#BUT ALSO SIFFRIN BEING LIKE “um can i get back to you on that?” ON THE NAME | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

llilyrose · 6 months ago

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Doodle for @the-bitter-ocean's In Cycles and Cessation au!!!!! (Alt. Version and writing under the cut!!)

{You pat the spot next to you.}

{They take it, albeit a bit hesitantly.}

"Mira? What's, um... What's this about?"

{What's this about, indeed...}

>"You like the stars, don't you?"

{They hum, simply.}

"... Yeah."

>"Well,"

{In the past you've struggled with sharing your thoughts, and the processes that lead to them. There's just -- there's SO MUCH going on in there!}

{At least you're good at remembering lines.}

>"I've noticed that you like to skygaze. A lot. And, you know, there's nothing wrong with that! But."

>"But you're not cloudgazing. Isabeau told me you're looking at the stars - the twinkly things in the sky?"

{He nods. It's permission.}

>"He also told me that, er, that thing you say sometimes - it roughly translates to stars in Vaugardian."

{He nods again, though it's more reserved. It's still permission. You haven't messed up yet. You continue.}

>"So I thought!! Um!!! Maybe you would want to skygaze with me?"

{Their smile is fond.}

"Mira. You didn't have to go out of your way..."

{No! You do!!! You absolutely do, because you know this means a lot to them, you know they're yearning, you're achingly familiar with their anxieties --}

{Change!! He won't even let you help him if you don't get anything out of it yourself!}

{... It feels like cheating. A bit selfish, to impose your problems on him, in a moment that's meant to be his. So you'll just... repeat your lines. Repeat it, Mira.}

>"The stars. Are they important to you?"

{Silence drags on. You hear the rustling of fabric. You're not sure if he's rubbing his arms or shifting to get a better view of the sky.}

{The lack of response urges you to bring a nail to your teeth. You make the beginnings of the motion, but Siffrin interrupts you before you get the chance.}

"Kind of. I think? I'm not ... entirely sure."

{It's the same thing they've always said.}

{The lack of change hurts you. The lack of change is comforting.}

{You...}

>"It's okay."

{A breeze brushes past you. It drowns out the gentle sounds of their breath.}

>"This kind of thing is . . . complicated. For me, too, if you can believe it."

{Hook. You hear him turning his head towards you, curiously.}

>"The change belief is home, for me. Growing up in a House of Change, of course, probably influenced a lot of my thinking, but."

>"As important as change is, as close as this ever-shifting belief sits to my heart, I have a complicated relationship with it."

>"The housemaidens... each of them has Changed, at least once. We have festivals to embrace it! And I'm happy for them! I'm so, so happy for them."

>"But I'm disappointed. In myself, I think? Because... Because I haven't changed. Or, I have changed, but I've never Changed, capital-C."

{Line. You hear a disgruntled "hrmpf" from beside you. You keep going.}

>"And nobody is pressuring me. I don't have to. But, I feel like- in this belief, this belief that revolves entirely around changing myself, changing the core of my being, into something completely different, completely new-"

>"I like me as I am, Siffrin."

>"But sometimes it feels like I'm missing out on key experiences in my culture."

>"So... yeah. It's complicated. These things are complicated. It's okay to be complicated."

>"Is it-- are the stars something like that, to you?"

{Sinker. You look back, and Siffrin is staring at you, sadly. He notices you looking, though, and shifts his gaze back towards the sky. The stars. They're thinking.}

"... Yeah."

{They pause. You wait. You'll give them the time.}

{You have plenty of it! Hahahahaha!!!!!!!}

{No. Positive. It's okay.}

"It's complicated for me, too."

"You like to say I'm easygoing. I think it's just the way I was raised."

"To say I follow my belief is more literal than anything."

"The Universe leads. We follow."

>"The Universe?"

{Wait for your cue.}

"The Universe. It's... everything. It's everything at once, and also everything beyond?"

"It's... the stars, in the sky, I think. It's the waves crashing onto a beach, the whistle of wind in your ears."

"It's not like everything is predetermined. We just... if something goes wrong, or you think you see a sign, you can throw your arms up and say 'the Universe willed it.' And you wouldn't be wrong."

"I... don't really like that idea? That some higher force makes the decisions for me. That I can't shape who I am on my own."

"I don't like the idea that-..."

{They snap their mouth closed. You don't miss the way their voice cracked.}

{It hurts. It hurts you every time. Every time you help them it just resets. You're not sure how many more times you can do this.}

{It's like all your change never mattered in the first place...!}

>"You don't have to share, if you don't want to!!!"

{You won't complete his quest if you do this. You won't get his ability if you do this. You won't be family if you do this. But you can't anymore. You can't.}

{But.}

"... It's okay. I just..."

{There's no backdoor anymore.}

{Your gut clenches as they speak the words you've toiled over for loops, now.}

"I don't like the idea that forgetting everything about my culture was for some greater purpose. I don't want that. I don't want to forget who I was, I don't want to forget who I am, I don't want to forget you! Any of you!"

{His voice is wet. Something pangs in your chest.}

"If forgetting is all I can do, if forgetting like this is the path set out for me, then..."

"What kind of person can't remember their home? Their childhood? What is a person without their memories?"

"is this what the Universe wanted from me? Is this all I'm for?"

{You've heard it all before.}

{And yet. And yet.}

>"Don't talk about yourself like that!"

{He flinches. You yelled! Why did you yell???}

>"You don't...! You don't deserve to treat yourself like that!"

{You can't stop yourself. The thoughts you bite back flow out of you like a river.}

>"'What kind of person am I without my memories?' You're Siffrin, that's who! With or without your memories, we love you as you are, the person you are!"

{You pause. He's scared of you, isn't he? You're being loud. Too loud. You're derailing the conversation.}

{Change is good. Change should be good. But it feels like every time you try to change your situation, it bites you back and turns tail!}

{You messed it up, you messed it up, you--}

{You feel a tug on your heart.}

"-is this all I'm for?"

{You smile, softly.}

>"Of course not, Siffrin."

{He tenses. You always notice it.}

>"You... don't have to deal with this alone. Why didn't you tell me? Or anyone?"

"It-"

{They pull their hat over their face.}

"It, um... didn't really matter."

{It still hurts you. That he didn't think he could tell you.}

>"We'll never forget you, Siffrin. And you'll never forget us, either. I'm sure of it."

>"Memories or not... you belong here. With us. We love you, you know that, right?"

{They shrink back, flustered. It hurts. You've seen it before. You've seen it.}

>"If you're so worried about your lack of memories, we'll just... make new ones!!! Together!!!"

>"You're not alone in this anymore. You're here, with us, and we have a future to look forward to, together."

{He's crying.}

{That look in their eyes. You know.}

{You know he knows he is loved.}

{You hate that you're getting tired of it.}

#in cycles and cessation #isat au #isat mirabelle #isat siffrin #op #my art #my writing #isat

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lucabyte · 7 months ago

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thinking about the very specific reading of isat i had during act 3 for the most part

anyway yeah ill ramble here about this. since it actually explains my headcanons for what the disappearing island wish was

disclaimer: taken as a whole this is way too allegorical for what i'd consider a holistic reading of isat, but it was part of my running theories at the time.

anyway my guess for the real-world equivalent of the island ended up being French Polynesia by the end of the game. I had initially thrown a dart at siffrin being greek wrt europe, sisyphus allusion, enjoyment of plays and seafairing-- but the moment that little guy started getting real weird about stars and specified they were from an island i switched my guess to him being polynesian. And then that reading only really strengthened from there (and i was pretty close, tbf!)

but yeah during act 3, especially the king plotline, i started thinking about the themes of cultural erasure + lack of identity that the game has and how that plays wrt vaugarde's extremely welcoming and diverse nature.

reading far too much into it but it made me wonder if they are the results of a fallen empire of some kind. somewhere that gathered people from across the globe (as empires are known to do) before dissolving into what seems to be a localised theocracy of some kind?

like. vaugarde is basically the Good End for an empire. Fully demilitarised (they barely have use for police to the point where the defenders are surprised by burglaries, and almost CERTAINLY have zero army), extremely diverse, not caring where one comes from.

(either that or they've been a socialist utopia like, forever? and thus just aquired migrants perpetually... but ka bue is characterised as harsher by odile in a lot of respects so one can assume its not that the whole planet is Niceys All The Time.)

this lines up pretty well with the um. Whole France Thing. Boy do they own a lot of islands still that they maybe shouldn't. Also lines up with bonnie's word-of-god french creole dialect. So Vaugarde as the welcoming, ideal form of former-colonialiser-nation is like. one i vibe with if we're gonna read too hard into the worldbuilding as presented.

Anyway all this to say I did for a time wonder if the Northern Island wish was 'For The Island To Be Safe'. Assuming this world to have any level of inter-country conflict-- Wish craft is powerful stuff, and a singular island might not be able to defend itself against those seeking to take it by force. Hiding the island from the world would protect it.

... though that felt like an unusually cruel read. The implication that cloistering away like that is a 'valid' strategy for a culture to be safe (albeit with the splash damage of hurting any diaspora).

Plus, wish craft is superbly powerful, with evidently its use on the island only becoming more widespread after it was discovered how to make it work Consistently.

(i work here under the assumption that Siffrin's growing cloak is imbued with wish craft, assumedly the same as the king's armour? Since there's no way that was created at that scale...)

So it almost makes more sense, to me, for the wish to be to 'Protect The World (universe) From Us' or to 'Keep The Universe Safe'.

Wish craft being so second nature to the Islanders (See: Siffrin, favour tree), that a wish that breaks the universe is almost inevitable were the knowledge to become widespread and ingrained.

This too is an oddly cruel read, that a culture's rituals can be dangerous to that degree, but ... ? Dunno. Like I said, reading it as hard allegory makes it fall apart somewhat. Symbols can mean many different things at once until you flatten them for direct analysis like this. I don't think it's quite so 1-to-1, and it's honestly slightly too 'no story only lore' for my tastes, so I did push a lot of this stuff out of my analytical mind once I started getting to the back and of act 3 and into act 4.

Anyway. Not the most coherent explanation in the world, but still some thoughts I had mid-game that i figure i should put somewhere at least, even if I don't think they are really what the game is going for.

As a bonus, the discussions on what the island wish were in this context also lead my friend @samhainian to speculation on the colour wish that i really enjoy. Which is....

The wish that removed colour from humans perception of the world being something along the lines of:

"I wish the world was simpler"

ergo, removing colour as an invocation of Nuiance VS Black and White Morality. The world is simpler, easier to understand.

I think it's a fun headcanon! I like it.

Well anyway. A work is more than the sum of its parts and dissecting something so sloppily as this often does it a disservice. So don't take my theorising as anything more than a general rundown of where my head was at mid-game before i had all the pieces. The emotional core of the story is far more where it's at for ISAT sooooo. [Shrugs and scampers away]

#isat #isat spoilers #decided to finally ramble about this since i thought these were obvious conclusions but few else are chatting about it in the tags so.#mostly because i wanted to voice that colour wish headcanon and idk where else to put it #anyway being pulled away to do stuff so. ill talk about the king & corbeux connection some other time maybe #lucabytetalks #long post

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crisis-starter · 3 months ago

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Mirabelle’s thing took more effort than I thought!

Mostly because I… can’t really take anymore of the innate desire to scrap what I just wrote because the grammatical and punctuational errors in the Change God’s dialogue, though purposeful, are driving me up the wall.

For now, have a Mirabelle Loops thing…

)•{+}•<>+<>•{+}•(

Mirabelle was… perplexed to be brought back to the room where her Change God statue was, even though they already had obtained the Keyknife (or Knifekey, as Siffrin called it after it was sharpened). The group had looked the room up and down and had nothing else left to investigate. So why were they here again? Siffrin seemed to look at the statue in thought.

Mirabelle glanced at Bonnie, who seemed to try and gauge the correct timing for something. Mirabelle was about to ask before Siffrin called, “Mira, can you put your hand on the statue?” The housemaiden turned to look at Siffrin before complying hesitantly, “Hm? Um, sure?” It was a fairly simple thing. It wouldn’t hurt to try.

It wasn’t painful, but hearing a whistle and then waking up in a white void is not something you expect to experience on a normal day. Or, rather, as normal as the day before the end of the world can get. But hey! At least Mirabelle isn’t alone! Siffrin is with her!

She was about to ask Siffrin to hear their opinion before the rogue entered a fighting stance and informed, “Someone’s there, Mira!” Mirabelle’s head snapped to the figure approaching them, startled. She needed to help Siffrin! But wait… isn’t that… “The… the Head Housemaiden?”

Euphrasie looked almost… offended? Then a buzzer sounded for some odd reason. It slightly distracted her before she noticed the Euphrasie was replaced by Bonnie! The shape shifting figure feigned despair, “mirabelle!!! how could you not recognize little old me!?!?! (·•᷄∩•᷅ )” How on earth did the figure do that with their mouth? Things aside, “They changed shapes!” It was… nice to know Siffrin was just as unnerved as she was.

