Characters / In Stars And Time

The cast of START AGAIN START AGAIN START AGAIN: a prologue and In Stars And Time.

NOTE: Listed tropes may constitute spoilers for characters, and certain entries have completely unmarked spoilers.

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The Heroes

The Heroes in General

The four heroes (and Bonnie) tasked with defeating the King and saving Vaugarde.

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• Fighter, Mage, Thief: Isabeau is the Fighter, Odile the Mage and Siffrin the Thief.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Siffrin refuses to tell any of them about the time loops or discuss his feelings in general so they have no idea of the emotional toll it's taking on them.
  • By the end Mirabelle is the only one not to know about Isabeau's crush on Siffrin.
• Poor Communication Kills: It's a running theme.
  • Odile referring to the rest of them as allies during a snack break leads Siffrin to believe that he was the only one to see them as friends rather than colleagues.
  • If any of one them had admitted they all wanted to keep travelling together Siffrin wouldn't have developed the abandonment issues that keep the loop going even when they win.
  • Several of them acknowledge that if they'd reacted more calmly rather than getting angry and upset when Siffrin lashes out at them or when Odile figures out the loops are happening then they might have been able to help Siffrin and resolve things sooner.
  • They all avoid making physical contact with Siffrin since they've noticed he reacts badly to unexpected physical contact. They don't ask Siffrin about it, which would have resulted in them learning that he's alright as long as he's not surprised, and since they don't explain why they're doing it Siffrin assumes they think he's disgusting.
  • Mirabelle notes that she didn't press Siffrin about his memory issues or not talking about his past thinking he was just being mysterious, and thus didn't realise how traumatising the loss of all memory of his home and childhood was for him.
• Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: A young priestess and the Defender, Scholar, Traveller and kid sidekick she met on her travels.

Siffrin (Unmarked Spoilers)

Siffrin

^{Click here to see Act 6 Siffrin}

Scissor-type

he/they

A traveler who joined Mirabelle on her quest to save Vaugarde.

