#OKAY i posted this before but then i looked at siffrin and i was like: i can do his hat justice than this... so i deleted post

[aria0fgold]

Hmmmmmm I think some is wrong with my copy of OMORI

[felikatze]

QoL as Kindness: ISAT's diagetic tutorials

This is the hopefully first of a series of posts I'll be doing reinterpreting ISAT's Loop through the lens of START AGAIN: a prologue's context. As such....

Major spoilers for both ISAT (all acts, including optional content) and SASASAP (all endings).

One of the biggest differences between ISAT and SASASAP is it’s QoL – it’s Quality of Life. QoL refers to all the little things that make a game just that little bit more playable; quick to navigate menus, quicksaving… tutorials.

It’s not really a surprise that SASASAP is as RPGmaker as RPGmaker gets. This isn’t a criticism, just an observation, and also a compliment to how much Adrienne’s skills with the engine improved between releases. Still, there’s some things that ISAT has over SASASAP.

ISAT’s QoL is absolutely essential to making it bearable. Anyone ever watch an ISAT playthrough where the player sighed in relief as the tutorial on picking where you loop came up?

SASASAP lacks a lot of ISAT’s QoL because it’s an earlier project without a studio backing it, but what impresses me is how this change ties into narrative.

Because the greatest chunk of ISAT’s greatest QoL is provided by Loop.

Even before you ever meet them, they’re already over your shoulder. Loop is the tutorial, speaking to you inside your brain. It’s genius, in that no player is ever going to question this. Hell, SASASAP’s movement tutorial is the exact same thing with less flavoring

This reframes what the QoL is – it’s not just a convenience to the player, it’s a convenience to Siffrin, too. It’s diegetic. It’s not something the game is giving you, it’s something Loop is giving you. Let’s look at what Loop gives you, and more importantly, why.

Zone Out

The first of the QoL features I want to talk about is the Zone Out function, the absolute bread and butter of not making this game a total slog.

The Zone Out feature as is did not exist in SASASAP (because Adrienne didn’t know how to do it yet) – instead, some doubled scenes let you just skip them entirely outright. There’s only two extremes: listen to all of it again, or none of it.

ISAT’s zone out system is much more dynamic, since it fast forwards dialogue line by line, letting you zone in whenever you’d like, and forcing you to zone in whenever a) something notably new happens, or b) whenever Siffrin speaks.

The way this feature is introced by Loop is kind of genius. Because Loop’s tutorial is about one thing – it’s okay to skip.

“You might miss what your party is saying, but who cares, right? If you make them mad, you can always loop back and they'll have forgotten all about it!”

It’s a cruel joke, or at least it seems that way on the surface. It’s also genuine advice. And a cruel joke at the same time. For Siffrin, freshly starting the loops, this is scandalous, but for Loop, who’s long since desensitized, it’s the same old same old.

What Loop’s doing here, by joking about Siffrin not listening to the party, is alliviate Siffrin’s guilt when they inevitably take Loop up on the offer. Because, even though Loop loves their party members…

From SASASAP, when sitting outside the bathroom:

(Will you get farther this time?) (Will you live this time?) (Or are you stuck listening to the same lines forever?) (…) (Stars, you’re so tired.)

Loop knows intimately well that Siffrin is going to drive themself insane trying to be a people pleaser every single loop, so this joke is telling the outright – don’t bother.

At first, Siffrin (and the player) still might. I really enjoyed reading the same conversations five times minimum because they’re fun and I’m deranged, but at some point I did start skipping them. And it was a relief to know there wouldn’t be anything new.

Siffrin: “Should I check everything again?” Loop: “You mean, should you check the same barrels, the same closets, the same objects on tables every loop?” Loop: “I mean, you can, but… You know things won’t change, right?” Loop: “If you really want to get a certain item again, or listen to your friends repeat something funny, you should!” Loop: “I personally would only check two or three things every loop, and ignore the rest.” Loop: “It will just make you crazy to expect something to change, when nothing will.” Loop: “All that might change is your reaction to it!”

The game is telling you, Loop is telling Siffrin, don’t drive yourself insane playing, please. The characters aren’t going to remember if you skipped something.

In the course of my script wizard activities, I’ve gotten an in-depth view of just how much that actually holds up. Pretty much all major differences are by Act, unrelated of how often you’ve done something. Minor variations apply for other things, but… those variations are minor.

And this also points out what all those variations are. Siffrin’s reactions!

Loop’s pre-empting Siffrin’s guilt, cuz they probably felt it themself. Hell, we do know they felt the pressure to perform and make sure nobody notices anything’s wrong, in SASASAP! Right up until the finale, Loop was driving themself up the wall.

(You have to act, you can't crack, you have to fake it and play it exactly as you did the first time for the whole way through so your friends don't find out anything is wrong) (You don't want to know what would happen if they knew their quest was in vain) (If they knew their quest for justice and change always ends in stillness and death!)

Acting everything out perfectly is one of the ending paths for SASASAP, which results in… complete and utter failure. Obviously.

(You acted perfectly normally, didn't you?) (Nothing out of place, nothing weird, every line the same as it might've been the first time?) (Ah…That was your mistake, wasn't it…?) (Because… Didn't your very first time… end exactly like this?) (The King throws the Housemaiden's body onto the floor again.)

Zoning out for too many conversations actually awards weird points in SASASAP, locking you out of the Perfect Ending. On the other hand, acting “perfectly” in ISAT… has no awards whatsoever. No special scene or or optional event or anything at all. You get nothing for paying attention!!!

So spare yourself the pain already, m’kay?

(On that note: I don’t think Loop not being sarcastic about it would’ve like… worked. At the start of ACT 2, Siffrin isn’t going to believe Loop when they say “Stop forcing yourself to relive the same thing over and over because you’ll start seeing your friends as disposable actors and lose touch with reality.” That all comes later, when Siffrin can look back on Loop’s words and see how right they were.)

Loop Back

The second biggest sigh of relief in any given ISAT playthrough is probably this specific tutorial.

Loop graciously shows you that you don’t need to loop back all the way to the beginning every single time. You can pick and choose where to go, even going forward by paying up with Memories of Skirmish.

This is a feature SASASAP does not possess, for the reason that it is much, much shorter, only covering about as much as one floor of ISAT’s three floor House.

But… since this is a character showing this to you, Loop showing this to you, we can ask… when did Loop learn this? After all, START AGAIN, Loop’s loops, do not have this feature.

“It'll save you time, so it's important, so listen up!”

This feature not existing in SASASAP means this is a thing that Loop did not know exists during their own time as Siffrin.

And that’s just the thing, isn’t it? SASASAP’s Siffrin does not know how to do this. They cannot pick and choose where they end up, as demonstrated wonderfully by SASASAP’s True Ending. There’s an even more wonderful implication, though –

On SASASAP’s Perfect End path, when exiting the final room before the King, Isabeau says this:

Isabeau: “…I'm glad you're feeling better, though!” Siffrin: (…?) “What do you mean…?” Isabeau: “Oh!!! Um, you were…” Isabeau: “Well! You were acting a little weird when we were way closer to the Castle's entrance……” Isabeau: “You weren't really listening to us, you were kinda smiling the way you do when you're actually not happy…” Isabeau: “…and you like, almost acted like you knew exactly where you were going?” Isabeau: “But clearly you're feeling better now! You're acting just like normal!!!”

SASASAP’s Siffrin knew how to do this, somehow managed to lock themself into the House’s last floor… and then forgot how to get back. By making this tutorial, Loop is ensuring that Siffrin never will.

“What can I do next?” – SASASAP’s greatest flaw

So, if you’ve had the pleasure of playing START AGAIN START AGAIN START AGAIN: a prologue yourself (as you should), then you’ve probably faced this scenario, or some variation of it:

I got to the end, I died to the King, but… what do I do next? The game tells me to go for the extremes, but how do I do that?

