#kuras theory

[vermilionsun]

Demo 2.0 Notes [1]; Oracle Main Route - Soulless and Kuras

Alright, there is NO WAY one post will be able to handle ALL the screens I got. But anyway, here we go!

! Spoilers, duh

"I could've had a home" - This line really piqued my interest. I wonder if it's the same in the other two backstories? I'll play them in the following days!

Also, the theory that the Soulless was trying to "save" the MC seem very much possible to me now

In regards to the beloved doctor; respectfully, DAMN.

"You're soooo very pretty... Are you missing a belt?" (No, he's not)

But he IS more smily now :3

The MC is much more honest to him. And he, too, reveals he KNOWS? I kinda feel betrayed, but he's an otherwordly doctor. Of course he knew.

Also, WHAT DO YOU MEAN "FAMILIAR"? WHA-- HUH????

ahem

Aw, he's so-- JESUS SAVIOUR

I shat my pants, kinda. I do NOT want to get this man angry. I GET why Vere is scared of him now. I remember the sprite, but it took me off :')

I SCREAMED. WHY, RED SPRING STUDIO, WHY?! I mean, as if lore is important smh /j

My game kinda crushed here because of me taking too many screenshots T-T but it was kinda funny, so here

[portsandstars]

Bad Ending Bingo!

Any bad endings you anticipate happening?

[plexiart]

Kuras, being almost 2m tall, makes me wanna draw my MC asking him for uppies. 👀

[purplecritter]

theories/thoughts/analysis about touchstarved 2025 demo

So uh, I did a long analysis post back when the first demo dropped. I won’t repeat things that I already wrote there but I have some more thoughts especially with the changes and additions they made + several of the scattered official tumblr posts that followed the demo release!

Also heads-up, I will edit this with the daily routine posts from the devs' account if they're relevant, since I already commented on Mhin’s, but apart from those I won’t touch this anymore afterwards 🙏

(Spoilers under the cut)

Kuras

His new red choice… Really amps up his association with fire, and it seems to be directly linked with how close we are to him: if you didn’t get the red choice you still feel it, but you’ll miss this line: “I realize it’s more than physical warmth. The sensation calms my nerves and quiets my mind—the closest thing I’ve ever felt to a comforting embrace”. One thing is interesting though: the red choice was unlocked during my Unnamed playthrough, but not during my others even if I picked the same choices. I tried again picking the opposite choices with my Unnamed and still got that red choice, so I’m pretty sure it depends on your origin, not your relationship with him. Since, as of now, Kuras hasn’t yet revealed his true nature to us (I suspect Eridia more or less knows, though), it would make sense that specifically the origin about detecting hidden supernatural presences would notice earlier than the others.

The dev answered a question on their tumblr about Kuras, “Kuras came through the Shroud because he loved humanity. He’s had human friends, colleagues, and lovers… all of whom he’s destined to outlive. Each person he’s loved—and lost—left an indelible stamp on him.” The stamp part caught my attention; since we feel his powers more whenever when get closed (physically, but moreso emotionally), I wonder if he can… channel? That affection into energy. Kind of how deities are fueled by their followers’ faith, perhaps an angelic being like Kuras is fueled by emotions?

A bit of relevant lore was posted on the dev team's tumblr: “Divine Teacher — The Senobium's folklorists note a curious pattern in humanity's oldest tales. Though the details vary, these stories share a common theme: an otherworldly teacher, bringing the divine gift of knowledge. Alchemy and literacy, art and war...supposedly this being shared all that they knew with the earliest civilizations. In some tales, the otherworldly teacher is a loving, benevolent figure. In others, they are a harbinger of chaos and ruin.” as well as the quote “Hope. A strange concept, after so long seeing myself as the agent of ruin.” Prometheus is the obvious parallel, due to his association with fire (though I would hope Kuras still has his liver intact), but there’s many versions of the Theft of Fire; in the Book of Enoch there’s fallen angels who shared knowledge with humans, too; and undoubtedly several more myths about inhuman figures sharing knowledge. Mhin says that “[Kuras]rarely does [take payment from patients]. That just means he’s paying down the debt elsewhere” which could be related to his distaste for dealing with the Senobium… I wouldn’t even be surprised if he had a hand in creating the Senobium (his robes are white too, and he does collaborate often, yet he isn’t afraid of retribution for messing a little with its members from what we can see of his ending scene), and he had all the time in the world to witness how the knowledge he gifted was used for worse things that he could’ve hoped for :(

Kuras, like Ais, keeps on his own for the most part, though they don’t dislike feeling close to people: Ais actually dislikes isolation but he’s probably too jaded to want to bother interacting, while Kuras actively craves closeness (it’s part of the reason he has a free clinic methinks) even if he knows it will hurt him when he loses it.

Leander

Leander’s group is now called The Adderstone. The symbology of an adder stone, aka witch stone, is definitely a bigger hint at Leander’s unique connection to magic, whereas previously the Bloodhounds evoked the feeling of a mercenary group with a penchant for investigations. In the new demo Adderstone is defined as “a semi-precious mineral that draws out poison”, which also makes me think of his constant disposition as a confident protector and his tendency to disregard the riskier aspects (ie, he wouldn’t care about getting poisoned himself). The Adderstone’s meaning is still vaguely reminiscent of my previous thoughts about the Bloodhounds: Hounds are a breed specifically intended to track something specific (or someone specific) by scent, and in the new metaphor that something/someone is the poison that Leander and his mercenaries are drawing out, hunting.

Adder stones are sometimes also symbolically tied to snakes, some sources saying they were created by turning dead snakes into the stone, others say that the ring-like formation was made by a hardened bubble of saliva when snakes joined together… All quite nicely tied to the recurring Ouroboros symbol in Leander’s outfit and merch!

