#i have a perfect one for mirabelle and i have ideas for isabeau

[minhmynchi]

hey guys. how cringe would it be if loop were to refer to everyone only with space terms as nicknames bc im trying to come up with neat ones and im tearing my hair out trying to think of them

[medi-bee]

isat pokemon au, my liege?

my rambling in tags

[m4g0hun]

in stars and time x dungeon meshi

(extra thoughts and ideas below!)

closeups!!

so this is more of a isat in dungeon meshi kinda au than the opposite, the idea is that the King is the dungeon lord/mad mage, his desire being to be able to freeze the dungeon and the country in time

The change belief still exists, and Mirabelle is still a housemaiden destined to save the counrty, so she goes to seek out companions who can help her on her journey

Everyone's reasoning to join is still the same as it was in the game

Also this isn't a redesign of them, more like a dungeon meshified version of their clothes + colors so they could fit in better (imo!!)

ok now onto some design notes!

Siffrin

originally he was just gonna be a half-foot, but i realized his wish to be able to stay with everyone would hit harder if he would outlive them, so i made them a half elf- halffoot

i removed his hat purely for aesthetic reasons lol, i think he would stand out too much in the dungeon meshi universe with it, but i suppose its true for ingame too so maybe ill give ut back to him if he behaves well

i also wanted to remove his hat so i could see the top if his beatifiul head

his poncho is a bit different, just a few small details so it would better in universe i think

he lost his eye in one of the previous dungeons they were going through

Mirabelle

she's still part of the change religion

i felt like her being an elf is pretty much perfect, no notes on that

i did have marcille in my mind while designing her outfit, and also theyre kinda similar overall i think?? idk but i love both of them

i gave her braids because its canon in the dungeon meshi universe that taking good care if your hair+unique hairstyles strengthen your magic and also i think its cute

Bonnie - the senshi of the group!!!

i wasn't sure what race i should make them at first because they're a kid so theres no point in chosing a shorter race to show their size i thought, but then i remember how cute gnomes are in the verse with their big ol ears so thats what they are haha

their design is probably my favorite out if anyone as well

i imagined they would join pretty much the same way senshi did

Odile

her race was also pretty much immediately decided

her clothes were the biggest struggle for me, not only figuring out how to make them look a bit more medieval-like but also the colors

i decided a while ago in my head that odiles color palette would be blue but it was still a struggle making her coat not look like a lab coat lol

maybe that was the intention but i really just wanted her to appear like a normal adventurer

Isabeau

as you can see on the page i have the least amount of ideas for him lol

i pretty much just had laios in my head while i was designing him

i do feel a bit bad for taking away his stripes and silly looking belt thingy but i felt its a bit too much for the dunmeshi verse

thats pretty much it i think!! not sure if i will draw more of this au, i just mainly wanted to get it out ot my head cus its been rotating in it since i played the game

[stjernespiller]

Another eye

Can also be found on AO3

You can’t see anything.

Blood drips from your face. You think it hurts, in that distant way everything does now. You try to get it out of your eye, just enough to see the fight, but your vision stays dark through the wet sounds of blood and flesh.

Stupid, you think to yourself. Stupid stupid idiot, zoning out in a battle. Should have just looped forward to the king instead of taking that bathroom break and fighting the floor boss. Couldn’t even blinding cry, so what did it matter?

Your family members are speaking. They don’t do that much in battle. You should probably listen.

Bonnie is crying.

Mirabelle heals you again, a light feeling drifting over you that does nothing to take away the weight in your stomach. You don’t know why she did it again, you just need to get this blood out of your eye and you can go back to the fight, stop zoning out just enough to beat the sadness blocking your way to asking the king the question you’ve been dreading.

Isabeau is saying something very close to you. You think it’s him, at least, from the deeper tone. You can’t hear it. Can’t fight can’t see can’t hear. You’re pathetic.

He touches your face.

It’s- new, strange, unexpected. You flinch, and he takes his hand back, like your family always does because you’re so weak you can’t even handle being touched. But the hand only leaves for a moment before it’s back again, holding your cheek. you stand very, very still.

Is the fight over? It has to be. You almost had it before you got distracted and let yourself get hit. Maybe Isabeau and Odile got it while Mirabelle was healing you. He wouldn’t be touching you like this if the sadness was still attacking, back turned to where it stood.

He wipes the blood away from your eye, unstained hand doing a much better job than yours had. You still can’t see. You still can’t hear what any of them are saying. He sounds close to tears, though.

Ah. You know why you can’t see.

It clears your hearing. Fear, for some reason, leaves when you exhale. You breathe deep in, again, and a full sense of calmness fills the space of the fear you breathe out.

The blood hadn’t covered your eye, it was coming out of it. Stupid Siffrin didn’t pay attention to the fight and lost another eye.