The figure shifted to look like Siffrin for a sec, startling the rogue next to Mirabelle a bit. They put their hands on their hips before giggling, “well yeah!! don’t you know who I am?? (*´▽`*)” Mirabelle took a second to think before expressing her own little version of shock, “The Change God?!” The figure shifted into Bonnie before twirling and exclaiming with a big smile, “ding ding ding!!! hiya! it’s me, the change god!!! ദ്ദി ˉ͈̀꒳ˉ͈́ )✧”

Mirabelle paused to interpret what she was seeing. The guilt of being a bad housemaiden started to hit her like a truck. And if Siffrin’s concern and the Change God’s shock were anything to indicate, Mirabelle was bawling. In a state of surprise, the Change God shifted to look like Mirabelle for a second before turning into Isabeau, trying to comfort her, “mirabelle!!! what happened?? im sorry if i upset you!! (˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )”

Mirabelle wiped her tears, hiccups lacing her words, “No no… it’s th-that… I’m sorry for being a bad housemaiden. For stagnating, for not trying new things… For not… Changing…” She feels safer, just being cutesy Mirabelle. Even the title of Savior stresses her out to no end! So undergoing Change itself? That would feel tantamount to scaling a mountain with nothing to break your fall.

The Change God looked blankly at Mirabelle before saying, “oh that!!! dont worry about it ╮ (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.) ╭ I dont care” Now it was Mirabelle’s turn to be confused, “Huh?” The figure shifted to look like Odile before explaining, “if i was mad about it then i wouldn’t have helped you as much as i did right? but well wouldja look at that! you got the keyknife!!! i did it because I believe in you!! ٩(^ᗜ^ )و ´-“ Siffrin looked less tense, but still bit alarmed. The Change God continued, shifting to look like a star… person for a split second, “also… THIS PLAY NEEDS MORE VARIETY. BUT DO NOT WORRY. YOU WILL FIND AID. YOU JUST NEED TO LEARN WHEN TO CATCH IT.”

Mirabelle stopped crying. She was startled by the final thing the Change God told her. A play? Nonetheless, she felt at least a bit reassured. The Change God shifted to look like Isabeau before starting to talk, “i will tell you something very important, so listen close. ( •̀ - •́ )” The change god reverted to Isabeau’s image, “for a ton of reasons, you won’t remember it!” They cocked their head sightly to the side, “well, your mind won’t but your heart will!!! ଘ(੭´꒳`)°* ੈ‧₊˚” They sighed, “it’s true that i don’t help humans much, but my measly god powers are nothing compared to yours!!! ৻( •̀ ᗜ •́ ৻) you’re doing incredible mirabelle, even if you don’t believe it at first (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶) but, just in case that isn’t enough…”

The Change God abandoned the appearances and revealed Mirabelle’s statue, but animated. They softened their voice to something gentle, a far cry from the dramatic display they gave prior, “you are loved, mirabelle. i see you changing, even if you do not. you are always changing, always evolving. you are not stagnating in any way. and even if you were, that would be fine, because life is about changes but it’s also about staying right where you are sometimes. I am proud of you,” they immediately switched back to their expressive self, “and i love you!!!! ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂)⸝♡ and i love the stupid ugly face you gave me and i wont ever let anyone destroy it!!! o( ˶^▾^˶ )o remember that okay!!! (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)”

Mirabelle smirked before giggling, “Thank you, Change God. You are nothing like I was expecting, but…” The housemaiden gave a big smile, “I would expect nothing less from you!” She thought she spotted something from the corner of her eye. Was Siffrin still… suspicious? But the Change God has been so…

Then the god snapped her out of her thought process, looking like Bonnie this time, “before you go, i have a gift for you! ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝ꕤ*.ﾟ” the whistle of wind sounded in her ears. Mirabelle looked at the Change God confused, “What wa-“ The Change God giggled before saying, “bye bye now!!! i’ll talk to siffrin and then it’s back to the mission at hand!!! ᕙ( •̀ ᗜ •́ )ᕗ”

Mirabelle panicked, calling out, “WAIT! WHAT…” her voice faltered when she found herself in the prayer room again, “…was that?” Siffrin woke up from a trance seconds after, slightly pensive about… something. Mirabelle felt weird. Something like… being able to learn more? No, not that exactly. More like… agh it barely makes sense in her head.

Isabeau questioned if she and Siffrin were alright. He commented that it looked like you both looked almost… half conscious. Hm. Mirabelle caught Odile’s suggestion that the team should proceed if everyone was okay. Mirabelle agreed with her assessment. The housemaiden and her rag tag group of friends should get going.

They have a king to defeat and a country to save after all.

)•{+}•<>+<>•{+}•(

MIRABELLE IS DONE

Okay, so here’s what I’m going to do about the filler posts. I’ve decided that I’ll put the filler posts through a queue.

I‘ve also decided to maybe try all of the options. Because most of them are very new to me.

I don’t doodle or draw as much as you’d be led to believe (and even then they are quite abstract I guess?), and I’ve never touched digital art. I’ve never run an ask blog before. I’ve given WIP commentary to friends on Discord but not on Tumblr. So… I am just the slightest bit nervous that I might do something wrong…..

But anyway, here is my challenge on Odile’s chapter:

Putting this entire scene into words from Odile’s perspective.

To my darling audience:

Good Morning

Good Day

Good Afternoon

Good Evening

Good Night

#caught in a spiral #in stars and time #isat au #isat #isat mirabelle #isat siffrin #cias au #crisis writes things

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akorean · 1 month ago

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here is my take on assigning isat characters(people from the forgotten island) tma entities with far too much explanation because I don't want to do homework

Everyone from the forgotten country has been touched by the lonely. Forgetting yourself and everyone you love is something that happens in one of the lonely domains, and in isat a whole world(or maybe just nearby countries, but still) was affected. That whole thing might as well be an effect of a half successful ritual

Siffrin is taken by the end(i lied, actually the lonely and a bit of the web)

Time loop when you die might seem like something Terminus would do, but Siffrin doesn't loop when he dies. They loop when they can't continue being with the family, which is pretty lonely coded(except if it was TMA, the loops would have ended after Loop hang out or act 3 ending, whichever is more traumatizing). As for the spider part, that comes in later acts when Sif starts referring to the whole thing as a play and everyone as actors. The spider doesn't care how you do it, as long as you get others to do what you want , you have the potential to become an avatar (as per Annabelle's words during the eye-pocalyps)

Loop is an avatar of the stranger

They were taken by the lonely and brought back as an avatar by the stranger. A copy of yourself that wants to kill you and take your place is literally a tma character. +the whole cheerful act , great for stranger vibes

The king is connected to the end + the lonely + the flesh

He is afraid that the country that he loves so much will be forgotten(lonely), and so he freezes everyone in time, keeping them from dissappearing . Which... um... is the complete opposite of what the end does , but , but , there are artefacts that can cancel out the effects of entities, even post change , so maybe he read a lightner that let's him do that or something. Also, he is a giant, and he changed his body to achieve that . Changing your flesh into an inhuman form is one of the main things viscera does (oh, I guess Big Sif is also flesh then , huh)

And now, the croissant person

The croissant person is an avatar of the extinction, because all croissants are evil(tasty) and must be destroyed(eaten)

#in stars and time #isat #isat Siffrin #isat Loop #isat the king #isat spoilers #isat two hats #tma #tma entities #tma spoilers

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auncyen · 6 months ago

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today's felt terrible so I impulse wrote anyway

You try to keep your smile up as much as possible even with the Sadness weeping into your back as it clings to your shoulder. It's so wet. You don't know if your shirt will ever dry. Maybe toddling Sadnesses aren't dangerous, but apparently they're pretty good at being annoying!

And that must show in your face somehow, because Siffrin's face starts to fall, and then he's no longer looking up at you but down at the ground, clutching the brim of his hat. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bother you--I'll let you get back to--"

"No, no, Sif, you're not bothering me! Not at all," you say quickly. "Actually, maybe you could me with... um, I wouldn't say it's bothering me, yet, but it's something I need to figure out. ...You have to promise not to freak out." Because Siffrin is very very fast with his knife and you don't want him trying to stab the Sadness. Partially because it's on you, but even if Siffrin can tear it off...if it's destroyed now, it'll just reform later on, possibly worse, and still no one will know whose it is to help the person.

You've got Siffrin's undivided attention as they look up at you again. "I won't freak out. What is it?"

"Um, just try to think of if this reminds you of anyone?"

"'This'?"

"..." You hold your breath for a moment, wondering if it'd be easier to just turn around and show him than try to explain, before remembering sharp knives and quick reflexes. Yeah, explain first. "It's a Sadness. Not a dangerous one!" you add quickly when Siffrin's eye widens with alarm. "Um, stages...it's not an infant, but it's not really gotten to the juvenile stage yet either. So it's only got a few characteristics, but it was found near the inn you're staying at? So I was wondering if you might recognize anything about it?"

Siffrin narrows their eye. "Where is it?"

"..."

"Isa."

"Promise you won't freak out?" you ask again. That serious look on Sif is actually. It's interesting. It's doing interesting things to your heart. But also making you nervous that maybe you shouldn't have brought this up? Oh crab Sif has the most reason of anyone to react badly to this, you were so worried about hurting his feelings by making him think he was bothering you that you didn't consider. the trauma.

"Isa. Where. is. it."

Before you can decide whether it's worse to answer or not, the Sadness cries out loud, what almost sounds like a sobbing gasp. You don't know if Sadnesses even need air. Siffrin brings one foot forward as they stare at your chest, the right height for where it is on your back, and you quickly back up to the wall. The Sadness squishes a bit between you and the wall; after it squeaks out a cry, you give it a smidge of extra space.

"It's on you?!"

"Haha! Surprise!" you say because wow are nerves great at making you say stupid things. Siffrin's upset, you need to reassure him. "I mean! It just kind of latched on?? It hasn't tried to hurt me though, it'll be some time before it's a danger to anyone! So I wanted to figure out whose it is while it's with me."

"But if it could hurt you--"

"Sif, Sif, I promise, there's time. It doesn't even have its Craft hands yet." You hold your hands up, placating. "So can I show you?"

Siffrin meets your gaze and nods.

"You're not going to freak out?"

"That you're letting a Sadness piggyback on you? Already did."

You laugh sheeplshly at that tone. "The piggyback ride wasn't by choice. This one's a little whirlwind when it's not sobbing. I could probably stun or destroy it by ramming my back against the wall, but, uh, my back would hurt. And I really want to help find whoever's in trouble. So...yeah."

Siffrin looks away as they mumble, "I won't freak out." So they're definitely not happy about this, but that's enough reassurance for you to step toward them and slowly turn around. You can feel the Sadness shifting, undulating really as you do, and when you look over your shoulder, it and Siffrin are engaged in a staredown.

Siffrin doesn't look scared or frightened. He looks repulsed, his lips pulled back in a grimace. ...You guess that's a normal response toward a Sadness, maybe, because even if it's barely a juvenile it could still turn into an adolescent or maybe even an adult later, but you hate that you put that face on him. You should try to get this done quickly. "It likes physical touch, it's fast... is it still favoring the one eye?"

"Yeah," Siffrin says, voice rough on that one word. Then they smile, looking up at you. (It looks almost painful in how forced it is.) "...But who it could be though...I have no idea!"

loose idea for Sadness stages, which I ended up just using infant->juvenile->adolescent->adult because numbered stages seemed wrong for Vaugarde ("that is an Odile labeling system, Isa wouldn't even pick it up from her"):

infant: small blobs. Some float some don't. Floating blobby infant sadnesses sometimes weren't recognized as Sadnesses and started the legend of the will o' wisp.

Juvenile: still mostly blob but slightly more grown/defined.

Adolescent: Has Craft hands, will use them. They don't usually attack people though, only lashing out if they feel encroached on.

Adult: fully mature. Will chase down victims.

Since Sadnesses aren't really able to be observed from beginning to end (or at least, any sane and slightly decent person is going to try to help the person with the Sadness before it gets too bad), it's known from anecdotes that an 'infant' Sadness can turn into a juvenile, or an 'adolescent' into an 'adult', etc., but sometimes adult Sadnesses pop up where no Sadness was noticed before, making it uncertain if Sadnesses have to go through all the stages or if some go through them unusually fast.

#in stars and time

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maddilynmuse · 7 months ago

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The Midnight Snack Shack

In a shocking turn of events, I’m positing something on here before AO3… largely because I meant to write at least one other thing before this but oh well???? It’s fanfic, I can be a hedonist!

So let’s just consider it a Scriptfrin Saga Sneak Peak!

The gang are at Bambouch, and Mirabelle commits the sin of arriving late for dinner. There are no leftovers. As punishment for this offense, Siffrin does a little trolling on the way to seek out a restaurant.

Anyways, no real content warnings that I can think of, though tell me if you think I should tag one. That said, there are Spoilers for In Stars and Time. Please finish that before reading this! Also, while not necessarily required, this is technically part of a series.

Enjoy~

It’d been a wonderful day in Bambouch! Bonnie had (understandably) wanted some alone time with their sister, so that left everyone to wander about and do their own things. Mirabelle had had a lovely time talking to some of the other house maidens in the local house of change. One of them had taught her about this thing called surfing! She wasn’t very good at it yet, but it was still exciting! Even if being in the ocean was kind of scary? It was so big…

It wasn’t until the sun started to dip below the horizon that she realized how long she’d been out. Oh no oh no oh no! She had to get back to the others! What if she missed dinner?!

As she ran back, her worst fears were confirmed. She sprinted to Nile’s house only to see everyone cleaning up dishes…

“Crab- were there, um, leftovers?” she said, righting her bow upon on her head and trying to brush the salt off of her and suddenly very aware of the fact that she was dripping on the floor.

“No…” Bonnie said. “I thought you went to a restaurant or something. I mean, I always make some extra…”

“Buuuut I ended up wrestling some other dudes on the beach and worked up a huge appetite,” Isabeau said, flexing one of his arms.

“He is very good at it,” Sif purred, wiggling their eyebrows and putting a hand on Isa’s bicep.

