Look at me still talking when there's science to do (Open Post)

[sansational]

Sans is starting to get a handle on this place. Perhaps more to the point, and more potentially useful, is that he's started to get a handle on its inhabitants. There are a few that he keeps a personal eye on on a semi-regular basis, even if they don't always know it. The rest, he's just made note of their passage and their movements. It's all for professional purposes, of course.

And that means that, when he's finally ready to do so, Sans can make contact with every person currently in the castle, either in-person if he knows them by name or by leaving a note somewhere they'll see it if he doesn't yet. Whether by spoken or written word, the message is nevertheless always the same. It's a request to meet him in the ballroom with the cakes table at a certain time and place. From his observations, it seems to be one of the more stable rooms in the castle, so everyone should be able to find it. 

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 notecards. 

"so, uh, yeah," he says, looking from the assembled residents to the cards and back again. "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. 

((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!))

Comments

[systematicsupport]

Sans looks surprised, and for a minute, S-4 looks hesitant, unsure if he said something wrong. He thought Sans would want to hear that, but maybe S-4 read it wrong? Maybe after all of that, he just wanted to be alone? Maybe... maybe S-4 wasn't good enough in comparison to Papyrus.

Thankfully, a few moments later, Sans grins, and there's something about that smile that always helps S-4 relax.

"Of course I want to be brothers. I..." And now he feels embarrassed. "I'm not really that cool."

He's just doing what he's meant to do. That's hardly very impressive. Even now that he's gotten here, he's just... living. He's not doing anything that anyone would see as very cool. He just spends time with people, tries some new things, and keeps an eye on his brother.

He looks up in surprise as his hands are covered, but eventually settles into a bit of a sad smile.

"Okay. I would like that... I really hope he does show up for you."

If Sans-Serif came here, nothing should be impossible. Papyrus should be able to be brought to this castle. But Sans is explaining something, something important, and S-4 tries to listen and piece it together. It's hard to think of Gaster as anything other than their creator. Thinking of him as a father is strange, yes, and a brother is even stranger, but... a father figure. That sounds right. Maybe despite the different universes, Gaster was always that kind of mature protector... and now Sans was offering to be the same thing.

"You... really would do that for us? You don't have to. I know it would be a lot of work, and I need to take care of you..."

But he really would like that. He'd like someone to... be a cool big brother for them. Help them figure this place out, help them look towards the future. He's sure Sans could do that. He's always been so kind and smart and amazing.

[sansational]

Sans grins encouragingly, giving their joined hands a little shake. "you already take care of me, s-4." Sans nods at the bed as evidence of this. And now that he thinks back, he knows that this can't be the first time that the other monster has come sneaking into his room to tidy up. Otherwise, Sans probably wouldn't even have a clear path to the door by this point. "in...in all the ways i need you to." Fussing over his sleeping habits, getting him to talk about what's really on his mind. All things that Sans tends to avoid or never even have the energy to think about, when he's on his own.

"besides, i did a lot of lab work with gaster. not as far as you guys have, or anything like that. but he's the reason i can do the sort of things that i can. the sort of things that they were trying to make sure s2 could do, right?" Sans had grown up idolizing both his brothers, for different reasons. But he'd also known that Gaster was the only one he ever had a chance of being anything like. No one could ever be as cool as Papyrus in the same way as Papyrus, and that was as it should be.

"so, um, so i figure i can probably piece together some of what was done to you guys." At least enough to make sure they stay healthy, and maybe try to pick apart the conditioning. "let's face it, s-4, you guys could use some more marrow in your bones. and...and i'm not gonna lie..."

He bows his head in something like embarrassment, his smile turning wistful and maybe a little sad. "i've kind of missed being able to read you your bedtime stories."

[systematicsupport]

S-4 looks sheepish, head bowed slightly and tilted to look at the floor instead of at his brother.

"It's really not that much help..."

He just moved a few papers, dusted a few shelves, and made the bed. Anyone could do that. He wanted to do so much more, even if he has a feeling Sans would protest. He's just used to doing more than this, being more. He's used to defending his brother, and there may not be anything to defend him from here, but that urge still remains. Translating that energy into tidying the room will only help for so long.

"I... I guess so. You said something like that, to him before. That you were 'made' to do something. I didn't... I didn't think it was anything like that for you... are you okay?"

He looks his brother back in the eyes, worry overwhelming his earlier embarrassment. He had always thought what had happened to him was normal, was simply what needed to be done, and it only made sense for it to be inflicted on something that had been created for such a purpose. Sans... Sans clearly had a life before the lab. He should have been free to live that life without going through that. It seemed so... wrong. S-4 tells himself it's only for that reason.

