#siffrin is not taking it well and don't act timely to notice that loop is gone

[rin-rin-kururin]

Thinking about bloodless resolution for act 6 fight but still kind of bad for Siffrin? Like a bad ending. I haven't seen anyone making an AU, where Loop is taking back "what belongs to them", but with Siffrin still alive and... in Loop's body instead? They swapped bodies because of the wish and now Siffrin is trying to get the party to recognize them, but they don't believe him... since they no longer look like themself. And Loop is basking in joy from getting their family back.

[guided-by-stars]

It baffles me when I see other people going through Stars and Time and they get frustrated when 1. Bonnie pushes Siffrin into the tear, and 2. Siffrin doesn't find the key in the Head Housemaiden's office and they get softlocked. There's frustration that comes out in other points as well, but those are the two situations where I've seen it be the most intense. I've seen people yell at Bonnie, yell at Mirabelle, yell at Siffrin, genuine anger and annoyance, some people will hold grudges. Say that this choice is stupid, try to find a way to avoid looping back. Usually at that point, I know I'm not exactly going to have the most fun watching them play.

I think some people trap themselves in the expectations of the medium. They're approaching it as a game first, and an expression of art or a story with people in it second. It genuinely surprises me sometimes when people treat characters as...characters, and not people. Do you not try to immerse yourself in the world and circumstances when you engage with media? Take it seriously? I see people try to justify these deaths. Most people aren't frustrated with the rock death, because they justify it as being a tutorial. At the same time, people who are already grumbling about having to go through Dormont again on loop 1... I'm not sure if this experience is for them. Considering on my completion file I ended far past loop 200... Acts 3 and 4 alone often have so much PURPOSEFUL looping, sometimes all the way back to Dormont.

People justify the softlock as a "tutorial" for the icon that shows when you cannot progress that loop...but at that point it had already been shown how tutorials were not made to be obtrusive. The fighting tutorial was centered around Mirabelle's own anxiety, an anxiety that progresses and grows throughout their journey through the house. The Bonnie taking down an enemy tutorial? That's not locked to any fight, it happens the first time that Bonnie has the chance to do so, it could happen anywhere! Adrienne could have easily coded it so that the first time the player was softlocked, the tutorial for that icon would play there. That's not the point of it. The point of it was to show how self-depricating Siffrin is, at that point in the game. How he puts so much of his self worth on his role as the trap disarmer and the key finder. How he blames himself for everything. How he sees himself as a failure. If you could just figure out where the key was if you tried really hard or something, you'd miss all of that. Almost everything in this game has a point and the point almost always is to show you more about the characters.

The game is meant to make you play through it countless times. It's meant to show you the experience of Siffrin, someone who has no choice but to go through it countless times. It's not for padding, it's not to be mean spirited or unfair or difficult, it's to give you an EXPERIENCE. When you want to fast forwards through text but you have a feeling that something might have changed and you stop just in time to see new dialogue, when you notice Siffrin's smile fading from act to act, when you make sure to pick up every souvenir from Dormont every time you loop JUST IN CASE you need to use it somewhere in the House, when you are so thrown off by the rock in the Death Corridor that you become paranoid and check every pillar afterwards just in case... and then you get the Memory of Pillars for your troubles.

When you check Loop's advice for quests you've already completed, just to see what they say about it, when you select text options that are already greyed out because you want and hope and desire there to be more to the conversation...maybe this time? When you do the friend quests again in Act 4 and you don't skip through them because you have a feeling Siffrin will be feeling differently now, and he does, and it's an entirely different experience this time. When you get the Bright Flower and you forget to give it to your party and then you go to talk to the king and see you can offer him the flower? When you bring the flower with you every loop after that just in case there's another person you can give it too and then you realize you can give it to the Head Housemaiden? That's what ISAT is about.

[vulpixisananimal]

Isapays fluff, the Thrilling Sequel.

[BETWEEN ACT 1 AND ACT 2]

"We'll be back in a bit Isa!"

"Alright! Take care!"

(With that, Nille and Bonnie headed off to the farm down the road for some fresh food. That was the nice thing about this little temporary cabin, it was close to everywhere in the little town! You could rent it out for a night, stay in, have a nice dinner and explore around, and then move on! For parties like yours, it was perect!)

(Mirabelle was already out meeting the locals, Odile had dissapeared for alone time, naturally, Ramos was exploring around the town, and Siffrin had yet to come out of their room. That was alright, you were happy staying here. You had your own little hobby to work on. And you were working on it right now!)

(You were working on a hat. It was one for Sif, well, Mal du Pays technicaly. You had started making a few for the three of them, the idea was maybe giving them an easier way to see who's who. But that didn't mean they couldn't be practical! You knew the sun hurt Mals eyes, so, right now you were sewing dark cloth to the rim to make a veil.)

(It had been hard to find a good material, one that was light, but could also blot out the sun. Luckily, it wasn't anything a bit of craft stitching couldn't fix. You had tried mimicing the type that Siffrin had on their cloak, but that was way too advanced. But you made do.)

(You continued sewing. It wasn't that far from done, actually. You could probably finish it today or tomorrow. But, don't rush it. Take your time to make sure it was perfect. It was intricate work, but nice. You continued on for a few minutes before pausing and leaning back where you were sitting.)

(You nearly jumped out of your skin when you turned to see Siffrin was there staring at you.)

"O-oh! Good morning!" (You say.)

(They waved softly and walked over. Oh! Not Siffrin, Mal. It was getting easier to tell who's who every day. Mal du Pays didn't talk, rarely showed up, and was stuck with a resting neutral face, to be polite about it.)

(And, well. You two, had, that one time.)

"Everything alright?" (The other thing you'd noticed was that Mal came out usually when something had gone wrong. You'd been told it does come out casually sometimes, but you'd yet to see it, really.)

(It held up crossed fingers. "I'm ok.")

"W-well. . ." (Oh Change, you still didn't know how to talk to it.) "Well you're free to stick around, if you want!"

(It nodded, and sat down next to you.)

(. . . Change, you were fine! Oh you were really fine! Sure, it had sat with you before like this, but, but it had been a few days since, since that encounter you two had. And you, really had no idea what to think about it still!)

(You continue sewing. Was it. . . Hopeful thinking? That it liked you? Well, maybe it did! It did want to kiss you after all. But, but then it needed to pull away. You knew it was probably just too much touch but, but what if it wasn't? You might have done something wrong, or. . .)

(You feel a gentle poke, making you jolt and turn, Mal was looking at you.)

"O-oh! Sorry! What's up?" (you reply, a little nervous.)

(It looked at you for a second, then held two fingers to their chest, then drew a line above their eyes and clasped both hands together. "That's a veil, for me?")

"O-oh! Yeah, it is! I wanted to make you something nice, Loop mentioned the sun bothers you, so. . ."

(It blinks at you, its face impossible to read. It tapped its temple. "Why.")

