#puppy plays isat

[puppppppppy]

act 4 :(

@chipper-smol and i came to a realization

[openphrase123]

hee hee hoo hoo time to jump really far into the timeline :3

the wordcount on the fic doubled with just this chapter but Don't Worry About It 👍

[bogkeep]

[listening to the ISAT soundtrack while wrapping presents with constellation wrapping paper] im feeling fine im feeling very normal

[sourpatchsquids]

I NEED TO TALK ABOUT IN STARS AND TIME FOR A SECOND

Okay i just finished watching my girlfriend play ISAT and I felt the urge to dig into the music a little bit and lost a whole day to it. So i think i have to post about it. General spoilers below, read at your own risk.

Ok so Im gonna talk about the title theme and one other song here, which is a secret for later. (This part took like 2 hours to cobble together ill post the other one tomorrow)

In the first statement of the melody, we have a very bog standard i -> III -> IV -> Cadential 6/4 moti-- wait a second.

With where these lines intersect, the A in the middle voice actually dips below the bass voice for the statement of this chord, which means that the chord lands in a second inversion. You wouldn't normally put a i6/4 just after a cadential 6/4 unless you were actively trying to make the resolution feel weaker for some reason. As if you intentionally wanted the listener to not feel a strong sense of returning to the tonic.

When the strings come in we are treated to lush root position 7th and 9th chords to really feel magical and detached from ourselves. Just as well, that cadential 6/4 turns into an entire tonicization for A major! I adore the way the strings milked the motion down from D to C# to C, its a perfect suspension of the old tonic into the tonicized dominant :>. The themes of not feeling at home continue from here. We get the briefest glimpse of a happy A major chord in measure 8 before we lose any sight of an A that feels at home in the harmony. Measure 10's A in the melody is completely unsupported by the G major chord underneath, and the only A's to play in measure 11 are in the bass and the frenetic synth line bouncing between left and right panning, as the upper string descend to a G and the melody completely skips over the A in otherwise stepwise line. I wonder why home is so hard to latch onto in this piece? You're only ever able to grab onto it for a little bit at a time, when you even know what you're listening for.

As we approach the end of the phrase, we finally get a reasonable resolution to the tonic! We made it! However, it is nowhere near as harmonically pleasing as it should sound. Even with the faster pulse flipping back and forth between the ears and the actual stepwise enclosure of the tonic, when a tonic chord finally rings it quickly darts back, and what we get is empty. The 3rd of the tonic is played for the length of a eighth note and is quickly kicked out of our aural memory by the staccato E in the same instrument. And then all previous accompaniment leaves, save for the strings, as the piano enters to play one last statement of the B theme. The title theme makes very clear, we are allowed to approach home, but we are not allowed to linger. As quickly as a taste of it comes about, we realize how much it tastes like nothing.

Finally, we are rewarded with another cluster of A's and E's to leave us feeling empty and full of ennui. Truly we are meant to interpret this piece as Siffrin feeling lost and alone, no home to return to, nowhere to truly rest. That about wraps up my analysi-- hey wait a fucking second.

HEY WHAT THE FUCK.

If you listen at the very end, the strings jump back up to a D chord at the very end of the piece. D, the key we originally thought we were in. This single chord completely recontextualizes the entire piece and im not kidding in the slightest. If everything that happened while we thought A was the home key was actually just elaborating the dominant, then what does it actually mean? And more importantly, why is it so quiet? What is the purpose of the final D chord, the actual end chord of the piece, when it is so removed from what feels like the real ending of the piece. It's as though it's being intentionally kept at bay, as if we as listeners are actively pushing it away. It's like song itself doesn't want to really end.

Oh.

Studio Thumpy Puppy, if any of you ever read this, please know that I am in absolute awe of your ability to bake in the themes of the story into 42 seconds of music.

Not only does the title theme convey Siffrin's emotional pain from not being able to remember his home country, it manages to tell the listener the crux of the plot before a single line of exposition hits the screen. Siffrin doesn't want his party to leave him alone, he doesn't want their journey to end. He is so desperate to prevent his party from returning home without him that he breaks the structure of the piece, hides the final chord, from his own god damn opening theme. To stop the journey from ending.

If you've gotten this far, please support the artists behind this amazing game. If you haven't bought and played ISAT yet, go do it, and while you're here, also buy the soundtrack. Give these people money!! They're really good at what they do!

Next up: We're With You! Look forward to it, it's also amazing.