Isabeau’s face darkened as he made a tea kettle sound. Huh, weird. Why would he get embarrassed about being good at wrestling? She could only assume it was a weird romance thing, but was wrestling romantic??? She hadn’t seen anyone propose via wrestling in her books (not that those were realistic), but…

Oh whatever. Boys will be boys.

“Well, that’s alright. I’ll figure something out, if that’s okay?” Mirabelle said. They had to have something lying around, right? If not, missing dinner wasn’t pleasant, but it wasn’t the worst thing that had happened to her. There might still be workarounds though! She could ask the neighbors or maybe the local house, maybe go fishing? She’d never fished in the ocean before, but it couldn’t be that different from fishing in a river, right?

(If she wasn’t quite so deep in thought, maybe she would’ve caught some of the sneaky smirks shared between her friends).

“Actually, I think I heard someone say that one of the restaurants here should still be open,” Siffrin said.

“Oh yeah! Is that still a thing, Nille?” Bonnie said.

“Unless it closed today, should be,” Nille said. “Think about eight thirty is when they change the locks.”

Mirabelle looked at the clock. It was around eight now, so that still gave her time! But it was getting pretty dark…

“Perfect. I think I remember where it is,” Siffrin said. “I’ll take you! Maybe I’ll get some dessert too~”

… she had no idea how to say nicely that she would prefer anyone but Siffrin to do so right now. She loved him deeply, but he had the memory of a goldfish sometimes. It was kind of concerning, actually??? She looked to the others in a desperate, silent plea for help, but apparently the exact opposite message got through.

“Great idea. You have the best night vision of all of us, after all,” Odile said.

“Yeah! And he’s, like, really great at finding stuff!” Isabeau added.

“I trust him completely to remember what I said before dinner,” Bonnie said with a grin. “No more telling needed!”

“Can you tell me anyways?” Mirabelle squeaked. Oh Change, please help her. As usual, her deity did absolutely nothing of note as Siffrin led her out the door.

“So… are you sure you know where you’re going?” Mirabelle said.

“Absolutely! I always remember everything.” He held his head high as he led the way.

“… not that I’m doubting you, but I think. This is. The way I came from?” The buildings looked familiar, and while she was not typically the navigator, she was pretty sure the setting sun being on the opposite side of her meant she was just heading backwards.

“And?”

“Siffrin, that’s the way to the ocean!”

“Yeah,” Siffrin said, not even missing a step.

Maybe this could still make sense? “Is the, um, the restaurant on the pier then?”

“Nope.”

…

“Siffrin. Why are we going to the ocean.”

“Thought you might want your clothes.“

Oh. Right, she was still wearing swim clothes! In her haste, she’d forgotten. How sweet of Siffrin- wait. “Siffrin, I-I mean, that’s very nice, so thank you! But we don’t have time! I’ll pay extra I’m sure they’ll forgive me dripping a little!” She’d chosen a one-piece that covered her well enough and even had a pretty skirt-thing, so it’s not like she was being indecent! “Besides, my clothes are at the house… I didn’t get changed on the sand in front of everyone…”

“Oh. Should we go there instead?”

Mirabelle’s eye twitched a little. “Siffrin! Restaurant!”

“Hehe, okay, okay.”

Hopefully that would be the end of it.

———

That was not the end of it. She loved Siffrin, she did. A lot of the time on their quest, his tendency to pick up random objects and inspect everything was useful! Vital even! And while a slight problem at times outside of questing, it was still endearing. But did he have to do that now? Sure, they hadn’t had any real sense of urgency in months, and she doubts he kept on his toes and rushed through every loop (she hopes he didn’t, that sounded exhausting), but she hadn’t realized you needed practice in it! Because why else would he be! So! STUBBORN!

“Hey look, this rock looks like a seashell!”

“Siffrin, that IS a seashell!” There were a million seashells! They were near the seashore!

“Oh. That makes sense!”

She was going to get… what did Odile call it? An ulcer. She was going to get an ulcer.

It didn’t help that people kept staring. One might think Mirabelle would be used to it by now, but this seemed more than usual??? The feeling of being watched put chills down her spine. The occasional whispering didn’t help either, but it was hard to hear over the occasional chatter.

Siffrin took a right and then stopped, turning to her, “Do you think anyone sells seashells?”

“Um, no? We’re by the seashore!”

“I think Odile could.”

“Even she can’t sell seashells by the she- um, sea sore- shore- SIFFRIN THIS IS NOT WHAT WE NEED TO BE DOING RIGHT NOW!”

Siffrin laughed and looked up at who knows what. “Oh, huh. It’s almost dark! We should get going.”

“Yes. Yes we should. Thank you, Siffrin.”

He decided to leisurely walk to wherever they were trying to go up until they got close enough to see someone by the door with her keys.

“NOOOOOOO!” Mirabelle moaned, running over. “Are you closed?! Were we too late? Oh please oh please tell me you have a few leftovers! I’ll pay extra!”

The person—a heavyset sort with skin a few shades lighter than Bonnie’s—gave her a sympathetic smile. “Sorry sweetie. No leftovers, I’m afraid.”

Her stomach chose then to grumble and she sunk dramatically to her knees.

The person locked eyes with Siffrin, both grinning, and chuckled, “We’re only just opening, a little early to have any leftovers!”

What.

Siffrin burst into laughter beside her. “Your face!”

WHAT?!

“Siffrin! Did you know?! Did you do did this on purpose?!”

“Mm hmm~!”

“Stars, you got her good, didn’tcha?” The woman said.

“SIFFRIN YOU- YOU…” she took a deep breath and LET IT ALL LOOSE, “YOU CRAB!”

“GAAAAAASP! BELLE SAID CRAB?!?!”

Mirabelle’s head snapped around. There, around the street corner, was…

“Bonnie?!”

“CRAB! GUYS! SHE SAW ME!”

“Aaaaand you just gave away everyone else,” Odile said as she also stepped out from the shadows. “A pretty good tailing session, I would say, but try not to be a sellout.”

“Oops,” Bonnie said.

“MADAME YOU’RE HERE TOO?!” Mirabelle said.

Siffrin was leaning against the wall he was laughing so hard. And the mystery person didn’t look much better.

“In my defense, I intended to see this supposed ‘Night Market’ with my own eyes,” Odile said. “Any amusement I got from watching you and Siffrin was simply an added bonus.”

Mirabelle stared into her soul, but Madame’s poker face remained as good as ever. “You knew.”

“Yes,” Odile said. “And I’m not going to be the only one to go down with this ship. Bonnie’s already sold us out. Show yourselves.”

Nille, Isabeau, and two strangers stepped from the shadows.

Mirabelle’s eye twitched. “HOW?! WHY?! WHY ARE YOU HERE AND HOW DID WE PICK UP MORE PEOPLE?!”

Nille held her hands up defensively, “I wasn’t letting Bonnie go out at night alone.”

“I wanted to feel included,” Isabeau said (and honestly that was so adorably earnest she couldn’t even be mad at him for it).

“Also, people saw us following you and called the defenders,” Bonnie said.

“Hi. That’s us!” One of the apparent defenders said. “So… you do actually know these people and are not passing charges on a group of stalkers?”

The other had become a few shades lighter. “Dude. I’m pretty sure these are the saviors.”

“What?”

To add further salt to the wound, someone else had come from inside the restaurant—a cook, presumably—and was surveying them all with a raised eyebrow and a chuckle. “Oh, they got you good good.”

“I think Sif’s dying,” Isabeau said jokingly.

Their rogue was on the ground absolutely wheezing, laughing so hard sound had stopped coming out.

“Death by laughter…” Odile said. “A new one, I take it?”

Siffrin made a hand gesture Mirabelle did not recognize at Odile, but did not stop.

Mira stared down at him. “Siffrin. You are my friend, and I love you. That’s why I’m giving you a three second head start to run.” She drew her rapier. “Three…”

That was apparently enough to make Siffrin hop up and start running, though he was still laughing so much he might as well have been drunk.

“Two…”

Almost immediately, he managed to trip on a rock and do an impressive cartwheel only to then hit a wall and scramble back up.

“One~!”

“DISTRACTION!!!” Bonnie shouted, tackling her.

“Oh! Bonnie! You wanted gotten too?” Mira said, smiling sweetly (knowing good and well she would never hurt them, or Sif for that matter, all in good fun!).

“CRAB!” Bonnie jumped off like she was a hot pan. “SCATTER! SHE CAN’T CATCH EVERYONE!!!”

The next few minutes were spent in the world’s most disorganized game of chase with the poor, baffled defenders trying to explain to passers by that it was just the saviors pranking each other which did somehow less than nothing to dissuade anyone from watching.

But eventually Mirabelle had to concede, leaning against the wall to catch her breath and, “Pfffff, hahahaha!”

“You laughed, so I’m off the hook~!” Siffrin said.

Mirabelle rolled her eyes, but was smiling. “Yes, yes. Okay, I’ll admit it, that was funny.” She stood up and brushed the dirt off the swim wear the best she could. “A little mean, but funny.”

The group congregated and laughed together. Siffrin in particular was absolutely beaming (it felt nice to see, more than worth it, even).

“Sorry,” Siffrin said, “But what can I say? I’m a professional little stinker!” They snickered. “Besides, it’s tradition to mess with unwary tourists!”

“Especially Vaugaurdians,” the person from before—the one who’d been at the door—said.

“Mm hmm! And tip well too,” Siffrin said. “I used to wait around the docks and do the same trick to people coming off the boats. Mom ‘officially’ told me to stop, buuuuut she’d sneak me some extra snacks when I lured them to the shop.”

Odile scribbled something down in her notebook, and Isabeau’s eyebrows went up…

But Mirabelle could only gasp. “Siffrin lore?! And! Using your mischief? For profit?! For shame!”

“What. I, um, you know I’m not getting paid for this, right Mira? I only just met… hmm. Sorry, pronouns?” They said to the person.

… what? Hmm. Well, it wasn’t the first time Siffrin forgot what he was talking about as they said it, though still concerning…

“I’m not picky, but eh, been leaning towards she/her lately,” the woman said. “Name’s Vivian, but Viv’s fine. Now then, weren’t you hungry, sugar? Let’s get you something nice and fresh. And hey, your friends can come too if they’d like! Honestly, that was enough of a laugh that I think you’ve earned yourself a discount. Oh, and being the saviors and all too.” She chuckled and waved them inside.

Siffrin was the first in.

————

And that’s it, hope you enjoyed! This originally was just supposed to be a small set up to introduce Vivian, but as you can see, it got wildly out of hand and now Mirabelle is living a comedy sketch. This was so fun to write.

I prefer tea, but buy me a Kofi?

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sixpossumsinatrenchcoat · 11 months ago

Text

Natural Satellite [ch 3]

Siffrin and Isabeau finally talk. Isabeau makes a new friend. You can start from chapter one here.

“So…” Isa mumbles, darting a glance at Siffrin. “So the loops end when you… die?” Sif nods. “We-e-e-elll,” Loop cuts in. “Careful, now! It’s not just when you die, is it, stardust? Wouldn’t want to poison the well with premature assumptions, now, would we?” Sif glares at them. “Stop trying to influence him.” “Teehee! Sure thing, stardust! First you just have to stop telling him stuff that’s wrong!”

“What do you mean, remember???” Isabeau sputters. “Are you saying— Is this really happening?????”

Siffrin stares at him for several seconds. “Oh,” they say at last.

(Oh??????)

Sif wets their lips and darts a glance over Isabeau’s shoulder, toward the path he just ran down. “Um. Can I just… I’ll be right back, I just—“

“What!!! No!!! What??? Obviously not!!!!”

Their face hardens. “You think you could stop me?”

“What?” Isa gasps, flabbergasted. “I’m not—This isn’t a fight! I am asking you to stay! And talk to me! Like a real person!”

Sif seems to find that last part amusing.

Isabeau scowls at him. “What about this is funny to you?”

“Hm? Oh. It’s just. A little ironic.”

…An unspoken ‘coming from you’ hangs in the air between them.

“I— Well, I—” Isa’s face heats up. “ Aw, come on, Sif! I am so confused right now! I have no idea what’s going on! And it kinda seems like you do, so… Don’t you think you’d want a little help, if you were me? Don’t you think…”

He trails off. This is pointless. Sif sounds like a stranger. Isabeau barely recognizes them.

A subtle movement catches his eye. Sif, biting their lip. “I—um. I guess it’s only fair.”

Isa’s eyes widen. “You’re gonna explain?”

“No.” At the look on his face, Sif heaves a sigh. “Sorry. I’m just… not really sure what to say? But. Um. I know someone who might.”

* * *

There’s something impossible waiting under the Favor Tree. A figure formed from light and shadow, with ink-dark limbs and a shatter of shimmering white where their face should be. Light bleeds out from every seam in their surface, the cracks under their nails and the crease of their eyes and the gaping chest-wound carved into their sternum. Just looking at them hurts Isa’s eyes. (And also his brain.)

They’re not human, that much is clear. But they’re obviously a person. Even without clothes or a mouth or any semblance of solid form, personhood radiates off of them.

Isabeau swallows around the lump in his throat. It’s weird. He can’t put his finger on why, but looking at them makes him feel sort of… lonely? Like he can feel the melancholy washing off of them. Something darker than sadness, more hollow than grief.

—Until the impossible stranger spots him and Siffrin coming up the path. At which point they laugh hysterically for at least five minutes.

“Gee, stardust,” they wheeze at last, making a big show of wiping their eyes. “You sure do get everything you want! I guess you really are the Universe’s favorite!”

