#odile loops au... she is loved!!!

[daily-odile]

head pats...

[tealgoat]

Odile looping aus my beloved

[daily-isat]

day 20! i am honestly obsessed with the odile looping au. i have a lot of thoughts. i think isa would notice things about odile because hes the other person who worked through siffrins Deal in the final confrontation…

creds for the au things go to @tealgoat and @wonder-of-the-stars ^_^ check them out if you somehow havent yet…!!

[aria0fgold]

Of gems and pages au in the brain again. I was thinking like: It's an au, I don't have to think much bout the friendquests and act 5 happenings when my au is set in a new loop+ scenario and then I remembered... That new loop+ relies on the act 5's loop a bit so now I got to thinkin more about the thing.

Like, with the friendquests, it'll turn out a liiil differently in that it'd be Odile's suggestion for Siffrin to check up on the others considering that the Siff in this au has no recollection of practically anything with the many loops that had occurred. Odile figures out that the others needed help with something and considering how the timeloop appears to be connected with Siff, thinks that it's important for them to be helping the others instead of her. So the friendquests goes like this now:

Odile suggests Siff check up on the others then asks Siff about it afterwards to figure out the next step. She finds out about Mira's bonding proposals and the fact that Siff needed to know Bonbon's favourite foods (for that one, instead of the focus being on Siff choosing, it'd be Odile). After finding that out during loops, Odile drops it as a hint like "I think I saw Mira looking over some bonding proposals, although, don't tell her I said that." and "I should stock up for Boniface's favourite foods. I have a list here, but I don't really need it anymore. You can have it." Meanwhile for her friendquest, she'll be the one to outright ask Siff for help instead of the other way around.

Also, the Euphrasie sequence still has Siff be the one to talk to her, that's also the biggest hint that Odile got about the timeloops being connected to Siffrin (Odile might also try to be the one to talk to Euphrasie too thinking it'd help, but... it didn't). So yea, those are the possible changes to the friendquests. Now for Act 5... Since Odile doesn't really benefit much to the spells the others unlock during the friendquests, I think there's no reason for her to seek them out and try to speedrun it the way that Siff did in canon. So the Act 5 sequence in this au is just directed at Siff. Odile reaching her breaking point and just confronts Siff about it, but horribly...

During that moment, Siff Will loop several times but he won't even remember much of it and it just upsets Odile more and more cuz it's clear as day! It's so crystal clear that the timeloop is connected to Siffrin and their emotions and their wish! SO WHAT IS HIS WISH?! But the more Odile pushes them for the answer in such an aggressive manner, the more Siffrin doesn't wanna speak with how horrified he is. And then Odile notices that, notices just how horrible she went about it and finally just lets go, and takes a step back away from Siff to cool off (and take the orbs in the clocktower while everyone isn't around).

She waits until everyone goes in the clocktower to go to the House. Maybe she can get an answer out of the King instead, maybe if she kills him herself, Something would happen cuz clearly she's-- whatever being is responsible for this's-- "Chosen One" of handling the timeloops being controled by her family member. The way the House warps in Act 5 warps in a manner that "keeps her away," it wants to stall her basically. Courtesy of the theory by someone else about the House during Act 5 warps according to Siffrin's desire of getting to the King faster. So here, it warps to the desire of keeping Odile out cuz as hurt as Siffrin was during that whole argument, when she didn't arrive in the clocktower, he fears that she might be doing something dangerous. And he's right.

Also, during the battle with the King, Odile wasn't being frozen in time the way that Siffrin was in canon. In this au, Odile fights that back and for a split second her lvl reached 100 during then. That has repercussions... which will be: Her body cracking aka getting turned into stone for not only using up all of her craft power but Nearly breaking the limit of which the body can handle. I say Nearly, cuz before Odile can blast the King away with a force of a thousand suns, the family members got to her in time, which broke her focus on the attack and she collapsed from it but it still doesn't change the fact that she Did nearly went past the limit there. And now she's Dying-- But wait! We have new loop+ for that :D

[winterstorm032802]

"Odile?"

[You turn to look at them as the Head Housemaiden repeats her normal speech.]

[Isabeau is the first, stretching his hand out to you.] "M'dam!"

[Will he ever guess what you're researching?]

[Mirabelle notices next as she picks her skirt to get close.] "What's going on?"

[Will she recognize her own strength?]

[Boniface looks so scared.] "Dile?"

[Will they meet their sister again?]

[Siffrin looks startled.] "What is this?"

[Will he know how much you appreciate his company?]

[There they are.]

[Your family.]

[They care for you.]

[They love you.]

[They're here for you.]

[You don't have to feel lost in between different places.]

[Ka Bue, Dormant.]

[Your mother.]

[That doesn't seem to matter.]

[How could you miss it? They were here all along.]

[Your family is right here! This is your family! You don't need to figure out where you exactly belong because this is where you belong! Right here with them!]

[They won't leave you. Not like her. They're here.]

"You'll be going back!"

[This is your Familytale!]

[You can reread this book for as long as you'd like!]

"I hope you can-"

[The ending is bittersweet, yet you love it!]

[It's perfect!]

"-learn to-"

[They love you, they love you!]

[The final chapter!]

[You feel a smile grace your lips.]

"-forgive-"

[Your own family, right here.]

[You feel a tug on your stomach...]

YOU'VE REACHED THE FINAL CHAPTER OF THE BOOK

.

.

All of that is done! Felt a burst of inspiration while looking at @tealgoat art. Thank you for forever scaring me with such an amazing AU of Odile looping instead of Siffrin.

I like to think that instead of a play, Odile might see it as a book.