(edit: apparently some of yall just managed to speedrun sasasap in two loops. You're gonna need to stay with me here, please. Suspend your disbelief a bit, because a lot of people [including me] were dumbasses about it)

Maybe you try another loop, but just get the same ending again (or a differnet one, depending on a coinflip). You’re getting frustrated. Getting the Perfect Ending demands pinpoint precision to avoid everything weird, the True Ending demands good memorization of every single damn key in the game, and the order you do everything in. (Though, to be fair, the requirements on that one are actually more merciful than one might expect.)

Point is, in SASASAP, it’s incredibly easy to get stuck in that endless loop of “What the fuck do I do now?” It’s not uncommon to think you got it right only to get the same result anyways. What does one do in this situation?

They consult a guide, obviously.

START AGAIN’s ending requirements are frustrating. They are. When I tried to go for either the Perfect or the True Ending, I saved inside every single room, just so I could get right back to it when I inevitably fucked up five times minimum. This is both criticism… and praise. Because Loop is the major reason that ISAT does not suffer from this same problem.

Whenever you’re stuck in ISAT, Loop is just a single loop or call away at any times. And besides that, no plot requirement in ISAT demands nearly as many moving pieces all at once as SASASAP does – the “Sus Route” has been relegated to an optional ACT 4 exclusive event, instead of the game’s True Ending.

Instead of consulting an external guide on how to progress, you have one right there in the game, always ready with the next tip. They’re not infallible, mind you – enough time in Isatcord’s #game-help proves that, but Loop solved all of the moments I got stuck and frustrated in ISAT for me.

(Primarily that one time you need to figure out that a photo is similar to being stuck in time. That moment in particular is actually commendable, as you need to ask Loop about it twice before they tell you, leaving you a last shot to try and figure it out on your own.) Loop is a feature that nullifies SASASAP’s greatest flaw in its successor, and they choose to do so.

Memory of Keys

In my humble opinion, Loop does this because… they do not want Siffrin to suffer as they did. They want Siffrin to escape. And there is no greater example of their kindness than how Loop treats keys.

First of all, all keys in the game have a sparkling effect on them if you’ve picked them up at least once before, making it immediately clear where in the room they are. This means you don’t need to search every single room top to bottom for them, as you had to do for any keys and Star Crests in SASASAP. It’s some nice QoL that just means you don’t have to re-search the same area if you happened to forget which specific cupboard the key was in.

Key point being: SASASAP did not have this feature. In SASASAP, you did have to memorize where all the keys are, and doing so is expected if you want the True Ending.

Loop does not want Siffrin to have to do this. Because…

From SASASAP’s True End:

(The torch in the infirmary? That’s important!) (The key in the book? Soooo important.) (The names of your friends, that have been by your side throughout this entire adventure?) (Not worth remembering.)

Compared to ISAT’s ACT 2:

Siffrin: “How come I can see where the keys are?” Loop: “Whaaaaat? You caaaaaan? How can that beeeeeee?” Siffrin: “Is it thanks to you?” Loop: “Maybe.” Loop: “I figured you'd have other things to worry about than where a stupid key is.” Loop: “No need to thank me.”

To Loop, that they memorized the House’s layout over their friends’ names is a defining moment to their own failures. After all, in all likelihood, the True End of SASASAP is the last loop before they called it quits. It’s a traumatic experience from them, one that came from having to remember all the dumb fucking keys.

They do not want Siffrin to experience this. They do not want Siffrin to have to memorize the House, to push away what actually matters in favor of efficiency. So Loop is directly, personally, giving them a boon, so that Siffrin does not have to.

Conclusion

There’s probably more tutorial things I could talk about, but I feel like you’re seeing the pattern now, even if I don’t bring up saving level ups or keeping equipment or the “You’re stuck” signifier, least of all cuz they don’t have direct points of comparison with SASASAP like my other examples do (SASASAP has no changeable equipment, and saving levels doesn’t matter if you only have one floor, and you can’t softlock either.). So.

Loop’s tutorials all belie a fundamental kindness to their character. Everything that made their own experience trapped in the timeloop just that bit worse, they’re choosing to do away with it for Siffrin. They are choosing to make Siffrin’s time here easier.

Zoning out too much lead to them never paying attention to their friends, forgetting their names, so they make sure that Siffrin can still zone back in whenever something new happens.

Loop trapped themself for years on the final floor, locking themself out of progress that might lie further back, so they’re ensuring Siffrin knows exactly how to loop forwards and backwards so it doesn’t happen again.

Loop lets Siffrin keep equipment across loops to cut down on time spent doing the exact same thing over and over.

They are saving Siffrin time, and they are giving Siffrin comfort. At every single turn, Loop is saving Siffrin from the same pitfalls they fell into without anyone to guide them out.

It's honestly incredible to transform an increase in skill into an actual narrative element. Yes, SASASAP sucks more to play. But ISAT sucks less, because Loop wants it to. It's the perfect marriage of real world circumstance and storytelling. I could... probably pull another comparison here, saying it's like a game and its remake - overhauled graphics, expanded story, and loads and loads of QoL, because the makers of the remake realized something. They love the original, but parts of it do suck, and there's so much that can be done to make a new player's experience smoother. Metanarrative commentary,,,, woah,,,,,

Every single one of these QoL elements I’ve mentioned function as a crutch for a player’s failing memory, but also Siffrin’s (similar to what I talked about in my previous essay on ISAT’s ludonarrative - the player and Siffrin are always in sync, even in how tutorials benefit them). Loop doesn’t know the player exists though (only the Change God does), so they do everything for Siffrin.

To keep Siffrin from forgetting. To help Siffrin focus on what’s important. To make Siffrin’s journey just a little bit less miserable. Loop directly improves ISAT’s QoL. For you. For Siffrin.

From Loop’s introduction:

Loop: “See, I’m useful! I’m very useful! That’s why I’m here, helpful Loop.” Siffrin: “Why are you helping me?” Loop: “…” Loop: “Because I think you should be helped.” Loop: “I won’t always have the answers, but… I think having someone on your side to talk to is better than dealing with this alone.” Loop: “Right?”

From Loop’s hangout:

“But it’s fine.” “Whether you believe me or not, I’m here to help you.” “So you can escape this loop.”

And finally, from the start of ACT 3:

Siffrin: “Are you really here to help me?” Loop: “Stardust…” Loop: “…” Loop: “Yes.” Loop: “If you can believe anything, believe that.” Loop: “I asked to be here, so I could help you.”

And I do believe them. Loop’s feelings on Siffrin are… complex, to say the least. They love Siffrin, and they hate him in equal measure. They’re jealous, and spiteful, but underneath everything…

In SASASAP, if you die to a Sadness thrice, you get this monologue:

(Sometimes, when you loop back here…) (In the corner of your eye, you can sometimes see someone that looks just like you.) (Is it a you from another loop? Remnants of your past failures?) (Are you going crazy?) (May they succeed where you cannot.)

[basilpaste]

i am very out of it atm and if i wasnt i could make a more coherent post about it. but do yall ever think about how all of the things siffrin 'misses' are a direct consequence of him being recently disabled?

their depth perception is off and the one eye they do have is probably significantly worse than it was because it has to overcompensate. so they miss the switch in the death corridor.

and he misses the key in the head housemaidens office. because its on the bottom of the drawer. and he wouldnt be able to see that at all, but if theres any indication that the drawer looks off, like a weird gap at the bottom, itd be really easy for them to miss it.

and the same goes for the key in the classroom. its in a thick book and chances are they cant really process the fact that the space between some of the pages is larger than normal.

and theres the counter. and how he trips in bonnies friendquest. and they blame themself for these things EVERY TIME. they call themself stupid and bad at their job and he LOST AN EYE. and its just like. its all internalized ableism, baybe! all the fucking way down!!!!!

he wants to operate how he did before losing his eye. He wants to be able to do all the same things the exact same way. and that just isnt feasible. which is okay! and people would understand if he just TALKED ABOUT IT. but they wont!!!!!

anyways ive been thinking about siffrin and the fact that they got so used to fighting on flat ground. and like what that means post-loops. ive been thinking about him knocking into something or missing a little detail and just fucking losing it because hes SO frustrated. so unbelievably mad at himself for not noticing something obvious, not seeing.

and im thinking about them being forced to learn that they run differently now. and theres no going back! no fixing it! and he just has to live with it!!!!! because the eye is gone and they cant just get a new one. and maybe they dont have to be okay with that, but he has to learn to accept that hes changed.

waugh.