[livesworthlivingau]

Behind the Vale Chapters 2-4

Decided to combine these 3 chapters because they'd be especially short from Loop's perspective, and I REALLY wanna get to some stuff shortly after this. Be sure to read the other 3 chapters first! (or maybe bounce between them if you want?) Spoilers for ISAT below! CW: Spiraling mental state

"You had me worried there Sif, but I guess it makes sense you'd be in such a rush. Glad to see you again Loop!"

"Yes! We never got to tell you thanks for helping us out yesterday!" [Pity... It's all just pity... You failed them, the original them... The real them.]

[All you can do now is put on your silly little mask and continue your performance, the show must go on after all.]

"... Well then splendid~! If you're all so eager to have me along, how could I refuse~?"

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[It was so easy, so blinding easy to fit in, to fill the little gaps of Stardust's perfect little family, to follow along with this whole mockery of your life, this spin off, this cheap imitation... You've gotten so good at pretending you hardly know how to do anything else at this point. That damned Fighter though... So kind, so sweet. he almost feels real, unlike the rest of them. So much so you stop feeling the need to pretend around him... until Stardust finally notices.]

(Oh... OH!... Oooooooooooooh.....)

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"Do you get it now Stardust?! Do you see why this was a bad idea?!"[You've gotten too close now. Stardust just had to invite you into his little life to make himself feel better. He just couldn't take the thought of you feeling sad all by yourself. You're just a sad, kicked puppy to them, too weak and pathetic to be left alone... He'd even give up his own love just so won't have to stomach that endless pity!]

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

"Where's Loop? They shouldn't miss dinner!... Wait... Can Loop actually eat food?" [You just watch through your little connection with Stardust. You couldn't control yourself around them at the moment, not after your discussion. You need some time away to recover your role, sitting up in a large tree. It was an off comfort, a small bit of familiarity in this whole changing play. You shake off the vision for a moment, keeping your eyes closed and gripping your knife, shearing it across a piece of wood to whittle away at it. You mumble that familiar little mantra under your breath as you do. Your mind races with memories now, so faint and distant, lost to countless loops, but they try to return none the less. Visions of your Fighter, Researcher, Housemaiden, Fighter, Kid, Figh-... Isabeau... He wanted to tell you something... that's the last thing you can remember about him, the real him. You never got to hear it, and now you never will... You hear a snap, opening your eyes and looking at the figure in your hands... It's the Fighter... The head having snapped off from the pressure you exerted, laying in the grass below.]

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"So how many has it been?" [You watch Stardust and Odile playing their little drinking game. You don't know why you're listening in, you don't want to know what his life was like before getting stuck back with you... So why do you keep watching?]

"-You know you haven't told me about the original loops yet." [You perk up, finally the topic changing to something else, something... oddly nostalgic. You listen more intently, as if curious on how Stardust would regale the events of it all... of what he'd say about you.]

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[... Why is he speaking so fondly of you?... Does he know you're watching? Can he feel it somehow? No, he knows you can check in on him. He must act like that all the time just in case you're watching...]

"... So what IS Loop anyhow? You HAVE to know more about them, right?" [Your heart suddenly stops... He promised you. He told you he wouldn't tell anyone. He knows you might be watching! He wouldn't if that were the ca-]

"Okay, I'll tell you..."

[siffrinstardust]

Don’t Leave Me Alone Here

( MCSM + ISAT … )

YAYYYY I FINISHED THIS

ok. basic explanation: combined two fixations together

LONGER VERSION!: THESE redraws were made for @wafflfruut after they were rambling and telling me how before respawning during s1 ep8, Jesse, Lukas, and Petra (ivor too but shh) would go into some sort of purgatory, which is HEAVILY inspired by the MAL DU PAYS fight from In Stars And Time (good game go play it…) so earlier today i thought HEY! WHY DONT I DRAW THESE GUYS OVER THE MDP FIGHT SPRITES! and well look at that ITS DONE

anyyways HERES SPRITE CLOSE UPS + MORE UNDER THE CUT

AND THE OG SCREENSHOT

also listen to the song for this fight its really good i promise

[boos-gh0st]

STUDIO THUMPY PUPPY WAS MY #2 TOP ARTIST OF THE YEAR AND IN A WRAPPED THAT FELT REALLY INACCURATE THAT IS THE ONE THING THAT MADE SENSE

Eyes were threatened. It played Tell us Tell us Tell us as it showed me.

The rest of my wrapped? INACCURATE! SUCKED! LAME!

