#now I just need sif kill sif

[oobbbear]

loop kill loop

[scienceisfood]

At the root of my problems.

[abowlofsourcream]

⏳💫Congrats, Everyone! You got Memory of Rotting!💫⏳

You will never forget this…

…

You should come to the Favor tree after you’re done, Adventurers…

…

TW: PANIC ATTACKS, WARNING! SHARP!(DAGGER) MENTION, RESTRAINING, AND THEMES OF DISSOCIATION! Please be mindful before reading!

v Afterwards v



*Everyone is acting strange around you, like they know something you don’t…

*They probably do…

*You feel a bit off today, it would be okay if they were annoyed.

*Real sleepy too, which is weird because you definitely remember sleeping a lot the night before!

*And your stomach is killing you, but you don’t want to ask Bonnie for more snacks. That would be selfish of you.

*But that doesn’t matter anymore!

*You beat the king and now you are walking to meet The Head HouseMaiden!

*You’ll be home free!

*You reach the last room, where the Head HouseMaiden greets you…

*She tells all of you how grateful she was to them.

*Man this is great!

*…

*Why is everyone so quiet?

*She gives you time to talk to the others before she blesses you to move on!

*To go back your separate ways!

*To go back… Home…

*…

*… Huh.

*You talk with the other’s, and…

*Yep, they are totally acting weird…

*Isabeau was being extra weird, more than he usually was…

“You Okay, Isa? You’re sweating a lot…”

*Isabeau stammers at your question.

“O-oh! Y-yea! I’m all fine and good, Sif!”

*…

*You would usually find it kinda funny, but it was different.

“Okay… I guess I should talk to the Head HouseMaiden now…”

*You turn away, but.

“W-wait! Before you do that! I, uh-, need to tell you something!”

*Oh… That makes you feel weird for some reason!

“Um, Sif. Siffarooni. Siffrin! This may sound weird. It’s not bad, not anything bad! But you know now it’s the most perfect time to time!”

*You can see he is looking behind you as he says that…

*Why is he doing that?

“Um, Isa? Is this about that thing you said?”

*He looks at you confused.

“You know, the thing that you told me you would tell me after we beat the king”

*He blinks.

“I… What?” Did I tell you that?!”

*Oh? He didn’t say that? Has your daydreaming gotten that bad in the past two days?

*Stars, you’re so stupid!

“Siffrin?”

“I’m fine! I should just talk to the-”

*Isa grabs your shoulders.

*Woah!

“Isa?! What-?”

*Isabeau immediately lets go of you.

*He hasn’t touched you like that before, has he?

“Oh Change, I am so sorry! It’s just that you can’t talk to the Head HouseMaiden just… yet.”

*What in the Blinding Stars is going on?

*Why is everyone acting so weird.

“Isabeau, what is going on?! Why are you being so weird?!”

*…

*He isn’t even looking at you…

*What is he looking at?!

*You turn around to see Mirabelle and Bonnie and-

*And…

*The… Head HouseMaiden…

*…

*The things she is saying…

*You heard this before…

*About something going wrong.

*Something being broken.

*Rotting-

*…

*You start to remember things…

“Siffrin?”

*Odile walks up to the two of you.

*She tried to tell you once, didn’t she?

“Sif, what’s wrong?”

*Isabeau voice sounds so gentle… Just like that wonderful night under the stars…

*Your head feels like it’s splitting in two…

*You start to remember a lot.

*You’ve beat the King before!

*You won before, so why are you still all here?

“What is happening? Why are we here, again?”

*You remember your wish- Oh Stars!

*You remember your wish!

*Odile kneeled down to you.

“Siffrin, I am going to need you to breathe for a moment…”

*No! This can’t be it!

*Your…

*Your wish couldn’t have done this!

*You must be still asleep! Yea, that must be it!

*You just need to wake up!

*You.

*Just.

*Need.

*To.

*Wake.

*Up…

“Siffrin, are you listening to me? What is wrong?”

*…

*You feel through your pockets…

*You just need something quick, something shocking enough to make you wake up!

*You just need to find-

*Odile grabs both of your hands.

“Madame?!”

*Isabeau looks confused, not sure what you were looking for.

“Isabeau! Hold him in place while I look for his dagger!”

*No, no, no ,no!

*Isabeau quickly traps you in his arms…

*Odile searches for your dagger.

*SHE CAN’T DO THAT!

*You try your best to keep her away.

*Isabeau is keeping you in place.

“Frin?”

*Bonnie turns to the rest of them, terrified.

*The same way they looked when they were-

*You remember a sickly crunch.

*NO NO NO!

*YOU DIDN’T WANT THIS!

*THIS WASN’T YOUR WISH!

“ODILE, PLEASE! I NEED TO WAKE UP!”

*Odile grabs your dagger and throws to the side of the room!

*You try to squirm your way out of Isabeau’s arms.

*Odile grabs your face.

“SIFFRIN, YOU ARE NOT DREAMING!”

*No!

*No, you have to be!

*Your body feels like it’s trying to kill you…

“PLEASE, I CAN’T DO THIS AGAIN! I CAN’T TALK LISTEN TO HER AGAIN!”

*You never felt so helpless before…

“SIFFRIN-!”

“THIS IS WORSE THAN BEING ALONE! THIS IS WORSE THAN FORGETTING! THIS IS WORSE! THIS IS WORSE!!!”

*You see the Head HouseMaiden cradles Mirabelle’s face, crying!

*no!

*she can’t!

*Mirabelle turns to look at you.

*YOU FEEL A TUG.

*ON.

*YOUR.

*STOMACH!

<<<

*…

*You open your eyes.

*Your head is pounding…

*Your stomach hurts…

*Your whole body aches…

*You look around you.

*…

*Your… Allies are sitting around you…

*They’re watching you, worried…

*Mirabelle scooches close to you, carefully…

*Like you were dangerous…

*She is probably right.

“Siffrin… Do you… Remember what happened?”

*…

“I…”

*…

*You…

*Odile pressed her hand against your head.

“Jem’s, Siffrin you are boiling!”

*Oh…

*Isabeau stands up.

“Siffrin, let me take you to the Clock Tower… Can you walk?”

*You try to stand up…

*… You don’t get very far.

*He catches you and picks you up…

*You don’t deserve that…

“Bon Bon, take their hat for them?”

*Bonnie’s nods their head, gently picking up!

“Okay! Let’s go!”

*They all go there way to the clock tower…

*…

“M-mira?”

“…Yes, Siffrin?”

*…

“I’m sorry I screwed everything up…”

“… It’s okay, Siffrin. We’ll figure it out together…”

*…

*Together?

*…

*You hope so…

*But…

*…

*You’re not so sure how much longer you can go…

[vulpixisananimal]

<Null> {Mal Du Pays} [Loop] (Siffrin)

(Polaris is from @neoncityrain )

<Captions, lights, action.>

(You jumped downstairs two at a time, Ramos right behind you. Second take, the heros bravely fight the Sadness. You'll win this time, right?)

{Focus.}

(Like that'll be easy with both of you around.)

{We'll keep quiet, then.}

(You got to the main room, again. Frozen Odile, Bonnie and Nille. No sign of Vixul or Wren. And, of course, the sadness stood dominant above all. Like last time, Nille got distracted by you and got hit, too fast to react.)

". . S-SIS!!" (Bonnie screamed, like last time.)

(You breathed in, and out. Settling so easy into the routine, the script. Mirabelle stepped into the doorway outside moments later, and like last time, you warned her not to unfreeze Odile.)

"What the blinding-" (You look to your side, Polaris had followed you downstairs. He looked worried.)

"You should run, we can take care-"

(You're cut off by him punching you in the shoulder.) "Don't tell me what to do!" (He took an offensive stance, pulling out some needles from, somewhere.)

<Don't strain yourself. It's you, Ramos, Bonnie, Polaris, and Mirabelle. One more than last time. As long as you focus, and->

(Now is not the time, you shake your head. The sadness was looking at every one of you, one at a time, before settling its sight at Mirabelle. Bonnie slipped away while it was distracted, getting back into their backline position. Mirabelle looked at you from across the room and nodded, waiting for your mark.)

(You glanced at Polaris.) "Are you sure? It's not a normal sadness."

"What do YOU think." (He huffed. You nodded, turning to Ramos.)

"Ramos?"

"I'm ready, Sif!" (They responded. Alright. Are we ready?)

{I am.}

<Put those stones in, helps me focus.>

(. . . Weird, but fine. You take out those stones, and put them in your ear. You hear music.)

"Then lets go." <You dash in, holding out your hand and swiping, time to hit Rock Bottom, heh.>

<The attack connects in a flash of darkless stars, a strong hit, so it IS weak to rock, just immune sometimes, for some reason. The sadness screams and you jump back.>

(You feel a small jolt run up your spine and make your hair stick out on end, glancing over, Polaris had flicked out two fingers, energy crackling around him. You felt lighter on your feet.)

(Ramos time, they used the new speed to dash in with their own rock attack, unleashing a flury of blows from their tonfas before jumping back.)

(Keeping up the rhythm, Mirabelle claps her hands, enveloping you all in her shield, it still feels warm. No worrying about being frozen now.)

{The sadness looked at you with fury. Move, it's about to attack.}

<You jump back, narrowly escaping the claw that looked like it could pierce air.>

"Keep it up!" (You snap your fingers with a lightless spark. Your feet felt light.)

(You felt a breeze as Polaris rushed past you, fast. He ducked under the sadness and plunged a few large needles into it, and he was out before the sadness even let out a scream. You chuckled.)

(Crackling energy? Static craft skill?) "Gotta say Polaris, you shock me."

"Oh shut UP." (He makes a face. Right on the money, then?)

"Well I thought it was funny!" (Ramos yells while getting in for another strike.) "Electrifying, even."

"I'm leaving, you guys can fight on your own." (Polaris pouted.)

"P-please can we keep this untill after!?" (Mirabelle yells, she focused and clapped, you felt stronger.)

<Scissors, Scissors-rock, Scissors-paper, and, hmm, also scissors? And the sadness is weak to rock. It'll heal, and it'll protect itself. We need a plan.>

(The sadness roared, dashing and swiping at Polaris, not fast enough, he took the hit and flew back. He took a knee, bleeding from the mouth, but not K.Oed.)

{Hit it hard, and fast. Kill it in one hit, before it can respond and defend itself.}

(You run over to Polaris, focusing hard and breathing, willing the wounds to heal, and offering a hand. So, we have to take it down in one hit? How!)

<A jackpot cold work.>

"Starsdammit-" (Polaris let out a groan.) "Do, do you even have a plan?"

"I do, actually." <You turn to the other party members.> "Let's set up for one big attack!"

"Sounds good!" <Ramos nods, going back in for another strike.>

<Mirabelle rushes next to you and Polaris.> "A-Are you alright?"

"No but that's fine." (Pol responded, getting ready for whatever came next.) "Blind it if I'm dying easy."

"Okay just. . ." (She starts, then huffs, turning to you.) "Are you sure that plan will work?"

<No.> "I'm sure of it."

<She nodded, and guarded. She's important. If anyone is frozen, only she can unfreeze them.>

(The sadness lashed out, catching Ramos just a bit. Your turn, you rush in with your own rock skill, hitting the sadness with the hilt of your knife then dancing back.)

"Hey crab face!!" (Bonnie whizzes past you, tossing you and the others tonics. Snack duty, just like before, huh? You thank Bonbon and drink it.)

(You snap your fingers again.) "Ramos, now!"

"On it!" (Spurred on by your words, Ramos counterattacks, hiting fast and low, they looked tired, it was an intense fight, after all. Just one more good hit.)

(Polaris waited, rubbing his own cloak, you could feel craft energy building. Getting ready for the big attack? Smart. Mira ran to Ramos and clapped, healing them up.)

(The sadness looked ragged, on the back foot, as it were. You all weren't letting up, both you, Polaris, and Ramos were all so fast, and Mirabelle wasn't that far behind. It roared, and clapped its hands together.)

<That must be like before, a shield.>

"What was that?" <Polaris looked on edge.>

"A shield." <You respond.> "It'll block some attacks, we need to break it, then. . ."

"I GOT IT!!!" <From what looks like out of NOWHERE Bonnie rushed in. You reach to stop them but it was too late, they rush in, the sadness swings, hesitates, and Bonnie gets the hit in.>

"Polaris!!" (No time to be distracted! Now's your chance! Bonnie got away safely, so.) "Go!!!"

"Right!" (He threw needles at the sadness, a few sticking in the thing before Pol threw a scissors sign. Craft energy crackled, and the Sadness siezed up.)

"Ramos!!" (The two of you nod at each other dashing forward, holding out your craft signs, both of your craft skills colliding with the sadness, it collapses.)

"Mira!!" (You turn as you land, sweating, just in time to see Mirabelle rush forward with her rapier and squewer the sadness.)

<. . . . It doesn't scream.>

(. . . You breathe out.)

[Mirabelle is now level 48]

[Ramos is now level 23.]

[Polaris is now level 38.]

(You're panting, is, is it over? Did, you do it?)

<Did it in two? We're getting better.>

{Don't get relaxed, you two.}

(The sadness is staring at Mirabelle, unmoving. Mira steps back, she's breathing heavy, and shaking.)

"Did, stars did we do it?" (Polaris collapsed backwards, Bonnie runs over to Mira.)

(You hop up and rush over to the sadness, it, still wasn't moving. Was it dead?)

(. . . You poke the sadness with your dagger.)

(It crumbles into dust.)

"Oh CRAB!!!"

"No way. . ."

"We did it?!?"

"I, I think." (You're smiling.) "I, think we actually did-"

(THUNK)

(You turn. Mirabelle is lying on the floor.)

"'BELLE?!?"

"M-iss?!?"

"W-what just-?!?"

(You all run over to her, what's going on?!? What, just, what just happened?!?! Polaris is paniced, Bonnie is shaking her, Ramos is checking her pulse, you, you, you-)

{Calm d-}

(What's going on she, she, s-she, she's--)

"I-is she okay?!?" (Bonnie's looking at Ramos.)

"I- I don't-" (They're panicked, shaking.)

"She's- do you, smell-"

(You're hyperventilating, smell, smell, you smell it, burnt sugar, searing, strong, disgusting, and, and, s-so, so strong.)

"M-maybe it's her heart?!?"

"I wouldn't know!!"

(You can't focus you can't think you can't breath you can't scream you can't cry you can't hide you can't run you can't, can't, can't.)

(Your mouth is numb. You have static in your ears. Your head is screaming.)

(You-)

"F-frin. . ?"

(You look up. Bonnies crying.)

(You feel a tug. On. Your. Stomach.)

[yanderes-galore]

Can I request gen hc pet sif pls thank you

Ah, yes, the wolf that never fails to make me CRY- Sorry if it's short, I struggled on Sif. Sif is called 'She/Her' in this. Although I don't think the gender is confirmed.

