#I love Sif and Odile’s relationship so much

[madbard]

So much of Odile’s story revolves around her sense of abandonment and alienation, how she felt unwanted, like she didn’t belong anywhere, how she was careful to never get too close to anyone. And then, once she found her family, she had so much trouble admitting it. She was scared of what she would do to hold onto them and keep them safe.

Then she watched as Siffrin almost destroyed the world because they didn’t want to let her and their family go, proving that 1.) he wouldn’t abandon her and 2.) she isn’t the only one who’d do horrible things for their family.

“Cute” is an interesting word for what he did. Siffrin’s actions in the time loops responded to Odile’s fear of abandonment by showing her in the barest of terms that while they may run from their problems, they would never willingly leave her behind. Their history and complicated sense of unbelonging mirrors hers even if their experiences don’t quite match - letting her know she isn’t alone. And his destructive love, along with their family’s proven willingness to forgive him, makes it clear that their family loves its members, even if they have some darkness in them.

Siffrin does have issues, and their actions were extreme. But in his own way, he has shown Odile that she is loved, and endeared themself to her in turn.

When something is cute, you want to hold onto it. You want to help protect it. Maybe you don’t often use the L-word, so you use this as a substitute. The things you want to hold onto and help and protect, the things you might apply that word to, are cute.

And to Odile, Siffrin’s dramatic affirmation of their love for her and the rest of their family is cute.

Very, very cute.

[selvepnea]

finally finished in stars and time

[thebirthofvenusfly]

okay but i like thinking about the events of ISAT/siffrin's struggles not as them going from a party of normal people with normal struggles to "everyone essentially now has to help Sif heal from That," but as, "everyone in the party has had their own immense, long-term struggles, and this happens to be Siffrin's." like, siffrin is not just a, "problem child," or the standalone outlier in terms of angst

here me out

[major ISAT spoilers, especially for acts 3-5 btw]

siffrin doesn't know all these things in act 1, but:

Odile has had a life-long struggle with identity. Her mother abandoned her family at a young age, her father (presumably heartbroken and betrayed) has never kept any mementos or photos or stories of her and likely avoided speaking of her at any and all opportunities. For the most part, Odile loves her culture but admits she was an outlier in Ka Bue and always stood out from the texture of her hair and eyebrows. She's tried to settle before for the peace of just letting it be, but after meeting that travelling merchant, she realizes how badly she does want to bridge that gap in her identity and has now spent years travelling--all only to find that it didn't quite fix her problem and she hasn't been able to find herself entirely in Vaugarde either. She doesn't dwell too much on her mother, but I feel there is a part of her that could never forgive the hole her mother left behind.

Mirabelle has similarly struggled, though in terms of religion and sexuality. She holds herself to a very high standard of Changing and being a, "good," Housemaiden, and has gone to great lengths to learn as much as she can in efforts to reinvent herself and Change, as she feels she, "should," do, because that's what Housemaidens and diligent followers of the House of Change, "should," do. She is so adamant about this that even prior to the game, even prior to the King's reign--which was several months-a full year before ISAT begins--she is forcing herself to look into relationships to potentially date, bond, and even have children with someone and she doesn't want to do any of that it. She is distraught because she doesn't want to change that aspect. She doesn't want to become what she's not, or try to force herself to feel things she doesn't and can't feel, but she isn't being a good Housemaiden or a good member of her society if she stagnates.

Bonnie's plight primarily comes in with the King's reign, which again, has been for a few months now. They live with their older sister who loves them and cares for them tirelessly, but she is taken by the King's Curse and frozen in time--an event which presumably happens in front of Bonnie, who is encouraged by their sister's last words to just run from the village as far as they can to safety. If that isn't terrifying enough, this leads to them wandering the wilderness for days, exhausted, dehydrated, presumably starved/ill-fed, and lonely, and likely scared out of their mind. Their only saving grace is Siffrin, who happens to find them and save them. The comfort they feel with Sif is called into question when they have to watch Siffrin take a permanent, debilitating injury to the eye to protect them. While the incident seems to roll off Siffrin's worries pretty seamlessly, this is a lot for Bonnie, who by now, has recognized a pattern of the people they love being permanently hurt or altered in some way all just to protect them. They're convinced they're a recurring problem, and after the death ritual talk in the House, has to prepare themselves for the haunting reality that they might really lose everyone they love (and, again, this is a lot. Especially for a child).