Isabeau is cursing, voice wet with tears. His other hand cups your jaw, keeping your head in place. He wipes more blood away, touching your eyeball with so much gentleness you feel it should heal it. Mirabelle crafts another healing spell, and Odile asks Bonnie for the one sweet tonic you picked up this loop.

You pick up your wooden arms, raising them slowly, like through a thick fog, to land your hands on Isabeau’s. He drops his hands from your face. You’re speaking to your whole party when you say, “It won’t work.”

Bonnie sobs. Someone, likely Odile, pours a tonic on your eye anyway.

You just need to get to a frozen tear. You don’t remember where they are, but maybe you could convince your family to lead you to one. If you could find some excuse. Or just swing your arms around until you hit one.

“The head housemaiden could heal you,” Mirabelle whispers, voice just as teary as Isabeau’s. “I should have taken more healing classes. Studied more on my own. I can’t do it. And by the time we get to her...”

She trails of. Crafts another healing cure. It works just as well as the others.

Healing of this scale needs to be done quick. You know, because you all talked about it when you lost your first eye, and when Isabeau showed you a small scar on his bicep. Go more than an hour or two without the right healing craft, and it’ll be permanent.

An idea lights up in your mind. You turn your head, but it all stays black, and you can’t look anyone in the eye.

“We can find a tear. Freeze me.” It’s so perfect. You almost have to stop yourself from grinning. The best excuse you could have ever asked for. “when you beat the king and everyone unfreezes, someone can help me.”

The lie is easy, as easy as all the others you’ve filled these two days with. They won’t beat the king without you. You won’t unfreeze with everyone else, and the head housemaiden will never help you. But you need to see to fight, and you need to loop to see, and you need a tear to loop.

It’s quiet for a moment. “Will that work?” Odile asks, voice strangely soft.

“It’s worth a try.”

“We’ll find a tear!” Bonnie yells. They either stamp their foot or jump in place. “We’ll defeat the king and you’ll get your eye back!” their voice is still wet. You don’t know why. Are they scared of fighting the king without you? Now you’re thinking about the loop you let them go alone. Stars, you really are an awful person. Of course they’re scared when you can’t keep fighting, and just before the king, too.

“Let’s bandage it until then.” Mirabelle says, and a piece of cloth presses against your face. It’s nice and cool. “Your coat is all dark know.”

Odile, you think, listening to the footsteps, start walking. “We can’t go back,” she says, “hopefully there will be some tears further in.”

You walk after her. The corridor is as familiar to you as the rest of this blinding house. You don’t need an eye to know the way.

Isabeau still hovers beside you, steps heavy but careful. He doesn’t offer to guide you, probably afraid to touch you, but you can imagine his arm reaching out, hovering above your shoulder, ready to steer you away from the walls or the floor or what else you might kill yourself on. Fragile little Siffrin, can’t walk on his own.

Bonnie is to your other side, rushing ahead for two steps at a time before falling back again, never straying far. They hiccup, and audibly sniff their snot in. You feel awful. The tear is close. You just need to loop.

Mirabelle walks in front of you with Odile. You can almost feel her continuously looking back at you, footsteps irregular in that familiar pattern. You don’t know why it’s familiar, and when you try to remember, it slips away like lightless sand between your fingers.

The air is tense. You slip into your mind, a little. Claude is up ahead, frozen in time with the secret ingredient. You turn a corner, and don’t think about how strange it looks to your family for you to walk through the corridor like this. Isabeau calling you graceful is there, memory pushing itself to the front of your mind, but you don’t force yourself to act as if you don’t know this place better than yourself. They won’t remember.

“Does it hurt?” Bonnie whispers besides you. You instinctively look towards them, but still see nothing but darkness around you. “Sorry, stupid question. Of course it hurts.” Their voice is still wet. They sniffle. “You just act like it doesn’t.”

You’ve been acting a lot. Almost everything feels like a secret, a lie, a play. This isn’t one of them. “It’s just an eye.”

It’s the wrong thing to say.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN JUST AN EYE?!” Bonnie yells, and their voice is still wet, but it cracks in fury. “You always do this, you don’t care about anything! It’s your eye, you can’t see, you lost both of them now! You have to care!”

They hate you. You remember, now, that they don’t love you. You couldn’t get yourself to help them this loop, too tired from hearing the same thing again and again and again. In this moment, Bonnie hasn’t hugged you. In this moment, you haven’t talked with Bonnie about losing your first eye. In this moment, they still hate you.

But it’s fine. You’re on your way to a tear. You’ve all been walking this stretch for a while, Mirabelle should see Claude soon, and then they’ll find the safe room, and after that - you think you’ve seen tears there before.

“It’s just an eye,” you say again, because you can’t bring yourself to pretend any differently, that it matters to you more than having to loop and run through the third floor again. “I’ve lost worse.”

Bonnie doesn’t respond. Claude has to be here soon, right? Was she always this deep in the corridor?