[the-bitter-ocean]

( ISAT OPTIONAL ACHIEVEMENT SPOILERS) I finally get to post the writing I made for @sharkylass Isa looping au “In Repetition and Change” which is very cool and everyone should check it out! I wanted to try and make my own take on what the interactions for a memory of puns achievement would look like ^_^. Writing is under the cut:

[ You’re back here again. ]

[ Sif should be arriving right around…]

<| “Isa!!!”|>

[ …Now.]

[ Sif comes along to greet you at the start of every loop. ]

[ He makes a pun about the favor tree and the two of you banter- making each other laugh. ]

[ Every time afterwards, you think of reaching out to him… but you usually tend to chicken out before doing anything. ]

[ It’s cowardly behavior sure, but you’d rather play it safe than ruin anything.]

[ It’s a routine that has never deviated, at least not in any way that was notable to you. ]

<| “..Isa? Are you okay?”|>

[…?]

[ “Oh uh..sorry Sif! Didn’t mean to zone out like that!”]

[ Okay genius, think of something!! He’s getting worried about you!!]

[“..I was just lost in thought thinking about the Favor Tree! Isn’t it cool?”]

[ You make sure to smile. You hope that’s enough.]

<| Sif smiles back at you. |>

<| “..Yeah it is..!”|>

[ Siffrin has the look that they’d only make right before making a pun.]

<| “One could say it's a pretty..."|>

[ You get ready for it.]

[“Uh-huh?”]

<|"...TREE-mendous tree."|>

[ You do your best to laugh convincingly and focus on the information you’ve heard dozens of times before. ]

[“Right right, sleepover at the clock tower. Sounds like a ton of fun!”]

[ It’s not like you’d go anywhere else. ]

=> [ Do you need anything from me?]

=> [ Stop talking. ]

=> [ Stop talking. ]

[ You don’t really feel like talking anymore and you can’t think of anything new to say. ]

[ Sif looks at you and frowns a little. ]

<| “…?”|>

<| “..Alright that’s it..my turn!”|>

[…]

<| “…okay a good joke.. what’s a good joke to make-“|>

[ Did he not realize that you could hear them muttering? ]

[ You’ve done this a couple of times already but you find yourself still repeating your usual lines. ]

[ “..Huh? What for?”]

[ You tilt your head and do your best to act confused and unassuming. ]

[ It’s what you’re best at. ]

[ You already know the answer as to why Sif is doing all of this for you. ]

[ They told you a few loops ago.]

[ Sif did all of this to make you happy.. because the two of you are friends. ]

[ It’s awfully sweet of them isn’t it? ]

[ You really don’t deserve that kindness at all… but you keep those thoughts to yourself because you’re smart. ]

[ Besides it’s nice to hear it again even if you’ve heard it all before. ]

[It’s reassuring to hear someone say they care about you. ]

[ So you will sit here and listen through the same batch of jokes, like you always have. ]

<| “…!!!! Oh- well because you seemed sad. So I wanted to make you laugh! It might help you feel better.”|>

<|…?|>

[Sif looks around and their gaze focuses on the Clocktower in the distance. ]

<| “Ooh, I know! Why did the clock get kicked out of the library?”|>

[“.. I don’t know, why?”]

<| “Because It tocked too much!”|>

[…]

<| “..Oh so you must’ve heard that one already then huh?”|>

[…?!]

[ You forgot to laugh. ]

[ Sif waves his hands and laughs awkwardly. ]

<| “.. It’s okay! I have way more puns at my disposal, so I’ll just find a new one.”|>

[ While Sif is thinking of a new joke to make, you remind yourself to actually respond this time. ]

<| “How do clocks greet each other?”|>

<| “They say h-“|>

[“Hour you doing?”]

<|…!|>

[ Sif falters at your response for a second before recovering. ]

[He laughs awkwardly. ]

<| “..You knew that one too.. I must’ve told you earlier and forgot.. haha..”|>

<| “…Stars, I’m really off my game today arent I?”|>

[ When has acting like a know it all ever helped you? Why did you say that? ]

[ He clearly just wants to help you and all you ended up doing is making him upset instead! ]

[ No, you need to calm down. You can still salvage this. ]

[ Let’s try this again. ]

[ “Oh crab- I didn’t mean to take your joke, Sif!”]

[“If you have any more you’d like to share then I’d be happy to hear it, okay?”]

<| “..! Oh okay? If you say so, Isa.”|>

[ Siffrin nods and scrunches up their face. ]

[ It’s clear they’re trying extremely hard to think of a pun you haven’t already heard from them yet. ]

[ Siffrin mumbled to themselves again. This time it’s barely audible. ]

<| “..Please be funny please be funny please be funny...”|>

[…?]

<| “..! Okay I think I got it..”|>

<| “A fashion designer made a belt with clocks printed on it for a time traveller…”|>

[…? Oh, that’s a new one! ]

[ Sif noticed your brief look of surprise and smiles. ]

<| “Do you know what they called it, Isa?”|>

[ You shake your head no in response to the question and let Siffrin answer. ]

[“No, I don’t. What did they call it, Sif?”]

<| “A waist of time!”|>

[…?!]

[ Heh.]

[Ha..AHAHHAHAHAHAHA]

[ You laugh and laugh and laugh. You can’t seem to stop. ]

<| “Yes! I knew I still got it-“|>

[ The joke wasn’t even that funny but you feel tears start to prick at your eyes ]

<| “..?! Isa??”|>

[ Can’t you see that the joke is over now? ]

[ He’s going to think you’re being weird!!!]

[ You struggle at it, but you somehow manage to force yourself to take a deep breath in and out. ]

[ You smile and give a shaky thumbs up to Sif. ]

[ He hesitantly smiles at you back.]

[ “..Thank you Sif, I really needed that.”]

<| “..? Are you..”|>

[ Sif looked like they wanted to say something else but stopped himself. ]

<| “..Nevermind. I’m glad I could help cheer you up for a bit, Isa.”|>

<| “I’m going to go to the clocktower now!”|>

<| “Let me know if you need anything from me, okay?”|>

[ Siffrin waves goodbye and runs off. You watch him go.]

[[ You got a MEMORY OF PUNS. ]]

[ You will always remember this.]

[[ When Memory of Puns is equipped, your Dramaturgist will have a higher chance of landing a critical hit on an enemy.]]

[livesworthlivingau]

Memory of a Kiss

The first of a series I'm calling 'Memories Of' which show a moment from Siffrin's original 30 years post game. Though as you can see here, they won't all be from his POV~

CW: Suicide, Blood, Strangling.

|It's been 2 months since everything went down back at the house of change, and Sif had been a lot more emotionally stable as of late. You've been wanting to give them space and not pester them about your feelings for them, but now they're starting to show signs of expecting it. Still, you want to make sure it's something special, so you've been planning a special date to finally begin your relationship together.|

"Alright everyone, wish me luck!" |You say with a light blush before everyone cheers you out the door of Bonnie and Nille's place. With a bouquet of flowers in one hand, and a wrapped up, fresh pain au chocolat from Bonnie in the other, you set out to the docks where Sif said they'd be hanging out today.|

|Finally, you spot their familiar darkless cloaked and hatted form laying down at the end of the dock.|

"Sif! Siffrin!" |You call out eagerly, but they don't move. They must have taken a nap by the sea, just like them to pass out in the strangest of places... but despite the reasonable explanation, you can't help but get a sinking feeling deep in your gut...|

"He's fine, totally fine, just napping." |You beg, plead, pray calmly tell yourself, walking up closer and kneeling behind them, laying on their side. You lightly grab his shoulder and give it a little shake.|

