thankfully, after tonight's dinner, and some more playing, your son was out like a light much earlier than you expected. 

Kuras was currently resting on top of you, his hands on each side of your head as he places gentle kisses onto your face and neck, reveling in the sound of your giggles as your own pair of hands drag through his hair. 

“Getting restless are we darling?” He says teasingly. 

You laugh at him again, messing up his hair and bringing him close to share a deep kiss. You feel the sensation of his tongue grazing your bottom lip. You then flip the both of you over so you're the one on top and start dragging your hand down down his chest, getting more closer to the top of his pants. 

But suddenly, a quiet voice interrupted the heating atmosphere. 

“.....Father? [preferred parent name]?” 

At the speed of the gods themselves, you quickly jumped off of Kuras, sitting on the side of the bed, and facing your son. Kuras sat up as well, grabbing a robe so he could cover himself a bit. After that he turned towards the door again, wondering why his son was up so suddenly. 

“Why are you awake little one? Is something troubling you?” He said with a concerned tone. 

Your son fiddles with the ends of his pajamas for a moment, obviously a little nervous about answering the question. 

“I had a bad dream, and now I can’t sleep. Can you read me a story…please?” 

Kuras looks surprised for a moment, before he lets out a snicker and scoots over a bit before patting the area, signaling his son to come sit. The young boy makes his way over to the bed, climbing up onto it and sitting down in between the two of you, watching as Kuras leans over to a small table and picks up a book. 

He opens it to the first page, leaning closer so your son can also see the words, and then he begins reading. 

After a while, Kuras manages to get through a good amount of the book, his smooth, silk voice providing good narration for your son, luring him into another deep sleep as he rests against his chest. 

Kuras himself is pulled into his own little daze, his eyes stretching across the paper as he reads every word out loud. But a small bump against his shoulder brings him back to reality. Looking over he notices you have also fallen asleep, lying down against his shoulder and softly snoring. He smiles softly before grabbing a bookmark and placing it on the book before closing it and putting it back on the table.

He then scoots even closer, leaning his own head against yours, and wrapping his arms around the both of you in a soft embrace. 

His own way of promising protection, reassuring that no harm may come to either of you as long as he’s around.

VERE

How you even managed to date this man much less have children with him is a mystery within itself 

For the longest period, you always believed that Vere wanted nothing to do with kids

And honestly, he himself understood why you thought that\

He’s been alive for centuries, and for most of those centuries him and small children were never a good mix

It was always either they were scared of him, or he found their never-ending hyperactivity annoying 

But one day, while Vere was walking behind you (more like stalking you but you’ll never find out). He noticed that you stopped to help a little girl who was looking for her mom along the busy streets. She was crying but you managed to calm her down by buying her something sweet, and then after that you walked around, looking for her mother. You did eventually find her, and the woman thanked you profusely for finding her daughter, and you replied back saying it was no problem. 

But that sight alone warmed something in Vere. Rarely ever in his years of living had he seen something so soft, so gentle and loving. 

So eventually when you returned back to your home at the wet wick, Vere was already sitting on your bed waiting for you. And before you could ask, he was immediately in your face asking a question you never expected to hear from him 

“How do you feel about having children, my pet?”

“......huh?”

Pregnant!MC - Cue to a few weeks later when both you and Kuras are staring at each other in complete shock when he tells you that yes, you are in fact pregnant 

And Vere is just standing outside with the most smug look on his face

But annnywwaayyyy

Cut to current times and now you and Vere are holding twin baby girls

I’m sorry just like the others he gives off girl dad vibes

Even if you decided to adopt rather than go through the pregnancy, somehow Vere managed to find two fox babies, so either way, he had his fox children (Don’t ask where he found them, you don’t want to know)

Is…surprisingly an okay dad?

 He’s not perfect, then again he’s not horrible, it’s a weird situation 

His pet names for them could use some work but hey, it looks cute from a distance 

Because “my precious little monsters”, “my little terrors”, and “my little nightmares” would not look good to others. But to Vere it's somehow perfect???

He spoils those babies to hell and back, like literally everything they own is of the top most quality 

“Of course I can’t have my children caught dead in anything less. They need to look just as good as I do.”

Sometimes people avoid walking down the same street as them because they get embarrassed by the fact that literally infants have better stuff than them

Now the question is, where did you even put all of these things?

Upon getting the babies, Vere had you (ahem forced) moved out of the room in the wet wick because “I would be damned if I let that egotistical man-child be near my girls for longer than he needs to be.” 

And hence, you and the babies were moved into a little town house Vere had found that had been abandoned for a while, and he refurbished it himself. And it turns out it had been close to his favorite restaurant which was nice. 

But as he spoils them as much as possible, the personal care can use some work.

Feeding them? No problem. burping them? No problem (however he does hold them in a weird position so they can’t possibly vomit and get it all over his clothes, it gets the job done but still T-T). Putting them to sleep? Can take a bit because he does get a little impatient, but it works out eventually. Playing with them? An absolute pro. Changing them? Yea that’s unfortunately your job MC, he does have a sensitive nose. 

Ais sometimes visits and plays with the little princesses while you and Vere go off and hang out together (and also get some “alone” time)

He definitely gives them very fancy sounding names that also definitely match. 

“Luna & Lilah”, “Olivia & Sophia”, “Penelope & Poppy”, the list goes on 

On top of spoiling them, he also does the thing where he pretends to understand exactly what they're saying even if it’s just babbling, but except it's in the worst way possible. 

“Ababbababbasdindasnd”

“Hmmm…yes my dear I completely agree, those pants do absolutely hideous on him”

“Vere omg stop he’s looking at us-”

Unfortunately, some angst

Given Vere’s situation, there do come some complicated situations. In which it leads to Vere being 2x as protective over all of you 

The Senobium never expected him to love someone, even less have children with them

So Vere really has no choice but to hide things from both parties here. With the kids, having to excuse his random disappearances as just adventures, and having to tell those damn clerics that he has no one. 

Those long hours that he has to spent locked up in some dungeon only makes him feel even guiltier because he knows his excuses aren't going to last forever 

But of course, his double life didn’t last forever

A day where he was finally able to return home after hours of killing people for the Senobium, instead of being greeted with you probably sitting in your shared bed while watching your two girls babble and giggle away. Instead he finds you on the ground, crying, and clutching your stomach as if you were injured. And the babies nowhere to be found

Vere rushes over, immediately disregarding any jokes he had in his head to ask you what happened.

You explain to him that some clerics had somehow found out where you lived and charged into the house, demanding to give them very personal information. When you refused to answer they attacked you and took the girls with them.