“Yeah, right.”

“And now you’ve trapped your Fighter in here with you! Doomed him to split your suffering! Soooo~ romantic!”

Sif rolls his eye. “Loop, this is—“

“I’m aware.”

“And Isa, this is Loop. They use they/them.”

“Uhh,” Isabeau says. “Hi?” Then, elbowing Sif as discreetly as he can while standing in plain sight: “Um. Uh… And Loop is…”

“You know that help you wanted?”

Isa nods.

Sif shrugs at Loop. “So.”

Isabeau looks from one to the other. Wasn’t Sif going to explain? Or… was that supposed to be the explanation?

Loop bursts out laughing. “Wow, stardust. Even for you, that was—wow. And I’ll have you know, my expectations are very low.”

Siffrin shoots them a murderous glare.

Loop bats their eyes at him before turning to wink at Isa. “You’ll have to forgive my darling stardust! He’s a little out of practice.”

“Like you’re one to talk,” Sif mutters.

“Stay in your lane, stardust,” Loop says sweetly. “Being mean is my thing.”

Isa holds out both hands. “Look, I’m sorry to interrupt, but can someone maybe catch me up?”

* * *

Loop catches him up.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Isa is swaying on his feet. “So this is… You’re actually time-traveling? It’s not a vision or a dream or something? It’s really actually happening?”

Sif nods.

“And we already beat the King?”

Another nod. “A lot.”

Wow. Well. That’s… sort of encouraging? Except for the part where they’re still stuck here. Isa was hoping that his horrifying visions were a gift from the Change God, to help Mira break the King’s curse. But if that’s not the case… “Then then what is it for?”

Sif shrugs.

Isa turns to Loop.

“Don’t look at me,” Loop snorts. “I’m stuck here, too. If I knew how to break out, don’t you think I would’ve done it already?”

In theory, maybe. But only if they’re actually telling the truth.

“So…” Isa mumbles, darting a glance at Siffrin. “So the loops end when you… die?”

Sif nods.

“We-e-e-elll,” Loop cuts in. “Careful, now! It’s not just when you die, is it, stardust? Wouldn’t want to poison the well with premature assumptions, now, would we?”

Sif glares at them. “Stop trying to influence him.”

“Teehee! Sure thing, stardust! First you just have to stop telling him stuff that’s wrong!”

Isabeau raises his hand.

“Yes?” Loop says, looking amused. “Fighter?”

“Um. I was just wondering… Why does no one else remember? When I talked to Mira, she looked at me like I was—”

“You told Mira?”

Isabeau flinches. Sif’s eyes have gone dark, just as sudden as turning out a light. He’s never seen them look like that before. “Um? I mean? Yyyyyes? Was that not okay?”

Just as quick as it appeared, the shadow lifts. “Of course it’s okay! Why wouldn’t it be? It’s not like you have anything to hide.”

Huh. That's… sort of a weird way to put it. “Um. Sure, I guess. I just mean… why is it only me?”

Loop claps their hands together briskly. “An excellent question! Let’s take a closer look, shall we? Fighter! When did you start to remember?”

“Yesterday,” he says mechanically. He's starting to feel a little lightheaded.

“Teehee! Yes, I’d certainly expect so! But I’m afraid that doesn’t narrow it down much.”

Oh. Right. “Um. Two? Two… loops ago, I guess.”

“Now think hard, stardust! Was there anything memorable, that loop? Anything new?”

Sif chews their lip. “I tried the palmiers…”

“After your Kid made your favorite food just for you?” Loop gasps. “For shame! I’m sure you hurt them grievously! But that would only be relevant if you’d dragged them into this. Try again!”

“I… spent a little longer in the bathroom?”

“You stabbed yourself in front of us!!!” Isa sputters. “You— In the fight with the King, you— With your own dagger!!!!”

“But that’s not—” Sif freezes. “Um. I mean. Yeah. I guess that could be it.”

That’s not new. That’s what they were going to say, isn’t it.

Isabeau feels sick. He feels sick. No matter how slow he breathes, he still can’t catch his breath. “H. How many has it been for you.”

“Not very many,” Sif says, much too quickly for it to be true.

“And you. You—die every time.”

“Not every time.”

“But most of them.”

Sif looks away. “…Most of them.”

Isabeau’s vision blurs. Sif was so quick, when they cut their own throat. They didn’t even hesitate. Like it was rote, mundane. Practiced. One quick clean slice to sever their external and internal carotid. Cutting off the flow of blood to their brain; starving their nervous system of oxygen so completely that, in a minute's time, they wouldn't even feel the pain. Another minute and there’d be no one left to feel anything at all.

How many times has Sif died, without anyone knowing? How many times did they do it on purpose?

“I,” he chokes out. “I—have to go to the bathroom.”

“Isa, wait—”

But he’s already running. Running away from the things he can’t bear to see, just like the bad old days, before he learned how to pretend he wasn’t scared. It’s almost nostalgic.

He makes it as far as the field south of town before he collapses under a tree. His head feels swollen, his throat clogged shut. Crying, still, but losing steam. That was always the best thing about running away. By the time you’re too tired to move, you don’t have enough energy left to cry.

“You’re really slow,” a familiar voice says, from immediately behind him.

Isa almost jumps out of his skin. “Wh— Sif??? When did you—”

“The whole time.” Sif shifts his weight from one foot to the other. They still won’t look at him. “Sorry. I got worried.”

Isabeau barks a laugh. “Pretty sure I'm not the one to worry about here!!!” When Sif just stares at him, blank-faced, he throws his hands up. “You!! I obviously meant you!!”

“Oh. Well, um. Don’t? I can't die, remember?”

…None of this matters, they told him, at the beginning of it all.

Isa feels sick.

Sif tilts their head at him, curious. “Isa?”

“Just—give me a second.” He lets his eyes fall shut, grinds his palms into his eyelids. “That… person. Loop. Who are they to you?”

“Oh. I guess they’re… sort of like my… helper?”

“Okay, but like. What are they?”

“Umm…”

“Who are they?”

“…”

“How do you know them?”

“They just sort of showed up,” Sif says, shrugging. “And… sometimes I can hear them in my head.”

Oh. Uh. Okay. That’s… not exactly what he expected. “Are you sure we can trust them?”

“Oh, definitely not.” At the look on his face, Sif grimaces. “It’s complicated.”

“Complicated how.”

“Well, I can't trust them to be honest,” Sif explains. “Or straightforward. Or nice. Or to want what’s best for me. Or… to be very helpful, mostly.”

“Uh huh…?”

“But I can trust that they hate it here. They’re stuck here, too. That’s not a lie.”

Isa’s face scrunches. “But how do you know?”

“I just know.”

…Huh. “Wow, Sif. You’re, uh. A lot more trusting than I would’ve guessed.”

Sif shrugs diffidently. “We’ve been through a lot.”

How much, though? How much is a lot? Ten deaths? Twenty? “Ummm. Sif?”

Siffrin looks at him.

“How long has it been for you? How many loops, I mean.”

“Oh,” Sif mumbles, looking away. “Um. I don’t know. I guess I had a little too much time on my hands, haha.” When Isabeau just keeps staring, Sif huffs defensively. “It’s not like I could take notes. It’d get wiped every loop.”

Isabeau lets out his breath. “Okay.”

“...Okay?”

“Okay. Okay, I…” Yeah, no, he was trying to be cool but he absolutely cannot do this. “You could take a guess, though, surely. Right? Like… a rough estimate?”

Sif doesn’t answer.

Yikes. Okay, well. That’s not super encouraging.

Okay!!” Isa says, a little too loud. “Sure! That’s totally fine, I totally get it! But it’s— You don’t have to hide anymore, you know? If we both go and tell the others, they’ll have to believe us!”

Siffrin’s face shutters. “No.”

“N-No?”

“We don’t involve them.”

“Pretty sure they’re already involved…”

Sif just shakes his head.

“Oh,” Isabeau mumbles. “Um… How many times have you tried?”

No answer.

“Umm.” Isa shifts his weight. “Your, um, friend said it wasn’t just your death that ends a loop…”

Sif stays silent, but his face tightens.

“…so I guess I was wondering if there’s, like, maybe another way? If, um… maybe it doesn’t have to hurt like that?” In his mind’s eye he can still see Siffrin torn open, bleeding. The light fading from his eye.

“No,” Sif says flatly.

“But— But what about—”

“No.”

“But why not though?”

“Why are you so obsessed with this?” Sif hisses. Isa’s never heard them sound so outright angry. “You just got here. You barely even know what's going on.”

“So tell me!!”

"I can’t. I don’t know either.”

“So then why are you so sure that you have to die???”

Sif’s lip curls. “Is this in your Defender training or something? This isn’t your job, Isa. You’re just supposed to beat the King. I’m supposed to make sure you can do it without dying.”

“But why? Why does it have to—”

“Why are we still talking about this?” Siffrin snarls. “Why can’t you just stick to the blinding script?”

“Wh-What?”

Sif’s eye widens. “I—um. I didn’t—”

Something twists in Isa’s stomach. His vision blurs, and then he’s—somewhere else. Not far. Just a few feet from where he was just standing. It takes him a second to realize that Sif’s moved, too. They’re standing behind him again, like they were when he first got here.

Isa stumbles a little as he pushes himself to his feet. “What just… D-Did we just loop?”

“I’msorryimsorryimsorry,” Sif blurts out, in one frantic exhale. “I didn’t mean to, I wasn’t trying to, I just got—“ 

“So it’s not just dying!!!!”

Sif stares. “Huh?”

“When you loop! It’s not just when you die! You literally just did it!! Without dying!!!”

“I,” Siffrin mumbles. “I, I didn’t mean to, I—“

“That’s obviously not the important part!!!”

Sif stares for even longer this time. “Oh. I see. But—no. You don’t understand. I can’t control it, it just… happens sometimes. The only way I can control it is if I die.”

“Have you even tried?”

“Um. Yes? Sort of.”

“Well, you’re gonna have to try harder!!” Isabeau is aware that he sounds a little crazy. In his defense, this is a pretty crazy situation. “I’m not just gonna watch you die over and over, Sif! That’s crabbing crazy!!!”

And there it is again. That flash of something hollow in Sif’s eye. Something hungry, something dark. “You think you could stop me?”

“YEAH, actually! I kinda think I could!!”’

Sif laughs. Not a happy laugh. It’s one of the least-happy sounds that Isa’s ever heard. “Hehe. Maybe. Do you wanna find out?”

Before Isa can open his mouth to answer, they’ve already got their knife in their hand, blade pressed tight against their throat. Isabeau lurches forward, ready to, he doesn’t know, tackle them to the ground or something? Hold them down and pry the hilt out of their stupid stubborn hands? But before he can close the space, Sif has flipped the blade shut and secreted it away in his cloak.

“Change!!!” Isa gasps. “What are you— Why would you— What?????”

Sif shrugs. “I wasn’t going to do it. I was just explaining. It’s been a long day, okay? ‘Cut me’ some slack.” When Isa just keeps staring, trying to remember how to breathe, they roll their eye. “What. You don’t like puns anymore?”

…Isabeau needs to sit down.

He can feel Sif’s gaze on him, bright and curious, as he stoops over and very slowly lays down on the ground. He thought he’d always want to look at Sif, but he can’t see them right now. He covers his face with both hands. “Sif…”

“Isa.”

“How long have you been stuck here.”

"Um. Well. Technically, two days."

“Sif.”

Siffrin lets out his breath. “…A pretty long time.”

Yeah. Isabeau was starting to get that impression.

“Okay,” he says numbly. “I think I need to. Um. Think. About this. For a little.” When he uncovers his face, Sif is still standing over him, looking vaguely perturbed and a little annoyed. He lets his palms fall back over his eyes. “...Alone.”

Sif doesn’t answer, but he can hear the leaves crunch as they wander away.

Change. Change. It’s what happened with Bonnie all over again, except a million times worse.

Of course Isa knew that Siffrin wasn’t brimming with self-preservation instinct. Or self-esteem. Or… almost any regard for his own life. After losing their eye, Sif was the only one who never cried. Mira was a nervous wreck for weeks. Bonnie was even worse. Even Madame Odile lost her composure the first time she changed their wound dressing. But when Sif finally woke up, he seemed more confused than anything else. He was only really upset about having upset everyone else.

Of course Sif thinks it doesn’t matter, dying and dying and dying without anyone ever knowing. They’ve never cared what happened to them, have they?

Luckily, Isabeau cares enough for the both of them.

###

On his way to the Clocktower, he nearly walks right into Odile.

“Isabeau! Watch where you’re going!”

“Sorry, M’dame!! I’ve just, um. Got a lot on my mind.”

“I saw you and Siffrin running around earlier,” she tells him, with a knowing gleam. “You two looked thick as thieves.”

“Haha, uh. Yeah.” That’s one way to put it.

Odile narrows her eyes. “I would’ve thought you’d be happier.”

“I— I mean, yeah! Of course! I’m… Do I not seem happy?”

“No, you decidedly do not.”

Of course not. Stupid. Odile is way too sharp to try to fool with such an obvious lie. Isa tries to smile for her, but he can’t make it fit.

Annnnd now she looks outright suspicious. “Is something the matter, Isabeau?”

Change. There is nothing he’d like more than to tell her everything. Who’s better-qualified than Madame Odile to learn the rules to a rigged game? But he can’t stop seeing Sif in his mind’s eye. We don’t involve them. You just got here. You barely even know what’s going on.

…Yeah, no. He can’t do it.