"I... I guess we probably could and..."

He trails off with a soft gasp, before starting to smile again. Bedtime stories. He hasn't heard one since he left the lab, and it's made it so much harder for him to rest. He tried to make up stories in his head, but they were disjointed and crude. He'd tried reading his own as well, but it wasn't at all the same. Hearing someone read to him... that felt so much more relaxing.

"I've missed bedtime stories a lot, Sans."

[sansational]

"hehehe. yeah, i...guess i did say something like that, didn't i?" Judging by the somewhat embarrassed, abashed expression on Sans' face, he'd forgotten as much in the heat of the moment. He'd just gotten so wrapped up in his own emotions, he'd gotten so upset, that he maybe hadn't taken as much care with his words as he normally would have.

Still, he looks touched at S-4's concern, even as he looks back at his brother with no sign that the reassurance he offers is anything but true. In this particular case, it isn't. Of all the trials Sans has gone through in his life, he ranks this as one of the more minor ones. Then again, any memory where Gaster is there seems a better one by default, nowadays. "i'm okay, s-4. for me, all of that was a side-project gaster and i took on. it was just me and him, no other scientists." Gaster being unable to overrule all of his colleagues and properly intervene on behalf of the two experiments sounded as though it was a state of affairs responsible for a lot of their misery.

"i mean, yeah, it left me with just the one hp on top of everything else. but, uh...it kinda looks like all of us are kind of destined to wind up that way. so if it wasn't the accident, it would've been something else. besides, i worked with him, before all of that. just as a lab assistant. so i knew what i was getting into, and why." He'd known all the dangers, all the possible ways it could go wrong. And yet he'd been more certain about continuing the project than Gaster had, at times. Mostly because: "it...was a choice i made, to go that way. so i could make the choice to stop, too." And he had, in the end, for Papyrus' sake. Even if it hadn't made much of a difference, in the end.

But the look of sheer, unreserved happiness on S-4's face at the mention of bedtime stories drives all such dark thoughts from Sans' mind, and makes his very soul feel warmer with a rush of relief and affection, enough that he laughs happily and steps forward to pull his brother into a hug. And here he'd been afraid that he might be intruding, or something like that. It looks as though, this time, he's actually managed to say the right thing.

"look at us. you've missed bedtime stories and i've missed reading them to you. we're just a couple of dorks, aren't we?" But he means that in the most affectionate possible way. Especially since, no matter how S-4 denies it, he's still undeniably the cooler dork.

"...well, you don't have to miss 'em anymore, okay? whenever you're tired, come and find me. i've always got time for you. and now you know that hey, you'd be doing me a favor, too."

uploads a new icon SOLELY FOR THIS SITUATION

[systematicsupport]

He remembers all too well how upset his brother had gotten. It was scary, seeing that much emotion boiling up from within him. S-4 knew how frail and broken Sans' soul was, could sense it, had seen the emotion within it come forth once before, when they talked about their respective pasts, but... it hadn't been like that. He hadn't seemed so angry before. It was a kind of anger that seemed to be as much directed at himself as it was at Sans-Serif, and S-4 isn't sure he has a word for that kind of anger in his vocabulary yet.

Thankfully, he doesn't seem upset now, not even as he has to discuss a little more of his past. S-4 listens with thinly concealed worry, but eventually has to admit to himself that what happened doesn't sound so bad, aside from a few of the side effects Sans suffered.

"There was an accident?"

That's the one part that does sound bad, because he knows how 'accidents' can end up, even with Gaster there.

The rest of that doesn't sound bad, though. Having Gaster there, being his partner instead of just a creation, and having the option to stop at any time. S-4 had Gaster there, but with him powerless to stop everything... it was hard.

Still, S-4 believed in him. He was living proof of the kindness out beyond the lab. He had to have hope that someday he would get to see it. And that wish had been granted, here. Even if it was a little bit unexpected.

With Sans-Serif here now, though, it's so hard not to be happy. And the laugh from Sans gives S-4 a burst of warmth in his soul, warmth that unconsciously radiates from him as he clings tightly to his sibling. He had always felt so lucky just to have one brother. To have two of them here, at the same time, and having the freedom to do things with both of them was something S-4 had never imagined.

He's been smiling so often now that his skull hurts. He imagines this is a good kind of pain.

"What are 'dorks'?" He chuckles gently after asking it, because it sounds like a silly word, and probably accurate for how silly they're being right now. But he's allowed to be silly now, so that's fine.

"I will. I promise I will. Um..."

He's so breathless and giggly and happy that it's hard to even feel nervous about asking.

"I think I'd like one now. If you want."