You apologized to Vere over and over again, blaming yourself for not being able to protect them better. But Vere told you it’s not your fault, it’s the fault of the ones who thought it would be smart to fuck with what’s his. 

Vere of course marched up right to the place where they were keeping his kids, even before he could enter he heard the sounds of their cries, only angering him further 

Now he knew he couldn’t kill the clerics, that was one of the damn enchantments they had put on the collar he’s wearing, but they never said he couldn’t injure them

When he got there, they did antagonize him. Getting on him for keeping something sooo important from them, condescendingly asking what would the Abess think if she found out he was hiding such a secret.

 But what really pissed him off was when they had the balls to insinuate that maybe they should enslave his babies too, since he was so keen on being a family man

Yea let’s just say they were all in comas by the time he was finished. He’ll deal with the Abess later, his daughters were his biggest priority right now. 

He had never felt that much fear in his life as he did at that moment. He immediately grabbed the two of them and held them as close as possible for a long time, checking for any injuries. A part of him was furious at himself for not getting there sooner to do something, but he knew what was important right now was calming them down

He’ll never let something like that happen again

But moving on from the angst 

Although Vere can be a bit difficult when it comes to actually caring for his kids, he still loves them nonetheless, in his own Vere way 

And even though he raises them to be the best of the best, and take shit from no one, resulting in them inheriting his sassiness. They do become very sweet young ladies, which is good for you :>

Both you and Vere were sleeping in your shared room. His arms and tail wrapped around you in a tight embrace. But the quietness was broken by the sound of your youngest crying from the other room, probably feeling lonely and wanting one of you there with her. You and Vere slowly sit up from your places on the bed, filled with exhaustion and grumbling from being woken up. 

But before you can get up to go comfort the little one, Vere pushes you back down so your head is resting against the pillow again. “I’ll take care of her, go back to sleep.”

You raise an eyebrow at him. “Are you sure? I know you get extra grumpy when something wakes you out of your beauty sleep.”

Vere rolls his eyes at your remark, getting up to grab one of his designer robes and throw it on before walking to the bedroom door. “You better not be awake by the time I get back.”

You playfully throw back a “yes sir” before laying back down and closing your eyes, causing him to snicker before leaving and making his way towards the nursery. 

Walking in, he makes quick but quiet steps towards the crib where his baby girl was, taking note to not accidentally wake up his other daughter. (thank the gods she was a deep sleeper)

Her ears were currently pulled back against her head and her tail was pointing straight down as her tears continued rolling down her face. 

Once reaching the crib, Vere picked her up and held her against his chest. “Oh my little monster, what’s bothering you hm?”

He holds her close and walks over to a rocking chair that was sitting in a corner of the room, after sitting down on it he begins slowly rocking them both and trying to hush her tears. 

After a few minutes, her cries begin to calm down and turn into soft whimpers. This makes Vere show a soft smile, happy that was able to get her to settle down. 

“There you go my precious one, good girl.” He keeps rocking, not wanting the possibility of the girl getting fussy again. 

She giggles in response, grabbing her tail and chewing on the ends of it. Vere laughs and removes it from her mouth before grabbing her hand and playfully nibbling on it, this makes her laugh again and wriggle in his arms. 

Eventually, she was able to fall asleep again, this time in her father’s arms as he watched her with nothing but love in his eyes. 

MHIN

It’s honestly the same thing with Vere, how you manage to even get into something romantic with them much less have kids is truly one of the wonders of the world

And just like Vere, you always assumed Mhin would want nothing to do with kids

For multiple reasons

They were never in one place for too long, they were constantly grumpy/in a bad mood, their job was hunting for a living, not to mention their apparent curse probably made things 10x more difficult than it needed to be. 

But being all honest, you noticed the empathetic look in their eyes as whenever the both of you were passing the orphanage, you can tell they felt bad for those children who had no other family to turn too, and wished they could do something about it

So with that, the both of you ended up having very long discussion about where to go from there, and what to do with both of your wishes

So that’s how you ended up with a baby boy in your arms that the women at the orphanage were very insistent on you and Mhin caring for 

I apologize to anyone that wanted to see Pregnant!MC for Mhin but I always imagined them as the kind of person that preferred adoption over pregnancy T-T but I might make a separate post for how LI’s would act with Pregnant!MC :>

Of course you and Mhin did your best to make any preparations for a child, but you weren’t expecting the orphanage to find someone for you that fast

You were honestly surprised when Mhin brought you to the outskirts of Lowtown where there was a small house that looked almost abandoned that had apparently been where they called home for months 

When you questioned them about it they just responded with saying they wanted to lay low so they found somewhere no one would expect them to be 

Also

“I didn’t want you…or him to be around that fucker while we’re trying to keep him safe.”

Yes they were talking about Leander

They also want to keep the baby around only Kuras until they deem everyone else trustworthy(no you cannot talk them out of this)

But eventually when your able to settle down with the little guy, things feel a little more domestic 

It was a tough transition for the both of you, but you managed to get through it :>

Mhin tries to stop taking less jobs and finding ways to sneak into the Senobium, but now that they have you and their son now, they are even more determined to find a way to get rid of their own curse because now their paranoia of hurting you two has doubled 

And with that Mhin was afraid of getting too close for a while, leaving most of the care to you while they watched from behind 

But one day after a long time of convincing, you managed to convince them to hold the little one

It was honestly a little funny watching them panic a bit while the little guy rests in their arms, it was a situation that they had never been faced with 

But they eventually got the hang of it and even played with him a bit, making them smile as they watched their son giggle 

After that Mhin started caring for him more, picking up whatever needed to be done whenever you were away or wanted a break

I can see Mhin wanting to name him something with russian origins, idk why but russian Mhin has been on my mind lately and I can’t get it out 

Something like “Luka”, “Dimitri”, or “Lev”

Even though Kuras is the only doctor in Eridia, he is still the only doctor Mhin is willing to trust with their baby boy

Anytime there is a problem with him Mhin is immediately putting him into a wrap carrier and racing towards the clinic

Nine times out of ten he just has a small cold but Mhin panicked 

They totally still try and do some cultural things that they remember from Lovent with the kiddo, even if it’s barely anything at all it’s enough to bring a smile to their face :>

He doesn’t spoil his little boy as much as the others do, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t get spoiled at all

Mhin’s way of spoiling him is whenever they come across something they think he might like while out on a job, it’s in their pockets moments later 

It doesn’t happen all the time, but it’s still adorable 

And now some angst

Given that the biggest headcanon about their curse is that the times they can transform is almost unpredictable, this creates some issues between all of you, especially when they return home from jobs

Mhin of course has an entire protocol for whenever this happens, giving you an entire rundown for it in case they ever transform.