"Hey, Siffy, Siffarooni, wake u-" |Their form falls towards you onto his back, limp and lifeless, lightless fluid soaking into a large pool in front of them from their carved wrists... Your heart stops, your body freezes, you just stare in absolute horror, taking in the soft, relieved smile on their face.|

"S... Sif..." |You whisper out, as if a wish to the universe, to take it back, to reveal it's fake, to loop back so you could stop this. You slowly pull his cold corpse close to your body, hugging it as tight as you could, lightly rocking back and forth as your brain won't let you fully process what you've seen.|

"It's okay Sif... I'm here... I won't let go..." |You whisper as tears silently flow down your face. You continue rocking back and forth, holding them tight as their blood soaks into your clothing.|

"... Isaa..." |Your eyes widen as you hear their raspy voice, quickly pulling them back to look at their face|

"SIF?!" |Their still limp form dangles in front of you for a moment, before it suddenly lunges to life, grabbing your throat. His eye is pure darkless and empty, staring into your very soul.|

"Why weren't you strong enough?... Why couldn't you help me?..." |You choke out a gasp, gripping at his arms and trying to pry them off of you, but it was no use. He continued to squeeze your neck tighter and tighter, his lifeless expression turning to that of anger.|

"WHY COULDN'T YOU HELP ME?!" |He shouts, clenching even tighter. Just before you'd feel a snap, you suddenly jolt awake, sitting up instantly in bed and gripping at your throat. You pant out heavily, slowly coming to your senses as you realize you're still in bed, it was just a horrid nightmare...|

"Sif... Sif, you awake?" |You ask to your side, reaching a hand over, only to find the bed empty... You try to stop yourself from panicking. You try to take a few deep breaths like Sif does... You... You... You have to find him!|

"SIFFRIN!!" |You shout as you practically faceplant from how frantically you rushed out of bed. You dart for the door and yank it out, quickly rushing through the house for the front door, you have to find him, you have to find him before it happens, you have to find him now!!|

"Isa?!" |You skid to a stop just before the door, looking to your right to see Sif and Nille sitting at the kitchen table, having a cup of Coffee together. You quickly shift your face to a bright, eager smile as you realize what's going on.|

"Sif! Couldn't sleep, huh?" |You ask casually, nervous drops of sweat trickling down your face. Nille gives a slight snort at that.|

"Smooth, big guy~." |She teases before sipping at her coffee.|

"... I'm sorry, Isa, I just couldn't sleep well, I didn't mean to worry you." |They tug their hat down a bit, trying to hide under it like usual. You really stepped in it this time.|

"No, Sif, you didn't do anything wrong, I just... I had a bad dream is all, made me worry about you, it's stupid." |You try to lighten the mood, though your freak out a moment ago made it pretty obvious you're lying.|

"I'll give you two some alone time." |Nille says, getting up from the table and leaving her seat open for you. She pats your shoulder as she walks past and whispers.| "You got this Za~."

|You sit down with a heavy sigh, rubbing the back of your head.| "You sure you're doing okay, Sif? You know you can tell me anything, right?"

"I-I know! I am! Much better at least... I just... You haven't really talked about 'us' in a while, a-and I was getting worried that you might not feel the same anymore... I was talking to Nille about it and she said you were planning something really big and special..." |You carefully study their face to see how they feel about that, and they seem... disappointed?|

"Is that... bad?"

"N-No! Not... exactly? I just... I don't need anything fancy like that." |They put their hand on the table, inviting you to take it, which you quickly do in a snug yet careful grasp.| "I just need you..."

"R-Really?" |You start to feel your own face heating up quite a bit.|

"Of course... D-Do you remember... what we talked about? A-At the top of the house?..." |You remember talking about a lot of stuff up there, but once they make that familiar face, you know exactly what they're referring to.|

"I remember there being mention of practicing a certain activity... If that's what you might be referring to!" |They give a little nod in response. He slowly gets out of his chair to walk closer, standing nervously beside you and waiting. You take the hint and gently take him into your lap.|

|He closes his eye, and you close yours, leaning in close to press your lips to his. The warmth of your bodies pressed together, the little spark in your heart, the light parting of your lips. The moment was absolutely perfect, just as you wished it would be.|

This was actually concocted for a trade with @eldritch-araneae who specifically requested that sweet, sweet Isa angst~ I sure how I did it justice! Hope y'all enjoyed~!

[snazzy-mushroom]

Hey yall I made some dialogue between Siffrin and Bonnie pre-loops! I’ll probably make this into a comic but I kind feel like posting the dialogue now for funsies, let me know if you guys think i could add anything to make it better!

Bonnie: “and then nille climbed up the tree and got it for me!”

Siffrin: “haha wow bonbon, your sister sounds pretty cool…”

Bonnie: “that’s because she is cool! She’s the coolest ever!”

Siffrin: “oh wow, the coolest ever? Even cooler than Odile?”

Bonnie: “well…nille is the coolest sister ever. But nille and dile are probably the same amount of cool”

Siffrin: “hehe oh I see”

Bonnie: “yeah! Heh…uhm frin?”

Siffrin: “yes bonbon?”

Bonnie: “did you have any siblings?”

Siffrin: “oh uhm….”

…

…

…

Bonnie: “FRIN!”

Siffrin: “-! Y-yeah?”

Bonnie: “I asked you a question”

Siffrin: “you did?”

Bonnie: “How did you already forget that, you crab head?!”

Siffrin: “oh I’m sorry bon bon, what was it again?”

Bonnie: “I asked what your family was like”

Siffrin: (…my family) “I…don’t really know…”

*bonnie gives Siffrin a weird look*

Bonnie: “how do you not know what you’re family was like”

Siffrin: “I…”

Bonnie: “frin, are you messing with me?”

Siffrin: “no! I just…I just…”

Bonnie: “you have to have at least one story about them”

Siffrin:….(why can’t you think of anything, they’re right you must have something you can say about your family…how many siblings you had, how many parents, what your relationship was like, what you used to do for fun as a kid? Where you lived?! Stars, why…why can’t you remember)

*bonnie seems concerned now*

Bonnie: frin…are you okay?

Siffrin: (WHY CANT YOU-*memory resets*) huh? Yeah I’m fine…

Bonnie:…are you sure?

Siffrin: yeah, why do you ask?

Bonnie: *looking away* you were… *looks at Siffrin*…never mind

Siffrin: (…?) ok?

Bonnie:…I’m gonna go start making lunch

Siffrin: oh do you want help?

Bonnie: uhm…yeah okay…

An alternate ending for this dialogue is Siffrin not immediately forgetting their train of thought and freaking out over it to Bonnie before they forget. Bonnie would probably most definitely tell the other adults to which would cause they to try and talk to Siffrin about it

I think it’d be interesting if the party realized that there is something going on with Siffrin’s past/childhood pre-loops rather than them all thinking that Siffrin simply doesn’t want to talk about it

(I know the party not knowing is important in the game I just mean it’d be interesting to think about what would happen if it went differently)

[traumaboyexo]

CARRION!Sif Memory of Sadness

[[Immediate new post! But that's just because I already had this written.]]

(Your stomach growls as your family enters the familiar first hallway.)

(It's the same sadness. Every time. Annoying. Frustrating.)

(...)

(You're. So. Hungry.)

(Perhaps...perhaps payback is due.)

(It's almost breakfast, isn't it?)

"A Sadness, huh? The House must be crawling with them..."

"O-okay everyone, let's, um, uh--"

(You pounce.)

(Your prey is almost immediately within your grasp. You don't waste a single moment and anchor it to the ground.)

(STAB!)

(Your dagger has pierced straight through the sadness and into the floor. It screams and struggles in agony. Music to your ears.)

(Feasting time.)

(You can barely focus on anything else. You're so hungry. You stare and tower over the Sadness, wrapping your tentacles around it, making sure they're tight enough to cause more pain.)

(It begins struggle faster. Good.)

(You rip the Sadness off the floor. Your jaws are already open, excited, anticipating the sweet meal.)

(You bring the sadness closer, and closer.)