Overprotective! Great Grey Wolf Sif Concept

Pairing: Platonic/Pet-like

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Overprotective behavior, Violence, Blood, Dubious companionship.

Sif is already known as a fierce protector.

She is a wolf who, once saved by her master Artorias, defends his grave.

She is a large wolf who wields a sword and is just as skilled as her master in combat.

Sif is a loyal wolf and companion.

Her job is to stop others from seeking The Abyss, to prevent any others from succumbing to the same fate as her master.

That alone is her purpose.

A guardian of her master's grave.

One can assume she'd be overprotective already, considering she's willing to protect the one she cares for after they are dead.

Perhaps you are the Chosen Undead, the human who helped free her master from his suffering in the darkness.

Perhaps instead of killing you, Sif dedicates herself to defending you.

She mourns her past master... but she always remembers your scent.

Your scent is just about as soothing as her master's was.

Maybe she's scared you too will follow the same fate.

Which would end up making the wolf stop your journey, continuing to guard not only her master's grave... but you.

If you want to continue your journey, there is only one solution.

Getting rid of Sif.

But maybe you abandon trying to take her master's ring.

Maybe you leave her with such a treasure.

Sif would then focus on being your loyal companion.

As long as you do not pursue The Abyss, the wolf will be calm.

If you do... The wolf will do whatever she feels is needed to stop you.

Including incapacitating you.

Another option is making you replace Artorias as her original master.

This plot of making you The Abyss Walker may work better as Sif wouldn't be protecting a grave... yet.

In this case, you'd be sent to fight The Abyss.

Sif, your ever loyal wolf, would follow you anywhere.

She remembers your scent, your touch, your praise.

The wolf, like a true hound, would do anything for you.

She licks you, wags her tail... she lays beside you when you rest by campfires.

That wolf would defend you with her life.

Any foe who appears before you is cut down by the wolf.

Blood stains her fur, but for an animal that is normal.

She follows her instinct to protect.

As your wolf... You are her everything.

Her master, her companion...

And the grave she defends with her life.

Sif sticks beside you until you encounter Manus.

Sif aids you in whatever way she can, although, it's all pointless.

This mission was never one you were meant to come back from.

With your arm broken, you weakly toss your shield to Sif.

Sif rushes over to your weak form, nudging you desperately.

But you send the wolf away.

You deny her overprotective behavior... which leads to her guarding your grave later on.

Be you her master or the Chosen Undead... Sif is ruthless in her protection.

Blood stains her sword and fur.

There's a glimmering determination in the wolf's eyes whenever she sees new foes to destroy.

The wolf is not sadistic, she merely sees this as duty.

Morals do not apply to an animal.

Sif would allow corpses to litter the ground, their blood pooling into the dirt, and not think much of it.

To her, only one thing matters now...

Protecting you and all you leave behind.

[livesworthlivingau]

Lives Worth Living Chapter 29

ISAT/Two Hats spoilers below the break! CW: Mentions of Murder/Suicide, Mental Spiraling

Friendly reminder of the character perspective/voice brackets, as they may be needed for this chapter c:

Isabeau: |"Text"| Odile: ="Text"= Mirabelle: -"Text"- Bonnie: <"Text"> Nille: {"Text"}

(You can't tell when sleep gives way to the lightless void of your dream, but your awareness suddenly snaps to attention as you hear footsteps echoing behind you. You don't turn to look. Your heart begins to race and you shut your eye tight.)

"No... not now... please..." (You beg in a soft whisper. The footsteps stop close behind you. You can feel it just standing there... staring.)

"Not tonight... please just not tonight." (You can't handle this right now, you can't go through more of this blinding nightmare.)

{"But they killed you, Frin..."}

"... Adding Nille to the mix now, huh?..." (You think aloud, hearing her worried voice echoing around you. You keep your eye shut. It won't trick you this time.)

="No wonder they're so on edge."= (You roll your eye behind your eyelid. It's gonna have to try a lot harder than that...)

["If they don't accept me, you'd be okay looping back again, right? You wouldn't want to decide between me or them."] (You freeze for a moment, hearing Vale's desperate voice... You would, wouldn't you?... Without hesitation, if there was no other way... You would...)

<"BUT YOU CRABBING PROMISED!!!"> (You clench your fist, then slowly release it... it won't come to that, you won't let it.)

="Why would we let them near you again after what they did? We can't risk them hurting you again. Or worse."=

"... It's my choice to make." (You state in a stern voice, trying to keep your composure.)

-"Not when it affects us too! If they keep making you loop, how are we supposed to live our lives? How are we supposed to change?"-

"They're not going to! Now shut up and leave me alone!"

|"Sif... Is that fair to us? We agreed to help you, to stay with you... but you're making us deal with their problems too. That's a lot to dump on sometime."|

"... And what if they were me, huh? What then?"

="Oh, Siffrin..."= (You feel its hand placed on your shoulder, causing you to flinch.)

="One of you is the most anyone could take."= (You quickly pull away from it's grasp.)

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" (You shout, having turned to look at it before you realized what you were doing. You see your shadow in front of you once more. The sadness welling up within you. You can't look away as it opens it's mouth to let the other voices through.)

<"They hurt you, Frin! Don't you hate them?! I HATE THEM!!!">

"You don't understand! You don't know what they went through!!"

<"I DON'T CARE! I NEVER WANT TO SEE THEM AGAIN!! They hurt you, stupidfrin!! Shouldn't you hate them too?!">

"WELL WHY DON'T I HAVE A SAY IN THIS?! THEY HURT ME, AND I'M FINE! WHY DOES EVERYONE ELSE HAVE TO CARE FOR ME?!"

-"Y-You say that like it doesn't hurt us too! They killed you! That hurts us to think about, we don't want it to happen to you again!"-

="It's for your own good, Siffrin."=

"IT WON'T! THEY WON'T DO IT AGAIN! AND YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT'S BEST FOR ME!!"

{"What if they lashed out at someone else? Someone who wouldn't be fine?..."}

"SHUT UP! THEY WON'T! THEY WOULDN'T!!! THEY ONLY DID IT CAUSE THEY KNEW I'D LOOP! IT'S NOT THE SAME!!"

="Here's a philosophical conundrum for you, Siffrin. If you loop, and everything resets with you, then we can *all* be looped back. We're all valid targets by that logic."=

"... You don't know them like I do..."

|"Sif, if they're anything like you, we'll just get manipulated into liking them..."| (... Something in you snaps. You suddenly tackle into it, pinning your negative shaded self to the ground and wrapping your hands around its throat, trying to strangle the nonexistent life out of it. It's mouth remains open as voices continue to flow out, unimpeded.)

|"You'll both just keep looping until we have the perfect opinion of them and everything goes smoothly..."|

-"If we said no to keeping them around, you'd loop back. How does that give us any choice in the matter?"-

"I DON'T CARE!!!" (You scream, tightening your grip on its throat.)

"I DON'T CARE! I DON'T CARE! I-... I don't... I can't... I-I..." (Your grip slowly loosens, tears flowing down your face and onto its own.)

"I... I can't do this all again... I can't just live my whole life again... not without them..." (You feel its hand lightly placed on your own, still loosely around its throat.)

="Then you'll have to consider if you can live it all over again without us."= (You choke out a sob, pulling your hands away and hugging yourself tightly.)

"It's not fair... it's not fair! Why do I keep having to lose everyone and everything?! When will it stop?!"

["The universe leads, Stardust... We can only follow."]

"I'm so sick of following..." (You whimper out through your heavy sobbing.)

["You'll have to choose some day, Stardust. You'll have to be okay with that."]

(You stop responding, just crying as you hold yourself in that endless void.)

|"Sif... Hey Sif?... Sif!!"|

(You jolt awake as you feel a pair of large hands shake you lightly. You look around frantically only to find Isa holding you. You feel your face is soaked, you must have been crying in your sleep for real. He looks down at you, his face looked worried and... hesitant?)

"Isa? Wh... What's going on?"

"You were crying a lot in your sleep Sif... Are you okay?" (You glance drifts away from them and towards the ground... the look on your face likely answers the question better than words could.)

"Sif... We gotta talk. It's about Vale."

(No... please, no...)

So... surprise! @Tacticaly-Shrubbery helped with this one too, kept this one a secret from the server to really catch everyone off guard~ >:3c. As always thanks so much Shrub, this one hurt! A lot!

[aluria-sevhex]

HELL FUCKING YESSSSSSSS

hey if you wanna read all of my posts as i play through ISAT, they are all tagged as #Aluria plays ISAT for the first time (please don't spoil)

notes:

-aight i'm back yippee

-title theme my beloved

-i always find it so funny when an enemy tries to freeze Mira

-gonna try this boss again

-ok i think i'll just replay Floor 3 on this loop instead of looping forward after i find out another one of Bonnie's favorite foods so i can build up everybody's stats

-OH. BONNIE OVERHEARD THE DEATH CONVERSATION.

-heh Bonnie slapped Siffrin

-uh... the audio is REALLY ominous...

-oh, Bonnie...

-WAIT WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT DID I JUST LOOP SLIGHTLY BACK IN THE PAST?

-Siffrin you ok i don't think that was helping ur mental health issues your eye is covered in shadow in your dialogue portrait

-i will once again NOT kill Siffrin via anaphylaxis. i will take the fish head

-...i didn't. get info on Bonnie's favorite foods this time.

-ok according to the save screen that didn't count as a loop

-anyway time to try looping to get the Bonnie snack info

-hey... the Tear dialogue isn't as silly anymore (it just says yes or no without the 'looping time' or 'living time')

-hey i didn't skip any loops this time!

-time to kill this pair of assholes again

-"carry my ashes with you" aw that's a sweet dialogue option

-i am so tempted to kill Siffrin. but i won't.

-awwww... i talked to Bonnie and now Sif is comforting them

-ok how the fuck do i get the info. BONNIE PLS.

-hold up. does Siffrin no longer nod when zoning out? :((((

-WAIT FUCK DID I FORGET TO GET THE KEY ON FLOOR 2.

-...Mira's roommate. was learning to make bombs. why???

-lol Isa knows how to make a bomb

-Mira has anti-anxiety meds. this makes a lot of sense tbh

-...what are these papers for???

-so i decided to try using the silver coin since a person said that you can do something with it related to the croissant lore. and it said "you think about the Incident" or smth like that lol

-lol Sif forgot the term 'stuffed animal'

-idk why but it feels like a lot of Craft skills are like. slower. or have bigger cooldowns in Act 3. even tho i KNOW they don't and my brain is fucking with me

-ok the game accounted for the key thing

-in the bathroom again

-Sif is calming themself again and figuring out what to do

-Siffrin, self-loathing and calling yourself stupid won't help :(

-i zoned out at some minor dialogue but i don't remember what the dialogue was the first time so i am fucking clueless about what was going on with a choice i made. sorry Mira idk why i 'saved you' by smacking your mouth ;_;

-i love getting to obliterate weaker Rock enemies with Paper α V

-i have now gotten Sif to level 60

-sometimes it's nice to take a break and talk to Loop

-wait a sec. doesn't one of the lower floors have a sharpening stone?

-ok it's been a while and now i have everybody back to level 52. time to kick the asses of the 3rd floor boss

-ooo Odile got a new skill

-time for the last snack break!

-Bonnie's upset now because i didn't try the fritters D:

-time to face the King again... and hopefully talk to him

-welp. *that* didn't work

-oh nvm now i can ask him questions via the Craft menu!

-you. you can give the King the flower.

-yeah the characters have a point! why Vaugarde specifically?

-the King is NOT responsible but he says Siffrin has an odd smell. huh... the only other things where an odd smell has been noted is Bonnie saying the star crest Sadnesses smell odd... but if Sif had that smell then it would've been noticed sooner...

-dude. how rude to say that if Siffrin doesn't understand Time Craft they can't understand the King's methods. maybe i should read more on Time Craft in one of the libraries? or that one book on craftonomy...

-the "you have heard this before" for zoning out got more and more annoyed

-once again. what does the King need to say?

-hm i was talking to Odile and Bonnie piped in really excitedly that they have more pineapple in their pocket

-GOD FUCKING DAMMIT MIRABELLE I LOVE YOU BUT YOU STOPPED ISA'S CONFESSION ToT

-time to talk to Euphrasie and loop again ig

-hey what's that in her hair?

-"you inhale sharply, almost choking on the smell of burnt sugar around you" BURNT SUGAR BURNT SUGAR THAT'S THE SMELL OF TIME SHENANIGANS AS SEEN WITH THOSE SADNESSES

-SAY SOMETHING ELSE EUPHRASIE

-how do i get the familytale?

-ok i talked to Odile and i'm gonna help her!

-am i gonna have to go all over town for this?

lmao yeah i think i will

-oh hey the wizard-loving kid is named Manon

-oh my god. i have to go back to the boulanger

-FINALLY

-:O THERE IS NO RESEARCH???

-oh THAT'S why Odile is in Vaugarde

-oh... her mom left... all of her travels here have been to try to reconnect with that part of her...

-HEY SIFFRIN I AM ONCE AGAIN ASKING WHERE THE *FUCK* ARE YOU FROM?

-damn. bro has amnesia

-LMAO I ASKED MIRA ABOUT THE PAPERS AND THE BATTLE THEME STARTED

-...bonding proposals???

-oh my god Mira joined a dating website group

-"we have one of those at home"

-"oh, i don't have a type! i like all kinds of people equally!" is this in a bi way or an aro way

-YEAH AROMANTIC REPRESENTATION

-DIVERSITY WIN! THE KICKASS HANDMAIDEN WHO'S IMMUNE TO BEING FROZEN IN TIME AND THE SORT-OF CHOSEN ONE IS ARO!!! I FUCKING CALLED IT YEAHHHHHHHH :D

-oh, Mira :( you're not the problem you don't have to do anything like that you're not comfortable with

-hm this game is dealing with personal identity a lot

-:( :( :( oh, Mira...

-DIVERSITY WIN!!! THE SKETCHY WANDERER STUCK IN A TIME LOOP WITH MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS IS ACE!!!

-MY BLORBOS ARE ACE AND AROACE FUCK YEAH I AM SO HAPPY

-FUCK IT I'M POSTING NOW

SERIOUSLY THO I DON'T THINK I CAN ACCURATELY CONVEY HOW FUCKING HAPPY THIS PART IS MAKING ME. TWO OF MY FAVORITES ARE ACE AND AROACE HELL FUCKING YES

[abyssal-author-and-artist]

FUCK YEAH I FOUND A POST I WAS LOOKING FOR

THIS ONE RIGHT HERE https://www.tumblr.com/abyssal-author-and-artist/763659972027514880/my-objection-to-people-who-say-they-never-would?source=share

CRAB YEAH I WAS LOOKING FOR THIS ONE FOR SO LONG AND I FOUND IT

I was looking for it bc my opinion on what I wrote here doesn't completely translate to isat but some of these thoughts I was remembering and I was like "I should find that timeloop post and relate it to Siffrin because I totally can)

"No one but you remembers the previous iterations of the day. On that note, every single person other than you will take the same actions every single day unless affected by your actions somehow. So here we have our time loop. You, in this scenario at least, are a rational person - a person who has a full grasp of logic and human emotions. You act based on a healthy mix of logical reasoning and emotional impulses. I'm aware this isn't going to be true for everyone, but it's easiest to define "you" as a rational person whose behavioral patterns we can predict. For this exercise, an irrational person is a person who is unable to make decisions based on logic - as opposed to a person who simply doesn't choose to make decisions based on logic. If you are unable to look at a decision logically and take in all information before making a decision, you are an irrational person. If you can but choose not to, you are a rational person choosing to act irrationally."