"How is your eyes not the worst thing you've lost?" Mirabelle asks, so quiet you almost don’t hear her. The kind of question she doesn’t expect a response to.

You shouldn’t respond. You don’t want to respond. How can you. You can’t speak it’s name, can’t tell them anything about it, and you already didn’t help Odile this loop because you couldn’t bring yourself to follow the blinding script again when she won’t understand and won’t remember and won’t care.

“I lost my home,” you say anyway, because it’s all one big cosmic joke. They won’t remember anyway. It doesn’t matter. “And I don’t even remember it.”

Does your country matter, if no one remembers it?

Isabeau speaks up, always the emotionally mature one. “I’m sorry, that sounds awful.”

“You never remember anything,” Bonnie sniffles, sounding tired. The kind of exhausted you get calming down from crying. You wish your stupid eye would let you cry.

You’ve already broken the dam. It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter. “I don’t.” Isabeau tugs at you cloak, pulling you slightly towards him. He lets you go, a meter more to the left of the corridor than before, and doesn’t explain anything. You don’t ask.

“Not even the word for a stuffed animal. Or a sharpening stone, which you use all the time. Or bananas.” It seems to calm Bonnie down, listing all the things you don’t remember. You follow along.

“Not the name for all the birds in Dormount. What bonding earring are. What we did last week. My family. My country. Your names, that one time.”

It doesn’t calm you down. Or the others, for that matter. Isabeau stopped walking. The other three follow suit.

You stop too, because the others did. Then you wish you had kept going, because now you’re just standing here, and you still can’t see anything.

“Sif...” Isabeau starts, soft and careful. “I’m sorry. We’ve been poking fun at your memory, but this... We need to talk, after we beat the king.”

You don’t want to talk. Have you already made the pun on your memory this loop? Bonnie said you couldn’t remember the name, so probably, you need something else, something to divert the attention, it doesn’t matter because they’ll forget but right now they remember and you don’t want to talk.

“Aren’t there any tears here?” You ask, and it comes out harsher than you planned.

“Oh! No, not yet, but there’s a door here, maybe on the other side?” Mirabelle sounds nervous and jumpy. Did you do that? Stars, you’re awful.

Then you think. There’s a door, and you hear someone open it. Claude was before the door. She was, you know it, you can’t have forgotten that, Mirabelle stops you all and says the same thing every time.

Did you all walk past her? Did... did Mirabelle change the script? Because you’re blind now?

Your head hurts. You walk towards the door, and only need to follow the wall for a moment before you reach it, having been pulled from the middle of the corridor by Isabeau. Was that.... because of Claude? Did he pull you out of the way?

When Mirabelle tells everyone to hurry through the safe room, they do so. No one talks about taking a break, and Odile’s stomach doesn’t rumble. You’re through the room without eating or touching the star.

“There!” Bonnie yells, first out of the second door.

“A tear,” Odile says simply. “Two, actually. Pick your poison, Siffrin.”

You chuckle, just a little. Lean right. But you don’t actually know where in the room the tears are. You just know the door to the king is straight ahead.

“Can I lead you to it?” Isabeau offers. You empty your mind, think of nothing, and hold out your hand.

He guides you in an arch. Let’s go of your hand. You reach out, and dream of nothing.

[breavie]

oops! all siffrins (isat fic)

part 1

[first] | [next] | [all]

Birdsong coaxes you awake. You can feel the grass around you sway as a soft breeze gently plays with your bangs.

...Something about that was wrong. You crack open an eye. Darkless hair greets your vision. That's wrong, too. You sit up, fully opening your eyes now.

Or eye, apparently. Something's preventing you from opening the other one. Looking down at yourself, you see...

...Why are you wearing Siffrin's cloak?

"—Frin! Siffrin!" your voice calls out. Rapid footfalls alert you to someone's approach.

Ah, right. You had just been on your way to wake up Siffrin, hadn't you? You wanted a second opinion on your sleepover idea, after all!

But wait, you hadn't been the one to say that, so who—

Your eye snaps up to see a figure running towards you.

It's... you??

"Siffrin! What's going on? We did it, didn't we? And you—"

Despite her standing right in front of you now, you have trouble focusing on whatever she's rambling about. And who could blame you? That's you talking at you! Or another version of you? And she thought you were Siffrin? You really don't know what's going on right now.

"—and then you got all big, and—"

And the things she's saying are just... completely nonsensical! Time loops, the end of the world? You don't remember any of that happening to you!

Still, she seems... real, in a way. Like, obviously, you're you. But, she's... also you? She's acting the way you think you would have acted given what she's saying, at least. It's... disorienting, to say the least.

...Not to mention, you just... have a feeling. You don't know how, but you know. She's...

"—and—Siffrin, you remember all of that, right? Siffrin?"

Uh oh, she's waiting for an answer now! What to say, what to say—!