Isat mentioned? Best thing ever and 10000% truthful

I don’t think I listened to it a LOT but to be fair it’s in my sleep playlist so

And it’s isat so even if it’s inaccurate I’m happy

[the-bitter-ocean]

oceaaaannn hiii! let's go with 3, 5, and 15 for the isat ask game c:

(MAJOR A6SE / 2HATS SPOILERS + FULL GAME SPOILERS AHOY) Thank you for the questions @dekupalace ! Since I’m going to be talking more in depth about the game for one of these questions I’m going to put my responses under a read more:

3- favorite soundtrack?

Oh god that’s such a hard question the whole game has certified bangers. The musicians at Studio Thumpy Puppy were not messing around or pulling any punches. The soundtrack of the game elevates literally every emotional beat. If I was forced to choose only one song out of the soundtrack my favorite track in the whole game has to be “How Can You Help Me, Stardust?” aka the theme that plays when you fight Loop at the Favor tree during act six. Hearing that for the first time while getting the full context of loop’s backstory made me go crazy. It was so fucking emotional and well done. That and it’s just objectively a super intense high energy song that makes me wanna dance around. If anyone deserves the coolest fight theme in the game, it’s Loop.

5- favorite optional event?

Ooh this is also a hard one! I adore a lot of the optional story events because each of them really shed light on Siffrin’s mental state /characterization, as well as gives depth to other aspects like the other character of the world building as a whole which strengthens the themes of the story. Aside from the obvious choice (2Hats Ending/ Act six loop encounter) I think my favorite optional event would have to be the “Who Was Phone” achievement (Change God event). There’s something so fascinating about learning about the Change God. Someone who clearly adores their certified little guy (Mirabelle) and is willing to offer words of kindness and assurance in her identity even if it knows she won’t remember in one instance..and then in the very same breath tell Siffrin that they enjoy watching Siffrin in the timeloop torment nexus because they’re curious to see how they change in a situation where everything is forced to stagnate. It was so genuinely fucked. I will think about it always forever.

15- anything you’d change about the game? be it game mechanics, a new feature, a change in plot, etc

Overall I’m pretty satisfied with the game both in story and gameplay actually. I think Adrienne did a good job writing and expanding on the characters and story that was set up in the prologue. The quality of life in terms of gameplay got improved since the previous game as well ( those who played the prologue can attest to this) . The fact that it was a in universe story reason as to why makes it all the more satisfying (if you want to know what I mean by that please read my mutuals @felikatze analysis about it here.)

I just am happy that Siffrin got to be happy in the end and stay with their family, to be able to talk things out and escape the loops. I know some people didn’t like that or expected a more darker/sadder ending or wanted the gameplay to be more challenging … my response to that is Literally Just Play Start Again: A Prologue. To me it would be extremely reductive to have Siffrin just suffer with no reprieve or escape from the loops (because that’s just a repeat of what happened in its predecessor) or have the group just split off from each other immediately after everything happened. It would have been extremely unsatisfying and ultimately missing the point of the themes of the game as a whole gonna be real lol.

The only things I’d maybe change or add is like it would’ve been cute to see Euphrasie and Claude be together/ reunite on screen in act 6. They should kiss. Lol. (That and just I would’ve personally loved to see Euphrasie in canon expanded on a little more but that’s not necessarily needed she serves her purpose in the narrative. I just like analyzing her and giving her more depth and I like when others do too, but that’s what fanart/ fics and aus are for so I’m not fussed.) 

I don’t mind that the game is sort of open ended and doesn’t answer all the questions. I think that gives artists, fanfic writers, Au makers and people who like to analyze the game more freedom to come up with their own interpretations for things that happened in pre canon and post canon which to me is more interesting. I know Loop disappearing at the end of the game in both endings is sad/ bittersweet but I wouldn’t necessarily change the way that was structured either. I like that their fate was ambiguous because it leads the viewer to come up with their own theories as to where they went. ( personally I love seeing stuff where loop gets to travel on their own and form a new life and identity outside of the loops and learn to heal, as well as post game getting to meet back up with the party and learn to navigate this new life/ change one step at a time. )

[scorchrend]

bored posting wips now

[autoartist]

just a teeny tiny puppy crush

ISAT ( In stars and time ) by @insertdisc5 ! please play!! this game!

-

Reposts of my art not allowed under any circumstances ( including AI use ). Please reblog instead.

[puppppppppy]

GUH

@chipper-smol

[pookapufferfish]

🎧

The song that came up has no lyrics

Let's Play Rock Paper Scissors! - Studio Thumpy Puppy

I love isat ost

[vee-lociraptor]

have to stop playing isat to go do puppy shift this is homophobic

[beneathsilverstars]

3 and 11 for the ISAT ask game

3- favorite soundtrack?