If it ever happens and they're outside the house, lock every point of entry and don’t let them in no matter what. But if they're ever inside the house and it happens, take your son and leave as quickly as possible and go to Kuras. 

But one day, something you never expected happened one night

You were awoken to the sound of your maybe making noises that could only be described as curiosity and almost…joy? 

Sitting up, what you see makes you immediately freeze in place. In the corner of the room opposite of your son’s crib, a massive, black figure sits, its huge, white eyes glow, being one of the only things visible. Somehow your automatically able to tell it’s Mhin, mostly due to the fact that you know of no other bird like creatures

You didn’t know what to do, every possible thing you could’ve done would have opened the possibility of setting…it off 

So all you can do is sit there as your baby keeps giggling and them, while you and the bird just stare at each other 

Eventually, you notice it began to shrink, signaling that Mhin was slowly returning. And you couldn’t be any happier for that news

But once Mhin was finally back, they were crouched down on the floor, breathing heavily and holding a hand against their neck

Your son took notice of this and began whimpering, about to cry from seeing his parent in distress

The next day your little boy was sent to Kuras for a while to check for any injuries, while you and Mhin stayed behind. Unfortunately, this started a massive argument between the two of you

Mhin angry because you both could’ve been in terrible danger and they wouldn’t have been able to live with the thought that they could’ve killed you two. And you telling them that you had no other choice but to sit and no nothing because if you attempted to run then that would’ve only made the situation worse

The argument went on for some time, both of you going back and forth for god knows how long. Eventually, it just resulted in both of you sitting in uncomfortable silence, not wanting to say anything to the other 

But eventually, Mhin spoke up again, saying that their fear of hurting the two of you was stronger than anything else, and they would rather not have a family at all then live with the guilt of what would happen.

So you guys did end up making up, managing to talk things through and find a compromise :>

Moving on from the angst

Like Vere before, Even if it’s rare that Mhin would directly say “I love you” It’s always told through their actions 

From willing to spend countless hours comforting their son, or trying to get him to sleep, or just playing with him, that alone tells you enough that they love him more than anything than whatever's left in this wretched world.

And they wouldn’t have it any other way ^-^

Mhin was returning home late one night after a long hunt of killing soulless. They were utterly exhausted and wanted nothing more than to pass out in your arms. 

Dragging themselves through the door, they are met with the sight of you sleeping soundly in the bed, in a position giving them the idea that you were waiting for them to return. They took off their cloak and threw it onto the floor before taking off their boots and setting them next to the door. 

But before they can flop down against the bed, a high pitched giggle rings through their ears. Turning around they see their baby boy standing up in his crib while hanging on to the ledges, his giggling only escalating when he notices them looking at him. Mhin walks over to the crib, leaning over to pick up the little one and bring him into their arms. 

“Shhhhh…you’ll wake up your [preferred parent name].” They say as they lightly bounce the little one in their arms. 

They walk over to the small playpen they made themselves and sit down in it, setting their son on their lap before grabbing a toy that has the appearance of a baby duck. The baby immediately reaches towards it while laughing, showing off his gummy smile. Mhin softly smiles, making the toy look like it’s walking towards him while making some “quacking” noises. This makes the boy giggle even more, doing his best to mimic the sounds even though he hasn’t been speaking for that long yet. 

Eventually, Mhin places the toy on his lap, letting him grab onto it while wagging it around in the air. While he was doing this, Mhin removed their shirt, exposing the bandages that were covering their chest, they then threw the shirt to where their cloak is, telling themselves they’ll get it in the morning. 

After about a good hour of playing with their little boy, they eventually take the toy from him, making him whimper a bit as he reaches for it again, but Mhin lightly shushing him calms him back down. 

Mhin then takes him back into his arms, lifting themselves up and walking over to the bed and sitting down against it, making sure to move carefully to not wake you up. 

After that, they lay down in the bed, still holding the little one close to their chest as they lean their head back against the pillow. 

It takes a while but he does eventually fall asleep, resting against their chest as they wrap their arm softly around his body, and letting their free hand lay on the small of your back. 

And then it was their turn to fall asleep, but this time, instead of having the regular restless slumber they usually experience, it was quiet, and peaceful for once. 

Author’s note: This ended up being so much longer than I had anticipated but it was very much worth the wait and I hope you enjoy it just as much as I do ^-^

[vermilionsun]

🕊 Mhin NSFW Headcanons

🕊 Mhin NSFW Headcanons 2

🕊 Top!Mhin Headcanons [NSFW]

🕊 My dagger's blade has your name (Foxian MC Headcanons part 2)

🕊 Obedience suits you better - Mhin/Vere Oneshot

🕊 I'm your man - Mhin/Kuras Oneshot + Mhin Angst

🕊 Who did this to you? - Injured s/o Hadcanons

🕊 In love with the impossible - Mhin in love with MC (Headcanons)

🕊 O Burning Passion of mine (ft Artist MC)

🕊 Paper Hearts - Little gifts from MC Headcanons

🕊 You are only mine - Vere/Mhin Oneshot (bad ending)

🕊 You are only mine - Vere/Mhin Oneshot (good ending)

🕊 Drunk Mhin Headcanons

🕊 Girl With One Eye, GET YOUR FILTHY FINGERS OUT OF MY PIE - female MC that hates men (Headcanons)

🕊 "I want you wanting." - Mhin/Leander Oneshot

🕊 Turn me on when they / Take it off - walking in on MC changing with their bandages undone (Headcanons)

🕊 The stars you hide - MC with spine tattoo (Headcanons)

🕊 Oops!…I Did It Again - LIs being complimented in such a specific way they don't know what to do with it (Headcanons)

🕊 “Full of surprises” - MC with a lower back tattoo (Headcanons)

🕊 I can’t stay away from you - how the LIs would kiss the MC for the first time (Headcanons)

🕊 We're not broken, just bent - MC with sh scars (Headcanons)

˚✩ ⋆｡˚ ✩ || Mhin Special Angst Masterlist || Main Touchstarved Masterlist

[portsandstars]

Revisiting Red Spring Studio's Interview with Blerdy Otome - Select Quotes

It's been almost a year since RSS had this interview, but I think that many people have not listened to it, or recently revisited it. I thought I'd highlight some quotes from it, though the entire interview is worth watching! Some of these quotes I have lightly modified for clarity or succinctness but the majority are direct transcripts.