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• Abnormal Allergy: Siffrin is deathly allergic to pineapples, and he had no idea until Loop told him.
• Achilles' Heel: While exceedingly powerful his Level 99 form in Act 5 lacks Mirabelle's immunity to time craft, making it trivial for the king to take him down the moment he lets his guard down.
• Break Them by Talking: At the beginning of Act 5, he's so fed up with the time loops that he makes breaking lectures on his friends, whom he treats as "actors", on each of their hangout, telling them how much they suck at life. Of course, the only one who's unfazed by Sif's breaking lecture is Isabeau, who believes that even though he's airheaded and weak, he is still smart and still takes better care of himself.
  • And on the receiving end of this toward the end of Act 5, when Sif's Sadness duplicate, Mal du Pays, tells him that his friends will hate him and abandon him forever and that he's better off dead than alive, a lecture that hurts Sif so badly, he goes into despair and would have succumbed to the darkness if not for the team's Big Damn Heroes moment.
• Chronic Self-Deprecation: Siffrin deals with strong self-hatred, though not verbalizing it externally, often berating himself for even minor inconveniences or things outside of their control. This worsens as he goes through the loops.
  • Rather than ask his party why they avoid physical contact with him or considering they must have a good reason he simply assumes they think he's disgusting.
• Despair Event Horizon: The end of Act 4, where Siffrin learns from the Head Housemaiden that he may be trapped for good. Siffrin's mental state was already declining by this stage, but after this, it plummets.
• Desperately Craves Affection: Despite or maybe due to Siffrin's self-hatred, he relies heavily on his group for comfort. However, his unwillingness to talk about his problems tends to cause him to bottle up his emotions.
• Does Not Like Spam: Croissants, due to an unspecified incident he had with a fellow citizen of his home country that made him swear off croissants for good. This can also happen with bananas and plantains should you repeatedly use the banana peel for looping in later acts.
• Driven to Suicide: During a conversation with Loop regarding using Tears to go back in time, Siffrin can consider using his own dagger to loop back due to his increasing disregard for his own safety and the convenience of being able to loop whenever he pleases. Even the normally snarky and callous Loop is genuinely horrified by the suggestion and begs him not to do it. The more Siffrin does it, the easier it gets for him.
  (Stabbing time.)
  (You killed yourself.)
  START AGAIN
• Empty Shell: Siffrin becomes emotionally numb from so many loops by the time Act 4 rolls around, with all his reactions, emotions and responses completely fabricated in some way or at times, not speaking at all. By the time Act 5 rolls around, he thinks of himself merely a stage director trying to get the "actors" around him to follow the script.
• Exhausted Eyebags: As the loops progress, Siffrin's weariness leads to a perpetual look of exhaustion.
• Eyepatch of Power: A subversion; although Siffrin looks every bit the mysterious rogue traveler, they lost their eye somewhat recently, and although he genuinely doesn't mind it much, having lost it to save Bonnie's life, the loss in depth perception is something that comes up from time to time.
• Failed a Spot Check: The very first thing that Siffrin fails to spot, is a trap in the death corridor, which results in his first death.
• Fighting Your Friend: In the final battle of the game, you end up fighting the rest of your party.
• Forgetful Jones: Siffrin's memory is infamously bad, to the point where Mirabelle gives them a reminder list just to locate their friends in a small town. It gets treated more seriously as the story progresses, with Siffrin forgetting things like the moment where he saved Bonnie at the cost of losing his eye, and by the later portions of the game, they've forgotten many of the initial loops already and potentially even the party's names.
• Hates Being Touched: Siffrin subconsciously has an aversion to being touched, something that the group has noticed and prevents touching him to prevent his discomfort. During his loops after being aware of this, he tries to work on and improve his tolerance to touch, be it touching the group at the garden in small ways or hugging Bonnie in his hangout.
• His Own Worst Enemy: Siffrin has very deep self-loathing and insecurities that plague him throughout the game, with them getting worse as his mental state declines. In fact, his fear of abandonment is what causes him to be trapped in the time loop in the first place.
• Laughing Mad: Does this as his sanity worsens, especially in Act 5.
• Madness Mantra: An interesting variant where Siffrin seems to repeat someone else's (Isabeau) words over and over and drowns out an entire conversation fixating on that single paragraph.
  And you know, I get like that too. Sometimes, I feel weird, and I wanna push away everyone. But you know it's not good, right? It's not healthy! And I, and everyone else, we want you to be okay. To talk to us. Because we're companions! Comrades in arms! And we want everyone in our little crew to be ready for anything, right? Especially since... No matter what, tomorrow will be our last day together, as a family, I guess. So please don't hesitate, okay? And talk to us! Or just me, or just Odile, or whoever! About anything!
  • His narration text often does this a lot on many occasions from time to time.
  • His narration repeats "You have heard this before" when skipping the King's dialogue. On skipping his death speech it's replaced with "YOU HAVE HEARD THIS BEFORE".
• Meaningful Name: The name "Siffrin" was chosen as a reference to Sisyphus after someone in the comments on the original comics called it a 'Sisyphean nightmare'. Insertdisc5 didn't want to make it their name explicitly and decided to choose a name starting with 'Sif' with the intention that characters could call him by the nickname 'Sisif'. Nobody ended up calling them Sisif in the final draft.