“I’m no prior or curator. I’m not much for paperwork or pencil pushing. And honestly, I don’t even think those robes come in my size.” I am reminded of an old post by user @/toeridiaorbust about how Leander and the Bloodhounds Adderstones clothes are a direct color inversion of the Senobium’s robes.

“If you want nothing but guidelines, improper policies, and needless bureaucracy, you know where to go […] The Senobium won’t help you. They’re more likely to torture you than to lend you a hand.” Now this? Makes me wonder if his prominent scars are connected to his loathing towards the Senobium.

“But I’m not going to wait from word from on high […] These are our streets. We make our own luck here […] I founded the Adderstones to help people like you.” connects to the “as above, so below” tagline that was in his posters in the first demo and first hinted at him creating the Adderstone as an alternative to the Senobium.

The lore snippet about him on the dev’s tumblr doesn’t add anything that we don’t know from the new demo about Leander and the Adderstone, but there’s an interesting part at the end: “Locals speak praise for the charming leader whose seemingly benign reign extends even below the city streets into the shadowed depths of the Silent Crypts.” Considering all of his symbolism about the cycle of rebirth (I went into detail in my old analysis post), the fact that this references a crypt of all places doesn’t feel coincidental… We haven’t heard of the location yet from what I can remember, but I would bet that it’s connected to Leander’s hidden curse / source of power.

In an old post, the devs confirmed that “The magically talented son of an old Hightown family, Leander was expected to join the Senobium when he came of age. Instead, he packed up his bags twelve years ago to chase his own dreams” which matches with his own words in the demo: “I grew up idolizing the Senobium. I wanted nothing more than to join their ranks, to learn magic from the best, to make a real difference. I was young and blinded by the legends and the legacy. I was so damn naive. All it took was one trip here, to Lowtown, to show me the truth.”

“I won’t leave you, and you won’t leave me” + “How would you feel about being on a leash?” + “You can decide how to thank me. Or I can decide for you.” he’s not beating the yandere allegations.

“It’s not every day I find something that truly challenges me” we already knew he likes being challenged, which is pretty much his whole relationship with Ais. It’s interesting because with MC, he tends to prefer when they defer to him, trust him, take the flower and hold hands…. I think both things are a way to reaffirm his confidence: a challenge surpassed is proof that he’s strong enough to face what he has ahead, and having people trust him (in Kuras’ words, even willing to put their lives on the line for him) is a different way to feel that kind of influence.

The new scene of him coming into MC’s room with the excuse of having information about the curse, it feels like a contrast with the other characters’ ending scenes. Everyone shows a little about themselves, their attitude or their habits, but Leander feels like he mirrors MC. Even asking him about his relationship with the others, he comments on what we say about them rather than speaking up about them unprompted.

I initially didn’t think much of it so it may be nothing but it’s worth mentioning anyways: while chatting with Leander nearer the ending, he can say “How would you feel about being on a leash?” which is easy to dismiss as just him being a little freaky, but then I recalled after the first encounter with Vere, when the MC remarks that they could share his fate and get “leashed” by the Senobium. I doubt Leander would intentionally let MC in the hands of the Senobium, considering his animosity towards them, but it’s still a chilling thought that feels like foreshadowing...

Vere

re: his bad/secret ending, I appreciate that he shows some restraint this time around. I’m now pretty certain that you can only get the option to “Reach out to him” (red choice) versus “Resist him” (neutral) if you played along with him at least a little bit; while “Surrender” (bad ending) is only unlocked if you don’t have his approval and you say that if you can’t find a cure it’s over for you (rather than “I’ll keep looking”).

In two posts on tumblr (here and here), the devs posted a couple of peeks at Vere’s living space. “Candles flicker in the waning light, illuminating a crowded desk at odds with its gloomy surroundings.” and “Few in living memory know why the Senobium built the secret prison where Vere is kept. What do you think happened to the other prisoners?”. Given it’s described as a secret prison, I’m torn about it being located in the entertainment district where we first found him. One one hand, he was shackled there and it was morning, the Senobium cleric hadn’t yet come to fetch him. On the other hand, it feels like a weirdly dangerous place to put the deathly charming Monster in? No other buildings can be seen from the window, which is either just to not clutter the view or it’s a tall building, a spire taller than the rest, which would only leave the blue sky visible from that angle. The three items that mainly occupy his space are candles (I would’ve thought he would be able to see in the dark, perhaps just not comfortably or perhaps he likes the atmosphere they create... or they're not there for his benefit, but that of his captors), books (I could swear there’s a full picture of his sketchbook somewhere but just considering this sneak peek of it here, I think it’s the one in the middle of the desk… As for the books, he doesn’t like puzzles, I’m not sure he would be the studious type, so my bet is on them being entertainment), and shackles in his bedroom and by the desk. This last detail feels particularly invasive, as the implications are that someone is scheduled to keep an eye on his routine, dictating when he is allowed bedtime and when he can read/draw/brush his tail (there’s a little brush and mirror in the shelves). There’s also some handwritten papers on his desk, I wonder if he’s allowed to send letters or if he just writes them? One additional detail caught my attention: doesn’t the decoration in the chair by his desk look remarkably similar to the design of Kuras’ earrings? Though there’s different additional elements for each, they both are a circle with three drops underneath it… Which makes me even more convinced that Kuras played a significant part in initially capturing Vere. The comment about “What do you think happened to the other prisoners?” brings to mind Vere’s insistence that if the Senobium realized what the MC is, they’d be leashed as well. I don’t doubt that other Monsters have been kept by them in a similar manner, perhaps some of them also were offered a way to end their suffering by Vere, like he did with MC in his secret/bad ending.