Those are the rules I set out. One of the rules is missing but that's because I defined the day as being "as normal a day as you can imagine" and that doesn't fit. But other than that, that's In Stars and Time. Like that's the timeloop. That's Sif. Sif is, by this definition, a rational person.

"Let's go hang out with your friends. That should work, right? Well, it does until it doesn't. You get into a fight with your best friend that you're seething about 20 resets later. You meet a new person and hit it off amazingly but can't replicate that energy any other time you meet them (they think you're creepy because you act like you already know them). You can't make or further any meaningful relationship."

Hmm, you can't make or further any meaningful relationship? Using a callback to the rules I laid out "On that note, every single person other than you will take the same actions every single day unless affected by your actions somehow", that sounds like everyone's following a script and you can't change anything about your relationships, and if you do you'd just manipulate them into "changing". Now, where have we heard that before? Oh, what, Act 5? Mal du Pays? Everything Siffrin says to himself?

"You are now an irrational person. ... every single interaction is pointless, so you've lost the ability to engage with the world around you rationally. If this seems fast, keep in mind two things. Two hundred is a lot and this isn't 200 days, this is the same day 200 times. You've lived this one day 200 times. You can't change anything."

Double that so it's the same two days 200 times and that's just called Act 5. Siffrin has lost the ability to be a rational person. They're just a mess. A disaster. Too emotionally destroyed to use logic. Think that's an insane conjecture? Might I direct your attention to Sif's act 5 meltdown again? Where they decide, against all logic, that the only way to break the loop is if he's the one to land the hit on the king. Yeah, that's not a thing a rational person would do.

"In fact, you're likely to kill yourself before anyone else. And you do. Multiple times. Often on a whim - again, you're now an irrational person. You just went "that sounds fun right now" and did it."

"You can now loop back using your dagger." Do I need to explain this citation more.

And look at that! I linked a thing I wrote a while ago to In Stars and Time! Whoo!

[justthemoonz]

Second Odile Meeting

(Decided that alongside having drawn things for A Loop For The Ride, I'll also have a lot more writing, so here's this thing I came up with for the second Odile meeting) Once you've talked to everybody else and asked them all the questions you could have, your only option is to go back to Ka Bue. To talk to Odile. The first meeting didn't go that well, maybe the second one will be better? (Dialogue in "Keep Reading")

(Here again. Ka Bue.) (You already know what's going to happen once Odile takes a step forward. But...) (But maybe you could ask her for help.) (She's the smartest out of all of you.) (She knows a lot more than you do, maybe she could...) Isabeau: ... Sif? (!) Isabeau: Are you going to come? (Odile is looking at you. Waiting for you to get off.) "Er- Y-Yeah!" (You get off the boat.) Odile: Finally. (Odile also gets off.) Odile: Now that we're here, I guess we could begin with- (... Everything stops, again.) Odile: Loop...? (This doesn't scare as much as it did last time, but you can't help yourself but flinch.) Odile: ... Odile: What did you do to Siffrin. (Before Odile can reach out to you-) "WAIT!!" (Odile flinches and stops, putting her hand back.) Odile: ?!?!?! "Don't... don't do that." "You'll start the loop." Odile: The- The loop? (Odile looks around. She realizes that everybody else is standing still.) Odile: ... Odile: How did... Odile: What happened? "..." Odile: Loop. Odile: What happened. "I... I need your help." (Odile is staring at you. You can't help but feel a bit uncomfortable.) "I tried speaking with the others, many, many times." "But... no one knows as much as you do." "So I thought that maybe..." "Maybe I could get your help on stopping these loops from happening." Odile: How did the loops happen? (You have to lie. You can't tell her. You can't tell her what you did. You have to tell her what she wants to hear.) "... S... Siffrin went to the Favor Tree." "And, I guess, wanted to say goodbye to me...?" "So, I came out of the tree, and, before I could say anything..." "Siffrin was... I... I was..." (You feel sick to your stomach. Stars, what are you thinking? She's never gonna believe that.) Odile: I... I understand. (Wait. Did it- Did it actually work?) Odile: I'm not sure how much I could help, but... Odile: Knowing what Siffrin wished for at the Favor Tree... Odile: It's like that someone made a wish for you to end up in the situation you're in. (!) (A wish? Could that- Could that be it?) (But who would... What...) "Who would wish for something like this?) Odile: I don't know. I think you'll have to figure it out on your own. "... Thank you for your help, Odile." (You look around, time is still stopped in place.) "You can reach out, now." "That is the only way this world will reset." (Odile looks at you and gives you a grin. Looks like she wants to say one last thing before the loop restarts.) Odile: Hey, Loop. "Yes?" Odile: None of us properly thanked you for taking us to Siffrin... Odile: So... I just wanted to say... thank you. Odile: I'm not sure what cause the situation you're in. Odile: And I know that I won't remember anything once you start again... Odile: But, if you ever need help with anything, even if I think you'll just be Siffrin... Odile: Don't be afraid to ask for it. (... If only she knew. Haha. If only they all knew.) "Got it." (Odile reaches out to you.) Odile: Good luck, Loop. (And then-) (CRACK.) (You stare at Siffrin. You've killed him once again...) (You don't actually know how many times you've done this, but it's definitely a lot.) (...) (So, a wish, huh?) (It makes sense! That's the way Siffrin ended up in the same boat as you once did.) (But... but who would wish for this? Who would wish for you to kill Siffrin over and over?) (... It couldn't be one of your friends. They love Siffrin. And by proxy, they love you!) (... Could the King have...?) (... Now you're just being ridiculous.) (Whoever it is. You're sure you'll find them. And make sure that the wish ends. By any means neccesary.) (... Goodbye once more, Siffrin.)

[cyten0]

A Symphony in Crimson

Act 1: A Movement in Black

Chapter 19

Ah!

You… can move?

You can… see?

The king. And.

Everyone?

◉ “Okay, unfroze Siffrin! Or, at least, the main part?”

✸ “Yes, that’s good enough!”

▲ “Good job Mira!”

You feel your human body. Break off from the monstrous part you made. As you fall to the floor.

✿ “Frin! You okay?!”

◆ “Eyes on the enemy, Boniface! Siffrin will be fine!”

◉ “Loop caught us up, Siffrin! We can take the king from here!”

You…. Why… why would they….

✦ “why…. why did you... come here?”

▲ “We weren’t just gonna leave you to this alone!”

◉ “I still have a billion questions, but right now, we have a king’s butt to kick!”

They… They came for…. You?….

♔ “Stand aside…................ whatever your thoughts on me….............. That THING must die!”

The king. Brings down the fist of the arm he still has, and swings.

▲ “Oh no you DON’T!!!!”

Isabeau counters the kings blow with one of his own. Holding back the king's might with his bare hands. You smell… some sugar? From him?

▲ “YOU!!!! WILL NOT!!!! HURT THEM!!!!”

The king keeps pressing, as Isa’s feet slowly give way.

BANG

The king stumbles back, struck in the eye.

✿ “Now Dile!”

Odile throws a craft at the king, and despite no damage, he seems to crumple.

◆ “Feeling a little weak? Calming crafts aren’t normally good in battle, but it does slow ones heart-rate! Thanks for that tip, Loop.”

✸ “Of course! And with that opening~”

A portal appears above the king, dropping the boulder from the first floor trap. The king dives out of the way, but their leg is crushed.

♔ “No.............…. NO!!!! I will NOT let you all.......................…. Ruin this chance!!!!!”

The king fills their hand with craft, and prepares to launch it at you at you all! This will wipe them out, but you're too weak still!!!

Wait… You feel something…. Familiar?

◉ “I WON’T LET YOU!!!! You won’t end us that easily!!! TAKE THIS!!!!!”

Mira crafts something.

And. A sound. Like metal rebounding. Like a mirror breaking.

A single. Perfect note. The reverberates even in the sounds of stars.

♔ “What?…................My attack…..........…. No…..... I’m…... being….. frozen?............ But….... I can’t……. Not now!!!….......… I still…..........… can’t.... remember……….”

You watch the curse slowly progress across their body… as it starts to fade from around you…

You hear. Loop sing? No. Not Loop. Something that…. Sounds like them….

♔ “…...................... Ah!…............. Of course…............. now of all times…......… do I get to remember……................ The lightless sands….. the streets….............… the people...........…… the mountains….......… I….... R e m e m b e r”

… The king. Is frozen.

◉ “….. Did we… do it?”

▲ “...We did it!”

✿ “CRAB YEAH!!!!!!”

▲ “But you!”

Ah.

◉ “What were you thinking, charging in like that?!? You could have gotten yourself killed!”

They… are worrying…. About that?

◆ “Regardless of all this business with… Well, a lot of things, still processing it all... Regardless, you shouldn’t have gone in without us!”

Couldn’t….. Risk it…

✦ “keep… you.. safe…”

you fall.

✸ “Stars!”

▲ “Crab, we can talk later, you need help!”

Isa. Picks you up. Comfy.

▲ “They're burning up!”

✿ “Is Frin sick!?”

✸ “They havn’t eaten anything for a while. They were pushing themselves badly.”

◆ “Alright, let’s address the fever first.”

◉ “The head housemaiden should be up ahead! She should have something, lets go!”

Isa. Holds you up. And starts. Walking you over. You-

Oh. Right, High up. Odile-

◆ “Oh! Uh. T-Thank you, Loop.”

✸ “Of course.”

oh…. thank stars…. Loop did it for you...

You keep moving.

Your music…. Still rings…. The sadnesses..... You’d better….. Quiet them.....

You… sing….

And cough up blood.

✿ “FRIN?!?”

✦ “stopped….. sadness….”

▲ “That’s good, but please don’t push yourself, you need help!”

It’s….. fine….. As long as…. No one is hurt…..

oh. Bonnie. Grabbed your hand…. You hold it tight.

… it’s nice. Having them here….

✦ “...sorry”

▲ “It’s okay Sif. Don’t worry, we’ve got you.”

...you…. want him to…. never let you go…..

...you don't want... any of them to...

….

You see. Euphrasie.

◉ “EUPHRASIE!!!!!”

◎ “Mirabelle! There you are! I… Something feels. Off.”

◉ “We can worry about that in a bit! Our friend needs help! They're really sick!”

◎ “Right, we can-!”

They… look at you strange.

◎ “I-I know you?! We… We met. Here? Did we? You-”

Reality stutters around them.

◎ “I-I-I would like to thAAAAAnk you you you you for accompanying Mirabelle! -belle! -belle!”

◎̵͔̔ “What’s happening, why am I-”

◎ “Something’s broken, rottttting! It’s too late to-”

Her eyes start to glow red.

▲ “What’s happening to her?”

◆ “That shade… Step back, everyone.”

Something dark creeps into her eye. Your fragment.

◎̵͔̔ “I can’t think! It hu̴r̴ts!!!”

◎ “Wonderful! Wonderful!Wonderful!Wonderful!Wonderful!”

◉ “Euphrasie! Snap out of it!”

She stutters more, andd rapidly. Her body and posture varying wildly. Some normal. Some repeating the old lines. Some… Some where the infection is much worse.

◉ “Change!!!"

Why. Why why why it’s all still wrong, and she’s suffering worse, and it’s all going to go away!!!!

◎ “… Soon, everything will be back to normal. Soon, You’ll all be able to go home!”

….

go?

They’ll go?

They’ll GO?!?!!!!

You can't lose them no you can't lose them not again never again you can't afford to lose anyone you can't lose them you can't lose them YOU CAN'T LOSE THEM!!!!!

✦̵ ̵̘̒̉“̷͉͖͋N̶̨̬͐́O!̸͔̊!!!̶̢̯͍̿́”̶̘̳̏

▲ “Huh?”

✿ “Frin?”

◆ “Siffrin?”

You bring your parts together. The house trembles. You can’t lose them. You won’t lose them!!!!

◉ “Change! Siffrin!!!”

▲ “Sif!!”

◆ “Careful everyone!”

▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲

You watch as the growths throughout the house start to flow into Siffrin like living water. As they grow bigger and bigger. Towering over you as a mass of dark flesh, hands, eyes and tendrils. Their face stretched thin over their hulking body as it blots out the morning sun.

✦̵ “Ĩ̶̡ ẁ̴̦oņ̴̚’t ̶̺͘lo̴̼͘se ̵̡̾y̶̯̍ou.̶̛̼...̸̢͠”

Sif!

▲ “What’s happening?!”

✸ “Stars, they're losing it! They aren't thinking clearly, They’ll break the whole house as this rate!…. Stars- Blind it all, here goes nothing!!!”

Loop claps their hands, and the sky darkens. The house and… WORLD seem to vanish away, leaving a realm filled with darkness and lights of that strange shade.

Loop calls out, audibly strained.

✸ “I’ve displaced us in my realm, but I’ll need to focus! Stardust is on you!”

You nod. You watch as Siffrin starts to rip themselves apart!!!

◉ “Siffrin!!! We just want to help!!! Please!!!!!”

Mirabelle heals Siffrin back up. Okay, that’s good, can't let Sif get hurt. Need to calm them somehow!

̸̲̩͔̘͉̑͛̀̓̈́̿̕̚͜✦̵̛̹͖̑͌́̓̕ “No, you’ll leave, they all leave, everything I love goes away!!!! You'll get hurt unless I keep you safe, I can make it safe, I have to make sure you're safe or I'll never see you all again!!!!”

✿ “Stop being a DUMMY!!!!”

▲ “We aren’t going anywhere!!”

̷͔͂̆✦̴͓̖̏̀ “You Don’t get it, I have to keep you safe, I have to keep you safe or I'll lose you again, I have to keep you safe, I have to keep you safe, I-”

◆ “We already know! About the timeloop, about the island, so just!”

̷͈̐͐✦̶̭̓ “You know? YOU KNOW?!? You know what I- Nononononono!!!!!”

You feel the space around you shift-

◆ “OH NO YOU DON’T!!!!”

Odile let’s out a potent craft, that surrounds Sif. The thing shifting their air lets go, and the painful energy subsides. You feel nauseous.

◆ “You aren’t going anywhere until we’re done talking!!!”