Isabeau has tried Changing before, and while it did help him make leaps and bounds, he is still in a constant struggle to love himself fully. Let's be honest here: Isabeau is easily the most emotionally put-together party member, and most equipped to handle the stresses of the party in terms of feelings. This does not make him immune, however, to his own negative feelings. He even cites as wanting to become someone that Siffrin wouldn't be, "ashamed," to know. He also mentions that he is remorseful of the new image he's given himself, as an air-headed, jock type of person, which often leads people into genuinely believing he's stupid and thus treating him that way. Not to mention, as the emotional mediator of the party, I'm sure he occasionally gets stretched thin between helping everyone else manage their problems and altercations.

all this is to say: everyone in the party has their problems, and a good sum of these are not all instantly solved by the end of the story. all of them, siffrin included, are left in a space where they have plenty of healing to do but can confidently and comfortably still rely on one another.

ISAT is just siffrin's chapter of major emotional plight, and everyone else's is presumed prior to the narrative (i can also acknowledge that siffrin definitely got the worst of it though LMAO)

[lowkey-loki245]

So i saw your post and reblog about the time god au and i was thinking that maybe it was a way for vaugardian to rationalize the king take over?

The idea that Time itself sent one of its saint (loop) to guide the savior of Vaugarde throught the house and to fight the king. And that when that wasnt enough time froze the king itself in time to punish it for tampering with its flow

It would also means that Siffrin has access to more time craft like « slow » from Odile « pretty moving cure » from Mirabelle and create tears like the king

Im guessing it would also be an oportunity for Loop to gain more information about wish craft and time craft since even before the king shenanigans they look to be mostly associated with culture outside of Vaugarde (siffrin, the king getting access to time craft with a wish and odile brute forcing craft by research)

also question do you accept fanart of this au?

First, I'm absolutely accepting fanart, I'd love to see what you draw!

Second, absolutely love this idea. People seeing Loop leading the saviors of Vaugarde would definitely be a big deal. It would probably lead to people connecting the Time God to stars. (Thank to this person ( @misty-is-a-dragon ) who gave me this idea.)

Siffrin would definitely want to correct people on who froze the King, but Mirabelle probably wouldn't mind since she already had so much pressure on her before Vaugarde was saved, people knowing she was the one to freeze the King would probably put a lot more pressure on her.

As for the Time Craft stuff. Sif would have unlimited control over Time Craft, but he'd have to ease into his powers first. He'd probably practice on basic enemies (do Sadnesses still exist after the King got frozen, or are they all gone?) or on random objects. (Btw, when I say unlimited Time Craft, I mean he can be as creative as he wants. Too much Craft in a short amount of time will still hurt him. I feel like too much Craft hurts because of the mental strain, not just physical strain.)

Now I'm wondering how different Sif would look in this AU? I think most of the time, he'd look normal (aka, his "mortal" form), but something similar to his big form would be his god form. Just a little less mentally unwell, lol. But if anyone thinks of something cooler, run with it, I wanna see what cool ideas you guys have!

I think it'd be funny if Sif had some one-sided beef with the Change God in this AU. Considering that conversation in the House, I feel like it'd be understandable for Sif to not like the Change God that much. Too bad for him, the Change God is the only one giving him advice on how to be a god.

Also, how do you guys think this whole god situation will affect Siffrin's and Isabeau's relationship? Sif would probably be so scared that being a god now will ruin their relationship, while Isa's just like "my boyfriend's a god, he's so cool :3."

Odile and Mira would not know what to do at first. Should they treat Sif like the god he is, or like the friend he's been? They decide on the 2nd one because Sif is already going through a lot, they don't want to make things worse (though Odile will occasionally joke about treating Sif like a god. I feel like that's her sense of humor).

As for Bonnie, Bonnie would just be hyped about having a super powerful friend. Plus, Siffrin's Time Craft could speed up cooking if they need it. No more waiting a whole day for beef to marinate!

Also, as Siffrin's saint, Loop would probably have really strong Time Craft. It's not unlimited like Sif, but it's still super strong. They'd totally brag and joke about being Sif's saint, too. Sometimes, when Mira or Odile wanna talk to him about something, Loop will be like, "You may now speak to the Time God" as they reveal Sif to them like he's royalty. As you can tell, Loop got their humor from Odile.

