#sweetmountainseeds

[cupcakesmoothie]

Reblogging for sample size etc...

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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

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When you realise you haven't done your daily tasks:

2:50 am, Marius' art studio:

MC: Slams open the door*

Marius: Almost ruins painting* "E-eh? Jiejie, what-?"

MC: Aggressively ruffles his hair, leaves*

Marius: ???

Also Marius: Affection +1000

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Me reading the newest Spy x Family chapter: "Oh shit, lore?"

Melinda's mind gets read:

"OH SHIT, LORE???"

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These guys. THESE GAY- I MEAN GUYS

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I've seen a lot of people making posts for Twitter refugees, which is all well and good, but to all Tumblr users, reminder that if you don't like a post, just block and ignore. It might help quiet all the discourse.

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"I play Valorant for the gameplay" and the gameplay is listening to all of the character's voicelines whenever a new guy comes out

Brooo Iso is so babygirl to me his 你好 sounds so polite I love him

AND HE'S DOING IT FOR HIS GRANDMA

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I'm going so insane about Kaveh's fansong I've replayed it so many times BLEEDING PAINT A SHATTERED HEART THAT'S WHAT MAKES A WORK OF ART

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When you're having ideas above your skill level but still want to contribute to the Ratiorine brainrot

Made using MMD. Pose references aren't enough I need a 1 to 1

Hope this helps someone out there lol. Or contributes to the brainrot

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I'm going to eat drywall... Hoyoverse really cooked with Aventurine I'm going insane

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I got Mhin, Ais, and Leander's red options!

Mhin's didn't seem to have much. they just seem shocked is all.

To unlock: I think it's with the Alchemist backstory. I haven't played the other ones yet so I can't confirm, but my choices didn't seem to matter much to trigger this.

Ais' was. Ah. Oh my god. Hhhhhhhhh???? Sexy.

To unlock: Telling him "Fuck you" and petting Princess seems to be how you get it, though I'm not completely sure

Leander. Simp. Whether that is directed to me or him is up to you.

To unlock: I chose to take the flowers and keep touching him, I don't know if there's anything else you need to do.

Or, if you don't know how to get it yourself, or don't feel like it, I streamed all three of them!

I pinned the timestamps in the comments, I read them out but also made a lot of squeaky noises (That's just what happens when I'm simping) so yeah

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I'M GOING INSANE???

Spoilers for Marius' Mirage of You card

YANDERE MARIUS??

AND MC????

HUH???

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Sometimes I wanna draw and then I realise I can't draw

Anyway. WIP! I feel like this'll be fun if I keep going but I have a tendency to lose all motivation if I leave it so I usually do things in one shot. However, I need to go to bed.

I feel like this is a lot of research that people will never see unless they themselves are Mexican but one of the reasons I make/draw things like this is so people feel seen. I looked over a couple things for this, quite fun! This is supposed to be a chiapaneca dress, but I am not used to this more "realistic" style so the dress actually needs to spread out more. It's so pretty though! Will either be very fun or very torturous to colour

This is Paloma! I haven't started on her wings and at this point I'm not sure how to add them in. She's Mexican and was a fashion designer. I'm using that as an excuse to continue putting eyeliner on Alexis, who she is friends (?) with. She's older than him.

I have seen somewhere that Spanish Spanish and Mexican Spanish are slightly different, the two should still be able to communicate. I don't know what you call a "big sister/miss" in Spanish, or if that's even something you do. I guess Senorita would be it? I'm trying to convey that Alexis is showing respect to her though, so that feels like it's not it.

I'm debating between wing styles also. I think colourful wings (Like a parrot) would be pretty, and not as common as dove wings (Which are her namesake). Also it was while I was looking those up that I found out the Mexican flag has an eagle on it! The golden eagle wings sound pretty interesting, if a little bit drab, but having her be tied to the national bird would be fun I think. And lastly, wood pigeon wings, which are also her namesake, only in Latin.

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I know there's the whole debate about whether or not Wriothesley is blind (Even partially or not), and to that I want to add

THOSE PAPERS ARE FUCKING BLANK

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Rereading Howl's Moving Castle for maybe the fourth time now, the scarecrow part is still one of my favourites. I don't know, I just think it's really funny

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Paloma!

Drawing this was. An experience. I am not taking art criticism at this point in time thank you.

The dress was definitely more fun to draw, if a little confusing at first. It's a Chiapaneca (Chiapas?) dress. I had to stare really hard at a couple haha. I've never actually seen one before so I hope I did them justice

THE WINGS. I don't what is happening there I don't know I did it. It took me two hours

Anyway. Paloma is a Mexican fashion designer! Her blessing is literally just wings. They're not magic or anything but she can fly with them (We will not talk about the physics or biology of this).

They are wood pigeon wings! I could have gone with dove, as is her namesake, but white wings are very common, and the name Paloma is derived from Palumbus, which is wood pigeon so!

I probably also could've given her golden eagle wings, since they represent her country better, but I have been going with blessings being related to names sometimes, and I did name her a bird specifically because of her blessing, so pigeon wings.

Is this a lot of research for something most people won't notice unless they already know about it? I know about it. And now you do too. :)