"Are you sure you didn't just have a nightmare, Mira?" you ask. Wow, talking to another you is weird! Still, you can tell that she's stressed. You don't need to worry her about yourself.

And it's not like any of the things she was talking about were even possible! This version of you is probably even more worried about tomorrow than you are, if she was having dreams about it!

A myriad of expressions wash over her face. Confusion, shock, horror... Crab, you didn't help at all!

"Uh, uh—I mean, we're going to be fighting against the King tomorrow, it makes perfect sense to have nightmares like that!" you try to assuage her.

She's staring at you now with a hesitant look of... something. You would think you'd be better at reading your own face.

"...Alright, I guess you might be right..." she doesn't seem fully convinced.

A beat passes where neither of you say anything. Other you seems to be deep in thought.

"Could you, uh, go get Madame Odile and Bonnie for me?" she eventually asks, handing you a piece of paper.

Without looking, you already know what's written on it. You wrote this list too, after all.

"I'll go get Isabeau and check if..." she trails off. You don't know what that was about.

Another beat.

"Anyway," she presses on, "I'll meet you back at the Clocktower with the rest, okay?"

"Sure thing, Mira" you nod, trying to smile a bit. Change, talking to her still feels so... wrong!

As the other Mirabelle walks away, you take a moment to examine yourself a bit closer. Yep, this is definitely Siffrin's body. That's... fine, right? That's fine. Everything's just fine, and there's nothing to worry about!

You should tell someone about this. Get some help, figure things out.

...It'll have to wait. Everyone's already worried about fighting the King tomorrow, you don't need to add to that. Besides, there's already another Mirabelle running around in your place! It's likely that no one would even believe you if you told them.

You can manage for a bit, you think. Just until you beat the King. That wouldn't be too much for you to handle, right? For now, just pretend to be Siffrin. Don't stress out your friends. Easy!

You begin walking to the shop. You've got appearances to keep up after all, Mirabelle.

[faislittlewhiteraven]

So seen a few 'What if the ISAT cast were in Pokemon Mystery Dungeon' posts...

And I'm gonna put my hat in the ring because darn it I've been thinking about this for over a week now and I want to infect others with these ideas.

Siffren: Hisuian Zorua - White, adorable AND comes free with a neck ruff to hide their face in, but well, doesn't it fit Siff extremely well lore wise too? Just a cute little guy that's a remnant of a home and life forcefully taken away, Normal enough to be among the living with no issues but also Ghost because there's something missing... Something lost that shapes them, tears at them but they just can't let go... Also they eat a lot, have a good amount of mischief in their nature and use 'illusions' for self protection so like. It's a perfect fit really~ XD (Also the 'red' aspects during the Vs Friends fight makes me wonder if in the PMD version of ISaT Siffrin is evolving so wrong somehow that the universe is breaking and a huge chunk of the fight is the party basically mashing B button in utter terror~ XDDD)

Isabeau: Ditto - No joke, Isabeau had me really stumped for ages because what kind of pokemon species goes from nerd to buff to eventually somewhere in the middle during their evolution line but then I realized 'Wow I'm an idiot. There's a pokemon all about Change that can be any form right over there!' and thus Isa-Ditto was born in my mind. I like to think he's almost always in the form of a Marchoke, Zangoose or Scrafty or something that to the others is big and buff but Isa's warm smiling ditto face always stops him from ever looking intimidating, and back in the 'nerd' days Isa probably stuck to being a Gothita/Gothorita, if only because they're about the only mon I can think of with braids and they do seem like a good form if one wants others to stay away so they can focus on studying and stuff...

Mirabelle: Minccino/Cinccino - Ok, most of my reasoning for this one is because Mira visually reminds me of the Minccino line (those eyes <3 And her ribbon! <3) but like, she IS pretty studious and helpful and probably cleans up after everyone and that's Cinccino as anything to me, plus the sheer way this mon blitzs with Skill Link... IDK I just really feel the line suits her.

Odile: Kanto Persian or Purugly - After realizing Siff, Isa and Mira were all Normal types I decided to make it a thing and since under this logic Odele couldn't be a Kadabra (as was my first instinct), the idea of her being this big old book reading cat affectionately rolling her eyes at everyone else's nonsense just had so much appeal <3 Leaning Persian if only because its design matches her visuals better but the thought of her as a Purugly feeling comfortable enough around the others she doesn't puff up her fur via her tail around them is pretty cute/very 'seems standoff-ish but is secretly affectionate Odile' so I'm still struggling to choose between them.

