osteothropy | IC CONTACT

[ Whereas Lambert always sounds pissed about everything -- pissed at the hassle, pissed at having to play babysitter, pissed at why the Ringmaster's even decided to bring them along to this stupid stuffy world. ]

With our luck, we're gonna end up finding out the Ringmaster's got a jilted lover that turns people into werewolves. [ Like, proper ones, not the spell Sans uses to turn himself into a beast... ]

Edited 2017-09-27 15:21 (UTC)

[ At some point, Lambert just stops replying to his radio, jumps on Pig, and heads off to the one place he can be pretty sure he's not going to have to deal with people for a while.

Which means there's a golden dragon (more of a wyvern, but why get hamstrung on technicalities?) hanging out at the hot springs, steam rising off its scales as it literally simmers with anger in the water. ]

[Unfortunately for Lambert, Sans can get anywhere in the carnival grounds instantaneously. And based on their practice sessions, it doesn't take him long to figure out where to go when Lambert goes inactive.

So, not too long after, a small skeleton will appear in the snow, huffing out a sigh as he sees the dragon stewing in the water.]

Feels good, huh? Just stepping out of your skin for a bit. Being something else.

[As Lambert knows, Sans can do something similar. What he didn't see was Sans's growing pains with such a similar power.]

[ The dragon snarls. Ten feet or so of snow instantly turn into slush as the jet of flame rolls out of his mouth, but at least he's not pointing that at Sans. ]

I already know I fucked up.

[ So he doesn't need Sans being all ... empathetic, or whatever that was supposed to be. As a dragon, his voice is lower, with a rougher timbre, but still recognizably his own. He tends to have a hard time holding this form for longer than a few minutes at a time unless he's sufficiently motivated, and being angry as hell? Yeah, that's pretty motivating. ]

[Thankfully, Sans is ready to escape if necessary, but he isn't too concerned. Lambert is still probably more loyal than angry.]

I didn't come to tell you off. Plenty of other guys beat me to it.

[His tail slowly swishes back and forth through the snow.]

You were right about the part where we can't afford to act without more information. We're gunna have emotional people desperate to do the right thing... so, if it didn't happen now it'd happen later.

[ The lack of censure settles Lambert a bit, though it's only a matter of time before something else sets him off, probably. ]

If they're freaking out this badly now, it's only going to get worse when we get to the manor. [ He grumbles. Never lose that optimism, buddy. ]

I still don't see why we actually need to be there. [ He's whining, and he knows it, but just let him get this out of his system, all right? ] This better be worth it, whatever it is.

Edited ( ) 2017-10-02 03:48 (UTC)

You're right.

[Sans is not necessarily more optimistic, but it is what it is.]

Which is why we gotta be together on this. Just telling them they can't do it isn't going to work. If we take the position of the unfeeling authority, the kind of people in the carnival? They're gunna stop listening.

I've got no clue if rescuing these servants is going to be necessary or plausible... but if we push our side into a corner, make them choose between safety and their morals, then they're going to lash out.

[ Why can't this problem just be solved by stabbing something? Life's so much easier when you can solve things by running them through. Violence is always the answer. ]

I know that. I'm the one who usually stops listening. [ And from his tone of voice, yeah, he's unhappy about it. ]

All the questions piss me off. I can't tell them something I don't know, but then they'll just make shit up on their own. You can't win.

Edited 2017-10-02 12:54 (UTC)

[The telltale crackle sound of someone hesitating to actually talk comes on for a few seconds, blips off for a few more.]

Uh... ahem. Hi, Sans! I have some news for you! And someone who would like to talk with you, who is not new. To you.

[Maybe he should have practiced this a couple more times.]

[Sans has been resting, so he's a bit groggy when he answers, though he's eager to respond when he hears who it is. Some things feel very fresh and new at the moment and this is one of them. He pulls his radio over to where he's been snoozing, beneath a couple comforters.]

Hey bro... What're you talkin' about?

[Does he mean someone else from home? Someone from the Manor? He's not sure.]

[Sleepy could be good. It could mean he's comfortable, relaxed, and not immediately thinking of whatever terrible-but-undone things are lurking around in others' memory. But it also means he needs to be a little more direct.]

In short, a friend of mine has shown up, and wants to talk with you! One I feel I should specify is my friend, but, more of a friend in potentia for you. Or... maybe an ex-friend.

[After all... how many asshole flowers can he have befriended? Flowey remembers things, and mentioned evidences of a deeper friendship than Papyrus remembers... and Sans would surely have tagged along. Boy, he wishes he knew more about all this.]

Which is to say... Flowey, the flower?

[His spine goes cold, his soul twisting in his rib cage. He's still drowsy enough that he doubts that he first hears, but that layer of sleepy protection is peeling away quickly with potential panic.]

He... what?

[He jolts up from under the covers, his whole body tense and ready to move - except for the part where that hurts him, and a soft groan escapes from between his teeth.]

No... I... I told you, he...

