#sttk fanfic

[sif-took-the-kids-au]

It's all peaceful in the house. Pipi went to bed easily, wrapped in their blanket. The lights are off, the windows and doors closed snug. Mirabelle, Isabeau, Lupe, and Siffrin are piled on the massive four-person bed, snoring with the kind of exhaustion only parents and/or timeloopers have felt. Besides a gentle clock's metronome, it's all quiet.

Then, not only drifting in through the door but piercing Siffrin and Lupe directly through the skull,

"WWAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

While lucky, lucky Isa and Mira rub at their sleepy eyes, Siffrin and Lupe both startle awake and nearly fall out of bed in an instant.

"STARS," Lupe grits out. "I did not know!!! They could do this!!!" She notices Siffrin, recovering from the initial moment of panic, attempting to smother the sound by wrapping a pillow around his head. "The call is coming from inside the house, stardust!" They exclaim.

"Whatzzgoing on?" Isa mumbles.

~"Hi! Remember this?"~ Loop Crafts into his brain.

Isabeau yelps and jumps. "I...forgot. Oh, yikes, can they--"

"Yes," Lupe says, shoving their feet into the bunny rabbit slippers Mira bought her.

"Do you want me to--"

"No, I've got it," Lupe says, waving a hand dismissively and leaving the room. "They've made it clear who they want!"

The door to Pipi's room is scant more than a step from the master bedroom. (Because sometimes Lupe will have a nightmare and just want to go look at their baby for a bit, okay?) Lupe swoops in and, fighting the fatigue comparable to their thousandth loop, cradles their baby close to them.

She shushes them--gentle gentle, quiet quiet, the screaming sobs slowly quieting down from two places at once.

Pipi remains grouchy, like the idea of Lupe having been anywhere but here when they awoke was an insult to their dignity. Lupe, too afraid of falling asleep and killing their back to sit on the rocking chair, (it is SUCH a scam to have a star body and still be subject to these tiresome mortal aches), leans against the wall. Twenty minutes pass quickly by. Lupe's eyelids get heavier with every passing second, and she can see Pipi's doing the same, but the baby remains stubbornly insistent on staying awake.

"You got that from my stardust," Lupe mutters in joking disdain. Pipi gives a tiny coo of triumph.

At the end of her tether, Lupe, without giving it any thought, sings the first quiet lullaby that comes to her brain.

"Please don't cry, baby,

I'll wrap you up to warm you up,

Wiyawiyawi, baby,

Please don't cry baby,

I'll wrap you up to warm you up,

W̷i̴y̸a̶w̵i̸y̶a̷w̸i̴ ̶b̷a̵b̵y̴ ̵

I̷̛͍̘̙͚̊̄͑'̷͙̻̈́͛̾̋ḽ̷̠͑̓̎̒̅͘͝͝l̸̨̇̉ ̶̳̝̩͖̪̺̻̟̔̾̽̎͝w̴̖̠̹͕̞̮͖͒̈͋̈́ŗ̶̗̺͖͌̈̿̕͠a̸͙͈͎͂͜p̵̹̮̜̤̫͓̟̬͌̍ ̷̧̨̛̲̺͉̬͔͌͑͌͗͌͜͝y̸̢̬͒̋̄̌̃̓o̵̡̦̹͇̜̼̝̮͒̈ư̵̘͉͇͓̞͉̾̊̿ͅ ̵̛̹͑͐̉͠ṵ̷̣̞̘̤̖̃͜ͅp̸̱͈̹͕͒̾͜ ̷̢͚͇̥̲̈̂͝t̶͈̏̐̃̂̑̒͠ō̸̞͈͕͝͠.̸̫̲̤͖̂̑͊̑͋͂͝.̵̭͎̹̭̀.̴̨̛͈͋̌̇̊̇͂͐

I̴'̷l̸l̶...

I'll..."

. . .

Lupe suddenly can't remember what they were doing.

They look down. Pipi is fast asleep, cheek resting on their mama's nightshirt.

