Siffrin...? (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
loopsiedaisy) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
bottlecaplogs2025-11-01 07:44 pm
loopsiedaisy) wrote in bottlecaplogs2025-11-01 07:44 pm
[closed] you're not the hero. you never were
Who: Siffrin(?), Siffrin, and Odile
What: What happened when the Siffrins simply got spirited away from the network
Where: The woods! Just barely into the Northern Forest.
When: Backdated to early October
Warnings: SPOILERS, and the usual
[In the woods approximately five minutes away from the Canopy (because that's how close they got back to town before they got wound down), there is: a Shinx. They're fidgeting, claws extending and retracting, puncturing fallen leaves; it's still very tempting to just run. But. At this point. They are pretty sure it is far too late.]
[They can hear footsteps, distantly: the measured steps of a Weavile that already feel familiar again, even after barely more than a week, with a certain sort of restrained frustration. More rapid than usual. The anxious, light scamper of a Meowth, only audible because they know to listen for it. They can't quite tell who's going to get to them first.]
[Either way, whenever someone does show up, they immediately straighten up, still their paws, and scrunch up their eyes in a forced smile. Their mouth... doesn't match. There's just enough of a grin that it doesn't look like a natural cat expression, but it's still very faint, like they've forgotten that they need to put effort into that part of their face too.]
[It's self-defense. It's this expression or look terrified.]
What: What happened when the Siffrins simply got spirited away from the network
Where: The woods! Just barely into the Northern Forest.
When: Backdated to early October
Warnings: SPOILERS, and the usual
[In the woods approximately five minutes away from the Canopy (because that's how close they got back to town before they got wound down), there is: a Shinx. They're fidgeting, claws extending and retracting, puncturing fallen leaves; it's still very tempting to just run. But. At this point. They are pretty sure it is far too late.]
[They can hear footsteps, distantly: the measured steps of a Weavile that already feel familiar again, even after barely more than a week, with a certain sort of restrained frustration. More rapid than usual. The anxious, light scamper of a Meowth, only audible because they know to listen for it. They can't quite tell who's going to get to them first.]
[Either way, whenever someone does show up, they immediately straighten up, still their paws, and scrunch up their eyes in a forced smile. Their mouth... doesn't match. There's just enough of a grin that it doesn't look like a natural cat expression, but it's still very faint, like they've forgotten that they need to put effort into that part of their face too.]
[It's self-defense. It's this expression or look terrified.]
no subject
"Here you are," she grouses as she approaches. One paw rests on the bag she's been using for her new notebook, and her long sharp claws drum nervously against the fabric. It's not a subtle gesture from a Weavile. She's not sure if this is better or worse. This is the Siffrin she's spent longer with, here, the one she assumed was Siffrin from the start. But the way the other one spoke...she's already a bit in confidence with them, even if she'd agreed to keep them secret for a little while. They...also do seem to be Siffrin.
What does that even mean? She can guess it's loop-related. What else could it be? Can she trust them both?
"Would you like to wait for the other one?" is what she ends up asking, unconsciously emanating a faint air of chill.
no subject
They retreat back further into being Loop. It's the only thing they're able to fall back on by reflex, now, even if it's also one of the few secrets they still have left. They would feel better with stardust around, but Loop wouldn't admit to that, so...
"I'm sure you're impatient to get started! Go ahead, -" and something about that feels cut off, like they ended the sentence before they were planning to. (They did. They weren't sure whether to call her Odile or Researcher or... the last time they talked with her was just this morning, but also the last time they talked with her was a few hours ago, guiding her up the House, and they don't know which feels closer.)
They're not even sure what they're encouraging her to get started on. Questions, definitely (terrifying), but also to yell at them? Be angry?
no subject
Well, the most important question first, then. "What is the situation between the two of you?" she asks, folding her arms and holding their gaze. "Are you at odds?" Odile has some baseless and wild guesses brewing, but if nothing else that pearl blast was enough cause for concern. If they're fighting, that's doubly Odile's responsibility to deal with.
(She's seen, now, that Siffrin can become...self-destructive.)
no subject
Well, duh, of course she is. Their gaze is sliding away from hers, but - is that really anything new for Siffrin?
"...we're fine! I was just being dramatic!"