[He's genuinely confused - not cagey, just caught off guard, like he doesn't understand.]

Where are you?

[Papyrus sighs, because he can hear that contented sleepiness shattering, the way stammering turns to concerned demands. Maybe it didn't help after all.]

I'm by a balloon stand. Completely unharmed!

[A more precise answer can wait a couple seconds, because Sans shouldn't be frantically teleporting around, especially not just after waking up.]

I know, you told me, that he... hurt me, a lot of times? I remember. But he doesn't seem interested in doing any of that. And he seemed...

[He trails off rather than admit Flowey was crying. That seems a little too much to just share on the radio.]

Anyway! It's the stand... with all the kid-focused entertainment stuff? You can recognize it by the balloon animals.

[Unfortunately, despite Papyrus's best efforts, he teleports anyway the second that he has a location. He doesn't do it particularly well, though. For one thing, his visualization on that was pretty vague - a balloon stand on the carnival grounds with Papyrus but without any geological specifics. Also, he's still exhausted and his magic is kind of on the fritz.

So, instead of replying to any of that stuff, Sans announces his presence by clumsily teleporting onto his face in a pile of nearby boxes. On the bright side, any violence is delayed by the fact that he's completely fallen over, his tail thrashing in the air.]

Edited 2017-11-16 04:12 (UTC)

[What with Flowey lurking around somewhere, and other people awake and about in the area... Papyrus goes through his whole spiel before realizing that the sound of falling things, paired with no interruption or response, is probably connected to a teleporting brother. He turns, dreading to see it; but there it is. Tail in the air and everything.]

Oh my god. Sans.

[Have a big-younger brother, coming over to help haul you out of those boxes. Or at least pile them back up again, once you've gotten up.]

Did you even hear anything I said? This is why I didn't tell you where I was right away.

[As it turns out, Sans does need the help out of the boxes. The stone melded into his body and the weird tail have added up to a lot of difficult weight in unexpected places, and sudden movements constantly have him off balance. And, really, what is a more sudden movement than teleportation?

He did listen, but maybe it just didn't process very well. As Papyrus is scooping him up, Sans is latching onto his arms with his hands, as if trying to stop him from going anywhere, like he's afraid he might leave. His tail gets in on it too, the tentacle suckers doing their best to latch onto his leg and keep him close.]

I heard, but... you don't... you don't get it. Bro, please, you gotta stay away from that thing. It's lying to you.

[He's pleading, and it's completely sincere.]

[Well, there are far worse things that could happen now than a clingy hug. He pats at Sans' shoulder, as best he can with his arms being grabbed like this.]

It's... You know, it's funny you should say that. He said much the same thing! Not the part about lying, but that I had no idea what he'd done, and that he didn't deserve my friendship. And then he said he needed to talk to you, first.

[Papyrus scowls, and glances away from his brother so it's a little less obvious. He might as well look around for Flowey while he's at it, too. Over behind the balloon stand, maybe? Loitering by the doorway of a tent?]

But I think I get to decide that for myself.

[He can think of no legitimate reason for that what so ever. His gaze follows Papyrus's - even like this, part of him is looking for some clue if the flower's location.]

I... I know it's hard to believe, but... he's done stuff like this before. Befriending people, trying to be popular... He knows what kind of stuff he's gotta say for you to believe him. He knows you better than you know him.

[Sans sounds like he's trying to convince someone back from the edge of a cliff, from the level of desperation in his tone.]

[ Dread comes as easily as if he's always known it. Sans was the most difficult one to face, was violent and protective, and what's more, he remembered. He'd still remember him, even now. Who knows if he has a tally of his brother's death? The sadness he earned from Papyrus is the only thing he has boosting him to rise up from the ground. It was doing guilt's part in his mind, and if he tells them-- if he tells them, it's the only chance he has at surviving here and proving who he was! ]

Don't attack! I swear! I won't lift a finger!

[ He looks obviously... scared? Not a common look on Flowey. He remembers after all, all the times he was torn apart, that this was the only person who COULD tear him apart. ]

T- Toriel! Alphys' underground basement! I can explain everything but why I'd deserve to be forgiven! I'm Toriel's...!

[It's a byproduct of his circumstances, to be sure. He's a thread's width from losing it with recent trauma and past grief combining, and Flowey is the perfect trigger to bring it out. Sans doesn't let go of Papyrus, but he does go rigid.

Before Flowey can finish, he's trust out his hand, and a circle of bones is erupting around the flower in a cage formation - not closed in enough to hurt him, yet, but trying to block him from coming or going through the ground.

He doesn't say anything. He's reacting on instinct, and he hasn't thought about what comes next.]

... I'm Toriel's son! I'm Asriel!

[ Well, okay. Saying he's Asriel, even if it wasn't true, doesn't cover the sheer amount of damage he's done to these two skeletons in particular, not to mention the rest of the underground. They were by no way obligated to forgive him like Frisk had, Papyrus included.

