#As long as I don't get trapped in a time loop about it! Poor Sif haha

[sysig]

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The novel experience of being crushed by a giant rock, a visual metaphor

[systemrestart]

Okay so. I am playing In Stars and Time, and I'm on the first loop of Act 4. I've got a major theory I've been cooking up for a while, so I decided to share it!! (Mostly for me to look back on, but also just because it's fun to share my excitement with other people lol)

This theory is about who "Loop" really is. Spoilers for up to Act 4

My theory is: Loop and Sif are "the same person" (alternate versions of the same person……?)

At the start of the game, while talking about pronouns, they first asked us to use "the royal We". Very curious choice

When asked if they were a star, Loop said they were "more like a mirror. It's more fun to reflect!! Being the real thing would be tiring!!" They could mean they are 'reflecting' the stars (like, with their appearance), but with the way they worded that, it wouldn't really make sense. It would make more sense if they were a 'mirror' of Sif, instead. Who they even refer to as "stardust"

Even if they try to be coy or playful about it, they seem to share a lot of Sif's feelings and thoughts on things

Even though they help Sif out and seem to care about their suffering to some extent, they're often harshly critical, demeaning….. even a little cruel. While they dress it up like it's 'playful', it's similar to the way Sif is critical of/cruel to themself.

They already knew a ton about Sif, and when asked by Sif if they've met, Loop says this is the first time he's met them, but that they "already know Sif".

When Loop asked what Sif's theory was for who they are, I chose "me", and Loop got surprised before just, laughing and laughing, basically refusing to answer

I "spent a loop" with them, and they told Sif that they had been through a similar scenario of being trapped in a situation, trying over and over and over again to get out, getting their hopes up only to have it all repeatedly crushed…… they didn't give any concrete details, but……….

Then the real kicker and what made me make this post. I just entered the mysterious locked room on Floor 3, and there is a diary here about someone who desperately wanted to make a copy of themselves, so they could have someone to finally share in their suffering and understand them. The way they spoke about what they were going through sounded SO much like how poor Sif talks about the time loops in his head, and he's even thought about how he wishes he could have someone who understands and feels his pain. And, at the end of the diary, the writer said they discovered how to use Wish Craft to make their wish come true. Sif already knows Wish Craft and has been using it the whole game, he just didn't know it.

ALSO, the room that diary is found in has a ton of star/Universe related things in it, and the only characters with a direct connection to stars in the game are Sif, the King, and Loop

The one thing that trips me up about it is just how different Loop acts to Sif, y'know……. they definitely don't Feel like the same person. And while you could say Loop is acting (which, they definitely are on some level), let's be real, Sif is not a great actor. They're trying their best, but the only reason they're getting away with it is because the party is so accommodating and don't want to push them, and they're mostly trying to act like their old self, before the loops. Loop acts VERY different, and if it was all put-on….. that would be pretty remarkable.

But, well, we have no idea yet how much Loop has been through. Or for how long.

I'm wondering, if my theory is correct, if Loop was like, the "original", trapped in the loops completely alone with NO ONE to talk to, for god knows how long, until they started to break down so badly they felt the only solution to their pain was to "split", become a different "them"……. a Reflection. The guide and confidant they had desperately longed for.

"I'm more like a mirror. It's more fun to reflect, being the real thing would be tiring"…………..

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Wait, one more note. Reading that diary gave me SUCH strong "plural" vibes, the way it was talked about, how it would be a way of coping with suffering......... and y'know what's funny? When Loop introduced themself and said to call them by "the royal We", my very first thought was, "I wonder if they're plural.......?"

The royal we is technically 'singular', and it could have just been them acting kind of haughty and above it all (as the royal We was mostly used by monarchs I think)........ but it sure made me wonder. lol