"It's Finally Over..."! It's 100% the track that stuck out to me the most while playing. That little bit of uncanniness... I can't tell if it's actually a teensy bit out-of-tune in that music box way or just using unexpected note combos or what, but it's obvious that something is ever-so-slightly off.

I almost chose "Isn't It Over?" but no — It's true that "It's Finally Over" wouldn't be what it is if it wasn't building up to the subsequent track, but it's specifically the build-up that I love. The absolute dread of knowing exactly what comes next and that there is nothing you can do to avoid it. You've already spoken to each companion, and again for the this-npc-is-out-of-dialogue line, and again for good measure. You've already sat on the bench, looked out the window. You've already desperately checked the exit one last time. You're just standing there listening to that horribly sweet little song and you just want it to be over already but you don't want to end it. you don't want to end it. you don't want to end it. but that's the only thing left that you can do.

It is such a well-done part of the game and the music is so perfect and makes it all the more powerful! Plus I just love pluck-y instruments like music boxes and harps haha.

11- any character headcanons?

Hmm... I headcanon that Pétronille is bipolar with psychotic symptoms! The other day I joked that I could knock out two post-canon birds with one stone by making Nille a licensed psychotherapist, but it was definitely a joke. Buut... if she's got some kinda shit going on, then she can still bring another perspective on mental health to the post-canon table, which is so useful, esp if it's a very different experience from Mirabelle's. I still haven't decided exactly what I want to give Siffrin, but definitely something with an element of psychosis, so with this Nille hc there will be someone in the party who gets the psychotic side, along with Mirabelle who gets the social anxiety.

Since Nille's nearly a blank slate, I went with bipolar because it's something I'm more familiar with (though I don't have it myself, I'm just a depressanxiety bitch). Being able to clearly picture the things she'd struggle with made her suddenly feel like a full-fledged character in my mind that I could have opinions on and make plans for! I'm particularly invested in the dynamic of her being a solo caretaker and having to get up each morning and keep being a stable presence for her sibling no matter how unstable she's feeling herself. It's fucking hard, but she had help, and you don't have to be perfect to do well enough, and she did quite well enough in the end!

I haven't decided my exact headcanons here yet, but since mood disorders can be hereditary, there's also a chance that a family history of mental health struggles contributed to the toxic household she ran away from. Breaking the cycle or whatever! I imagine she might get psychotically fixated on not fucking up the way her parents fucked up, worried that running away wasn't enough and the rot will follow their family forever. 😔 And then there's also a chance that Bonnie would have inherited it as well, and I love the idea of Bonnie growing up familiar with all of this mental health shit and by the time their own disorder starts manifesting they know exactly what it is and a variety of techniques for managing it. It's still difficult, but they have a much easier time than Nille did, and everyone is so fucking grateful that they're able to be there for Bonnie (and Nille) and help them live their best lives! And it turns out, Nille being mentally ill didn't prevent her from being a good caretaker for Bonnie - it actually made her the best possible caretaker for this child in particular.

[siffrinstardust]

Reposting old ISAT art in honor of the new merch drop YIPPEE

that 1 dialogue redraw

more scene redraws ^_^!!!!!!

and a sprite doodle

YOUGUYS SHOULD PLAY IN STARS AND TIME its a really good timeloop game where little guys go through the horrors

rlly good 10/10 made me cry really hard

also banger ost

[the-archivists-corner]

🎶✨when u get this, list 5 songs u like to listen to, publish. then, send this ask to 10 of your favourite followers (positivity is cool)🎶✨

Get ask gamed motherfucker/silly

FUNNILY ENOUGH YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO ASK GAMED ME SO THANK YOU TO @happi-tree AND YOU!!

1. I WON'T LET YOU GO HOME by Studio Thumpy Puppy

One of the finale songs on the ISAT soundtrack and man does it slap so much, and knowing what scene it plays during makes it even more painful<3

2. Great at Crime by OR3O

Great at Crime is the outro song for the Museum Arc of Epithet Erased and if you like the vibe team rocket has, this pretty much captures it.

3. Casual by Chappell Roan

@waybrights introduced me to Chappell Roan and now I'm here

4. Be Careful, Everyone! By Studio Thumpy Puppy

Yes another ISAT one, it's a banger!!!

5. Dance With Me by beabadoobee

Just so soft love it sm