bottlebay app (SPOILERS!)

[loopsiedaisy]

PLAYER
NAME: Terry
CONTACT: stocke
OVER 18? Y
CURRENT CHARACTERS: None!

CHARACTER
NAME: Siffrin (Start Again)
CANON: In Stars And Time
CANON POINT: Post-game, secret boss ending

BACKGROUND:
Quick initial note: the character I'm describing here is usually known in canon as "Loop"; them being a canon AU of Siffrin is an endgame spoiler. In this app, I'll be calling them "Loop" for clarity. However, outside of the context of canon, they don't have a reason to hide their identity as Siffrin (and won't be quick to talk about being Loop)!

I'm apping them as "Start Again Siffrin" since I think that'll be the easiest way to leave other players unspoiled if they so wish. (Start Again is the demo version of ISAT, but also a prologue. It's confirmed that the version of Siffrin in it is Loop.) That said, I'm still taking them from their ISAT canon point, so I'm happy to change that to "Loop" if you'd like me to!

Pronouns: Under the "Loop" identity, Loop only uses they/them pronouns, while as Siffrin they used to use he/they; the developer has confirmed this was (mostly) to hide their identity. During RP I'll be using just "they" to start, but other players using either shouldn't be an issue. In this app I'm using "they" for Loop and "he" for the "main timeline" Siffrin!

Wiki: the game wiki is incomplete at this time, so I'll be providing bullet points most pertinent to Loop. But: overall story, Siffrin, Loop.

Bullet points:

• The protagonist of ISAT, Siffrin, is trapped in a time loop at the climax of his friends' quest to save the world. Initially, due to looping back upon dying, he assumes killing the final boss and surviving will release him. He quickly discovers this isn't true.
• The only other person who remembers the time loop is the Tutorial Provider, a star-headed lil guy called Loop. While Loop initially presents as annoying, mysterious, and only somewhat helpful, the two's relationship becomes genuine and meaningful over the game due to their (functional) isolation.
• After an egregious amount of loops, a buildup of trauma/depression leads to Siffrin lashing out at all his friends and taking on the final dungeon alone, then losing to the final boss. It's implied that in this state, an unspecified permanent bad end will befall him.
• Fortunately, his friends show up - guided by Loop, who had previously hidden from them, but who has now informed the party about the time loop. They intervene; the final boss is defeated.
• At the final moments of the loop, Siffrin spirals from desperation and nearly becomes the new big bad. A confrontation with his friends snaps him out of it and the time loop breaks! It turns out the loops were (partially) caused by a wish Siffrin made; the problem is solved by him talking to his friends about how he loves them, wants reassurance that they feel the same way, and wants to keep traveling with them after their Quest TM.
• It's revealed that Loop is a previous Siffrin who was stuck in the time loop for even longer and completely gave up on escaping. They wished for it to just be over and ended up as Loop.
• Loop intended to explain their identity to the party, but gave up when they saw their friends' lack of recognition. Their concern for Siffrin - that he was close to giving up like they did and getting stuck in the same situation - still made them act as guide.
• Loop is now extremely bitter and jealous over Siffrin's happy ending, as they can't return to their timeline (which no longer exists) and do the same. They fight Siffrin, intending to kill and replace him; however, even if the fight is lost, Loop can't bring themself to actually follow through.
• The two make up, and Loop seems to fade from existence - but the two promise to each other that they'll meet again.
• Additional backstory note: Siffrin(/Loop) come from an island nation that was completely wiped from everyone's memory. They do not remember their childhood, family, or first language, and are even unaware (most of the time) why this is true. Over the course of the game both do build up some immunity to the latter effect, but part of the story involves Siffrin coming to terms with potentially never regaining the rest. (Whether Loop has is... unclear.)

SUITABILITY:
At Loop's canon point, they're resigned to being the "wrong"/"failed" Siffrin and never being able to rejoin their friends; they're angry, jealous, depressed, deeply self-hating, and profoundly deprived of human contact. Even prior to canon, Siffrin has Issues due to his history and relationships vanishing out from underneath him, and a resulting tendency towards insecurity, catastrophizing, and self-sabotaging. Loop is all of that but convinced things will never get better for them.