◉ “Ugh, was that timecraft?”

✿ “Felt BAD!!!”

▲ “Agreed. Think I have a headache.”

Yep, Okay. Good catch on Odile.

Siffrin let's lose a roar and starts to flail about, you knock a bladed limb from hitting the others. You have got to do something!

Alright, screw it, time to be smart Isa a little.

▲ “Sif, You’ve been stuck here because of a wish, right?”

✦̵ “No please don't talk about it, I won't talk about it, It doesn’t matter, it will never come true!!!!”

They claw themselves apart even more! Mira struggles to keep them healed.

◆ “We’ll be the judges of that! Tell us!”

̸̞̞͝✦̶͈͇̪͚͍̔̾͌͘͠͠ “Nonononononono!!!! I don’t want to think about it I don’t want to hope!!! If I hope, If I say it, something will take you all away again! I can't lose anyone again!!!!!”

✿ “Stop being a crab already!!! Let us Help!!!”

̷̻͛✦̷͙̆ “No No you can’t make me tell you, I can’t say it, I can’t let it get taken from me!! EVERYTHING gets taken from me!!!!! I lost my home, the ones who loved me, I can't lose you too I can't-”

Another limb flies at you, and you block the blow before it can hit Odile. It then goes right back to clawing at themselves.

You have to get him to open about this….

▲ “I-… I Wished to Save you, Sif!!!”

◉ “H-huh?”

Siffrin trembles hearing that. Tears of blood start to pour down their body. You wished for it, with all your heart. And You WILL make it come true.

▲ “That’s what I wished for!!! I wished that we would be able to save you!”

◉ “I.. I wished for Vaugarde to be saved.”

✿ “I wished for my sister to be saved!”

◆ “I wished to win a stupid coin flip!”

▲ “So tell us!!! What did you wish for?!”

̵͍͑̒✦̴̩͇̙́̀͝ “STOP!!! I CAN’T!!!!”

You have to press him!! You WILL save them!!!!

▲ “Please! Tell us!!”

◉ “Tell us!”

✿ “Tell us!!!!”

◆ “Just tell us!”

They're trying to ignore you! No! Enough of this! You grab the bits of floor you're standing on, and use craft to launch it into the sky, up towards him. As soon as you get close, you Leap!

▲✿◉◆ “TELL US WHAT YOU WISHED FOR!!!!!”

…. The titanic body dissolves, leaving just. Siffrin. Their eyes are still odd, there’s a little horn poking out their head but… They look at you. On the edge of tears.

You hold him close as you all start to drift downwards, craft- filled mist slowing your descent…

✦̵ “I… I’m scared.”

✿ “Scared? Of what?”

✦̵ “That… If I tell you… something bad will happen….”

▲ “We’re right here. It’s okay.”

◆ “I’m half tempted to fight you to get you to say it”

◉ “We are not doing that. But it is REALLY tempting.”

Sif lets out a little chuckle.

✦̵ "... You... You promise, it'll be okay? I... I'm still scared."

You nod. You won't let anything happen to them.

✦̵ “I um…. I wished to wear clothes Isa made.”

Oh! That. That makes you feel really happy.

▲ “Oh Sif! I’d love to-!”

✦̵ “...But… there was more to it….”

Huh?

✦̵ “I… I…."

They struggle to say it. You hold their hand tighter….

✦̵ “I.. I wished I could just stay with you all!!!”

◆ “What…?”

▲ “Sif…”

He cared so much….

✦̵ “It’s just… I didn’t know if I could be a person after. After all this… I wouldn’t look the same and… I couldn’t show myself again."

✦̵ “Not… not as me… If I did, then you’d find out what I was…. And It'd be scary, and you might... might find out what I did, what I could do and.…"

✦̵ “T-that means…. This had to be the end, right? Everyone goes their separate ways, and… I couldn't risk showing myself.... I’d never get to see you all again….”

They… But...

◉ “Siffrin….”

✦̵ “I’m sorry!!! I know it’s not fair!!! I don’t want to hurt you, and I know you have lives to go off and do!!!"

✦̵ “And it’s not fair to play human when I’m not, and you’d all have been better off if I just wasn’t here but I just!!!"

✦̵ “I didn’t want to be alone again!!! I’m so sorry!!!! I didn’t mean to trap everyone here and-”

◉ “SIFFRIN!!!”

✦̵ “Ah!”

◉ “Don’t talk about yourself like that! Whatever happened before, I don’t care, because You’re one of us! I don’t want to lose you! Change, I don’t want to lose anyone here! Honestly, I’d keep traveling with you all, if that was on the table!”

✿ “Wait can we? I wanna see Nille soon but… I don’t wanna leave you all! Travelin’s fun! Plus I need to get Belle to finish reading me that story, Prank Za more, and Dile teach me more recipes! And I wanna see what kinda cool monster stuff you can do! Plus I need to make you those fritters!”

◆ “Hah! I’m a little curious myself about the monster stuff, but maybe later. Still… I did already sort of have this mindset. I was hoping to see if I could convince some of you after, to keep traveling around. It’d be nice, traveling without the king around, wouldn’t it? Just didn’t have the courage to ask!”

▲ “I get that! But, yeah, I want to stay with all of you! Even if it’s just for a bit, traveling sounds fun! And Even after, I want to at least stay in contact! I want to learn more about all of you, who you become and.. And that goes extra for you Sif!”

You’ve just seen a new side of them. Even if it seems scary, you want to know all about it. You’ve always wanted to know more about them!

◉ “We want to stay with you too.”

✿ “So don’t be dumb and beat yourself up over stuff that don’t matter!”

◆ “Even after we’re done traveling, we won’t be done with each other. And it goes without saying at this point that We aren’t deterred by the new developments.”

▲ “None of us are leaving any of us any time soon! We care about you!”

You watch as Siffrin stares at you all, stunned. As you start to land back on solid ground. Their eyes start to tear up.

You give them a hug. Sif’s needed one for a while. The others join in, even Odile for once. And Sif. Starts to cry.

You hold them tighter. Because what else would you do?

[the-hufflepuffle]

Incorrect God of War Quotes

(Some from a generator, some conversations I had)

🪓

Kratos: you have to apologize to Mimir

Freya: fine.

Freya to Mimir: "unfuck you" or whatever

🪓

*Sif and Thrud skipping rocks*

Sif: it's such a beautiful night

Thrud: take that you fucking lake

🪓

Kratos: What if the person who named Walkie Talkies named everything?

Atreus: Pregnancy tests are Maybe Babies

Freyr: Socks are Feetie Heaties

Mimir: Forks are Stabby Grabbies

Atreus: Defibrillators are Heartie Starties

Freyr: Nightmares are Dreamy Screamies

Mimir: Stamps are Lickie Stickies

Freya, annoyed: You are disappointments

🪓

Kratos: had a realization today

Freya: what?

Kratos: someone asked me what I'd do if I had a week to live

Freya: yeah and?

Kratos: I'd go into the woods, die and let the earth reclaim me.

Freya: yeah okay. You'll need to tell me when you're doing that.

Kratos: why, I'm dying at the end of jt its not camping

Freya: it's cute you think I'm a.) Gonna let you die alone and b.) Die without setting a marker for me and Atreus to find and visit you

Kratos, defeated: yes maam

Freya: because we know how it'll go if you do that

Kratos, still defeated: you'll bring me back, and then kill me yourself

Freya: I'm glad we understand each other.

🪓

Freyr: Whaddya call a fish with no eye?

Freya, not looking up: Myxine Circifrons

Freyr:

Freyr: fsh

🪓

Atreus : You are irrationally angry 365 days a year.

Thrud: Well, that’s just your personal opinion, I don’t have anger issues. Do you guys think I have anger issues?

Skjoldr: Well, I wouldn’t really call it an issue. An issue is something you can fix.

🪓

Thrud: I made this leather pouch and then I made another one and

Sif: we don't even need a DNA test that's all you

Thor: yeah...I know

🪓

Warflower kid, age 7: Atreus, what are you doing?

Atreus, doing a kids puzzle and teasing: I'm figuring out this puzzle. It's clearly 3 different puzzles.

WF kid: uh... no it isnt

Atreus: prove it

WF kid: okay (finds puzzle pieces) ahem

Atreus: go ahead prove it

*a couple minutes later*

WF kid: see?

Atreus: I guess you proved me wrong bud.

WF kid: yeah I did *keeps playing with other toys*

Atreus: I love you bud

WF kid: I love you too. *turns to look* do you really think it was 3 puzzles?

Atreus: yup.

🪓

Odin: hey, Balder come here. Is this flour or powdered sugar?

Balder: it's flour.

Odin: hiw do you know?

Balder: because I can tell by looking at it?

Odin: taste it

Balder, tasting flour: ew why? What was the purpose? That's nasty

Odin: now you know it's flour.

Balder: I ALREADY KNEW IT WAS FLOUR

🪓

Kratos: Hey, random question, what are your favorite flowers?

Freya : Peonies, why?

Kratos:

Freya : Were you going to get me flowers?

Kratos:

Freya :

Kratos: ᶦᵗ’ˢ ᵃ ᵖᵒˢˢᶦᵇᶦˡᶦᵗʸ

🪓

*watching the new Hunger Games*

Atreus: *looks over at Thrud about to say something*

Thrud: *mocking the little voice saying "enjoy the show"*

Atreus: listen I was literally gonna tell you how we would suck in the hunger games cause we'd be marching in there fucking making fun of the little voice each time it went off

Thrud: honestly yeah. Then I'd kill you

Atreus: what?

Theud: we've discussed this. I don't want you living with the trauma of the Hunger Games. Mercy killing.

Atreus: I don't know whether to be afraid or touched.

🪓

Freya: I am the left brain, I am the left brain. "I work really hard until my inevitable death" brain. You've got a job to do, you better do it right and the right way is with the left brain's might.

Freyr: I LIKE OREOS AND PUSSY-

🪓

Freya: and if anything happens we blame Heimdal

Heimdal: wait why-

Freya: you are a smaller version of the man I hate!

🪓

WF kid: how long have you been married?

Kratos: 4 years

WF kid: *big gasp* but I'm 6

🪓

[mochie85]

Dear, congrats again on this milestone! I’m sooo happy for you and hope to keep enjoying your amazing writing and talent in this place 💜

I want to make a request with a song, just if it inspires you, so no pressure (;

Brut Gold - Chapter 1 Loki & Lia

1K Celebration Masterlist | Brut Gold Masterlist | Complete Masterlist

Summary: Loki sees you dancing in his club and is immediately infatuated with you. Pairing: Mob!Loki x Female Reader/OFC Word Count: Over 3K Warnings: No Smut, angst, killing, language A/N: Part of my 1K follower celebration. I want to thank @coldnique for this request and for introducing me to this song. I love this song! It is now on heavy rotation in my playlist. And the following scenario is what I pictured when I first heard it. So I hope you like it.

The haze of the club seeped through the walls and into the lungs of every guest attending that night. The air was heavy with deep breaths and sighs. The music was so loud and deep you only had yourself for company; because no one else could hear anything you could or would be saying.

The large hall was dark, with vintage speakeasy furnishings and two bars that boasted to have every drink imaginable. There were private booths in the back that were separated by curtains of red and chrome. Curls of smoke could be seen wafting out when the curtains were pushed back to reveal secrets and obscurities.

Beyond that were the private rooms of the owners where they conducted their daily business.

The Odinsons. They were brothers from an old family, with ties to the royal households of Norway dating back a long time. With money stretching even further back.

Back here, the curls of smoke were thicker with lace and the music was replaced by the screams of people whom the brothers had deemed worthy of their attention. Good…and bad.

Loki had just collected his dagger from the body slumped on the floor. His second-in-command, Fandral, quickly approached him and handed him a handkerchief to wipe his blade. “Thank you, kommandør. Be a dear and dispose of the trash, will you?” Fandral nodded silently to Loki as Hogun leaped up to help him.

“Brother, if you keep killing them, we’ll never find anyone to distribute our product,” Thor said, with an amused grin. He sat with his legs crossed on the back couch, looking like a Pharoah presiding over his kingdom. His crisp white suit hung delicately along his muscular frame. Quite the opposite of Loki’s leaner figure clad in an all-black ensemble.

“Well, if we started recruiting more loyal soldater, I wouldn’t feel the need to kill them.” Loki retorted.

Just then, Lady Sif walks through the door with a tiresome expression on her face. “Another one, Loki? I just saw Fandral and Hogun carrying a black duffel bag to the back.” Loki could only shrug as he wiped his blade clean.

“There she is!” Thor yelled. “My wife. My heart.” He held out his arms for her to join him. Sif pulls out her dagger and places it against Thor’s throat.

“Did you have something to do with this?”

“Ooh. I love it when you’re feisty.” He says pushing the blade away from himself slowly. She swings it back his way, expecting an answer. “No, I did not.” He sighs.

Satisfied by his response, she stows her blade and sits on his lap. Loki watches as Thor nuzzles up to his advisor-turned-wife, rolling his eyes at the blatant expression of love between them.

Deep down he knew he was jealous. Not of Thor, but of the connection he has with the person he found to love. But Lady Sif had always been by their side. She grew up in this life. She knows the harsh truths about sacrifice and gains. She was their rådgiver, their adviser.

Loki wanted someone outside of the chaos. Someone who doesn’t know who he is and doesn’t expect anything out of him but love and affection. That was hard to find in the line of work he was in.

He finished cleaning his daggers when Fandral opens the door and whispers to Loki, “It’s done. Volstagg is driving it to the junkyard as we speak. The front of the house needs your presence though.”

“Thank the gods. If I must stand here another minute, I might witness the creation of my future niece or nephew.” Loki whispered back, making Fandral look at what was happening on the couch. He just rolled his eyes and followed Loki out of the room, leaving the two lovers alone.

Closer and closer, Loki struts to the front of the house. The music got louder. The air got thinner. And his heart raced faster in time with the beat of the music.

Loki stopped at the threshold of the large hallway, flanked by Fandral and Hogun on either side. Those closest to them stopped and stared. The three were a sight for sure. All three were dressed impeccably in black slacks and dark shirts. Loki looked the most devastating of all with his shirt sleeves still rolled up and his top buttons still loose from the ‘sentencing’ he carried out moments before.

He looked around the club and saw a large sea of people swaying and gyrating to the music. It was busier tonight than usual. The locals mixed in with the tourist crowd for the summer.

A twinkling flash of gold caught his attention in the middle of the room, and he spotted you dancing on the floor.

Everyone else stared at them. Knew of them. But you- you remained unaffected and joyous as you continued swaying your body to the deep bass of the music. Loki was mesmerized. He’d never seen you in his club before. The sway of your hips made the gold sequence of your skirt catch his eye and he couldn’t look away.

As soon as they sat down, they were bombarded with attention. Some were from lower soldaters, soldiers who wanted to be in the inner circle and paid their respects. While others were of a more sexual nature. Loki ignored them all and just watched you.