Bonnie: Zigzagoon - Bonnie was probably the hardest to pick out because there were so many possibilites (Aipom for the mischief? Munchlax for the cooking/food vibes? Oh but what about Meowth for their weird hug face???). But then I realized pokemon of all sorts could do all of those things and what really stands out about Bonbon is their 'NPC somehow on the big adventure and doing their best' vibes so a spunky little Zigzagoon using their 'Gluttony' expertise in food to 'Pick Up' the party's sprits felt really fitting (also they way they dart in and out of combat with their Quick Feet just. It works you know? XD). Not sure which Zigzagoon form would be most fitting for them but currently leaning Galarian if only because Siff being weak to Bonnie fits hilariously well, it matches with Bonnie's 'desire to be edgy despite still being adorable' vibes and the mental thought of them far off in the future, all grown up and protecting their family as a big bad Obstagoon gives me a ton of warm fuzzies so yeah~ <3

Euphrasie: Lopunny - Look, it's just the hair, the affectionate personality and her being really really tall compared to the others alright? Only the party is actually Normal locked to me! X'D (I could see her as an Altaria or a Mega Ampharos as well but Lopunny just feels more 'right' somehow.)

The King: Hisuian Zoroark - . . . In my defence, he's an incarnation of malice born from the loss of his home/life with long long hair who acts as Siffrin's foil, pushes them towards 'discovering the red' and yoyos between tragically lamenting and being a ruthlessly, cruel monster who would hurt a child. There was no other option.

Loop: currently torn but leaning Cosmog/Cosmeom or Mimikyu for most of the game and Necrozma/Ultra Necrozma for the Act 6 secret fight - Finally the one non Normal type! And the fact it's the eldritch feeling Loop is kinda perfect? Helps them stand out more at least, and well you really can't beat Ultra Necrozma for 'star shaped thing that is both terrifying, potentially world ending and in immense amounts of pain'. (...Also its weak to Siff's H!Zorua and Bonnie's potential Dark type so it fits type wise also XD).

Change God: Mew - Do I really gotta explain why? (Legendary, has Transform, cute and sweet but also a little bastard, etc- It ticks all the boxes XD

So... Yeah. Those are my In Stars and Time 'what Pokemon would the main cast be' thoughts.

[maddilynmuse]

The Midnight Snack Shack

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

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

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

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

Enjoy~

.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Oh whatever. Boys will be boys.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“And?”

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

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

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

“Nope.”

…

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

“Thought you might want your clothes.“

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

“Oh. Should we go there instead?”

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

“Hehe, okay, okay.”

Hopefully that would be the end of it.

———

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

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

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

“Oh. That makes sense!”

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

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

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

“Um, no? We’re by the seashore!”

“I think Odile could.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What.

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

WHAT?!

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

“Mm hmm~!”

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

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

“GAAAAAASP! BELLE SAID CRAB?!?!”

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

“Bonnie?!”

“CRAB! GUYS! SHE SAW ME!”

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

“Oops,” Bonnie said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“What?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Two…”

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

“One~!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Siffrin was the first in.

————

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

I prefer tea, but buy me a Kofi?

[a-very-mere-mortal]

A Review of In Stars and Time

If you're seeing this, you've probably already played In Stars and Time. I'm not exactly bursting with followers from before I became obsessed with it. But this is still worth making, just in case I can convince one person to pick this game up. So, to give you fair warning, there will be some (hopefully) light spoilers in this. If you want the basics, just skip to the last two paragraphs, but if you want an idea of my emotional impression of the game, try this on for size:

In Stars and Time is an RPG about the power of friendship in which you play as Siffrin, a quiet and introspective rogue out to save the country of Vaguarde from the evil King, who seeks to freeze the world in time. With them are their friends Mirabelle, Odile, Bonnie, and Isabeau, and they all draw strength from the wonderful bonds that their little group has. Arriving in the town of Dormont, you and your friends charge up the House of Change to meet the King, ready to defeat him using the magic of...

Uh oh. Something seems to have gone wrong here. I'm pretty sure that you weren't supposed to die this early. If it was the final battle and this was some kind of grand sacrifice I would get it, but as of right now... let's just try this again.

In Stars and Time is a game about time loops. Specifically, the one that you, Siffrin, are stuck in. It turns out you may have been less prepared to fight the King than you thought. Don't worry though; you have all the time in the world to figure it out, even if it's a little more difficult than it first appeared. Just remember to rely on your helpful guide Loop, who's here to help you make it through the best they can, even if they don't know how or why the loop started in the first place. But as if getting through the House of Change wasn't hard enough, what with its traps, locked doors, and vicious Sadnesses standing in your way, you have to manage your party members too. As it turns out, they aren't looping with you. But don't worry! While you may have felt a little lost at first, eventually you discover the perfect things to do and say to make them like you even more than the first time around. With your bonds stronger than ever and your route through the House perfectly memorized, you charge up to face the King in a heated battle with the fate of Vaguarde on the line! It's difficult, but in the end you triumph over the King and head into the final room of the House to celebrate with your friends- no, your family.

That's odd. You've defeated the King with the best possible ending, but there's still another 3 Acts left in the story. What's going on here?