• Mirror Character: To The King. Both are characters from the Forgotten Island whose desire to stay with their loved ones drives them into utter despair, leading to them using Wish Craft to keep everyone the same forever. In a way, The King represents who Siffrin would be if he decided to loop for eternity instead of breaking free.
• Nervous Tics: Siffrin frequently focuses on breathing slowly and deeply during stressful situations or exerting himself in order to calm himself down. It becomes less effective when his mental state sharply declines.
• Never Bareheaded: Averted at the end of Act 5, when he finally relents after a battle with his friends in which he shrinks back down to normal size, leaving his hat flying in mid-air while free-falling gently with them. And he keeps his Boyish Short Hair throughout the rest of the game.
• Oblivious to Love: Isabeau is not at all subtle about how he feels about the player, yet it takes multiple failed confession attempts for Siffrin to figure out what Isabeau is trying to tell him.
• Play as a Boss: In the final battle, you use Wish Craft to turn yourself into a boss fight and start attacking your party members. It isn't really much of a battle, though, as nobody wins or loses.
• Peaceful in Death: Somewhat downplayed in Acts 3 and 4, as due to the Time Loop Fatigue, he starts to resign himself to being KO'd or frozen (as indicated by the closed eyes and the frown on his face). Played completely straight in Act 5, when he has grown so exhausted of the time loops that he welcomes the embrace of being KO'd or frozen with a smile. It's just too bad he has the Memory of Emptiness equipped to keep him going, though...
• Post-Final Boss: Technically, Siffrin himself becomes one in the final battle of the game, as no matter what happens, it ultimately resolves peacefully.
• Protagonist Without a Past: Siffrin is from an unknown culture foreign to Vaugarde and Ka Bue, but otherwise appears to be little more than a drifter with an irrelevant past. When Mirabelle asks, Siffrin off-handedly mentions he can't really remember his childhood or where he came from. Subverted harshly as his absent memory of his past is not irrelevant, and his country isn't just unknown but erased from everyone's memory. Discovering that he truly doesn't have a home to go back to is part of what drives Siffrin over the Despair Event Horizon.
• Pungeon Master: Known for making jokes, good or bad and working puns into conversation whenever he can. At least, at first…
• Rage Breaking Point: Toward the end of Act 5, when Euphrasie tells him and his friends that they should all go home, his fear of being abandoned and forgotten (combined with his mental illness) proves to be the final straw for him, as he goes into a fit of rage, pushes Euphrasie aside onto the floor, and uses his Wish Craft to transform into a gigantic, demonic version of himself in his effort to keep his friends from leaving until they make him explain the real reason behind his repeated looping in the first place.
• The Red Mage: He has Scissors attacks and some buff crafts in the form of puns at the start, but as he progresses in levels, he eventually learns not only Paper and Rock but also learns some healing crafts. Later, his Paper and Rock Crafts start to become more like punchlines than puns as they advance in attack. Downplayed that his max HP gets higher the further he goes.
• Sanity Slippage: The loops and progression through the narrative take a stark and serious turn on Siffrin; in later Acts, their inner thoughts take turns in being despairing, cynical, violent, deeply self-loathing, and in an optional choice, openly suicidal.
• Stepford Smiler: Does this from Act 3 onward once they realize the severity of the situation they are in, seeing themselves as an actor playing a part, and only getting worse as the loops increase.
• Suddenly Shouting: Siffrin is usually very withdrawn and quiet, but under extreme duress, he will lash out, such as when he snaps at Loop after his hangout or exploding at Odile during Act 5.
• Taking You with Me: If Siffrin and his team get wiped out by a strong Sadness in a Total Party Kill, the Sadness moves toward the unconscious party in an effort to go for the kill, but Sif uses the last of his strength to pull out his dagger and strike at it while it strikes at him, showing that he does not go gentle and saves his friends in a Dying Moment of Awesome. Cue Resurrection/Death Loop, though...
• Time Loop Fatigue: From Act 2 onward, after Siffrin discovers that defeating the King will not break the timeloop, Siffrin's exhaustion and anguish become ever more heightened. Over time, his character portrait changes from a faint Playful Cat Smile, to an exhausted grimace, to sunken eyes with a permanent scowl. His portrait even goes from looking at his teammates to purposely looking away.
• Trauma Button: After the King kills Bonnie in one of the loops, Siffrin is utterly traumatized. It goes so far as Siffrin being unable to fight properly the next time they encounter the King due to what's implied to be a PTSD-induced flashback, and nearly having an anxiety attack during Bonnie's hangout when the kid mentions Siffrin should have left them for dead.
  • Whenever the party talks about returning home it reminds him that he doesn't have one and makes him feel like he's going to be abandoned.
  • He's developed an aversion to croissants as they remind him of the time he met a baker from the same country he's from, which reminded him of everything he's lost.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Siffrin himself is the cause of the loop due to an impulsive wish.
• Wouldn't Hurt a Child: No matter what, Siffrin would say to Bonnie that he would always take losing his eye over seeing them dead on that day he saved them. Seeing the King kill Bonnie will instantly loop Sif back to the start, completely traumatized by the experience. Afterwards, Siffrin will not able to interact with anything until he reassures himself that they are alright, and after the experience there is a chance that a Jump Scare will appear each time you interact with them.

