This blog is dedicated to posts about my isat AUs. As of 30/6/24 the only AU on this blog is To Reset a Kingpin, aka the isat reset au.
I like, reblog, and post other isat content / miscellaneous stuff on my main @llilyrose. This page is exclusively my AU content, announcements, etc. though fan creations will be reblogged and appreciated. Sometimes I'll post things about these aus on my main but anything super important will be reblogged here.
(If you make something for the au (fanart, writing, or just a short text post) @ THIS BLOG PLEASE!! pretty pretty please ... don't hide away)
TAGS
Everything on this blog is grouped by tag! I wanted to make it easy for anyone (mostly myself) to sift through posts when I start reaching the big double digits...
#isat reset au
#to reset a kingpin
^ two tags for the same au; used on main blog also
#resetfrin (<- reset au! siffrin character tag; reset+siffrin)
#ghostloop (<- reset au! loop character tag; aka gloop in posts)
#kingset (<- reset au! king character tag; king+reset)
.
【 ✦ 】
.
#rambling (<- infodump posts related to aus)
#art
#writing
^ sister tags; used for official/non-conceptual pieces
#memes
#doodles
#drabbles
^ joke/conceptual works
#asks
#fanworks (<- fan writing / miscellaneous tag)
#fanart (<- fan art tag)
#sprite edit (<- any artwork edited from official isat / made to immitate official artwork)
(if i ever tag a post with "isat rewind au" instead of "isat reset au" please strike me down)
AU SECTION
The part of the masterpost where the posts gets mastered (ft. a brief synopsis of the aus to get you interested)
【 ✦ 】
TO RESET A KINGPIN
^ The first (and, as of right now, only) AU to be posted on this tumblr. Predominantly called Reset AU.
FULL MASTERPOST [coming soon]
initial concept post (concept art + rambling)
❝ In act five Siffrin grows sloppy, and the King connects his strange behavior to the Wish Craft that floats around him. When Siffrin is defeated, the King makes a wish. It resets the entirety of the timeline, back to the very beginning - when the King lost his memory of the island - and breaks everything in the process.❞
This AU plays with the idea of Siffrin meeting the King first, but adds a fun twist to spice up the dynamics between the characters. What's the twist? Read about the AU and find out yourself, nerd.................
post-game brainstorming <- doodles, memes, and rambles
lost in your reflection <- gloop art and mirror sequence chapter
logo, gloop + siffrin <- sprite edits (what it says on the tin)
chapters to-do:
the King's wish (in progress)
the party's missing pieces
siffrin meeting loop
siffrin and loop meeting king
siffrin and loop meeting party
art to do:
chapter cgs (1/5)
post-game full refs/name reveals
post-game sprite edits
relaxing on art for the duration of artfight, hence lack of art-related projects
ETCETERA
my ao3 profile, wherein I'll cross-post my writing after i finish the king's wish chapter
i would really appreciate it if you. reblogged my posts. but likes are fine too, any kind of notes make me happy
i post all my stuff on discord too, so if you see user llilyrose posting about this on isat discord THAT'S. ME!!!!! say hi i don't bite :3
if i make any errors in my writing or tagging specifically, please notify me. otherwise don't care didn't ask :wibbly:
She knows... She knows. She always knows. Of course she'd know now.
You don't understand. You did everything right. Couldn't the Universe send you a boon? Lend you silence as the world breaks around you, again? And again? And again? Over and over and over and ...
And what's different? You found a home, a place you belonged? A place you were loved? Did you think that would help you? Were you really that stupid??
Hahahahahaha!!!!
["Euphie!"]
They rush to her aid. You're frozen in place. Too useless to comfort her. (She wouldn't want you there anyway.)
<"Pel?">
Nille noticed, too.
<"What's goin' on? Is sum'n the matter?">
She's torn, between reaching out for you and sticking by Euphrasie. Why? You can't help but wonder.
The Kid lets out an anxious bleat. Nille ushers them closer.
|"I-I'm sorry! Monsieur, please...!!"|
{"That Mirabelle..."}
{"Ooh, it got her too..! It's too late!! I should've noticed sooner!"}
<"Euphs, we're gettin' worried! What are you talking about?">
Are you just going to stand there?
She's suffering. It's your fault. Do something. Do something!!!!
Burnt sugar thickens the air around you. Breathing is a chore.
<"Crab, my head hurts...">
Is someone wheezing?
<"PELE!!">
... Oh, it's you!
They're all running, reaching. Worried. Confused.
<"COME BACK!!!">
You haven't moved, and you make no motions to do so. You have no such intention.
Will you ever get to see Nille reunite with her younger sibling? Watch her reunite with the one person she talks about most frequently, most favorably? Help her guilt come to pass? At the end you'll always find a sliver of that woman (shame she'll never stay that way).