23:30: "Touchstarved is a horror romance visual novel where the entire cast is made up of characters where you're like, "I can fix them!" but you actually can't. I think that Touchstarved is a very complex and mature story with really really complex themes and interwoven routes and obviously it's very sexy at the same it's a romance - and I think it's one of those games that I've always wanted to see exist and I think that a lot of the team has always wanted to see this game exist as far as being this kind of like dark, broody, moody, but also very deep, right, and authentic and honest exploration - Monsters, and the feeling of being a monster - feeling of being an "other", right, whether you're queer or POC or anything like that… we've created a game that's not only really fun and action-packed and bloody and all that kind of stuff… but very heartfelt in a way that I hope readers can pick up on.

Imo, this line of reasoning ("you can't fix them", and the cast's monstrous nature and how it intrinsically ties to/is an analogy for being queer, or POC) - makes me think that even in the good endings for the game, your character won't be minimizing the character's monstrousness. For example, even if your character has the Power of True Love, it's not going to make Vere nonviolent or absolve Kuras's guilt.

25:35: "These themes are pretty complicated in a way that's messy and honestly bloody and I think for that reason is why we're looking at a mature rating - that said, when we set out to make the game our goal wasn't really to be explicit, it was much more to focus on sexiness . . ."

Just clarifying that there won't be explicit sex scenes in the game.

28:55: "What are some aspects of the story that you are most excited to showcase?" "I'm so excited that people get to die terribly, that just gets me so pumped up. Like in previous jobs I have not been allowed to brutally murder . . . main characters permanently and it's very important to me that I now have the power to write really just messed up awful endings…Don't worry, there's also good endings there too, they just get as much passion and all that stuff as the bad endings… but the bad endings, oh my gosh, those are some of my favorites."

This line makes me curious about whether the main characters are just MC, or if the other characters will brutally die as well!

30:50 "A little while ago we posted Kuras's character reveal and people really like the fact that he can't cook so for me it's really cute and innocent seeing people obsess over that fact and I really just want them to see the contrast between that version of Kuras in their head and what he's actually like in his route. Like I just really want to see them react to like the terrible things he's going to do. . . They're all awful in different ways that I'm really excited for people to see it - it's very funny to see everyone be like _Literally name any of the characters of the cast and be like "they're my little meow meow" and it's like, oh. good. I hope this continues once they learn more about the characters. Obviously they're all wonderful - right, the characters are all awful but they're also all wonderful".

32:26 : "the theme of monstrousness and how each character kind of approaches it differently . . . because they're all monsters, even if they're not literally monsters . . .it also plays into each character's brand of horror in their own way as well that ties into their monstrous nature."

This line especially (to me) hints at how Leander is likely not SPECIFICALLY a monster, but a human with a monstrous nature.

34:30: - Ais was the first character they made and each of the other characters build upon him, so they spent a lot of time getting him right. Vere was the easiest to create and they made him in a weekend. Kuras was the hardest to create (especially visually).

38:00 "This is a romance game and a big draw of the game is making a love connection with these characters - do you all plan on including platonic friendship routes in addition to romance routes, or is it strictly romance?" The way that we planned out this game is that we wanted to focus on the intimacy of these individual relationships between the main character and the love interest and the route that they're on, right, so this is the way we had planned the game from the beginning. We really like poly romances, for example, and friendships, but we think that it wouldn't have made much sense for the characters in the story that we had written for them because this entire story - with who the main character is and why they're having to turn to these mysterious monstrous strangers - there's a level of intimacy involved in the themes and stories that we really focused on for how we're writing…

It's almost like a narrative design intentionality we did early on because each route that you'll be able to play from the main five cast is very driven and each character is like a ticking time bomb in their own way. So if you choose to romance Vere, Kuras's route still continues and you can see the effects of what not choosing Kuras is in Vere's route when you're playing Vere's route. So the world is meant to be very interwoven and interconnected where you can see the ripples of everyone's choices even when you're not romancing them and in that way we've designed this cast that's woven together. So if we did want to do a poly route, we would probably have to do entirely new characters . ."

43:30: "One of the fundamental goals of this game was to have, as you've been saying, a living world - a world that's evolving, and one of the ways that we wanted to communicate that was with the idea that these characters are not doing great… um, they're all in very very bad situations, uh, they're all essentially doomed if you do not go with them and it's seeing that carried out in each route that I hope will be really interesting for people.. it will be very sad, in a good way".

ARGHHH this is the WORST. This means that if you choose a character, you're essentially dooming the others. Though this will undoubtedly manufacture delicious angst, I'm soooo sad at imagining each of the other characters faltering and ultimately failing on their paths because you didn't chose them. Though, I wonder if there are some routes where multiple characters turn out ok, or if the entire cast is doomed as soon as you don't select them (in different ways depending on the route)?

54:30: "I also want to clarify too that even though we've been talking about blood a lot and all that kind of stuff and death and we love those parts of the story, um, if you get those endings there's a reason why, you know what I'm saying - you have to actively try to get those endings - poke the bear with a stick."

Definitely referencing Vere's bad ending in the demo. Personally I am too curious to avoid them, but it's encouraging that some of the MC deaths appear to be because you deliberately make dangerous choices, rather than simply "tricking" the player and surprising them.

Let me know what you think of these quotes, and the whole interview is definitely worth a watch if you haven't seen it!

[ariiadnes]

ㅤ╭ ⿻ ･ to the path where we belong

you lonely riot , you laughing graveyard. you hungry & haunted boy. i know , i know. you want so badly to feel alive.

ଓ.°・・・ synopsis : your touch is but a curse / an injustice / depravity , but leander knows this to be untrue , knows there is a blessing beneath it all.

-ˋ ♡ ◞ leander. touchstarved. reader has no specific pronouns or features. nsfw. MDNI. quote cr : donte collins. repost.

YOU DROWN IN WILLFUL IGNORANCE OF TOUCH : what it is, what it means, what it feels like -- the sensation of your hand in another's, and how very terrifying the absence of it is. because your touch is a reckoning / chaos combined, and so you drown and you drown, unable to stay afloat, sinking until you almost forget your senses and humanity.

you think you should know better, find composure and ground yourself to what little of it remains, but you can't. you can't. because in the days past, you have witnessed too much death, found yourself fighting for your life, thrown into endless danger and deceit. you should know better, and you do, but you don't care anymore, so you surrender, give into that fragment of humanity that clings to a broken spirit.

your mind is a haze in the midst of it all : your hands splayed across leander's back, his hands on your waist, hips pressed against yours until he can go deeper and deeper until he hits all the right spots, coaxes those whines from your lips. your nails dig into his skin, but the painful sensations almost feel so wonderfully human that he desires it all the more. you bite your lip in desperate attempt to keep quiet, on the verge of drawing blood until his hand cups your cheek, turns your focus onto him.