"Huh? W-well, I don't want you to hurt your eyes so-"

(It shook its head, tapped its temple again, pointed at you, then made a circle motion with both hands. "No, why do you care?")

"H-huh? Why wouldn't I?"

(It just looked at you. Its gaze felt cold, looking into your soul. It was, really terrifying sometimes. But that was ok! You continue,) "I just, wanted to make you something nice, b-because."

(It's still just, looking at you.)

". . . I just, want you to feel comfortable."

(It pauses, then taps their temple again. "Why?")

"B-because, because you deserve to?"

(Another tap.)

"You deserve to because everyone does! Everyone should be able to feel comfortable."

(It pauses, and considers you for a moment. Then tapped its chest. "Me?")

(You nod.) "Yes! you! I know you guys have gone through a lot, so-"

(It waves a hand, cutting you off. Tapping its chest and wiggling an open palm, then splayed it open. "I can't relax.")

(Huh?) "Why not? You're not in danger right now or anything."

(It's staring at you, you think you see its eye twitch. It turns away from you.)

"Mal. . .?" (You wait for a moment, trying to give it space, but, you're worried. Did you say something wrong? After a minute you lean over to try and see if it's ok.)

(It's. . . Crying.)

"Are you, are you sure you're ok?"

(No response, it's not looking at you, its breathing is getting heavier. You try and very gently offer a hand out.)

(It slaps your hand away and-)

"&$*#%^###$"

(You wince. Ow! It, it talked? R-right, that's why it didn't talk. Island language. You look away and hold your head, Ow ow ow. . .)

(It slapped your hand away.)

(You're looking down at the veil your sewing as you hold your head. It slaped your hand away. Did, did it not want you around? O-or, or did you just take it by surprise? O-or maybe even. . .)

(You feel a touch on your shoulder. A hand. You turn around.)

(Mal has its hand on your shoulder. It's crying, and shaking a lot; its face that was always neutral is showing cracks. It holds up a fist over its heart. "Sorry.")

(. . .You place your hand over Mals.) "I-its, it's alright."

(It shook its head, and looked away. Finally, it tapped its chest, and made a grabbing fist. "Can I trust you?")

"I- O-of course you can!"

(It glared at you.)

"Promise! I promise!! I haven't given away our secret right? Even if some people are relentless about it."

(It stares at you for a long time, as if considering something. It drew a horizontal line, then made a motion like breaking a stick. "Do not break it.")

"I promise, I really do, alright?" (You smile at Mal.) "I, I don't want to hurt you, okay? I promise, from the bottom of my heart."

(Mal looks you up and down. Takes a moment, breathing in, and out. It patted its chest with an open palm. "I'm scared.")

"Whuh?" (Mal? Afraid?) "W-what of? Did someone-"

(It shook its head, it held up a hand, paused, then continued. It patted its chest again, and then made a hand motion from you to it.)

("I'm scared of falling in love with you.")

(Your eyes widen and your breathing quickens. What?!? could that mean??? What could that possibly mean?!?)

"Y-you're. . ."

(It nodded, it was shaking.)

(You were, so, so confused. A-and, worried, and. . .) ". . . Do you, want, to talk about it?"

(It took a minute to reply, taking it's other hand back, it shakily took a hand and tapped its chest, drawing a line, then made a slashing motion. "I don't want to be hurt.")

"You're. . . Worried about me hurting you?" (Why would you hurt it?)

(It placed a cupped hand over the other, open palms moving away. It pauses, then pats its chest, and makes a slashing motion. "I protect Sleepwalker, I'm scared I'll fail.")

(Sleepwalker? Oh Right! That was Siffrin! It was hard to do full names in sign language so, nicknames. It was scared it couldn't protect Siffrin if it. . . Oh.)

(It raises it's hand, stops, unsure what to say. It looks away, shaking even harder.)

". . . Mal?"

(It looks at you.)

"You're, you're scared that, i-if, you and me are, a-a, a thing, then. . ."

(It nods.)

(It wants to protect Siffrin, more than anything. That's, that's what it is after all, right? A protector? Someone who takes care of the body, the host, Siffrin. It's done that job so well, so. . . Personal. It's, it's surpressing everything including you, but.)

(But that's something you can both agree on!)

"Let me help you then!!" (You lean in close.) "I-I, I want to make sure Sif's safe too! I want him to be happy a-and, and not to have to worry about these loops or memories, or anything! So, so. . ."

(It's looking at you, bewilderment having broken through that mask of neutrality. It opens its mouth, and closes it.)

". . . Please."

(It's looking at you, its face, it's, hard to describe. It does so well at hiding it's emotions, even though it's mask is cracking more and more with each word you say. Eventually, it gently claps its hands and holds a palm to you. "Promise?")

(You take its hand and hold it close.) "I promise! I-I promise with all my life! A-and. . ." (Oh Change come on Isabeau, no, don't freeze up now, just say it!)

(Say it! Say it!!)

"A-and, and I'll protect you too!! B-because I love you!!"

(It's shocked, you're shocked too, honestly. You didn't think you'd have, have the courage to, t-to just say that! Here! Now! But now your words are falling effortlessly out of our mouth.)

"I-I've, I've been thinking about when we kissed every day and! A-and about all you went through in Jouvente, a-and! And I don't want you to think you're alone in this!! One of the first things I learned as a Defender was to find someone to have your back. To find someone you can trust a-and-" (Oh Change, you had butterflies in your stomach.)

(You continue.) "I-I want to be that person for you! I want you to, t-to be able to feel safe! Like you don't need to fight the world on your own!! Because, b-because I trust you! And I love you! And I'll always be there to fight the world right by your side!!"

(That. . . That was a lot wow, ok. How long have you been holding all THAT in, Isabeau? You take a second to catch your breath.) "I-I, I know, that, that was a lot, but-"

(It shuts you up with a kiss.)

(. . . . . You, you just forgot everything you were about to say. I-it, it's kisisng you, it, it's kissing you and isn't moving away quite y-yet a and that's MORE than fine by you t-that's, that's, oh you're gonna just die here and now!)

(You put an arm gently on it's side, it flinches, but doesn't move. It puts a hand to your chest, it's cold, but that's ok. Oh, oh you feel so hot, you're deffinatly blushing! Eventually, it moves away, it's mouth hanging open a little, showing more emotion than it ever has before. It pats its chest with a fist. "Sorry.")

(It takes you a moment to register it, you were extremely flustered and still catching up.) "I- n-no! N-nono no need for sorry I, was, surprised, b-but a good surprised like! Like a surprise gift, o-or a-"

(It kisses you again!)

(This time for much shorter but! B-but it still, kissed you! again!! When it moved back again you squeaked out a reply.) "O-okgotitmessagerecieved."

(It smiled at you. Actually smiled. This, this was a first! You were trying really hard not to, well, loose it just a little bit! With one hand, it made a rising gesture from its chest towards you. "I love you.")

"I love you, too." (You say effortlessly.)

(It looks at you, and tilts its head, considering somthing . . . It made a grabbing fist, then tapped itself. "Trust me?")