In a tumblr post by the dev team about his lore: “Bloodstained Snow — The Senobium's archives hold countless records of stories that defy belief. One ancient report recounts the haunting of a remote village by what is described at first as a god, and then as a demon. Heavily redacted, the papers depict a team of researchers hunted by a self-proclaimed deity that transforms into a malignant entity. After the beast succumbs to freezing conditions, its ultimate fate is unknown-doubtlessly lost with the pages removed from the report.” I would bet that this is (part of) the reason why Vere dislikes snow… Apart from that, it’s interesting that Vere presented as a god first. History is written by the victors, and I wouldn’t take this recounting as the full truth. If he approached the village like he did with us, at first charming (if a bit unnerving, but deities can afford that) and then started preying on people’s trauma/insecurities, it’s not much of a stretch that they’d label him a demon—and to be fair, his monstrous form doesn’t inspire much safety either. I wonder if he first caught Kuras’ attention (or wrath) by proclaiming himself a god?

I’m also still thinking of Vere being a foil for Mhin: both hunt Soulless, he does out of obligation and they do presumably as a choice in line with their ideals; one leans completely on his Monster side and lets it leak through nonchalantly, the other despises Monsters and hides their own unnatural skills; Vere puts on airs to hide his thoughts, overwhelming you with (effective or not) charm, while Mhin is standoffish and avoids opening up by… well, avoiding you.

Ais

The Exile notices “Not many scars, though. Strange. Save for one cut along his brow, Ais is unmarked for how seasoned he acts.” In a post on tumblr the team answered a question about this particular scar: “Ais’s scar serves as a memento of his first day in the human realm, a stark reminder of all that can be lost. His gang imparted a lesson he’ll never forget, and he returned the favor in kind.” What feels more likely to me, is that he passed through the Shroud with his gang, they had a serious disagreement and/or they betrayed him (we already know from the character sheets and other hints that he doesn’t like being alone, I feel like it’d take something serious for him to turn his back on them), fought and he got injured during this confrontation. Then he found (?) Ocudeus, and we can assume from the fact that the red-eyed woman who lead us to the Seaspring still had visible marks of her previous health, that the Seaspring doesn’t restore wounds, so the wound was already there and didn’t get healed. I don’t think it’s likely that Ais has regenerative powers (also, his knuckles are bruised constantly, and he bleeds when MC bites him).

Leander also says that Ais “doesn’t see humans as equals”. Humans, by their very nature, can’t realistically be a match for the power of a Monster, so Ais wouldn’t consider them on the same level as him. In the same line of thinking, he seems to like more when MC can hold their own, and I feel like it’s connected to his trauma about being betrayed: if people can take care of themselves (like Vere, who’s as dangerous as Ais, and Leander, whom he respects), if he gets betrayed by those he likes, then at least he won’t have to hold back and it will be a fair fight.

When Ais says his old gang “took a walk”, the Exile wonders about this “He knows how to scare people, and he expects submission, but it’s uncommon for someone so used to being in power to be so… alone.” The Exile also has the most positive reaction by far to the Soulless in the Seaspring. When talking with Mhin, the Exile says “[Ais’] Soulless seem to like him though […] There’s a big difference between Ais’ Soulless and that many-eyed Soulless [that attacked me].” Being playful (perhaps even being in groups) isn’t a behavior they usually display, and I wonder how much of that is because they share being under the influence of Ocudeus so they're not hostile to what they consider allies, and how much it could be Ais’ doing instead: if he feels so alone, I would bet that he would (subconsciously or not) use the bond with the Groupmind as a way to feel less isolated, and those feelings impact the behaviour of the Soulless.

Ais talks about “a time where Leander’s resolve will be tested, same for anyone in this plane or the next” I think that the Adderstones remind him of what he had, or could have had. He sees something of himself in Leander, but Ais is jaded by his previous experience. I now wonder if the assassination attempts are his way to test him, make sure he’s ready for whatever comes, something that he feels like he lacked when he was left alone?

The lore post about Ais on the official tumblr reads: “Death Knell — Whispers echo about a fearsome Monster within the Shroud, their overwhelming power and authority stretching across the realm’s underworld. Few have seen the face of this infamous ruler. As Monsters continued to abandon the Shroud to seek thrills in the human realm, the being stayed behind, devouring forsaken domains and Monsters alike until no challenges were left. Now, as the being seeks conquest elsewhere, Monsters stir in anticipation of impending carnage.” This also could reference the time where [everyone’s] resolve will be tested; I wonder if it’s a general comment, about Monsters as a whole (Ais himself likes a good challenge), or if Ocudeus specifically is working towards something. In England, there was a tradition to ring the so called passing bell from the church when someone’s death was imminent; then the death knell when they passed away (there’d be additional rings to signify gender, and age, so that people could get an idea of who it was); and finally the corpse bell when the funeral was being held. If we want to read too much into the cool moniker, perhaps Ais is not meant to be the harbinger of chaos, but merely a warning sign.

The Unnamed will comment about hearing a faint heartbeat pulsing underground, when they first approach the land near the Seaspring. Earlier they also comment about feeling a kind of thrumming in Eridia itself, I wonder how far Ocuseus’ influence expands? Is it limited to where its Groupmind members are?

Leander says that he’s known Ais for around six years, which considering Kuras says that Ais is a recent arrival, could be that he’s passed through the Shroud into Eridia for less than a decade even?

Mhin

They’re EVEN MORE of a nerd in this version. Clearly knowledgeable about Soulless’ biology, even though they deny having studied anatomy or medicine. In an older post on the devs' tumblr, “Mhin was forced to apply their anatomical knowledge to violence in order to survive. After years of bitter experience, they learned to fight with agility, elegance, and surgical precision. Even in Eridia, their skills see more use in combat than healing.” which again makes me think they maybe didn’t formally study them, but being an apprentice to someone isn’t out of the equation (perhaps even Kuras, the Divine Teacher?). Them saying to an Alchemist’s red choice “It’s been a while since I had someone answer [my theories]” hints that they weren’t always alone in leading a life like this, before. Like Leander says about them, “Vulnerability doesn’t get you much except heartache.”