Best icon. Enjoy it while you can.

[sansational]

"it just means somebody silly. but...silly in a way that everybody loves. that people are happy to be around." Like S-4. And...maybe even like Sans, too.

"sure i want. i guess it's been a pretty long day for you, too, hasn't it?" Even if the warmth of that hug has left Sans feeling more rejuvenated than any amount of sleep or food ever could. His brother really does give the best hugs. He pulls away, though, enough to look up at his brother and beam happily. Then, looking around, Sans grabs a seemingly random notebook off his desk. "come on. you still sleeping in the same room?"

He'll have S-4 lead him there, holding his hand all the while.

Sans-Serif is still sleeping peacefully when they arrive. Sans lets out an affectionate huff at the sight of his counterpart, and then leaves S-4's side long enough to go to the empty room on the other side of this one. He gathers up all the blankets there, gives them the best shaking he can manage to clear away the dust, and takes them back over to the other two skeleton's room. Papyrus always used to gripe about this part, even if he'd get equally cranky if Sans didn't do it right. But S-4 really is a babybones, and so being properly tucked in is even more important.

He tucks the blankets around his brother, fussy but careful. Then Sans drags over an old chair from the room's disused desk, and takes a seat beside the bed. With great an exaggerated care, he opens the book. Much like the tucking in, even if this isn't the right book, it's the act of turning pages that's important.

"once upon a time, there was a curious little bunny..."

Sans has a good voice for reading. He's ordinarily softspoken and slow with his words, and that lets him take time and care with the telling. His tone is gentle and warm, full of undisguised love for the story and the skeletons he's telling it to. With the story, he paints a picture of a warm and green place with blue skies and soft bunnies.

Such a place could have been nothing more than a dream to them before. But it's reality, here and now, and that only makes the familiar story even better to Sans. And of course, he does the proper character voices, too.

wow don't imply there will never be another chance to use that icon I'll find some happiness for him

[systematicsupport]

"Oh. Then you are a dork! Because I love you a lot, like everyone else does. And I want to be around you too. You make me very happy, brother. I hope that isn't strange of me to say."

He just really loves his brother. Every version of him. This one that's easy to talk to and smile at, and the one resting in bed that's easy to hug and solve puzzles with. He looks a bit confused at the notebook, but says nothing, just offering a nod to reassure Sans that he's in the same room as always, the one he placed Sans-Serif in to rest.

He just waits patiently as Sans gets settled, but when he returns with a mound of blankets, he can only stare in confusion for a few moment, until Sans is eventually prompted to point at the bed, and slightly flustered, S-4 lies down.

Sans-Serif did have a point. Laying in a bed isn't the same as laying in the stasis pod. But this is still nice, especially with his one brother close by and the other taking care to make sure he's all bundled up. He grabs the covers and pulls them up to his chin, wiggling slightly to get comfortable, and then he starts to listen.

Sans does an amazing job of reading, even better than Gaster. Gaster was lively with his storytelling, but he could get distracted occasionally. Sans is completely focused on telling the story, and it helps lull S-4 into a half-asleep imagining of bunnies and bright sunlight. He watches the rabbit hop around, making friends, and he chuckles sleepily, eyes getting heavier by the second. Hopefully he can hold on until the end of the story.

This is true, because it's S-4 and everyone loves him.

[sansational]

"...not strange at all, bro."

And Sans is coming to fully appreciate that he loves his brother, every version of him. It shouldn't come as a surprise, of course. But now that he's come to know another version of him, Sans can say wholeheartedly that he loves the version of his brother that groans at his bad puns and lectures him about his sleeping habits just as much as this one, who's shy and kind and laughs at his jokes.

As S-4 falls half-asleep, Sans-Serif comes half-awake, roused by the feeling of two familiar souls and the sounds of a familiar story. He opens his eyesockets just a little and pushes himself shakily up on one elbow, looking at his brother and then at his other self. Sans looks back at him and nods companionably, but doesn't stop reading.

Laying in a bed isn't the same as laying in a stasis pod. But it does provide some benefits, allow for one thing that Sans-Serif doesn't realize until then he's always wanted to do.

It's a little hard to move, bundled up as he is in his own nest of blankets. But Sans-Serif manages to shift himself nearer to S-4's side of the bed, for the sake of reaching out and wrapping a hand around his brother's fingers where they're just visible over the top of the blanket.

He smiles. And then, satisfied and content, Sans-Serif sleeps again.

Sans, meanwhile, finishes the story, closes the book, and gets up from his seat. "sleep tight, you two." He brushes a hand first over S-4's skull, then over Sans-Serif's. "you know where to find me." And he'll be right there if either of them need him.