(You nod enthusiastically.) "Of course trust you!"

(Mal breathes in, and out. It pauses for a minute, then grabs your hand, and lays it out flat, palm up. It does the same with it's own palm.)

(With its other hand, it draws its dagger, and places the sharp edge against its own palm. It looks up to you, for. . . Confirmation? What was it doing?)

(You nod. Mal cuts open its palm, it doesnt flinch, there's blood. It moves the dagger to your hand where it hesitates for longer before cutting your hand open as well. You wince, ouch. Looking up at Mals face, it looked a bit sad that it hurt you. You smile at it, that makes it feel better.)

(You look down to you and Mals wounded hands, an elaborate ritual that Mal Du Pays would want to share with you? Was, was it a wish? If it was, should you just follow Mals example? Should you wish for something?)

(You do, don't you. And you knew what it would be. The same thing you wished for back in Dormont. You wished that Siffrin, Mal, and everyone else who was sharing that head would be okay. That's what you wanted.)

(Mal Du Pays held it's hand up, bloody palm facing you. You do the same back, it nods in approval. A moment, later, your hands are entwined, it stings, but that's ok. Mal closed it's eyes, you do the same. This was where you wished, righ?)

(It was. You could feel it.)

(You wish that they're ok, you wish that they're ok, you wish that they're ok. . .)

(It's. What. You. Want.)

(. . . It, it must really trust you. You knew it was protective of it's memories and wishes. After all, it keep nearly destroying countries.)

(Your hand still stings from the cut, that's ok. You feel a tap on your arm and open your eyes, Mal's smiling at you.)

"Y-you ok?" (It nods, almost enthusiastically.) "h-ha, that was, u-uh-, that was a wish, right?"

(It nods, clapping it's hands and putting a palm to you, then with it's thumbs and index fingers makes a star. "A promise Wish.")

"O-oh!" (You blush a bit more, looking to the side.) "I-I, I won't break it. Promise."

(It reaches you out to you, and gently turns your head back to it. It's smiling, and leans in close. Your heart, you can feel it beat out of your chest. It's. . . It looks so beautiful. You lean in close and-)

(You hear a click from the front door.)

(You blink and Mal was standing a few steps away, face back to its usual neutrality. After your brain catches up to you, you frantically start work on the veil again as the door opens.)

"I'm home!!" (It was Mirabelle.)

"M-Mira! Welcome back!" (You say in your most convincing voice.)

"Hi Isabeau!" (Mirabelle walked into the room.) "Did the siblings go out- oh! Mourning sif."

(Mal waved a hello, then turned and left. Change, it was such a better actor than you.)

"O-oh, sorry, I-I meant-"

"I-its alright, Mira." (You smile, trying to stay normal.) "We're just, all getting used to it!"

"I-I know, just- AAH!!" (Mirabelle rushes over to you.) "Y-your hand!! What happened!!!"

"Wh-" (You look down, CRAB!!! You forgot the cut!! Uh, u-uh-) "O-oh! Oh it's nothing! I-I just cut myself sewing, it's no big deal!"

"Don't be silly! Here, let me see." (She put a hand over yours, and with a bit of healing craft the cut closes. You open and close your hand a few times.) "How is the veil coming along?"

"Well. . ." (Your hand tingles a bit. What a morning is been. . . You and Mal are, well, a thing now! A-and, you made a wish together! Even if, you didn't know what it wished for.)

(You breathe in, and out.) "It's, it's going well! Very, very well."

[basilpaste]

osis!swap. because i was thinking about lock.

(Under the tree is…)

(You're not sure what you're looking at, actually. It looks like a bunch of inanimate objects piled together.)

(It has a face. Or at least it has a mouth. The thing grimaces when you see it.)

〘"Hi."〙

(It talks! It can speak!)

("… Hi." You say back.)

〘"Welcome to your rebirth! This is your first loop!" Its porcelain darkless hands come up into the most pathetic jazz-hands you've ever seen.〙

(WH. HUH???? HOW DID THIS THING KNOW ABOUT-)

〘"Sorry!" It yelps, waving its hands nervously, "That's probably a spooky thing to hear from something you just met!"〙

(You sputter. "H-how do you know about how I-" You can't finish that.)

(It seems thoughtful for a moment. Looking at this stranger now, you notice that its head is almost shaped like a planet. There's a ring that wraps around it where its eyes would be.)

〘"How do I know you died?" It finishes for you.〙

(… You nod.)

〘"I saw it." It says quietly, regretfully, "It's my job to watch over you."〙

(Is this some sort of agent of the Universe? That doesn't make sense, though. A higher being watching over a person is… that's weird. Not how the Universe works. You think.)

("Why?")

〘"… You're looping through time. I'm here to act as a guide to you, Siffrin."〙

(You freeze. "HOW DO YOU KNOW MY NAME?")

〘"Er." It looks away, head bobbing slightly, "I know things about the loops, but I also know things about you. Like your name, your parties names, and other important things. Like… pronouns."〙

(You're not entirely sure if you'd put pronouns on the top of important things for a celestial body to know??? Also you're kind of freaking out.)

(Instead of freaking out more you find your voice. "Do you. Have pronouns?")

(… Good question, Siffrin. Great going.)

〘It laughs, bright and warm despite how quiet it seems. "Hah! Yeah. Yes, I have pronouns."〙

(…)

〘"It/its. If you don't mind." It sighs. "Like I said: I'm your guide. A something. Think of me as... a tool. A, uh, resource to use!"〙

(Well... at least if you know this one's pronouns, you can think about how out of place it seems. Like a swing taking a role it doesn't know. You nod.)

〘"Oh! Right, um. There's a lot of information that I'm gonna throw at you in a second!" It gestures at the space under the branches of the tree, "You might want to sit down?"〙

(That's. Probably a good idea? Your legs are shaky and your heart is racing so you should probably sit that might help.)

〘"Woah, buddy!" It exclaims, "Take a breath?"〙

(Hah! Yeah, yeah, you should do that! You were just thinking about the fact that your heart was racing. You should breathe. That might help! Probably!!!)

(In)

(And out.)

〘"Pheeeeeeeew." It breathes with you.〙

(... It kind of reminds you of someone. The way it holds itself.)

〘"So... the loops, huh?"〙

(You nod. "The loops.")

〘"Every time you die, you'll loop back in time. Like... what just happened. Until you break the loop."〙

(You squint at it, "Can't you just tell me how to do that?"

〘"Er..." It looks away from you, "No? I'm a resource, not an answer key. I'm here to help, but I don't really have all the answers. Sorry."〙

(Oh... thats disappointing. You guess you'll have to figure that part out on your own then??? The actual important part? Which is not being trapped in a death loop forever?)

(... Actually.)

(It's not all bad, is it? Being back means you have a chance to try again! To do better next time!!! You won't die like an idiot this time! You'll make your way to the King and then break the loops! No problem!)