Cute...but it'd be a fib to say they're anything but relieved once they tuck their baby back in, stumble back to their room,and collapse onto their bed, wrapping an arm around their stardust.

~~~

Lupe and Pipi give me Feelings. (The lullaby is a song of the Kalinga people, by the way, whom my island headcanons are partly based off)

Apologies for inaccuracies I hath no babies so i don't know precisely what it's like to be awoken by a screaming one at midnight

FIFTH TIMES THE CHARM POSTING THIS!!! THIS TIME FOR SURE!!! 🎉BELIEVE🎉

i love this so much!!!!! pipi brain blast alarm clock, miraisasifloop snuggles, LUPE FORGETTING THE LULLABY 💔💔💔 pipi cooing in triumph over still being awake. cuddles with mama.. ITS SO CUTE!!!!! WAHHH

[sif-took-the-kids-au]

"Amélie is asleep again," Éttie pouts. "Daddy, it's already midday!"

Daddy pats down her hair. "Your sister is sick. She needs to sleep, little star."

Éttie frowns, unconvinced. She's been sick before! Being sick is awful, but it doesn't make you stay in bed for two weeks or Daddy call more and more doctors over or Apa cry when they think you aren't listening. So, if Amélie isn't sick, what’s going on with her?

"What d'you think, Remi?"

Remi gurgles back.

"Yeah, maybe she's going to be taken by fairies!! Like that story from school..."

Remi smiles.

"Or maybe, maybe she's turning into a star! That's what happens sometimes, like the old lady next door who gave me candy sometimes but then had to go away to the sky."

Éttie hums, pondering. "Gah!" says Remi.

"That's got to be it," she nods. Amélie is turning into a star! It sucks that she can't play while she's doing that, and maybe Daddy and Ama don't know it's happening and that's why they're worried she's sick?

Éttie has got to tell them!

AUGGHHGGHHHHHHHHHHNNN BASHES MY HEAD INTO BLOODY PASTE AGAINST CONCRETE WALL. ÉTOILE DON’T SAY THAT YOULL DEVASTATE THEM. slash positive ouh this is sad 💞💞💞 she doesnt understand what death it. inverts my spine

[sif-took-the-kids-au]

It's the day after Cherri got to their dad's house. At first they were happy, having missed their other parent, but now that the novelty has worn off they're bored and missing Josie and Pipi. They sit on the front steps of the house, picking petals off a flower and peering into the distance. Something big is set up a few blocks away.

It's a rummage sale. Right, Cherri heard Grandpa mention that The House had a big clean out. Cherri imagines it must be kind of scary in the big, dark, empty basement, but it also sounds like an adventure. If they go to the House soon, they'll sneak off to check it out.

For now, Cherri gets an idea. They stand up, toss aside their flower, and run inside.

Dad, Grandma, and Grandpa are all sitting in the living room, talking about boring grown-up things.

Cherri runs in. "Can you send me on an errand to get something from the rummage sale?" they demand excitedly. They got their bike last year, and ever since they've loved nothing more than to bike to the store or House to pick something up. It makes them feel grown-up!

"Sure," Grandma says. She gives Cherri a handful of coins. "I've had my eye on those lovely light midshade curtains. Go grab those for me!"

Cherri swivels around to run to their bike--

"Hold on just a moment....!"

"Daaad!" But he's already walking over to them, clamping a helmet over their head. "Thank you!" they say quickly, running to the door.

Dad blocks it, brandishing a pair of knee guards.

Cherri groans.

A few minutes later, Cherri is covered in protective equipment.

"I don't know.....hm..... Maybe I should dig up your old shin guards from the attic. I don't want you getting hurt."

"Come ON, Poppy!" Cherri jumps up impatiently.

"Let them go, friend," Grandma tells Dad. "They look like they're about to compete for a sports scholarship instead of biking down the road. The worst they'll get is a scrape anyway."

Dad relaxes slightly. "Hm....all right." He tussles Cherri's hair, and they giggle. "Return safely....."

Finally, Cherri is free to run out the back door, hop onto their bike, and get going. The wind in their hair is a wonderful feeling, and picking up speed is exhilarating. They do a donut and squeal with delight.