He watched as your hands ran through your hair, your body moving to the beat. Your head thrown back lost in the music. He wondered if that’s how you would look, lost in passion, in between him and his bed.

You came in with a bachelorette party. The women you were with all clamoring for attention from the other clubgoers, getting drinks and compliments. You shone brightly behind them, keeping a low profile, just dancing and being protective of your friends who would otherwise end the night with some predator. Loki saw that as a positive quality of yours. Protective, loyal, caring, and gorgeous. He could see all the stares of appreciation you got every time you passed by someone.

He scoffed at the laughable attempts that were directed your way. All of which you turned down. He continued to watch you dance with your friends from one of the private booths in the back. He instructed his bartender to give you and your friends top-shelf drinks and made sure that no one else bothered you for the rest of the night.

Never, had anyone affected him this way before. Just one look at you and he was stunned. He never put much stock in fate or destiny. He always relied on his judgment and instincts. So, this fleeting moment of obsession alarmed him. “Find out all you can about her, Fandral. And don’t alert my brother of your research.” Loki asked his kommandør. Fandral and Hogun looked at each other quickly and let a sly smile pass between them.

Loki would’ve caught their little interaction, had it not been for some ingrate that tried to get handsy with you. Loki growled his displeasure from his seat. ��But you quickly slapped the cretin’s hands away and pushed him off. When the lowlife tried a second time, Hogun got up to take care of the situation. He’d seen the way Loki was all night. Loki hadn’t paid a single attention to what was happening in front of him. He was too preoccupied with you. Hogun knew that if things didn’t deescalate quickly, he’d have a whole other mess to clean up.

Loki placed his hand on Hogun’s shoulder, stopping the deadly assassin from continuing. Instead, Loki made his way to you as Hogun followed behind closely. “Thor won’t like this if you make a scene, Loki,” he whispered in his ear.

“Who said I was gonna make a scene?” Loki paused with a solemn face. Hogun huffed in response. “Take that scum to the back. Make sure he doesn’t have use of those hands for the foreseeable future.” Hogun knew better than to roll his eyes at him. He simply nodded and grabbed the offending fool off by his collar.

Everyone gave Loki a wide berth as he walked right up behind you. Up till now, he’d only been watching you. But there was something about that handsy boor that stroked his possessiveness towards you.

He started to sway in time with your body. His arms snaked around your hips, as his lips came dangerously close to your ear. You were about to turn and slap whoever decided to get frisky with you until you heard Loki’s velvet voice caressing your ear, “Dance with me.”

There was a deep command laced in his tone. You had never heard a voice sound so sensual. So confident. His touch was firm but reverent. As if he were the lead dancer instructing your body on how to move. Your body relaxed into his. A sly smile formed on your face as you felt his hands trace your curves.

Loki twirled you to face him. You first noticed his eyes. They were cunning and sharp. They were also the brightest green you had ever seen. His smile was what you liked the most. His thin lips gave way to a wide smirk that promised fun and excitement. You could feel his strong arms holding you close to his body as you both swayed slowly to the fast-paced music.

“I’ve been wondering when you would make your move,” you said to him.

“So, you’ve been watching me, have you? I’m flattered.” Loki purred with a guarded smile.

“It’s hard to miss someone whose got the attention of everyone in the room.” You continued as you swayed your hips.

“Likewise, my dear. I haven’t been able to take my eyes off of you.” He whispered in your ear. A blush formed on your cheek from his charm. “Have a drink with me.” His tone left no room for refusal. Loki kissed your hand as he leads you back to his private booth. Everyone you passed just stared at you with judgment or awe.

He signaled to his barkeep for a drink while he held the curtains open for you to slide in. Soon after, a scantily clad woman, wearing the tightest mini skirt you had ever seen, walks up with a tray. She holds out the bottle for Loki to approve and he nods his head without taking his eyes off you. The pop of the bottle startled you and made you jump closer to his embrace. She eyed you suspiciously as she poured a gold bottle of brut with a spade on the front label. His eyes viciously glinted as he felt your body press up against his.

He snaked his arm tighter around your shoulders, pulling you closer to him. “Have you ever had Armand de Brignac before?” he whispered in your ear.

“No. I can’t say I have,” you smiled as he reached for his glass, dismissing the bottle girl. Loki held it up to his lips and took a sip. His eyes noted how you looked down at his throat, watching him swallow the expensive champagne.

With closed lips, he leaned in close to you. He pressed his mouth to yours and puckered slightly opening your lips to the cool champagne in his mouth. You sucked on his kiss as the taste of the champagne coated it. It was tart with hints of fruits. The bubbles were still evident as they tickled in between your joined lips. You drank the rest of the champagne from his mouth. His hands held the back of your head steady, helping you drink from him. When you had finished, a trickle fell down your chin to your throat. He was quick to wipe it away with a hooked finger and brought it over to your mouth to lick off.

You played along with his game and wrapped your lips along the length of his finger, licking the drop of bubbly from the bend.

“Delicious, is it not?” his voice hitched.

“Yes,” you said breathlessly. “Very much so.” Your mind tried to catch up. Your body was thrumming with adrenaline and hot need. Your bodies were turned towards each other in the private booth as his hand continues to caress the hairs on the back of your head.

“Would you like another taste?” he offered, looking down at your lips. He grabbed the flute without waiting for your answer. As if he knew you would say yes. Hoped that you would say yes.

“Yes, please.” You whispered, making him smile. He brought his lips towards yours again and you happily drank his sweet champagne kisses. Your hands roamed his shirt, pulling on his shirt collar to move closer to you. When you had drank every last drop, you snaked your tongue in between his lips and tickled the roof of his mouth.

When you finished, you looked down at his throat again and your fingers traced the outlines of a snake tattoo on his neck. Loki rumbled at the feel of your fingers on him. “You dangerous creature. I don’t even know your name.” His breath smelled like the champagne, crisp apples, and fruit.

“My closest friends call me Lia,” you whispered as your fingers followed the tattoo down to his collarbone.

“My friends, if I had any, call me…” Loki started but he was soon interrupted by someone calling out your name.

“Lia!” Your cousin slid the curtains open, much to the protest of Hogun standing guard. She had on a tiara with a veil and a sash that said wifey around her shoulder. “Lia! There you are!” Rosaline glared at Loki and grabbed your hand. “We have to go. Other clubs to visit.” Rosaline gave Loki a tight smile as she pulled you out of the booth. She looks vaguely familiar, Loki thought, but couldn’t put his mind as to where he’s seen her before. The bachelorette get-up surely didn’t help his memory either.

“Ok. Ok. Hold on a second.” You told her as you scooted out of the booth. Loki held on to your other hand, not wanting to let go.

“Lia.” He called out. “Will I ever see you again?” he smiled as you got up from the booth.

“I…”

“My cousins just visiting for the wedding,” Roseline answered. You gave her an angry look for talking on your behalf. “Come on. Let’s go.” Rosaline dragged you quickly away from the private booths and back to the safety of the group of girls you came with.

“What’s the deal, Rose? I thought you wanted me to find someone tonight?”

“Yes! Someone. Just not that one.” She said as she grabbed her purse and coat. Everyone in your group was doing the same, getting ready to go to the next club.

“What do you mean?”

“Girl, do you know who that is? No, of course you don’t. Ugh. Sometimes, I hate daddy for sending you away. All these years without my bestie…”

“Rose! Who is he?” you interrupted her, as she wrapped you in your coat.

“That is none other than Loki Odinson. Part owner of this club. Along with his brother, Thor Odinson.”

“Odinson?”

“Yes! That Odinson! The same Odinson that’s rivals with the Barnes family. You know…my fiancé!” The realization made you look back to the booth you had just shared. Except this time, Loki wasn’t alone. He was accompanied by another man. Striking blue eyes and an imposing figure, clad in all white. Thor Odinson.

“Brother, I leave you alone for a couple of minutes and you cause all kinds of mischief,” Thor laughed as he sat down in the booth. Thor watched you walk away, being towed by none other than Rosaline Strange. “If I ask you to stay away from her, would you listen?”

Loki ignored his question and watched as your cousin, undoubtedly, informed you of who he was. “I saw what Fandral was researching for you. Would you like to know who she is?” Thor dangled the information in front of Loki, baiting for any response.

“Her name is Juliette ‘Lia’ Banner. Daughter of Bruce and Donna Banner. Donna, her mother, is Strange’s younger sister. Her parents both died a long time ago in an accident. They weren’t ‘in the life’ and wanted to keep their daughter out of it as well. When they passed, Strange honored their wishes and sent Juliette away to boarding school and Uni abroad to keep her safe. Apparently, she just graduated and is in town for the nuptials of her cousin Rosaline and James Barnes.”

“Barnes?” Loki said alarmed.

“Of all the juicy details I said. That’s the one you pick up on?” Thor chuckled. “She’s got too many ties for us to unravel Loki. Leave her be.” Thor warned resolutely.

“I don’t know if I can, Thor.”

“What do you mean you don’t know if you can? You have to. Or else…”

“Or else, what? Thor? Cut me off like you did Hela?”

“DAMMIT LOKI! You knew that was her decision.” Thor slammed his fist on the table making everyone in the vicinity jump. “I can’t protect you if you go after this girl. It would be a war for sure with Barnes and we don’t need that right now.”

Loki sat there quietly; watching as your group prepares to leave. “I’ve never lied to you brother…” Loki started. Thor just raised his eyebrows in disbelief. “…Regarding matters of the business and family. I’m telling you right now, that I want her.”

“How do you even know she wants you back? You can have any goddam cunt in here tonight. Hel, this whole club wants to sleep with you. Take your pick. But not her Loki!”

“If she turns to look back…”

You walked towards the front entrance, the chill from the summer night was flowing through the doors making you hold on tighter to your coat. Your cousin and her friends all laugh and beckon you outside to join them. Each step you took forward felt heavy. You couldn’t help it. One last look.

Both men stared at you as you made your exit. Shivers ran down your spine as you replayed his last words to you, ‘Will I ever see you again?’

God, I sure hope so, you thought.

⬅️ Series Masterlist | Brut Gold: Chapter 2➡️

@alexs1200 @a-witch-with-words @athalialaufeyson @britishserpent @cakesandtom @crimson25 @el-zef @fictive-sl0th @gigglingtigger @glitterylokislut @goldencherriess @holdmytesseract @holymultiplefandomsbatman @huntress-artemiss @ijuststareatstuffhereok89 @immersed-in-mischief @kellatron55 @kikster606 @kkdvkyya @ladyofthestayingpower @lokidbadguy @lokiprompts21 @lokisasgardianvampirequeen @lokisgoodgirl @lokisninerealms @lokischambermaid @lokixryss @loopsisloops @lucylaufeyson3 @luvlady-writes @michelleleewise @mischief2sarawr @mukagentropy @muddyorbsblr @nopenottodayson @one-oblivious-nerd @ozymdias @peaches1958 @salempoe @sarahscribbles @sarawr-reads @silverfire475 @springdandelixn @starktowerrooftop @theaudacitytowrite @thedistractedagglomeration @thomase1 @vickie5446 @vbecker10 @wheredafandomat @xorpsbane  

[vulpixisananimal]

(Warning for violence!)

[What. Did. You. Do.]

[Your body was lying at the favor tree, but you didn't have time for that. No. What you had time for was. That. Shadow.]

{Loop had you by the throat. You looked them in the eye. It doesn't matter.}

[IT DOESN'T MATTER?!?!?!!? IT DOESN'T MATTER?!?!?!?!? You will NOT lie to my face like that!!! EXPLAIN, NOW!!!]

{No. It's private.}

[It's OUR BODY!!! HYPOCRITE!!! You're the one who always told us not to get attached!!! But what were those words our wonderful fighter said~?]

{Loops grip tightened. S-stop.}

[That. You. Kissed. Him.]

{I, I said-}

[I'll kill you. I'll kill you a hundred times over!! That's the beauty of this place, isn't it!!! You'll just come RIGHT BACK!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!!]

[What!!! Got nothing to say???? No quip??? No begging?!? No jab at my insecurities!?!?]

{You can feel your throat tighten.}

[First that stupid little UNDERSTUDY takes off with MY HAPPY ENDING! Then I'm FORCED into their new life and to live it from the BACKLINE!!!]

[Oh and what's more?!? I still have to act like his BLINDING GUIDE DOG!!! No not even that, I had to do EVERYTHING in Jouvente!!! I had to deal with you!! And Null!! And Ramos!!! And EVERYTHING!!!]

[And what do I get back?!? That our little antimatter went behind our back and made off with the fighter!!! HOW. KIND. OF. YOU!!!]

{I. I'm. . .}

[You're WHAT!!! TELL ME!!!! TELL ME HOW PATHETIC I AM FOR STILL WANTING MY OWN HAPPY ENDING!!!! TELL ME HOW USELESS I AM!!! AND HOW I SHOULD JUST GO DIE IN A DITCH!!!]

{. . . I'm sorry.}

[Come again?]

{I'm sorry. Kill me. I deserve it.}

[. . .]

{I'll just come back. Kill me.}

[Did you really kiss him?]

{. . . Just kill me already.}

[OOOOH NO, You are NOT getting away from this!!! Tell me NOW!!!]

{. . . You're disgusting.}

{Isabeau found me in a moment of weakness. Dagger in hand. He comforted me. Even when he knew who I was. He reached out. All he wanted was to help.}

{You feel the grip on your throat loosen. I will admit that I may have been wrong about him. I may be wrong about the others too. But my need to protect you, and all of us, remains above all else.}

[And yet you trusted him to do, what, exactly.]

{I kissed him. And we made a wish.}

[. . . You. . .]

{He is the only one I trust with my life. Not Mirabelle. Not Siffrin. Not you. Only him.}

[You're a crab. Antimatter.]

{Deserved. A hypocrite. A crab. A demon. A sadness.}

[I want to pop your head off so bad. I want to shut you up. I want to slice you open and tear you apart until there's nothing left!!]

{But you can't.}

[. . .]

{. . . When this is over. When there is not danger. I will let you kill me.}

[But then that just takes all the fun out of it~]

{Sadist.}

[Thank you!]

[You let antimatter go.]

{. . .}

[. . .]

{. . . Neither of us are fit to deal with this.}

[No. You aren't.]

[You want to scream.]

"Siffrin!!"

(You bolt awake. Aware? Around? Stars, the semantics didn't matter. You were. . . Here. Mirabelle was running up to the Favor Tree, Ramos in tow.)

(You shake your head, you were dizzy. What was going on? What just happened? You were a bit out of it still. There was an argument, and yelling. Your throat hurts.)

(You stand up as Ramos and Mira make it over to you. You rub your eye.) "Eeeverything alright?"

"Siffrin oh thank Change you're ok." (Mira takes a breath before continuing.) T-there's, there's a serious situation! I-it's Isabeau, he, h-he-"

"Mind craft?" (You interupt. Huh?)