In Stars and Time is just another trash indie game. I'm sorry you had to find out this way, but it's true; this game should be 10 hours shorter and cut right after you beat the King with your family in tow. It hurts to play because now that things have gone wrong, things seem to have gotten worse in your head, too. Where's the resolution to this story? When does it end? You said all the right things, you made all the right moves, and your family members have never been happier! By any other game's logic, this would be the endpoint. You may have struggled to make it through the time loop, but since you managed to keep your sanity intact and be nice to your friends, you get a gold star and the true ending. For some reason, this game refuses to let you have that success, and I'm infuriated on your behalf. I suppose you'll have to keep looking for a solution somewhere within the House, even though I know you're getting a little sick of it by now. Try not to get too frustrated by all this, okay? It would be quite awful if you did something you'd regret because you were feeling...

Ah. Well.

That changes my opinion of things, I suppose. I have no words that could do justice to what we just experienced. What a finale, eh? Let's try this review one more time, with a more...complete view of things. No more of this "describe what happens in the game step by step" malarkey. Everyone knows that's bad practice anyways.

In Stars and Time is an RPG about memory, communication, and the mortifying ordeal of being known. (It'll make more sense when you play it). With a lovely sound track and both beautiful hand-drawn and pixelated artwork, In Stars and Time manages to convey one the best stories I have ever experienced in the history of gaming. If you're the sort that likes comparisons, I would describe this game as a combination of the the humor and surprising depth of the Stanley Parable, the intense emotional characters and tight writing of Undertale, and the incredible worldbuilding of Harry Potter (without having to suffer through J. K. Rowling). I felt genuinely mystified by the unexplained and had a strong desire to learn more about the world during my unfortunately brief time within it.

3 weeks after completing the game, I'm still stewing in the things I felt and the realizations I came to while playing it. This is one of the few games I can say genuinely changed my life; after playing it I found the strength to reach out and connect to the friends I have in the real world on a level I never thought I'd be able to achieve. I feel a moral obligation to recommend this game; if it can do the same things for you that it did for me, it would be evil of me to deny you them. For the incredibly modest price of 20$, you will experience approximately 20 hours of soul-gripping gameplay that might stick with you for the rest of your life. This is something worth your time.

[beneathsilverstars]

What kind of pet (if at all) does each party member prefer? Either the idea of owning one or actually having one

Siffrin could get attached to anything. You could put an ant in a jar and he would go to the library to look up what ants eat, like yes they eat anything you leave out but what are they supposed to eat how much of what oh stars what if he forgets to feed it maybe he should just let it go but what if it's already too far from home and it would die without its ant family?? But anyway, they'd love any pet, but a snuggly mammal would be best for them. I think a couple rats would be cute... Imagine a rat peaking out of the high neck of his cloak! He could build them little obstacle courses and teach them little tricks! Or they could have a cat that sits on their chest at night and purrs, or a dog that licks their face their morning... But they wouldn't get any pet until they had a home to share with it.

Mirabelle gets a bunny!! I just think she would like them. Afaik they're a lot of work, but not like too hard as long as you're willing to do that work..? And she's a very hard worker!! She definitely wouldn't commit unless she can commit, though, and rabbits need a lot of space and a lot of rabbit-proofed space, so it depends what her life is like... but let's say she had a bunny as a kid! Her parents did most of the taking care of it though, because everyone knows that when a young child asks for a pet they don't actually understand the work involved, so you can't expect them to do it reliably. Better to just do it all themselves in the first place than risk Mirabelle forgetting something important! Someday Mira will feel confident enough in herself to get her own pet as an adult...

Isabeau is obviously a dog guy, he gives off friendly dog energy on purpose, and he would love the excuse/company to go on a morning run and throw a frisbee at the park. I think either his family always had at least two dogs at a time, or someone was allergic so no dogs allowed and it made him sooo sad. Hm.. Let's go with, yes dogs, but Isabeau wasn't allowed to get one personally because there was already enough of them in the house, but he really loved an older sibling's dog, but then they moved out and took that dog with them, and then he wasn't even allowed to get a dog then because a younger sibling got priority bc she's younger and you're so old now Isabeau, don't be jealous, your sister has been begging for a dog for months and months, well yes I believe you that you asked for one three years ago but how was I supposed to remember that? And then he was busy with defender training, and working odd shifts, and his place in the city was kind of cramped... But! Someday! He will get his dog!!

Odile is definitely a cat person. Cats are perfect for having a little company when you don't want actual company! I don't know if she loves them enough to actually get one – litter boxes are a pain – but if she was gonna get a pet it would 95% sure be a cat. (The other 5% chance is a reptile.) Maybe she assumed she would get one after she came back to Ka Bue, done with her traveling and no family left. But now she has a whole new family! Probably still wouldn't say no to a cat if one came into her life, though.