[thebirthofvenusfly]

i like thinking about the odile loop au primarily because I like odile. but also,

i like the thought of the eldest character going through so much, trying so hard to keep her calm over the loops because the others are looking up to her, depending on her sometimes cold but analytical and precise demeanor to understand what doesn't make sense and keep their heads on. i like thinking about her initially fascinated by the opportunity to study the loops, to ask more questions about Vaugarde because she has more time, to listen to her family's banter again and again, but then she beats the king with them and everything resets anyways.

she's confused. she hates being confused. she's trying to understand WHY, trying to study, trying to hyperanalyze every variable she's fucking up here, trying to make sense of it, trying not to detach entirely because she's seen siffrin's body crushed under boulders or mirabelle have mental breakdowns to tears and wailing or protect bonnie from the sadnesses that she hates to admit did get the better of her once or twice.

she's trying to survive but she's trying to understand it all so she can reverse engineer whatever the hell is happening, whatever force has left her here to fend for herself over and over. she's screwing up her loops because she's becoming desensitized, unable to have her witty remarks and humorous banter and ruffle bonnie's hair when they say something innocently funny, or even fake a smile anymore at their snack breaks. she's lashing out at the others when they question her because she's gone too quiet because she's thinking so hard about what she's doing wrong, what must she be doing wrong to continue being stuck here, like this.

she won't admit that she was lonely. she won't admit she didn't want to leave the party and return to Ka Bue after everything. the first few days of looping, she's still got half a mind to be concerned and trying to get to the bottom of this time fuckery, but part of her is... relieved? to hear all these stories and see her loved ones smile, and still learn something new about them, just because she has a little more time? but then she learns everything she can, then she's stuck, then she's terrified and won't admit she's terrified, and then she's convinced none of them could really understand what the hell is happening to her when SHE doesn't even understand despite how hard she's trying despite the logs and journals she's burning through to track every choice she's made and every thing that's happened as a result she's trying so hard, man

[lucabyte]

obligatory ramble about postcanon loop ask

also your art is amazing

Hiiiiiiiii :D thank you :)!!

and thank you for the excuse to post the. just absolute wall of text that i truncated down to form the tags of that post. (i did,,, hit the tag limit. i forgot tumblr had one of those...) so let me just paste that and tidy it up a bit...

I am putting this under a readmore because it's a bit long. but:

This is like. The General Context for all* of my postcanon doodles? (Except AUs obviously) Like this is the base idea I've been drawing them all in. So, feel free to backread with this in mind. I've basically had this 'postcanon' timeline set in my brain since finishing the game...

My general thoughts are that I like the idea of Loop (even if through dubiously ethical means) being able to slowly reintegrate with the party as a whole new person, because they are, in fact, their own person.

It's a muddle of thematic threads im pulling on and "wouldn't it be fucked up if", but. (at its core, it's powered by the fact that like, while narratively isat's theme of 'the only person who can truly take the first step to help you is yourself'. (wrt: loop helping the party help siffrin in act 5) which i LOVE AND IS GREAT NARRATIVELY…. would be super fucked up irl to learn that your friend 'learned as a lesson' while you stood by kinda uselessly. I know i'd be upset about it. but thats mostly background here. doesn't really come up. at least not until loop has to explain who they are and the party realises they had to fall back on literally themselves again for help, but i digress,)

The real core concept is: Occam's razor. It is like, inherently, a buckwild thing to accuse a person of being somehow a clone or copy of your friend. Even if they start vaguely alluding to a backstory it's far more likely they were some other person before all that. (I still think Odile has that theory in the back pocket but she's rational enough to know it's a really long shot without a solid explanation. and i think Loop deep down knows this, and would, if cornered into confessing, turn the situation around to go J'ACCUSE and make HER explain it instead. Ever longer dodging being direct with their emotions...)

And the party are nice! And if someone has changed and wants to keep stuff secret it's kind of not their business? (Though it's hard not to speculate… see: the main joke of the doodles) And they seem important to Siffrin so they just try to accept them abrasive quirks and all. And eventually the question of their prior identity just fades away since, well, they're Loop. Their friend Loop.

but yeah. personal headcanon is that a few months/weeks after picking up and getting aquainted with Nille** (since that was presumably the IMMEDIATE TASK postgame), Loop reappears (either after a literal period of nonexistance, or just spending a few months wandering the french countryside alone being attacked by wild dogs). Since Siffrin has had a while to be therapised by the party they're doing mostly okay, but Loop showing up and still being agitated/aggressive pulls them both into a bit of a backslide behaviourally and puts the party on the back foot again.

Hooowever, I do think that due to no longer being literally stewing in the worst pressure cooker of all time together, the two do mostly actually sort themselves out with productive conversation. (Via a cycle of: genuinely distressing argument -> weeeird lovebombing -> ok we're good -> repeat, that gets less intense over time)

Thus, allowing the party to just. Integrate loop as a new person. They and Siffrin shuffle into different ecological niches (Loop taking over stuff Siffrin is now too squeamish for, etc (see: hunting, mostly)), and while it's not exactly what Loop wanted they generally get that beggars can't be choosers and it's a pretty good deal. And the rest of the party does straight up just like them as a friend, especially when Loop quits trying to actively antagonise them after a few weeks of being around them, since they just can't keep up being mean to people they like forever.

As for how I think the truth eventually drags itself out. This is where I invoke The Isabeau Torment Nexus™. So its gonna get shippy here for a bit hold on.