(How did you know that?)

"I- O-oh!!" (Mira looks surprised.) "Did, did we already tell you?"

(Did they? Wait, you remember some things, bits and pieces, they came here before and. . .) "I, think so?" (You shook your head.) "I, sorry, dizzy right now."

". . ." (Ramos looks worridly at Mirabelle.) ". . . Siffrin you, uh, a-are you alright?"

"Huh?" (You look over at Ramos. They look concerned- oh! Right!) "O-oh! Uh, I think it's a me thing not a Mind Craft thing." (You rub your temple.)

(What happened?)

". . . C-can we help, Sif?" (Asks Mira.)

"Just, give me a second. . ." (Your breathing is shakey. You close your eyes, what happened? Stars, what blinding happened?!? You weren't here. No you were, were in your room in your head. Carving tools, nice bed, and, there was trouble, you remember that and-)

(A tug on your stomach.)

(Your head sink into your shoulders.) "I, think you did! Uh, just not to me, and I don't remember that."

"But you kinda did." (Ramos says encouragingly.) "I-I mean, you knew what Mirabelle was gonna say on instinct! S-so uh. . ."

(True! Hmm. . . An idea.)

[You breathe in, and out. And open your mouth.] "Isabeau is being effected by mind craft, and there's a few travelers at the homestead right now that could have caused it. A bonded couple that left this morning, a girl named Vixul, and two travelers who were bickering."

"Woah. . ." (Ramos says, awed.)

"O-oh! Oh uh. . ." (Mirabelle isn't sure what to say.) "T-that's, very helpful???"

(You shake your head and blink a few times, woah. That was weird.) "There's, still a few blanks here and there but. . ."

"But. . ?" (Mira tilts her head.)

"Like. . ." (How do you explain it? You didn't REMEMBER any of this. You couldn't envision it. Couldn't pull the conversations, the moment you learned these things to mind. You just. . . Knew? It was like the stars, the constellations, the planets. . . It was like you were- oh!)

"It's, more like I was just reading a script! A script with stage direction and lines, but no context for what those lines mean! I don't know why I know that, just, that I do?"

"O-oh that's, really interesting!" (Mira beamed.) "Like a compartmentalized memory! I remember in a class learning about how differen't people sort through their memory!!"

"Makes sense to me." (Ramos smiled.) "Once you have a memory you can't un-member it."

(You give them A Look.)

"I-I'm serious!!" (They rub their shoulder, ashamed.) ". . W-when I was doing that stuff in Jouvente, uhm, w-well, it was like, painting over a wall? Even if you painted it really well, the origonal wall was still there, and with time you could fix it!"

(. . . Memories don't go away, huh?)

(You find that hard to believe.)

(How many memories had you lost? How many little moments? How many times did you forget Isabeaus smile? Mirabelles kind words? Odiles little questions, and Bonnies friendly jabs? What about your home? You had forgotten so much, even after remembering so much, too. You don't even remember when, or why, or how you ran away from home. You just. . . Don't.)

(You feel Mirabelle tap your side.) "Is. . . Everything alright? Siffrin?"

(You smile at her.) ". . . No, but we're working on it, right?"

"Right!!!" (She replies, excited.) "And!!! We'll make sure Isabeau is safe!! Then find whoever started this and kick their crabbing butt!!!"

"Yeah!" (You smile wider, you were feeling better already.)

". . . Siffrin uh. ." (Ramos looks over to you, then looks away.)

(. . . You think back on what the others said.) ". . . What's up?"

(Ramos breathed for a moment, then stepped towards you two, confident.) "I'll do my best to help you, any way I can, okay?"

(Huh! They continue.) "I-I, I know you don't trust me, and that's fine! It's deserved, just, I care about Isabeau too, so, please. . ."

(. . . Stars, you're a real softy, Siffrin. Ramos wasn't trustworthy, still. But their knowledge of mind craft could be helpful. . .) "Alright, just no funny buisness. I'm the funnyjokesperson around here"

"Bland and humorless! Got it!"

(You all laugh at that.)

(. . . You still feel like there's something missing.)

(You could "remember" what happened when you were away, but some of it was still missing. Still blank. Maybe it was important, and you hoped it wasn't important, but, at least you could recall some of it.)

(Little miracles, after all.)

[You got the Memory of Shared Memories! When equipped, this will let you recall events and information another you has experienced! What's more, your exp earned will be shared between you all!]

(. . . It's like Loop never stopped being your "guide", though, you guess they still are, huh.)

[sixpossumsinatrenchcoat]

Natural Satellite [ch 11]

An In Stars and Time AU. In ch 11, Sif & Isa talk to the rest of the party. Loop gets dragged into their mess. You can start from ch 1 here.

“Okay, so." Isabeau clears his throat. "We, uh. We… have something to tell you.” Sif turns to him, aghast. “You didn’t already tell them?” “W-Well!! I’m new to this!! So it didn’t really feel like my place? And, and—and isn’t that what Loop is for?” “Oh, is that what you thought?” Loop lets out a tinkling little laugh. “Oh, Fighter. That’s adorable. But I’m afraid you were mistaken. I’m here for my stardust. Exclusively. Angry mobs are way above my paygrade.” “I wouldn’t say that I'm angry,” Mira says uncertainly. “More… confused?” “I’m vexed, at worst,” M’dame Odile weighs in. “Though I wouldn’t take ‘angry’ off the table.”

Isa gets to Bonnie just a few minutes after you do.

You’d expected him to be noisier than you. Messier. It’s Isa, after all. He’s not an actor or a liar. But he watches you stammer excuses at (a very disoriented) Bonnie without saying a word. His face is pale, his eyes rimmed with red. He must have cried the whole way here. But now that he’s here, he’s gone utterly silent.

* * *

“Sif,” he says hoarsely, when you’re finally strong enough to walk away.

You look at him.

“We can’t keep this a secret anymore.”

“But—”

“Sif,” he says again. He’s pale as a corpse, but there's no hesitation in his voice. “If we couldn’t stop that, then we—we can’t be responsible for this. Not alone. Not if there’s any chance we could do better by telling the others.”

“But they’ll—”

Isa shakes his head. “I-I’m sorry, Sif, but I’m not asking.”

Huh. You’re not sure you’ve ever seen Isa put his foot down like this. It’s… disconcerting.

“Okay,” you mumble. Okay, okay, okay, this is—yeah. Yeah. Yes. You can definitely see where he’s coming from. If you can’t even protect Bonnie, then what are you good for? “Okay, I—”

You hesitate. You know it’s what you deserve, but… you don’t want them to hate you.

“…You really want to tell them everything?”

“I mean, yeah? Yes.”

Like it’s that simple.

For Isabeau, it probably is. He just got here. He’s not the one who’s been lying to his famil— to his allies for months and months and months of the same miserable day. Taking their trust and forging it into a blade to swing at them.

You clear your throat. “How?”

“We don’t really need a game-plan, do we? Surely we can just… talk? To our friends? Like normal people?”

Ha ha. Of course. Like normal people.

Isabeau’s head tilts. “How would you go about it?”

Well. You already know how you’d go about it, because it literally just happened, like, three loops ago. You’d just foist it off on Loop.

“Ohhh,” Isa realizes. “You’d make Loop do it.”

“...Maybe I wouldn’t.”

“You’re right, though,” he says seriously. “They’re part of this too.”

Ah. Well. The only problem with that is, if you show up at Loop’s tree with your entire party in tow, you’re pretty sure that they might actually kill you. To get out of the conversation, if not just to be petty. “Um. I think I maybe have to warn them first.”

“Okay! Yeah, that makes sense! So you’ll go warn Loop, and I’ll talk to the others.”

Hm. That doesn’t sound so bad. It gets you out of talking to the others. And there’s no one easier to talk to than Loop. “…Okay.”

“Okay?”

You nod. “Okay.”

“Okay!!!” Isa musters the briefest flicker of a smile. “Then I’ll— Or, I guess, we’ll see you at the Favor Tree.”

* * *

When you get to their Tree, Loop is nowhere to be found. But you traveled alone for years before you fell in with the best chef cooker in Vaugarde. You know how to track prey.

They didn’t have time to go far. Just a short stretch down the hillside, across a stream and behind a thicket of… blackberries, you think, though it’s hard to tell out of season.

You find Loop sitting on a tree stump, drumming their heels against the trunk.

“There you are.”

You’d expected a reaction. A flicker of surprise, at least. But when Loop looks up, their face is utterly resigned. They hold their stare for just long enough to spike your anxiety before turning away. “Haha. Yes, well. Here I am.”

“Um. We were… Or, I mean.” You scuff your feet in the dirt. “I… wanted to introduce you to my friends?”

“Oh, did you???” Loop asks brightly. “Fascinating!!! Because—and do forgive my ignorance—from where I’m sitting, it looks like you wanted to keep me to yourself until you had an ugly job you didn’t want to deal with.”

Ah. Well. Yes. That is technically also true. “But—”

“No!!!” Their face flares so bright that you can’t even see their glare. Then they let out their breath and the brilliance recedes, leaving you blinking the spots out of your eyes. “No. I don’t care. I’m not here to clean up your messes! I’m not interested and I’m not going, so don’t bother asking.”

You don’t bother asking. You’ll carry them the whole way if you have to. If you’re really going to tell your family about how you’ve been manipulating them this entire time, you are absolutely not going to do it alone.

“No,” they breathe, eyes widening, as you drop into a fighting stance. “No, come on, be reasonable—”

A half-second later, you collide with their chest like something launched out of a trebuchet.

“Excuse me!!!!” Loop sputters, clawing at your arms. “Are you a wild animal?? Did no one ever teach you how to argue like a normal blinding person??”

“You said not to ask.”

They try to twist free but you’ve got them backed against a tree, so there’s nowhere to go.

“We don’t have to fight about this,” you inform them. “Just come with me.” In your honest opinion, they’re being a little ridiculous. It’s not like it’s Loop that everyone’s going to hate. The only villain in this story is you.

You dig your elbow a little deeper into their throat, just to drive the point home.

Loop gives you a saccharine smile. “Aww. Did you really think I had to breathe?”

They hoist themself off the ground with both hands and slam their heels into your chest, knocking you back into the leaf litter. Before you can scramble out of reach, they’re already on you.

“You’re being sooooo~ stupid about this,” they purr. “You think dragging me into your mess will help you? No. No. You’re a joke to me. Your logic is a joke. And, stardust~~? If you bring those puppets here, I swear on all the Stars, I will kill them. Oh, they’ll come back!” they add, with a tinkling little giggle. “But you’ll remember. You’ll know what you did.”

“Why???”

“None of your business!!!”

When they shift their weight to get a better angle, you slip a foot around their ankle and hook your knee around their hip and flip them on their back. Loop takes the time to wink at you before spitting sparks in your eyes, taking advantage of your momentary blindness to slam their elbow into your nose. You hear something crr-rnch. The impact rings in your ears, floods your mouth with copper. When they twist around to gain the advantage, you're too dizzy to stop them.

You’re still tussling blind when you hear your name.

“Sif?” It’s Isa’s voice, muffled by the trees. “Loop? Are you guys there?”

You open your mouth to answer but before you can get a word out, Loop stuffs their whole hand in your mouth. You bite down, hard. Viscous fluid spills down your chin, fizzes on your tongue.

“Ow!!! Are you a rabid dog???”

You bare your teeth at them. “I don’t understand why you’re being so difficult!!”

“Aaaahhhahahahhhha! Of course you don’t!! How could you!?”

“You could tell me!!”

They lean in even closer, slamming their forehead against yours. “Learn to read between the lines!!!”

You try to flip them over but it’s like they know all the same tricks, only better. You’re still scrabbling for purchase when they slide your knife out of its sheath and press the blade to the side of your throat, right where you always make the cut. You take care of your tools. It barely takes any force at all to slice through cartilage and bone.

“Do it,” you taunt. “I'll be back in five minutes.” You could do this for days. Weeks. It’s a nice change of pace. And it’s exhilarating.

“You think I won't?” Tracing your jugular with the point of your blade.

“Then do it.”

Loop presses down harder, till you feel the characteristic sting of breaking skin. Warmth trickles down your neck. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you.”

“Would you?”

Loop digs the knife in deeper. “I can think of nothing I’d like more.”

Maybe you shouldn’t understand that, but you do. You don’t like getting killed by the King. You don’t like getting crushed by the rock-trap or carved open by a Sadness, but you don’t think you’d mind getting killed by Loop. Loop knows you. They’d know what it meant. It wouldn’t feel any different than dying by your own hand.

“Loop,” you breathe, as they lean in closer.

“Stardust~~?”

“Are we gonna kiss?”

Loop jerks back like they’ve been burned.

“What is wrong with you???” They give you a revolted glare before flitting to their feet and brushing themself off, still shuddering. “Stars above, you are such a little narcissist!!”

“Like you’re one to talk,” you snort, reaching up to pluck the last few leaves still lodged in the miasma of their surface.

Loop huffs a bitter laugh. “What do you need me for, anyway? They’re not going to trust a—” Their face tightens. “A total stranger. Not everyone’s as stupid as you, teehee!”

“But you’re better at explaining.”

“That’s why?” Loop tries and fails to hold back a startled little giggle. “There’s not even anything to explain!! ‘We’re stuck in a time loop.’ There, I wrote the whole script for you.”

“But you’re…” You don’t know how to say it. What did Isa say, again? “You’re… part of this? You’re here, too.”

Loop turns away. “Haha. Well. I guess I am.”

* * *

When you stagger back to your Tree, you’re both worse for the wear. Your surface is cracked and pockmarked, void-fluid and starlight seeping through the seams. Your stardust, of course, is leaking much more conventional blood. It’s drying in the corners of his mouth, in the creases of his eyes. You can see it dripping from a deep gash in their forehead. (You don’t feel sorry. You don’t.)

The Fighter takes one look and does a ridiculous, cartoonish double-take. “W-Woah!!! What the crab happened to you guys??”

“Just a friendly conversation,” you say sunnily.

To your surprise, your stardust nods. “That’s right.”

You can read the rest of ch 11 here: ao3.org/works/53412649/chapters/138439021 Or start from the beginning here: ao3.org/works/53412649/chapters/135189547

[livesworthlivingau]

Lives Worth Living Chapter 26-28

ISAT/Two Hats Spoilers below! CW: Outbursts, Mentions of stabbing/killing, unhealthy obsessing.

"So how you holding up Sif?" (You suddenly snap back to reality and look over to Isa, now left alone as the other three had left for the market.)

"What do you mean?" (You ask, confused by the sudden question.)

"You looked a little zoned out there, and getting to see Vale again, and Nille, it's just a lot right now, even if it's good stuff. So... Just wanted to check in with you!" (He gives his trademark bright smile, and you can't help but smile back.)