Which is to say: they won't actually be interested in returning home from Bottlecap Bay! But this is also because they don't currently want to exist.

My initial goal in Bottlecap Bay would be to get them out of that passively-suicidal mindset and invested in Bottlecap Bay and the other characters! I think this could very easily go in many directions - maybe they start forming healthy attachments and growing more secure, or maybe their guild leader gets them invested but turns them into even more of A Mess. Maybe they build strong roots in Bottlecap Bay and never want to leave; maybe they recover mentally in such a way that they do start looking for a way back home to reconnect with their old party, even if it's not as "Siffrin." I'm not picky, as long as they're involved!

As for getting them involved: They're in a pretty volatile mental state at their point in canon, so the way they act initially will vary widely based on who they interact with first and when they remember more after the TDM. However... they're extremely lonely, and they will react to the slightest scrap of positive attention. (No matter how much they tell themself that they're jaded and resigned to the idea that relationships with them will never work out - they won't be able to resist!)

On top of that, when they were Siffrin the first time around, Loop was both a. easy to rope into things, and b. the kind of person to jump in and be helpful to strangers. I think the clear structure of the guilds will be something very easy for them to fall into and get invested in, for better or worse!

Conversely, because Loop is in such a volatile state, it's not hard to push them into lashing out! (Particularly if there's some aspect of self-destruction or self-sabotage involved.) And they definitely know how to hold a grudge. I think it could make for some interesting negative CR earlier in their time in game.

QUESTIONNAIRE:

⟡ Your character is on an exploration quest when they find an injured Pokemon in need of help. This Pokemon appears to be in distress and is quite dangerous, posing a risk to your character even if they mean well, and putting your quest mission at risk. What do they do? What are some possibilities of how they work with teammates to address this, or do they go at it alone?

If the rest of the team wants to help... well, there's that decision made! This is true even if it puts the quest mission at risk and the group needs to split up to handle it - Loop would be quick to volunteer for whichever they think is the more dangerous option. Self-preservation is not something they're good at.

Loop would be well-suited to be the one actually getting close to the injured Pokemon, although they might need instructions from a medic. (In canon, there's a joke that Siffrin handles scouting not just because he's better at finding/defusing traps, but also because when he does set them off, he's fast enough to get out of the way.)

If Loop's team doesn't want to help and Loop cares about their opinion, they'd be reluctant to go against the will of the group. They could be peer-pressured into leaving the Pokemon behind... and regret it immediately. (Though there are circumstances that would lead Loop to push harder/abandon the team, and perhaps change their opinion on the members. For example, if the Pokemon was a child, that'd be a big deal.)

⟡ Your character's worst enemy has recently appeared in game, and has joined the guild your character is part of. They both want to tackle the same quest, and your character's enemy suggests that they work together as a team to accomplish this goal. How does your character respond to this?

Absolutely not. They're not doing it. Admittedly, this is because Loop's particular worst enemy is someone who has a record of offering a truce and then using it to stab someone in the back. Loop will take the risk of doing the mission solo over teaming up, no matter how difficult. (And would've already tried to convince the guild that said enemy is Bad News.)

If we're talking a worst enemy generally, though, the answer starts to vary a lot based on the circumstances! Loop would be swayed by why this person is their current worst enemy, why they care about participating in the quest, how much pressure there is from the guild/leader...

If the quest isn't that important, Loop might pettily insist on taking it solo, or they might just give up and back off for another one.

If they do end up working together, it's likely that Loop will spend the entire time acting - well, kind of catty! But they'll still take the job seriously aside from comments.

⟡ The leader of your character's guild has just approached your character with an offer: they will provide your character with extra supplies, reputation points, and help them with any of their current struggles. In exchange, they ask for your character to do a favor for them that may harm the other guilds, and will not specify what the favor is in advance. It sounds shady, but it's the deal of a lifetime in your character's path to get back home, and refusing it may cause strife for your character within their current guild. What do they think of this offer? What do they ultimately decide to do?

The extra supplies/reputation wouldn't even be needed here - if Loop's been part of the guild for any significant amount of time and doesn't actively dislike the guild leader, they'd agree to do it for nothing. But they might also walk it back once they've heard the specifics. (The odds of this go up if they've made friends in the other guilds.)