It probably doesn't sound like they're telling her the whole truth (though, honestly, for Siffrin, their tone has been off in general), but at least they don't sound murderous or anything, either.
...that's not going to be enough, is it? But they panicked so instantly at Odile popping up that they already don't remember what stardust told them. He ran into her, and she found out - what? They're going to have to be deliberately vague if they don't want to accidentally spill something new...
"He didn't remind me about something important, so I was a little annoyed. I'm over it!" They smile wider, still mostly in their eyes, and tilt their head cutely.
no subject
"Though I'm not quite sure you can claim that moral high ground." Because she's met them before, hasn't she? This most recent time, she can excuse. She'd already known there were memory issues at play. Even the last time is...comprehensible, if she really thinks about it. She's just tired of finding all these things out too late.
no subject
It's just for a moment, with their expression more fixed than they would like, but it's more than enough time for Odile of all people to note it. She knows? She knows.
What did you expect, (Loop? Siffrin? Loop?)?? It's not like you haven't been making it obvious all over the grumpearls! And again in the last minute or so!
They're all jumbled up anyway; what they'd like to hide is that they were Siffrin, and it's too late for that. They're not even sure why they're not admitting to being Loop instead. They're not thinking about it consciously, it just feels like instinct, some kind of echo of not letting Loop and Siffrin be the same person -
It could be she just means about hiding the time loops. It could be.
"...s-sure," they hedge, non-committal. They seem a little at a loss for words. (Because anything else they say would require they commit to guessing which one she's talking about...)
no subject
Odile sighs. Maybe she's coming in a little too harsh. A large part of her wants to be harsh, but...again, that hasn't been helpful of late. "I don't mean to scold you," she low-key lies, "but I'll be better able to help you both if we aren't all sneaking around each other." Aren't they supposed to be working together here? They're the only party members here.
no subject
(How can she help, though? There's just... they and stardust have worked it out between themselves, mostly. And besides that, what is there to help?)
"..."
They rally, putting effort back into their smile.
"I don't know which sneaking you mean!" Conveniently possible to interpret as either, 'I haven't done any,' and 'I've done enough sneaking that I don't know which one you mean.' Take your pick!
With forced cheer: "How about you tell me what you're thinking, and we go from there?"
Feels kind of like tempting fate, asking Odile to guess. She's really far too perceptive... but she'll be thinking it whether or not she says it. And - they're sure it's not going to get past her that this would confirm to them what she has suspicions about. But it's also that they have no idea how to get themself to start, even if they were actually sure they wanted to.
no subject
That much isn't hard to grasp. Who else uses the nickname 'stardust'? The rest is a little bit more outlandish, even when you've already accepted the existence of Wish Craft and time loops. "I suppose it must be something to do with the loops," she continues. "You've obviously been through them as well. Theoretically, messing with time could result in duplication..." The star head thing, though? Wish Craft could do it, or maybe even Body Craft, but why?
None of that touches on their decision to play at being another person entirely at all.
"Why don't you fill me in?" she tries again. "I'm not sure wild guessing is going to be helpful here."
no subject
But somehow it's a relief at the same time.
They swallow, once, then prop themself up on their back paws so they can press their front paws together. They need the extra body language to hide their lack of equilibrium. "That's right!"
Isn't this what you wanted, Loop? For someone to recognize you?
Stars. It wasn't only hours ago, they know that logically, but they still remember the feeling of resignation. What they can't remember is how they were planning to explain any of it before they gave up. (Isn't that typical of them, both the memory and, apparently, the giving up -)
"I don't think you're allowed to call anything you do wild guessing anymore, after what you did in the House." They wink at her - it can be a compliment as well as a way of flagrantly stalling. Because, seriously, Odile? Figuring out enough about Time Craft in that time to stop stardust from looping back again? They feel pinned down in the same way, really.
...fine. Fine!
"But I'll save you the trouble! That wasn't what 'duplicated' me." (And there's a lot to read into there - both that they say 'me' instead of 'us,' implying they were the one copied... but also a strange tone to the way they say 'duplicated.') "I made another wish!"
And... they leave it at that.
Unfortunately, deciding to talk doesn't mean she's not going to have to wring every scrap of detail out of them by force.no subject
...well. That's not all true, is it?