Honestly, I'm loving the ideas you guys have been sharing for the AU, this is fun.

[beneathsilverstars]

@horatiocomehome replied

ooo how about jewelry taste. dangly earrings vs studs, do they wear bracelets, rings, flashy vs elegant, etc

mirabelle has so many cute trinkets! we know she loves accessories that go ding ding, and she'll layer a ton of necklaces so they knock against each other. sometimes they all match nicely, sometimes it's eclectic chic! she adores metal charms and carved beads, especially charmingly unusual shapes like an itty bitty fork, ducky, book, etc. as well as classics like lockets and bells! she tends to fidget with rings and lose track of them, so she avoids those. post-canon she decides to stop wearing earrings, so she turns her novelty earrings into bracelet/necklace charms! and gives her more basic studs to isabeau so he'll actually own some basics.

isabeau is all about shapes and contrast, so he likes chunky beads in materials like turquoise or jasper that have different shades marbled together, metal geometric shapes, wire-wrapped stone, and unique arrangements of elements. he likes funny noises too, but will go for one complicated necklace instead of multiple single strands. he definitely tends towards statement necklaces and earrings — he used to run into trouble because he only had statement pieces, so they would clash terribly, but then he started buying more matching sets. he loves bonding earrings as a romantic, but is a little torn because there's no way any two earrings could match all of his fits...

odile is the kind of person to pick a nice look and stick to it, so there's not much variety in her accessories. she has her glasses gems, a pair of pearl studs, a pair of silver studs, and a couple sentimental rings that she keeps somewhere safe instead of wearing. we know bonding earrings are popular in ka bue but not as universal as in vaugarde; i think it would be cute if ka bue had a whole language of earrings and rings, with different gem types/cuts/colors denoting different sorts of relationships and emotions. so she's got, like, a [daughter, you are the most important thing in my life] ring from her dad, and a [lover, we change each other] ring from an ex.

siffrin is all about sentimental pieces!! it doesn't really occur to him to buy himself jewelry, but isa or mira will see him looking at something in the market and buy it for him and suddenly the aesthetic appeal that sif had mildly enjoyed doesn't matter at all compared to They Gave This To Me. siffrin tends to be drawn towards solid shades or starry dots, and smooth, swirling shapes. isa also gets them stimmy pieces like a bumpy bangle or spinny ring, and mira gets them cute things that remind her of them like star pins or kitty charms. he's just so fun to give trinkets to, even bonnie and odile have gotten him some, so he's working up quite a collection! he carefully rotates through everything, and keeps some pieces in his pockets when he can't fit everything he wants onto his body or doesn't want to wear any jewelry that day.

bonnie's bracelet is smooth wood, and they're going to be very upset the day it no longer fits over their hand. they prefer non-rock materials like wood, shells, bones, and sea glass, because that's just way more fun! they made shell necklaces with nille all the time, so many that it doesn't matter how often they lose them.

loop goes full magpie! since they don't have to buy necessities like food, they're less careful about spending money than siffrin, plus they're more desperate to capture any scrap of joy. they also have a bit of "everyone else is an npc" brain and "i am both above and beneath normal rules", so they're more comfortable with stealing than siffrin is. they like drapey chains, black and white beads, and unusual pieces. they like the pressure stim of very heavy necklaces and the clack of many bracelets. once when one of their favorites broke they procured the tools to fix it, and started modifying the stuff they own and stringing trinkets onto chains!

[scissorcraft]

may i ask for one thought you have of Loop that you havent seen someone else say yet :o?

OH NO! WORDS FOR MY BRAIN!!! i’m not sure what hasn’t been said, truthfully! ummm…

loops relationship with mirabelle.

mirabelle and siffrin are really close!! they’re not as close as mira and isa, or isa and sif - but they have a very special bond…

loop distanced themselves so much from the party, but there’s still some of those feelings, right? after everything’s all said and done, and they get to experience New interactions and such… would they fall back into that friendship with mirabelle?

the friendship where mirabelle would take their hands in hers, and reassure them that they’re there, she’s there with them. the friendship where mirabelle had taken loop’s face in her hands and tried to comfort them about everything. where they are Close again. where loop feels Safe with them

i think a lot about loop and the family… of course, as a shipper of isa sif and loop, i think about that dynamic - but what about with odile and bonnie and mirabelle!!! i love what they could form again…

[chronologically-challenged]

2, 9, and 13 for the ask game? ^_^

Isat ask game link!!! Thank you for the ask!!!!