〘"So I can't tell what you're thinking but I can sort of guess and I probably wouldn't think about things like that? If I were you? And obviously I'm not you, but I just wanted to, uh, give you that little nugget of wisdom."〙

(!!!)

(Weird! You're not sure how to read this guy at all! This guy... hm)

("Do you have a name?" You ask it.)

〘"... Do I need one?" It replies, tilting its body to the side. Its head follows a beat later.〙

(You think about your own name.)

("I can't just call you nothing, can I?")

〘"You can call me whatever you want! Your guide, your resource, cr-stars! You can even just call me annoying, haha!"〙

(It's weird, for sure, but you don't know if you'd call it annoying? Maybe it is, but you don't really have a super strong opinion yet? You can't tell if you like or hate this guy yet.)

(You shrug, "I guess? But give me something to call you. So I won't forget.")

(It hugs itself, mouth pressing into a thin line. Oh, stars. Did you already make it mad at you?)

〘"... You can call me Lock." It tells you finally, "Your tool for breaking the loops, Lock. Ironic, huh?"〙

[abowlofsourcream]

I wonder how the act 3 ending affected the party. or how it even happened since bonnie loops. love the au so much btw i rotate it in my mind at least twice a day

I am going to assume you mean the king quest! It is a very fair question, yes it is a very emotionally taxing ending!

In Switch a Loop, this quest is super long. So long, it gets two memories for it! And admittedly, it makes me sad to think about it! This is the part of the game where it gets real, the only time that different put Bonnie in danger...

But, it's basically something like this...

v King Quest spoilers / child death v

You see, it is actually Bonnie's Idea to try and talk the king! This would take right after "Memory of Sailing", so the other three aren't really that jazzed to continue. However, Bonnie thought differently...

You may have notice, Bonnie has gotten pretty protective of Siffrin as these Loops gotten by. Be anounced to everyone, they have taken it as their personal responsibility to "Look out" for Sif. There is little voice in their head telling Bonnie that this is something that needs be done. Afterall, the king won't shut up about it! That this has to lead somewhere! Bonnie is not stupid. They just want this to stop, they don't want to see their family get hurt anymore. It's just all too familiar. It hurts too much.

So, without the party knowing, they convince Siffrin to talk to the king. And it goes as well as it did in the original game.

And Bonnie still isn't fast enough...

Mirabelle would be a mess as it happens, unable to say any words.

Isabeau would try his best to pleaded with the king, in his chest knowing that it won't change his mind.

Odile would command the king to stop. Possibly still try to use her craft in her weakened state.

Bonnie would be terrified. Of course they would be! They are just a child, a kid! They would think about a lot of things, they would think about Nellie too... They would cry and cry and cry.

And... Well...

It ends with a powerful, terrified, near-deafening scream...

Right.

Out.

Of.

Siffrin's.

Mouth.

...

And a Crunch.

...

The party gets "Memory of Loss".

The party is sick of these loops, all of them.

They are exhausted.

They are scared.

They want to stop.

...

Well.

At least, they have a new lead.

[cyten0]

A Symphony in Crimson

Act 1: A Movement in Black

Chapter 15

You’ve chatted around town. And found a consistent theme.

Many of them wanted to save Vaugarde. In hindsight, that should have been obvious. But that doesn’t help explain what's going on! But another thing caught your attention…. You’d best talk with Loop about this.

✸ “Welcome back, Stardust! Looks like you have some thoughts?”

You sit next to loop

✦ “They wished for the king to be defeated, but we did that, so that still isn’t right. However. Someone mentioned that Euphrasie was asking around about the same thing.”

✸ “You think she knows something?”

✦ “Yes. Moment I heard about that I started asking a bit more. Apparently she even recommended favor trees to people. I think she might have some insights.”

✸ “If she did, it might be worth asking her about it. Hopefully she can stay out of that strange state long enough to tell you something.”

✦ “Right. Might be worth double checking elsewhere first. I’ll drop by her office next time, see if I can find anything.”

✸ “Sounds like a plan! Now then, another meal before you go?”

Right... You... No, you don't need it. You need to stop.

✦ “I… Can we not do that corpse this time?”

Loop looks at you for a bit. Judging you.

✸ “… Very well~ You should be good for now! We did feed you a bunch recently! Though I’m afraid that means I can’t get much for you right now, given the sadnesses I would grab are already infected, and you’ll get those rather soon anyways.”

You nod. You knew that would be the case.

But… You can’t do human anymore. It might be tasty, but that’s the problem. You’re starting to get used to it. You can’t afford to get used to it. For it to feel normal.

Or you’ll be too tempted. Tempted to cross that line, just to buy yourself a few days.

✸ “Good Luck! We’re getting close, Stardust.”

>>>

You're grabbing the key in the kitchen. Making your way through. You don’t want to waste hunger looping ahead right now. Not when you’re FINALLY cutting yourself off of human.

Ah stars, you bumped into the counter again. Wait. Did something… tear?

The others gasp. You look down.

Oh no. You… your disguise is too weak at this point, too fragile. You just haven't had the nutrients to make it work. The fake skin and outfit just. Snagged. And ripped.

◉ “Siffrin! Are you Okay?!? Your Leg looks hurt!”

◆ “Is your condition getting worse? Let me take a-”

✦ “NO!”

You quickly try and put it together before they can see. See your monster body underneath. But it just. Won’t. Go. Back!!!

◆ “Gems, don’t be stubborn, just let me-!!”

Blind it all she saw! Nononononono-

《

...You round the counter more carefully this time.

You… Can’t keep this up much longer. Every part of your guise has become troublesome. Your expressions, your voice, your body, your skin. You looked in the mirror back at the clocktower and could FEEL the monster underneath. It’s all coming apart at the seams.

...It’s fine. You just need to fix this mistake, and then it won’t matter… You just… if only you could stay for even one more day…

It’s fine. Keep moving. Keep them safe. That’s your one purpose now. The ONE thing you can still do. Keep your family safe.

>>>

There. Finally. Euphrasie’s Office. You search their desk. There must be something…

Here we go! A list. Filled with names, and checks with one column being save Vaugarde. Perfect, she was looking into it! There has to be more…

A notebook. You look through quickly. Alright, it says she was looking into wishcraft, after noticing people were wishing at the favor tree. Someone in the house mentioned it offhandedly. She couldn’t read the books on it, but she figured maybe it could still help. So she helped encourage people worried to go to the favor tree.

Hm. So not a lot of knowledge. But. It’s something. It means she had invested time into it. Maybe she knows more then this notebook tells.

You need to talk to her. See if you can get her to talk this time.

>>>>

The king is dead once more. You want to talk to your family first, before anything else.

You talk to Bonnie first. It goes about the same until...

✿ “...So, um…. D-Do you want a snack or something Frin?”

✦ “Sure!”

You're always hungry.

✿ “Okay, I have… well, I’m kinda short on snacks, you ate a lot of them before. So I only have pineapple slices. A croissant. And a half eaten apple.”