"don't, you'll hurt yourself." is his quiet command, and the gentleness in every single word is almost so unbearable that you feel yourself on the verge of tears. "enjoy it. it's alright."

you inhale sharply, feel your body shudder beneath the weight of his, but you do not know if it's from such foreign kindness or the feeling of him inside you. his lips are so dangerously close to yours as he leans down, speaks comforting words that ease the heart.

leander does not know of your past, but he knows that you have lived through many horrors, knows that you have yet to bear witness to innocence and serenity. he'll show you what he can in this moment, tell you that it's okay to relax, that you're safe in his arms.

his gaze shifts from your lips to your eyes -- how very captivating it is, the green hues that are so earnest and warm yet hide a jaded truth. you swallow hard, almost wish you could feel him all the more, feel your lips against his-- and it would be so easy, both of you think, but it would almost be too much. because it would mean something else, maybe, and it would mean something more. it's a foolish thought, really ; you are mere acquaintances, but the intimacy and comfort you seek from each other is overwhelming, but you have already been selfish enough.

he cannot kiss you-- that, perhaps, may be the one thing he cannot grant you tonight, so he fights the instinct, picks up the paces instead, hands grasping your hips so tightly as he indulges in your warmth, chases that high he needs so much.

you want to find reason for the tears in your eyes, want to think that maybe it just feels too good and that you can't handle it, but the truth of it all is that you have been so terribly lonely this whole time, deprived of another's touch and yearning. you don't want to think about it, don't want leander to see, but he does. you notice the way his jaw clenches, the way his expression softens, and you wish you didn't-- so you hold him closer, arms around his neck as he buries his face in the crook of your neck.

no, leander does not know of your past, nor does he know your future, but he knows what you share in this time here and now. he'll show you what your touch means to him-- what it does to him, the way it unravels him so, and he'll show you that there is always safe haven in this wretched world.

[harmlessghosty]

Hello 👋

I love video game theories and was interested on your views of the Touchstarved demo and what theories you might have on it :)

Oh my gosh, hi! ❤️

I am but a ditzy romance writer, not a lore keeper, but I have thoughts?? Apologies for how much is wrong or ridiculous because I don’t know all the current lore, and the wiki is so bare that I can hardly find anything confirmed by the devs. This is kind of just stream-of-consciousness!

Excuse my format because I don’t know how tumblr works lol

— Leander is a reference to oleander, which is a flower found basically everywhere and a fairly common, beautiful plant despite widely being considered poisonous. It gives me the idea that Leander is NOT someone to mess with and has lots of surface-level escapades (which is implied in canon) with people who find him physically beautiful but not necessarily beautiful on the inside. He also uses many underhanded, mysterious tactics to kill Soulless/Monsters/criminals, you name it. He’s everywhere, everyone knows him, everyone loves him, but he’s very dangerous under that beautiful exterior. Maybe he even kills some innocent people for the right price of big secrets. I bet he knows a LOT about Eridia’s people, so he’s viewed as trustworthy because what else can you do when he knows everything about everyone?

— Interestingly though! Leander’s main flower is the lily?? Lily is super poisonous to cats, which makes me think maybe there will be some sort of connection between Mhin’s stray cats and Leander being a danger to them (or possibly to Mhin themself).

— I feel like Leander gave himself that big scar. Maybe something went horribly wrong when he became a powerful mage. Maybe he went to Ais and the Seaspring even. It’s possible this is why their relationship is strained and they’re always trying to kill each other.

— Ais’ gang didn’t just go for a walk. They died or got turned into Soulless. Maybe after drinking from the Seaspring, after some amount of time, people turn into Soulless. It could be revealed that all the murdering of Soulless ends up being murdering of your fellow humans?? One really big secret.

— Mhin is a stereotypical “broken bird” trope. Super cynical and sarcastic. Went through major trauma and now they’re a hunter with a heart of gold. Not to mention their bird motif that a lot of people say is obvious?? I think that’s an interesting way to look at them.

— Also! “The vultures can smell death.” It gives Mhin the connection to the birds, that they’re turning into a vulture maybe?? Maybe they hate it as well because they’re drawn to stray cats as friends, and vultures go after smaller critters. They’re scared of hurting the only friends they have (including Kuras, who practically took them under his wing). Not to mention it’s a reference to them being able to smell death on the MC.

— Vere and Kuras were both in Eridia since the days it began, and they’ve butted heads for many, many years. Maybe Vere was cursed by Kuras into his current Monster form for having connections to the Senobium. Kuras thought it was funny to give Vere traits of a sneaky fox, maybe not even knowing that they would last forever OR because Vere did something awful to him. That may be the reason Kuras is repenting so much.

— This also can give credence to the idea of Vere saying (paraphrasing), “You’re not a human but not a Monster, like me,” to the MC. He was turned into a Monster rather than born one.

— The “Lloventian knot” Vere mentions, when you look it up, leads you to the “true lover’s knot,” which involves two overhand knots and some parallel ropes. Makes me think he’s got some big secret of a lover he’s lost, or maybe he was just teasing the MC with something that sounded sexual, but it seems odd to have a specific mention of something that may (or may not even??) exist.

— “Danger is drawn to you like a moth to flame,” from Vere. He absolutely can sense something “special” about the MC that, no matter what MC does, they’re in grave danger. Hence why the game description says that the ending can either be lovey-dovey or blood-icingly awful. I don’t know about having theories for this quote, but it feels so very important.

— There’s got to be a riff between Kuras and Mhin at some point for their opinions on the Senobium. I just feel it in my bones.

— Ais was the first to drink from the Seaspring, which is why he’s not technically one of the Groupminds. It also explains why he’s the leader of the gang, since he’s the most sound of mind, but I’m betting he’s scared of Ocudeus. He speaks in such short sentences most of the time because his brain is so muddled. I also find it interesting how the MC has only heard of the Groupminds but never seen one, given their assumed upbringing in a rougher environment. But that’s just kind of my opinion with no real basis in the demo.

— Sparrows symbolize a lot of things, like hope, bravery and friendship. I like to think that Ais picked the nickname for people who come to the Seaspring, because they’re all full of innocent hope that they can be cured. They also symbolize community, so anyone who drinks from the Seaspring is part of one big happy family!

Again, a lot of these could be counteracted by canon content from the devs, but I still think there are lots of fun things to explore about this game, even if I’m not right about a chunk of things. Just think of everything I said as an AU!

[vamprel]

Diwali with the Touchstarved LIs !!!

Quick little note, this is my first time doing anything like this so I’m sorry if it’s wonky and a bit out of character :’) also I’ll add the translations for some things at the end !!

—————

- For the puja, I think Kuras would be in charge of making the diyas

- Someone would have to make the sweets so uh I feel like Mhin could be a decent cook, Ais would cook out of nescessity, and Leander could cook well as long as someone makes sure he doesnt start experimenting and make whatever that gooey green drink was....