Mirabelle

Mirabelle

Scissor-type & Paper-type

she/her

The Chosen One, a Housemaiden of the House of Change, and the sole survivor of her house. She uses both Paper/Scissor crafts.

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• Celibate Hero: While she enjoys romance fiction she has no interest in sex or romance herself. This causes her a considerable degree of angst given that the Change Belief she subscribes to emphasises personal growth and change through relationships.
• Crisis of Faith: The Change Belief emphasises growth through change, be it using Change Craft to change one's body or through a romantic bond with another person. Mirabelle's personal quest involves Siffrin helping her through an existential crisis and attempting to reconcile her love of the change belief with her lack of any desire to change herself or form a romantic relationship.
• Dual Wielding: Mirabelle is the only member of the party that is both Scissors and Paper-type, an ability that is considered to be extremely rare. A document in the Head Housemaiden’s office claims that only 3.75% of the entire world’s population are dual type.
• The Chosen One: Her blessing and immunity to being time frozen make her the only one who can stop the King. Notably she's always the one to defeat the King, either being the one to deal the final blow or reflecting his magic in the final loop.
• It Sucks to Be the Chosen One: Mirabelle often stresses about living up to the task handed to her and whether or not she can succeed.
  • It turns out she has plenty of reasons for this stress. Mirabelle didn't get her immunity to being frozen in time due to the Change God as many people believe. The Head Housemaiden transferred the power to her when it became clear she wasn't going to be able to stop the king. A huge part of Mirabelle's anxiety is that she feels like a fraud, and is unable to talk about it with anyone because Vaugarde has their hopes hinged on her so desperately that suggesting she might be anything but the Change God's Chosen causes the citizens to panic and break down, as Siffrin finds out when he merely suggests to an NPC that Mirabelle might not be blessed by the Change God at all.
• No-Sell: She's the only one in the party who's immune to being Frozen, thanks to her blessing.
• White Mage: Mirabelle is the main healer of the group, along with being able to buff up the group's attacks. As she levels up, she can revive teammates, whether Frozen or KO'd.

Isabeau

Isabeau

Rock-type

he/him

A Defender from Jouvente and user of Rock crafts.

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• Cannot Spit It Out: To Siffrin. The first time you beat the King, he almost manages to before Bonnie interrupts him. Then the next time, Mirabelle interrupts. Then the next time, Odile. Then the next time, everyone. When you finally make sure nobody interrupts... he still chickens out.
• Genius Bruiser: While Isa can come across as airheaded, in actuality, he's very intelligent and the airheadedness is just a facade due to his dislike of himself when he was younger, something Siffrin gets to learn from his hangout.
  • While Odile is usually the one to catch on to Siffrin acting differently in later Act loops, Isabeau also picks up on a number of strange things Siffrin is doing across loops. He also puts together the clues that Siffrin has been time looping at the same time as Odile in Act 5.
• Hidden Depths: A huge part of his character is that he is hiding some of his hobbies and talents, such as his intelligence, as he feels doing so makes him more likeable to both himself and others. Siffrin is surprised to learn he wants to be a clothing designer after a conversation early in Act 1.
• I Hate Past Me: Isabeau used to be meek and nerdier but hated how he was, so he worked on strengthening himself and altering his personality in order to feel better about himself.
• Jumped at the Call: Given that the worst Defenders usually see is cats being stuck in trees, or old ladies needing a hand, Isabeau was the only one in Jouvente willing to aid Mirabelle on her quest, and did so without hesitation. There’s a good reason they see each other as best friends.
• Lovable Jock: How he comes across as they are very sympathetic and cares a lot for the group.
• Nice Guy: Is often very encouraging with the group and not one to lose his temper. Even when Siffrin verbally attacks him due to the former's mental state, he still handles it calmly despite clearly being hurt by it, acknowledging his flaws but also showing that he is aware and actively trying to better himself.
• Pungeon Master: As bad as Siffrin when it comes to cracking jokes.
• Red Herring: The loop always resets shortly after he fails to confess his feelings to Siffrin, which could lead the player to assume that it's his wish that is triggering the reset, especially as he refuses to say what his wish to the tree was when asked.
  • The King saying he can't die when he still can't say it, in conjunction with little details like Isabeau planning to change himself again, wanting to be taller and also being rock-type might make players assume that the King is a time-displaced Isabeau.