Isabeau rubs the back of his neck, pastes on a sheepish grin. “Just, uh. A little nervous for tomorrow, I guess.” When she still looks unconvinced, he throws in a little honesty, just to give it the ring of truth. “I just… really care about you guys, you know? All of you. If anything happened to—to Bonnie, or to Mira…”

“Or to Siffrin.”

He winces. “Heh. Yeah. You got me.”

“I suppose it’s only natural,” she sighs. “You young people have too much energy. When you get to my age, you learn to stop worrying about everything that might go wrong.”

“Oh, yeah? So you’re not stressed at all, huh?”

“Would I say so otherwise?”

“Do you want me to be honest?”

“...No.”

He grins at her—a real one this time. “Then of course not, M’dame. Clearly, you’re not worried in the slightest.”

“And don’t you forget it,” she snorts. “Now, if you’re quite finished, I believe Mirabelle is waiting for us.”

He gestures at the path ahead, gives her a theatrical little flourish. “After you, M’dame.”

* * *

He can’t bring himself to talk to Sif at dinner. It’s hard enough, just trying to act normal on what is easily the least-normal day of his life. He doesn’t even really look at them until they’re already in bed.

Sif’s eyes are closed. It looks like he's actually asleep, somehow, in spite of. You know. Everything.

Isa can’t say the same. Every time he closes his eyes, he sees Siffrin choking on blood. He can’t stop remembering holding them in his arms like a broken bird. How light they felt, like a paper doll. And how cold.

“Sif,” he whispers.

Sif doesn’t move.

“Psst. Siffrin. Sif.”

Clearly reluctantly, Sif cracks an eyelid to glare at him.

“I know I can’t stop you,” Isabeau whispers. “Okay? So I'm asking— I am begging you, Sif, please, please, please don’t do it with the dagger. I can’t— It isn’t fair, you have to see that. Please.”

Sif eyes him warily. “It wouldn’t be as gross if you didn’t always get so close.”

Change. He wants to grab them and shake them. He almost does it. He feels wildly unhinged. “It’s not about—!!!” Isabeau takes a breath, lowers his voice. “Sif, I— I care about you a lot. Like. Literally so much.” Probably a little too much. “You know that, right?”

Sif looks away.

Isa tries another angle. “What if it was one of us? If you had to watch that happen to Mira, or—“

“No.”

“…Just no?”

Sif shakes their head. “It couldn’t happen. I wouldn’t let it.”

“Okay! See, now we’re getting somewhere! That’s how I feel about—”

There’s a blur of white, and a pillow pelts him square in the face.

#isat fanfic #isat spoilers #isa loops AU #isafrin #in stars and time

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tac-bat · 2 months ago

Text

Reboot

Characters - Siffrin, Mirabelle, Loop (everyone else is mentioned)

Summary - Siffrin tries something new.

Word Count - 2,434k

Warnings - Graphic description of violence, Major Character Death (but that's to be expected)

Tags - Body Horror/Blood and Gore/POV Second Person/Temporary Character Death/Hurt No Comfort/Unconventional Formatting

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR ACT 6 DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T DONE ACT 6! PLEASE DO ACT 6!

this work is posted on AO3 if you prefer it over Tumblr, I love this game a lot so I thought I'd try something new and also post my writing here, enjoy! :3

You wake, greeting the pale sky. Your eye feels heavy. The scent of burnt sugar rests deep in your sinuses, and the sunlight warms your skin. You close your eye, yet the sun denies you that familiar darkness. You take a deep breath.

In—

One

Two

Three

Four

Hold it, and out—

Five

Six

Seven

Eight.

You opened your eye again and smiled. A genuine smile for the first time in—stars, years you think.

“-frin?” The housemaiden came into view, her smile soft as. “Good morning!” She looked away. “Well, more like, good afternoon, I guess…”

For once, you don’t have to force a smile. “Aftermorning to you too, Mira!”

The housemaiden looked a little taken aback but gave a short laugh. “Yes, aftermorning works too.”

"Awww, thank you!" You stood, feeling the grass on your gloved palms once more. “Coined that one myself!”

She watches you; you know why. “You sound a lot more chipper than usual. Did you have a good dream?” She looks content with your change of behaviour yet curious.

“Oh Mari,” You grinned, touching your chest. “I’m hurt.”

“Ah —no, I didn’t mean to imply you weren't.” She closed her hands nervously. “It’s just—well—“

“I don’t talk as much." You mused.

“Yes, that’s exactly it!” The housemaiden nodded. “You changed!” She concluded.

You laughed—a light, hardy laugh. Being here so long, you already went through the stages of grief, depression, and insanity as you tried and failed to break this. A piece of yourself was taken every time you wound back here. The numbness has faded, replaced with a mania you've grown to like. Who cares if your companions are taken aback by your change in personality? They get used to it soon.

"Well, my dear Mari, change is encouraged here!” And oh, what a welcome change it is! You’ll take this over the crushing weight in your chest any day! You walked past her.

“Might as well look on the bright side for what we have to do tomorrow.”

“Oh, Frin—wait!”

You hummed, turning around on your heel to face her.

“I was thinking, before we fight the king. Maybe we could make it special somehow—“

[Zone out.]

"Oh, I’d love to, but I’d prefer my own room tonight! I’m sure there’s an inn somewhere.” You beamed, watching the Housemaiden blink, confused. It didn’t matter if you went off script; you disproved an old theory that nothing breaks if you do. You had a new one to test out at all angles now.

“Ah.” She’s disappointed; you couldn’t care less; she won’t remember this. But, in her usual fashion, she picked herself back up, trying to appear strong. “No worries! We can meet up at the edge of Dormont on our way to the house.”

You gave a short chuckle. “Of course, Mari. Want me to tell everyone to meet at the clock tower?”

“Oh, um—yes! But do you—”

[Zone out.]

My my, catching her off guard again? Perhaps you should take it slow; you wouldn't want to overwhelm her.

“I always remember, Mirabelle.” You tuned back in, pointing at yourself.

The Housemaiden hummed. “Alright then… But I made a—“

[Zone out.]

You think about it for just a moment. Then you realize she won’t remember, and neither will anyone else. It’s better to see them as actors; it makes that annoying grief throb less. But how silly is it to grieve for someone alive—talking and acting as they’ve always had? Stupid. She soon takes her leave, and you’re left alone. Might as well churn through today to the part that matters. You’ve seen everything already. So, you—

[Zone out.]

You stood on the path to the Favor Tree. The sun is setting as dusk takes over the sky. The Fighter, Kid, and Researcher should be at the tower to meet with the Housemaiden. You caught glimpses of their confused faces, but that did it matter. Even if you get new dialogue, it won’t amount to anything. Not this time, at least. You can always listen back if you need to. However, you needed to be alone. Certain nobody would come to interrupt you. So, with nothing else to do, you approach the Favor Tree. It stood tall, a grand set piece. You can’t remember when you were this close to it; it looked the same; everything did. You might as well improvise a use for your max strength instead of killing a sadness, would be nice practice. So you climb, and up and up the light grew dimmer, but you liked the challenge. It was thrilling to go so off script; a new scene can happen! Even if it’s just you. But that was secondary to your new theory—your current obsession. You’ll bend this until it breaks, then find another one to conquer in your prison. The branches are thinning, you didn’t care, you weaved, you rose, and finally—you poke your head above the leaves.

And the stars danced. For a moment, your breath was stolen, and your permeating smile fell with it. You stared in awe. It’s been too long since you sat back and just admired this plane of existence. You’re so used to going to and from Dormont and the house that you rarely see them anymore. It was nice. You could see a faint outline of the House of Change; you flicked your gaze to the top floor, where the King awaits. Ah yes, waiting. The reason you’re doing all of this. It’s a simple theory: what happens if you don’t go ? Easy as pie. You glanced back to the sky—the stars, watching them glitter and shine, free to do as they please. A certain one catches your eye; brighter and bigger than the rest, all the other ones were one with the sky. This one, as stupid as you sound, feels like it’s looking at you. You pause, and a foreign feeling washes over you. What is it called? Your body felt calm and lax; there was no need to act, no need for a show; the curtain already closed. You focus on that star; it grows brighter. Your eyelid feels heavy; you could be lulled to sleep if you really wished for it. Your eye slipped shut—for but a moment. You breathed in, then out, and forced yourself to look back up.

Safe. You felt safe.

Memories flicker, short and sporadic, mixed. You remember telling a joke, eating a fish head with two adults, and running away—walking with your party—your friends to the next town. The sand stuck between your toes, the sweep of waves on the coast. You could hear bustling streets, children laughing, the wind howling, a kid crying, someone soothing them—no, that was you. These are all you.The star was near blinding, brilliant, and bright—it asked for something, but what did it need? Another memory appeared, more complete than the rest. You’re a toddler, looking at the stars as someone holds you. Her features are unreadable. A shooting star flew by, leaving a streak in the air. You gasped; joy brimmed through you as you clasped your hands, babbling a phrase under your breath, once, twice, thrice. You folded your hands to make sure it’s safe.

That your wish is safe...

Tears fell from your cheek; the star could be the sun now for how it shined. It waited patiently; it didn’t have a face, but you could sense its presence. If you focus enough, you can imagine it’s talking.

[What do you seek?] Its voice was layered, echoing in your skull, yet it didn’t overwhelm you.

“An end.” You choked out, not caring how weak you sound.

[To this?] The sky seemed to warp around you, tilting, curious.

“I want this to be over!” A sob escaped you; everything that you pushed back, crashed over you all at once.“Let muh— me get out of here—stars! I beg of you—please, please let me out of here!” You heaved, grabbing your hair. “I can’t go on anymore. I can’t do this anymore! Please, please get me out—“

A long sush wrapped around you, soothing. You swallowed, wiping away tears.

[Do you recall your wish?]

You blinked, confused for a moment—but as if on cue, the star’s presence seemed to lift the veil, you did. You nod.

[Do you desire it still?”]

“Yes!” You spat. “ But I’ve been stuck here for so long—winding, replaying, trying to find anything new, but I can't, I just can’t!” You’re crying again. “I barely recognize them anymore!”

It hummed. [This paradox precedes even us; as much as we desire to give you a trivial out, we cannot. There are some things you cannot begin until the previous one ends.]

You looked down, defeated; you should have expected this.

[However.]

Your head snapped up, breath-catching.

[We could give you a more unconventional means to achieve your new wish—]

“Anything .” You nearly sprung up, almost forgetting your place in the trees. “I’ll do anything; try anything just—please.” You tried not to break down again, sensing the stars' hesitance.

[It will hurt.]

“I don’t care!” You screamed. “I‘ve died hundreds— thousands of times!” Your throat hurts. “Pain is nothing!” Except it was, no matter how much time has passed, you feel the star knows it too. Slowly, yet surely, you watched as it dipped; the sky warped around the star as it travelled down, down, down towards you. It was surreal, if you dropped a marble in a thin, slack sheet of silk. The star floated before you. As if by a forgotten instinct, you cupped your hands, watching it land in your palms. It was warm and soft. You watched the pulled sky regain its shape.

[If you do this, you will no longer be yourself.] It warned

“Forever changed?” You guessed. It didn’t answer, but the silence was all that was needed. You wanted to laugh, but nothing came out. Well—you held the star a little tighter; if you die, you know where you’ll be.

So you wished; squeezing your eye you repeated it over and over— once, twice, thrice, more times for good measure. You folded your hands over the star to keep it close, unable to conceal its glow. You brought your hands to your mouth. Hesitating, you breathed in and out, then swallowed it.

...O-Oh.

You trembled, lurching as needles travelled down your throat and your stomach. A heat so intense spread through you, making your skin blister, your clothes melted with you-- you're nerves should've burned off by now, but you still feel it, smell it. Oh stars, oh STARS! It writhes inside of you, clawing at you. Every inch of your body felt like it was being strung, stretched, and boiled. A gurgled screech erupted from you, blood sputtering through your teeth. A headache erupted, worse than you’ve ever felt; it blinded you like you were staring into the damn sun! your vision was bright, so so bright. You grasped your skull to no avail. Doubling over; blood, drool, sweat, and tears mixed into one. The weight from your cloak and hat, are gone. From reflex, you tried curling up, forgetting where you are.

And

lost

your

balance.

You feel through the branches, feeling them scrape and peel at your skin. You couldn’t scream, could barely move, your lungs filled with blood—suddenly, you bounced, tipped backwards a little. As if you were…Ahhhhhhhh. A thick pointed branch impaled through your chest met your gaze. It glimmered in the moonlight thanks to your blood. Slowly, you began sliding off it, your weight making it bend. With a chrunch, you landed on the grass. Its blades stabbing into you're muscles. But the star didn't wait; you watched in frozen agony as light pooled out of your chest, spreading—warping, fusing. Your head—stars, your head! You curled up, feeling a pressure building inside of it. An awful, growing pressure! You wanted it—no, needed it to come out. Come out! Come out come out come out come out come out come out come out come out come out come out come out come out come out COME OUT COME OUT COME OUT OME OUT COME OUT COME OUTCOMEOUTCOMEOUTCOMEOUT—

LET.

ME.

OUT!!!!

You wake, greeting the pale sky—no, leaves. Leaves of the Favor Tree. A gasp slipped out, echoing—followed by a gag as your mouth didn’t move, yet noise slid out. Shaking, you sat up, looking down at yourself in a growing horror. Your skin was like the night sky, tiny white flakes shimmering deep within you. A four-pointed star shined brilliantly where you were impaled. Slowly, you brought your hands to your head, feeling the soft and warm texture.You freeze, and for a moment you’re paralyzed by what you’ve become, but soon, you laugh. A high, muffled laugh as waves of pain are still washing over you. Stars, it wasn’t kidding about changing you, oh stars, they weren’t kidding! You cry, yet you’re unsure if there’s even tears falling. You lay back down on the grass and take a deep breath.