- Leander would buy the laddoos, and would assist Mhin in making the kheer

- Vere would be in charge of the rangoli, and obviously it’s going to look spooktacular (monster high reference, I can’t stop saying it.)

- During the puja, the MC/reader would be in charge of it because uh idk maybe they happen to be Indian so…!!! (Are there other Indian Touchstarved fans please where are you guys 💔)I feel like Vere would kind of be away from it because of the bell and I feel like he would have sensitive hearing because well, fox ears guy!!

- Mhin and Ais would DEVOUR all of the sweets after the puja

- For the first prayer song moment I feel like it would go well, then the second one Vere may try to annoy someone idk Mhin maybe and then everything spirals…

- it’s okay eventually everything calms down and we get to do fireworks !!

- Ais and Leander would go crazy with the fire bang or snaps or whatever those are called I don’t know 😞 they’d get into a competition on who can throw down the whole bag and get all of them to explode at once

- Mhin would look at the sparkler in their hand like Howl Pendragon looking at the star

- Vere would try to light everyone but Ais on fire. You’re next. Run.

- Okay time for fireworks show time !!

- Vere loves looking at the fountain of colors exploding in the sky, but would hate how loud it sounds

- Kuras and Ais likes all of the fireworks, he isn’t bothered by the noise or blinding colors, he admires them all.

- Leander seems like the guy to love fireworks, and the type of guy to start saying some huge festival speech that the others tune out

- I don’t think Mhin would like fireworks at all because of how flashy and loud it is, so they’d be inside consuming the rest of the kheer or chugging some falooda

- Or Leander dragged them out because festival time!! We must be together!! Friendship!!!! So now they’re by Kuras covering their ears and glaring at Leander

- Eventually everyone calmed down and finally looked at the fireworks

- Happy ending.

——-

Hey y’all sorry for the abrupt stop, I’m exhausted. I have so many art ideas and fic ideas all while being a student and it’s exhausting, so this is bad I know. Anyway the translations

Puja- it’s basically worshipping or prayer time.

Diyas- 🪔 THERES AN EMOJI FOR IT anyway it looks like that! The way my family does it is we have the little clay cup part and a piece of cotton, twist it, put it in the cup with some ghee(a specific type of butter) and boom you got a diya

Laddu/laddoo- for this you have to search up… it’s this orange colored and spherical shaped sweet, but i don’t know what it’s made of

Kheer- Indian rice pudding 10/10

falooda- kind of a milkshake, with basil seeds and sev (noodle things) inside, and it’s scrumptious there’s multiple flavors the the rose flavor is the best and iconic one 10/10

[sparksly-mage-of-light]

Okay, I have thoughts about Leander and need to express them.

Now, I could very well end up being wrong and might be missing some things that make everyone else really suspicious of him, but I really don't think he's a bad person completely masquerading as a hero and trying to manipulate people. I do think his whole heroic persona might be somewhat performative, but I think he genuinely wants to help people and be seen as a good person. He at the very least strikes me as a people-pleaser.

I think the problem might lie in him over-extending himself and neglecting his own wants and needs (like sleep, if the dark circles under his eyes are anything to go by). Like keeping up a protection spell just so a certain cursed newcomer can hold his hand/feel him up whenever they want (magic has to take some kind of toll on the user). Or promising to cure said newcomer by claiming to be able to do the work of an entire organization on his own (we don't know what the Senobium's deal is, yes, but they have to have a decent amount of power to have the reputation they do).

There's also the little things, like Leander not complaining about Vere ordering expensive champagne even though the price does seem to concern him. The way he physically jumped in to diffuse the tension. How, if you take him up on the drink, he picks what sounds like the most palatable drink that also introduces you to more of Eridias' local culture. He won't even give us his opinion of the others without asking for ours first, as if he doesn't want to risk disagreeing with us.

He also just doesn't seem to make any decisions for himself in general. The people at the bar ask him to to perform, so he does. Kuras said Leander could help us, so he says he will. The Bloodhounds' reaction to us mentioning the Senobium makes us uncomfortable, so he talks them down; but also we made them uncomfortable, so he moves our conversation outside. We never see him order a specific drink for himself independently: when we first meet him, he just asks the bartender to surprise him, and during his section towards the end, he just orders whatever you order (when they all gather at the bar, we don't get an idea of what drink he ordered or how, but I wouldn't be surprised if something similar happened). Even when he grabs our wrist the first time we touch, I think he does it more to reassure us than out of any desire to touch us more (and I mean that even if you hesitate, because at that point you're like 90% of the way there and he wants you to know he can help. His whole freakout, as I've seen others point out, is probably just due to a stronger than expected reaction from our curse).

As for how that might tie in to what makes him monstrous, I think that might come down to what lengths he's willing to go to in trying to help people. Maybe he's willing to kill for other people, maybe he dabbles in some dark magic like necromancy or has some sort of magic patron he's made a deal with a la dnd warlock pacts, or maybe it's something more self-sacrificial and he's willing to risk his life or sell his soul.

Regarding his relationship with the MC, I do think he could get obsessive over them, but I don't think it would be in the stereotypical yandere fashion. Considering how submissive he acts (and how Ais describes him to be), I think Leander would rather be possessed by the MC than possess MC himself.

I don't know if this makes sense. I just think Touchstarved is doing a lot of interesting and nuanced things, and Leander just being a deceptive yandere feels too easy (no offense to the people making those headcanons, though. love a yandere headcanon. i just like to overthink things).

[6okuto]

Niaaaa //wailing, heaving, rolling around on the floor

I cannot stress enough how much I adore your works and love rereading all of them from time to time

Am here to ask if you have any more touchstarved hcs,, or thoughts,, im dying over here

Literally starved for content

gn!reader | REG!!! //waving both hands, jumping up and down giggling. Thank U. this is an honour and incredible compliment. scary bc my old works are...old... but Thank u. U mean the world 2 Me. i didn't thoroughly check what hcs i've already said so sorry there's repeats orz

i'm not saying the LIs would all go to the barbie movie but if someone does make art of that please let me know and tag me especially if it has the i am kenough shirt

they ruined my life saying kuras doesn't eat how is he going to join my girl dinners now. /j but i'll continue to believe he can appreciate how good a meal looks! & he can still sit with you and try to get his hands on your favourite meals for you to enjoy :-)

that thing where they do push-ups and kiss you when they come down with...leander was the first one i thought of tbh. but if you aren't able to lie underneath him he'd just ask for the same amount once he's done!