(The tears are flowing. The screams continue.)

(You're starving.)

(CRUNCH.)

(You chew. Your hunger is satiated as the salty sweet taste and prime meat texture churns around within your mouth.)

(It's amazing, delectable.)

(It really is better to make your own food.)

(You chew and chew and chew, making sure the taste lingers for as long as possible.)

(You finally swallow.)

(For the time being, you are no longer hungry.)

(...)

(You concentrate.)

(You feel your hands and fingers and legs and toes return to you.)

(You turn to your party.)

"I'm full!"

(...they're horrified.)

(That's to be expected.)

(You really are unlovable.)

[REWIND]

"A Sadness, huh? The House must be crawling with them..."

"O-okay everyone, let's, um, uh--"

"I'm hungry."

(Everyone looks at you in surprise.)

"Already?" (Isabeau says with a confused smile.) "Right now?"

(Bonnie digs around their pockets.)

"Hold on Frin, I might have something here--"

"Hehe." (Mirabelle giggles)

"Thank you Siffrin."

"...oh!" (Isabeau snaps his fingers.) "Were you trying to calm Mirabelle down, Sif?"

"Ohhhh. That's pretty clever!" (Bonnie says with a point.)

"Indeed. A joke before battle. As though you don't say them enough DURING them." (Odile says, a smirk across her face.)

(...you give a laugh of your own.)

(Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.)

(You can't lash out like that again.)

(You can't let them know.)

(No matter how much your stomach growls.)

(Stick to the script.)

[twigthedoodler]

You loop back with all of them... Pt. 3

in stars and time spoilers ahead! Inspired by this post! Part 2 is here! Part 4 is here!

@moonsart

(They all glare at you, annoyed, and concerned for you.)

(You can’t help but laugh! It’s funny! It’s SO funny how they care but you don’t! It’s funny how you knew they would hate you! It’s funny how they are only characters to you now! You're disgusting Siffrin! Of course they hate you!)

“What you say doesn’t matter. It all ends the same anyways.”

Isabeau: “What!? Of course it does! We care about you Siffrin! We just wanna know what’s going on so we can help!”

Odile: “‘It all ends the same anyways…’ Something tells me these two days have happened for a while now. isn’t that right Siffrin?”

(They give a suspicious, knowing, stare at you.)

Mirabelle: “This has happened before???”

Bonnie: “What do you mean?”

“...”

“You figured it out again, huh? Well that doesn’t matter… We need to focus on tomorrow and defeating the king! Let’s talk about it later!”

(You did not intend to talk about it later. You never did. You never will. You fake a smile again. You take more care this time to make it more convincing than last time…)

Isabeau: “Hey guys… Let’s just drop it for now. Siffrin clearly isn’t comfortable talking about it… And Siffrin is right. We need to focus on tomorrow. We can talk about it later.”

(Very naive… even though he was wrong, you were grateful to change the subject all the same.)

Odile: “No! We shouldn’t, we all know very well Siffrin won’t say it later!”

Bonnie: “Yeah! He won’t! He never talks about anything that bothers him!”

Mirabelle: “Can we just chill out? It’s okay! We can force him to say it later! We do need to focus on tomorrow! So… Can we just stop fighting about it…? …Please?”

(Odile sighs, and Bonnie thinks about it and hesitantly agrees)

Odile: “Fine. Mirabelle you’re right, we shouldn’t fight right now. But we will get Siffrin to talk later. Or I’ll figure it out myself. Okay?”

“Okay. Sure! Later!”

(You keep on that fake smile. You knew it wouldn’t happen so you were not worried! You kept your act on that you had on for all the other loops before, the whole night long! Ah! Familiarity! Nice! You all went to bed without the play going off the rails of the script too much!)

…

(I was worried about Sif. I think we all were… I couldn’t sleep at all. So I knew Odile knew more than me so I nudged her.)

“Hey… Ma’am… I think you know more than me, and I’d like to help you! May I please?”

Odile: “Isabeau… I do indeed have an idea of how to figure out more of what’s going on with Siffrin… If you promise to not tell Siffrin, you may.”

(She had a lead? She trusted me with the idea? Of course I was going to listen! Anything I could do to help Siffrin I would do it!)

“Of course. I won’t say anything! What is it?”

Odile: “I don’t want anyone to hear… Let's get out of the Clocktower before we talk.”

“Okay!”

(So the both of us sneak out of the Clocktower. Once outside Odile looked around before telling me her idea.)

Odile: “So I saw the direction Siffrin was coming from when we found him today… I think we should look around there.”

“What direction did he come from?”

Odile: “The Favor tree… Are you in with the plan?”

“Of course! I wanna help Siffrin! Let’s check it out! What do you think we should be looking for?”

Odile: “I’m not entirely sure right now. But I'm sure we will know when we get there. Now let’s go before anyone notices we are gone.”

“Gasp! Ma’am are you researching Spy-ology?”

Odile: “...no I'm not. That’s not a thing. Now let’s get going.”

“Fine. Let’s go!”

(So we sneak around the town, making sure no one was following us. Finally we get to the East side of town. We walk past the trees to the Favor tree. It loomed above us in the darkness. The tree itself felt off, and for a moment I swear I saw a strange glow.)

“Did… did you see that?”

Odile: “I believe I did…Hmmm…I wonder what exactly that was…”

“We should check it out!”

…

(I heard them. I heard Siffrin’s family…Odile and Isabeau at the tree… I can’t let them see me! If I do, I would just remember them…)

(On branch I was holding on for dear life! If they saw me- It wouldn't happen! They will leave right!? But to my dismay they came closer. They looked at the base of the tree… I was losing my grip! I fell… I FELL!? OH NO!)

…

(There in front of us was… was… It looked like what’s in the sky!... Didn’t Siffrin say those were-)

“Are you a star?”

(The star looked so scared!...why? Well maybe it was because Odile and me was too tall.)

???: “I- I- It’s- It’s you!... No Isabeau I am not a star…And Odile… I’m not a wish.”

“How do you know our names!?”

Odile: “Do you know us?”

[boos-gh0st]

Okay I’m gonna start giving you guys name variants for my friends I can’t just keep saying “my friend” and then proceed to another story with a different so before I start my next one

Friend I played the game with: Butwhy (you already knew this)

Friend who did 36 Loops: qib (variant)

Other friends will be labeled in time

ANYWAY ONTO MY STORY

Butwhy and I have this funny thing we do ever since we played ISAT that when discord glitches and adds two reactions to a message in DMs rather than just the one (pics provided) we say hi to Loop. It’s goofy, and we do it because it’s like “lmao there’s two and one of us didn’t react to it, must be Loop”

Yesterday we were texting and it happened in a casual conversation, so I said hi to Loop.

This man comes back with a VOICE NOTE in his loop voice saying “oh hellooooo stahdust [cause his loop is British for whatever reason]! I just felt the need to add a little reaction emoji, because I thought your good friend Butwhy was sooo funny, so I just felt the need to updo that. And also to go through the funny air waves to do a funny voice message [airy laugh]”

So we spoke about loop being in my wifi

Which quickly turned to loop checking my search history! So we had recieved two voice notes from loop yesterday.

“Oh! Stahrdust, let me take a look at your search history euh- ……… [gets very close to the mic, lowers voice] stardust why do you have- st- stardust why do you have siffrin x isab-“

This sounds so unfunny in text GUYS PLEASE I PROMISE IT WAS A HILARIOUS CONVERSATION it made my day yesterday okay it’s silly

I would’ve added videos of the voice notes but I would need his permission to do so and I don’t feel like asking so you are just revieving images of our prior “hi loop”’s

The first one is yesterdays, needs no context as there is this entire post. In the second one the voice note he replies with is “hey stahdust, by yourself on a Friday night? PATHETIC.” WITH HIS ASS GIGGLING AND STIFLING A LAUGH THE ENTIRE TIME 😭😭😭

I’m sure there’s others but I can’t find them

[a-weepin-willow]

I DID MY OWN HUMAN LOOP DESIGN!!!!