Which is, I think giving them time before Loop reappears long enough that Siffrin and Iseabeau actually manage to become established, Isabeau has to be the one to nudge the pair of them and go. "Hey. You know we're in Vaugarde right. I'm okay with polyamory if we all communicate." Before Loop and Siffrin actually even acknowledge that whatever the fuck they have going on kinda looks a lot like a relationship of some kind. (or have already been agonising about that via fighting and arguing, depending) (Obviously this comes after Isa "Emotionally intelligent enough to keep a lid on the jealousy" Beau has managed to use that big brain of his to Not just go Scream somewhere on the daily because oh godddd they keep talking like theyre suicide-baiting each other jesus chriiist. is it overstepping his boundaries to bring that up?? god)

This, taking a bunch of the tension out of Loop and Isabeau's relationship (Since I imagine Loop is a. being weird for the obvious reasons and b. feeling kinda guilty about 'getting in the way of' Siffrin and Iseabeau), allows them to actually get close in a normal friend way. (I think an interesting turning point could be Isabeau actually taking Loop's side in an argument vs Siffrin, which would absolutely break Loop's brain. Especially if it's an argument that matters. Like what do you mean he isn't just going to play favourites. What?)

Then Isabeau, just actually open minded and charmed by Loop (and maybe even somewhat at Siffrin's suggestion?) tries to close the final open side on the polyamory triangle here and that's the final straw for Loop on "This lie by omission is too unethical to keep up, this is just actually sick and wrong. I can't do this while he doesn't know who I am." Though. Obviously it probably goes. Very poorly with emotions high like that. And the added element of several months of deceit. Getting dark here for a second but that dagger is going MISSING and so are THEY for a hot minute.

Then yaaay everything works out in the end 👍 yippieee!! all it took was maybe a lot of harrowed recontextualisation of all the weird shit your new friend said and did when it turns out they're your old friend. It's fine.

But yeah. this is basically the context all of my postcanon doodles have existed within? And those exist to give other people something to chew on. So this does too.

I suppose TL;DR: Imagine if sloopis almost fucking happens before isabeau knows who loop is. can you fucking imagine. can you imagine having to navigate that. nightmare.

*Yes this includes the implied cannibalism comic. Uhh. Comes part and parcel with headcanoning that Loop went way off the deep end similar to A5 Sif But Maybe Worse before giving in. Add weepy half-asleep confessions to murder wherever you see fit in your mind palace. 👍👍👍

**Re: Nille footnote. I don't have anywhere to put this besides here! I have some thoughts on Loop and Nille having an odd dynamic. I don't imagine Nille to be super gung-ho on trusting a bunch of adults (even if they are majority around her age) given their implied backstory. It's probably a big shock to the system, especially since Bambouche is a good couple hundred Kilometers up north from Dormont and these guys don't seem to have trains. She would've been unfrozen and without Bonnie for some time....

Which is to say: I think she's suspicious of them. I think she may be looking for excuses to distance herself, keep Bonnie safe. SO.... A new guy showing up? And antagonising the party? What do they know that I don't...? I should find out.

And since... Loop didn't ever know Nille, they have no ammunition or real reason to be cruel. Plus, if they're trying to stay on Bonnie's good side (SINCE... if Bonnie thought Loop was cringe they may as well kill themselves. In their mind.) they SUPER have no reason to antagonise Nille.

Mostly, they might be able to open up to each other easier than they can the rest of the party?

I feel like this resolves with Loop feeling compelled to apologise for what they and Siffrin let happen to Bonnie, though... Hmm... Depends on how you interpret Nille that they'd be glad nobody else had been told about that yet, or furious it had been secret this long. I lean toward the former.

[the-bitter-ocean]

(2HATS/ A6SE SPOILERS) So while talking with @wonder-of-the-stars and @tealgoat about the in tales of time au I got a little silly and drew stuff for like a sort of bad end timeline Au? Yeah a what if scenario of sorts. THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT CANON I just wanted to play with character design for fun. Explanation of the Au/ design notes under the cut:

Okay So basically the gist of it is like:

act 5 happens and Odile in true Act 5 fashion ruined her relationships with her family and spirals.

Goes off to fight the king but instead of in the canon events of ITOT Au where her family saves her last minute and break the loops with the power of love/ friendship her family wasn’t fast enough to find her in time.

She beats the king and wins on her own. it’s not enough. The world resets again.

Odile wake up in the store again. She can’t do it. She leaves before Siffrin had the chance to remind her about going to the clock tower and goes to the favor tree.

Odile doesn’t see loop. She thinks that loop probably left her for what she said before. (She doesn’t know Loop is still here, just not visible/ speaking yet. Because Loop can canonically make themselves not visible to people on purpose. )

She knows all the proper ways of making a wish now. She just needs to make it real. Loop made themselves visible and pleading with her to not do it .

you think about it. You still choose to do it because you’re tired of everything. Yeah. ( it doesn’t end.)

new cycle starts now it’s two people at the tree instead of one. It’s now a new person looping and whoops. It’s Bonnie. (Cue loop fucking throwing hands with Odile, who is now currently going by <Eon> for breaking the promise and getting someone trapped )

Needless to say it’s kind of a train wreck!

Shoutout to @laviaceae who drew a really good design of Eon (the tails/ outfit was so fucking cool) that helped me with finalizing coming up with the sketches for the design in question and @daily-odile for suggesting they’d have burns from eating the star. Also shoutout to wonder who suggested one of the eyes being a diamond due to the initial change caused by eating the star

[siffrin-enthusiast]

isat AU where everyone BUT siffrin loops and somehow they still manage to get in the same situation and the party has to watch them slowly and gradually fall apart until everything is OK bc siffrin just Doesn't Believe that the gang love him

GOD. GOD GOD GOD GOD. isabeau starting every loop knowing siffrin thinks that he hates them. odile hanging onto every last word siffrin says about his country to try and help them remember because she understands what it's like to not know your roots. mirabelle slowly figuring out why siffrin is the happiest he's ever been -- they were wandering a country with no name, no home, no memory, probably starving. bonnie slowly figuring out despite the adults' best attempts that siffrin thinks bonnie hates him. thinking that bonnie wanted siffrin to die for him. everyone trying to help siffrin but finding that they have a self-loathing reply to anything they could ever say.