“Something about them is strange, unlike any human or Monster I’ve ever met. I can’t quite place my hand on why, and that’s a first” is what an Unnamed says when first encountering them. Not human, not Monster, but a mix of both—Not enough Monster yet too far gone from Human. A post on the devs’ tumblr depicts Mhin (partially?) transformed: they’re still clearly recognizable, it could be they’re just mid transformation but considering the comment from the Unnamed, I don’t think Mhin can become fully a Monster (like, say, Vere’s shadow fox is also kinda incorporeal but more shaped): it is said that Monster gain more control over their human form as time progresses, so Mhin has probably only recently become like this. The description of “a tar-like substance leaking from their eyes and bony extrusions” matches their pin designs as well as their “costume” in the official 2024 Halloween art, and the tar/blood leaking from their eye matches the pastry on the official 2025 Valentine’s Day art (bottom right corner).

Ais calls them “dove” and considering their Monster form seems to be quite the opposite, black ichory feathers and all, makes me believe that Ais has seen them shifted sometime and is poking fun at it. Or I’m just reading into it too much and it’s about them having white hair and Ais defaulting to bird nicknames for some reason.

The Exile comments “It’s one thing to strike down Soulless. They’re creatures of instinct, aggressive and dangerous to everyone. But Monsters are lucid, thinking beings—beings that Mhin seems to loathe.” It feels like their hatred is brought on by how familiar they are: they know the thoughts that compel a Monster (hence their insistence that MC seeks help from someone less dangerous than them) and they hate that they’re their own thoughts.

In a recent post detailing their daily schedule, it seems to me that Mhin doesn’t sleep, or barely does. I’m more inclined to say that it’s a consequence of their nature, that they haven’t accepted (so they still want to sleep, even if they can’t or don’t need it), similar to how Kuras doesn’t really eat.

Since they both compete in the same field, I wonder if Mhin and Vere first met while hunting Soulless? Do they ever meet while on the same contract, or do they run in different circles?

I don’t think they mentioned this in the first demo, but Mhin says they grew up in Eridia. Which really surprised me, because in the pre-release content they’re referred as “outsider” and “outcast”… Unless that’s changed in the rewrite, maybe they were cast off when they were young, or maybe they weren’t physically exiled but rather their family/group of origin estranged them? “Eridia wasn’t perfect, but it used to be a place worth living in” also could be said in a more subjective sense, Mhin didn’t lead a perfect life but they were satisfied with it before. Moreover, Leander says about them “I’ve known them since they arrived here.” Perhaps they grew up in Eridia, left at some point, and came back later? And when asking Kuras about Mhin, he says “Like you, they’re a recent arrival.” though that could just be that Kuras has a different concept of time, considering he’s centuries old. In any case, I highly doubt it’s just an oversight from the team because so far every detail is very curated. There’s something here about Mhin’s timeline that I can’t quite put my hands on yet.

Now the juiciest bit of info about them yet in my opinion, is on their tumblr lore drop from the studio: “Lost Expeditions — In a bygone era, before Eridia became the last beacon of humanity, there was Lovent. Yet where a bustling metropolis once stood, there is now only a blasted crater and empty ruins, blanketed by fog. The inhabitants, and large chunks of the city, had vanished into thin air. Over the following years, scholars flocked to the ruins in search of answers. Like the Loventians, they disappeared without a trace, and none ever returned.” Lovent is also referenced in another post, as “The previous largest city, Lovent, was the epicenter of the first Fogfall. In the century since, Soulless and Monster incursions destroyed most cities, leaving Eridia as the largest remaining one.” It makes me wonder, if Mhin maybe did grow up in Eridia, went to Lovent either in time to be caught in its destruction, or afterwards to investigate it. It’s possible that this is how they became a Monster… In the description of their flower, there’s also a reference to “barren wastelands to ruins perpetually shrouded in Fogfall” which is way too similar to “empty ruins, blanketed by fog” to be a coincidence. It’s possible that they physically entered the Fogfall/Shroud, and what emerged wasn’t fully them anymore.

Thanks if you read so far, as always I’m always happy to read other thoughts about it all or if I missed something 👀

[todayis-snowy]

touchstarved LIs and their matching alchemical processes

in attempting to achieve the magnum opus (creation of the philosopher's stone), alchemists devised a 12-step, and to each, a zodiac sign.

which is really good because i get to play theorist and attempt to link things together now :]

tldr: the alchemical processes give us a hint towards character motivations and very general guides for their routes i feel

Mhin - 1 - Calcination - Aries ♈︎

calcination is the thermal treatment of a solid chemical compound, raising it to high temperature without melting it under the restricted supply of oxygen to remove impurities or volatile substances

easy linkage to their desire to rid themself of their curse!

it is interesting how calcination is linked to very controlled fire (who else is linked to fire? kuras!) but more than that I like how it also stresses that the compound must not melt in order for calcination to be successful, could this hint at how carefully mhin (and by extension, the player) must tread in dealing with their curse?