So he better explain while that exclamation hopefully stalls them. ]

You know the story, right? King Asgore and Queen Toriel had a child named Asriel. One day, a human fell in and was adopted into the royal family. Chara... my sibling... they weren't very nice, but they were my sibling. My best friend. They had a plan to take on the humans that made them jump into Mt. Ebott. Chara started poisoning themself with buttercups. We had a plan... w- we wanted to get six human souls and free all the monsters! Chara lied to our parents, they said they wanted to go see the golden flowers one last time above ground...

... so... Chara died. And because of their last wish, I was allowed to take their soul above ground. But it was both of us in one body-- Chara didn't just want to kill six humans, Chara wanted to kill every human in that village.

So I resisted them. I went to the Golden Flowers, just like Chara asked. Humans started screaming and bringing out their weapons. I could have killed them all, but all I did was pick them back up again and headed back for the monster's world.

You remember the next part, right? I don't have to explain. I died when I came back and turned into dust in the throne room. [ Asgore declared human souls would save them all, and each human would be reaped of theirs, and hope had returned. Toriel was disgusted and absconded to the ruins with Chara's body. ]

Alphys... she did her best. [ laughs a little. ] I wouldn't be alive without her.

She was tasked by Asgore to experiment with determination to try and find all of us a way out without the use of human souls. She took one of the flowers from his throne room, the first one to bloom since I died and injected it with determination. That was me. But I didn't have a soul, all I had were my memories and will to live.

I couldn't feel anything, so I went around doing my best for people, and when that didn't make me feel anything, I tried everything. Eventually, I became the me you know.

I had the power to save and reset until Frisk came along-- that was the determination. I think.

...

[ He bows his head, as if he doesn't care if the bones close in. ]

Too long, didn't listen: Because I had no feelings, I was desperate for any single one. But without a soul, I'd never be on that level.

The Ringmaster let me sign for it back. I have to regain my feelings on my own, b- but... once I do, I'll be Asriel again.

Please, believe me...

[The thing about holding onto somebody is, they can hold back. Papyrus twists his arm around a bit, enough to get his hand on Sans' arm back, so they're both just sorta holding each other. He squeezes once in warning as that thorough bone cage goes up, warning not to go further - and really, isn't that already too far? but his brother's gone so rigid and silent that maybe it isn't for him to feel safe - and then, a longer squeeze. Reassuring: still here, brother.

He listens without interrupting as Flowey introduces himself by a whole other name - a name he's heard before, sometime - and spins a familiar story with a really big, flower-shaped twist. And what he ends it with, it's what he'd been saying before but with context, and...]

Oh my god...! That's so sad.

[He wipes at his cheeks, glances down and sideways at Sans.]

Is... this the stuff he told me, before? Because I want to believe it!

[It's for the best that Papyrus is there, before his presence is the guiding force that prevents Sans from just interrupting Flowey's explanation with some kind of preventative violence. He's heard this before, he feels like. He's heard so many lies for this flower, and with the ability to rewrite time, he would have had ample time to build and alibi.

And yet, none of this feels new.

Sans wavers on his feet, going limp at the knees, his free hand pressing to his skill as his thoughts begin to race, and excess of information cluttering his mind. It's always there, behind closed doors. More memories than he can comprehend, ready to tear his head apart ever time he tries to analyze them too closely.

Has he heard this one before? Trying to piece it together, to narrow it down to a few specific timelines - it's difficult. He has asked the Ringmaster to allow him to remember everything, and she had. Even now, three years later, he's still feeling the impact of how big of a mistake that might have been.

Had Flowey told Papyrus this story before?]

You...

[He makes a pained sound, his grip on Papyrus the only thing keeping him from falling to the ground. Most of his eyes have closed in a grimace, except one, blazing blue and gold. The bones retract, but just as quickly, form a wall between Flowey and the two of them.]

St-Stay away from us. That's your only warning.

[His tail has gotten uncomfortably tight around Papyrus's leg.]

Got it?

... Yeah.

I deserve it.

[ Because Frisk had saved the world, taught him the meaning of love in his heart again-- specifically from Sans and Papyrus as well while they were trapped in there, that simple 'nah, I'm rooting for ya, kid'. Sans had the most doubt. 'Why even try?' This was the last person who would have ever believed him. It meant nothing to him to stay away from Papyrus' trailer, he was a flower, he could find anywhere he wanted.

He had hoped... Frisk's miracle could influence his own, but that simply wasn't the truth. Frisk had given a miracle to Flowey and Asriel, not the other way around. Therefore, these objects of his torture have no reason to forgive him. To believe he's just a child underneath. To believe a child would go to such lengths.

He starts to cry again, same as when Papyrus saw them, and of course, they might look like crocodile tears to Sans. ]

I'll stay out of his trailer.

I'll stay away from you.

I'll--

[ * Ｆｌｏｗｅｙｒａｎａｗａｙ. ]

Edited 2017-11-19 00:24 (UTC)

IC CONTACT

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[ hot springs ]

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Radio, B1 or so - a great welcome back present is here

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IN PERSON

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1/2

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