Odile

Odile

Paper-type

she/her

A researcher from Ka Bue, who uses Paper crafts. What she's researching is unknown.

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• Badass Bookworm: Odile is often seen with a book in hand, being the Researcher, she attacks with Crafts using it.
• Black Mage: Odile attacks with Crafts of all types from the start, something that no one in the party can do apart from Sif at high levels. She can also weaken Craft resistances as she levels up.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: While not an outright jerk, Odile can come across as abrasive, antisocial, and unsympathetic but deep down, she does care about people and does get concerned over accidentally upsetting people with her abrasive nature.
• Missing Mom: Her mother was a Vaugardian who left after Odile was born. Odile's not too torn up about her as much as her lack of understanding of that side of her family.
• Only Sane Woman: Odile often takes this role due to being the oldest. She gets exasperated at the others' antics in the dungeon, and she is also the only person in the group who is observant enough to figure out that Siffrin is time travelling.
• Sour Supporter: Odile tends to come across as blunt, dismissive and not very social, sometimes unintentionally harsh, but that doesn't mean she doesn't care about her teammates.
• Token Adult: While the party is generally in their 20's apart from Bonnie who is a preteen, Odile herself is in her 40's.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Odile is usually very calm and composed but she really doesn't do well with heights.

Bonnie

Bonnie

Rock-type

they/them

A child from Bambouche, here to help the party and save their frozen sister.

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• Accidental Murder: They can feed Siffrin pineapple, which he is lethally allergic to. Though this can only happen if Siffrin ignores Loop's warning or chooses it on purpose.
• Children Are Innocent: Bonnie is a child, which means that they often have strange ideas about how stuff works and are often more oblivious to some of the adult conversations occurring. Harshly subverted later when Isabeau starts talking about death and assumes that Bonnie isn't listening, which makes them quite upset.
• Frying Pan of Doom: Their main weapon of attack is a frying pan, though they tend to not hit as hard compared to the other party members and have a tendency to miss.
• It's All My Fault: They blame themself for Siffrin losing their eye as he lost it saving them from a Sadness. Because of this, Bonnie acts awkward and distant toward Sif due to their guilt, at least until Siffrin gets to hang out with them and talks about it.
• Plucky Girl: Nonbinary version. They are quite hyper, especially when taking care of snacks for the group and are capable of helping out in battles, despite them not being a proper fighter themself.
• Tagalong Kid: Joined the party after Bambouche was frozen.
• Team Chef: Despite Bonnie being the youngest of the group, they show great cooking potential and ability, able to cook things like samosas, fritters and other snacks. They clearly love making snacks for the group to help out.
• Took a Level in Badass: You can train Bonnie in their sidequest, which makes their attacks more powerful and lets you equip a memory that makes it so their attacks don't miss.

Allies

Loop

Loop

they/them

A mysterious, star-like being visible to Siffrin and only Siffrin.