Leander - 3 - Fixation - Gemini ♊︎

fixation is the process where a previously volatile substance is transformed into a form that is not affected by fire - this is done so by separating the substance and putting it back the same or in a different shape at a subatomic level

this honestly screams 'rebirth' to me which isn't surprising at all considering leander is also associated with ouroboros and the triple moon symbol which represent the same theme

it is interesting how fixation stresses the process of breaking something down to recreate it stronger, it's double interesting that making something stronger equals not being affected by fire

all in all leander's link to fixation is telling of his drive for power and knowledge, maybe even through self-destructive means. after all we still don't know where he got that scar from

Ais - 5 - Digestion - Leo ♌︎

digestion is the process where raw materials are transformed into a more purified or refined state - it's more symbolic than the biological digestion and refers more to how a substance undergoes a series of stages leading to its ultimate transformation

if anything, this process is a better link towards ocudeus than ais (who is acting as that fuckass octopus' agent, even if he doesn't know it yet) we know Ocudeus has consumed all challengers within the shroud and is now seeking to expand his domain into the real world after all

that means the raw materials can be seen as those who drink from the Seaspring and thus are transformed and join the groupmind as a big happy family!

it is interesting that many Monsters in the real world are simply bracing themselves for Ocudeus' inevitable onslaught, you'd think someone would warn the humans but at the moment everyone seems more willing to watch it all burn

Vere - 8 - Separation - Scorpio ♏︎

separation is the process where a previous mixture is separated into two or more distinct products in order to obtain purity

in more spiritual terms they highlight a need to distinguish the true self from acquired personality traits shaped by external influences

this one's also pretty obvious (for now...) as we know vere's gotten sick of the senobium and is viewing us, the player, as a new opportunity to get out from his chains

but this has also made me think, after a separation like that there is always waste and byproduct, how are we going to deal with the aftermath? and more importantly, after such a long time of being under the senobium's thumb, who is vere without them?

Kuras - 10 - Putrefaction/Fermentation - Capricorn ♑︎

putrefaction in the purely alchemical sense is linked to nigredo - in modern terms it's simply allowing something to rot undisturbed but I don't necessarily see the links between that and kuras' route unless of course we're supposed to think that kuras is the seed to rotting humanity (which is a bummer.) - putrefaction was necessary to cleanse and cook all alchemical ingredients necessary for the philosopher's stone into a uniform black matter

kuras' linkage to brimstone, sulfur, and divine fire/judgement also lend itself to this definition

cleansing fire and turning everything to ash seem just up kuras' alley in his journey to atonement, we just might get singed along the way

also interestingly nigredo in analytical psychology is also metaphorical for when an individual confronts the shadow within, which are very fitting for kuras' self-imposed guilt and turmoil

[kekeke32]

TOUCHSTARVED trailer theme theory??

Hi guys, hi everyone. Hope we’re doing well!

SO the full version of the trailer theme is finally out on YouTube and holy shit??? It goes so HARD!!! Give it a listen here.

After rewatching it over and over again, I noticed something so I’ll map out which lyrics appear with which character for y’all to see:

Wish I could’ve added more ss but I’m on the mobile app 🥲 Anyways, I really don’t think the dev team added the characters photos randomly ‘cause check this out:

In Ais’s part, the lyrics are about a certain weakness (ik the lyrics “my weakness” refer to a person but I chose to ignore that jskdksk) and survival. This may be a reach BUT doesn’t this reminds you of Ais’s official character description? Specifically of this part: “Ais seems capable of curing you...but a sick sense of dread surrounds him. He's beginning to suspect that he may not be as in control of his powers as he thought. Can you save each other, or will he drag you down to the abyss with him?" This so-called “weakness” could be his very own powers and he’ll need the player to help him, to “survive”.

Now, about Vere’s part, I don’t have much to say tbh other than the fact that the lyrics “Cause everytime we touch” appear for the first time in his part and I guess you could say it’s related to his frequenting at the brothel? (iykwim 😏) Oh! And you could also see him being touched by a lot of different hands in the trailer. Besides that, his part ends with the lyrics “need you by my side” sung softly by the singer hmm…

Kuras’s part on the other hand, starts strongly (I suck balls at describing music so pls listen 4 urselves, you’ll know what I mean😭) and at 1:59 mins the lyrics are “Cause everytime we touch” then his face darkens a little and it stars an instrumental interlude. I don’t know what that really means but he’s sus

Mhin’s part is sung very softly as well and the lyrics “We’ve been through them all. You make me rise when I fall” are so sweet more so because I think in their route they’ll open up more to the player after going together through incomprehensible horrors and we’ll learn how to support each other <33

Finally, Leander’s part!! Now, LISTEN. His part is the reason why I even made this post in the first place lmao This mf is way too sus but first of all, the building synth progression at 2:58???? oh my god I got CHILLS. literal chills. *ahem* Moving on, his part, starts strongly the same as Kuras’s part did. Their parts are the only ones sung like that… Weird, huh? Anyway, after the lyrics “I can’t let you go. Want you in my life” at 3:49, the song gets SUPER intense and starts sounding very desperate ig?? (kudos to Dan! love his voice frfr) and Leander’s part ends with “Need you by my side”. Okayy y'all… Y'ALL. THIS IS CRAZY. In his part we have both the lyrics "I can't let you go. Want you in my life" AND "I want this to last. Need you by my side". AHHHH Leander you obsessed little bitch (affectionate)

In conclusion, there’s no fucking way the red spring team didn’t assign the certain parts of the lyrics very and I mean VERY purposefully to each LI. The parts suit them specifically well so I highly doubt it’s random but it could also just be me reading too much into this

Whatever!!! Good morning/Good night to this fandom only ^_^

[deletenrun]

Hey guys! As a touchstarved fan, i wanted to talk about Kuras bc i think i just realized something idk 💀💀💀 BUT this is gonna be a long post i just know that.

Before we start, i would like to say i really like Kuras and his design a lot. He is kinda underrated in my eyes and i hope this will change after the game releases bc the moment i saw him, his first cg, i audibly gasped and from that moment i knew that i was going to be obsessed with him. As a turkish guy, my nose looks similar to his, too and it makes me feel better about my insecurity 🤕 ANYWAYS lets get started!