["H-hey! Pele! Something's wrong! Talk to us!"]
Will you ever get to see Claude find peace with herself and her situation? Will you ever get to see her in her daily life, untroubled by the weight of an entire country? Will you ever get to see her find happiness with the one she loves? Will you yourself ever find peace with Claude's situation? (You don't think about the tug on your heart at the thought.)
The Kid cries, trailing behind Nille, unsure what to do.
You hurt. Will you ever get to see this kid's family? Will you ever find their name, their identity, their home, some safe place for them to stay? Will you ever be a safe place for them to stay? (Your heart burns with the mere idea that you've been an insufficient provider).
{"P-Pele... what did you do?"}
You hurt. Will you ever get to see her smile at you again, with the same genuine glee she does at the rest of the world? Will you ever mend your broken bond with that woman? Will you ever get to speak a word with her without fighting the urge to claw your eyes out, or flee, or what have you? (You love her.)
Will you ever get to see a happy ending?
<"HOLD OUT YOUR HAND!">
You oblige, with little heart. It won't work. The idea is futile (it comforts you anyway).
What do they see in you? What do they think of you?
Still working on that chapter. Don't worry, it's coming along! Yesterday i was trapped at a party for 10 hours and, being the introvert i am, decided to take a break from drawing for an animatic by trying to draw for this au instead. don't know why i didn't just do artfight lol
FULL KING REFERENCE PACK + SIFFRIN DUO POSTGAME REFERENCES
Notes and details under the cut
sooooo howsabout postgame content?
the original post talking about postgame can be found here but it doesn't go into too much detail
So post-game resetfrin and gloop. they go with the party, kinda like a lot of twohats aus? resetfrin goes with the party because they know mirabelle and kinda know isabeau from when he would get apprenticed by the king (long story), but also because resetfrin acted so much like the old siffrin they used to know that it felt odd to leave him behind.
gloop, however, WAS the old siffrin! the party knows this, they found it out in the last loop, and they've formed such a bond with them that it's as natural as it is in the original game. the only issue is: gloop has changed SO much. physically, mentally, even a pronoun change - the party wants to help her out, but they want to explore who this New Siffrin is, too. Isn't it ironic that the new addition is the one you know far more of than the old addition?
resetfrin stays siffrin because... uh. because he's always been siffrin? there's no conflict there. gloop, after getting their memory back, ALSO goes back to siffrin, because that's who they really are and they acknowledge that loop is their own person. they don't want to be reminded of their time as gloop, either.
so... they're both Siffrin. And they're both technically the same person. do you see the issue?? the two of them didn't. the party did.
there's a comic I'm thinking about making to explore the processes and conversation that happened to initiate the name changes. the long and short of it is they can't BOTH be siffrin, but neither of them want to be siffrin if the other one can't also be siffrin, so they go on separate journeys to find a new name. they come back together with the party afterwords and they both ended up picking the same name so it's back to square one.
they talk to the party the second time and after a lot of brainstorming land on Orion for resetfrin and Lux for gloop. it helps the party distinguish between them and helps me establish the difference between postgame content and in-game content
(plug moment but these names were suggested by @the-bitter-ocean who gave me like. a whole list of things i could choose from. oh the life saver. i didn't even think about what names they would've picked until xe helped. and ohhh theyre so good. he also has some amazing aus including a miraloops au that you should go check out. pretty please)
the hair thing is SUPER IMPORTANT i originally only did it because they needed a way to separate themselves from eachother, but i realized they would also have done it to separate themselves from the old people they used to be. very poetic. 10/10 thank you brain for the excuse
the colors for orion's alt outfits are just a limited color pallete, they're not actually the colors afaik. (<- says the creator) but Lux's colors are 100% the colors, yes. their star body is different from loop's, where loop's body is solid black and lux's seems to glow on it's own. do you see where the name lux came from.
it's really dysphoric. imagine being turned into a ghost against your will and losing your memories, and them after gaining your memories back you turn into a completely different body AGAIN and it's STILL not the original body you had. i would cry.
gloop/lux's eye is still blind. even as a ghost they lacked depth perception. L. since resetfrin wasn't with the party to lose his eye they don't have any vision impairment
actually, about that. funny little thing. if siffrin wasn't there to protect bonnie, who did? haha hehe. hey why does odile have her arm in a cast...