leander doing the thing he did in the prologue where he took his glove off with his teeth every so often just to see your reaction. like if you react in an amusing flustered staring at him kind of way. i couldn't relate personally (lying) (liar) (huge lie)

i'm sorry for my leander bias but if one of his favourite things is MASQUERADES and we don't see him at a MASQUERADE well it's so joever like him in a suit and mask and showing off how he knows how to fit in because of his past and also he can waltz now or something I'm dizzy i can't breathe

ais using 0.5 camera on people while they're caught off guard. him asking you to take a video of the fight For him because he's going to be part of it. vere selfie folder. mhin 5 followers no icon no posts gc lurker.

mhin would stick to enough of a routine that they'd have a specific spot to sit at different places,,, like a cafe or the library or bus... corner. it's one of the corners. and when someone's taken the spot they're thrown off then have to walk around for a new one (not happy about this) but take it back once they leave. you spend enough time together and they start keeping the spot next to them open for you

^ also they'd always order the exact same thing at restaurants. wouldn't like going to a new place because now they have to find a new default order. just like me fr

is no one going to talk about the idea that vere doesn't like snow because he's chained outside and it's cold . to be fair it could Totally be for a less sad reason like how it gets his Fur Wet (valid) but i've been thinking about that possible angst

also his gloves are just. like. ? odd. inverse drawing gloves. claws... but why only the 3 fingers.... btw his outfit means a constant thigh holding opportunity

kuras and mhin having long conversations about alchemy and sharing their findings with each other ;; mhin at some point getting just a Little excited about something and kuras choosing not to comment on it but being happy to see them let their walls down a little ;; o(-(

ais coming into your room and wordlessly lying next to you in bed and when asked if he needs something he says no? with a smile. he was just feeling lonely and wanted to find you

saying "you look like you can't swim" or "you are an odd individual" to any and all of them . something about it is amusing to me

if you celebrate christmas or like the idea of kissing underneath some mistletoe,, i think it's a good thought that you hold one over your head and wait for a kiss Or that Some of the LIs would Definitely do that themselves.

who do you guys think has the saddest birthday celebration (/no celebration at all.) who's relating to girls who spend their birthday alone and crying and be honest with me

rambling but i just want to say kuras's monster form looks sick as FUCK and i'm so excited for it. it looks like whatever left the scar on his hand seems to be there.. in his monster form...? i thought it was a claw but the positioning is under/through the hand so like??. do i have to bring up the significance of that if true

also is his outfit (minus his jacket)...like a jumpsuit... or can i just not tell because of his three (?) belts. that's not how you wear belts btw /lh. and is the sheer part Part of the top or is he wearing something sheer underneath the white. his sleeves are also sheer but the neckline means his shoulders are out . take off ur jacket

also mhin !! i want to know how big they get and if the transformation is sickening to watch and if they're still aware of everything around them and !!! THERE IS A SPINE(?) COMING OUT FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE SILHOUETTE THAT I NEED TO SEE NOW! & i'm assuming the senobium is Shit so even if we do get in there and get 'help' there would be another shitty price to pay. possible bad ending...??

scenes with all their monster forms where you're asked if you're scared and you say no / yes but you care about them and they falter because they didn't expect that

true good ending is everyone meeting at the wet wick and making a toast and laughing and saying this truly was our touchstarved before the credits roll

[cacaobean760]

Ok so this is my first ever post but I actually really want to talk about this because for the past 3 or 4 days I have been hyperfixated on Touchstarved 😅(but who can blame me🤷‍♀️) so this is gonna be on Leander because like everyone else I have been thinking about his character and what everything means because he is obviously MAD sus. I know that there are already a lot of theories out there in this pretty boy so I’m just gonna talk about some weird lines I noticed and I think I’ll do a separate post about things about his character physically because this is already gonna be a long one🌞 I honestly have no idea where to really start but I’m just gonna hop right in so buckle up because this will probably be long🤠 Now first things first as much as I would love to trust this pretty boy we all know that he is, for one reason or another, trying to get us to trust him. And with the very first option we get with Leander to either take the flowers or refuse them, if you choose to refuse them he basically just dismisses us and reiterates what he said before

At first glance this seems innocent enough and maybe even kind but when you actually think about it, it is a bit weird. Like he is really trying to make a good impression on us because who doesn’t like flowers right?👀 and we know that he is specifically targeting us because before this when everyone else is calling out for the flowers(which means that we can assume that they all already like, trust, and or know Leander) this happens

Now upon reading this, this was definitely gonna happen because we are the MC but if you look at this from Leanders view, we are a new face, someone he doesn’t know yet, someone who doesn’t trust him yet. Leander later plays this off by flattery and saying he is,” certain that he would remember a face as lovely as ours around Lowtown”. Now I just might be SUPER paranoid here but I feel this kills two birds with one stone because one it covers up the fact that he noticed us right away but also establishes a relationship with some flattery. Am I saying he is lying when he says this and that he is not being truthful about finding us attractive, no, but I definitely think that there is a hidden agenda here, which is getting us to trust him. Next, I don’t even know what this fully means but I think it definitely alludes to his character so I’ll include it

Just like the flowers, Leander is trying to make an impression, whether this nice guy act last long or not, we don’t know yet 🤷‍♀️ Later on in the story at the bar counter the MC and Leander are chit chatting so Leander asks us why we are at the Wet Wick and once Leander realizes it’s for work his mood changes immediately but only for a second

Before he was very happy and all smiles but for some reason this drops when he realizes it’s about work??? I also have no idea what this means again, but if he is actually disappointed that we did not come to the Wet Wick just because, or something else I don't know, but I feel this is important. Then when we mention the Senobium and all the Bloodhounds act up this caught my eye

Beforehand he was very invested in us and talkative but now he doesn’t even notice an uproar??? And then to add on, when he does notice, this is his reaction

I just feel that this is a very weird reaction for someone who is portrayed as very friendly and outgoing. Again in the moment of reading this it might not seem that weird or out of character but when you think about how bubbly he was before it definitely is questionable. Like I said there are many theories on Leander and the Bloodhounds and one of them is that the Bloodhounds are a gang or something like it and something that I feel backs this up is this line right here, specifically the key word territory

As far as I know gangs do have territory. But this means that there has to be some other territory or some sort of rival! This leads me to what Vere says later on in the game when you choose to follow him

Sooooooo does this mean that the Senobium is or has a gang???? Maybe, but I feel that there is something going on there. Then after all the commotion we finally go outside and Leander tries to figurer out what is "wrong" with us and why we want to go to the Senobium. When trying to convince us to tell him he says

Again at first glance, this seems perfectly fine but, again, I may just be reading wayyyy to much into things, but to me, this feels a bit cocky for someone as friendly and bubbly as he is suppose to be. He is most definitely trying to convince us to tell him about ourselves even though we already know that INFORMATION IS VERY SENSITIVE IN THIS CITY. And yet Leander reassures us that he can help and so we should tell him. Then when we finally do tell him that we are cursed his response is

This strikes me as odd because the Devs have said that yes, he is from a Hightown family, but he did not go to the Senobium to study, soooo how exactly would he know the differences and why would he be so interested in it because unless for some odd reason he was taught at home about curses which I don't think is very likely, what did he exactly do to acquire this knowledge?