Bonnie wants a wolf, except you can't do that, so a husky would be good enough they guess. Or maybe a snake!!! Or a hissing cockroach. Or a big old fluffy cat, or like ten hamsters, or a turtle. A turtle would be awesome. But maybe not as awesome as a parrot that they can teach to say rude words. Or a monkey, sometimes people have monkeys as pets, right? Or fish, a whole bunch of them! Nille is not super thrilled at the idea of having another creature to take care of, but would probably eventually allow a dog or a turtle or maybe a couple chickens.

Loop leans a little more towards dogs I think, as opposed to Siffrin who leans a little more towards cats. Assuming a post-canon scenario where Loop is wandering on their own, I think it would be nice if they found a lonely stray dog to wander with them!

[tobeywobey]

HELLO YES DID I HEAR JRWI ISAT AU OR PERHAPS JUST GENERAL THOUGHTS AND COMPARISONS?

hellooo :)perhaps

okay originally it was just me going crazy over the isafrin and fnc similarities. but i was like. wow odile sure is likejay ferin.

SO . chip being sif. right duh of course. because who else would be that mentally unwell. he can also speak celestial for some reason which i think ties back into that stars stuff. ALSO their memory stuff (when chip starts losing himself and has to kind of. put on a show of who he is. SOUND FAMILIAR?). sif losing his home country. chip losing his childhood. both having such little opportunity to get it back without risk of hurting themselves. chip and sif "ill keep all my feelings right here and then one day ill die" bitches.

gillion being isabeau .undergoing a serious change and. feeling like the person they were before is dead and gone at their hands. being often regarded as stupid just because theyre big and boisterous and the tank (of sorts). that religious aspect . But also. gill and mirabelle to a degree. being chosen . that idea of "people think im chosen for one thing but its actually this other thing that im too afraid to tell people" . aroace <3 . that religious guilt of "why was it me. surely someone else could have handled this better" and. feeling the weight of their world on their shoulders. the elders and the head housemaiden .

more chip stuff .something abt. loop being so upset that Sif is the one who. succeeded and the one who got his happy ending despite how Loop could never even. beat the king. is so chip to me. i dont know How to explain it but its so. chip almost being? angry at himself that. after all that pain he endured at the hands of price and to an extent the black rose. all it took to be happy was finding two strangers and letting them in. also that is very sif to me also

also i think about Siffrin and Bonnie’s relationship (post-eye injury) a lot. And i do think Bonnie and Ollie are relatively similar. I do think Ollie would have a similar reaction to learning about Chip’s ‘death’ that Bonnie did to Sif’s eye.

as for odile and jay i have less thoughts but jay being torn between land and sea, pirates and navy just like how odile is torn between ka bue and vauguarde. odile thinking her vaugaurdian roots would Suddenly Make Sense and she'd find that lost part of herself to no avail . jay feeling like shes always been distant from her family and not that perfect child .wishing she could have that just like Ava had . the two ultimately finding themselves with new companions and family in this foreign place.

[theephemeralflow]

Here, some particular thoughts i had about ISAT during my playthrough that I'm finally gonna make a post about. I wrote this like. End of act 2 beginning of act three? So not technically up to date with me having finished isat and therefore more complete knowledge but whatever ypu might be like "this is technically wrong" its copy pasted because im sleepy and wanted to just put this out there and maybe ill add to it later because its a fun train of thought for me.

Spoilers

Something that has been rotating in my head since Loop mentioned it, was, why doesn't Siffrin, tell the others about the time loop, and I think it's the perfect seed for integration vs isolation, and how it relates to ideas of change and stasis (alteration and stagnation if we want ion ending words lol)

In other words, we can associate ideas together, stasis is isolation, unable to influence or be influenced by a greater world, you isolate and therefore you stagnate. Change is integration, whether it's you integrating yourself something into yourself. Or yourself into something it's metamorphosis on every level, you change and you integrate.

And on a surface level, these ideas are in direct conflict, the King wants everything to stay the same he wants stasis, vs the Change God who is change, on the surface it is black and white.

But through human (mostly) characters, we see them struggling with both isolation and integration, because it's not stark contrast, it's a push and pull, a balance of both.

Mirabelle is a housemaiden, a follower of the change god and yet she struggles more with integration. Being able to change as fluidly as one in her position should, and this isolates her, socially, religiously etc. And it's with ideas of romance, usually depicted as the most integrated and connected you could be with someone else, while the romance itself isn't important, it's moreso what it says about Mira's views on her religion, she cannot keep up and she is alone. She cannot integrate fully, so she must isolate. And so Siffrin, connecting with her shows her that both can be used. She can integrate Siffrins belief, isolate herself away from what she doesn't want, and achieve balance.