Pineapple is never happening. Croissants remind you of that one survivor. So only one option, really.

✦ “I’ll take the apple.”

✿ “Ew…”

You don’t care at this point. Food is food. Even if non-meat like this will barely cover the effort of digesting it. You don’t care. As long as it's not them.

You eat the whole thing in one bite. Bonnie seems a little surprised you managed that. But it’s fine.

✿ “...Frin… Are you okay?”

✦ “Yeah, why?”

✿ “… I dunno. I’m just askin. But if you say you're okay, then it’s true, I guess.”

You thank them, and wave goodbye. They already know about the pineapple slices this time, so you don’t need to remind them. Not that it matters.

You talk to Mirabelle. Assure her. Lie to her. Then.

◉ “Do you feel better now?”

✦ “What about you Mira?”

Your happiness doesn’t matter. It never did.

◉ “M-Me? Well, I’m better now but. I was asking about you!”

✦ “I’m good.”

◉ “Okay… Siffrin... do you remember, a few weeks ago, when I asked you if you liked being on this journey?”

It's been a while, but you've been doing your best. Making sure to hold those memories. The one thing you still can.

✦ “Yeah, why?”

◉ “Back then, you said… You said that being on this journey was the happiest you remember being. Is that… Still true? Are you still happy?”

You wish you could be. You remember every moment of your journey so fondly. You love them all so dearly. If only you could travel with them for even a single extra day. Be human for them for even one more day...

✦ “…Yes. Of course I do. I wouldn’t take back a second of it.”

◉ “… That’s good. I’m glad for that.”

You wave and move on.

You talk to Odile. Dream of going to Ka Bue with her at some point. Feel bad for hoping.

◆ “...Siffrin, are you alright?”

✦ “Yeah, why?”

◆ “It’s just… You’ve been acting off since yesterday. More withdrawn, mostly. Just… Do you want to talk about it?”

✦ “I’m good.”

Stars you hope you’ve not done anything to catch her eye this time.

◆ “...Very well. Just. Let me know when you want to talk. Preferably before we part ways. I’m more then willing to.”

You nod, pretending you’ll take them up on that, just to assure them. You can’t afford to tell them anything. You don’t want them angry at you.

You talk to Isa. Listen to them nearly say it, yet again, but never go through with it. What you wouldn’t give to hear it. What guilt you feel for wanting that.

▲ “...But really, are you Okay?”

✦ “Why do you ask?”

▲ “I don’t know, you’ve had a weird vibe ever since yesterday. So, I’m just hoping you’re all good. Are you?”

✦ “...Yeah.”

▲ “Okay, Good!… I mean, I don’t believe you for a second but we can talk about it tonight. Take your time!”

...Oh Isa. Always caring about you. About everyone. You don’t deserve their love. You're horrible for even letting them.

You nod and leave. Part of you wants to keep this all going. Stay with them longer, even if it has to be in this twisted fantasy. But you know you can’t do that to them. Know that even as you have eternity in your hands, you would not survive it.

It’s time to talk to Euphrasie.

◎ “Traveling one! I’d like to thank you for accompanying Mira-”

✦ “Sorry, bit of a rush. You were looking into wishcraft, right?”

◎ “Oh, yes! I noticed a lot of people were wishing for Vaugarde to be saved, so I thought it worth checking. I suppose maybe it…"

◎ “...!!!”

Oh no! Nononono you were so close you need to find what she knows!

◎ “Oh… Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no, no…”

✦ “No, stay with me!! Come on I need your help!”

◎ “I-I’m so sorry! There’s no way we can stop it now…!”

BLIND IT ALL!!!

Fine. You don’t have a choice. Time to cross one more line.

You take your claw, and jab it into the back of her neck.

You latch onto her brain-stem, and reach into her mind. There. You can feel it, the force creeping in, scattering her thoughts. You drown it out with your song.

◎ “W-What-!?”

✦ “Can you hear me? Can you talk? Please, before it ends, I need to know! Tell me whatever you can, so I can fix this!!”

Her eyes look at you. For the first time. She’s in clarity. She’s in fear. And… She’s still crying.

◎ “I… It’s too late! I don’t know whats going on! I barely know anything of wishcraft! I just. I know, or knew, that something went wrong… I… I don’t know why! All of Vaugarde wished for a savior. And… It must have done something! Made sure it would happen but...”

… Wait... Oh. Oh no.

◎ “None of us knew how to do it right, none of us knew the ritual! It must have broke something, or maybe someone wished for this!"

Wished for... It clicked. You know. You know what went wrong.

◎ “I don’t know, I don’t know, I… I’m so sorry!! I should have stopped them, should have prevented this, I-!”

✦ “NO."

She looks at you, confused.

✦ "It… It’s my fault.”

You get it now. You get why it’s wrong. Because

✦ “I wished for something impossible. And I knew the ritual. But it got mixed with yours. I… I’m sorry.”

◎ “W-What?”

You look her in the eyes. With your real eyes. Your monster eyes. The eyes of the thing you’ve been trying to escape this whole time. The thing your wish needs you to escape from. That it’s been far, far too late to hide from….

✦ “I wanted to be human for them. For just a little longer. But I can’t."

She gasps in horror. As she should.

✦ “By the time I reached this point… It was to late. And now… I’m sorry… If I had TOLD people the ritual, if I had wished for anything else, if I managed to finish this faster, Blind it all even if I had the decency to DIE on that blinding island like all the rest, then maybe, just MAYBE that wish could have saved you!!!! But...”

You hug her, as her panicked tears run down your cloak. You failed her. You failed them all. Your worst sin, the most horrible thing you ever did, has come back in a brand new form.

You ruin everything you care about. And now, it's too late to die to stop it. You aren't even allowed that luxury.

✦ “I-I ruined another country again. Destroyed another home. I… I’m so sorry. I… I’m so sorry!!! I’m sorry, I’m sorry I’m sorry!!!”

◎ “I- But-”

You feel the sugary scent start to close in, as the world starts to fall apart.

✦ “I just hope. That one day, you all will have the chance to forgive me.”

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[chaos-canary]

A small 230 word long post I made about Loop because I noticed A Thing™

Warning: major spoilers for both In Stars And Time (Optional 6th Act conversation) and Start Again: A Prologue

So, I've been thinking about Loop, and you know, how they're Siffrin from Start Again.

One particular detail that stood out in isat is this:

"The King... I could never beat him, did you know that? No matter how hard I tried, the King always defeated me."

Now, for anyone who's not familiar, Start Again has 4 endings. The one in particular I'm mentioning is the True Ending.

During the game, Siffrin has been looping for a long time, and at the point we start the game, has completely forgotten their friends names.

The only time they remember everyone's names, is during the True Ending.

The reason why this is notable is because the only time Siffrin beats The King, is also during the True Ending.

So, Loop never experienced the True Ending, and never remembered their friends names.

Well, didn't remember their names during the loops...