Like with the first question, their primary concern will be interpersonal reactions rather than having their rewards yanked back. There's certain lines they could be pressured into crossing, particularly if they do outright look up to their guild leader, or if their leader threatens repercussions that'd lead to their friends in the guild shunning them. (Or Loop thinks that'd happen... which is something it wouldn't be hard to convince them of.) There's other lines they won't cross no matter how pressured, but the leader could definitely make them feel the consequences.

Alternatively, Loop might carry out the favor but also warn their buddies in other guilds beforehand - and maybe get caught doing this, landing in even bigger trouble. They think they're a lot more subtle than they actually are!

⟡ Due to shortages on supplies, the city is facing issues deciding where to cut corners during this rough time. Somehow, the responsibility has fallen on your character's shoulders, and they have to make a decision. If they send out an extra team of Pokemon, they will be able to gather more food, and through that, save the lives of dozens of starving Pokemon that were in dire need of nutrition. However, the only Pokemon available to scout for food are those working at the pokeclinic, and sending them out would mean certain death for at least two ill patients. What does your character decide to do? How do they feel about this choice, and how would they deal with the pushback that comes from either side?

This could really go one of two ways, depending on how Loop develops in their initial chunk of time in Bottlecap Bay! (And also setting aside the scenario where Loop cares about one of the ill or starving Pokemon personally - in that case they're going for the "selfish" option.)

On the one hand - there's precedent in canon for Loop being ruthless, so they could straightforwardly go for the option they believe has minimum deaths. (While quietly dissociating.)

On the other hand, that's in the context of a time loop, where they've gotten used to things getting reset. Without that, there's non-zero odds that they'd get paralyzed with indecision. Even if that made things worse to the degree that both people continued to starve and the ill patients died! (I could picture a scenario where they run out to try and find food themself, and the lack of leadership makes things devolve even further.)

As for how they deal with pushback: poorly. If they went with option a, they might put on an act of confidence or inappropriate, incongruous cheerfulness... or they might be putting in maximum effort to avoid people. If they were paralyzed, they would definitely be avoiding people. Either way, even with the best available outcome, they'd be blaming themself for whatever did go wrong. They'd expect to never get this kind of responsibility again, after the way they handled it, and be secretly relieved.

(And of course... given a long enough time in game, it might be that they develop enough to handle it better than described here!)


POKEMON: Shinx! Mostly due to Shinx's star theming, which is relevant to Loop's canon and Loop specifically. Also, Siffrin(/Loop's) abilities in their canon are associated with speed and boosting their party members to go faster, and Loop plays a big role in motivating Siffrin not to give up... which matches Electric's associations. I think it's fitting that the "idealized" version of Loop, probably the most positive arc that they could end up with in Bopbay, is one that leads them to more closely match the Electric stereotypes!

GUILD OPT-OUT: I'm opting out of Oran because Mightyena is simply too normal. (Also, while Loop's capable and experienced enough with battling to do fine in Oran, most of the specific responsibilities are counter to their approach.)

Out of the remaining two guilds: I think Loop's best suited to Cheri as far as responsibilities - they're an experienced traveler and scout, and used to rough conditions and being first into battle - but the guild leader could easily encourage some of their worse tendencies. (Which, to be clear: as a player I'm fine with!)

They'd struggle more in Lum - it's not that they can't be thoughtful or strategic or plan out next steps (and in fact did it much more as Loop than as Siffrin), but they do have a tendency to just rush into things. At least when they're not deeply depressed and avoiding having agency - it might be that they unintentionally trick Polteageist given their mental state when they first come in! I think Lum would be interesting in encouraging some of Loop's better and worse traits, and lead to clashes later when they're champing at the bit to scout.

SAMPLES:
SAMPLE 1: Bopbay TDM Sample
SAMPLE 2: Not Bopbay, but I conveniently have another Shinx sample

OTHER STUFF: In their canon setting, the world is under a magical effect that makes everyone unable to see color - quite literally, as in everyone sees in grayscale until/unless the world is starting to "break". While this is technically tied to the setting as a whole rather than focused on individual characters, I find playing with this fun, so I'd like this to still apply to them in Bottlecap Bay! (Perhaps they can start seeing colors if anything particularly "world-breaking" happens...?)