2. Least Favorite Character?

Oooh, my spicy take first.

...Mal du pays.

LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN, I adore them in concept!!!!! I think mdp is a good emotional conclusion to the ghost arc and a good way to show Siffrin losing his resolve at the end of act 5. There was an amazing analysis post about mdp and Siffrin's relationship with their own homesickness as well. However. Ngl. I remember none of mdp's lines. Also, the "someone intimidating your loved ones yelling back they hate you" isn't my favorite trope either.

Idk, mdp did nothing for me. I'm much more of a "darkness parts of your mind sound like sweet nothings" sorta person rather than the intensity of mdp. I'm sorry little homesick fella. Love that you had the fucked up version of the death music though.

9. What would your wish at the Favor tree be?

I am. Limiting the range of this question because otherwise I'd be here all day. I am going to assume that we're in a similar circumstance as the party and we're about to go fight the King, and I'm just a little guy hoping for some favor tomorrow, and don't know the favor tree has actual major reality bending power.

In THAT circumstance, I'd probably wish that we all would survive the next day.

13. Favorite Line?

Don't make me choose between my darlings-

Tbh I could pick nearly any line from the Loop fight tbh. When looking for any one particular line, I nearly cried, so there's that. My darling Loop my beloved, I want to give you the world.

But if not for that, tbh both the act 3 and act 4 versions of Odile's quest just stick with me. In general, Odile's quest is just one of the most fascinating in the game, and provides such a depth to the world. But I REALLY like that quest in particular reveals about Siffrin. Particularly act 4, between the family quest and the sus quest, you get a lot of the reason WHY emotionally Siffrin sticks with the loops and doesn't tell their family what's going on.

(Is it any wonder you crave knowledge? Habits?!?) (If it all keeps happening the exact same way every time, you'll never lose anything, will you? You'll HAVE to remember it all, because you're living it!!!) (Forever living in memories you can't let go of!!!) (You're so pathetic.) (Telling the King to let go?) (You can't even do that. Can't let go of it.) (This perfect play.)

Also it's one of the few family quests where Siffrin thinks mean things about them while not in act 5 aslkdja .

(What a privilege, to be able to think your roots don't inform your identity.)

(chef's kiss) love that for you Sif. Go be a little mean in your head. it's unfair, but also the fact it took this long to be mean is impressive tbh. Also good set up for act 5 alskdjsa.

[blazerwyvernmaster]

So uhh

I like In Stars and Time. You should play it if you haven't already. It's extremely good. And I will be subtly spoiling a lot of it during this analysis.

Recently I have thought of thr trend if assigning tarot cards to characters in media, or my on characters. So I thought...what if I did that to ISAT?

...so yeah. I'll be doing that. Please tell me if I mess it up, or give me your opinions.

Again, spoilers under the cut.

Siffrin(Fool of Hanged Man)

Fool: The Fool is generally seen as the start of a journey. Even though he is at the end, the time loops and the fact that they have a lot of things to worry about/trauma means that they have a long journey ahead of them.

Hanged Man: A reversed Hanged Man, to be precise. Siffrin is INTENSLY afraid of change. To be more specific, he's stuck in this time lopp because he doesn't want to forget or leave his friends behind. His family behind, his country, his memory. The hanged man is about sacrifice and moving forward, and they do NOT want to do either. But they must.

I would also like to add that they may also be linked to The Devil card. Mostly because it's about desire and stuff and Siffrin desires amny things and can do a lot of selfish and cruel things to his family members.

Mirabelle:Lovers or Chariot.

Lovers:Mirabelle is aroace and perfectly fine with that. It’s a shame that she lives in a society where being perfectly fine with staying stagnant forever is discouraged.

Mirabelle is very religious. She believes strongly in the word of Change. So strongly that she is willing to ignore her feelings of being happy with who she is. She loves expressing platonic and familial love, but...romance and sex ain't it.