Notes below the cut :

NOTES!!!!!!

- Okay so the only way I can imagine post-game loop is if Siffrin wished that ”Loop could also get a happy ending” and thus Loop’s back in the same body as before the star eatining and is immedietly freaking the FUCK out!

- Wants to look like Siffrin as little as possible. They’re not him anymore.

- They get to wear a skirt because they went through a 1000 loops hoping to one day get to wear one so I think they deserve it

- also the skirt is made out of their old cloak, flipped inside out, with the upper part made into a scarf

- and now, maybe you’re asking yourself, there’s one of their pins in the scarf…. Where’s the other one? WELL ITS HELPING TO HOLD UP THEIR SHITTY DIY SKIRT!!!!

- primarily black shades to work as the opposite of Siffrin

- tiny braid!!!

- FRECKLES!!!!!

- the shitty ass boots are my fault so don’t blame them-

- AAANNNNNNNDDDD A boob window….. as a treat

- also earrings are a reference to my design for Siffrin’s mom…… don’t tell Loop, they don’t know and they would start crying.

[lucabyte]

any thoughts about postcanon loop and mira relationship? i dont think i saw much about it in text posts but it looks like you might have something. bats eyelashes

okay i have rambled about this in a few places in mostly privately and in the tags of my own posts and self-reblogs but. grabs your shoulders. can you fucking imagine how funny loop would be as mira's beard. hear me out.

like. i'm already here for isiloops. im also already here for miraloop and mirasif qpr. im also here for miraisa qpr. im also not a coward who thinks odile should be excluded from this but thats besides the point. what im saying is that the whole things a fucking polycule and there's yet still ways this could be made way, way funnier.

So. It's obvious that Loop's theatrics are more than a bit of a facade. (They drop them when taken off-guard or in serious moments with Siffrin, and Isabeau remarks on them seeming 'shy' at the end)

But we also know that they aren't *that* much of a facade due to their speech patterns being directly reflected in act 4-5 sif's inner monologue. It's clear that Loop's regular goofy bullshit is just the manic end of Sif's emotional state unfiltered and externalised, presumably because they went fucking insane.

So while I imagine they'd probably be slightly more toned down with the party in postcanon, I don't imagine the bonus confidence that comes with Constantly Performing like that would just like... go away? Plus, new identity means you've got no expectations to be held against so... I think it would make sense for them to keep up the theatrics, the bitchiness, the change in humour from dumb puns to sharp and cruel wit.

So the idea of them proposing to Mirabelle that they could just, *pretend* to be dating isn't out of scope, to me. In a situation where she's perhaps fretting about keeping up appearences as an ever-changing housemaiden, or has heard through the grape vine that someone is going to try and make a move on her at a formal gathering, I think Loop offering to theatrically play up being her partner 'as a joke', so that they can offer her support and comfort while still under that arm's-length plausible deniability, sidestepping the emotional vulnerability of 'feelings buddies'.

(Remember, after all, that Act 6 Mirabelle's 'no spoilers' policy means she only got Act 5 Sif's fucked up little talk? There's genuine question as to how long it could take her to unpack things again after that. She probably still feels that social pressure even in a scenario where she has something again to the regular friendquest talk again, anyway...)

It lets them be 'in on a joke' together, and also gives Loop an excuse to hold hands with their friends that doesn't require they be honest about things. ("Well there's the thing, Housemaiden! I've no mouth to kiss, so we don't even have to do gross things like that to keep up appearences!") And thus gives Loop a niche in the party to slot into that otherwise probably wouldn't be filled by anyone.

And would anybody question it? The chosen saviour of the country has a weird little ethereal freak on their arm. That sounds about right for a magical saviour, and means there's really no need for any explanation for why they seemingly only showed up after The King's defeat. They're clearly Mirabelle's spirit guide, or something.

. anyway as with all things loop feel free to place this after everyone knows who they are for this to become a "relatively normal thing that can happen",

or you can place it before everyone knows who they are for the added twist-of-the-knife that is "guilt over keeping secrets" and "a really awkward and potentially upsetting recontextualisation later on"

also in case you havent seen . images related -> (x) (x)

[pointlessdinosaurs]

I made a new blog just for this because I feel weird asking for RP partners on my art blogs LMAO

I just,,, finished the game,,, and,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

oh my god

Anyway.

Im looking for a partner to do an in stars and time RP with!!! I am warning you now that I am VERY Very slow and as a full time college student sometimes there can be big gaps between posts.

I'd like to play Siffrin my beloved or Loop!!! Maybe sifloop or isa x loop x frin. I don't do NSFW but i'm okay with gore.

I am 20 and I have been roleplaying for 7+ years!

RP sample below the read more!!!

(i have literally never done this on tumblr before LMAO i hope im doing this right)

The sugar made her feel better, her body attacking the simple sugars like a starving hound. Jess sniffed loud and wet into her star patterned handkerchief, and then shoved another gummy worm into her mouth. 

At that point, with her teeth still adhered together by the sticky substance, she registered the jangling that had been getting louder in the back of her head. Jess felt other people's emotions all the time, but usually, they were muted to some extent, like a background melody, unless they were focused on her. Then the background melody became as loud and as insistent as a ringing gong, or cymbals clapping in front of her face. 

Jarred out of her miserable stupor, Jess recalled that she was a celebrity (even if it felt so weird to call herself that!) having a melt down in a public space. Mortified, she turned to look at the Chiss and the Human, reaching out and subtly parsing their emotions. Maybe it was just a coincidence, and they didn't recognize her...? 

Their emotions were all clotted together and tangled up in a big knotted ball. People who were very close to each other, or had very strong feelings about each other, were like that. She didn't have time to glean more than the surface level-- calm, worried, curious, sad, and tired.

Oh no, she thought. They were probably fans! UGH! She couldn't be let herself be seen like this. They were going to think she was some sort of... of... gloomy weirdo! Who cried into her yogurt!  She turned away, briefly scrubbing at her eyes with a napkin, and by the time they approached, she had affected her bubbly demeanor, looking for all the world like she hadn't been crying five minutes ago, aside from the tell-tell red of her eyes. She wrenched her jaws apart, gummy candy still stuck to her teeth, and chirped. "Oh my gosh, hi! Are you two fans? Do you want an autograph?"

[pillowspace]

OKAY SO I FINISHED ACT 4 YESTERDAY AND I ARGRJRHRGRHRGH SOBSSSSSS!!!!!

Okay so first of all, here's like a 9 second video of me becoming a wounded animal at the sight of Siffrin's face

AND I MEAN, LOOK AT THEM. WAHHHHHH!!!! I NEED TO BLOW UPPP

Also, when the Head Housemaiden said this, I felt DEVESTATED:

Siffrin really, really, does not need to hear that. He's already going through so much. To be openly told that he'll be trapped for eternity when he's already at his rope's end is utterly cruel in its tragedy.

After Siffrin woke back up in the meadow, I took a break for the night. Eventually I got to drawing at 6am, and needed the description of "Memory of Sadnesses," so I opened the game to check it. And.