Ok so this is already really long, like longer then I thought it would be but I still have more so Ima just gonna do a part 2, but thanks for reading!!! And in conclusion, Leander is mad sus.

[n--n]

One last touchstarved theory thingy bc I’ve almost purged my brief obsession!! It’s mentioned by both Leander and Vere that the one running the Senobium- and thus its shady policies- is someone called The Abbess. An Abbess is a nun in charge of the nunnery, so I can only assume she is gonna have some sort of religious symbolism related to her like Kuras and Mhin do. Unfortunately the literal one-sentence blink and you’ll miss it lines are all we have to go off for her, but I’m excited to see what she’s really like in game! (From the attitude both Vere and Leander have in those one-off lines, it’s clear she’s almost certainly a villain).

Some misc, tinfoil-hat theories:

- Elyon, as a powerful noble, likely works with but opposes the Abbess. He owns most of the brothels in Lowtown apparently so he has incentive to keep the divide between hightown and lowtown, but as someone with power he probably chafes at the control the Senobium has over hightown

- Sen, from her one-sentence descriptor, is a revived warden seeking her own death. Almost certainly one of the Senobium’s experiments, not sure what a warden in the context of the touchstarved universe is but probably a Fancy Jailer for the Senobium like the word usually implies. Maybe the experiments left her with such a painful condition she’d rather die? Or it could be more supernatural, in that she can not Rest until her unfinished business in Eridia is Taken Care Of.

-The Abbess could be the one that initiated the changes at the Senobium in the first place a generation ago, since immortality is confirmed to exist in-universe (see Vere being chained “Centuries Ago”)

-I think Leander is meant as the sort of “starter LI”, since the demo and supplementary info give us the most info about him while at the same time holding back just enough as to be intriguing (see: the countless Leander-specific theory posts that started this post lmao) I imagine his route will tell us the most about lowtown, fogfall and Eridia at large, whereas Vere/Mhin/Kuras will tell us most about the Senobium, and Ais will tell us most about the overall world, magic (fogfall again), monsters (like the soulless), and of course Ais’s boss/“friend” Ocudeus and the Seaspring

Other thots:

- I’m most excited for Leander’s route for obvious reasons (hot + will get to meat of story + I want to see What’s Really Wrong With Him so bad) but also know that will make me more disappointed if he turns out to be Just Some Asshole. I want him to be a monster bc he commits atrocities like the rest of them, not because he’s a reminder of the shittier guys I’ve met. That being said I know I’ll probably still really like the character if they do go that route, since the overall writing from the demo is super engaging and solid in quality- which bodes well for the final product

-Speaking of writing, I’m loving that different backstories actually have weight in the narrative. I love when the player is actually rewarded with info for making a choice, instead of it just being one or two flavor text things. Choosing different backstories affects your red dialogue options (the romance-y choices) and gives you different attitudes towards events in the story, making replay ability high

-I’m worried by how successful the kickstarter is since I Have Been Burned last times I backed videogame Kickstarters (Blue Omen Operation, Homestuck Game) 😭 The team seems experienced and competent, since most seem to have come from Nix Hydra/other successful otome games that got killed by poor management. But like, still really worries me since it’s their first game and all. The demo was so good but so was Blue Omen Operations and look where that landed me ($15 less in my pocket from backing years ago 🥲)

-On a lighter note, this game is clearly a passion project and I’ve loved what I’ve seen so far- if I have enough money to spare before the Kickstarter is over, maybe I’ll get it just to support the devs

-getting so obsessed w the demo even if only for a week or so has reminded me Oh Yeah, I Forgot I Love Gothic Horror. If by some miracle you’re still reading this drop a recommendation pls

[pinkpruneclodwolf]

Rippling Spring—Ais

The one thing I find the most riveting about Ais, is the monster that lives within his skull: Ocudeus

With the prefix obviously being pulled from "octopus", however the suffix is what I'm truly curious about.

Which could possibly be derived from "Asmodeus" whose earliest etymology has connections to "wrath" and "demon". Heralded as a Prince of Hell, he was assigned the Sin of Lust, though he also has traits of wrath, jealousy, anger and revenge.

[Photo taken from NekoChang, Touchstarved Demo Part Two, Seaspring Tentacles]

In the Testament of Solomon he was forced to build a temple—Among that Ais does indeed have a temple of sorts—Asmodeus also states that he hates water and birds because they remind him of God.

And while Mhin might not necessarily be a bird, it's hard to miss the Weeping Crow and their dislike of each other— Though Ais only seems to be reciprocating the feelings as far as the demo's shown.

Another piece that might not amount to much is the fact that Ais dislikes seafood. Which might not share the same weight as Asmodeus disliking water but its a tidbit I find interesting...

Judging by the heavy influence from Japanese folklore, I found myself conflicted on the prefix of Ocudeus just being "octopus" and not a double entendre for "Akkorokamui" whose body is said to reach 120 meters in length.

How this relates to Ais or even Ocudeus?

Akkorokamui enjoys the sea and so the offerings that it receives—crabs, mollusks, fish—are often gifted to him. Which are also staples in seafood dishes as well.

By giving it back what it gave, this homage is often done for ailments of skin and limbs with heavy emphasis on mental and spiritual purification [The SeaSpring; MC relations mayhap?]

Depicted as benevolent with powers that heal and bestow knowledge, Akkorokamui does have instances where it is fickle, and its nature as an octopus means it's persistent and near impossible to escape without permission... [Ais and his pact?]

Which leads to my lukewarm theory that if Leander is connected to Fogfall in some way, could Ais, or more specifically, Ocudeus be connected to the Soulless just like Kuras is?

Those that drink the Spring water are purified in some way, as seen by the Crimson-Eyed Woman, however in exchange they become a group mind, and Ais is the host. [or is it Ocudeus?]

Because the most notable part about Soulless are the tentacles that hang from their mouths and the eyes covering their bodies—referring to Akkorokamui and how offerings are given to heal the body and cleanse the mind, could this possibly be a twist on the folklore? Especially the part where they give back what has been given?

Does one slowly transform into a Soulless after drinking the Spring water and if so, could that be why he's only a leader in a figurative sense?