I chose the Lovers because it is about choice. Crossroads in one's life, that decide your fate. She was about to make the wrong one, the one that would make her miserable. Luckily, she didn't.

Chariot: Mirabelle may not be the Fool, but the thing that helps the fool move forward is a trusty chariot. From the beginning she's been trying to move forward and save Vaugarde from the King, and especially in the clocktower and higher levels of the house, she is determined to bring her home to its regular state.

If she doesn't, she will let everyone she cares about down. Also, again, she loves in a society where she feels she has to change, even if it means being in a romantic/sexual relationship and hating it. It's all for change, it's all for moving forward.

Isabeau: Strength.

Before the story, Isabeau may have been a reversed strength Arcana. Or at least that's how would see it. He was weak, and had low self-esteem and self-worth. And he hated it. He hated it so much that he became...well,*he*.

While he doesn't necessarily appreciate being treated as an idiot now, he seems happy to be a stronger, more confident, and upright version of himself, both inside and our. Though...judging by the fact that Siffrin's comments got to him during their uhh..darker moments, there may still be some doubts left in him.

(Sidenote I think Isabeau may be my favorite character besides Sif and Loop)

Boniface: Sun and Magician

Sun: Bonnie is a ray of positive energy wrapped in a small little crab with a potty mouth and I love them for it. And so does the rest of the party. They support the others with their cooking and miniscule damage. And it's good.

The rest of the saviors would do anything to keep that ray of positivity alive. Even if it meant they would die in the process.

Its no wonder that when they die to the king in the end of Act 3...Siffrin considers that the end.

Magician:This is mostly coming from their hangout quest. Bonnie can heal and cook, but they can also fight...barely. The fact that they are technically the only other party member who can use rock attacks at base(without using a spell like Odile or Sif) shows that they have some potential. And they want to use and grow that potential to go on kore adventures and help their friends.

Odile: Hermit

Odile, while serving as the party's mature voice of reason, and probably fitting for roles like The Empress or Hierophant, I personally see her as a Hermit because of how isolated her story is.

The only one who ever knows what she's doing with her research is Siffrin, and only if/when you do her quest. Every other time, she seems to be isolated and actively hiding it. Its not that she doesn't rely on her friends,but...she's simply doing this alone.

It's a very personal journey for her about being more connected to your heritage and reflecting on yourself.

To be honest, Hermit works REALLY well for Siffrin, too.

[melancholy-thots]

This Game Owns My Entire Brain (Part 2)

I decided to split this into two posts so I don't have to use my brain to count. I know there's a picture limit on posts and I've got a fair number. That being said though, I also wanted to say @insertdisc5 has a tumblr. That's the developer of this game. Go give them a follow if you're interested, they put a lot of good stuff up. I'd tag them, but I don't want to annoy them with notifications from nobody ass blogs gushing over their games.

So I've also been voicing Boniface here (the tiny one on the right, the slightly less tiny one on the left is the PC Sif). Such an adorably written preteen character. The way everyone is devoted to protecting them at all costs is so fucking cute. Also. Did you see that? Bonnie's a they/them user like yours truly. I like to believe that Bonnie is simply too young to know what their gender is yet. Natural state of things really.

This fucking scene got to me so hard. The interactions between these two are really something else. I don't even want to give too much away, but these people are really good at writing characters who have been through unimaginable trauma before even having the emotional regulation developed to know how to respond in a way that isn't like. Being a dick to Sif. Phenomenal.

I only have this one pic for Odile right now, which is a shame because she's also a really good character. Typical mage type, nerd ass loves books, does all types of damage. But she also gets her own story that was really impactful, especially since the person I'm playing with voicing Isabeau is half Korean and was similarly abandoned by their mom. Plus Odile's relationship with Bonnie is just so adorable. Which actually. Writing it right after the "Odile never got a mom" sentence kind of also makes her relationship with Bonnie unbearably sad. Always something new to think about here.

Basically, if you're into story based games and like (or can deal with) turn based battles, I highly recommend this game. It's really good at so much that it does.

I'll just say, if insertdisc5 sees this, hi, huge fan, please release a guide 😭 I was able to find the long thingy thing so easy (much to the surprise of everyone else playing with me), but spent an entire game night trying to find the secret ingredient bc I didn't think it'd be past the threads.