KING TIME
okay i got a lot of questions about it so i double-checked on the original post and. yeah it DOES say the king's name. both in the text and on the image. but you'd be forgiven for missing it because it's pretty small on the image and there's a lot of text to read through
anyway pre-madness king's name is Lazare!! he originally looks like the lithe dude on the left. he's scholar-ish, came to vaugarde on vacation before losing his memory, yadda yadda... a lot of his information is on the original post so I won't repeat anything that's already been said
he picked Lazare a few days after losing his memory. he never told his name to anyone in the town he was staying so all he got was "travelling one" and he really genuinely thought that was his name for a hot second until he realized that Vaugarde really likes adding -one to titles
i made his hair curlier! after drawing the king for the chapter cg i realized i did NOT makw his hair curly enough when drawing Lazare. his hair type is almost exactly mine, though mine has more define curls, so drawing it is a BLAST!!
Defender arc Lazare! He bulked himself up to come off more physically and mentally strong. is this a trans allegory? is the King trans or was the body craft just to match his perception of himself? not sure. At this point in time he's already travelled with siffrin for a bit so i like to think he's a teensy bit protective. somewhere between friend snd father figure. cool guy
you know who's not cool? this guy vvv
this is where the King becomes the King :3 his hair is OBNOXIOUSLY long, almost rapunzel-like but nowhere near as bad. it always covers one eye but it doesn't really matter which one.
the crown happens like... VERY shortly before he makes the wish and starts freezing people in time. hes lonely and isolated and its something like coping with his delusions about everyone being out to get him
that's not the way he thought in the original loop, but after the reset his descent is much faster and harder than the last. when Siffrin starts climbing the tower, yearning becomes animosity as he thinks Siffrin finally betrayed him like he "always knew they would." or something.
hey 16yo sif jumpscare!!! wasn't he on the original post too?
.
anyway!!! that's it! that's all! i swear it's all. inevitably I'll have to make gloop and resetfrin full references but I'm happy with the ones i drew in the original post which I'll probably end up pointing people to if they want to draw either of them. the king was the one i worried about most because he's so different from canon, and same goes for the postgame designs. even coming up with new names was worrying because they're practically not even the same person from canon anymore
yay!!!!!!!! this feels so boring but !!! but. i wanted the words in the title so i got it
artist's notes under cut
the font is amador, for anyone who needed the isat title font family....
my grear t friend over at lives worth living suggested a different name but im keeping that title for the writing piece im doing
To Reset a Kingpin follows the naming scheme from In Stars and Time; i wanted "reset" in the title so i could keep calling it reset au for short, then realized i should include something about the King. So I put in Kingpin, which in fact does not refer to the king and refers to siffrin instead, but it has king in it so let me live
a Kingpin is someone important to an event or organization, like how a keystone organism is important in an ecosystem. so resetting the kingpin is king resetting siffrin and using him to win instead.... ykyk
the little fade in the background is meant to be like a star belt from the universe. if you haven't seen me draw the starbelt you definitely will later, it's going to be in anything that tries to depict the night sky
there are clock hands behind it, too! not set to any specific time i just thought it would be cool. the reset arrow is meant to mimic the outer rim of a clockface while also being it's own separate thing. the arrow's going counterclockwise for obvious reasons
the stars. are filler. you could read into them if you wanted to? big star king little star siffrin or something? but there's no symbolism here i just needed something to put in that corner
also WHY IS MIMICKING THE ISAT LOGO SO HARD??? for NO reason !!! it was so difficult trying to figure out what i wanted to put in the little details outside of the text box........ myfkfm
after that wack-tastic piece of media i figured we could all!! use a break!!!!!!! so!!!!!!
(more) doodles below the cut. and some commentary! Hurray!
^^ Post game is interesting. Most of the timeloop is about figuring the deal with the memories, some of it is about sif comng to terms with the king, and the very very end of it is about everyone regaining their memories.
so i say it again post game is REALLY interesting!!! because everyone, collectively, is trying to balance their old memories and their new memories. everyone except siffrin. who is not 1:1 old siffrin but is the closest to it, considering how much loop's been through.
loop??? becomes corporeal at some point in the end.
it's very bittersweet! i think! the whole of the party does an "i want to remember!!!" sequence, fighting with their own minds to fill the gaping holes they'd always ignored.
-- loop, after realizing the extent to which they're familiar with the party, had tried desperately to get the party to remember them throughout the loops. in hopes that something would change. they never remembered.
at the same time, siffrin is talking to the king - they're fighting with eachother physically and verbally, desperately trying to get the other understand. resetfrin is not the siffrin the king hated so earnestly, not the siffrin he tried to snuff out.
over the course of many conversations with the king, siffrin caught on. the king is the major lore dump here and is who causes most of the narrative development because i say so !!!!!!!!!!!!
actually. about post game. do you know why their designs are like that
resetfrin hated the lack of autonomy he had over their own body so they decided to. cut their hair. it's a bit curlier now that there's not a lot weighing it down
they decided not to keep the star stuff the king gave them. yada yada character development or whatever.