Odile can't deny she's a bit satisfied that a past version of herself successfully pieced together such an obtuse puzzle. But not enough to erase her frustration, that said Odile did nothing useful with the information. That was true already. Now, to know that was built on the remains of a worse failure...she quashes her disgust ruthlessly. This is not about her own feelings.
"To escape the loops?" she asks, though she truly cannot imagine what else it might be.
no subject
...only, there isn't another shoe to drop, is there? They keep having to remind themself: they didn't doom everyone with their wish. Nobody but themself(? themselves? two different versions) and - stardust got out, in the end. Besides, stardust was still the same person who trapped himself in the first place. So in the end, the only person who has a reason to be upset about their wish...
Even so, they can't help the note of relief that seeps into their tone when she provides an answer for them. "Of course! What else would it be?"
They were wishing to escape the loops. One way or another. And if they weren't picky about surviving it, as long as it was over... they don't necessarily want to talk to her about that! Or have her realize that they weren't even thinking about what might happen to everyone else!
They try to cover it with a cheerful expression and one uplifted claw.
no subject
Well, so what if she did. It's too late to backtrack now. At least, she doesn't feel as though she can after how obviously eager they are to change the subject. Fine. She'd promised herself not to push so hard. She'll shelve it for now.
"Were you planning on telling any of us? I understand why you may not have wanted to at the time," Considering Siffrin had run off to fight the King alone and all that! "But after?" She never saw Loop again. She wasn't even the one who typically talked to them with their bizarre Calling Craft. It hadn't been long, though, and they'd all been occupied with getting Siffrin treatment.
[1/3]
They were. They were. Until they stepped out to Isabeau wishing at the Tree, and all that everyone saw was a stranger.
Somehow, they thought that... despite their appearance, something about them would still be - still be Siffrin. Faced with the party's expressions, though - desperate, frantic, confused, but without even the slightest spark of recognition...
What was there to do, then, but be Loop? Siffrin was in the House, heading toward making the same mistake Loop had, or an even worse one. Taking the time to explain would have been a bad idea anyway!
[2/3]
"But then I thought about it some more, and..."
[3/3]
And if they couldn't bring themself to replace him, to rip his happy ending away from him after all of that, then...
...then that was it, wasn't it.
Not that they really had time to either carry through on their choice or change their mind! But no. They weren't planning to.
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Problem solved! Obviously! As if they're just an item on a shopping list to be checked off! Odile rolls her eyes. She probably should not have done that or said that, but really. "And what were you planning to do with yourself?"
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...like they're trying to laugh at the thought.
They don't answer her question. (They don't have an answer. There wasn't any planning, there was just what they couldn't do.)
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"I'm sure Isabeau could work something out."
WELL IS SHE WRONG??? But Odile moves along quickly, wry smile or no. "What were Mirabelle and Isabeau supposed to do with some random old woman from Ka Bue deciding to tag along? You can't get hung up on that kind of question or you'll never do anything." She thinks along similar lines at times, of course. Maybe everyone does. But Odile has long since learned to disregard such worries - she'd never have left her home as a child, otherwise. What do people want with a kid who's so visibly different?
[1/?]
[2/?]
[3/?]
[4/?]
(Not that they don't have their own insecurities about that too, just like stardust does... but they're totally self-aware about it so it's not a problem. Definitely.)
"Is that really the same...?"
[5/6]
"You get back from here to Vaugarde as magically as you arrived, and head off to find everyone again. Or maybe you head back to your life in Ka Bue! Pick your favorite! But you arrive, and..."
[6/6] wheezes
Uncharacteristically, for a moment they meet her eyes. If anyone besides stardust could understand, wouldn't it be Odile? ...maybe? Or maybe they're asking too much of the Universe, when the only way someone could truly understand you is...
But they don't bother with any of the qualifiers. 'And you know she's not an imposter,' anything like that - it's Odile. She knows what they mean. They don't think she's going to squirm out of giving them a real answer by adjusting the hypothetical; if she doesn't want to answer, she just won't.
no subject
"Point taken."