"It is a lot... but it's good, the family's back together again, even L-Vale now... I just... I really hope it works out this time."

"This time?" (CRAB!!)

"Y-You know! Like, having them around... I want them to fit in is all!" (A more serious look appears on his face. There's no way he bought that...)

"Sif... You know you can tell me anything, right?"

"I do! I know! I... I'm sorry, but it involves them a lot too, and I can't talk about it without them." (Your voice falters a bit, the topic making you uncomfortable as you start to scratch absentmindedly at your arms. His large, gentle hand meet yours after a moment, trying to calm you down.)

"Hey, it's okay, I understand. I just worry, y'know? But if you're sure it's okay for now then I can wait!" (He smiles at you again. You place your head on his shoulder, closing your eye with a relieved sigh.)

"I love you Isa."

"I love you too Sif."

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

"Excuse me for a moment, I need to use the restroom~." (Vale explains before leaving the table and conversation. They seemed especially uneasy since Nille left to help Bonbon in the kitchen a few minutes ago, probably still struggling being around everyone else...)

"Siffrin, is there, uhm… Is Vale uncomfortable around us?" (Mira asks, it seems you weren't the only one to notice.)

"They're… just shy, you know? Not used to new people! That's all!" (You try to smile convincingly.)

"Right…" (Crab.)

"They just need some time to warm up is all!" (Isa to the rescue, as always. Thank the stars.)

"They were stuck in the loops too afterall! Sif was the only one they really interacted with, right?"

"No wonder they're so on edge." (Odile chimes in with a little tease, not even looking up from her book.)

"H-Hey!?" (Mira and Isa can't help but snort and snicker at your expense. It WAS a pretty good joke you guess…)

"Though we should discuss what our next course of action is, now that Nille has found us. I assume we'll still head to Bambouche for their sakes, then continue our little reunion tour? I imagine you'd like to return to Jouvente at some point Isabeau?" (Odile begins to plan aloud to get us all on the same page.)

"Eventually, sure, I'm in no rush! But what about you, M'dame? Don't you want to go back to Ka Bue too?" (Odile pauses for a moment, glancing over at you. You must have been making some kind of face considering how she raises a brow at you.)

"I believe our little time traveler here already knows the answer to that question." (You look away nervously.)

"It's uhh... complicated? I don't think Odile cares about returning anytime soon." (You try to keep it vague, to which she nods. Her eyes casually return to her book before she speaks up again.)

"Very astute of you, Siffrin. If I do happen to return, it will likely be out of obligation more than anything else. I believe we have more pressing matters to attend to, like the fact you're still looping."

"I wouldn't exactly call that pressing..."

"Th-This isn't something you should just put off Siffrin! What if it just keeps getting out on the back burner and suddenly you're right back where you started again?!" (Mira chimes in in a panic.)

"I'm not saying we just ignore it forever! Just... we have some time at least, and Odile stopped me from looping once already! If anyone's gonna know what to do, it'll be her, right?"

"I stopped it in the moment, preventing you from looping ever again is a whole ordeal in and of itself. It will take a lot of research on a subject that no one knows anything about, and another that is purely theoretical. I may be good at what I do but I'm not a miracle worker."

"You might not think so." (You chuckle a bit. No matter how many times it happens, she still managed to surprise you over the years with new breakthroughs and theories on craft, sadnesses, and otherwise. She smirks a bit as her eyes remain on her book.)

"While your confidence in my is flattering, I'd still like to tackle this subject sooner rather than later."

"Alright, we'll get to Bambouche and go from there, okay? For now I'm just glad we're all together again..." (Your expression falls to a bittersweet one. You feel Isa's hand on your shoulder, giving a light squeeze and smiling brightly at you. You lay your head against his side and close your eye, savoring the embrace.)

"Dinner'll be ready in a few!... Hey, where'd Vale go?" (Nille asks, stepping back in from the kitchen.)

"Oh! They went to the restroom! B-But it's been a while, hasn't it? should someone check on them?"

"I better do it, y'all sit tight!" (Nille quickly takes the offer to ensure no one else would, heading off to find them.)

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

"Before I explain this, it's not their fault, please don't blame them, they were going through a lot and I didn't notice how it was affecting them and I told their secret an-" (You start to explain at a million miles a minute, too frantic to be processed properly even as Nille lightly grabs your shoulders to snap you out of it.)

"Hey, easy, just start at the beginning okay?" (She tries to comfort you, to which you nod and take a deep breath.)

"... When I first looped back all those years, I was... frozen? I was panicking, stuck in my head, I thought it must be a dream or something, there's no way this was really happening, right?... And then I heard their voice... and all of that just went away." (You glance over at Vale. They look... confused? Shocked maybe? You guess you never got the chance to tell them this part.)

"I ran to find them right after, as fast as I could, and... I was just so happy to see them, I didn't think about how they were feeling... forced to be back, I'd been through so much and they were just left behind... and then I dragged them along back here to force them into a family they didn't want any part in."

"Stardust... That's..."

"It's true Vale, and I'm sorry. I really don't blame you for what happened." (Vale just looks away, clearly not agreeing, but they can tell they won't change your mind. Nille still looks very confused, waiting for the story to continue.)

"So things seemed fine for a little while, but then Odile noticed I was doing a little too well, and I told her about everything... including their secret, which they made me promise not to tell." (You really were hamming up how awful you had been, even if you didn't realize it. It was your fault after all, Vale can't be punished for that.)

"Vale found out what I did, they were already on the verge of snapping and that pushed them over the edge, so... they had to go back, before I dragged them to the party... They had to make us all loop back..." (Nille takes a second to process all of this, before her eyes widen, realizing what you were implying.)

"Frin, tell me what happened, please." (She asks, her eyes looking almost desperate, as if asking you to assure her it's not what she thinks.)

"Vale... They..."

"I STABBED HIM! I SHOVED HIS OWN DAGGER INTO HIS HEART AND FORCED HIM BACK, OKAY?! I'M A MONSTER AND A MURDERER!!!" (You jump back as they suddenly start screaming out. You look back to the door, thankful no one else was there at the moment. Nille pulls herself away from their outburst. Looking scared, confused, conflicted.)

"N-No! You're not Vale, you knew I'd be fine! You knew I'd loop!"

"And what if you didn't?!?! What if it all ended right there?!? How could I do such a thing?! How could I take that risk?! How could I hurt you like that?!" (Their eyes were wide and crazed, they gripped their hair painfully tight. They looked ready to snap again. Before you could try to comfort them, Nille was already holding their face to try and snap their out of it.)

"Hey hey hey! Vale, Calm down please." (They stopped suddenly, tears flowing from their eyes and staring back at Nille, surprised they weren't being treated like the monster they thought they were.)

"You made a mistake... a big one, sure, but a mistake none the less. Frin's okay now, right?"

"B-But... I killed them... H-how could anyone forgive me for that?..."

"Well, Frin did, and that's the most important person to do so I'd say... It's a lot to take in alright, still not really sure how I feel about it right now... but I'm not just gonna hate you for it, especially after everything." (Vale stares up at her, they look confused, their eyes darting about as they try to piece something together.)

"I doubt you want to go back in there tonight. Maybe you should stay at the Inn for tonight, cool off a little..."

"Y-Yes... that sounds like it's for the best..." (Before Vale can get too far, Nille lightly grabs their arm to keep them from going too far.)

"This doesn't give you permission to run away though! Remember... you made a promise." (She smiles softly then lets go.)

"... Right... I promise." (Vale can't hold eye contact with either of you for more than a second, slowly starting to walk off again.)

"We'll see you tomorrow, Vale?..." (You plead. They nod back at you before fully turning away. The both of you watch as they slowly vanish from view towards the town center.)

"... Hey, Frin? Are you sure you're okay?" (Nille starts to speak again, now that Vale was safely out of earshot.)

"... It's not that bad, I promise."

"But they killed you Frin... I know they've got issues but... I didn't think they'd be capable of doing that." (Nille holds her arms, gripping them a bit too tightly.)

"They're not! They knew I'd be okay! I'm still looping, it's fine! They would never have done it if they knew it wouldn't happen, like when-" (You cut yourself off, quickly slapping your hand over your mouth.)

"... When what?"

"... After the loops 'ended' the first time, I went to find them... That's when they admitted who they were, and they kinda... snapped. They attacked me, they were ranting and raving, they spent all that time just watching me do it and have an easier time than they ever did, everything they went through and my loops were practically a walk in the park in comparison... But when they had me beaten they couldn't do it! They wouldn't! They're not capable of that I swear!!!" (You do your best to convince her... and possibly yourself in the process. You still blame yourself for what happened, you just don't want Vale to suffer for it.)

"Frin... I'm not saying we should just send them on their merry way or anything but... they still attacked you, they still stabbed you... I don't know if you should just act like that's fine and forget it ever happened..."

"Nille... I've had a very long time to think about this. I've missed them for decades, and now they're finally back... I'm not going to do anything to mess that up, so please don't do so either." (You don't realize it until it's already happened, your face turning to a colder, darker expression. It felt vaguely familiar, likely similar to how you looked in those later loops... Nille looks a bit unnerved by it.)

"Siffrin, that's not healthy! Don't you think you're being a bit obsessive about thi-"

"I don't care!" (Nille jolts in shock, stepping back at your outburst. You stop before you lose it too much, taking a deep breath to compose yourself.)

"I just want them back... I just want them to be happy... I had 30 years of a wonderful life with all of you while they got nothing... Isn't that unfair? Isn't that a tragedy? They go through all the pain and suffering and I just come in and replace them?!"

"Frin! That's no-"

"NO! They're the only reason I'm here! They're the only reason I got to be happy for all this time! So don't you dare get in the way of me making it up to them!" (You snap. Nille stares down at you in a mix of shock and nerves. She looks over you a bit, as if trying to work out the best way to deal with this situation. You sigh and take a step back, making yourself smaller as you duck into your cloak a little.)

"I'm sorry... but please, don't... don't ruin this for me... I need this. I need them... Good night Nille." (You excuse yourself before you say anything else you may regret. You head back inside, ignoring anything she or anyone else may be saying to you as you pass. You reach your room and settle in for bed, not wanting to deal with this day any longer.)

[aluria-sevhex]

I BEAT THE GAME

a solid 3rd of my ISAT notes on my phone are just from 'today' (writing this past midnight lol)

my ISAT masterpost

every post in this series is also tagged as #Aluria plays ISAT for the first time (please don't spoil)

please note that there's a bunch of notes in this post because i was still in Act 3 at the beginning of this post lol

-i'm not playing it rn but i have decided to break my 'no looking stuff up' rule so i know where to go to make Sif rember what they say when carving stuff

[WRITING TUMBLR POST ALURIA NOTE: i later looked up maps of the House to help me keep track of stuff lol]

-ok now i know. i like figuring things out myself but i could not fucking remember lol.

-i have a really long car ride so. MORE ISAT

-title theme shout-out

-Sif tripped on a rock. "you're clumsy and not at all threatening and overpowered compared to them!" :(

-they almost forgot to catch Isa :(

-dang, Siffrin didn't say nya this time D:

-hehe they hit it back. one could say it's a... COUNTER-attack B)

-SIFFRIN GHOST ON THE WAY TO THE DORM

-WAIT FUCK DID I FORGET THE SHARPENING STONE

-fuck it i was planning to loop back after finding out what to say anyway

-ah don't i also need to find more i fo on the King somewhere? eh i can do that on the next loop... so much to keep track of...

-LMAO. THE PHRASE SIF SAYS. "please don't look bad please don't look bad please don't look bad" BIG FUCKING MOOD TBH

-Sif on his way to talk to their tools and project while carving or sharpening:

-aight time to die lmao

-Loop my belooped

-hm... it's Loop's job to remember Siffrin's mistakes...

-"you don't have to remember to yell' always gets me :(

-I FOUND THE ARTICLES

-ok so currently i'm thinking that the King and Siffrin are probably from the same place. which may or may not be where Loop is from and/or the disappearing island and/or connected to the color thing.

this game has a lot of weird shit going on.

-Bonnie doesn't know what a star is

-OH FUCK NO. AM I GOING TO HAVE TO GO TO THE OBSERVATORY. I'M LEAVING THAT FOR A LATER LOOP.

-another ghost :0

-ISAT: 📚

ISAT if Siffrin could pick locks: 📕

-WHAT. "you used to find them disgusting, but someone you knew loved them, so you tried them."

"someone you knew?"

"who?"

O_O

-aw, Isa hugged Mira on this bathroom trip

-"you wish for rest" yeah...

-"please be sharp, please be sharp, please be sharp"

-the Keyknife is now the Knifekey. WAIT. THIS MEANS IN THE FUTURE I CAN DO OTHER SHIT ON FLOOR 3. HELL FUCKING YES.

-wait. OH C'MON. boooooooo

-i picked malanga fritters and almost skipped past something that seems important. they remind Siffrin of his parents? :0 their head hurt...

-"BECAUSE YOU FORCED THEM TO!" :(

-"where r u from" "no u"

-JUST FUCKING CONFESS ISA FJHDHEJKSMXMDKSKS

-*sighs* guess i should talk to her. actually... what if i called Loop?

-huh. can't call them here.

-"i just hope that one day you might learn" WAIT THAT'S DIFFERENT- wait nvm i got things mixed up in my head :(

-"in this moment, you were loved"

-"that was a nice rehearsal" OH FUCK.

-i just skipped from loop 37 to 40

-time to kill myself with a banana! oop- *plantain*

-"you broke your head open on a rock" it did not use to describe it like that.

-wait. Sif. if you're annoyed there isn't a more dignified way in the village to loop. just kill yourself. you have a knife. just fucking kill yourself to loop forward.

-...fuck what the hell is this game doing to my thought process

-ok what should i look for in this room...

-"BUT YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO READ IT" in large font... :(

-:( Sif is trying to remember something and it's tied to the stars

-aight new thing to ask the king time to get myself killed via tear yippee

-seems like the King wants Siffrin to remember their home... "something we've all forgotten" this is definitely about the disappearing island and the colors

-i need to go to the library and find the books on it.

-hey isn't Rock also called Protection Craft? kinda interesting that the King has it

-damn i died to the King because of timing bullshit ToT

-"one more time."

-huh... it evades active remembrance

-it had a belief centered on the Universe...

-need to figure out why the King is obsessed with Vaugarde

-freezing something perfect in time... do i need to find one of those Time Craft books again?

-gonna loop forward to the King

-"even the King feels easy to fight, now"

"i still can't say it" the name of their home. he wants to be able to say the name of his and Siffrin's home. ouagh this game is going to leave me emotionally devastated ToT

-fuck i missed the option to ask Odile if she was going to continue her fake research on a loop where i didn't spend time with her

-"can we group hug after i talk to the Head Housemaiden?" oh?