Because we have this line:

"Hah, can you believe, I forgot their names, for a time?"

Notice the past tense (also, there's a line where they say everyone's names, but I forgot to take a picture of it).

So either, A: Loop relearned everyone's name during the time between Start Again and isat.

Or B: Loop only relearned everyone's name after being sent to isat Siffrin's world. (world, timeline, universe? I don't know what word fits.)

And if B is the case, that opens up a whole new possibility for Loop angst.

So, I hope you enjoyed my rambling! And I hope this interests someone!

[memoryoflooping]

chat i'm so scared. for how the rest of these are about to go tomorrow. but i might not see them tomorrow depending on how i decide to do things, new tanformer just dropped. we'll see.

loop 30 - -i don't think i'm getting any more new dialogue for doing everyone's quests… maybe i should not do them all… like once like i did with a bonnie-only completed one… but i fucking love isa's skill fuck this gay earth. idk. -save vaugarde wishes: 3 (4? if the fashion one counts? or the saving certain people ones??) other: 11 -siffrin is so damn hungry. whats his issue -"you're all cowards" option for the beautiful one???? -i think intent must also matter for wishes bc the save vaugarde list is really long… so wishing to save one person must also be a "save vaugarde wish" -SIFFRIN FORGOT TO LAUGH AT BOTH JOKES. NOOOO FUCK -"why shouldn't you take up time travel?" "because there's no future in it!" FUCK. siffrin be normal you got this. you can clutch this -"oh so we're going to ignore the whole hysteric laughing and crying huh" helppp. -oooo "why stardust?" -"distracting people with puns and jokes is the best way to evade stupid questions" just like siffrin does. loop def noticed that LOL -YES!!!!! MY PERSISTENCE HAS PAID OFF! TAKE THE FUCKING FLOWER YOU BLINDING FUCK!!!!!! -WHAT JUST HAPPENED???? BONNIE'S PORTRAIT WENT ALL BLACK???? -oh my god i could totally set up siffrin to one shot these fucking bosses i just did 8k damage to big ball head -why DID the head housemaiden record who wished for what? -she knows about wish craft… -hmmm… that is interesting. why is it just siffrin looping if it was everyone in vaugarde wishing for the country to be saved. siffrin isn't the key to victory, because the party can get up to the king on their own as seen in the spending a loop with loop.. i would consider mirabelle the key part of the party and not siffrin -"you have to go talk to loop in person" siffrin i'm going to kill you dead. fine.

loop 33 - -siffrin looping back based on his emotional state does check out actually -"you can't continue because somehow you know this is the end." -LOL HE TRIED IT ON LOOP -loop's eyes have diffrent shades? oh they do! i didn't notice -AWH he's drawing them! so cutes drawing! -siffrin's cloak and hat has backstitching, which means its durable. -made of wool, one thread up one thread down. -clothing that's here to keep you comfy and warm -awhhh someone wanted siffrin to me comfy and warm for a long time… -fucking KILLED that fucking tall as fuck saddness holy fuck i 9999'ed that thing. oh this just got so much more fun for me i'm doing this shit to the king after the paper jackpot -siffrin just automatically walked down the post boss hallway? -siffrin for the love of god you need to get out of the timeloop not embrace it rn -its too late for the loop to be fixed? but something went wrong… -"something goes wrong everytime" "it's because we did it wrong" -they didn't know the exact ritual. -the king might not have been defeated the right way… hmm -"i just hope that someday. you might learn to forgive us" loop 34 - -maybe siffrin does something wrong??? -going against the wish's will without realizing. hmm -ooooohhhh mirabelle always gets the last blow… hmm interesting. but why would a wish rot for just siffrin to do that? "save vaugarde" isn't something i think could be easily monkey's paw'ed into "trap this cunt in the timeloop until he personally kills that fucking king" -hmmm… i guess i could definately set up a situation in the king fight where siffrin kills the king before the scripted kill. but i already did something like that and it played anyway i think… -no yeah i'm with that train of thought. it's a lead but i'm not sure its right. -"these fictonal characters they've been replaced with." -defeat the king on your own. hm. boss i think you will fucking die -i need to do the friend events ? to get them as strong as they can be. well i would've done it anyway! yippeee! -oh shit act 5! that was pretty short! -uh oh. music slowdown. undertale. -the kid looks at you warily…. uh oh -i don't think wizard's make faces like yours -oh the statue is. glitched out? -UH OH the drawing of everyone! -SIFFRIN YOU CAN'T JUST SAY THAT -oh my god she slapped him -sif always teases mira. and she thought it was how he made friends. -always so mysterious -my god she's's pissed -well. i guess he's right about one thing. i'm only good at using the usual shield skill anyway. chat i'm so scared. -he was really squinty in that sprite i saw… like loop….. is he. acting like loop ? he's more like. aggressively using timeloop knowledge rn. -chat i'm so scared. he's about to start playing Doom on his personal relationships i think, seeing how this just went with mirabelle

[stardustedwanderer]

[A box pops into existence by the favor tree! For Siffrin, in the poor body of Loop, he is gifted with a few things. A pair of dark gloves, and a new cloak. And of course, a thermos with some warm tea and a sandwich with some chips on the side. It's Opal, she wants to make sure they're well taken care of.]

"!!"

[The gloves are donned just as fast as he can get them over Loops hands, wriggling his fingers in front of his? Their? However this works he can sure see the gloved fingers wriggling and that's good enough for them!

Strange really, it's not like he has fingernails he could bite right now...

Ah, but straight onto the cloak, at first they try to slip it over their head but the whole... Spikes situation proves difficult, after a moment they settle for quickly unbottoning, draping, and rebuttoning. Letting out a rather noticeable sigh of relief once that's done. Dignity restored!

Time to flop down on what still feels like the wrong side of the tree.. And.. Oh! No one mentioned food or drink.. They don't. Feel? Hungry but they've seen Loop eat before, and it's hard not to be a little curious. Strangely it seems as simple as thinking of the act of taking a bite, and just like that? They can taste. Chew. Even swallow, though stars alone know where the food is going, and they aren't in much rush to find out..

Still this is. This is okay. This is alright. It still feels.. Weird. And wrong. But they can handle this. For now..]

[arolesbianism]

Shakes like a small dog. Someee au rambles under the cut 👍

Hello. Isat eternal gales au is in my mind and it's making me a bit insane and I'm in a hell of my own creation. Just pretend this isn't eternal gales related and that this isn't missing important context from eternal gales k? Cool let's go

So I decided to fuck with some roles and timeline shenanigans a smidge. Basically, the universe has gone through three iterations, the first with comic frin and their squad, along with the king being their final boss. The island wasn't erased in this original version of reality, but the time loop was like legitimately broken in this version of reality due to the damage the King did to get access to the ability to even slightly manipulate time, as time is supposed to be Siffrin's domain. After the narrator finally noticed this mistake, they rolled back reality and tried to run it again, but wasn't able to fully get rid of comic Siffrin due to, again, time being their domain. This became a massive issue as during the reset, the narrator reworked some things, including changing most of the cast and removing the island from existence. This leads to comic Siffrin and the new Siffrin and King forgetting all about the island, and comic Siffrin being left only barely being able to hold onto any details about their old party.