Innnnnn—

One

Two

Three

Four

Hold it, and ouuuuuut—

Five

Six

Seven

Eight.

Wheeeeew . You stared up at the leaves, enjoying waking up to something new. It was only then that you felt it—not in your stomach but a presence around you—a person you thought lost and warped by time. You couldn’t see them, but you knew, you knew who it was. So that’s what it meant, about things not beginning until one ends. You sigh, long and hard. Well, you’re here now, with them; you might as well have fun with—hm, it feels weird to say their name. Should give them a new one; it’s the least you can do.You ponder, trying to think of one that fits them. Soon, your eyes creased upwards. Stardust sounds nice. And oh, it seems he just started their journey by getting that memory; if you’re this closely connected to them, it wouldn’t hurt to give a little exposition, right? You spoke, not physically but— mentally, somehow. It’s like you always knew how to do it. He’s taken aback, freaked out, but they’ll grow accustomed to it. You stand, legs shaking. You glanced up into the Favor Tree, its branches undisturbed. You don't know what you expected. By instinct, you grabbed for your— huh? Cool metal is pinched between your fingers, you bring it up to your face, staring at the coin. You giggle, not questioning how it survived your transformation. Hoisting it up, you give a toast to the sky.

Cheers.

#tac art #ig #in stars and time #isat spoilers #isat siffrin #isat loop #in stars and time spoilers #isat act 6 secret encounter spoilers #isat fanart #i geuss??? idk if theres a deticated tag to fics #isat fanfic #isat mirabelle #cw blood #tw blood #tw body horror #tw gore #cw gore #isat act 6 spoilers

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cyten0 · 4 months ago

Text

A Symphony In Crimson

Act 1: A Movement in Black

Chapter 2

You stare at this person, this otherworldly being, in slight bewilderment. You don’t know what to say to them. They seem like some kind of astral being.

✸ “… My! Struck speechless at the sight of me, aren’t you? You’re so cute, stardust!”

✦ “Um?”

✸ “Aw Siffrin, look at you! All lost and confused.”

✦ “Wait, you know me?”

Your heart stops for a second. Do they know you, or-?

✸ “Why wouldn’t I know you? And not that borrowed name and face, but the actual you! Siffrin, the friendly monster! Though, I imagine you MUST feel a little on edge after your first death”

They- they know what you are-! Your heart paces, you can’t think-

✦ “HOW DO YOU-”

✸ “Aw of course I know, stardust! I know about you, your nature, your party, your loops, that mechanical keepsake who’s function you can’t remember, as well as your silver coin-”

✦ “JUST STOP TALKING PLEASE”

✸ “Oh stars, no need to yell. Just take a deep breath in, and out, okay? Not here to hurt you. Breathe with me?”

Your stomach hurts and your whole body is shaking and your heart is pounding like it’s going to explode, so you probably should. Slowly, following the strange being's lead, you breathe in, and out.

You both exhale, relaxed.

✸ “Now then. You have questions, so I’ll let you ask away!”

✦ “Right. So, I guess first of all, who are you?”

✸ “Right. Hm. Let’s go with… Loop! Your ally, Loop, here to help with the loops! Should be easy to remember! And for pronouns, you may use they/them. I’m sure you’ll be thinking about me all the time!”

Your sure you will. Namely because they seem a little annoying. But you guess you can’t be picky if they know your nature. You guess you should introduce yourself? They already know your biggest secret, but no idea how much they actually know about you.

✦ “Well uh, mine are-”

✸ “He/They, already know. I also know your party members. So no need to worry about introductions on your end! I am well up to speed on everything about you. Little benefit of my role~”

Right, that’s a headache. Whatever, you might as well skip the pleasantries and ask about the big thing, since they seem to know everything.

✦ “Right. So, you said I’m looping?”

✸ “Straight to the point, stardust! Just like a scientist should! I like it! That said, you may want to sit down for this~ It’s going to be a lot!”

They’re probably right, this does not feel like a simple thing. You find a nice root across from them and take a seat.

✸ “So. You’re stuck in a timeloop! Fun, right? Any time you die, you loop back in time and get to try it all over again! Very good, since you're not well fed and therefore can’t regenerate as much. No need to worry though, no matter how you die, you will come back just as healthy as you were this morning!”

✦ “Even if my heart gets destroyed?”

✸ “Even then. I mean, the boulder did a good job of that, and you're still back, right?”

✦”Fair enough.”

✸ “Of course, as you could tell, it’s not the only thing reset! Pretty much everything is. Your party's memories, the items you’ve gathered, and so on! Even keys, equipment and the like, so you’ll just have to remember where things are, though I can help with that.”

✦ “That’s pretty manageable. If annoying.”

✸ “Right! You’ll learn a few tricks as you go to negate some of that, but for now that’s how it will work. What will be of far more note is the things that DON’T get reset.”

You don’t like the sound of that.

✸ “The good news is that, as you’ve observed, your memories get to stay. Mine as well, as per my role of assisting you. Your combat knowledge, learned abilities and so on are here to stay. However, there is one other thing that doesn’t reset. One glaring issue~

✸ "Your hunger.”

You freeze. Oh stars. Oh.

✦ “Oh no.”

✸ “That’s right. Your hunger stays~ Meaning the only thing’s you have to work with is what you can obtain within the loop. And we both know that’s not much.”

Most of the sadnesses are in the house, and most wildlife is frozen in time by the curse just outside the town. And that’s assuming you could even sneak out long enough to try your hand at hunting. You’re only entering the house with the party, and there’s no way you can hide you eating a whole sadness in there! Bonnie's meals aren’t nearly enough to keep you together!

✸ “Now don’t panic! I can help with that too, a little. One of my abilities is to create portals to my own little realm, and I can bring the occasional sadness to you on the odd occasion you are alone. I suppose we have a decent opening here~ I can only do it so often, but I should be able to do it once per loop!”

✦ “Oh. Ok. That… thank you.”

It’s... still not much, but it’s something. It should keep you from going insane, at least. Hopefully. At least for a while. But… That’s strange, in that case then…

✦ “Then why do I feel more full then before?”

The figure flinches. They can’t meet your eyes as they speak.

✸ “...You got a little early bonus from my appearance. A little extra energy I had left over. I won’t go into detail.”

That… You don’t know what that means, but by their expression, it’s best you don’t pry.

✦ “Alright then. In that case, what kind of sadnesses are we working with?”

✸ “Best we stick to small fry you can eat quickly and quietly~ And don’t worry about eating in front of me, I won’t judge!”

✦ “Alright. Anything else I should know?”

✸ “Hm. Well, this loop ability isn’t monster related, as far as I can tell. As such, you can tell your party about it and not worry! They might even be able to help!”

✦ “Nah. It should be fine.”

The only thing to worry about is your hunger, and Loop can keep that at bay. You don’t see a reason to worry the rest of the party, not when you can try as many times as need be. And just in case Loop’s wrong and it IS related to your monster nature, you don’t want to risk it.

✸ “Hm. Very well! In that case, your best plan of action now is to not die! Should be simple! Might take a few times, but you’ll trial and error your way to a solution eventually.”

Considering they have a lot of knowledge, might as well see if they have anything helpful.

✦ “Any advice?”

✸ “Advice, yes. Hm. Don’t eat Pineapple! It’s toxic to you!”

✦ “...Really?”

✸ “VERY. Don’t try it, you’ll regret it!”

… That’s it? NOTHING of use?

✸ “Oh fine, let me get some real advice. If your listening or doing something you already did before, you can typically zone out for it and play along. You have a lot of practice doing that, might as well use it! Unless you do something different, nothing will change! So no point paying attention. Should make things go faster.”

✦ “Fair point. That is handy. Then I just have one question left for now.”

✸ “And that is?”

✦ “Why are you helping me?”

The figure pauses. And takes a deep breath, in and out.

✸ “… Because I asked to help. You deserve help. I might not always have answers, and there’s only so much I can do. But… You shouldn’t have to do this alone.”

A strange and vague answer. But you guess that’s all your getting for now.

✸ “Anyways, if that’s everything, we might as well get on that meal I mentioned beforehand! I’ll make sure they take a bit of a fall first, so they’ll be nice and weak! Wouldn’t want you to have to alert people by fighting!”

You take a quick look around, make sure no-one is around, and then get ready. The figure waves their hand, and a red gateway appears from above. A sadness falls from it, and you lunge, quickly driving your dagger down it’s throat so it can’t scream. Your tendrils ensnare it so it won’t run, and as you feel it squirm in fear in your grasp, you open your chest into a mouth much more suited for it’s size. You bite down, feel your teeth sink into it’s flesh, digging in deeper as it struggles.

It’s not the most pleasant food, practically hardened slime with no real organs to speak of, but the moment it insides leak into your throat you feel invigorated by the taste! It’s so much more filling then anything else, and the taste is so close to that unnervingly tempting smell of human flesh. As it stops struggling, it’s motions slowing into mere twitching, you quickly shove the rest of it in, before it can dissolve into useless salty water. You sit there, feeling it break apart within your stomach, filling you with vigor.

You then turn towards Loop, who stares at you with some surprise, but not nearly as much as you would expect.

✸ “… Well that was efficient! I dare say that should tide you over for a bit, hopefully~”

✦ “...Thank you.”

✸ “Of course! Think nothing of it. Last thing we want is you wandering around town hungry~ Speaking of which, you’d best get going. You’ve been here long enough people might start worrying!”

Right! You should hurry along, don’t want that! You wave goodbye to the strange astral being, and continue on with your day.

Alright Siffrin. Back to it, you have a country to save!

✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸

So… That’s you. As your patron said, fully unaware of the loops before. And now you're not them…

It feels like your still you, doesn’t it? Maybe more then before, with how human like you are. Hard to believe this is just your patrons body. You can feel them at the back of your mind. Summoned by the sacrifice of your life. Life that shouldn’t have been yours. And now, the rest of you is walking around, blissfully unaware of what’s filling their belly. Blissfully unaware of the thousands of loops done between that memory of their first death and now. It’s sickening to see them so cheerful. You envy them. They don’t know the taste…

...Despite everything, you're glad how your patron handled this. 'Siffrin' doesn’t have to have those memories, and you can remember what’s useful from before.

You watch them wander about, talking with your- … their party. You don’t deserve to call them your party after what you did to them.

You shake the memory from your head. This realm affords you the view you need to watch over Siffrin, without interrupting the story any more then you need to. Even if it wasn’t part of your patron’s terms, you are quite happy just to watch. And rest. And never look your party in the eyes again.

You will be there for the beginning of this Siffrin’s journey, and find a path to it’s end. As befits The Fool Arcana, you suppose.

#isat #in stars and time #isat au #carrion!sif au #SymphonyInCrimson!au

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aseplant · 11 months ago

Text

I GOTCHU!!!

transcript below the cut (hopefully free of typos lol). shaky text is in red!

Mira: Oh! Hi, Siffrin... You, uh, look... Um, are you okay? Did you have a nightmare during your nap, maybe...?

(You have to deal the King the final hit instead of her, you're sure of it, but...) (You need her to learn her shield skill. The one that protects you from anything.) (Come to think of it, you forgot to tell her about the original shield skill, earlier.) (The one you usually tell her about when you enter Dormont.) (Oh well. The shield she learns when you help her with her papers will do the job just fine.) (But you don't have time.) (You need to get to the King)

> Would you like some help with those papers? > I'll be right back. Mira: Oh! O-okay...

Mira: With my papers? N-no, of course not!!! Don't worry about them! They're not important at all, they're--

> They're bonding papers, aren't they?

Mira: HUH?!? How did you--

> Maybe I can help.

Mira: ... I... I suppose I could use your help, Siffrin... Y-yes, let's do it!!! It'll distract us both!!! From our problems!!!

(...) (You sit down.) (Mirabelle looks at you without saying a word.)

Mira: ... So, um... Well, you know they're bonding papers, so I don't need to explain... B-but really it's more like, um, dating? Dating profiles... I-I'm not thinking about being bonded yet... ... Before this all started, with the King... I decided I wanted to, uh, try. To date someone. And so I asked a dating company, and they gave me a bunch of folders of people that I could meet, and that I could date... But I haven't gone through it yet... So I figured I could at least get that done today. And look through all of them, and make a list? Of people I could see myself... Dating. And... I suppose I need help? I'm choosing someone I could spend the rest of my life with... So I'd appreciate another pair of eyes. Or, um, just the one eye. As long as it's not my two eyes looking at this. Um... And also I need a distraction from tomorrow very badly, so I figured I--

(Too long, too long, this is taking too long.)

> You know, you don't have to be bonded to anyone.

Mira: And... Huh? Wh... What do you mean?

> If you're alone for your whole life, then that's just how it is.

Mira: ...Wh... What?

> Isn't it better to just come to terms with it now, rather than later?

> You don't need to be with anyone to be happy, after all!

Mira: ...

> So...

> So you should just accept it!

Mira: Accept... Accept what, Siffrin...?

> Accept that you'll always be alone!

(...Mirabelle slapped you.) (Mirabelle slapped you...?)

Mira: ...How can you... How can you say such horrible things, Siffrin!!!

(What? But...)

Mira: I'll never be bonded with anyone? I'll always be alone? Change, what makes you think you can say such horrible things, Siffrin!!!