[asquared-ohgodnotthehorrors]

Ok, I’ve been seeing people make other character timeloop AUs, and as much as I enjoy seeing those, and as much as I like to think “that’s just you, let people have fun, there is no singular canon for this,” a tiny part of my brain always screams “but thEY’RE WRONG!!!”

So, I’m gonna appeal to that foolish part of my brain and also prove it wrong by breaking down how I feel these timeloop AUs should work. Heavy spoilers for In Stars and Time below.

Now, before we start discussing that, we need to first break down what effects does the Timeloop have on Siffrin specifically.

Siffrin, even before the timeloop, has… so many issues. Moreso than his other compatriots, at least from what we see. The thing is, Siffrin’s identity issues are all shared with the other party members. Siffrin is unsure what parts of themself they like and dislike or want to bury like Isabeau, Siffrin has a diasporic disconnect like Odile but worse, Siffrin has something that brings so much joy yet so much grief (the Timeloops, yes, but also their culture they can’t remember) just like Mirabelle, and Siffrin is so scared of being too weak or too late or too stupid to keep people from getting hurt just like Bonnie.

But there are also the abandonment issues, the crippling fear of being left behind, being forgotten and not being loved. That is the main crux of Siffrin’s issues in the game, it’s what spawns the timeloops, encourages Siffrin to keep everything secret, break the universe, etc. And the other characters don’t have that same crippling fear…

… at least, as far as we know. See, the special thing about In Stars and Time is that it dissects Siffrin right in front of us. We know about the other characters, they get plenty of time to talk, but we know so much about Siffrin that we would not have learned otherwise. The other characters have issues, but we never… deep dive into them the same way. They’re left up to interpretation.

So… let’s do some interpreting!

Mirabelle is the easiest. She has super awful imposter syndrome, and the thing is it doesn’t really come up much outside the main route and few snack times. But that imposter syndrome is super real. If she started looping, how would she react? Would that alleviate her imposter syndrome entirely? Unlikely, it’d make her think she was blessed by the Change god. But only at first. That same imposter syndrome might make her not tell the party members, but I don’t think it would actually stop her for very long.

Mirabelle is also much louder with her emotions than Siffrin. Her emotional highs and lows would be a lot briefer, yet more frequent. She wouldn’t be empty too easily.

There is also the fact that Mirabelle’s very belief is Change. It doesn’t matter the grief it brings her with her identity, she still loves and believes in it. That’s a good thing in some respects. In each loop she’ll try something different, make each loop as unique as possible. It’ll keep her sane for longer than Siffrin… and then, she’ll start going off track. Start doing anything, everything possible to make each loop unique. Even things she really, really doesn’t want to do.

She’d probably stop herself in some regards. Never hurt her friends, never kill anyone who they don’t intend to kill. But she’d definitely hurt herself. Hurt herself in every way possible.

When she gives up, it’s almost sort of a good thing. She’ll stop trying to make any change, let anything change. But the issue with that? She’d just be giving up the same way Loop did. What would that do to her?

Now, let’s move onto Odile. In terms of emotional awareness, Odile and Siffrin are very similar. Unlike Mirabelle, apathy likely suites Odile just fine. In fact, that would probably become a defense mechanism to Odile. She wouldn’t hide that she’s in a timeloop, she doesn’t have that fear of abandonment Siffrin has. But she would definitely not bring it up unless she thought it was important. That would lead to… conflict. She would essentially become the opposite of Mirabelle, trying to speedrun, get the loops as consistent as possible, and that means only disclosing information when it is necessary rather than when it is helpful. And unlike Siffrin, who is bad at hiding things, she won’t become an actor like him and try either. She’ll embody pure apathy and not even try to hide her pain.

Moreover, Odile said it herself. She would do horrible things to keep everyone safe. Perhaps harming them, for their own good perhaps, would be one of those things. It could take a hundred loops. But in that regard, Odile has a breaking point I believe.

Bonnie can be summed up like this: no. They are a child, it would end badly. They’d probably cry every loop because everything is so scary, overwhelming, and terrifying. It doesn’t matter how smart they are, they cannot and should not go through something like that. It would be meaningless suffering.

Now, Isabeau. Isabeau is the smartest member of the group, by a long shot. Probably not in the academic sense like Odile, but in the practical sense. He has practical knowledge, he knows about relevant lore, he can extrapolate about magic theory, he’s articulate and can do quick math, and he has fantastic charisma and insight to navigate social situations. He can figure things out, sort out his emotions and be honest with his family, So, how does he suffer?

He stops trying to use any of it. He stops trying to burden his family with his struggles. After a point, he thinks “well I’m invincible, might as well go into the house on my own a couple loops to scout out!” He’ll try to take every weight from their shoulders every loop, no matter what. And the sheer pressure and repetition will break him. Until he simply cannot move anymore. Til he loops, and collapses in front of the favor tree. Unlike Odile, he’ll try to do new things, but unlike Mirabelle, he will fail because he will try to do everything at once.

Now, I feel most confident in my Mirabelle analysis, and less confident in my other ones. But there are 2 things I’ve been ignoring that are important to bring up, which I will mention here:

First, Loops were officially broken when Mirabelle froze the King in time and satisfied both Vauguarde’s and his wish simultaneously. If everyone is being transparent with Mirabelle from the start or she’s the one looping, what’s to stop her from discovering that shield ability in the first place and solving things then and there? This is a… complex concern, and one I’m unsure how to answer. But I think I know:

Siffrin is the only one capable of learning about wish craft. They are the only one from the country, the only one who knew his wish, and the only one that can read that text. If Siffrin isn’t looping, they cannot acquire the memory of memories to progress. So, they’d likely not learn the reason behind the loops, and it would take so much longer for them to break the loops. Long enough to give up.