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• And Show It to You: Discussed if Siffrin loses to them, when they talk about killing him and tearing his heart out of his chest before they can take back what's rightfully theirs. They don't get to do it, though, due to how much Siffrin suffered and fought for, before breaking down in guilt and despair.
• Canon Character All Along: Beating the game while flipping Siffrin’s silver coin in their presence and seeing the dialogue surrounding that coin will open a hidden conversation with them in the epilogue. If the player heads back to town to talk to them, it's then revealed that Loop is the Siffrin from Start Again, who was driven to the point of despair and made a wish to escape the loops they were trapped in. A wish which ended with them stuck in a new Siffrin’s loops with a new form entirely. They then attack Siffrin as the true final boss of the game.
• Chekhov's Gun: The hand sign they show Siffrin so he can call them from the House seems to just be a joke and convenience feature... but by Act 5, when Sif storms into the House alone, they have to help his friends find him by showing them the same phone hand they can use when they are stuck trying to find him.
• Driven by Envy: What drives Loop to fight Siffrin if he does the coin events. They’re ultimately driven mad by a combination of anger, jealousy and sheer guilt after watching Siffrin successfully escape the time loops with his family, something that Loop was never able to do. This leads to them desperately trying to kill Siffrin in order to take his place and claim their happy ending.
• Everyone Has Standards: They're rather dismissive of Siffrin's plight, often making fun of him for dying, giving backhanded compliments and sympathy and voicing their less-than-positive opinions on his team rather openly. However, they will cut all snarky sarcasm and beg and plead for Siffrin to not use his dagger and kill himself to loop faster.
• Foreshadowing: Loop somehow knows about Siffrin's allergy to pineapples before it comes up in any loops, has similar gadfly sensibilities and acknowledges how it's easier to make jokes and deflect rather than face problems. This foreshadows that they're actually another Siffrin.
• Good Is Not Nice: While they do make fun of Siffrin and are extremely dry and sarcastic, they do try to help Siffrin to figure out the loops in their own way. One such attempt to do so, however, involved keeping Siffrin busy so his party went to the House without him and died in battle against the King. This causes Siffrin to have a guilt ridden anxiety attack before automatically looping back. While it gave both Siffrin and Loop more clues about how the loops work, Loop was also aware of the impact it was going to have on Siffrin, which greatly angered them.
• Heads I Win, Tails You Lose: In their True Final Boss battle, it’s not too difficult to defeat Loop after forcing them to rewind enough times. However, if Loop does manage to defeat Siffrin they can't bring themself to finish him off, giving Siffrin the chance he needs to get through to them.
• Mirror Boss: During their boss fight in the Epilogue they use attacks identical to Siffrin, even having a copy of Siffrin's (Just Attack) with same pose. Because they are Siffrin.
• My God, What Have I Done?: If Loop wins the fight against Siffrin, they try to suffocate him knowing that he will die for good now he can no longer loop back time. They find themself unable to follow through due to how much Siffrin suffered and fought for, causing them to break down crying out of guilt for nearly killing him and regret for not being able to succeed on their own loops.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: They're generally detached and inclined to poke fun at the situation, but if Siffrin considers using his knife on himself to end loops early they'll be genuinely upset and beg him to reconsider.
• Red Herring: While researching Wish Crafting the player can find a book describing how someone was able to create another copy of themselves to talk to. This gives the impression that Siffrin might have created Loop with a wish when in reality it was Loop's wish that brought them to Siffrin.
• Royal "We": Discussed in their first meeting, when they suggest that Siffrin call them in this manner, before deciding that he should settle on the "they/them" pronouns when adressing them by name.
• Sarcastic Confession: Near the start of Act 3, Siffrin can question Loop's intentions, and Loop can ask who or what Siffrin thinks they are. Picking "Me" will have Loop burst into a laughing fit, then says Sure, Let's Go with That. In the epilogue, it turns out Loop really was (a) Siffrin all along.
• Stepford Smiler: Has signs of this throughout, noting how it's easier to play things off as a joke rather than confront feelings. Confirmed in the battle against them where they reveal themself to be distraught that Siffrin was able to escape the loop when they couldn't. Their initial battle sprite also shows them in a forced smile before the mask slips and their anger shows through.
• Strike Me Down with All of Your Hatred!: If Siffrin wins the Post-Final Boss fight against them, Loop will beg Siffrin to finish them off, as they can't bear to live with the pain of having failed their friends and never seeing them again.
• Tragic Hero:
  • They are implied to be Siffrin from START AGAIN START AGAIN START AGAIN: a prologue, one who failed to escape the loops and made a new wish to save themself, leading to them appearing in In Stars And Time, cut off from their original party members and unable to return.
  • They notably try to subvert this. They keep out of sight of Siffrin’s friends, and refuse to talk about them in great detail. They never even refer to them by name, either. It’s only when Siffin has that final breakdown in Act 5 and screams at Loop for their inaction, despite knowing exactly what Siffrin was going through, that they force themself to act despite the consequences it ends up having.

