had the thought of an "everyone is looping Except for siffrin" au with a mean twist bc i love pain and i dont want to write a whole fic w this premise lmao
Some 40-50 loops in with no significant progress re the "figuring out how to escape the loop" bit, the party experiences a particularly infuriating loop where Siffrin dies in a Very preventable way (maybe everyone was too busy theory-crafting to remember the rock trap)
And someone snaps at them at the beginning of the next loop, in a sort of diet act 5 situation because they're upset at having to watch him die so often/frustrated at him for slowing them down and hindering their progress by being "careless" (that is to say, not caring for their own safety).
And when someone else tries to calm them down, like "Hey, i get you're upset, but don't take this out on him, he doesn't understand what you're even upset about, he's still a person, he's your friend" they're like "Lay off me, it's not like he's going to remember it anyways, he doesn't remember anything" (that is to say, the loops).
...And while the person who snapped is arguing with the rest of the party, Siffrin slips away, dazed. Because, it's not like they didn't already know all that. But there was a part of them that had. Sort of hoped it was in their own head. Or that he was overthinking it. It hurts worse than he expected to have it confirmed.
They need to go somewhere quiet to calm down. The field is right in the view of the party, they don't want to go to the clocktower when everyone will be converging there later anyways, so they end up under the Favour Tree, just sort of quietly shaking and losing his shit until the sun starts to go down, and he catches sight of a leaf, also shaking, also tattered, also full of holes in all the places that matter--and aren't you supposed to make wishes under a Favour Tree?
Their party deserves someone better. Someone who won't blind it up all the time. Who's a complete person. Who isn't careless (that is to say, who cares more about their friends, who can care enough not to be so useless). Who won't hinder their progress. Who can remember (their past, their life, where they're from, how to be a person, how to be worth keeping around, anything, anything!!!).
Who can at least remember enough to know what he did! To know why their friends suddenly hate them...!
Remember, remember, remember.
The next day, Isabeau plunges his hand into a tear right in front of them without even flinching.
...And then they wake up in the field again, with the memory of Isabeau's exhausted expression as he froze in time imprinted on the back of their eyelids.
(You've been given a chance to learn from your mistakes and be useful to your party again, Siffrin. Best not to let them know--they're stressed enough as is dealing with this situation without having to explain everything to you. You'll be fine--you just have to get up to speed without acting suspicious. Or, even better, you can figure out how to save everyone on your own.)
(Then you'll be loved again.)
(Don't blind it up this time.)