It's not long at all before they park their bike at the rummage sale. They spot the aforesaid curtains but then...they hear a squeaky, tiny sound.

Meow...!

Cherri's eyes nearly bug out of their face as they look down and see in a little shoe box four, fuzzy, tiny kittens gazing back up at them.

"Who's cats are these?" Cherri asks, frowning. "Isn't it dangerous to have them out here?"

The Housemaiden at duty clicks her tongue. "Actually, they're for sale."

"For sale?" Cherri can't help but be surprised. How could such cute little creatures not have homes? The idea makes their tummy twist with sadness.

"Yep." The Housemaiden pops the p. "One copper coin per kitten. Don't suppose you want them?"

Cherri...doesn't know? This isn't like buying curtains or cookies or something. These are living, breathing, flesh-and-blood animals.

The Housemaiden adds, "If no one buys them, we're gonna have to dump them."

"On the street!?" Cherri's eyes fill up with tears. They think about these cute kittens, thin, wet from rain, meowing for food. They look down at the kittens. So little and innocent. One sleeping kitten lifts its tiny head and blinks open its big, shiny, curious eyes.

Too cute to say no to.

Grandma will understand. Hopefully.

. . .

Cherri knocks on the door--three crisp, polite taps. King immediately knows something is wrong because if it wasn't Cherri would just barge in.

He opens the door. Cherri stands there, looking back up at him with huge puppy eyes.

Whatever it is, yes, he thinks.

"Hi honey!" calls their grandma. "Did you get what I asked for?"

"Not exactly," Cherri mutters.

A tiny kitten head pokes up out of their jacket. Meow! it says. Now King has two adorable baby faces looking up at him pleadingly.

In the best way, he is doomed.

PSHKDJDLSHSKHDNSKSNKABDKDN CUTEEEE

id like to think miras parents getting the grandma/grandpa treatment from cheri here is entirely cheri’s doing but i do think they would be overjoyed to have “more” grandkids (<- i would like to remind the audience fictional characters opinions are not my own). EXTREMELY funny to imagine them offering to take king in like a son & him declining, but letting cheri do whatever bc he is WEAK to their TINY BABY EYES… immovable object (most stubborn man alive) vs unstoppable force (cheri making 🥺 face at him bc they want something)

CRINGE!!!!!!!!!! we must hit him with hammers one million times for this

king being extremely concerned for his kids well beings and bundling and babyproofing everything is just entirely canon btw. man stops short of putting cheri in bubble wrap armor bc bubble wrap doesnt exist

CHERI AND THEIR FOUR KITTIES…. i was considering giving Someone in this au a pet cat bc i love cats……….. will consider giving four cats to king (and cheri) because ihate him (silly)

evil housemaiden manipulates tiny child with big heart into buying kittens……, shrimped up and twisted………. (silly also)

this is SO CUTE thank you for writing this !!!! aaa my worms 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

[sif-took-the-kids-au]

Happy birthday have the immediately pre/post island disappearance Igneous thing I wrote the other day 💕💕

A Father boards his boat. A mid-sized wooden vessel fashioned for the journey between his homeland and here. From the shore a fellow fisherman and her young child wave; the father in the boat returns the gesture to his friend.

“Going home?” the fisherman asks haltingly. The shape of the words still foreign in her mouth.

“Yes,” the father replies easily. “My child will be expecting me soon.”

The fisherman smiles and ruffles her own child’s hair. “May you Change with ease, my friend,” she says in her own language.

The father nods. “If the Universe wills it. May the stars guide your path,” he says adding his own spin on this country’s farewell.

The water is calm. The sun is bright. After several long days away from his child, he’s going home.

..

………

……………

…………………………..

You awaken slowly. Your head throbs and you feel something in your throat. You cough. Water spews from your mouth. You cough again and again until your entire body heaves with the effort of dispelling your internal flooding. The sun-warmed sand beneath your trembling hands looks wrong. It’s too……………..