Head Housemaiden

Head Housemaiden Euphrasie

she/her

Leader of the House and respected greatly by Mirabelle. Her real name is Euphrasie.

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• Broken Record: Due to the cause of the loops, the Head Housemaiden repeatedly says the same things over and over, regardless of what is said to her, much to Siffrin's dismay. It's only when Siffrin unintentionally invokes a wish, desperate to hear her say anything else, that Euphrasie is permitted to speak. She returns to this state toward the end of Act 5 when the world is breaking apart.
• Red Herring: Her dialogue at the end of the loops seems to indicate she tried doing something to stop the King and created the Time Loops, begging for forgiveness from Siffrin. In actuality, she has almost nothing to do with it, and is merely aware of what went wrong and the consequences of it.

Antagonists

The King

The King

Rock-type

he/him

The source of the frozen time.

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• Hoist by His Own Petard: Attempts to use Time Freeze Craft on everyone during the Big Damn Heroes moment in Act 5, but with Mirabelle's special reflective shield Craft, his own Craft gets reflected back at him, freezing him in time for good.
• I Should Have Done This Years Ago: Claims that he should have killed Siffrin and his allies a long time ago, but Siffrin prevents him from doing so because of his Wish Craft. And all this is after he freezes everyone in time as a surprise attack.
• I Surrender, Suckers: He pretends to be willing to stop finding and work with Siffrin and his allies to find some other way to save Vaugarde, only to backstab him when he gets close and say his opponents were fools to believe he'd give up his plan that easily.
• The Gloves Come Off: When facing an Act 5 Siffrin who he knows has defeated him multiple times in previous loops the King takes him much more seriously than he does the regular party, the narration noting that he's "ready for anything". This manifests as a huge buff to his defences and removal of his weakness to paper attacks.
• Love Makes You Evil: His love for Vaugarde for saving and taking him in after his country was erased is what drives him to freeze it in time forever, ensuring it'll never change or face destruction.
• Make My Monster Grow: The King is a human, but when you face him, he's multiple stories tall. After he gets frozen in time, he shrinks back down to human size.
• Marathon Boss: The King is ultimately this - he takes way longer to beat than the regular boss sadnesses.
• Might Makes Right: He knows he's imposing his own selfish will on the world, hence the name King, but he believes since he was given this power the Universe must approve of his actions.
• Mirror Character: To Siffrin. Both are characters from the Forgotten Island whose desire to stay with their loved ones drives them into utter despair, leading to them using Wish Craft to keep everyone the same forever. In a way, The King represents who Siffrin would be if he decided to loop for eternity instead of breaking free.
• Outside-Context Problem: Time Craft was thought to be impossible, requiring a massive amount of power or enough effort to kill a person, so a figure appearing who can wield it on a nation-wide scale came completely out of the blue (and was of considerable interest to craftologists abroad). The residents of the House of Change also didn't realise that locking him up would do nothing to stop his power spreading and inadvertently made things harder for the heroes by sealing off each floor.
• Power Makes Your Hair Grow: The King's hair stretches across the floors of the House and even blocks the door reaching him, on the rare occasions he's not covering his face with his hands, his hair completely obscures it anyway. Once his power dissipates after being Frozen, both his size and hair length shrinks substantially.
• Prone to Tears: The King is always seen crying no matter what, even using their tears in fights and found throughout the House.
• Would Hurt a Child: In order to drive a message home to Siffrin and how low the King is willing to go into getting what he wants, he tries to kill Bonnie right in front of Siffrin's eyes.
• Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: He tells Siffrin that by creating a time loop they've frozen Vaugarde in time more effectively than he ever could. Siffrin does not take this well.