Okay. So first of all, the title screen's different. I didn't notice that one until just now actually. However, when I did open the menu at 6am, my eyes immediately flickered over to Siffrin in a moment of sorrow when I noticed the difference. Then I opened his profile. "The Lost One." That's new! Never before have I wanted to cry for a character so bad at 6:50 in the morning

Act 5, please treat them kindly

Live-blogging will continue in a new post

Mmmmm. Now that I'm out of Act 3, maybe I should make a new post for In Stars and Time livereactions since the previous post has gotten so long

(Okay, yeah, sure, see reblogs for my liveblogging)

[the-bitter-ocean]

(ACT 3 SPOILERS) Hi everyone! I Wanted to post writing I did for @tealgoat In tales of time au!! For context it’s set around act 3, where Odile reached the end for the first time with a family run. The art I used in this post is made by teal and you can find the links to those drawings individually over here and here! Writing is under the cut:

< You’re here again. >

< But something feels different. >

< You managed to beat the king like always… but this time..>

< This time you had the courage to call your companions your family. >

< You got to understand all of them a little better and in turn that made you all grow closer. >

< Is that what you needed? Is that the solution to the problem? >

< You didn’t think that helping them would amount to anything much, but the story’s outcome changed a little didn’t it? >

< Even if it was small.. you know how important it is. >

< Your father used to tell you that rereading a story allows you to see details you may have not noticed on a first pass. >

< That it can your change your entire perception of the story itself, even. >

< Is this what you needed all along? >

<Your heart feels warm. >

< He used to read you stories like that all the time. >

< Fairytales about love and friendship saving the world. >

< It gave you comfort then.. and it seems it’s giving you comfort now. >

< You’ve talked to everyone.. they all said different lines then the ones you’re used to.>

< With that logic in mind.. then it should be obvious that the Head Housemaiden should say something different. >

=> < Talk to her. >

=> < Don’t talk to her yet.>

=> < Talk to her.>

< You’ve said everything you needed to say to your companions. >

< It’s time for the moment of truth. >

< You approach the Head Housemaiden and greet her. >

< “Hello!” >

< The head Housemaiden smiles at you and waves. >

((“Hello traveling one! Are you done talking to your companions? Yes, wonderful wonderful-“))

< ….?>

((“ I’d like to thank you for accompanying young Mirabelle on the journey. You have my gratitude.”))

((“ Odile, yes? If there’s anything I can do to thank you, please don’t hesitate to let me know!”))

<….?!>

((“I know you will go back on your travels soon but I do hope-”))

<…>

<…… Ah. >

< Of course. >

((“ Just know that no matter what that Dormont will always be open to you! Please come back any…time….”))

((“…!!!! Oh… oh no no no.. oh nonono-“))

< Ahahaha…!>

< You should’ve expected this. >

< Why would whatever happened before change the story’s ending now? >

< Just because you felt loved and safe? Stupid stupid stupid- you should’ve known better! Why did you decide to rely on how you felt instead of looking at the reality of the situation you’re in? >

< You try to breathe. >

((“ Oh Odile! I’m so sorry..!”))

< It’s fine. It’s just the end again. It’s the same. >

((“ I’m so sorry..there’s no way we can stop it now!” ))

< You’ll just be..>

((“- going back! Back when everything started!”))

< You know her lines by heart, now. >

< If you know what happens next…then you can always know how to react and never be disappointed.>

< You’re fine. >

< You’re…>

<| “…? Odile?” |>

<| “Is everything okay?”|>

< You turn your head and look in Siffrin’s direction. >

< He’s staring right at you. >

< You can’t shift your expression fast enough. >

<| “ Odile what’s wrong- “|>

{“ Head Housemaiden, is something the matter?” }

((“ I cant fix it on my own, not before it all ends… if only I noticed it all sooner!”))

[“Huh? What’s happening? ]

(“ Dile?”)

< You can’t move. >

< You’re frozen. >

{ “Madame, what’s-Urgh!”}

[“ Is something happening? The air around us.. it feels like.. AGH!” ]

(“ My head hurts!!!”)

((“ It’s my fault you have to suffer like this…”))

<| “ODILE!!!”|>

[“ M’DAME!!!”]

< They’re all running, reaching towards you..>

(“ Dile come back! Somethings wrong!!!”)

< You have to move. >

{“ MADAME ODILE!!!!”}

< Maybe you can catch Isabeau’s hand if you reach out to him. >

((“I just hope that one day..”))

< You slowly hold your hand out for him to hold. >

< You take a step forward. >

((“ You could learn to forgive-“))

< And you- >

__________________________________________________________

<You open your eyes, your hand reaching out to nothing. >

< You’re back in the store once more. >

< You grip unto the shelf and take a deep breath. >

< Foolish. >

< You press your fingers against the bridge of your nose and adjust your glasses. >

< You laugh quietly as you can. >

< You truly believed this could work, didn’t you?>

< You really thought helping them all would be the key to your escape! >

< That if you helped them, if you were loved, then surely it had to free you, right? >

< Hahahahaha! >

< That was awfully childish of you! >

< They loved you but it’s not enough to save you! >

< And why would it? When has anything ever been that simple for you? >

< You should know better. >

< Everything was reset back to the beginning. >

< Any character development reversed and undone. As if it never happened at all. >

< Mirabelle is back to feeling out of place because of her identity. >

< Isabeau is still hiding everything about himself, pretending to be something he’s not. >

< Boniface is back to feeling like they’re useless and that they don’t contribute enough to the rest of you. >

< Siffrin won't remember the times you spent together.. back to being scared of you..! >

< And you're back here.. again.. and again .. and again! >

< That's what you get for hoping! That's what you deserve, for being so blinding incompetent and - >

< You slowly look up and glance at the clock. >

< Siffrin will enter the shop soon, won't he? >

<…>

< You need to cut this spiral of yours short then. That’s fine, it’s not like crying ever did you any favors.>

< Focus on the present. >

<The power of friendship didn't work. That’s fine. >

< All you can do is try something else now.>

< You owe it to everyone to keep going. >

< The story isn’t over for you yet. >

| You got a MEMORY OF FAMILY! |

< You'll always remember this. >

| When equipped, Memory of Family doubles everyone's EXP gained in battle, except for yours. |

[livesworthlivingau]

Two Hats Lore Drop/Chapter -1?

So I decided that Two Hats went a liiittle bit differently in my fic, mostly because some things always kinda bothered me about it, like how even with craft exhaustion Loop is FAR too easy to fight, and that Siffrin would just kill them without hesitation basically. So I've decided to rewrite the fight portion! the lead up to it, and the post fight scene of Loop winning are still accurate to canon, but the in between went a bit different, most of the lines were kept though, albeit a little altered. Hope you enjoy my own rendition of Two Hats! CW: Blood, violence, mental spirals, suicidal ideation, and all the usual two hats CW implications.

-"Let's fight, you and I! Let's have a cute, miniscule, old-fashioned little fight like a bonded couple. Okay~?"

(You stare silently... You can't find the words to say... to imagine everything that Loop went through, to imagine where you would be right now if Loop weren't there to guide you...)

"Ha... Nothing to say, still? Haha... HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! STARS, killing you will make me SO HAPPY." (You watch as for a split second, their form blinks away into yours, before flashing right back. You stumble back a step.)

"Are you ready?" (You open your mouth to protest-)

"No, you don't get a choice! We're doing it!!! Let's go, Stardust~~~~~~!!!!!!" (Loop draws their weapon, their eyes showing a bright smile across their face... You can't tell if this one is fake anymore.)

"Let's just get right to it." (You hesitantly reach for your dagger. You don't want to fight them, you CAN'T fight them! Not to mention you're still exhausted from everything. Your body feels heavy, sluggish, weak... You slip your dagger from it's sheath, hoping you won't actually have to use it.)

(Loop takes a deep breath, as if to prepare themself for what's to come, before suddenly lunging towards you. You just barely managed to deflect it in time, but you're sent sliding back a few feet.)

"What's the matter Stardust, too tired for a little squabble~?" (They tease in that familiar tone, though much more manic now. Their eyes staring at you, wide, crazed, almost feral... You have to defend yourself, but... but you can't bring yourself to attack them. What if they're right?... I stole their happy ending... do I deserve this?...)

"Come now Stardust, it's no fun if you won't FIGHT BACK!!!" (They shriek as they lunge for you again, deflecting it just in time, only for your dagger to be sent flying out of your hands and onto the grass. You fall backwards and onto the ground, looking up at them and sliding back a couple feet.)

(Loop simply stares at you, nodding their head towards your dagger... They want you to fight back... they want to earn this... You try to craft a speed bonus, Make Up The Time. A wave of nausea rushes over you as you can't quite manage to produce it. Right... Craft Exhaustion... You slowly grab your dagger, watching Loop cautiously, getting back to your feet. They simply watch before giving a smirk once you're standing again.)