I don't think he treats anyone for free and if i'm not wrong, we know the reason already. As many characters said before, including him, the currency in Eridia is information. When he treats someone, he gains their sympathy. A doctor, treating someone for free... It makes you think, what a good person, you know. He gains the trust of his patients, maybe not Vere's lmao but i stand by what i said. His patients might open up to him as the time goes by and this happens to be a nice source of information or while treating them he can still gather some info. He sees them in their most vulnerable state and makes them think they owe him something, anything worth saying or doing in return.

He also saw MC at their most vulnerable state, unconscious and naked. And I don't think he did anything weird (💀💀💀) but we still don't know what he did to them while they were unconscious. He has a cut on his palm, we can see it in his sprite (the one which his back visible) BUT I'm still not sure if he healed them with the help of his blood or if he did something else. He must have learned a few things about MC anyway, or he will when the time comes.

His treatment was never free. Maybe he is paying the price of something "bad" he did in the past with treating the residents and visitors of Eridia "for free" and while doing that, he also gathers information. His main objective is still an enigma as we don't know many things about him. But don't worry, those days are not far away. Also english is not my first language and that's why i might have had a hard time explaining my thoughts properly but trust, it makes sense in my head 😭😭😭

I don't think he's a bad person by the way, he's probably just morally grey and his long life and life experiences have shaped him into the twisted and complicated man he is now and that's totally fine with me!

Let me know what you think! I could be dead wrong and that's still okay! I'm so excited for this game... See you in another post<3

[playerprincess]

What’s with MC‘s Curse ??

I don’t think I have seen anyone talk and theorize about MC‘s Curse/Powers (whatever you‘d like to call it), and wanted to share my thoughts on it with the limited knowledge that we have.

If you have your own theories please share them, I‘d love to hear what everyone else thinks!

(Disclaimer: English isn’t my first language and I have a hard time translating my thoughts, so I hope you can understand what I‘m getting at anyways 😭)

All we really know from the Demo is that our Curse "changes" the people that we touch. The only time we really saw the effects of our abilities is when we meet the traveler and he grabs our wrist.

The game only says it affects people when we touch them, but we didn’t really put our hands on the Traveler at all. They were touching our wrist. Does that mean our curse does not only activate when our hands are touched, but also our wrist? What area of our hands/arms is affected by this?

From what part of our hand does the curse activate and where would it be safe to touch us?

What I also find interesting is that our touch isn’t a direct death sentence. It’s not a lethal touch. The way MC describes it, it only "changes" people. But change how? Their faces contort into a wide grin and they attempt to kill us. So it’s not like we have a Shigaraki type ability (look up My Hero Academia for context). I‘m really curious in what way the MCs powers alter people‘s minds.

I also believe the choice of language regarding MC and their curse is very much intentional. (As in "curse" instead of "powers" or "abilities" and "changing people" instead of a "cursing them back" or anything along the lines of "hurting them")

I also find interesting that the people affected by our curse attempt to strangle us, wich apparently seems to have happened before from what MC describes. They’re driven to madness sure, but I just wonder by what. Does our curse perhaps cause hallucinations?

I‘m also reminded of a scene in the hunger games mockingjay part 1, after rescuing Peeta. While being tortured by the capitol, he was injected with a venom from a hallucination inducing animal (Tracker jacker) to initially manipulate his thoughts on Katniss. Because of this, he starts to associate her with terrible things like the bombing of district 12 and sees her as an actual threat to himself and others. After he’s rescued and meets Katniss again for the first time, he immediately tries to strangle her. Perhaps our abilities work similar to the tracker jacker venom, causing the "victim" to see us as a threat and trigger their fight or flight response, causing them to to defend themselves.

When we meet Vere, who is a Monster, he pulls us closer and says "Looks like we’re both…" wich also confused me. Perhaps MC isn’t as human as we might assume. But if we were, Mhin would obviously dislike us right? Maybe we’re just a rare case, a supernatural being that somehow goes undetected by the main cast. Or maybe they know and just don’t let it be known. Maybe we’re not quite monster but also not quite human (a secret third thing). It seems like there’s something he knows that we don’t, or perhaps that we’re actively trying to conceal.

In the unnamed MC origin, it is stated that initially MC‘s curse used to be celebrated as a touch of enlightenment. I just wonder how they came to that conclusion, judging by what happens when someone gets touched by MC. Why did the priests believe that turning mad to the point of trying to strangle their precious oracle was any sort of divine epiphany? I‘m just so curious about this specific origin. Additionally to this, the game states that we experience "unnatural premonitions" that rattle your body and soul". While we‘re able to cast spells in the Alchemist origin and can detect magic, these premonitions seem to be something different entirely. Is it part of the curse? Is that just something that happens when you grow up around priests? I don’t know, seems like some hidden ability.

I also wonder if the effects of the curse are just the result of MC not being able to control it. Maybe it’s not really a curse, but rather some sort of power that can be controlled if you practice? They never learned how to keep their powers at bay, so naturally they turn everyone they touch insane. I mean, after getting attacked everytime you touch someone who would come to the conclusion that their powers aren’t actually harmful?

We also don’t know if the state of madness can be reverted somehow. All we know is that the people MC touch go insane and immediately attempt to murder them. But what would happen if they were taken away from MC? Would they attempt to kill everyone else as well or is it just us? Are they still capable of acting "normal" once the trigger (MC) is removed?