they gave their cloak to loop!! who is. siffrin again. physically at least. both siffrins are siffrin but with clear differences! like hair length and hair texture! and ohhhhhhhh no what do you mean the universe gave them the wrong body?? what?????? how cruel!!! how blasphemous!!!!!!!
loop hated the idea of keeping her hair darkless (mirror pronouns for loop btw!!! remember that!!!). it reminded them of what it was like to be ghostloop. which they hated!!! but they couldn't have their hair be lightless because that was resetfrin's new thing, so... they just. kept dying the bottom parts of it lightless. it's a compromise
how does the party distinguish the two siffrins, name-wise? uhhhhhh. ask me that question later. idk.
if.... if i have pre-game planned out. and post-game planned out.
then the inly thing I don't have planned out is the ACTUAL time loop bit
it's quite daunting because? that's like the entire point of the original game? it feels like i hve to live up to so much and like fhe loops have to have such a packed, coherent story
though, to be fair, most of what I'm writing will just be. the time loop bit. so i guess I'm figuring it out as i go
anyway, actually talking about the two sketches above, ghostloop is for SIFFRIN'S EYES ONLY!!! she can hit things but things can't hit her and all that.
after figuring out, through past loops, that the King can't see them, they realized siffrin was their only connection to the physical world. The Last Piece Left of them, physically and metaphorically. the whole time they longed for something else to acknowledge their existence. acknowledge theyre real
they also realize they can do Fuckery
the king has a Sixth Sense for loop's Fuckery,,, flipping him The Bird resulted in a rather quick death for Siffrin. whoops!!!!!
this au is. more closely revolved around gloop than i thought. don't worry!! i have a lot of gloop content planned! but. but you need to understand the pain of resetfrin and the king. the misery snd desperation fhe king felt about his country. siffrin pleading with the king, countlessly, hoping to see some SEMBLANCE of the man he once knew. you need to know the missing pieces the party finds, a hollow feeling settling itself around their hearts. you need to know so bad.
so you'll get gloop content! i am a big fan of the little guy myself, really. but !!! this au is not ONLY about them, believe it or not! hehe. haha. giggles. ok ill stop
Reset AU ... mirror room art piece and a supplemental from ghostloop's pov 🎉
Writing under the cut! (Lots of words... oops!!!!!!!)
(Venturing through the house has been nothing short of a terror.)
(The sadnesses littering the area are NOT helping!)
(Granted, you know how to fight - you have each sadness' type memorized, each name and gimmick on lock - but your craft...)
(You're not sure what Craft type you are. You're corporeal enough for your hits to connect, but not corporeal enough for attacks to land on you. Harder still, considering the craft types are all equally as easy for you to summon.)
(Maybe "easy for you to summon" is poor phrasing. Your attacks feel wrong. Unfamiliar.)
(Your Piercing Craft likes to trail, not unlike the rest of your body. You struggle the least with Scissors-type attacks, but it feels like something fundamental is missing in each of your strikes.)
(Your Creative Craft leaves after-images. You thought you were Paper craft for a good while, but you're clumsy with it - like it wasn't made with your body in mind.)
(Your Protector's Craft sparks like energy through your fist. Something pangs at your chest each time you form the handshape.)
(Your attacks are strange. Craft personalizes itself to its user, but for such attuned craft to be so alien....)
(Thinking about it gives you a weird headache.)
(So you won't!!)
(You watch Siffrin fight. He made you sit out of battle after that time you downed yourself. Impeccable aim, Loop!!)
(... They never win, but you figure you should respect their wishes regardless.)
(You feel Experienced. Like these sadnesses would wither away if you poked them too hard. They probably would, if you could land a hit in the first place!)
(You can't help but compare the way he fights with the way you fight. Or, the way you think you should.)
(Like his name, like the House, like everything else, it's all familiar. You fight the same way as him, but your craft makes it difficult to do so comfortably.)
(You can't help but be envious. Why are you envious?)
(The style isn't even yours! You're pretty sure it's adapted from his, even!!)
(Nothing is your own. Not even your body is safe!!! Your skin prickles when you look down. Stars dance across your form naturally, yet it feels unnatural all the same.)
(Stars, are you going crazy? You think you're going crazy!)
(Siffrin shifts next to you, walking comfortably in your silence. You lead the way to the next door.)
("Why Stardust?" They asked you that, before. At least, you think they did? What did you respond with? Something about what's left...?)
(... You don't know. Just, seeing him, talking to him - he's Stardust! So, you must be Loop.)
(It found you so easily in your sea of muddled memories. It must be what the Universe willed!)
(But you still don't know. But you still can't remember. What's wrong with you?)
"Finally, third floor..."
(Siffrin turns a key. You're climbing the House. Right.)
(You smile. Is it forced? You're not sure. The gesture reminds you of something.)
>"Awh, good job, Stardust! It only took you... ehm...."
>"20 Loops! That's great! A bit worse than me, but who's keeping track, right?"
"'A bit worse than you?' Did you remember something?"
("A bit worse than you?")
>"What? I didn't say anything."
(You didn't. Did you?)
(Siffrin makes a noise. They're looking at you funny.)
"Nevermind."
(O~kay. Weird.)
...
(The King sobs.)
(They talk to you about him. A lot more than you want them to, if you're being honest.)
(Hearing his name, his likeness, to be spoken of so fondly - you feel rage. A deep and primal anger you're sure you've never felt before and will never feel again.)
(So, yes! Hearing the King sob the whole time like he's not actively dooming an entire blinding country has done wonders on your psyche! The reminder of his existence fills you with such joy and whimsy!)
(Your smile is pulled so taut you think it would tear at your skin, if you had any.)
(Siffrin's expression is plagued with sympathy. Something in your core stirs violently at the thought.)
>"Chin up, soldier~! One more floor to climb!"
(The sympathetic look fades, but you don't feel any better. You don't think about the implications.)
"... Right. One more floor."
>"I hope all this effort was worth it!"
"Ditto. Even if I can't snap some sense into him, I just..."
"I want to talk. I've told you about it before, but-"
(stop don't talk about him no no no no)
>"STARdust! Surely there's no need to go over everything again!"
>"You might be forgetful, but helpful Loop here already knows the ins and outs of your fool-proof plan~!!"
>"You've told me about it, you continue to tell me about it, you don't stop telling me about it — I GET IT ALREADY!"
>"Just. We'll. We'll get to it when we get to it, right? Please."
(you're not sure why)
(but the thought of talking to the king fills your entire being with sickness)
(Too bad you can't throw up! Teehee!!)
(Siffrin looks pained.)
"Right, I'll just -- I'm."
"I'm sorry..."
(Oh.)
(His voice is so tender. So quiet.)
(You ruined it.)
(That's fine. You don't -- you don't need the ability anyway. You can make your way through the house on your own. You don't need them to get stronger. It's fine.)
(...)
(What were you thinking about? It doesn't matter.)
>"So~! That out of the way."
(This time you ignore the King wailing above you.)
>"Where do we go?"
(His face is hidden from you, beneath the brim of his hat. You have a fun time thinking about the expression under it!)
(Is it twisted in frustration? Appalled? Mortified? Betrayed?)
(You know those faces like the back of your hand, but the specifics amalgam in your head, a foggy mass of uncertainty.)
(You feel a tingle on your cheek.)
(... Yes, fun! What fun!)
(Siffrin clears their throat.)
"... You've been leading me through most of the House, Loop."
"So I thought you would know where to go?"
(You have?)
>"I have?"
"Yes?????"
(What????)
>"No I haven't."
"Yes? You have??"
(He looks offended???)
"The rock trap? The key I missed in the Head Housemaiden's office?"
>"'Fraid you're not ringing any bells!!"
(Conversations are one of the only things you remember. Everything else blends together.)
(So, you should know this, shouldn't you? They must've brought it up a few times while you were walking. You weren't thinking too hard about where you were going. The paths feel wholly natural to you... But you do remember that the amount of times you had to give Siffrin a Super Sour Tonic was atrocious, really.)
(How does anyone lose to sadnesses THAT often? It's ridiculous! He should just let you fight!!!)
"Loop?"
(Whoops!!! You should pay more attention to your surroundings...)
(...)
(No, okay, wait.)
>"When did we get to the mirror room?"
(The glare Siffrin gives you bears the striking image of absolute incredulocity.)
(That's not a word. Whatever!!! You can make up new words if you so please!!)
"You're kidding."
>"Completely serious question, Stardust!"
"...'Stardust, I am the epitome of good memory...'"
(HE'S MOCKING YOU!!)
>"I am! I swear it on my mother!"
"Stars have mothers?"
(You shrug before remembering to raise a gloved hand to your mouth.)
>"I don't know!"
>"But I'm sure, if I had one, she'd be especially bright."
(An eyeroll.)
(They don't laugh.)
(Why does that bother you?)
(Eh, probably because that one was funny! No fair!)
>"You're no fun, Stardust..."
"Okay."
>"Whatever! I'll find a pun buddy somewhere else!!"
"And where would you go? Vaugarde's frozen in time."
("And you're practically a ghost," is what goes unsaid.)
(...mmm. No, it's fine.)
>"I'll write to them! We'll be pen pals!"
>"Or I guess we'd be pun pals, ehe."
(They snort. Mission success!!!)
"Not funny."
>"Oh, come on! You laughed!! That means I won the bet!"
"The bet was about laughing at your jokes. Puns don't count."
(Bummer! You pout.)
"Real talk. Any particular reason for bringing us here? I trust you, but..."
"... The only thing in here is that mirror."
(They point to the large mirror at the end of the corridor. You nod. There is a mirror, and nothing else.)
>"Indeed so."
"And you called it the mirror room?"
(Did you?)
>"No I didn't."
"I'm not arguing with you again..."
(Aren't they doing that already?)
"Just answer the question."
>"I wasn't aware I was being interrogated! I need a lawyer!!!"
"Loop."
>"Fine! I-... Um."
>"I."
>"I'm not ... quite sure?"
"You're not sure."
>"Nope!"
(They sigh.)
"So you led us here... for no particular reason?"
>"Exactly!"
>"Well. No, I'm sure there's some reason we're here."
>"I feel like there's something else in this room, you know?"
>"But! As far as I'm aware!! There is nothing in here!!! Save for that dazzling old mirror!!!!"
"Right."
(He doesn't believe you.)
"... Let's look around, then?"
>"Sounds good to me."
(You look around.)
(Okay, you don't actually do anything. Siffrin's going at it, though!)
(He checks the pillars. And the corners. And the bricks. And the pillars again.)
(It's... really boring.)
(It's better than the Other Thing you could be doing. The Elephant In The Room. The Big Mirror In The Corridor-Room. That.)
(Hm. Hmmmmmmm.)
(You weigh your options.)
(Boredom. Or headache. Boriiing borreeedooom...... or excruciating headache.)
(Or answers? You don't know the mirror's deal! You could get something meaningful out of this!)
(Or you could get a headache.)
(Or you could lean against a pillar, bored, for the rest of eternity, waiting to be Done and Over With This.)
(...)
(You've been pointedly ignoring the existence of the mirror for quite the while now.)
(Something goads you. A whisper.)
(You follow. Siffrin watches you, curious.)
(You don't... You don't really want to look.)
(Just looking down spikes something uncomfortable under your skin.)
(So you're not sure what to expect, if you were to look in your reflection.)
(Whispers turn to spoken tongue turn to yelling turn to screaming as you approach the glass. Yet, no matter how loud they get, how heartfelt they screech, you can't make out the words.)
(Something in you hurts as you stand in front of the glass.)
(You take a breath)
(in, and out.)
(And you look up.)
(and all at once)
(everything goes quiet)
(...)
(You gaze at your reflection)
(You gaze at a star.)
(is this you?)
(you wave your hand)
(it waves back.)
(You frown. It frowns too.)
(Stars. All up its body.)
(More than you could dream of, could you still dream in the first place.)
(Flame-like spikes flicker freely from its head, immitating hair.)
(Imitating life.)
(You're looking at a ghost.)
(you're a ghost?)
(The screaming returns. You flinch back in surprise. The ghost does not flinch with you.)
(LOOP, it screams. LOOP, LOOP, LOOP, LOOP !!!)
(Its head morphs. It's something spikier, now. It's something right.)
(your head hurts)
(The ghost snickers at you. You look at it.)
(You look at it)
(it's)
(it's)
(loop)
(you look at loop)
(LOOP, the screaming chants, in agreement. LOOP!)
(someone is shaking you?)
(this is loop)
(but you're loop?)
(are you loop?)
(The screaming rises. You didn't think it could get any louder. You cover your ears and cower. It doesn't do anything)
(loop laughs at you.)
(you forgot)
(of course you forgot! you always forget! forgetful little siffrin! sieve brain siffrin)
(you stole their role. in the play)
(you stole them)
(you)
"LOOP!"
(You blink)
(You is in front of you. Your back is leaning against cool glass.)
(if your back is to the mirror)
(how are you looking in your reflection?)
(The you in front of you sighs.)
"You were out cold there... What happened, Loop?"
(you wait for them to respond)
("Nothing, Stardust!! You should go help out your little entourage! Or, you know, you could do something more productive? Like talk to the Head Housemaiden?")
(that's what you think they would say)
(you feel a shiver)
"... I'm not... part of a party...? Oh, no, nevermind. I get it."
(your reflection releases you. you slump to the ground.
(you pull your hands up to your head)
(and stop)
(your arms)
(your arms..)
"Loop."
>"... Loop?"
(Oh!)
>"Yes! I am Loop."
(Siffrin gives you That Look again.)
"What was all that?"
(All that?)
>"I'm not sure what you're talking about!"
"It was like you... um..."
"Forgot your name. Or something."
(Forgot your name? Scandalous!! You'd never forget such a thing!)
>"Nope, all good!"
>"I just... hm. Thought you were talking to someone else there, for a second?"
>"But I'm fine now!"
"If you say so."
(He doesn't take your word for this, either.)
(Oh well!)
(You bend down and flip the switch, extra careful not to look at the mirror. Or the photo that materializes in front of it.)
"How did you-?"
(They try to ask, but you're already moving for the key.)
(Loop.)
(That's you!)
(So why does that name remind you of someone else?)
so!!! reset au!!!! still no name!!!!!! it stays reset au. (for now ....)
i did some sprite edits!!!
resetfrin and his lovely resetloop.... there are no variations in loop's outfits here so i settled for just the one sprite.
(Sidenote: past this point ill be posting about this au on @slowlysoluminary .... but I'll still be reblogging it on my main !!! the joys of publicity stunts!!!!)
Loop was actually the easiest of these four!!!!! is that hard to believe? i had to draw a whole new head from scratch, but all i had to do was erase the original head. the others i had to stay within the confines of the style using the pre-existing sprite as a base and,, ough.... the eyes were the fun part. the hair was consistently the hardest.
based on that one comment about this loop.... i think sticking with ghostloop as a name would be good. they're not Loop, but they're not siffrin, and resetloop implies they're just normal loop, so GhostLoop it is !!!!
So, you know that ISAT au I mentioned in my yass-girlboss King post??
HHHHHEEEERE WE GO .... info below keep reading!!! lots of words!!!! In Stars And Time FULL spoilers!!!!!
(Note: The Reset AU will be posted on @slowlysoluminary but i will be reblogging from my main)
There are some really interesting Siffrin-Meets-The-King-First aus that float around. I see them sometime! they're great! But I, as an adoring King fan, had to sit down and ask myself:
"So, uhh, like why?"
AND I DID SOME THINKING!!!!!
The King notices you're looping in Act 3. That's great! Not for Siffrin, but great narratively. If he notices it in that loop specifically, I feel like he would notice in other loops, too.
So, Act 5. The King notices how much of a formidable opponent siffrin is (among other things), acknowledges he's from the same country, recognizes wish craft, yadda yadda yadda.
He wants Siffrin to understand and resonate with his reasons for trapping an entire country in time, and while Siffrin is busy in his mind space fighting Mal Du Pays, the King makes a wish. AND HE LOOPS!!!!!??????
... Uhh, kind of? Not really. It resets the timeline all the way back to when the country was erased, but instead of the King having full memory, they're more like... vague snippets that hint at what he once was.
So, um! The first part of the AU is about the King's 10-year-long descent into madness. It's heavily condensed but it's there!! there's lore there!! I'm a king fan he needs a backstory.
"His name is Lazare" HE HAD TO HAVE A NAME BEFORE HIS KING DAYS... it's heavily implied the King wasn't his original name, and my headcanon helpfully supplied that he underwent a Change inside the house during his rise to power. I think there's like, a Head Defender? And the King was Head Defender, with full access to all libraries inside the house, when he started going crazy.
At 22 he loses all his memory while travelling in Vaugarde. Nobody knows his name so he comes up with one! He meets Siffrin 4 years later and they both travel Vaugarde together.
He becomes a defender at 29 because we see firsthand how INVESTED this dude is in Vaugarde. He wants, NEEDS this country to be safe!! he has a lot of patriotism!!! He's not actively searching for what happened to him or his country, he's just accepted it and is building himself up as a person.
oh boy .. when he turns 31 he becomes Head Defender.... And when he starts reading higher-access books throughout the house documenting a disappearing country? He gets MORBIDLY curious. And... well... this fixation leads him down the rabbit hole that got him where he is today! Except, this time, with Siffrin on his side...?
Yup! Siffrin is here! They've been here the whole time! Siffrin watches a man he's grown to love and adore fall into the Deep End. And he would find the strength to be mad about what he's doing if it weren't for the fact he was super sympathetic!!! ugh!!! sympathy!!!
Siffrin agrees with the King... but not really? He agrees with his reasons but completely disagrees with the way he's going about it. The change from Lazare to King was gradual, but towards the end he treats Siffrin more like an object of study than a friend.
The King takes his cloak and hat to study the stitching, the King won't let him cut or dye his hair again because he wants (NEEDS) this still image of his culture, etc.
Siffrin pretends his behavior doesn't bother him (because the King goes full Mansplain Manipulate Malewife on him if he voices his dissent) and keeps sneaking away from the King using his hat-less/cloak-less disguise.
In doing so, he meets a wild Mirabelle! It becomes a habit to visit her and the villagers under this "disguise" (it's only convincing in the way that Clark Kent is convincing) and he's feeling that same friendship with them that he used to back when the King was Lazarus.
... Until the House gets frozen? And the king starts Freezing People In Time For Real? No warning? Siffrin is HORRIFIED, rightfully, and also super upset. Partly because Mirabelle "got frozen" (she did not get frozen) and partly because the king has TOTALLY LOST HIS MIND NOW. no trace or remnant of who he used to be. but siffrin wants to hold on.
and then Siffrin gets stuck in a time loop! Whoops! Honest mistake!
"How does he get stuck in a Time Loop if there's no party to stick with?" ok so. of course he's going to learn Wish Craft from the King, duh. The King tells him literally everything about rhe country as he discovers it (albeit, in incoherent rambles.). And he also has his own muscle memory to draw from!
In desperation, he makes a wish: Save Vaugarde/Sav the King.
"Which one of those two is it?" Idk! That's what he spends the timeloops finding out!
Oh, wait, now that I've talked about the time loops, I CAN TALK ABOUT LOOP!!! LOOP IS NEW AND DIFFERENT!!!
^^ This was the initial ref sheet i made while brainstorming for this au (and also the sheet that birthed King In Magical Girl Poses)
Loop is not hiding their identity! Much like King, they domn't remember anything until afterthe Reset. They're Siffrin, yes, but not Siffrin from SASASA:AP. They're Siffrin from In Stars and Time. They're THE Siffrin that the King's wish Reset!
Thus, Loop looks very different!!!! And acts a little bit different!!! Siffrin is the only one who can see Loop, for the time being, and they follow him throughout the loops instead of staying stagnant under the Favor Tree.
They don't like the idea of not knowing who they are, or where they're from. Siffrin sympathizes with the star, initially thinking that they just... had the same thing happen to them that happened to the king? But the reason Loop follows Siffrin through the house is because they NEED to know who they used to be, and what in the Universe happened to them. Certain things trigger certain memories, and... it certainly doesn't help that the party enters the fray.
"So was the King's wish not important?" THE KING'S WISH WAS VERY IMPORTANT.
Not only did it CAUSE the reset, but it gave King the precise tools to get a timeline that fulfilled his wish (It's not the Universe's fault he lost himself and his only chance).
BUT ALSO!! ALSOOOOOOO!!!! THE KING'S WISH CORRUPTED THE WHOLE TIMELINE.
Loops are meant to reset to the day before, with no one"s memory remaining except for Siffrin's.
This loop completely Reset the timeline.
The King kept hints of his memories from the past.
The party gets dejá vū from the moment they meet to the moment they step foot in the house. They feel like something is missing.
Loop shouldn't be here. Loop should be... Loop. Loop didn't wish to be here - it's a direct violaton of his initial wish to stay with his friends, but it's a wish that technically got overwritten when the Reset happened?
Ironically, Siffrin is the only one Out Of The Loop (hehe)
,,,,,,,,,
"okay so what's the stuff IN the timeloop?" you see. you seeeeee. I've been worldbuilding so that I can figure that out. And I still don't know..... I'm setting it up with this post so I can elaborate on anything later (asks are appreciated)
"You should write/draw about this" I am! Ao3 is llilyrose but idk if I'll end up posting anything there. Of course, my tumblr is llilyrose, too....
"You stole this from user llilyrose on ISAT discord!" um, look at my url again. thx
"What if I have questions about the worldbuilding/characters/etc." send an ask, fool.... I'd really appreciate it .....
The point of this blog is to have all my isat stuff in one place so [shrug] rn it'll just be reposting the stuff i already have on my main page
In addendum to this post, though:
Siffrin doesn't see the inside of the house. Lazare, turning slowly into the King, LOVES to push people away, favoring his research far more than the people he's supposed to love.
Siffrin makes a wish at the favor tree, like the King and like in Canon, yes, but not long afterwards he builds up the courage to go through the house and talk straight to the King. The loop starts after he enters the house. The entirety of the loops are spent within its walls, for better or for worse.
The party... is tricky. Siffrin's heard of the saviors of vaugarde (and is Not Thinking about how similar one of them is to the Mira he knew), and is fully aware of the fact they are coming to Dormont soon.
So what's tricky about them? The party trails after Siffrin an hour or two later. WHICH IS WHAT'S TRICKY!!! the timing ... they came and saw the door open already, spilling out oodles and oodles of the King's time freeze magic. Why is the door already open??? Were the orbs they collected for nothing???? overall, without meeting Sifrin, the fight against the King is very anticlimactic... and, y'know, everything else leading up to it.
loop... silly loop..... silly loop who is Actually Not Loop. @/The_Bitter_Ocean compared her design to a ghost which is Very Accurate! [ecstatic clapping]
using she for loop is so weird.... hhh the drawbacks of a mirror prns loop..... oh well ;)