This ofc, leads to a massive freak out on comic Sif's part, leading them to becoming the sort of new king figure, desperately lashing out at the universe and causing the new party to be dragged to the universe core to deal with them. This is where we get or sasasa stand in, but with the king actually being a part of the party in this reality since comic Sif got to the job first. You'd think King would be a bit of a problem here, but since comic Sif is destroying reality more than preserving it he is still adamantly opposed to their methods, even if their goals are smth he fully agrees with. Sasasa Siffrin gets stuck looping for a shit ton of time, before eventually giving up and more or less forcing the narrators hand into another reset

Seeing that comic Siffrin had basically already taken over King's domain, the narrator didn't see a need to keep King around as a role anymore. Removing him and relegating Siffrin number two to be contained within the forest that the time flower (aka the being that all three Sif's are connected to and draw their power from) is located in and having them act as a bit of an anchor point for the newest Siffrin to hopefully have a bit more control over the loops for the sake of saving time (aka all the fun quality of life features yay) and this leads into where the actual main story starts, yippee

One last fun fact! Comic Siffrin takes on the title and role of King after he too gets written out of the story, as they can still somewhat cling to the memory of him, and they're desperate to hold onto that memory for as long as they can. Oh also, due to their connection with time being much Much weaker than it used to be due to them mostly taking over King's old domain and their original domain now being stretched across 3 people, they have mostly lost the ability to remember loops, with only the vague awareness that they've been stuck fighting for a very long time. They remember that the loops exist sometimes tho, and they don't take it very well when they do

[cyten0]

A Symphony In Crimson

Act 1: A Movement in Black

Chapter 3

You walk through the house. It’s still the first floor. You got bumped into a tear the first time, and then died to a sadness the second time. Frankly embarrassing, but it was a bit of a weird sadness anyways and caught Isa off guard. Had to block that blow, he would have died. But you did at least find out the passphrase for the storage room!

And Loop taught you that trick to loop back to parts of the house in exchange for a little bit of hunger, so you should be able to make progress a bit faster. Hunger is a little more manageable than memories with them around, for once, even if they would only be memories of fighting.

For now though, you decide to check out the new room! It seems to be a storage room. You chance upon a dictionary, and open it to a random page.

✿ “Taciturn? What does that mean?”

◆ “It’s someone who doesn’t speak up often”

✿ “Oh like Frin, okay.”

◆ “Precisely”

✦ “I speak up sometimes! When I feel like it.”

▲ “Really? Cause it’s not often.”

◉ “Do you just dislike talking that much?”

You typically don’t feel like talking. The few times you do have something to say, there’s too much to talk about, so you’d rather not. Plus...

✦ “It’s nice hearing you all talk!”

They all instantly react in various forms to the apparently very adorable thing you said! Oh stars! That's a little embarrassing!

◉ “It feels like we tamed a wild animal, doesn’t it?”

◆ “A perfect analogy. Maybe soon we’ll even be able to pet them.”

WAIT WHAT

▲ “Oh crab, stop, just imagining it makes me emotional!!!”

You hide your face under your hat. AHHH stars they really did didn’t they? Found a weird creature in the wild and now your practically their pet!

◆ “See, now he went back to a shy skittish animal.”

▲ “All this hard work… Wasted... Maybe some day.”

You know you're blushing, but you start moving on. You can feel them chuckling in the backdrop. ...Even if it IS embarrassing, you don't mind being their little guard monster.

>>>

Taking out that sadness from before was satisfying, and it’s good to see it dropped something useful! You enter into... what seems to be the newly unveiled kitchen! You spot something interesting just a little farther in. You round about the counter and-

Ow! You hit your hip on the corner and made a really embarrassing sound.

◆ “… Siffrin.”

◆ “… Did you really just hit the counter and say ‘Nya’?”

...You did. Oh stars, right after that incident in the storage room too. You're never beating the pet allegations. You don’t even know how to respond. You hide under your hat again.

▲ “Crab that’s adorable.”

◆ “...How does it feel to be correct Mirabelle?

◉ “… Oh change.”

You quickly move on before they continue and grab the key you spotted. You really need to stop that habit! Why is THAT the sound you make?

>>>>>>

Second floor. Again. You had to loop back here after missing that key in the Head Housemaiden's office. Really dumb of you. But you managed to make it into the library! You really hope there’s a key here, considering all the places you’ve looked so far.

You look at a bookshelf, and notice it’s full of notebooks. A little out of place here? You point it out to Mirabelle.

◉ “Oh, they're Diaries, Siffrin!”

◆ “Diaries? In a library?”

▲ “Oh, yeah, You guys do that in Dormont too! It’s popular in Jouvente as well!”

Isa proceeds to explain the tradition to the rest of you, how it’s a way for people who’ve changed to move on from their former self while not loosing the history. Still, the idea of people getting to know about your inner thoughts is deeply uncomfortable. Though you might be biased, all things considered. Still, you love drama and are frankly curious, so you pick out the sparkliest and gaudiest one you can find.

◉ “Oh this one looks fairly recent! We could read a little bit… Like, a tiny bit.”

◆ “We do not have time… Is what I would usually say, but I’d also love to think about boring, mundane, everyday problems for a bit.

✿ “Belle, pick a page!”

◆ “One page, and then we’re going.”

◉ “I- I’m reading again? Okay, hmm…”

Mirabelle flips to a page in the middle, and reads out an entry from a child, mentioning cleaning their room, as well as the island north of Vaugarde, that no-one can remember anything about…

◆ “Ah, yes, the island north of Vaugarde. I remember when It happened. Well… ‘remember’ isn’t the right word, is it? We all just know something happened. An entire stretch of land disappearing from people’s minds doesn’t happen often, does it?”

✿ “I think! I think my village was really close to it!!! My sister said it was all anyone could talk about for weeks!!!”

◉ “That’s so frightening… I’m glad whatever happened, she didn’t get caught up in it!”

✿ “Oh… yeah…”

… You still can’t remember anything yourself. You’ve tried for months, as soon as you figured out Siffrin was likely from there... But it’s fine! You at least remember Siffrin, even if only in part. The rest can wait...

✿ “...Still… That countries name… What was it’s name again?”

▲ “Oh, I think it was something like—”

◉ “DON’T”

◆ “SAY IT!!!”

▲ “CRAB!!!”

✿ “NYEHEHEHEHE!!!”

...Well that was fun! You kinda see the merit now. Regardless, you decide to move on and search the rest of the room for that key…

>>>

You're all sitting in a safe room right before the third floor, sitting down and taking some rest. Bonnie’s prepping food in the corner. You’re feeling pretty good so far! You ARE starting to get hungry though. It’s been a bit since you stopped by the favor tree. Next loop you’ll head back to Dormont and get some more food. Isa calls out to Bonnie,

▲ “Bonbon! How much longer until snacks are done?”

