I'm not dead! No, here I am, back to share my funny Brainrot, covering some bits of Loop 0 with Clovis, our swapped King-as-Hero (Though lacking the Recap and some character interactions I want to save for another day!)
But wait, Jolly, whats going on with that Prologue, whats with Siffr-
Shh, don't worry about it. Clovis time.
This AU is Spoilers for most of In Stars and Time, though since this is all bits and pieces of the prologue and start of the game, that may not apply, but i'm playing it safe. Any content warnings that apply to In Stars and Time apply to this AU as well!
I'm going to be honest, most of Dormont is pretty similar to Siffrins Dormont. Some minor character interactions are different here and there (The Smug One from Poteria, as an example, thinks Clovis is creepy as hell and the conversation there is very awkward)
Like baseline ISAT, Clovis is sent to go round the party up - Mirabelle is actually hesitant to wake Clovis, usually, since he doesn't really get consistent sleep to begin with...This is either a boon or a problem, depending on how you look at it with the loops...
The interactions between the party are pretty similar to Siffrin as well, with some slight differences in tone - Clovis just in general doesn't have the same mentality Siffrin does, typically very serious, so instead of Siffrin potentially saying Isabeau sleeps on the floor, Clovis just goes right for the 'no no, I can take the floor.' Always the self sacrificing sort.
I...would do the Recap, but this post is already rather large, so, i'm actually gonna tactfully avoid the Recap. Most of what will be said is already known by you, the readers - Evil Pointy Hat Wizard is tormenting Vaugarde and is now freezing it, Mirabelle is immune, Clovis willingly sought the party out for unsaid reasons, and that the party is confident that they can brave the House, and stomp the Stagemasters real body flat. (Also, they poofed the tiny avatar VillainFrin a day ago, so, they have time to relax for a day to prepare to head into the house, since by the time the Wish-avatar reforms, they'll already be in the House of Change.)
Two bros, chilling under the Favor tree, 6 feet apart cause they're not gay gay in some sort of situation together?
(Not pictured here - Loop gripping their knee so hard there's a risk of bruising.)
I didn't draw it, but Isabeau actually has the courage to touch Clovis' shoulder - but thats cause it's armored breastplate, so it's not like Clovis can feel it. I'm sure he'll be very normal about this on loop 108 or something.
So...Does Clovis make a wish?
Of course he does! Not that he knows that it'll actually do anything.
Man I bet they would be so so safe if you just froze your friends in time and put them somewhere quiet, that sounds like a great idea, you should go do that
Hey, lets check the coin! What about the coin, what is the significance of the coin???
What, the coin? There's nothing special about it. It's just a coin. It smells funny, but there's definitely nothing funny about it in particular.
Clovis doesn't seem to like it very much.
The party has their sleepover, as per usual. I haven't drawn it since I want to save it for it's own post. (Just know that, yes, Isabeau tries to wake Clovis up to try to confess something, but a) Clovis is sleeping like a stone and b) Mirabelle makes faces at Isabeau for trying to interrupt the one night of calm sleep for Clovis.
Wait! Wait! What about the Rock? Does Clovis get dunked on by the rock?? Hows the Death Corridor?
Funny thing is...Clovis actually doesn't trigger the Rock trap. His combined anxiety with Mirabelle prevents it from triggering. But that doesn't mean other traps aren't present...
So...What's Clovis' First Death? What sends this anxious wet dog of a man to the sweet embrace of the void?
Whaaaaaaaat
Rolls down stairs,
alone or in pairs,
rolls over your parties dog?
It's great for a snack,
it fits on your back,
it's
LOG!
LOG!!
LOG!!!
I'm sure Clovis will be just fine about this whole ordeal.
(What's Kingswap?) Meet the Stagemaster, the main antagonist of this little Kingswap AU i've been cooking. The fellow who could have been Siffrin, had their life not taken a different path. In this post, I'll cover a bit about where he came from, their personality, what they're capable of, and other bits and pieces.
Well...maybe not everything. A fellow has to keep some mystery to himself.
As a blanket statement, this AU is just full on spoilers for 'In Stars and Time', and any content warnings that apply to the game apply to this post under the cut!
So...where'd the Stagemaster come from? How'd our Beloved Siffrin end up like this?
Truth be told, no one is born a villain, and the Stagemaster is no different. As I spoke a bit about it in the previous post, the Stagemaster starts in a different place than canon Siffrin; already a young adult, staying in Corbeaux before the Island is disappeared. Think of him as the equivalent of a university student away from home.
Awwww, look at them! So full of whimsy and so many thoughts in that little head of his! I'm sure nothing bad will ever happen to him ever.
He has a life, he has goals and desires, he has friends in Corbeaux (who aren't The Party we know), and he also has strange dreams but that's not a big deal.
Unfortunately, we know how this ends - The Fella Who Could Have Been Siffrin wakes up one day without a name, without any memories of where he came from, and a whole city and House of people who don't know him anymore. Sure, he has some memories, like why he was studying in Corbeaux, that he had people who he loved, but everything else is just swiss cheese in his head.
He doesn't take it very well.
At some point after the Big Forgetting, after trying to reclaim ANYTHING that's his (and failing miserably)...Not-Siffrin makes a request. A small, selfish wish...for just a little bit of control in their life.
You've heard of eating stars, but I present the thrilling sequel(?): Hugging a star so hard you shove it into your ribcage.
And so is born a stranger with nothing to lose and a general spite of having his life messed with...and a desire to mess with other peoples lives in some form of messed up retaliation. Crashing out and making it everyone's problem.
So, What is the Stagemaster Capable of? Is his gimmick still freezing time, or does he have a new skillset?
Both! But the focus for the Smaster is a new thing called 'Control Craft', inspired partially by ISAT Siffrin's view that he was controlling or puppeting his friends/family like actors...so, the Stagemaster takes that concept and makes it very literal!
He also has the floating Disembodied Hands because I Think That's Cool.
Well before the start of the Loops, and even earlier before the King starts his Time Freezy thing in the main timeline, the Smaster is living his best life, playing with their toys (the toys are other people.) He's sort of a travelling ghost, wandering at his whims to hone his skills, so he's messed with all sorts of places across several countries before even starting his grand torment of Vaugarde.
Vaugarde has it too good, in the Smasters opinion, so, he wants to just subject its people to being Crabs-In-A-Bucket and fighting among themselves before he freezes them. He's pretty petty like that.
The rarity of his Tears makes it a bit hard to do the freezing thing...so it's very convenient he is able to outsource them to this Suspiciously Present Sadness That Technically Shouldn't Exist In This AU!
What Kind of Person IS the Stagemaster, Anyways? What's Their Personality?
I'm going to be so real with you, reader, I just threw a bunch of villains whos vibes I really liked into a blender
( Emet-Selch (Final Fantasy 14), Dimentio (Super Paper Mario), Count Bleck (Super Paper Mario), Cheline (Phantomarine (Please read Phantomarine)), Lord Dominator (Wander over Yonder) Fandaniel (Final Fantasy 14))
But in all seriousness, I went with a more low down approach to the Stagemaster - the ISAT fandom generally likes focusing on the more Unhinged, Manic version of Siffrin we see from Act 5, and it's a good approach! I love unhinged manic Siffrin, but, I really wanted to explore the more quiet and avoidant aspects of both Siffrin and Loop (while still being theatrical and fun to watch), while also adding some new bits into them.
(If you know where I stole these quotes from, you get a cookie)
I will be so real with you, the Stagemaster is just fun to draw in general, especially peeled (Without the hat or the cloak)
Also...strangely...He knows a lot about the party. Weird!
I'm sure it means nothing.
Hey, I've read the Intro post to the AU, and there's this talk of the Stagemaster having a Big Form and a Little Form That Exists At the Same Time - whats with that? Are they Clones?
Not clones! But the same person with two bodies.
But...why does he need this?
You see...the Stagemaster did his whole Thing in Vaugarde, with ruining communities and friendships and stuff...and then went 'yeah, lets move on, time to do Dormont'. Unfortunately, for him Euphrasie, the Head Housmaiden, kind of planned in case he set his sights on the House of Dormont, and forced him to 'go loud' as it were.
Hey, do you also remember why there's so many locked doors in The House of Dormont in baseline ISAT? And the Party eventually figures out it was the Housemaiden's actively locking stuff up to keep the King in? That also applies to this AU.
Long Story Short: Euphrasie played him like a fiddle, put up enough of a fight to force him to Go Big Mode, and then before she was frozen, she activated the whole Orb Door dealio, trapping the Stagemaster in the House.
Even in an AU where Siffrin doesn't loop, Euphrasie still gets to be his metaphorical jailer. Because I think it's funny.
Sure, the Stagemaster could just sit on his laurels. He technically already won, the Time curse is spreading, Vaugarde will be trapped eventually...but so will he. And he would rather be Free than to Win, so...The Avatar comes into play, allowing the Stagemaster to pick up the pace of his Freezing Vaugarde thing, and to have some fun.
This also lets the Stagemaster have a presence in the Pre-Loop Orb Quest the Party goes on to open the Big Orb Door.
But uhhh...
yeah the smaller form is much weaker and the Smaster gets his ass kicked in a straight up fight, forcing him to be sneaky during Orb Quest Antagonism. Usually he cultivates and wrangles powerful Sadnesses for the party to fight.
Eventually, the party suspects that maybe the Stagemaster is weaker than everyone thinks, that he's hiding in the House of Dormont because the Party will easily defeat him, so he's stalling for time to freeze Vaugarde.