Actually it's very thematically appropriate that the family quest for each is heavily involved with themes of others and connections

Odiles family quest (integrating something both foreign and familiar while simultaneously being isolated by something foreign and familiar)

Bonnie family and friends (isolation feeling like their all alone with their only family being gone and integrating the idea that someone unknown can protect you and you protect them)

Isabeau the self through others (isolation from himself and others through himself and then integration with others and himself through others)

But Siffrin is a special case with isolation and integration. They don't like being touched (isolation physically) they don't like talking about themselves (isolation socially) and he especially doesn't like to talk about his problems and emotions (isolation mentally/emotionally)

They have struggles integrating properly, and the timeloop both helps and hinders him. More time with the others means more time to connect with them, as shown in the family quests which he can't really conceive of getting at that point in time (hah) but after more attempts, they can learn to connect.

But they still refuse to tell anyone about the timeloop, and that makes sense, it seems impossible for anyone to understand, and it can be terrifying with how big that revelation and its implications. Sharing burdens is usually the message, because really, shared pain and shared love maybe won't make anything stronger but, yknow, strength in numbers, the love was there even if it didn't matter later. And integration is the sharing of love and of pain, Siffrin can share love with his family, but he can't share pain with them, and that prevents them from fully integrating with others, leaning fully into isolation, the opposite of Mira

(Side note Mira and Siff are p good foils, both are considered 'protags' sif for the game Mira for the people, both scissors, both are extreme ends Mira with integration and Sif with Isolation, yay yippee they're such good friends)

Anyways. If Siffrin isn't connecting with their family, what about with the "people" he does. The King, and Loop. But the relationships aren't exactly normal are they.

Loop is an unknown, but is what most interesting to me is they described themself as a mirror for Siffrin. And I'm inclined to take that more literally. They know everything Siffrin knows, as he learns.

But the most important thing is the Mirror idea. The most significant symbol of self isolation are mirrors after all, talking to yourself, reflecting, going over your own knowledge etc.

And in that vein, I believe the King is a mirror for Siffrin as well. Leader and King. Timecraft.

Reflections of self expectations, reflections of self hatred. Did Siffrin want everything to stay the same, to learn more about them in that time they could.

It's isolation. Reinforce your own theories by talking with Loop instead of anyone else. Hell ask the King before you ask your own party members. You see yourself in them (hehe mirror joke) so you trust them to understand without it having to be said outloud.

Siffrins journey, is gonna be a hard one, learning to properly integrate and isolate.

Might reblog this with an expansion of how my updated knowledge expands upon these thoughts but well, I'm tired and this is good enough for now.

[in-justice-and-chaos-au]

In Justice and Chaos AU - Hub

Hello there! Welcome to my other In Stars and Time AU blog, that being my silly ISaT x Batman crossover!!! While the story here is wholly different, there will still be full-game (including optional content) spoilers all around.

Details under the cut!

CW - vague mentions of eye injury and homicide

Quick rundown of what is happening here:

The canon mainly diverges once the Country is forgotten, though this story runs with the idea that the Country was a bad place to begin with, thus The King and Siffrin are far worse off here.

Vaugarde is Gotham City, and as such is horrible to live in - or at least, it turned that way once the King appeared. He, driven by anger as well as sadness, sets up shop in Vaugarde where he instead builds a criminal empire in the country, excarberating its already growing issues with crime, with the intent to make Vaugarde "perfect"...wholly under his control, with all opposition and uncontrolled crime slain.

After gaining dominion, The King creates a new, augmentative Wish Craft which he overpowers himself with - only known as Venimeux - to make himself even mightier. People are still frozen in time, but only if they know too much.

Siffrin meets the party MUCH later on, as a result of both countries being cesspools. He's already teetering between Act 4 and 5 levels of madness by the time he gets to Vaugarde, due to extreme mistreatment, loneliness and suffering. Going to the Favor Tree, they make a wish - to have all the time in the Universe to find a forever friend they can never lose. Thus begins the time loop, and thus, eventually, fails his search. This culminates in his final descent into homicidal villainy, realizing that they are not the Universe's chew toy...they were its Clown.

The loops end when someone, converted to Change, sees them wallowing in agony after being overpowered by one of his attempted victims. Out of compassion, the man would bring them into the House to nurse their wounds, where he gives them a starry eyepatch that he specially designed for them. This man is Isabeau, who believes that there is something good in Siffrin.

However, even if there was, it's too late. They were neck-deep in insanity that they can't help but smile brightly at him. Fleeing the House, they make another wish, dismissing the eyes on him - the wish for eternal life, to stay by their friend's side forever. This allows Siffrin to loop themself back after death, beginning the terror of the clownish antagonist, The Playing One.

Isabeau is also burdened, by his canon past of being bullied. However, looking at what's happening to Vaugarde now, he takes a very direct approach to try and save it: vigilantism. With Madame Odile, Bonnie and Mirabelle by his side, he takes on an identity of his own - the Barrelman.

And yes that's a SASASAAP reference hahaha

The remainder of the AU's current information is in the character biographies:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Thank you for checking in, and before you ask: Yes, the lore reason is they are stupid.

Part 4

As of now I have written one fanfiction of this AU, but there will be more: