#isat meta

[hydeandseek128]

siffrin is not a rogue (and why this is important): a rant

So a few months back I was yapping to my friends about one of my biggest (and most inconsequential) pet peeves in precanon ISAT fanfiction, that being that when Siffrin meets the party, he shouldn't be punning. This is supported by Siffrin's internal monologue when you do Isaquest in Act 4 (if you haven't gotten Memory of Touch).

The artbook has a sketch supporting this idea as well.

And while I enjoy a lot of pre-canon "Sif meeting the party" fics, I find that most of them fall into this trap of making Siffrin the funnyjokespun person without realizing that it is a purposeful role they adopt to "gain favor" with Isabeau.

This ended up tying into another Super Minor Pet Peeve that I have, which is whenever fanfics (whether in narration or dialogue) refer to Siffrin as "the rogue." Mostly because I have an irrational hatred of epithets (they're distracting and thus break the narrative flow because no one uses them in normal dialogue - ironically, Loop is an excellent example of doing this on purpose), but also because, as far as I can tell, no one calls Siffrin that in canon. Obviously, their given "title" is the Traveler, not the Rogue, but a quick search of the ISAT script site reveals nothing.

(Big asterisk here: I do seem to remember Odile referring to them as a rogue once, so it could be in SA3P and/or not on the script site; however, I tried a few different word combinations to see if I could find anything, so I doubt it actually exists. I also did a quick look through the ISAT wiki, the ISATcord, both artbooks, and ID5's Tumblr to see if she ever called them a rogue, and I couldn't find anything - if anyone does find an example I'd love to know. I think the fact that I can't find any real mention of it even after looking in six different places means my point still stands.)

And thus, I hit on a point that I've never quite articulated but seems Very Important in understanding Siffrin.

Siffrin is not a rogue.

As a wise Fellow ISAT Fandom Guy said, "literally the only thing rogueish Siffrin does is have a knife and Mirabelle in Particular thinks they're mysterious." This is (for the most part) true. Siffrin leads the party, yes, but that's just because he's the fastest, which doesn't really mean anything in terms of rogueishness - in terms of D&D classes, I've seen plenty of sorcerers who are really fast. And while he is the "trap master," the in-character Q&A* mentions the following:

*I am aware that the Q&A is not technically canon, but it does reveal authorial intent ( much like the artbook page I mentioned earlier) and that will be important for the analysis of Why This Is Important, so it gets included as Evidence. bear with me <3

There's also the fact that Siffrin acknowledges that he isn't very good at his "job." This is probably the most critical thing about my entire Hot Take (and why the whole "Siffrin shouldn't be punning when they meet the party" bit is a part of this whole rant).

Now, the obvious counterargument to this is "He's literally just lost an eye and still adjusting." It's fair enough, and referenced ingame if you ask Loop what to do after learning you missed the Crying Key.

But...the Crying Key itself seems to be a notable exception to the rule. Why doesn't Siffrin get it on their first go-around, again?

"Out of respect"? Siffrin. C'mon. Now I may not be a rogue (I'd be an artificer, if anything), but even I would've checked a notebook with a giant "DO NOT TOUCH" warning on it. This fella is not a rogue.

Alright, now that we've established this, let's ask the important question: Why does this matter at all?

Well, for one, ISAT is a game where everyone subverts the role they are given, in more ways than one. The Traveler became one out of necessity - they have nowhere else to go and nothing else to do. The Housemaiden struggles with not feeling good enough for her faith. The Fighter* is actually incredibly intelligent but puts on a facade because he hates that side of him. The Researcher isn't researching anything. The Kid is incredibly emotionally intelligent for their age and is also having a great time being super traumatized by everything. *I'm aware Isabeau is referred to as the Fighter by both Loop and the SA:AP menu screen, but as the Defender in ISAT. It works both ways, though; in the immortal words of one of my friends who I discussed this with, "Isa quit his job. That's like saying 'Jeff the accountant (fired).'" He's also a massive coward who wants to avoid confrontation at all costs, which works with either term.

Outside of the titles, the party seems to fall into the five-man band structure, but they all subvert those roles too. The dynamics of the five-man band are a bit lengthy to explain, but all that's really important for this post is Siffrin's role as the lancer. In a traditional five-man band, the lancer serves as the foil to the leader (in this case, Mira). They're very specifically not the protagonist, and are usually a loner, as opposed to the leader who believes in the power of friendship. They're also usually very mysterious and the most likely to run off alone for an edgy solo arc where they decide to defeat the bad guy on their own, and the rest of the party has to run after them so they can learn that friendship is good, actually. Of course, Siffrin defies basically all of this*, considering they literally love their party so much they broke the world over it, and are the de facto POV character of ISAT proper. *yes I know they still run off alone to defeat the bad guy on their own, but it's for completely different reasons, which is the important thing

It's very important that the characters don't fit into their roles, because Siffrin CONSTANTLY defines themself as having to fit into a role and gets distressed when they fail. Remember the above monologue about him not being good at his job? Yeah, that was a secret surprise tool that will help us later, because it's indicative of the role he deems himself as having to play. He even gets upset when Mira guesses the joke they're going to make on the first floor snack break.

It does seem to be in jest at first, but it's reflective of a very real fear. If you try to tell the joke fast enough that she can't beat you to the punch, Siffrin gets very self-deprecating about it.

This can even be seen in the very beginning of Act 2, in Siffrin's meadow monologue!

This brand of self-deprecation is so natural for Siffrin that it comes in fast - this is the most obvious early example of the depths of self-hatred our fella is capable of. And it keeps circling around to the same point: "It's your job to do this, and you failed."

Why is that important, though? Well, remember at the beginning, when I mentioned the "Siffrin doesn't pun before meeting the party" bit? There's two things that should stick out to you here that come in handy: first, Siffrin saying, "You didn't know how to describe yourself, you didn't know who you even were," and second, the "new personality manufactured" mentioned in the artbook sketch. Functionally, Siffrin's loss of his home and memories made him feel empty, like he wasn't a real person - something we see throughout the game. And, like the actor they are, they feel as if they need a role to play to "fit in" with the party, so he creates one: the role of the mysterious rogue, the trapmaster, the jokester. Because after all, it's like "Odile" says in the Mal du Pays fight, isn't it?

Siffrin wants to be a person because they want to be loved...but without any memories, how can they achieve that? The answer, of course, is to get on the stage.

This is why I brought up some not-quite-canon content like the artbook/the Q&A in this analysis: the themes of the game are that Siffrin is loved, and that they don't need to have to be someone else because their family loves the person they are now, trauma and memory loss and all. And I think that, because ID5 is clearly trying to make a point about that, it makes sense to take other examples of stuff made by them to showcase the intent behind Siffrin's character.

And we do know some of that. It's pretty obvious to the fandom that the point of the game is that Siffrin doesn't need to be a perfect actor for his family to love him. But we forget this part a lot, and I think it's an important insight into how the fella ticks.

It's worth noting the friendquests are all about how each member of the party doesn't fit into the role Siffrin sees them as...and by talking about those insecurities, they feel better about themselves, and they all grow closer. In one way, the Bigfrin fight is actually Siffrin's friendquest, where the same kind of thing happens - he reveals that he has nowhere to go back to and is, in turn, reassured that they all want to stay together. And that is what pulls them out of the Act 5 spiral! It is very important that Siffrin is not just the Traveler - and, in the same vein, they don't have to be the trapmaster or the funnyjokespun person either.

So, to sum it all up:

SIFFRIN IS NOT A ROGUE. THEY FORCED THEMSELVES INTO THE ROLE BECAUSE THEY THINK THEY NEED TO HAVE ONE TO BE A PERSON WORTHY OF LOVE. DO NOT FALL FOR HIS TRICKS, HE IS LYING TO YOU AND THE PARTY!!!!!!

[chimerafeathers]

i really love how intensely Mirabelle reacts to act 5 Siffrin botched friendquest.

Isabeau is mostly operating out of concern and, eventually, hurt. he already knows something’s up before Siffrin gets to him. he knows something truly awful must be wrong for Siffrin to be lashing out like they are, and as soon as he can’t handle the situation anymore, he leaves and asks (with strained cheer) for time apart to cool off.

most of Bonnie’s anger comes from being upset and afraid that Siffrin would willingly put themself in danger for no reason, when that’s exactly why they’ve been so unsettled since the eye incident. they hate that Siffrin values their own life so little, they hate that they’re the cause of any pain or loss for him, and here he is, putting himself in that situation AGAIN. on purpose. it’s loud and explosive, but it’s familiar, too, being “hated” by Bonnie for this reason.

Odile pushes, and keeps pushing, until her concern overwhelms Siffrin and they strike where they know she’s most vulnerable. she gets physical, just for a moment, grabbing his collar before controlling herself and letting go. her fury shuts down into cold detachment, and she walks away.

but Mirabelle—dear, sweet, gentle, loving Mirabelle, “the most wonderful being on earth,” with her secret “ruthless side” that largely involves lightly badmouthing people behind their backs and then apologizing—slaps them. immediately.

and then COMPLETELY RENOUNCES THEIR FRIENDSHIP.

not just “we’re not friends anymore,” but “we were never friends in the first place.”

that’s!!! pretty extreme!!!!

of course, she ALSO starts by asking what’s wrong. something must have happened for him to act like this. but as soon as Siffrin brushes her off, she jumps past that line of questioning and dives headfirst into re-evaluating everything she thought she knew about them as a a person.

if he could say something like that to her and not see anything wrong with it, then she was wrong to treat him as a friend, wrong to read camaraderie into his teasing, wrong to think they must care about them all under their aloof demeanor.

that’s how Mirabelle phrases it—“I was wrong about you”—but i think that there’s a hidden layer of I was right about you, too.

she talks about the way they tease her like she had to convince herself that he was doing it in a friendly way. she says they talk like they “know better than her” like that’s a thought she’s had for a LONG time.

“Always soooo mysterious, Siffrin, always talking as if you're better than me! As if you know me!!! But you don't, Siffrin!!! You're just as lost and useless as I am!!! So stop!!! Talking!!! As if you know me!!!!!!”

none of this comes across as a new, sudden way to view Siffrin for her. it doesn’t shock or confuse her. it makes her angry, defensive, almost like she was waiting for something like this to happen at some point. the feeling of resentment, frustration, jealousy, being patronized and condescended to—this is something she’s been actively pushing down and rejecting this entire time, but they’ve given her ample reason for it all to boil to the surface. violently.

Mirabelle’s kindness is not inherent or easy. it’s a choice she’s making. she treats Siffrin warmly because she gives him the benefit of the doubt—refusing to act based on anxiety-fueled, cynical speculation, and reassuring herself that his actions are driven by care and friendship even if she can’t quite see it.

“I was wrong about you” doesn’t mean she always and without question believed them to be a fundamentally kind, caring person from the beginning—it’s that her first, colder instincts were right, and she was wrong to convince herself otherwise.

never mind that she asked what was wrong at first. she barely gives them time to speak in their own defense, to explain what they really meant by what they said. all of her suppressed doubts and frustrations are getting aired out now, now that all the trust she’d so deliberately placed in him has been betrayed. her pain feels bigger than this singular moment, so when she hurts him back, she makes sure it extends back through the entirety of their relationship for him, too.

“You're awful. You're not my friend, not my ally, not anything. You never were.”

like the others, she goes back to the clocktower and tells Siffrin not to come back until later. but there’s a finality to the way she ends this confrontation that isn’t quite there with the others. Isabeau and Odile reach their breaking point and remove themselves from the situation, asking for space to cool off but still somewhat leaving the door open for Siffrin to tell them what’s really going on at some point. Mirabelle is the only one who tries to fully cut ties—after everything else she says, her “I don’t want to see you until tonight” reads to me somewhat as “I don’t want to see you anymore unless I have to.”

I can’t wait to never see you again.

even back at the clocktower, Mirabelle doesn’t really defend Siffrin’s place in the party when Odile suggests leaving them behind out of concern for their trustworthiness on the most important day of the journey. Isabeau and Bonnie protest out of sentimentality and faith in Siffrin’s abilities and connection to them, and Mirabelle agrees, but…

“I agree, but... B-But would he even agree to come with us, still? Maybe they won't even come back tonight...”

she doesn’t say much outside of that. maybe the stutter and hesitation here are signs of regret about how things happened, but she lacks Isabeau and Bonnie’s confidence that Siffrin even wants to come back to them in the first place. she doesn’t trust that their bond was real anymore. maybe it never was in the first place, or maybe she broke whatever was there herself.

and she’s still mad when they finally catch up to Siffrin at the King! and she makes sure Siffrin knows that—after saving them, assuring him that he no longer needs to fight, that they’re all there for him. she still cares, of course she still cares—she’s still hurt, too, but they can figure that part out once there’s less world-ending stuff going on.

she’s the first to say that they all reserve the right to still be angry at Siffrin later—and that they’ve already forgiven him.

she’s also the first to say we want to stay with you, too. it’s not just you.

she was wrong! she thought they didn’t care but they care so much, it’s overwhelming, it’s world-ending.

i think she’s gonna be wallowing in guilt post-canon the moment she remembers what she said and did TO SIFFRIN and not just what Siffrin said to her. especially now that she knows Siffrin’s exact hangups, and especially especially if she figures out what Siffrin was trying to say.

they put themself through hell out of loneliness and fear that none of the others cared about him the way he cared about them, he was going insane from repetition and exhaustion and hunger and trying to keep them all safe and together, and all they did in the midst of all that was say something kind of mean to her one time (that turned out to not even be MEANT to be mean it was supposed to be HELPFUL they just SAID IT ALL WRONG) and she SLAPPED THEM? and told him that they WEREN’T FRIENDS AT ALL??? how could she!!! she should have known better!! what they said hurt a lot but still!!!

so when they eventually manage to try to talk about it, they end up almost in, like, a guilt competition.

Mirabelle apologizing for how she reacted, that she shouldn’t have yelled or hit him, that she doesn’t want to be the kind of person who acts that way out of anger and she’s sorry that she made Siffrin expect that reaction from her, she should have known better and believed in him more and they only messed up like that because they were losing their mind in a time loop but what’s HER excuse—

and Siffrin going nononono stop I deserved it—(HUH DON’T SAY THAT NO YOU DIDN’T)—and that he should never have said such awful things to her, ever, and she was under so much pressure already with the weight of the country and everyone’s lives and futures and her religion and their whole party counting on her to do this impossible task because she’s the only one who can, all this unbearable expectation and hope crushing her, and they KNEW that but they thought they could skip to the ending as though her feelings didn’t matter at all, like helping her wasn’t as important as saving a little time—

until they’re just. in tears together, apologizing for all the horrible things they did in between complimenting each other’s strength and kindness and resilience and how much they admire each other and saying that no, everything you did was completely understandable, actually, the only one who sucks here is me. which neither of them will accept coming from the other!!

they’re so similar, in ways they couldn’t really understand, before.

warm, affectionate, perfect Mirabelle, the resolute hero, a beacon of compassion and hope for all those around her, who wears her heart on her sleeve, her fear making her courage shine all the brighter—nothing like the insignificant, forgettable Siffrin, too terrified to be known, too fragile to touch, too selfish and disgusting to bear letting go.

cool, mysterious, unflappable Siffrin, the worldly traveler, as charming and silly as they are confident and skilled, who brushed off losing an eye like it was nothing, accepting the risks of this journey with barely more than a shrug—nothing like the anxious, stagnant, undeserving Mirabelle, a fraud and a nobody crumbling under the weight of a mission too important to be entrusted to someone like her, doubting herself, doubting her friends, doubting her mentor, doubting her faith, too weak and brittle to bend and change the way the world needs her to without breaking.

not worth bothering others with their problems. they should be able to handle this alone. stay positive, stay calm. breathe in, and out.

they’ll struggle with it, still—the hiding, the minimizing—but now, they understand each other a little better. they can hold each other accountable for what they leave unsaid.

it’ll get easier, eventually. they have plenty of time.

[acs-karanttu]

this narrative is over when i SAY it's over

Made a (relatively) short analysis of the meta elements of In Stars and Time by insertdisc5 because I am nothing if not predictable.

[pastrypen]

ISAT fandom, I love you so so so much and I am saying this in the most loving, supportive, and good faith way possible:

You do have to write Bonnie as an actual character in your fanfics.

I know writing child characters is difficult. But it's bad to leave them out or minimize their role because of their age!!! Doesn't it feel awful to be a woman, or disabled, or queer, and find media where the female/disabled/queer character does exist and is well written and makes you feel seen and then the fandom at large ignores them? Even if ignoring Bonnie isn't an act of outright malice it DOES make the fandom less inclusive and welcoming to young people for whom Bonnie is a resonant character. Don't leave them out of fanworks!

"But I don't know how to write kids!!!" I hear you!!! Nods!! I get it!!! So here is, from someone who is a) technically still a kid and b) works with children,

A complete guide to writing Bonnie! ✨

Characters have goals. Authors have ways to stop them from achieving those goals. Characters dislike that. This relationship between characters and their goals is what makes a story. Even in a simple fluff fic where Mira's goal is to brush Siffrin's hair, or Isabeau's goal is to comfort Siffrin from a nightmare. The level of conflict may be null, but the goal exists!!!

The difference when writing child characters lies solely in the reaction. Not the goal. Bonnie's desire to kill the King burns no less bright than their adult family's, and portraying them as being just along for the ride is a no-no. Same goes for the journey after. Bonnie wants to stay with their new family. I'm not saying there's no reason they would ever want to go back to Bambouche permanently, but it would have to be good. Just saying "They have school," "They need stability," does their character a disservice. There should be a real, autonomous reason behind their actions and choices. (If someone forced them to do something they don't want to, thus conflicting with their goal, they will have a reaction to that. Further explained below.)

So, having a goal is the same. But the reaction to having this goal thwarted can be very different.

Kids lack emotional regulation skills and broader context for life. They're very NEW to this whole being alive thing. For example, when you're four, getting denied candy at the check out is one of the worst things you've ever experienced!!! You don't cry because you're entitled, you cry because you haven't developed a tolerance to casual disappointment and sadness yet. Plus, you aren't very attuned to the concept of a future yet, because you barely even have a past. Adults know they'll get candy some day. Kids don't really get that!!! They feel like they're being told they'll never have this thing they want ever!!!!! Tldr, kids reactions are intense because they lack experience and context.

Applying this back to Bonnie's reactions to having their goals thwarted: You need to know two things:

Bonnie can't control their emotions.*

Bonnie tends to default to anger.

(*They are old enough by now they can tolerate things like, not getting candy at the grocery store. But they can't hide their emotions about Frin's eye, or their frustration when something on their quest through the House goes wrong.)

Therefore, when Bonnie can't achieve their goal, whether that's, help beat the King, help Frin, don't let your family get hurt, cook a dinner--they get super angry, teary, and loud.

Example: Post canon fic where the party is trying to get Siffrin to open up, and they keep deflecting. None of the party like that. But while the adult party members will keep trying to foster a supportive environment and express their desire to help, Bonnie might start yelling at him or crying about it, because they're upset!!! They don't get that if they're patient and quiet Siffrin will open up in, say, a month. They're like, ten! That takes too long!!!! Frin is hurting now and they want to help and he's making it hard for them to do that and they! can't! handle that! Their goal is the same as everyone else's, but they just don't have the context and coping skills the others have, so they cry and scream and make a ruckus.

"Okay. That makes sense. But what about developmentally?"

Bonnie is a preteen. At this point, they can do things like, understand metaphors and symbolism, pick up on subtext in conversations, understand situations aren't all black and white. But they sometimes lack context. For instance, look in the writing room with the orange poem. Bonnie recognizes the writer is the orange, but, lacking the context of turmoil in relationships the poem seems to hint at, they suggest the ending should be "Peel an orange open, I die!" Because if you get peeled open, you die, obviously.

So if you're writing a fic and, say, the party is hinting to each other Siffrin is very upset after the loops, Bonnie's immediate thought won't be, I guess Siffrin is traumatized and needs therapy, it'll be, oh, I should go make them their favorite food to cheer them up! Bonnie WILL recognize if Siffrin's pattern of sadness keeps going, though, because they're getting context by living through it.

"But my fic is about self harm, suicide, etc."

Bonnie's goal is to see their family safe and happy, and they will react negatively to being booted from the conversation. Someone is going to have to talk them into leaving and promise them they can help later.

And while obviously it's not healthy for Bonnie to be taking care of a Siffrin in crisis, as that's not their responsibility and Siffrin would hate it, completely hiding this from them is not in their best interests either. Making the concepts of self harm and suicide taboo scares kids and makes them unlikely to reach out for help if they struggle with something similar in the future. (And considering what Bon's been through, they could absolutely struggle with that sooner rather than later.) Plus, saying "Frin is going through something so horrible you can't even know about it because it's That Bad" will likely lead them to catastrophizing. Explaining "This is what Frin is going through, this is how we're helping, we know this is scary and we are here for you" is much much better for Bonnie. Of course, if this being hidden from Bonnie serves a narrative purpose (I'm working on a fic about that actually,) that's part of the story and falls under "depiction not endorsement."

To summarize, they should have goals and thoughts and feelings the same as the rest of their party. These goals, thoughts, and feelings should be treated by the author as just as important as their family members'. And when something goes wrong with those goals, thoughts, and feelings, they should react intensely and emotionally, typically with anger.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, it means a lot that you want to portray Bonnie and do it well. I hope this helped at least a little. Feel free to ask questions or for clarification!

[angel--pop]

"In this moment you are loved" fucks me up so badly because of the implications. "In this moment", meaning Siffrin didn't believe they loved him before he helped them. It means he believed they'd stop loving him once he looped back. Did you know that one of the game over messages you can get when reaching the end if you did the friend quests is "In this moment, you were loved." Were. One of the lines you can get if you repeat Isabeau's friendquests is "Now that you know the exact steps to take to be loved by them?" He genuinely doesn't believe that they loved him before doing the friend quests, that they only loved him after he helped them. Do you know what this also means? That Loop, who probably never did their friend quests, gave up not knowing they were loved.

[valictini]

One aspect of "The Universe leads, we can only follow" that I keep thinking about is how wish craft fits into it.

On the surface, that sentence seems to mean that Islanders believed in some sort of destiny created by the Universe. Or at least, a philosophy encouraging them to accept whatever comes their way in life. Yet the Islanders seemed to freely and often use wish craft*, something that, at its core, is about changing stuff in your life.

(*Siffrin notes this when praying to the Change God for the first time. "It's considered lazy to just ask for stuff here." Implying that it was a fact of life that you could, and should, just ask for stuff. There was (seemingly) no taboo about it. "Seemingly" because we need to keep in mind that Siffrin was cut off from his culture at a young age, so some nuance they might have learned about later in life was probably lost.)

Anyway, using wish craft to basically change your destiny daily while using "we can only follow" as a mantra feels a bit contradictory!

So my interpretation of this sentence kinda shifted overtime in my mind, and now I'm convinced it is precisely about wish craft, actually.

Wish craft is a manifestation of the Universe. If you ask a favor to the Universe, you can't contest Its answer. However unpredictable. However constraining. Furthermore, if the Universe decided of a way to solve your problem, then this answer has a meaning and you should seek to understand this meaning.

At least, a majority of Islanders probably believed so, as examplified by Siffrin and King trying to find meaning to the way the Universe answered their wish. Siffrin resenting It in act 5, King taking his new powers as an express order to enact his plan.

But like all religions, I like to think that it wasn't a monolith, and maybe some Islanders would take a less antropomorphised approach to wish craft, where the unpredictability is a matter of random chance and less about the Universe having a will. Either way, I think it still fits the mantra.

Whatever the Universe decided to provide, you have to live with it. Whether or not you believe It had a specific reason for giving you this specific solution.

[the-empty-skeleton]

I want to talk about the Defenders in ISAT just because I think they get misinterpreted a lot. In general, I think we as a fandom think the Defenders are a much larger force than they really are, and we like to rag on them for not helping Mira. Which they deserve, just not as much as they tend to get.

I was checking a bunch of stuff on them a while ago for a fic and realised that I'd been treating them pretty differently to how they're actually presented. I've seen them used (and done so myself) as a sort of generic "guard" force that sort of exists and doesn't really do much, but they're really more of just a neighbourhood watch style thing at most from what little we actually learn of them.

There's so little on the Defenders that they don't even have a wiki page, and the game only gives us 5 clear points on them:

The Defenders have a base in Jouvente.

Isabeau was one, greatly admired them, and quit to help Mira.

They refused to help Mira.

Isabeau learned how to make Craft bombs when taking his exams, which implies training relating to potentially harmful substances and tools.

Isabeau says the worst thing most Defenders will ever deal with is "a robbery maybe!" which reinforces the idea that they aren't really much of a police/protection force, and more so community support.

There's two bonus points, the first of which is Isabeau's ability to control conversations really well when he needs to, but we don't actually know if this is just him or specific Defender training. (See the cloak conversation, where he notices Sif getting emotional and pulls double duty distracting everyone else, whilst also hyping up how good the cloak is to try and make them feel better.) If that is Defender training, it again implies training more in line with hospice/welfare sector.

And the other is Isa's lack of combat training. He isn't a higher level than anyone else at the start, nor more powerful or wielding better equipment, which seems to me like being a Defender does not involve combat based training.

My biggest and funniest point though, is the implication that the Defenders are completely unique to Jouvente.

We know little of the world outside of Dormont, but here's what we do know: Defenders are in Jouvente, they are not in Dormont, no one mentions any other encounters with Defenders from across the journey. Bonnie doesn't even have an anecdote from Bambouche or something. All in all, I think it's very funny that it's entirely possible they're a completely niche organisation.

If you approach the Defenders as being a small community service group based almost entirely in one city, then their refusal to help Mira suddenly makes way more sense.

None of them are trained for an actual apocalypse. They pick up litter and help organise events. They check in on people and look for lost pets. They defuse rowdy arguments and occasionally chase off Sadnesses. They don't march across the country to do battle with a man the size of a building who can stop time!

Quoted from the game:

Isabeau (angry1) And I could tell that they said that because they were scared! The worst Defenders see is like, a robbery maybe!

Isabeau (angry1) So suddenly helping to save Vaugarde was too much for them!

Isabeau (angry2) But not helping because you're scared... I just couldn't accept that. That's not brave.

So yeah, they do deserve to be ragged on a bit, but they aren't some wholly useless organisation that does nothing. We only see them at their worst, terrified over something they are completely unequipped to handle. Really, I'd say their main point of uselessness is being a community focused group in a country that already appears very community focused. I imagine there's not much extra that needs doing by them and they probably only exist because of how large Jouvente is (stated as having multiple Houses due to size) which means it needs extra help. They would probably actually be very helpful in the aftermath of the game, since that type of thing would be more up their alley.

[apple-onigiri]

the party cares about siffrin so much i'm gonna scream i'm so for real

tonight i am once again thinking about how protective the party is when it comes to siffrin and yk what you guys get to hear it too

i'm thinking about when the king is convincing siffrin to try to say the name of the northern island specifically right now because. god

like god. they all just jump to their defense and are immediately trying to separate him from the king. the king was already their opponent but we know how they usually act during a fight and it's not that. trying to say the name is actively hurting siffrin and that scares and angers all of them

genuinely i think the reason siffrin thinks they all don't care about him as much as he does about them is because they all see him as a very closed off private person, so they don't express it that much to respect that, Except For Crisis Mode, where siffrin is actively in danger, so he doesn't even realize!!! that they care so much!!! cuz he's too busy being uh. in peril

you know what, i'll bet that they were all worried completely sick when siffrin lost his eye and then trying their best to act normal once they were awake to make them feel normal (no communication strikes again here; they're all quite awful at it).

honestly, back to the king, my favorite variant of that sequence is the one i personally didn't get in my playthrough, where you refuse to say the name of the country, and everyone literally puts themselves between siffrin and the king. they're so ready to defend them from the king and whatever it is they think king is doing to them, and pull his attention away from them

odile and bonnie might be my favorites because odile, not unlike in the tutorial event, immediately jumps into the defensive to protect the part of the group she deems as needing shielding, and directs everyone to do that as best as possible. and bonnie,, ahhh bonbon :( they're so upset at the king hurting siffrin here, i genuinely think they may have forgotten any distance that was between the two of them and they're just so upset gahhh it's making me sad i can't think too hard about sad bonnie or i explode into a thousand glass shards and go ding ding ding across the floor i'll stop now you guys get it you get the vision