It's not actually an answer. They probably don't need to actually say it out loud. So Odile moves on! "Even so. I'm sure I can speak for everyone when I say that we still would have liked to have you there." Whether or not she, in similar straits, would take that advice herself is...irrelevant! Besides which - they are hardly identical anymore. Odile doesn't mean physically; she just doesn't think a person could go through as much as Siffrin - as either of them - without being significantly altered.
no subject
...the Universe leads, and that's all there is to it!
Miraculously, they mostly almost believe her. They know that stardust believes it, anyway. So what they want to ask, genuinely, is - why? Alright, fine, thanking Loop for helping save stardust - sure. But why care about a second Siffrin when their version is still around? Wouldn't it just have been way more trouble?
They can't make themself ask it, though. So they hide it behind a breezy statement instead, like it doesn't bother them at all. "I can't imagine why!"
no subject
That's a little dramatic, perhaps. Odile's a grown woman; she was getting by on her own perfectly well before she met Mirabelle and Isabeau, and she could get by again if they all decided to cut her off. But the fact remains that thinking about that outcome makes her feel a little ill. Yes, it's true that she wouldn't feel very excited about it, but she can't actually imagine the others just kicking Hypothetical Loop Odile into the gutter.
[1/2]
Besides the momentarily taken aback and horrified expression, their next impulse is to insist that it's different. Because, because...
Well, they can think of a few reasons. (Because "Loop" just isn't that likeable.) (Because despite the hypothetical, Odile wouldn't be stupid enough to get herself stuck like they did.)
(Because they really did try to kill stardust the first time around.)
(That one Odile might agree with. But, haha, Loop, do you really think you'll ever admit to it? Not when you can't help but start hoping that Odile really does want you around -)
...how would they act toward a Loopdile? It's hard to imagine, the same way it's hard to imagine what they would even do as Loop-but-stardust-is-still-there. Just from the other end. But even if they have no idea, it wouldn't be...
[2/2]
They curl their tail around themself and straighten up a bit. That's enough about them, anyway!
"Point taken!" they echo back, trying to sound amused.
no subject
Unfortunately, they're stuck with her. "None of us want you to be alone. Don't work against me on this." It comes off vaguely ominous!
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"That's so ominous!" What would she even do?
But their shoulders slump, slightly. Okay.
...okay. (Maybe she does mean it. It's Odile; she's not going to lie to them out of pity.)
no subject
She...doesn't know exactly, what she's planning to do. Let's not find out!
Well, then. That's settled? Perhaps as settled as it's likely to get soon, anyway. Which leaves them...where? The question of traveling together is really rather moot until they can get themselves home. She still doesn't quite like to let them just wander off alone. Maybe...
Maybe she's thinking too far ahead. "So. What would you prefer that I call you?" Frankly, her inclination is not towards Loop. But maybe it isn't just a silly alias; maybe they really did mean to leave the name "Siffrin" behind. Neither of them are Vaugardian, but who wouldn't want a change after so long spent in repetition?
[1/2]
...you know. With everything that's happened over the past (hour? couple of hours?), this is not even slightly a thing they've thought about? All they've been doing is reacting!
All of Bottlecap Bay already knows them as Siffrin. But...
"...right. Stardust should be Siffrin now, shouldn't he."
Ugh, even thinking about dealing with that with everyone else is making them feel exhausted...
And the idea of everyone calling them Loop is... their stomach roils a little. It's different when stardust says it, they're used to that, but having their name be a reminder - they'd never chosen it intending it to be used by more people. It wasn't exactly meant to be a name at all! Just another thing they hadn't thought through.
[2/2]
"Call me whatever you'd like!" And, purely because they don't think that by itself is going to fly, "I'm bad at names!"
no subject
Really, her own instinct is to go on calling the both of them Siffrin. If this one has not chosen a new name, doesn't it stand to reason that they've chosen not to? But then, maybe they simply haven't had the time. "Loop" doesn't sound like it had a lot of thought put into it. "You can also take some time to think about it, if you like." She's already started to pick up their way of naming people; she's called Siffrin "forgetful one" and things like that in the past.
[1/2]
They're silent for a moment.
[2/2]
(They don't want to take time to think about it. They don't want to think about it at all.)
(...maybe later.)
no subject
Odile nods sharply. That is...enough for now. Not forever by a long shot, but there's obviously far too much to get through in a single sitting. "Come on, then. We'd best track down Siffrin." You see? Context.