-DAMMIT ODILE INTERRUPTED ISA THIS TIME

-time to talk to her. again. again and again and again and again

-"you can start breaking down now" lol

-"the curtain falls" DAMN

-"HERE AGAIN?" woah Loop why so aggressive?

-"i'm too lazy to open up new dialogue choices" lol

-hm... show Loop the souvenirs...

-wait huh. in another loop this lady in Dormont said she has no siblings but now she has a sister. odd...

-:O THE LONG THINGY-THING

-huh. Loop reacted kinda weirdly to the kid's doodle

-hey what if i gave Isa the flower at the end?

-FUCK I FORGOT THE FUCKING ROCK I GOT TOO COMFY. this is embarrassing

-hey hold up the theme that plays when everybody's discussing the country in the library is the same song that plays when Loop is recapping things

-hold up. the King was in Corbeaux. Corbeaux is where the House doing the color research is.

-took the photo. PERFECTLY FROZEN IN TIME

-oh fuck

-calling Loop

-hm. the star-shaped gate that's locked. is the passcode the name of Siffrin and the King's home?

-we're gonna use a bomb i guess

-i asked the King where he's from and uh... now a slowed-down version of the song is playing...

-what the fuck

-Sif and the King are going to die, aren't they?

-"BUT IT'S ALL GONE!"

-i'm going to loop forward and try to talk to the King. again.

-*sighs* the peel is so dorky

-FUCK I FORGOT TO EQUIP THE MEMORY OF KNIFEKEY

-wait. asking him nicely. FUCKING WORKED???

-"The Universe leads... we can only follow"

-FUCK. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME. OF COURSE. OF COURSE. OF COURSE. GO FUCK YOURSELF.

-so the King knows about the loops, even though he can't remember them.

-"Wish Craft" :0

-WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO.

-BONNIE NO

-NO NO NO NO UNHAND THEM

-BONNIE NO BONBON NO

-okay. i looped back. Bonnie is okay again. i just need to kill the King.

-hold the fuck up. it says i'm in Act 4. bad things mark the end of acts. Act 1 ended with me getting in the loops. Act 2 ended with killing the King failing. Act 3 ended with...?

-please don't let Bonnie be dead somehow

-THEY'RE OKAY THEY'RE OKAY

-...the little moments of time rewinding seem to correlate with Sif wishing to go back

-:O I CAN READ THE BOOKS NOW

-THE GATE. OH FUCK YEAH

-fucking hell when did i get (Just attack) because DAMN. Sif is so fucking done with everything.

-WISH CRAFT

-i just fumkign one-shot the Nostalgie on floor 1. "just attack" indeed

-"you need a break" :(

-Sif is like constantly teetering on the edge of a mental breakdown

-let's see how well they do against a boss

-DAMN

-ok so what the fuck was Euphrasie doing before shit hit the fan? and why does she blame herself for Siffrin's situation?

-i just realized something funny. if Vaugarde is fantasy France. and Siffrin and the King are from an island north of Vaugarde. DOES THAT MAKE SIFFRIN FANTASY BRITI- *gets shot*

-gate time.

-what was the question? what was the answer?

-"couldn't i just create another me? someone who'd understand?" ok so somebody's a clone got it.

-Loop? i should talk to Loop

-ok i guess i'll have to be like "hey Loop are you a clone?" in person (plot twist Sif's a clone :P)

-"i saw a weird shade" WAIT HOLD UP YEAH THAT'S SUS THAT SIFFRIN FUCKING SAW RED. OK THAT WAS DIAGETIC. FIRST COLOR IN THE WHOLE GAME.

-gonna kill the King again, talk to Loop, then loop again forward to Floor 2 to read the color theory book

-WAIT SIFFRIN HASN'T CRIED ONCE THIS WHOLE GAME BITCH REPRESSION IS NOT HEALTHY!

-"especially if she knows" Sif. did you forget Odile's name. OH FUCK

-"HOW BLINDINGLY WONDERFUL, FOR A ROLL OF TOILET PAPER TO BE THE ONLY HOPE YOU HAVE LEFT RIGHT NOW!" this would be so funny if not for the context

-"you wish for eternity" WAIT HOLD UP

-SIFFRIN IS USING WISH CRAFT. AND WHEN THEY PRAY TO THE CHANGE GOD STATUES THEY SEND THEIR WISHES. ARE THE BUFFS AND THE KEYKNIFE THE RESULT OF WISH CRAFT?

-hey Siffrin uses a more shy and sad portrait for the 'thank you' afterwards now :(

-FUCK I FORGOT TO SHARPEN THE KNIFE

-y'know what it's fine i have the bomb

-hey Sif i think what happened last time might've uh. traumatized you? ;-;

-welp. i used the bomb. it was anticlimactic.

-"i wonder how this country looks from the outside" *proceeds to imply that the time loop only affects Vaugarde* hold the fucking phone

-ok tho srsly Siffrin is in what looks like *extreme* duress

-oh damn Sif has different portraits for the 'you should disappear' bit. less smug and determined, more... *haunted*

-dang, can't give Isa the flower at the end

-*sigh* gonna talk to her again

-"the actor has become the director"

-there's a lot more theatre comparisons than there used to :(

-woah Siffrin you are weirdly enthusiastic to see Loop

-time to loop forward to read the books woooo

-Sif i am very concerned about this dialogue portrait. your enthusiasm is *desperate*

-hey something funny: people wish on stars

-this game has a LOT of motifs i love: wishes, stars, time, memories, etc.

-hm... what is Siffrin's 'ritual' when doing the wish-y thing?

-:0 a wish is trapping Siffrin?

-what if they're actually being trapped by their own desires or smth? like some sort of- WAIT. WHAT IF LOOP IS TRAPPING THEM SOMEHOW???

-i am in conspiracy mode i think

-moving forward to get to the library

-Siffrin is now level 85...

-maybe a wish is how the island disappeared?

-FAVOR TREE IS WISH CRAFT WOOOOOOOO

-i think the way Sif wished was from something they learned as a kid

-3, 6, 7, 13, all are numbers with significance

-HEY LOOP LOOK WHAT I LEARNED

-welp time to die ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

-ok what is in that one house in the main part of Dormont

-hm. Euphrasie was apparently asking everybody what they wished for. she probably realized something tied to Wish Craft was wrong...

-maybe the list in Euphrasie's office cataloguing the names was categorizing based on wishes?

-looping forward

-"you're a living comedy sketch"

-my guess is that the wishing to save Vaugarde enabled Siffrin to loop so they could defeat the King, but something went horribly wrong, thus causing the loops to keep going

-ugh i need to talk in person. tear time!

-a sped-up version of the happy song after you beat the King is playing and Siffrin has the desperate enthusiasm portrait...

-Siffrin, you already tried saving Vaugarde.

-"maybe you don't loop because you die... but because you feel like there would be no reason to go on, maybe?" makes sense to me. Siffrin doesn't have anything to look forward to after defeating the King.

-"something that, to you, feels on the same level of hopelessness as death? on the same level as the world ending?" me when the time loop wants me to get therapy:

-hey Sif you just looped. right in front of Loop.

-looping forward to the King.

-Odile's realizing she's missing something. too bad she'll forget it. maybe i should try making the others really suspicious of me on a future loop

-"please don't interrupt" :(

-this game has me constantly on some variety of edge and i love it

-maybe this time Isa will get to confess?

-the static is starting and i haven't even talked to Euphrasie

-damn i did a minor loop back :(

-talking to her won't work. it can't work.

-STOP SAYING THE SAME DAMN THING STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT

-I WAS RIGHT AS TO HOW EXACTLY SIF GOT STUCK

-the wish is broken. MAYBE IF I DO SOMETHING ELSE MAYBE IF HE'S DEFEATED SOME OTHER WAY PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

-OH FUCK. so Sif's current theory is that somehow he has to deal the final blow

-"You just need to defeat the King on your own" BUT YOU NEED THE OTHERS TO DEFEAT HIM?

-also damn the way Siffrin's thoughts spiral into a mess is a mood.

-i am now in Act 5.

-:( the Dormont music is slow now

-Sif's portrait in the menus has changed again, there is nothing in the body text of his profile, and their title is now "The Lost One" :(

-wait. the Change God statue is glitchy now and i can't get buffs there anymore

-Sif is like perpetually pissed off

-aaaand now Mira's upset

-Sif is going to fuck things up with the others as well, won't they?

-i think Odile's gonna figure out that Sif is in a time loop

-i feel like i'm in a horror game right now. well. i've felt like that for a while. but i am fucking terrified of Siffrin right now. Siffrin you need help please they only want to help you you can't bottle up everything or it only ends up worse

-the battle theme is slowed...

-sometime i should write a crossover fanfic where Rose Lalonde picks apart Siffrin, i think it would go very interestingly

-unrelated but i just realized Isa has a hair banana hehehe... i need to cling to levity while in this hell

-uh. dude. why is your dialogue looping

-SIFFRIN! I. I KNOW YOU'RE STRUGGLING BUT ALL THEY WANT TO DO IS HELP YOU AND YOU KEEP HURTING THEM PLEASE THEY ONLY WANT TO HELP YOU I KNOW VULNERABILITY IS HARD BUT PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE THEY'VE BEEN *TRYING* AND THEY'VE BEEN NOTHING BUT KINDA TO YOU AND IT HURTS TO SEE THIS SIFFRIN BECAUSE YOU KEEP GETTING WORSE AND WORSE AND IT'S TERRIFYING!

-fuck man this game is getting me to care so much about this guy. Mental Illness Simulator 2023

-the irony of Sif calling Isa a coward who projects confidence but not backing it up... Siffrin is projecting.

-and yet despite all that... Isa still ended the conversation rather kindly ToT

-Loop seems really unsure and yeah. past me would not believe this but i am siding with the starheaded bitch.

-...Loop fucking LIED

-Sif is going alone

-oh dear the music

-most of the memories are gone. and the skills...

-level 99

-wait the room layout is fucked

-a Sif ghost but with a black hat instead

-"you're hungry" :(

-so. i think Sif just hallucinated his party members.

-"your stomach hurts. you feel cold." :(

-the world is glitching and breaking haha and i am scared i'm scared i'm scared Siffrin *please*

-how is the photo event occurring if i'm on my own?

-*oh no*

-ok brb i need to take a break

-ok back from my break and refreshed! now i can go back to Siffrin's Descent Into Hell

-entered Mira's room. her hallucination did the "head is covered in darkness creepily" thing...

-Odile...

-i'm in the Keyknife room except now the background is the post-King fight background...

-the feeling of the grim march towards a specific goal reminds me of the Undertale genocide route haha...ha...ha... ...

-stomachache, headache, and the smell of sugar...

-no more running, only a slow, slow, walk to the end

-"you've trapped this country in time even more surely than i have" oh fuck

-not often that a game makes me terrified enough for me to feel my heartbeat...

-red.

-his sprite is on the game over?

-where the FUCK am i?

-spooky shadow Siffrin

-OOO DO I GET TO FIGHT A MANIFESTATION OF SIFFRIN'S MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES?

-hm what does mal du pays mean- oh :( it translated to homesickness :(

-you can't fight your own shadow

-"it's not like you haven't let me die before, right?" *OH FUCK*

-you broke your promise didn't you?

-red

-dude i think the depression is collecting its due. loops and loops of bottling your shit up has been unhealthy and now you are paying for it :(

-"if something has been forgotten by everyone, has that thing ever existed?" FUCK

-red

-more red

-BRIGHT RED

-if i had a nickel for every rpg i liked where a monochrome manifestation of the main character's mental illness taunted him in a scripted fight, i'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice. bonus: the dialogue box calls Mal du Pays 'something'! oh and both games open with a content warning i guess

y'know maybe the fact i found out about this game from a blogger that i followed for Omori stuff should've been some sort of indicator.

-"the sadness within you is right" FUCK

-OH GOOD SIF DIDN'T DIE THE FAMILY CAME TvT

-"a weird shiny person helped us!" LOOP :D

-AND THE MUSIC IS UPBEAT OH THIS FEELS SO GOOD TvT

-IT HAS THE TITLE SCREEN MOTIF TOO

-i'l have to look up the song later and compare to other themes but i think it might be a medley/remix? i've definitely identified the post-King fight theme and the title theme, probably more i can't clearly identify

-everybody's battle portraits are so bright and happy

-"i still cannot remember its name" :(

-damn. he froze. womp womp

-ok but what about Loop? what's going on with them?

-glitchy background...

-i'm on Act 5. aren't there like 6 acts? idk maybe this can end and Sif can move forward. then again... the last few times. that did not work out.

-haha Sif pls don't die on us rlly tho pls don't

-so slow...

-RED...

-Mal du Pays is following us

-FUCK

-*exhales* ok the darkness is gone

-is it weird that i kinda like this moment more than the moments of closeness with the others in Act 3? maybe cuz it feels more real, somehow... or because for once, Siffrin is the one being vulnerable...

-i think the problem was sticking to the script and treating the others like actors or well... NPCs

-FUCK FUCK FUCK NO NO NO DON'T YOU DARE GO INTO GLITCHY MODE.

-FUCK

-now that they're here they know something is wrong.

-please game please grant Siffrin one small mercy and let the others loop back with him this time

-RED

-uhhhhhhhh

-Sif did you just become your weird sadness self

-woah this is a beautiful scene

-WOAH. now THIS is a battle! and it is *beautiful*. the red and the stars...

-oh fuck. my options are hurt them or self-harm.

-wait are they HEALING ME? :(

-the battle menu simply refers to Siffrin as 'user'

-JGJRJENNDNRJE LMAO ODILE JUST PULLED A CLASSIC MOM MOVE LIKE "don't you dare storm up to your room earlier in time, young man!"

-forced group therapy

-oh, Siffrin's portrait

-i HATE that my options are hurt my friends or hurt myself. and i refuse to let Siffrin hurt their friends. it's... heartbreaking...

-chat i don't think the wish the player chooses was Siffrin's *actual* wish

-:0 hatless Siffrin

-AWWWW THEY'RE HUGGING

-aw... smiling Sif... hugging Bonnie :]

-:0 EVERYBODY IS SO HAPPY IN THE MENU!

-"It's you!!!!" also hey Sif's title is "The Traveler" again!

-"you will stay together for a little while longer" :]

-i love how the lack of hat makes the fact that Siffrin is really short apparent lol

-these new conversations are precious :]

-Odile thinks the fact that Sif loved everybody so much they got himself stuck in a time loop to be cute XD

-NO WAY. IS THIS FINALLY HAPPENING. IS HE FINALLY GONNA SAY IT?

-HELL FUCKING YES!!!!!!!!

-ok i just talked to all the housemaidens and Dormont residents. time to talk to Loop

-...

-maybe Loop was just. a manifestation of the wish...

-:0 THE SILVER COIN? ARE WE GONNA FINSLLY USE THE SILVER COIN?

-TvT

-I BEAT THE GAME :D

-:o Siffrin is no longer on the title screen