Lastly… those edgy ass bandages…

Also MC is so goddamn edgy for using bandages, like come on man, you can’t tell me that that’s more comfortable than just wearing gloves. But to cut them some slack, gloves are a bit impractical and not as easy to find, so who am I to judge. And as I said before, we don’t know the specific area our curse is activated on. Maybe normal gloves don’t cover ourselves enough. With bandages, you can kind of pick how much of your skin you want to cover. Of course long gloves exist, but I think they’re a bit harder to find than regular ones. So maybe the bandages aren’t actually such a bad idea.

I think there‘s a lot of potential and I‘m really looking forward to the release of the game to find out!

I can’t wait any longer guys I‘m going insane

Let me know what you think

[vermilionsun]

Demo 2.0 Notes [2]; Oracle Main Route - Leander

! Spoilers, duh

We shoud call Leander and Ais "Long Lads," ha! Not funny? Oka

"Aw, the Amaryllis district- Oh, they changed the curtains. Oh, WAIT they made it... greyer? Aahh.. Makes more sense"

Noting the lilies down for later

[Narrator voice: This right here is the calm before the storm. You can clearly see me completely unprepared for what is about to follow. Innocence is a frail thing, that is easy to corrupt and easier to manipulate. Leader did both.]

Leander, in this demo, is more... captivating. The first things we hear him talking about is joking why he's unfit for the Senobium (all that about paperwork and white robes) ((yeah, sweatpea, they didn't know you'd come out with those massive honkers, OBVIOUSLY the coats don't come in your size smh T-T))

Where do, WHRE DO I START? You can clearly see there is NOTHING left of the silly man we had on the previous demo.

Leander was way less tense, introduced with a magic trick which only served as just that - a showing off.

But here, he's channeling the flower to make a point. From the Eridian's standpoint, he's breaking some kind of 'law' set by the Abbess that refrains mages to cast spells.

And let's take a look at his little speech without the scenery descriptions;

"If you want nothing but guidelines, impractical policies, and needless bureaucracy, you know where to go. But I'm not going to wait for word from on high. And unlike those clerics, I don't need the Abbess's approval to cast a spell or two. These are our streets. We make our own luck here."

He's literally, shamelessly, publically defying her

Side note; "That's the thing about flowers [...] right?" - Was he talking about the MC or himself here?

Okay, ma'am, I'm trynna find a way to, idk, SURVIVE without guilt and fear?

This scene is SO important and I cannot stress this enough

This actually shows how the Bloodhounds Adders take care of eachother. And of course they'd be protective of their leader against outsiders [and we know MC sticks out like a sore thumb]

And Kuras's referall is the thing that gets us to him! It makes much more sense, instead of it being another little fun fact. And also him talking about Kuras like that feels a little...

We also get a taste of the information exchange policy - we look at leander's scar, he looks at our bandages

[this is a little mix-and-match of the options, I apologize]

Kay, so;

He's using himself as an example, telling us the story of his youth and his realisation of the Senobium's unfairness [having, persumably, seen both sides]

He's offering help, and actively proving himself trustworthy

He's painting himself as a saviour, offering the MC "everything they've ever wanted"

Awwww he's such a good and helpful guy! So good and nice!

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE

"Two lifetimes," I humbly REFUSE to believe this was just a saying to convince the MC. He's lived twice, has reincarnated with memories, has been necromance-d soMETHING IS FISHY AND IT'S NOT COMING FROM THE RIVER

Aw and our room is so pretty... and messy as fuck.. but totally salvagable and homely sooner or later, right?[!!!]

But... why is the window green? *stares at leander*

[portsandstars]

Seems important that Kuras is the background pic. It raises implications like -

- is kuras a monster?

- if he's an angel AND a monster, is the shroud "heaven"? Or a third place- more like purgatory?

- as angels often can travel between realms historically, would he actually struggle with this adjustment period?

- when he was condemned to be amongst humanity, I'm assuming he can't go back- has he lost some of his power/less teathered to the spirit realm?

[cacaobean760]

So I have no idea what this means for Vere and how he views the other love interest but idk if this has been pointed out yet but the only difference I have noticed is the actual paper having different things in the blank spaces. As far as I can tell, Kuras has nothing in the blank spaces, Mhin has other doodles like Vere either didn’t know what pose to draw Mhin in or he just wanted to draw more Mhin doodles. And as for Leander it looks Vere wrote some things and then erases/crossed off said writing, or Vere just made random marks on the paper because he wanted to “dirty” the paper more??? Again, idk what this means but let me know yalls theories!

[loventian]

Touchstarved character name meanings!

Lemme preface this by saying I’m not a name meanings expert I just love crawling through google pages and over analyzing things ALSO to make sure the results weren’t influenced by fandom everything here is from pre-2020! With that let’s get into things!

Mhin:

Mhin is a little bit tricky, as I can’t find anything for their name spelled as it is. Min, however, has several different sources and meanings.

In Chinese, Min (敏) meanings “quick, clever, sharp” Which seems rather fitting for our neighborhood soulless hunter. An alternative script for Min (民) translates to “people, citizens” which could have some interesting implications, as Mhin is implied to have strong connections to the city of Lovent.

In Burmese Min means “king, ruler” which, connected with the second Chinese translation, could perhaps be some foreshadowing? We don’t know how Mhin is connected to Lovent, but the city must have had a ruling class, perhaps Mhin held a position of power? It could also be why they survived, and which a powerful curse nonetheless

Finally, in Irish Min is said to mean “smooth, fine, small”, though I can’t find as many sources on this one. I include it because people have pointed out Mhin’s cloak pins are triquetra, which are Celtic symbols.

Kuras:

Please know I adore Kuras when I say this, but he really got the short end of the naming stick it seems. The most promising thing I can find is the usage as a Hindi surname, which doesn’t seem to have a meaning listed. If you remove the S and go with Kura, it can mean “river” in Turkish or possibly “fierceness, tiger” in Japanese.