(Oh!) > No, I didn't mean it like...

Mira: Then HOW did you mean it, Siffrin!!! What's wrong with you today? You were weird when you woke up, you were walking around and not responding to anyone... ...You knew about my papers even though I didn't tell anyone, and now this!!! Is something wrong, Siffrin? Did something happen? Did you have a nightmare or something?

> No, of course not.

Mira: Then what happened, Siffrin! Because clearly something did happen!!! Otherwise, i-if nothing happened, I'll have to accept the fact that I was wrong about you!!!

(Huh...?) > Wrong about me...?

Mira: ... You always tease me, Siffrin. And it's fine. Everyone does. I guess I have the kind of personality where it's easy to want to tease me. But I know people don't mean it. It's how-- It's how some people make friends. And I thought it was the same for you. I thought, "It's okay, they don't mean it, it's how they are. They tease me, but they're never mean. And Siffrin never really hurts me." "Would never really hurt me." ... But now you have, Siffrin! Thinking I should be alone... Telling me I should be alone... Who do you think you are, to say this to me? Acting like-- Like you know better than me!!! Always soooo mysterious, Siffrin, always talking as if you're better than me! As if you know me!!! But you don't, Siffrin!!! You're just as lost and useless as I am!!! So stop!!! Talking!!! As if you know me!!!!!!

(Mirabelle breathes heavily.)

Mira: ... You've hurt me, Siffrin. And I was wrong. For you to say something like that to me, and think it was okay... You're awful. You're not my friend, not my ally, not anything. You never were.

(...)

Mira: ... I'm going to the Clocktower. I don't want to see you until tonight.

(...) (But you didn't mean it like...) (...) (You... You've made Mirabelle very upset.) (No, no, that's not what's important here, is it?) (She'll get over it one way or loop or another, but you didn't get her shield skill.) (But maybe it doesn't matter that much.) (You can just bring her back to that book about shields in the secret library, before you go and fight the King.) (You don't really need her special skill, after all. The usual shields kill will do just fine.) (It WOULD be nice to get everyone else's special skill, though...) (...) (Back to it.)

Odile: ... ...What's wrong, Siffrin?

> Nothing's wrong, but... > I'll talk to you later. Odile: What? No, wait--

Odile: No, something is wrong. What--

> ...Have you heard of something called a familytale?

Odile: ! ...I may have. What about them?

> I've heard of someone who has one.

> Would you like to come check with me?

Odile: ... Lead the way I suppo

[fast forwards to the boulangerie]

(Don't waste any time.)

> Hi!

Small Boulangère: H-Hi...

> Know anything about a book?

Small Boulangère: A book? Um...

Odile: ...

Small Boulangère: This is the only book I have!

(She happy shows off the Paperasse familytale.)

Odile: !

Big Boulanger: WHAT?

> Oh my!

Big Boulanger: ...So you had it, Charline... Were you two looking for this? Well, I suppose you two can borrow it, if you'd like?

(You got the PAPERASSE FAMILYTALE.)

Odile: Siffrin... ... Thank you both. We'll give it back shortly.

Big Boulanger: Take your time.

> Shall we go elsewhere, now?

Odile: ...Lead the wa--

[fast forwards to the clearing]

(You have the book, but.) (Odile isn't following stage directions,) (And is looking right at you.)

Odile: ...

> Quite a fascinating book, isn't it?

Odile: Siffrin. How did you know the little girl had a familytale?

> I figured I should ask.

Odile: Why?

> Why not?

Odile: ... Knowing that little girl owned a familytale is one thing, Siffrin... But... How did you even know I wanted to read one?

(...) (You already failed this one, didn't you.) (Why didn't you remember that she always, always finds out?) (She always figures out something is wrong, when you're not careful.) (Because she doesn't trust you.)

Odile: And even this place... Why did you bring us here?

(You stay silent.)

Odile: ...Siffrin. I don't mind secrets, Siffrin. I have many of my own. If you want to keep yours... That's fine. But what I hate... Is when those secrets are about me, and when people I consider friends keep them from me.

> So we're friends, now?

Odile: "Now"...?

(You don't answer.)

Odile: ...Siffrin... Oh, Siffrin...

(She raises a hand towards you.)

Odile: ...You're shaking.

(You try not to startle.)

Odile: And you're so tense. Like you're about to snap... Siffrin... I was worried before, but now I'm VERY worried. W-What's happening? What's wrong? How can I--

> NOTHING'S WRONG!!!

Odile: Siffrin?

> If you're going to ask questions, instead of acting like normal...

> Then I don't need you!!! I don't need this right now!!!

> If you can't act normally then just leave me alone!!!

Odile: But clearly something's wrong, Siffrin, just---

> Nothing's wrong!!!

> Why are you always like this? So overbearing, always trying to know everything?

Odile: What--

> So blinding annoying, Odile!!!

> You should just leave me behind!!!

> It's your family specialty, isn't it?!?

Odile: !!!

> Just leave me behind! Just like you left Ka Bue behind!!!

> Just like your mom le--

(You don't even finish your sentence.)

(Odile grabs your collar.) (She lets you go.)

Odile: ... ... Thank you for finding that familytale for me, Siffrin. I'm sure you have a lot of things left to do today. I'll be at the Clocktower. Don't come back for a bit.

(What the...) (What did you say?) (Why did you say that?!) (How could you have said such horrible things to her!!!) (She was only worried about you!!! And you said, you said--) (What is wrong with you?!?) (...) (Well, that's fine. You didn't really need that skill, anyway.) (You can barely remember what it does half the time.) (And Odile already has so many useful skills...) (You'll be fine.) (You're the one who needs to deal the final strike, anyway.) (...) (You should talk to Bonnie next.)

Bonnie: Frin...?

> I was thinking... > I'll talk to you later. Bonnie: O... Okay?

> How about I teach you how to fight, today?

Bonnie: R-really? I, I, um... I would really like that. Will you really?

> Of course.

Bonnie: Oh! Then, yeah!!! Let's g--

[fast forwards to the path outside Dormont]

Bonnie: L-Look, look! I'm not scared!!! COME ON!!!

[battle begins]

Bonnie: I'm not scared... I'm not scared... I can do this... I can--

(Too long, too long, it's taking too BLINDING long.) (You only need to fall over to make them act, don't you?) (You just need to make them realize they can protect you.) (You just need) (To fall...) (Now.)

(...You tripped on nothing.) (The Sadness saw you trip, and now has its sight on you.) (Bonnie saw you trip, too.)

Bonnie: Wh-what? What did you... !!! FRIN!!! NO!!!!!!

(Bonnie attacks wildly!)

Bonnie: Ah... Ah...

(You breathe in, and out.) (150 EXP received.)

[battle ends]

Bonnie: F-FRIN!!! Why did you fall?! What did you trip on?!? You almost got hurt!!! You... You... You... Didn't trip on anything. It's like you just... Fell?

(You don't say anything.)

Bonnie: You... You fell on nothing... And you... You didn't look scared... Frin... You... let yourself get attacked on purpose?

(You don't move.)

Bonnie: I saw it, I saw you! You-- You looked around, and the Sadness was about to attack, and you, you just fell... And-- You didn't even look surprised, Frin!!! But why would you do that?! I don't get it!!! You fell, and I... I didn't think you could've moved fast enough, so I... attacked the Sadness... On my own...

> Yeah!

> And you beat it on your own, too!

Bonnie: What...?

> I did that so you'd become stronger! More confident!

Bonnie: ...

> If I get hurt, you protect me.

> And if you get hurt, I'll protect you!

> That's how it is with us, isn't it? We promised!

> I-I just wanted you to be stronger!

Bonnie: ... What...

WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?

(You jump.)

Bonnie: YOU GOT HURT ON PURPOSE? SO I WOULD SAVE YOU? WHY WOULD YOU THINK I WANTED THIS, FRIN!!! I DON'T WANT THIS!!! I NEVER WANTED THIS!!! I DON'T WANT TO BE STRONG IF IT MEANS YOU HAVE TO BE HURT!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!! FRIN, YOU STUPID IDIOT!!!!!!!!!

(...) > I...

> I thought it would help.

Bonnie: NO!!! IT DIDN'T HELP!!! IT REALLY DIDN'T HELP!!! I HATE YOU, FRIN!!!!!! I HATE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

(Bonnie cries, and cries, and cries.) (You can't move.)

Bonnie: ...I... I can't... ...

(Bonnie runs away.) (...) (You...) (Because of you, Bonnie...) (Didn't get stronger.) (Not that their attacks got that much stronger after you talked to them, didn't it?) (You'll be fine, as long as you know Bonnie's here to watch your back.) (As long as you defeat the King yourself, it doesn't matter what skills they all do or don't have.) (One to go.)

> Hey, Isa.

Isa: Oh, Sif--

(Your smile stops Isa in his tracks.) (This is not a good thing.)

Isa: ... Um, I...

> What's wrong?

Isa: ... Um, nothing, just... Mira, Odile and Bonnie came to talk to me, earlier... They all looked a little upset. So, uh... Did something happen...?

(Talking behind your back, as always.)

> Nothing happened, no.

> Would you like to go see the stars with me?

Isa: The stars? But those only appear at night... It won't be nighttime for a few hours still...

> Later, then.

Isa: Oh... Sure. ... Sif... A-Are you okay? I've heard that... Well! I've heard from trusted sources that you are not doing very well today.

> No, I'm fine.

Isa: Yeah, that's a lie and we both know it, buddy. What's wrong? Is it something you can tell your buddy Isa?

(...)

Isa: ...Sif... You know, I get like that too. Sometimes, I feel weird, and I wanna push away everyone. But you know it's not good, right? It's not healthy! And I, and everyone else, we want you to be okay. To talk to us! Because we're companions! Comrades in arms! And we want everyone in our little crew to be ready for anything, right? Especially since... No matter what, tomorrow will be our last day together as a family, I guess. So please don't hesitate, okay? And talk to us! Or just me, or just Odile, or whoever! About anything! And you know, I get like that too. Sometimes, I feel weird, and I wanna push away everyone. [repeats over and over until the screen turns dark]

HEY!!!!!

What the... Sif, were you even listening to what I was saying...?

(...)

Isa: Sif... They were right, Sif, something IS wrong! Mirabelle said you were acting weird since you woke up! Odile told me something happened, with a book? That you shouldn't have known about? And Bonnie was crying so much they could barely string two words together! Did you do something? Did they misunderstand? They had to, right? You wouldn't... You wouldn't do stuff like that... What's happening, Sif? Is something wrong? Can you tell me?

(Why is he acting so suspicious of you right now?) (Urgh, so annoying, all of them!!!) (Always talking behind your back, always acting weird, always deviating from their role every time you look away for a single blinding second!!!) (Don't they get it?!) (You just want them to follow!!!) (You just want them to come with you!!!) (You just want them here!!!) (And the easiest way to keep them close is to make sure they don't die, and the easiest way to make sure they don't die is to make them stronger, why can't they understand that?!?) (You don't want to talk!!!) (You don't want to think about your problems!!!) (You just want to follow the script, the Universe, to the end, like always, except this time, you'll break it, and you'll kill him, and you'll escape, and everything will be--)

> Yeah, something's wrong.

Isa: I knew it! What is it, can I help? If you tell me, we can go and talk to everyone, and--

> What's wrong is that you're getting on my nerves.

Isa: Huh...?

> Oooh, Mr Amazing-Wonderful-Funny-Buff Isabeau!

> Look at you.

> You're acting as if you're so calm and reasonable...

> When all you are is weak and useless!

Isa: ...

> Nothing to say this time?

> It's just fine.

> You never could say it, anyway.

> You never could say anything.

> I know what kind of person you are, now.

Isa: What kind of... Person I am?

> A coward, Isa!

> Never able to say what you mean, never able to do what you want.

> Because it's easier, isn't it? To not do anything?

> To only project a facade of confidence, but not doing anything to back it up?

Isa: ...

> It's easier to let people do everything, isn't it.

> To just encourage them, while staying on the sidelines.

> Poor Isabeau.

> You keep changing and changing, from a nerd to a jock to a clothing designer...

> But deep down, you know you can't escape yourself.

Isa: ... I... I don't know where this is all coming from, but... But maybe you're right, Sif. Yeah, I'm weak. Yeah, I'm a coward. Yeah, I feel like I can never do things right. Yeah, I keep changing personalities like clothes, because it's easier than learning to like myself. YEAH, there are things I can't tell you, no matter how hard I try. But at least, I'm trying to change. I'm trying to be someone I can be proud of. I'm trying to be better. So I can help and support the people I care about. Unlike someone else here.

> ...

Isa: ... I don't want to talk to you right now. I'm gonna join everyone at the Clocktower.

> ...I'll see you there.

Isa: Oh, sure. Take your time, though. Take all the time you need!

(...) (It's fine.) (They're all upset right now, but they wouldn't go to the House without you.) (You just need to give them some time to calm down.) (...)

Loop: ...

(...) (And you have one last person to talk to, anyway.)

Loop: ...

> ...

Loop: This was... Not the nicest thing you could've said? To... Any of them?

> Does it matter?

Loop: Well... Um... Yes? Why wouldn't it matter?

> They'll come with me to the House anyway.

> They've always done it before.

Loop: ... Okay, but...

> But it really doesn't matter!

> Because I've found it, Loop!!!

Loop: Found it? Found what?

> How to break the loop! How to escape!!!

Loop: What?! But--

> I'm here to kill the King, aren't I?