But then there’s the second issue. What about Loop? See, in all of these, I’m operating under the assumption that Loop is Siffrin. Siffrin is the only one who knows how to wish right, their wish is what causes the loops regardless of the target, they are the catalyst. But if you have Loop, then all should be good, right!?

Well… not exactly. Loop is Siffrin, and since a looper other than Siffrin will be interacting with them, they’ll likely be a lot less mean because they only hate themself and probably won’t be mean to their family. But they’re still Siffrin. They’ll probably still hide everything they can, and while they will reveal more they’ll always be terrified of doing so. Terrified of their family knowing. And again, Loop is about as in the dark as everyone. Loop likely will not leave the favor tree, will not join the party, will not try to acquire the memory of memories. They’ll be irrevocably stuck. Unable to progress to where Siffrin reached.

Ok, I think that’s all. In hindsight these ramblings were inane, but hey! Maybe you AU writers and artists can do something with this. Au revoir!

[eldragon-x]

um in depth thoughts about my isat pokemon au I guess lol

Siffrin

Gimmighoul has been with Siffrin since around the coin incident. It carries around his silver coin and just kinda stuck around.

Idol Pikachu and Pawniard have been with Sif since he can remember. I thought a generic cute mon like Pikachu would match with his own generic but cute design while the idol cosplay references his love for stage plays. Pawniard being a mon associated with blades matches with his scissor type, him using a dagger, and his hobby of wood carving.

The Psychic types are all Pokemon Siffrin aquired during the loops and represent aspects of their character that are explored during the events of the game. Beeheeyem is an alien-like Pokemon that can manipulate memories and represents Sif's feelings of alienation and his memory issues. Clefable are associated with space and look up to the sky at moonlit nights yearning for their home, representing his homesickness. And Gothitelle can see the future by looking into the starsky, sometimes grieving when they see their trainer's lifespan. It represents Siffrin's fear of the future.

Pikachu is their main Pokemon. I've also thought about giving them a Klefki which would suit their role as a Rogue but they already had a full team of six and I was pretty happy with the choices.

Mirabelle

Luvdisc, Tinkaton, and Alomomola are all mons that have been with Mira since before her journey. I gave her Luvdisc since it's said that couples who see those would be blessed with eternal love and I feel like that myth is the kinda thing she would be into, given she enjoys romance fiction. Alomamola is here both because it's a healer Pokemon, and because people compare it to Luvdisc a lot. And Tikaton feels like the brand of cute but powerful/menacing that I think suits Mira.

Virizion, Aegislash, and Gallade are all Pokemon that more or less play into her Chosen One role. Virizion she got soon after she recieved Euphrasie's blessing. It felt appropriate to give her a Legendary Pokemon and I decided to go with one of the Swords of Justice since she herself is a swordfighter and the Swords are known as fierce protectors, matching her and her role. I picked Virizion specifically since its known for its speed which feels like a fitting contrast to the King's ability to freeze time plus there's some irony with it being a Grass Type while Mirabelle isn't very good at raising plants.

Aegislash still follows the swordfighter theme and is possibly the mon that embodies her Chosen One role the most, despite Virizion. In the past people who where chosen by Aegislash were to become kings, which again has some irony considering it's pointed out how strange it is that Vaugardians refer to the King as such seeing as it's not a monarchy. But I mostly thought of it from the angle of Mirabelle supposedly being chosen by divinity. I think she either got this Pokemon as a gift from Euphrasie when the house was frozen or a pre-evolved form from a Vaugardian citizen. Additionally Aegislash is a Pokemon from Kalos, which is based on France. And yknow Vaugarde takes inspiration from France too.

Gallade I think was her last Pokemon added to the team. It's kind of a generic heroic and noble Pokemon. It's pre-evolved form can also see into the future matching Mira's strive towards the future and change. I also thought it would be cute to have her match with Isabeau's Gardevoir.

I think Mirabelle's main mon would either be Tinkaton or Virizion. Though I have to say in retrospect I really regret not giving her a female Jellicent because I would happily replace either Tinkaton or Alomomola with one. Like it's a cute Pokemon that's actually really morbid and drowns people. Mirabelle is a sweet and anxious person who surpisingly loves horror books. Why didn't I think of this earlier!! Agh anyway, I also felt it was appropriate to make her the one person to have a full team of six besides Siffrin.

Odile

Hatterene, Lapras, and Mawile are all Pokemon Odile already had before coming to Vaugard. Hatterene resembles a witch, matching with Odile being a mage. It's also a Pokemon that can sense the emotions of other living things, gets overwhelmed by them, and acts aggressive in response which I feel suits with Odile coming across as cold and abrasive and not being very good at feelings. Lapras is here because it's a mon known for travelling long distances across the sea and we know Ka Bue is very far off from Vaugarde. Additionally the species used to be endangered so it might throw in a red herring about what Odile's research is about.

Hatterene and Lapras also both have this imposing regal presence which fits the surface level impression one might get from Odile. Serperior continues this pattern of being regal and imposing but I also put it here for other reasons. I wanted to reflect Odile being half-Vaugardian and longing to connect with Vaugardian culture in her team, so I chose to give her a Serperior which has an obvious french influence with its Fleur de lis patterns. Though I also chose it because it's one of my favorite Pokemon and Odile is my favorite character after Loop and Siffrin 👍

On the other end I also wanted a Pokemon with a clear Japanese ispiration since she comes from Ka Buan, which also has Japanese inspiration. So I gave her Mawile which is based on the yōkai Futakuchi-onna. I also thought it would be fitting to give her a literal two-faced Pokemon since she comes across as rather harsh and logical but genuinely cares for her party and has a soft side.