Yeah, he's turned the Party into a way for him to free himself. (Funny, then, that they're never getting out of this House anyways, because a certain long haired Knight trapped himself in a silly little Timeloop)
(Unfortunately for Clovis, our swapped King...he's not the only one here who is aware of the loops. Good luck, Clovis!)
And that's all for today! Thank you for reading! Hopefully this is the last 'Pre timeloop' info post before I actually get into the Time Loops Proper...But it's so fun to speculate and imagine snippets of the previous adventure!
(As always, a special thanks to the ISAT discords AU channel for listening to my brainrot, and thanks to everyone who's expressed such enthusiasm for these posts!)
Random thoughts: Siffrin is used to touch and gives hugs out of nowhere occasionally. Polaris(Loop) gets very surprised the first time this happened and was on the verge of tears.
Random thoughts: Siffrin is used to touch and gives hugs out of nowhere occasionally. Polaris(Loop) gets very surprised the first time this happened and was on the verge of tears.
The House of Change – Worships Change. Does a lot for their community and provide many services. Each town in Vaugarde has one (they're all independent). You get licenses from the one in Corbeaux. You unlock them by getting a certain amount of divine skills on one character.
The Defenders – Incompetent neighborhood watch basically. They don't do much.
The Wish Cult – Has an actual cool name but not one calls them that. The antagonist group.
The Country
The Star Council – Runs the country. Serves as the head of their religion, scholarly pursuits and archives, and aristocratic societies.
Poteria
Actor's Guild – Get Dancer License from here. Basically just the actors trade union. Also you get licenses by acting in plays once you fulfill the requirements.
Mwudu
Hunter's Association – Get Hunter License from them. Heavily supports sustainable hunting (obviously). Get the licenses by hunting down invasive species. They're also the main exporter of meats from Mwudu.
You guys remember how Siffrin's villian is trying to erase The Country? What if they were influenced by the Wish Cult? What if after they failed, the Wish Cult succeeded?
But wishes that big take time to truly set in stone. Lots of moving parts and all that. So what if there's a grace period on those bigger wishes? Some time to undo them.
And when after everyone's journeys are over, Sif and King wake up with a blinding headache. They can't seem to recall facts about their home. Their memories of their childhoods are a bit fuzzier. So, they talk to the others about it... And Loop gets awfully quiet suddenly. Loop remembers the headaches from before they managed to lift the lingering Wish Craft... and feels one coming back on.
So the group ends up going on a quest similar to Journey For the Dawn in OT2. They fight some prominent figures from the Wish Cult and figure out how to stop it from fully taking effect. The group fights an avatar of the wish that once defeated stops the Wish from cementing into reality.
They're are still some lingering effects because obviously the length of time where it was rewriting the world can't be entirely written-off, but The Country still exists! And "Happily Ever After BS" happens because this is based on a J-RPG and let them be happy.
oh btw the Country's name is Country, or at least that's the best translation. They have a name for the Country in their language, but it doesn't translate well AT ALL.
It's best translated to Our Country. Just a fun fact :)
Follow-up question, but how would you do a boss-rush room like Octopath's Galdera?
Probably, just like Sadness forms of all their final bosses made by the Wish Cult. If any of them were already Sadnesses then they just brought them back or resummoned them but stronger.
And Mal Du Pays could have just been left to partially escape and since it is now untethered from Polaris(Loop) and is thus stronger and can just fully kill that enby.
Do you see there being any "replacement" for the four Darkblood relics belonging to Vide: the bow, the sword, the staff, and the grimoire?
Also, an idea for Nile's story involves her parents transporting something (relics or other) for the wishcult?
I was thinking that the Wish Cult has four leaders for different regions, and each of them has a cool wishcraft made weapon or something as a replacement. They could definitely be a good relighting the Sacred Flames replacement as well
Also Nille's parents do trade in the human market for the cult (how Pétronille got separated from Bonnie), they have other people for the artifacts. Though Bonnie ran away and Pétronille got sold for knowing too much
So in response to the previous Siffrin related question...
You think Sif's antagonist is Claude coded? As in "immortal/immoral thanks to the "star blood" of dark god". If you want another idea, you shpuld read up on Time and Time Again by Andry_Falchion. For some reason, I feel "Asteria" would be a good fit for your antagonists, or even just more ideas for antagonists.
Also, had a weird idea that the "King" you've been playing as is in fact a wish craft double of the real King, the cause of the petrification.
I'm really intrigued by the idea about people from the Country having "Star blood" or that coming from the dark god replacement. I can see that as a way to kind of tie in whatever dark god we decide on, however much I hate thinking about Claude and how he has the stupidest suicide plan ever
The King (Polaris's) is causing the petrification, though it's basically just his sadness, however King (the Apothecary) is basically what should have been the only version of himself in this world and is just as much an original as Polaris's
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