Now here’s the silly translations! In Arabic, Kuras (كراس) seems to translate to brochure. In polish, it translates to chicken.

I truly doubt the devs thought brochure/chicken were good labels for the dear doctor, so I’m favoring the Turkish translation. Mostly because Eridia is a city divided by a river; could there be something deeper hidden in there? Maybe!

Ais:

So clearly Ais has a lot of Japanese influence, with his design being inspired by Oni, so I looked for those possible translations first. Ai (愛) translates to love in Japanese, and is typically used as a broader term to refer to emotions tied to like compassion, empathy, or platonic forms of love (as opposed to 恋/koi which refers to romantic love).

I’m gonna focus on this translation for a bit. Someone on a translation forum phrased it in a way I really love: “Ai” is something you do or give. Ais is our introduction to the Seaspring, and to groupminds in general. While the concept of a hivemind is usually used in horror as a way of taking away agency, the Seaspring is framed as a refuge for people to turn to. Could Ais’ name be an allusion to a goal he keeps hidden? Is the Seaspring a manifestation of a desire to give love despite the violent world? Or am I just reading into this too deep?

Vere:

Vere actually has a straight up name meaning! Most of the sources I found say that Vere is a French/Gaulish name meaning “Alder”, and it usually pops up in the surname “De Vere”. Alders are a kind of bitch tree, and I have no idea how that tie into Vere as a character.

But if we take “Vere” as a word rather then a name, then Latin translates it as meaning “truly, really, actually, rightly”. Vere’s introduction to us is as someone to not trust, a cunning fox waiting for the next meal, stealing our darn room key and lying about it! So I find it really interesting that his name could be a word for truth. Perhaps before his chains Vere was someone a lot more truthful ?

Leander:

Big shout out to Leander for having a plain ass easy to translate name. I’ll give you googles exact definition here: "lion of a man", from leon, "lion", and andros, "man".

That was easy, so now let’s pick it apart!

Traditionally, lions are symbols of nobility, courage, strength, and protection. Leander has a reputation for being That Guy; he’s a leader, a protector of the masses, etc etc. for all intents and purposes, Leander really is a lion of a man!

…On the surface at least. Because under all the symbolism, lions are still predators, no matter how noble.

[toeridiaorbust]

I Just Realized the Paper in the Radial Charts Are Visually Unique Too

All images belong to Red Spring Studio.

Mhin:

Theirs looks the 'cleanest', relatively speaking. Possible scribbled notes in the margins, there?

✒️✒️✒️✒️✒️

[More under the cut]

Vere:

There's, uh, a lot of blood. Fits the 5 rank of his 'Wanton Violence', doesn't it?

✒️✒️✒️✒️✒️

Kuras:

I know we haven't seen Kuras eat/drink anything in both the demo and other official art by RSS, but I know the stain of an overfilled coffee mug on a paper when I see one! [It's even referenced in the LI quiz the devs put out ages ago, the French press coffee!]

✒️✒️✒️✒️✒️

Ais:

While everyone's blue paper note is ripped at the top and bottom, Ais's has the addition of being crinkled up and torn!

As others noted in reblogs/tag/comments on the official RSS post for Ais, the Animal Handling rank is in allusion to his control of all the Soulless at the Seaspring.

However, there's the tear that cuts through it too. Ocudeus is the something Ais cannot control. [This is also noted by others in the fandom!]

[This also completely terrifies be because oh no! Ais is losing himself!]

The crumbled paper could be similar to how a student carelessly jams their homework/notes/etc. into their backpack and turns it in that way to the teacher. Ais is trying to keep Ocudeus in check/suppress it/them/him(?), but it isn't working anymore.

All in all, I cannot wait to see what the devs have in store for Leander's.

[eggroll-sama]

I don’t know if people have pointed this out but. What if Kuras knows how terrible Leander is behind the scenes, but believes that the ends justify the means and allows it. Kuras admits that the Bloodhounds are “questionable,” and in reply to MC’s opinion of them says “Leander always preferred the company of those like him.” So Kuras is inadvertently admitting that Leander does questionable things, right?

I ignored Kuras not getting dinner with Leander since five years ago as Kuras being a workaholic and avoid eating, but now thinking about it, what if Kuras found out about Leander’s dark sides and decided he won’t associate with Leander other than for business. It would be a waste to cut ties since Leander is reliable.

It really brings me back to this phrase: Which is worse, the one who commits the crime or the one who can stop it but chooses not to. And Leander might not be the only one Kuras turns a blind eye to, and maybe even awful things he himself does he’ll bypass if it means it’s justified, since we see that Kuras actions are heavily governed by his moral compass.

That’s really terrifying considering he’s lived for a thousand years, maybe more.

[certainstarfishsandwich]

The only 2 theories I got on Mhin now is that Kuras big fat ass crash landed on Lovent and left a big crater, Mhin was an aspiring scholar at Senobium and went on an expedition and came out fucked beyond repair because it's basically Chernobyl on steroids and now Mhin's returned mad as hell that the people that were supposed to help them have closed their gates.

ORRR, the other theory being that Mhin is of Lovent descent and the few survivors left with lasting Curses.

[westbifire]

Themes i thinks we'll see in different LIs routes

Ais- Truth> telling the blunt truth of who you are and believing in who he is, why he likes Vere.

Leander-Time> Fleeting beauty/power/love and how time sours everything.

Mhin- Sacrifice> the sacrifice of giving up protective walls, and maybe in game, sacrifice of their own humanity (to save MC?)

Vere- Trust> wanting others trust, doesn't trust others even close people like Ais, and show the truth to others (except when it doesn't benefit him.)

Kuras- life and secrets> fighting to live and living for the fun moments.

Thats all for now, might add more if I think of anything