Lastly she has a Dedenne which I imagine she picked up during her journey with the party. A lot of scientists in Pokemon have Electric-Steel dual types which I wanted to give her since she's a researcher but nothing really fit. Instead she got a Steel Type with Mawile and an Electric Type with Dedenne! Which, by the way, is unlike Serperior an actual kalonian Pokemon so it adds to that theme too. Dedenne also uses its whiskers as antennas to communicate over vast distances and I'm sure she'd appreciate a Pokemon this convenient. Sidenote in the tags of my original ISAT Pokemon team post someone said they liked the contrast between Odile's overall more graceful Pokemon and then there's Dedenne which actually isn't even something I really thought about!

I believe Hatterene would be Odile's main. Other considerations for her team would've been Froslass instead of Mawile, though I decided Mawile fits better, and Delphox which is both a mage and another kalonian Pokemon.

Isabeau

Abra is a Pokemon Isa has had since he was a child. He was a nerdy kid and the third evolution stage, Alakazam, is well known for being intelligent so it fits. Though it still remains in its first stage since Isa hasn't been training it in battle for a long time, but its still important to him and part of his team.

Machamp and Gardevoir are also Pokemon who have been with him for a long time, becoming part of his team not long before he joined the Defenders. Again, Gardevoir matches with Mirabelle's Gallade. It's also a very protective and loyal Pokemon and it's pre-evolved form is rather perceptive of other's emotions. Meanwhile Machamp is a strong physical fighter.

Furfrou and Eevee are more recent additions to his team, joining Isabeau during his journey with the party. Furfrou are from Kalos and used to be royal guard dogs though nowadays they're popular for how much their fur can be styled, which suits Isa's desire to become a fashion designer imo. As for Eevee, which can evolve in many different ways and really suits the whole theme of change, I was actually considering giving him an Eeveelution but Isa is very well aware that he still wants to grow and change as a person so an unevolved Eevee matches him in that. I also just think a simple cute Pokemon like that would speak to his tastes.

I think Gardevoir would be his main mon though I can also see his Eevee becoming one.

Bonnie

Pansear and Slurpuff are both Pokemon Bonnie has had since before the King. Pansear is here both because I really wanted to give Bonnie a fire type and because I always associate it with cooking/baking because I always remember one specific baker npc from Pokemon Black and White that uses a Pansear lol. Slurpuff is obviously a food based Pokemon and again, from Kalos. It also has a strong sense of smell which would be useful to Bon.

Riolu joined the team during Bonnie's journey. It is an active and energetic baby Pokemon which suits Bonnie wanting to play their part in the party but being put on the sidelines by the adults. Something about Bonnie wanting to be strong and Riolu evolving into a strong mon.

Pansear is their main but I can see Riolu reaching that status too. I also thought it would be fitting to have Bonnie have the smallest team.

Loop

Gimmighoul is the one Pokemon they could never get rid of, and the only one remaining from their original timeline.

Mimikyu is meant to be a twisted reflection of Siffrin's Pikachu. A pitiful envious reflection that is in reality much more unpleasant than the real thing.

Celebi is here both because of timetravel and because it lives in forests and Loop always sits under the Favor Tree. Funfact! One of the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games has a plot about time being frozen where a supporting character is a Celebi.

Yamask actually manifest from the ghosts of passed away people. Their mask will show their face as it was when they were still living and sometimes they will look at it in grief.

Xurkitree is here partially because of its design, yes, but also because it can enter and tree-like state. and Favor Tree.

I think Gimmighoul would be their main. Potential Pokemon I considered Blacephalon but I couldn't really justify it beyond "they're goofy so they get a clown pokemon" and giving them a mythical and one ultra beast was enough. plus while them having a full team would be appropriate with their secret boss status, I can hardly imagine Loop really taking care of their mons much, especially not a full team.

okay that w as a lot im gonna go to bed now goodnight. passes out

[eurydice-pens]

can i have forgotten vaugarde au info of some sort. i went through your tag and im obsessed with the concept

hi!! yes yes of course >:3c thank you for being interested! i am in the process of plotting out a big fic for the au so i will hold some cards close to my chest, but here’s a bit of info just for you 💗💗 /pos /silly

~

Forgotten Vaugarde AU

Concept / Story

Toward the end of the ISAT canon, the King makes a wish that “everyone would understand how he feels.” This results in a rewriting of the Universe such that Vaugarde, rather than the Island Country, was forgotten, and the individuals to whom this wish was most directly addressed (Mirabelle, Isabeau, Odile, Bonnie, and Nille by virtue of association with Bonnie) become Travelers with no identity and home or, in the case of Odile, becomes someone for whom half of her identity is even less accessible than before.

The King and Loop are thrown into this new reality with their memories intact. The King’s body, however, is not preserved, as he finds himself Loopified into a tear-headed creature. They end up sharing a decidedly unamicable life inside the home of the version of the King who has never lost his memories or home, Aesop, as the King (who eventually names himself Luke) contends with the fact that he has become the very force he had feared so gravely: the one that erased Vaugarde, the land that had welcomed and loved him, from existence.

Mirabelle, Isabeau, Bonnie, and Nille (who had a chance encounter with Luke when reality was first rewritten, at which time, out of guilt and painful empathy, he told each of the, their names) wander the Island Country until they are discovered by Siffrin, whose family essentially adopts and raises them into adulthood / preteenhood. Odile eventually joins the group when she is visiting the Island Country essentially as a tourist and becomes attached to the group through her friendship with Siffrin’s parents and with Loop.

Mirabelle knows that she is very lucky, to have a home, to have some semblance of family and belonging. Nonetheless she is the one out of the group who most feels the pang of something real, and integral, and important missing from her, who is the most loathe to accept the belief common among the people around her that things happen as they should, and Fate is immutable, and every change (…Change?) merely the slow erosion of bodies, minds, and souls against the winds of Time. So when the mysterious Queen emerges and begins to wreak havoc across the Island, when she agrees to journey to the tyrant and to protect the country from the Queen’s Remaking with her friends, she has some inkling that there is something wrong, something missing, some reason why every glimpse they’ve gotten of the white-haired Queen has felt so achingly familiar.