There is someone approaching you. Sand crunches under steady feet. They cry out a word you do not know, yet the language sounds… familiar. You open your mouth. ‘Where am I?’ you want to ask. ‘I do not recognize these beaches. I do not recognize this sky.’ But there are no words that come. You do not speak this stranger’s tongue, that much you know, but the words that should fill your mouth recede like the tide, slipping through your feeble grasp before you can grab hold.

The stranger is looking at you. They are young. Their face still round with the mark of a child. Something in your chest aches, but for what you do not know.

The child extends a hand to you. They look concerned and say something else. This time you recognize a phrase. ‘This way.’ They’re pointing away towards the line where beach becomes land.

You have nowhere else to go, so you rise and you follow.

AUGHHHHHHHHAGAHHS. EXPLODES MYSELF. EXPLODES OTHER PEOPLE. dear onlookers fable is Entirely responsible for the new detail that king was fully on his way back home when the island was forgotten. ITS SO DEVESTATINGGGGG. AUGH 💔💔💔💔💔💔

thank u for the birthday gift ❤️ i dont have a printer but spiritually and emotionally i am printing it out and eating it. btw

[sif-took-the-kids-au]

Somewhere across the mountains, there's a country no one ever steps foot on.

Legend has it that one day the country of Vaugarde was frozen over, from the borders in, taking with it everyone inside. No one knows how or why. No one managed to escape to tell the tale, after all.

Little survives of Vaugarde. But unlike other countries, not so lucky when they were ended or detroyed, Vaugarde still remains. There are people of its lands still, descended from those away from their home, praying to a god of change to bring it back. Its language survives in diasporas and academia, studied by those who don't want to forget it.

No one steps foot on Vaugarde. Until you.

The Sadnesses were expected. They've been around the borders of the Lost Vaugarde for nearly a hundred years at this point, ever since the frost came in and never left. The silence too.

You hadn’t expected the statues.

You realize that Vauguarde hadn't been Lost - rather, the exact opposite is true.

Like a butterfly pinned, or a flower pressed, Vaugarde's exterior was perfectly preserved.

You follow the whiff of Craft as you travel. Animals refuse to cross the borders, and plants do not grow, so you survive off of your rations and little prayers said thrice.

You reach a town, right in the epicenter of the disaster.

The great building is frozen over, but you cross through anyway. The frost is especially strong here, the Sadnesses especially weepy.

You're followed by a strange sadness, of a fellow in a hat.

You reach a room. In its center, a large man in hulking armour kneels, holding the exact copy of the Sadness following you.

By his feet, there are skeletons. Corpses not frozen.

You fiddle with your cloak. It's been passed down from generation to generation, like your prayers, and your stars, and your darkless hair.

You weep for the two Lost Countries.

(Bad ending like 100ish years later)

OGUHHHBNBN. LEAVING THE PARTIES CORPSES UNFROZEN TO DECAY…. FUCK DUDE. THIS IS SO GOOD TO READ AND AWFUL TO THINK ABOUT 💖💞💔💖💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔

[sif-took-the-kids-au]

STTK FIC/FANFIC MASTERPOST!

Written by me:

Loop’s babysitting spiral: AO3 - Tumblr

[Call Mom]: AO3

Written by fans:

Eat your young: AO3

Étoile snippet: Tumblr

Amélie character study: Tumblr

Bad end, 100 years later: Tumblr

Étoile doesnt understand death: Tumblr

Pipi BRAIN BLAST!! lupe mama moments: Tumblr

Cheri adopts four kittens: Tumblr

King tries to go home: Tumblr

Commissioned:

[sif-took-the-kids-au]

You aren't unfamiliar with reflections of yourself. You've been guiding Stardust, after all~!! Seen everything they you had to show, all of their your failures, their your cowardice, their your futile attempts at breaking out of the loops.

Happy reflections, sad reflections, angry reflections, living reflections, dying reflections...

And yet, none as content, as genuinely happy as the one in front of you.

You fall to your knees, and cry.

AUGHHHHHHHBDB. CRIES CRIES CRIES

companion art piece!