bottlecaplogs | [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.]

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Odile's ears flatten. The feathers only draw attention to those shifts in her; she's not much of a fan.

"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.

Somehow they were almost hoping that Odile would have an answer. Something that would make them feel stupid for not realizing, but would fix everything. That's not fair, though - like they were thinking earlier, what even is there to help?

...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!"

Odile rolls her eyes. For being able to make that sort of point, they're not terribly self-aware about it, are they? "Let's carry on, then," she says, little as she personally loves the scenario. "Suppose there were some other Odile, who had been through some terrible ordeal all by herself. Are you going to throw her out on the street? Act as if she simply doesn't exist?"

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.

They really truly aren't, no matter how much they tell themself they are. That shuts them up!

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...

...

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.

Odile makes a sound in the back of her throat that's very nearly a laugh. "Fine." Well played and all that. This is why they're a party; with just her and Siffrin, the balance is all off. You need people like Isabeau and Mirabelle around - and Boniface, even if that's a little different.

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!

They can't not comment on that.

"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.)

"It is."

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?

They open their mouth - and then pause, eyes darting away.

...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.

If they thought they weren't going to be around for much longer, they'd probably have said Loop anyway and been done with it. As is, though - they don't want to, and they're too caught off guard to come up with something else. (If they even trusted themself to do it.) So they dodge the responsibility.

"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!"

"Now hold on a moment." Odile's still trying to modulate her tone, but she's also not just letting that pass. "You can still be Siffrin as well, if that's what you want. I didn't mean to imply that you couldn't. But...if you don't want to, then I don't...wish to overstep."

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.

"...!"

They're silent for a moment.

"It would just get confusing, wouldn't it?" In the same dismissive tone as some of the other things they've already said. But they're not actually telling her no to being called Siffrin. Odile may be picking up on a pattern...

(They don't want to take time to think about it. They don't want to think about it at all.)

(...maybe later.)

"Don't underestimate me, Siffrin." She will be keeping them straight. It does help that the both of them are currently different species. All three of them are sort of feline, though...strange.

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.

[closed] you're not the hero. you never were

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