Sadnesses

A scissors-type Tristesse

Enemies that are the remnants of the grief and sadness from people who were defeated by the King, now unable to tell friend from foe. They come in all shapes and sizes.

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• Barrier Change Boss: The first boss sadness is this, as it can change its Craft type and only attacks that are strong against that craft type will hurt it.
• Broken Armor Boss Battle: The third boss sadness has six hands, two of each Craft type, and is invulnerable to specific Craft types until you remove the associated hands.
• Cognizant Limbs: The third boss sadness attacks with its hands, which are considered separate targets.
• Damage-Sponge Boss: The boss sadnesses are functionally this, as aside from having more HP and a unique gimmick, they don't do much on their own.
• Prone to Tears: All Sadnesses are crying in some way, regardless of their shape and size.
• Puzzle Boss: The stronger sadnesses guarding the end of each floor are all this, as they have unique gimmicks that the player must figure out in order to defeat them.
• Mini-Boss: The boss sadnesses aren't actually that hard. Once you figure out their gimmicks, they're quite easy to beat. They're no less time-consuming, however.

Others

Higher Powers

The Change God

Statues of the Change God

they/it

The patron god of Mirabelle, and the deity worshiped by most in Vaugarde.

• The Gadfly: Wildly changes their appearance every few sentences and litters their speech with emojis. It makes Siffrin think it's angry with him because the time loops he's a part of are the opposite of change, only to reveal it likes him because he's still changing as a result of them and is interested to see what happens.
• The Gods Must Be Lazy: Zigzagged. It turns out it's not actually the one that blessed Mirabelle and Euphrasie actually calls it lazy. It is actually the one giving Siffrin the Keyknife though.

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The Universe

An Orrery

"The Universe leads. We follow."

The belief held by those of the Forgotten Country differs from the Expressions of Ka Bue and the monotheistic Change God, believing in stars, celestial objects, and the Universe as a guiding force.

Countries

Vaugarde

The setting of the game and home country of Mirabelle and Bonnie.

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• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Saving and welcoming the King after his country was erased convinced him that the country was so perfect it should be frozen in time to ensure nothing could happen to it.
• The Pollyanna: This is their hat. They're known to be exceedingly friendly and welcoming of travellers. Their traditions say it's perfectly fine to wander into a stranger's house and start a conversation, though it's considered rude to move past the first room.
• Time Stands Still: The King has already frozen large swathes of the country, including Bonnie's hometown, and is on track to do this to the entire country if the party doesn't stop him.

The Forgotten Country (Unmarked Spoilers)

A four-pointed star representing the country

An island country to the north of Vaugarde that was forgotten by the world some time ago. It's heavily implied to be analogous to Guadeloupe.

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• Brown Note: Simply trying to recall its name now results in severe headaches in the person attempting it. Siffrin and the King almost kill themselves when they attempt to name it in one loop.
• Last of His Kind: Only those outside the country were spared when it disappeared and all were clearly traumatised by the loss of any memory of it. Siffrin, the King and the unnamed baker who sold Siffrin a croissant are the only ones we hear about.
• Lost Technology: They were the only experts in Wish Craft, a field that was virtually unknown elsewhere in the world even to scholars like Odile yet was widespread enough that even someone as young as Siffrin knew the correct rituals to employ it. It's possible that this had some connection to their disappearance.
• Un-person: The country vanished and information about it was made impossible to uncover; although the avoidance of using its name superficially appears like a childish aversion, attempting to do so repeatedly in one loop kills Siffrin and the King both. The memories of anything relating to it are simply edited out of a person's mind, resulting in a villager forgetting their sister who was travelling there and Siffrin forgetting their entire childhood.
• Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Most Vaugardians are strangely unconcerned about the disappearance of an entire country right next door to them. When the subject is brought up Mirabelle notes it's a scary thought but the party seems largely indifferent to it, though it's possible the threat the King poses is distracting everyone.
• Where the Hell Is Springfield?: The real-life origin of The Forgotten Island is left ambiguous. From the King's description, there is a lot of speculation to be had, from Iceland, to New Zealand, to Ireland.

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