[Open/Mingle Post For All] Well here we are again

[sansational]

Sans has been keeping tally marks. Not entirely reliably, of course. But around about the point he first started realizing that his time in the castle wasn't just a dream, he started keeping marks on some of the older headstones in the cemetary. Just for his own sake. Just for what had been at the time the sheer novelty of watching time progress in a linear manner again. And after a certain point, it had simply become a force of habit. After all, by then he'd taken to poking around the cemetary regularly anyway to check for new people anyway.

One morning, he realizes that - give or take a few days - his tally marks now total up one year. 

That's...something to think about. And he takes a couple of days to think about it, while he works on a certain project alongside Tauriel. He thinks about everything that's happened in a year. All the people that have come and gone. Some of them haven't gone, though. Thanks to the most seemingly minor circumstances in the world, they're here beside him instead. He's more grateful for that than he would have thought he could be, back then.

After all, that means when he finally decides to put his plan into action, he has Serif and Papyrus to help him spread the world. He has Tauriel to help him pinpoint people he might not have met yet - there really are so many more people around nowadays. And he has Frisk to keep him motivated, even if they don't know exactly how they're doing that. After all, he can't relax too much from this project, because another certain project is always waiting for him. It has been for weeks now, even before the recent chaos.

So once the dust has settled from the mass transforming, more or less everyone in the castle will find themselves receiving a message from a skeleton in a blue hoodie. He speaks it in person if he feels safe to approach. Otherwise, he leaves a note with a date, time, and a brief mention of a plan. The location his invitation points to is the ballroom, with its mirrored floor and its impossibly long buffet tables full of sweets.

On the stated day, at the stated time, everyone will...still have to wait five minutes for Sans to pull himself together after a nap, remember what he's supposed to be doing, and suddenly appear inside the room, still in the process of hastily smoothing out his badly rumbled, wrinkled notecards. It had taken him literal hours to dig these up out of the mess his lab has become.

"so, uh, yeah," he says, looking from the assembled residents to the cards and back again. He has to learn in and squint to read his own faded handwriting. "should probably explain what you're all doing here. so. i'm sure you've all noticed that this castle has got some weird things going on, above and beyond the whole, uh...stealing us from across time and space thing. i'm also assuming that most of you want to go home and won't mind helping me figure out a way to get us there." He gestures at the table. "to do that, i'm gonna need to start testing some of these theories. guesswork is fun, but it doesn't get us anywhere. timing how long it takes this place to reset something seems like a good start. and so this particular experiment runs as cleanly as possible, uh...i'm gonna need your help eating everything on that table. like, all of it. just don't choke on any shiny bits." 

Message delivered, Sans crams the notecards back in his pocket, and spreads his arms in silent indication for everyone to dig in. 

Those castle residents who were here last year might have reason to be suspicious. Might even have reason to call this entire plan a lie. After all, they know that trying to eat everything on these tables ultimately didn't lead to a damn thing being discovered about the castle. At least, besides some uncertain notes that Sans never thought were worth sharing. Why get people's hopes up? 

But what had been accomplished was getting everyone together and talking. Connections had been made. Support systems had been built. Maybe that can happen again for some of the newcomers. He can only hope. 

Besides. Maybe this year will be different. Science is all about repetition, after all.

((ooc: Post comments for your characters that can be replied to, and mingle as you see fit! Eat, drink, be merry, have food fights, and try to be sick outside! There are very few people Sans wouldn't have invited. Even if you don't think he would have invited you, you can feel free to have your characters notice the noise and wander inside to see what the fuss is about.))

Comments

[notsogrimreaper]

Ryoji is glad to be a face Toshi associates with positive things. He’s always here to comfort and care for and understand Toshi, and he’ll be happy to stop flirting if the android just asks, but it’s just so gosh dark cute to watch him blush.

“Ah! Right, I should have guessed that.” He smiles softly. “Well, more for me, I guess. I hope you’re enjoying your time regardless.”

He can keep Toshi fed with a healthy dose of flirting, if he prefers.

[darkerstripes]

Toshi is spoiled to have such a kind, understanding friend. He appreciates the efforts to be comforting. He also appreciates the flirting, really. It's a breath of fresh air after all the drama and anguish, and it... well, it's an ego boost if he's being honest. Not that he's deluded enough to think Ryoji is actually interested in him. That would be silly. Flirting is just fun.