It all feels so strange, and so important, long before Time stops for the first time.

Interactions with Other AUs / Headcanons and Contributors (so far)!

This AU borrows and expands upon @the-bitter-ocean ‘s Islander Euphrasie theory and shares a heart with @felikatze ‘s Divorce AU.

@princemonarchempress , @floating-far-from-earth , and @the-bitter-ocean have all contributed ideas to and inspired parts of the story!

And a special thank you to @snickerpuffs-art for drawing Luke 💙💙

~

thank you so much for reading and for your interest in the au!! i hope to make a lot more things for it in the future <333

[pixxyofice]

the party's reaction to dragon sif and loop? OH and also do sif and loop have a favorite thing about being a dragon?

love your au a lot!!

-shrimpy :3

Isabeau likes it. His partner is a dragon that's crabbin NEAT

Bonnie thinks it's EPIC and tries to hound siffrin for dragon rides.

Mirabelle is stuttering trying to get them to stop but. She wants a ride too. It's like one of her novels....! But she's chill with it

Odile voice thanks for showing us your true self. Do you know how you work. Do you want to find out. (Nerd)

Dragon Loop was... surprising for them. The partial dragon star they saw, sure, makes sense for someone who helped Siffrin who seems to be a dragon now. And then the two of them had a dragon fight above town and it's like hey guys what was that about? So the two have a strict "only both go dragon if we are around" policy.

Sif loves flight. It's something they only unlocked on the last loop, and only used it once too- to get away quickly. Otherwise, it's a completely new feeling! Flight! They crash into a few trees trying to get the hang of it when not fueled by adrenaline.

Loop...

... Loop likes their tail. Makes their sense of balance easier. Can't even tell their one eye is still blind! (Runs into a wall) that was on purpose ignore my lashing tail.

(Loop still grapples a bit with being a dragon star. Double whammy of "Oh I was never human" and yet having what you thought you were torn from you anyway. They didnt get w choice. They cant fully transform into their canon star form- they have to have their wings and tail.)

(I think, eventually, they grow to like their claws a bit more.)

[sixpossumsinatrenchcoat]

Natural Satellite [ch 10]

An In Stars and Time AU. In ch 10, Sif dusts off their acting skills. Isabeau tries to keep up. You can start from the beginning here.

You’re having fun, you think. It’s been a while, so you don’t really have any point of reference. But you think you’re probably having fun. You know it’s selfish. Cruel. You should be focused on breaking the loop. But even so. No one has touched you for years and years and no one ever will, unless you force their hand. So it’s… exciting, a little, to grab Isa’s hand and watch him flush all the way down his neck. Watching him steal glances and blush even darker when he catches you already looking. On impulse, you squeeze Isa’s hand. He jumps. “You don’t have to be so careful,” you whisper, while your eyes scream, touch me, touch me, touch me. Hold my hands. Pet my head. Wrap your arms around me. I’m so cold inside, cold and dead and rotting, so please, won’t you please warm me up? “I’m not going to loop on accident or anything.”

[as ever, SPOILER WARNING for pretty much the entire game. but definitely at least through act 4]

Isabeau wakes up to find Sif’s much smaller, much cuter little raccoon paw resting in his palm.

Siffrin is still asleep. His face is half-hidden by his hair, a fluffy little squirrel’s-nest of silver-white. They’re so small and so soft and their hand is nestled into his. Isabeau tries not to cry. He wants this so bad it hurts.

He’s not no one to Sif. He saw that yesterday. After the way he ended the last loop, Sif was furious. So, at the very least, they don’t want to watch him die.

…That’s a pretty low bar, isn’t it.

Just for a second, Isabeau lets himself pretend that it’s real. That Sif might want to close the space even half as desperately as he does. That Sif could ever love him like he loves them.

If Sif loved him like he loved them, Isabeau could wake them slowly, gently, by pulling them even closer. By pressing his lips to Sif’s forehead and breathing into the crown of their head. He could card his fingers through their hair and run his nails down the nape of their neck. He could hook a knee around them and—

Still half-asleep, Siffrin lets out a creaky little groan.

Isabeau jerks his hand back. “M-Morning, Sif!”

“Mmh?” Sif mumbles.

“It’s, um. It’s… time to go, I think.”

Sif rubs his eyes, blinking blearily. “Oh. Sorry. Be up in a sec.”

Isabeau’s heart aches. “N-No hurry.”

“There is some hurry, actually,” Madame Odile says coolly. Isa nearly falls off the bed. “Nothing very important. Just the fate of an entire country.”

“But M’dame!! Look how cute he looks!!!”

“That’s hardly relevant,” she sniffs. “We have a fight to win.”

* * *

You’ve scaled the House a million times before, but it never felt quite like this.

You’re having fun, you think. It’s been a while, so you don’t really have any point of reference. But you think you’re probably having fun.

You know it’s wrong. You should be focused on breaking the loop. And it’s… manipulative. Cruel. But even so. No one has touched you for years and years and no one ever will, unless you force their hand.

(…Disgusting.)

So it’s… exciting, a little, to grab Isa’s hand and watch him flush all the way down his neck. Watching him steal glances and blush even darker when he catches you already looking. It’s cute. He’s cute. You knew that already. But it’s… relaxing, sort of, not having to pretend like you didn’t.

On impulse, you squeeze Isa’s hand. He jumps.

“You don’t have to be so careful,” you whisper, while your eyes scream, touch me, touch me, touch me. Hold my hands. Pet my head. Wrap your arms around me. I’m so cold inside, cold and dead and rotting, so please, won’t you please warm me up? “I’m not going to loop on accident or anything.”