"You know, in a way, I am so very proud of you! You did so good, Stardust~! I am so proud, Stardust~! The Universe brought you to victory~! It only had to lead, and you followed~! And I suppose, what the Universe wanted from me, was to just shut up and take it! Everyone's favorite cosmic joke~! Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!"

(They suddenly rush forward again, you're not fast enough this time, their dagger slices across your shoulder. You let out a cry of pain as your hand goes to cover the wound, dark fluid slowly oozing out from under your hand.)

"From main character," (They take a wide slice at you, easily avoiding it. They're just thrashing about, not really trying to hit you yet.)

"To stage director," (Slice)

"To sponsor," (Slice)

"To CORPSE!" (ACK! That last lunge caught you off guard, slicing across your chest. You stumble back again, panting, shaking, the adrenaline pumping through you helps numb the pain and exhaustion, likely the only reason you're still on your feet.)

"... The king... It took me dozens, hundreds, thousands of loops, just so I could beat him a single time, did you know that? No matter how hard I tried, the King always defeated me." (Loop stares at the wound they'd left on your chest, still tightly gripping their dagger with their arms hanging at their sides. After another moment they snap out of it, that bright, fake smile visible across their eyes once more.)

"And yet, look how easily you beat him, your first time! Oh, you may think it was easy, but just seeing you succeed... I was so blindingly angry!!! Why did you manage to beat him this easily?! What kept me from defeating him?!? What script was I following that kept me from victory?!? IS THAT WHAT THE UNIVERSE WANTED FROM ME?!? THE UNIVERSE, THE STARS, THE KING... OUR COUNTRY... I HATE THEM ALL!!! I HATE THEM!!! THEY CAN ALL DIE!!!"

(They rush towards you again, you spot an opening, you have to fight back! You have to stop this! You grip your dagger tighter, ducking below their strike and slashing across their chest, you don't want to hurt them, but you have to do something to defend yourself.)

(They stumble some, gripping the wound on their chest, looking down at it, then back up at you... Their eyes twitch, looking raving mad at this point... They start to laugh... laugh and laugh and laugh, growing into a manic cackle, then practically screaming in a fit of hysteria. They lift their dagger, stabbing it into the star emblazing their chest. You stare in horror for a moment before...)

(Rewind SFX)

(Loop stands before you, their right eye glowing that visceral shade now, the wounds gone, just as if they never happened.)

"What? Surprised you're not the only one who can loop back? Did you already forget my little sob story~? I guess that's what you do best, isn't it, FORGET?!"

(Loop Just Attacks you, guarding just in time to avoid serious damage, but you're still blasted back several feet. Your heels dig into the ground as they skid across. You huff out heavily, your vision going hazy, you don't know how long you can keep this up...)

"... I finally saw your party, earlier. I did really well, this whole time. Made sure they never saw me. Made sure I never saw them. Those pale copies of the party I knew. I didn't want to see them, ever again. Didn't want to know. Hah, can you believe, I forgot their names, for a time? Despair and trauma does that to you, sometimes, doesn't it?... But... I had to talk to them, didn't I? I was ready to tell them everything... Tell them who I was, what happened to me, that they had to go after you... And yet... And yet, when they saw me... It was like they were looking at a stranger... Can you imagine how it feels, Stardust?..."

(Loop trails off, staring down at their dagger... your dagger... coated in your own blood. They glance back up at you, their eyes filled with pure, seething rage. You take a couple steps back, tears forming in your eye... You can't do it anymore... you can't fight back...)

"I loved them... I loved them... I loved them...!!! And yet, they didn't recognize me!!! Didn't remember me!!! Because, it never happened to me, did it? It happened to you!!! You're the one who got their perfect ending!!!!!! This... remembering the times I spend with them, when they can't remember me, this is worse! This is worse than forgetting!!!!!! I wish I could forget, Stardust!!!!!! Ooooh, Stardust, do you know how this feels? Can you imagine it? DO YOU KNOW HOW IT FEELS, TO KNOW THAT SOME COPY OF YOU WON, AND YOU'RE LEFT WITH NOTHING?!? MIRABELLE... ISABEAU... ODILE... BONNIE...!!!!!! THEY WERE MINE, THEY WERE MINE, THEY WERE MINE!!!!!! THEY WERE MINE FIRST!!!!!!

AND YOU STOLE THEM FROM ME!!!!!!"

(Loop is right... You stole it all from them... You didn't earn it, you don't have the right to claim it, you're just a thief... Loop runs at you, dagger ready to strike once more. You stand still, dropping yours to the ground and closing your eye tight... accepting whatever comes next.)

(With a flash of pain, you're knocked to the ground. In another moment, Loop is above you, hands on your neck. They'll kill you, you know they will.)-

-------------------------------------------

[twigthedoodler]

You loop back all of them Pt. 4

In stars in time spoilers ahead! Inspired by this post! Part 3 is here! Part 5 is here!

@moonsart

???: “I know everyone in your little group… you're Siffrin’s little family…”

(The stranger that looked like a star was talking bitterly…?)

Odile: “So you know all of us? And you know Siffrin?”

“Who are you anyways?”

(The Stranger sighed. The Stranger couldn't look us in the eyes as they talked for some reason.)

???: "I am a... I'm a... I'm Loop! I'm here by the Universe's will to help Siffrin with the loops! That's who I am. That's all you need to know!"

Odile: "That's all we need to know... Interesting. What can you tell us about time craft and wish craft? And the loops? Cause you seem to know a lot.”

"Universe... That's what's in the sky... Huh... I'm with Odile. Could you please tell us what's going on? Siffrin won't tell us!"

Loop: "Well you won't remember very long because he will loop back soon... I can tell."

Odile: "We know Siffrin's, and apparently your memory doesn't reset... Is there anything else that doesn't?"

Loop: "Well... Siffrin's experience doesn't reset... And any equipment you get doesn't reset."

"That's why we have all this stuff we don't remember getting! Well... Couldn't we write something on an item, and then read it and remember?"

Odile: ... "That's a good idea! Good job! You sometimes have really good ideas Isabeau!"

Loop: "That might actually work! Okay... I'll tell you what I know if someone writes it down."

Odile: "I'll write it down."

Loop: "Alright... So... Siffrin made a wish... You Odile know that it isn't about croissants... That wish... Was done with a ritual. That made it come true. Somehow looping helps fulfill that wish. He has been looping in time for a while now. Restarting the day from the point you just saw. It also, as you noticed, it also resets the moment he talks to the head house maiden... There is a bit more but that's the most important parts for you to know right now... Got that all down?"

Odile: "Yeah I got that... Everything makes a bit more sense... There is still mystery of course... But...hmm... So he is looping because of his wish? Hmm..."

"I wonder why- no... Actually I know why he didn't tell us. He never likes 'burdening us' with his problems... Sometimes I wish he understood that it isn't a burden..."

(I don't like that Siffrin always avoids his problems. Ever since day one I was okay as long as I made him feel better... But I should have realized. He just thought It was okay to not say anything because I let him say nothing... I wish I could apologize to him...)

Odile: "...Thank you Loop. We might come back later. But we must get back before anyone else wakes up. We should go, Isabeau.”

(So we start walking back... There is this feeling I can't get off my chest though.)

"Hey, Ma'am Odile?"

Odile: "What is it?"

"Do you think Siffrin will be okay?"

Odile: "I-... I don't know... We will have to just see..."

(That was the last thing we said before the next morning.)

…

(At the clocktower Bonnie and Mirabelle was awake playing cards)

Bonnie: “I don't like this game… it's so confusing!”

Mirabelle: “Sorry, it kind of is… Well um…”

Bonnie: “...What are we going to do about Siffrin?”

Mirabelle: “I-... We need to help him… I'm sure Isabeau and Odile are gone to figure out what's happening on their own… But if they can't figure it out we need to decide what we are going to do.”

Bonnie: “I say we beat up Frin!”

Mirabelle: “W-what!? No! We are not doing that!”

Bonnie: “aww… I was sure it would work though…”

Mirabelle: “Let's talk to the others once we get a chance to figure out what the two learned… or didn't learn…”