"I appreciate the offer, at least." Gosh darnit Ryoji even your smile is really charming. Toshi is too gay for this he needs an adult. "More for you," he agrees, smiling himself.

Should he... should he flirt back? A few stupid lines come to mind and Toshi is torn between facepalming, fleeing, or just saying them.

Inhibitions be damned. "I'm quite enjoying myself, now that I'm talking to you," he's going to regret this.

[notsogrimreaper]

Toshi is definitely not spoiled to have basic friendship. Ryoji is happy to offer that to anyone he deems a good person, which the android certainly is. He deserves to be happy and forget the drama and get a little ego boost on the side. Flirting is very fun for him, and a good way for him to show others that they are more important than they may otherwise believe.

“Well, I’m glad you appreciated something of mine!” He beams and opens his mouth to take a large bite of the cupcake, only to be surprised by Toshi’s admission.

“To me?”

…His confused look rapidly turns into an overjoyed grin.

“If I can cheer you up this much just by talking, I wonder what would happen if I did something else.”

[darkerstripes]

Toshi is absolutely spoiled to have been able to get such a good impression on Ryoji so fast. He thought anyone who found him hiding in the corner would think he's not worth the effort, but here Ryoji is again, beaming at the robot with genuine affection.

Toshi's knees feel a bit unsteady. "I appreciate a lot of things about you..." He realizes too late that he's muttered that aloud instead of just thinking it and really does pull his hat down to cover his face, then.

"W-What?!" Only for him to almost immediately look back up in disbelief. Easy, Toshi, you ridiculous AI, he couldn't mean anything too forward! He's being friendly, don't read too far into it and be creepy.

Ryoji's grin makes Toshi's harddrive forget to spin for a moment. Well, shit. "Um... I mean... I'm sure I d-don't know what you mean."

[notsogrimreaper]

A few others here have found Ryoji curled in a ball on the edge of the fountain with a bunch of ruined flowers. He knows you have to deal with people at their worst to be able to be blessed with their good side. And Toshi has a lot of good qualities about him, more than enough to make up for a bad day or two.

“Ah?” Ryoji chuckles softly and reaches over to gently tug on the hat. “You’re flattering me, honestly. What was that you said about appreciating me?”

He beams, and he’s probably just a little too close to be completely platonic. He can’t help it. Toshi is adorable for a robot that looks older than him.

“Oh, I’m sure you do know what I mean, from the blush on your face. But we can play innocent if you’d prefer as well. I’m only teasing.”

[darkerstripes]

That sounds like a big understatement to Toshi, but he sure does feel blessed to be thought of so highly by some of the people here at this castle. Maybe he can work to deserve it. Maybe he can try to accept that they enjoy his company. One step at a time.

Once he's done having a small breakdown about being flirted with. That could take some doing, with Ryoji chuckling like that and standing... so close...

"Oh, um. No, I-I didn't say... anything..." Or he didn't mean to. He can feel his harddrive spinning too fast. Ryoji lifts his hat up and he's exposed again, and called on his bluff. He makes an undignified sound.

"O-of course you were teasing... S-sorry... I'm... I didn't mean to t-take you too seriously." Of course he was just joking around for fun. He wouldn't actually kiss Toshi or something like that! But he sure is right in Toshi's space and that sure is making him react.

H-13, Toshi says to himself, you have got to get a grip. Maybe this is his way of coping with Barnaby and Kotetsu from here not knowing him.

[notsogrimreaper]

Ryoji definitely thinks highly of him without Toshi having to do any work. But if he wants to try, Ryoji is willing to help him realize there are people around here who definitely enjoy Toshi’s presence. Of course, that’s definitely going to take time.

Time Toshi might not have if Ryoji keeps pestering him. Ryoji leans back a little bit, trying to stop Toshi from completely melting down.

“I don’t know, I definitely heard you saying something…” He chuckles a bit at the noise and shakes his head, dropping the hat so Toshi can relax.

“No, I’m sorry. I honestly didn’t mean to upset you or anything. I just wanted to have some fun and help you get a little more confident. I mean, someone as handsome as you should be aware of that and be more confident, is all.”

He smiles softly, trying to be a little less forward, but no less genuine. He really does think Toshi deserves to think highly of himself.