✿ “Five minutes!”

▲ “Okay take your time!”

He then turns to you all, much more quiet and a bit more serious.

▲ “...Hey, everyone, hey hey.”

◆ “Hm?”

▲ “So, um… We havn’t brought it up yet, so um… I have a question?”

◉ “Ah, a secret adult conversation for adults, no kids allowed?”

◆ “Do you not want Boniface to hear?”

Hm. This seems serious. You wonder what it could be about.

▲ “Yeah, If we’re sure they won’t hear, then yeah…

Hm… You could check real quick. You let your real eye do a little work to try and look over Bonnie from across the room, see if they're paying attention. You feel your eye light up under it’s human facade, as you pick out every detail. The party shouldn’t notice if you do it quickly. Let’s see, they haven't shifted a bit, not even a tilt of the head. They seem preoccupied cooking… Is that a fish head? That ought to be nice!... Oh, huh, and their shoelace is untied.

✦ “Bonnie forgot to tie their shoe!”

The rest pause for a reaction, and content themselves in it’s absence.

◆ “Oh gems, they did.”

▲ “Good. Um. Okay. So… If any of you bites the dust, what should we do with your body?”

You all react a little uncomfortably. Stars, you REALLY don’t like thinking about that. Gives you thoughts you really dislike. You hear them talking over their options, but try not to think about what they're saying... Pull it together, you won’t hurt them... You get snapped out of it when Mira looks to you and speaks.

◉ “What about you, Siffrin?”

Oh right!… You weren’t particularly worried about it even beforehand. Now it’s hilariously irrelevant, so...

✦ “Won’t happen, doesn't matter!”

◆ “How delightfully naive.”

Just in time, Bonnie turns around, ready with snacks!

✿ “Hey are you all done talking? Because… It’s snacks time, baby.”

Bonnie lists out the snack options. Madelines, nice but not enough to get your attention. Pineapple slices, which does intrigue you, given that comment from Loop. And of course, the delicious Fish head, which takes the others by surprise and seems like the best option to you… And yet…

✦ “I’ll try the pineapple.”

✿ “Here you go! Pineapples are one of my three favorite foods! Sounds like you have good taste sometimes, Frin!!”

Bonnie places them in your hands and you chomp them down right away… They're pretty spicy! And… why do your hands hurt?

You hear the others gasp in horror as you notice your hands are melting from the juices! Stars, your starting to feel it, it hurts so much, the skin is melting right off, revealing the blackened inhuman form underneath, and while they aren’t melting, it still stings horribly!

But stars, they can see! Your friends are staring, Mirabelle is trying to heal you, Bonnie is frozen solid, Odile is backing away, Isa is panicking, and- and now the rest of your body is burning up! You feel it all throughout your body, your insides are burning, writhing!!! It hurts! It blinding hurts! You can’t focus on any of it as your tendrils start flailing around involuntarily, ripping open what’s left of your skin, but it hurts so much you can’t stop!!! Your body is melting and you try and cough up what you ate and the others are staring horrified, they don’t know what to do, and you can’t think and-

《《《

You wake up.

...Oh stars. You… You can’t move!!! The pain is gone but you can still feel it!!! You... You take a deep breath. In. And out… Pheeeeeeeewwww…

Haha! That was the WORST way you’ve died so far! You see what Loop meant when they said don’t try it! Should have listened!…

...The worst part is that it melted the guise. They saw the real you. Even if they won’t remember it, that hurts almost as bad as the actual death did. And here you thought it was just gonna be like an allergy.

Oh Loop is gonna rub this in at you. Oh well. Back to it, you guess.

>>>

You’re back at the favor tree, and sit down. Loop appears from their realm, with the smuggest expression behind their mask.

✸ “… I did warn you!”

✦ “Yeah, yeah, I get it. Look how the heck was I supposed to expect that?”

✸ “To be fair, It makes sense. Pineapples contain bromelain, which is a flesh dissolving enzyme. Your body is rather chaotic in nature, so any vulnerability to it is far more pronounced then simple allergic response.”

✦ “… Fair enough, I guess. But also wow that was bad.”

✸ “You likely would have survived had you not ate multiple slices. Whole body had a dose of it, and with how weak you are right now, your poor regeneration just couldn’t keep up! How unfortunate~”

✦ “Yeah… Disguise was likely going to break either way though. Just the juices melted the skin pretty bad.”

✸ “True! I bet the party was quite mortified! But hey, the kid officially killed their first monster. Shame it wasn’t one they wanted dead!”

…Yeah, guess they did. You wonder what went through their head as they watched that. Glad they won’t remember it, they might never look at pineapple the same way. Wouldn’t want them to lose out on their favorite food. You imagine the sight was more then a little disturbing.

You chat with loop a little more, asking them what they think of the party, which they seemed dismissive of (you think they don’t like them a little?). You both talk about a couple of things, before you grab a meal from them real quick. The sadness goes out swiftly, and is as unpleasant yet tasty as always. As you finish up, you wave loop goodbye before you stop, suddenly having an idea.

✸ “Something on your mind, stardust?”

✦ “That trick you taught me. So far I’ve been using it to not go back as far, but you did mention I could use it to skip ahead a bit, right?”

✸ “Exactly! So if you loop, you can skip right back to the end of the second floor!”

✦ “Right. So, I’m trying to think of any decent options to loop in town. But I’m not coming up with anything.”

✸ “I bet the Kid has more pineapples!”

You just stare at loop, clearly unamused.

✸ “Oh fine... Hm. Sadly can’t think of anything else either. Most of the options wouldn’t actually kill you. Kill normal humans? Maybe, if we really think. You? Not so much. Lot of stuff that could break your disguise, but none that could actually kill.”

Yeah, you can’t think of anything either. Most of your body parts are kinda superfluous in the end. You like them, and injuring them hurt, but there really aren’t any ‘reasonable accidents’ you can come up with that would cause anything beyond that. Heck, You only died in that one fight cause you took a craft hit directly to the heart.

✦ “Oh well. I guess a night’s rest and an extra meal won’t hurt. Maybe chat with the party, if I can think of something to ask. I’ll just have to loop on a tear in the first floor.”

✸ “Shame! Well then, I’ll see you later stardust!”

You wave them goodbye, and then continue on your way.

✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸

Already nearly done with the first 2 floors. Took you way longer! Suppose that means the meals are helping. Good. Maybe they’ll have a chance then. It wasn’t in vain…

...They're still in there, aren’t they? Your party. You wonder if their bodies are helping them. You… Don’t think about it. What matters is this Siffrin won’t have to go nearly as far as you did.

… You should stop calling them Siffrin, even in your head. Siffrin’s been dead for a long time. You know they’ll keep calling themselves Siffrin, but between the two of you, you shouldn’t have to. It’s a shame you don’t remember their real name.

But Stardust will have to do.