“I-I know! I just… I don’t want to take advantage…”

That sobers you up right quick. You were all too eager to take advantage of the situation. Because you’re the sort of narcissist who only ever thinks about yourself.

“Sorry,” you mumble, and drop his hand.

Still, you have a role to play. The next time your family stops for a snack break, you slide in next to Isabeau, yawning, before flopping sideways to rest your head on his shoulder.

“S-Sif?” You can feel his muscles tense under your touch.

You shove your cheek against his arm. “Sleepy.”

“Hehe… There’s, um… If you wanted to take a little catnap, I could find you something to lay down on?”

Without opening your eyes, you wrinkle your nose at him. “Comfy.”

Across the saferoom, Mirabelle clasps her hands under her chin and sighs dreamily. “Just like a real kitty!!”

Slowly, tentative, Isabeau shifts his weight so he can wrap his arm around you and oh, that’s even better. He’s so warm. If he always held you like this, you think you might never feel cold again.

Isabeau is probably never going to touch you again after this, so you might as well make the most of it. You nestle into the crook of his arm and go to sleep.

You can read the rest of ch 10 here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/53412649/chapters/138170641 Or start from ch 1 here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/53412649/chapters/135189547

[eternalfarnham]

Ideological swap AU:

Euphrasie, a former Housemaiden of Dormont's House of Change, hails originally from the island-nation of Ananke, north of Jouvente. On Ananke, she was in a terrible – largely-undefined, to the theoretical game camera's eye – relationship with an unknown man, a "cry-bullying tyrant," which made her suspicious, bitter and unkind – made her worse, she says.

Euphrasie left one day and found her way to Vaugarde, but wherever you go, there you are – Housemaiden or not, even desperately working to adapt, she was still unkind when she didn't want to be, still tormented by awful memories, still taking it out on others. She wished to be rid of the history that made her this way, using her old country's rituals, and gained the power of "Memory Craft" – the power to "scramble" information, such that no one could recall it existed in the first place.

And so – taking her favorite young Housemaiden as a companion – she left her country, styled herself "Faceless" after her god (misunderstanding the Change God's deal pretty badly) and set herself up in Ananke. There, she used "Joyeux" – monsters born from intense emotion – to drive away its residents, so they'd flee to Vaugarde through her one-way barrier. Once the island was properly vacated, she intended to erase it from history – to erase the context that made her so bitter, the society that enabled it just because her old someone was versed in the ways of the Universe, and to be properly and only a daughter of Change and Vaugarde.

Everyone, she says, can start again this way.

Siffrin, the Stargazer, fled the same cruel tyrant that Euphrasie did – albeit separately – and found himself blessed mysteriously with the power to remember everything, no matter what. They are... unlikely, as heroes go – accustomed to creeping around and leaving the charisma and earnestness to less disillusioned folks – but they care deeply about the people they love.

Odile, the Historian, is here with a vested interest in preserving the cultural history of a small, embattled people – particularly against a collaborateur trying to force-assimilate her entire homeland.

Bonnie, the Kid, is here on the strength of a mysterious series of notes they left themself, telling them that they've forgotten something important and that only defeating the Faceless will return those memories. They're a pretty lonely kid.

Isabeau, the Guardian, is... pretty similar, actually. Given Siffrin's limited social graces, he's taken on a bigger social role. Like a diplomat who hits stuff, basically.

And Mirabelle, the Turncoat... was a cool-ass rival character for most of the saviors' journey, out of loyalty to her Head Housemaiden and her House and a lack of anywhere else to go. She returned to the side that isn't trying to destroy a country out of guilt:

It's her rapier that took out Siffrin's eye.

She doesn't want to be that person. She's desperate to change – to be forgiven, by the end of this quest – but there's indelible proof of her rottenness, right on Siffrin's face. So, with the ritual that her faceless caretaker never quite let herself use, she wished that she could be someone different...

And there's nothing more formative – more self-destroying and -recreating – than intense, sustained time loop trauma, right?

(Her faithful guide Ring claims to be a success story: they became someone completely new, down to a new name and pronouns, and broke the cycle, but graciously returned to Ananke to guide weary, misguided, treacherous little Belle to a proper ending. The name "Ring" comes from their bonding earrings, prominently displayed and visible even through the corona of their head. After all, they say, changing – like they were supposed to – meant learning to love the right way, without distrust and fear.

Fucked up thing to say, Ring!)

[startagainaprologue]

If you would be open to it I'd love to hear about your precure au

YEASSS admittedly i dont. have much? in way of plot. it was more so "wow mira really fits for a precure protagonist she is so magical girl" and i just kinda went from there? its just kinda. the pregame plot but also now they are precures and thats how they fight sadnesses off. i wanna come up with more for it but weh. Isabeau i think would be so hyped abt the outfit. and Odile. . i dont think she is as hyped this is not what she was expecting nor rlly what she wanted but sucks for her! become magical girl.

siiif.. idk abt him. also a precure for sure but idk how that happens for him. shrugs. and bonnie i do not know. r they also a precure but the others just. dont let em fight. i dont know! eek!!

Loop is a mascot creature. (idk if there. is another mascot critter that mira would have beforehand or if there just. is a lack of one through the entire journey.erm)

aaas for what colors they are. 1: isat universe is still monochrome!! i just think.itd be funny if their outfits were the only thing in color. for funsies! anyways 2: Mira is pink, Isabeau is red, Odile blue, Bonnie (if they are a precure) yellow, aand Siffrin white (rare color in precure but..siffy can get it. as a treat) with red accents. midseason cure..

there r !! reasonings behind these color choices buuut. id like for my dear friend my bestie @unabashedmagicalgirlfan to explain em since she was the one who helped a lot with coming up with reasonings and i dont wanna take credit for that -w-'