> Everyone's been wishing for it, for the King to be defeated, so that's why I'm here, aren't I?!

Loop: Well, um... Maybe? I don't--

> And, and, and!!!

> Mira's always the one, isn't she?!

Loop: The one? The one to what?

> The one to deal the final strike on the King!!!

Loop: ...And?

(Why doesn't Loop get it?!?) > And if everyone's wish is centered on me...

> And if I'm the only one who's looping and remembering...

> And if time keeps rewinding after I kill the King...

> The Head Housemaiden said it might be because the wish hasn't come true, right? So...

> Isn't it rewinding because it's not me, the person who's in the middle of this, killing the King?!?

Loop: ... That... ... It can't be that simple, stardust.

> Maybe it IS that simple!

> We've never thought about it, haven't we?

> Maybe it WAS that easy, all this time!!!

Loop: No, I... I can say with certainty that it's not it. It has to be something else...

> Why?

Loop: Huh? Well, are you even sure you've never defeated the King yourself? I'm sure it must've happened once or twice. You've been looping for a long time, so you might have forgo--

> 'It must've happened once or twice'?

> I'm certain I never defeated him myself.

> And yet...

> How can you say it with certainty?

> Do you know something?

Loop: N-no, I don't know any more than you, stardust!!!

(...)

Loop: It's just... I know that's not it. It has to be something else that's causing the loops, something else that can break them. Something--

> THEN WHAT ELSE, LOOP?!?

> WHAT ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO DO? WHAT ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO TRY?!

> SHOULD I MAKE EVERYONE COME WITH ME? SHOULD I RELY ON THE POWER OF LOVE?

> SHOULD I TALK TO THE KING? THE HEAD HOUSEMAIDEN?

> SHOULD I DIE? SHOULD EVERYONE DIE? WHAT? WHAT ELSE IS THERE? HAVEN'T I DONE IT ALL?!?

> THERE'S NOTHING ELSE, LOOP!!! I KNOW IT'S STUPID, I KNOW IT'S A LONG SHOT, BUT IT HAS TO BE THIS!!!

> IT HAS TO BE THIS, LOOP, OR-- OR--

(You fall to your knees.)

> Or, or does it mean-- It means--

> It means I'm stuck here for good, aren't I?

> Forever?

Loop: ... ...

(...) (No.) > You think I'm stuck here forever.

Loop: What? N-No, I--

> Loop.

> You knew.

> You knew this whole time.

> You knew this whole time there was no escape.

Loop: ... Stardust...

(Stars.) > No, no, no, no, no, no...

Loop: S- Stardust, I...

> Why didn't you tell me?

Loop: ...

> Why did you lie to me?

Loop: I- I didn't... I was b- brought here to help you, and- - And I thought, if I was here, we could- -

> You know there was no way to break the loops?

Loop: I thought that if we tried, together, w- we'd- -

> YOU KNEW.

> YOU KNEW!!!!!!

> YOU KNEW YOU KNEW YOU KNEW YOU KNEW YOU KNEW YOU KNEW YOU KNEW THIS ENTIRE TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!

Loop: Stadust- -

> DID YOU HAVE FUN, LOOP?

> WAS IT ENTERTAINING, AT LEAST? WAS IT FUNNY?

> DID YOU LIKE WATCHING ME RUN AROUND IN CIRCLES, HOPING, WISHING?

> DID YOU LIKE THE SHOW?!?

Loop: ... No. No, I didn't like to watch this at all.

> Curse you, Loop.

Loop: ... Stardust... I'm sorry... I really am... ... But please, stardust- - Siffrin!!! If we think, if we go through it all again, we can- -

(You don't have time for this.)

(The Clocktower.) (You arrived later than usual.) (Is everyone eating still?) (You need to join them, and act normally this time, so you can all go to the House together tomorrow.) (You don't care if they're not strong enough. You can make it on your own, defeat the King on your own.) (You just want them here.)

(You enter silently.) (...) (You don't hear cutlery or anything.) (Your stomach hurts.) (They must've eaten without you.) (Maybe they're already sleeping.) (But no-- You can hear them talk.) (You get closer...)

Mira: ... And... And then I left. I couldn't... Be there anymore.

Odile: ...

Isa: Why would Sif act like this suddenly? That's not like them at all...

Odile: Clearly, something happened.

Bonnie: B-But what? I don't understand... Why he'd do stuff like that. I don't understand at all!

Mira: Bonnie...

Isa: ...

Odile: ... Everyone. Siffrin might come back any second now... So we need to decide what to do.

Isa: What to do?

Mira: About tomorrow...?

Odile: Yes.

Bonnie: Huh? What do you mean?

Mira: Are you saying... Leave without Siffrin?

Isa: What?! I-I understand how you feel, but... But we shouldn't leave Sif behind! H-He's the one who leads us... We wouldn't be able to evade traps without them! Plus, he's our friend! We can't leave them behind!!!

Bonnie: Yeah! H-He was mean, but, but Frin was always with us, so--

Mira: I agree, but... B-But would he even agree to come with us, still? Maybe they won't even come back tonight...

Bonnie: No, Frin will be there!!! I know it!!!

Isa: And either way, we should wait for them, everyone... We can't...

Odile: Please, listen to me. ... I... I just... I just don't know if we can trust Siffrin anymore. Not at such an important moment.

Isa: But--

Odile: We'll be fighting the King tomorrow, Isabeau!!! It's not just a simple Sadness. It's the KING. The being who has trapped Vaugarde in time. And we need to be a team. We need to be united, we need to trust one another. ...After what just happened to all of us today... Could you do it, everyone? Could you entrust your life and future to someone like Siffrin right now?

Mira: ...

Bonnie: ...

Isa: ...

(...) (You) (You decide to

[fast forward to the House]

this is going to get me cyberbullied but. could anyone reblog with a transcript of what sif says to everyone at the start of the act 5 loop <- (i was physically unable to force myself to watch sif say horrible things and looked away while they talked but i still feel like i should know for the Full Experience™️)

#isat #transcript #the first time i played through it was like 3am and i was like just one more loop :D #i did not realize act 5 was going to be Like That #and then siffrin was like 'you should talk to bonnie' and i was like HOW ABOUT NO???? HELLO??? SIF??? BUD NO #anyway and then they talked to everyone and i was so physically nauseous that i stayed up til 5am to finish the game LOL #1000/10 wish i could experience the emotional damage of it all over again !!!

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lucabyte · 8 months ago

Note

i am looking at nohats au 👀 please share more

So! NoHats! I'm going to grab you and use this to ramble. A Lot.

The NoHats AU is @samhainian's it's just that I'm the strange little freak who takes the words said unto me and executes on them. But I can still do a little explainer on what our overall thoughts and vibes are. (And, that we are in fact propping up a little box with some cheese under it here. 🪤 Please (PLEASE) feel free to pick up what we're putting down.)

We're far from the only ones exploring a "what if siffrin fucking died" AU, though the main difference with NoHats is the placement of the death in the timeline. Instead of being 'Mal Du Pays Wins' or 'Act 6 encounter goes horribly wrong', the death is… Just after the (literal) falling action.

(This placement is because Sam is a comic book fan who thus has become used to characters being ripped away at the cruelest times by shitty writers. THANK FUCKING GOD adrienne is not that and isat is delightful yippieee, but, back on topic.)

Giving the party the full understanding of What Happened that you get by putting the death after black hole siffrin, but before the A6 encounter leaves an interesting gap to be filled. See, making Siffrin's death very much not Loop's fault means that… this once again reads (when not read as simply a tragedy...) as the universe doing what it sees fit to fulfull Loop's wish… Thus making Siffrin's death Loop's fault again, but only in their eyes. And only in a way they could express if they were honest about who they were…

And this is where having had excuse to waffle about my general Postcanon Loop thoughts the other day comes in handy, because Sam and I have that as our canon-compliant reading to begin with, NoHats plays off of a lot of the same readings of Loop's character. Namely: Uh Oh Somebody's Lying By Fucking Omission Again. (BECAUSE TO BE FAIR THIS TIME… HOW THE FUCK WOULD YOU HANDLE THAT?)

Now, neither Sam nor I are fanfic writers, so this has been a little bit trapped in our heads and DMs (and my unfinished art but,)

But our thoughts on how NoHats like… Goes.

Siffrin's death is peaceful, but that does not mean the aftermath of it is. I can't imagine the party takes it well, especially after understanding the circumstances of the Loops. (And, of note, in A5 where nobody had the discussion on what to do with each other's bodies should something happen…) But I'd imagine it traumabonds them somewhat (understatement of the century) and now knowing how the rest of the party feels, they resolve to travel together for the forseeable future.

The party track down Loop to deliver the terrible news, since they were clearly Siffrin's friend too, and invite Loop along to travel at least long enough to (let them grieve) get the burial over with. Loop, here, can be helpful in knowing what Siffrin would've wanted where the party would be at a loss. Loop, I think, takes a bit of a lead on the funerary aspects of it all, because, um. (Performing rites on your own body, huh?)

Then, as things are after a death, life just… Kind of has to continue on as normal. The party travel, pick up Nille, and get to know Loop as this mysterious new person. Maybe in this situation they might stay in Bambouche for a while to give Bonnie more stability since. They are probably taking it the worst. It would've come out of absolutely nowhere for everyone in the party obviously but god, for a kid? For A Kid?

It should be stated NoHats is not intended to be grimdark, just y'know. An exploration of grief. This is also why it's got a bit of a lopsided focus on Bonnie vs the rest of the party because hhrrhghghhghghhhghhghhh <- incoherent

Now, a crossroads.

How does the party discover Loop to be Siffrin? How long does it take. How much have the party embraced them as part of the family (especially with something as intense to bond over as this)?

There's the Odile option. Have her put it together and have to bring it up somehow. This could also be done by Isabeau, perhaps. He's smart. (which. God. If anything's the real Isabeau Torment Nexus it's this)

Then there's the other option batted around by Sam and I. The: The Universe Dislikes Duplicates option.

The items in the house that fzzt away when inspected. The Universe doesn't like there to be two of something, at least not when they're acknowledged. But one of something is just fine…?

Which is to say. I'm not a personal proponent of 'Loop getting their body back'. EXCEPT …… except this one time.

There's only one Siffrin now, so they don't need to be obfuscated to exist.

Consider, if you will. Loop swallowing their guilt for long enough to be comfortable. Falling back into old habits. Without another Siffrin around to compete for the niche of, they actually begin to act like Siffrin again. Not intentionally, it's just… The party is as welcoming as they've always been. And the party swears they keep catching glimpses of a face under all the light.

Then, one day, while still not fully human again, the resemblence becomes undeniable. Loop having not even noticed until everyone looks at them like they've seen a ghost.

Has it been months? How long have they kept up this lie? Is it even a lie, to them? They're Loop. But they were, once, Siffrin.

Even after explaining it, does that make it better or worse?

Bonnie cuts through the betrayed, struck-nerve reactions with a sobering "I missed you."

… Anyway !

Yeah so that's the vibe for NoHats. As for LoopLoops? That's more nebulous. I think it can go anywhere really in the NoHats timeline. I err personally toward the "Loop continuously replays the last 10 minutes before Siffrin's death almost immediately after they find out and have to parkour their ass up the House in the most distressing situation possible to try and get them to hold on, just please hold on." (Remember! Siffrin can remember the contents of Loop's loop backs in the A6 fight!)

But there is the possibility that this happens months, or worse years down the road. One last Loop back. Throw it all away for the chance to just get that one thing you didn't know you even wanted but now know you NEED.

Misc:

Okay miscellaneous time.

This is where I admit that I have a bunch of unfinished NoHats art that I haven't gotten around to yet because I feel like a right tool being so obviously Loop-Centric with my fancontent (I AM . . I REALISE I AM NOT DOING MUCH TO BEAT THE ALLEGATIONS.) So like if people want to see that please say because euaghghghhfh <- the nervous.

this is like the most fucked up place to do isaloop fr. anyway.

one of Sam's mid-game observations that I'm just going to share for no particular reason is that Bonnie's hair shares a bunch of shapes with Siffrin's. The flick up at the top, the 3 pronged shape of the fringe… just something to think about.

Without 2 Siffrins around to compare each other to it'd likely be a lot harder to notice Loop's similarities. Doesn't mean that those similarities don't sting more in this context though.

If you do NoHats without LoopLoops. The concept of this all fading into memory years down the line while they just have slightly-glowy but otherwise regular Siffrin hanging out is fucked up to think about. Just like real grief. Augh

6. a peek into the original dms as a treat from us

#LONG POST....!#be free our ideas. go forth into the wild. and by that i mean neither of us are fic writers so please HUNT US FOR SPORT #isat spoilers #looploops au #nohats au #isat au #isat loop #isat act 6 spoilers #not giving it more tags than that since feels rude to tag the rest of the party lol #lucabytetalks #but yes! to be extra clear: nohats is a 'please play in the space' invitation. because neither of us are big fanwork people! um!#it feels a little bit neglectful of us to not make more stuff for this AU ourselves but... we aren't practiced at that kind of thing. so.#open invitation! we know we won't make anything MASSIVE with this so.. don't hold your breath. and feel free to take the reigns.#we aren't like. the arbiters of 'sif fuckin dies' aus in general obviously but if you want to play with our specific ideas please do!#think of this post like prompts if you want to. go nuts #and @ a certain someone who said in the tags theyd maybe write something inspired. kisses you so sweetly. thank u for even considering it #also hi kaun i was thinking about your little snippet when typing 'act 6 encounter goes horribly wrong' 👋

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