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

[dustless]

Half of their own glass is downed in an instant. Even more sugar. Frisk's body is going to absolutely hate them later.

They drop down to sit beside him, balancing the cup on their knee. "You sure?" Green-and-white frosting coats half their face, and they're fidgeting, but hopefully their concern shines through anyway. His reassurance did a little bit of the opposite. They knew he was fragile--they were careful before--but this is the first time it's actually shown. "Can get you more stuff if you need!" 'Stuff' as in drinks, food, anything he can name.

[sansational]

Their concern shines through loud and clear. Sans has never seen anyone look quite that earnest and quite that ridiculous at the same time. He musters up another attempt at a normal smile, and makes to wave a hand dismissively before he realizes that his hand is still shaking, and keeps it curled around the cup instead.

"i'm sure. pretty much the only thing around looks like more sugar anyway. and i was, uh, kind of hideously sick of sugar two weeks ago. thanks anyway, frisk." A glass of just-water sounds embarrassingly nice right about now, even just to dump over his head, but that would require Frisk to go as far as the kitchens or the gardens, and Sans isn't about to ask them to do that when he really just needs a break. A nap sounds particularly nice right about now, too, actually, to the point where Sans actually yawns.

"probably just gonna nap all day tomorrow anyway. sans-serif's probably gonna do the same, if i know me, so they shouldn't need me around much."

[dustless]

It's not like Frisk would mind doing that. They certainly have the energy. But he's being sensible enough, so he's probably going to be fine? He can take care of himself enough not to fall down right now. Yeah.

"Probably lots of...everybody's gonna do that." They give a nod towards everyone digging into the desserts above. "Getting stuffed with food makes people tired. I don't know why. It's weird. Nothing bad about group naps."

They start scraping off the cake on their face. And eat it off their fingers, 'cause why not, they're clean enough.

[sansational]

"nothing bad about it at all. honestly, i could probably do with a little more sleep." He can't help but yawn again at how tempting that thought is. "not getting as much as i should, these days." By which Sans mostly means that he's staying awake for as many hours as he's sleeping, which is still quite a big change by comparison.

Sans settles back more comfortably against the table, and casts a look around at all the other people gathered there. People eating, people talking, people making themselves seen and known and learning that there are others here to help them through this impossible time.

"...nothing wrong with new friends, either."

Maybe this entire day wasn't just about gathering data. Either way, it looks to have been a success.

[dustless]

Frisk has been seeing him up and about a lot lately, so they don't give him as skeptical a look as they might've at one point.

They survey everyone around, too. "Yeah." It's been a very nice experiment-party, all things considered. "This was a pretty good idea."

Leg jittering a little, their gaze slides back to Sans. "...You sure you don't want me to get you any stuff?"

[sansational]

"glad you think so. i guess...i just wish gaster was still here for me to tell him about it." His tone goes wistful for a moment, his eyelights go dim, before Sans gives his head a little shake as though to banish the thought. He still has a lot of practice at that, where Gaster is concerned.

Entirely motionless as only a skeleton can be, his gaze slides back to Frisk. After a moment's deliberation, he replies: "maybe grab me some water, kid? only since you look like you actually need to run off the energy. ya weirdo." Here they are talking about naps, and Frisk is jittering. Humans are so weird.

[dustless]

Frisk's brows draw together, a little. Still here? He left?

At least there's a thing they can do for Sans right now, they think, rolling to their feet. "You're the one who told me to eat all the sugar stuff!" They stick out their frosting-colorful tongue with a 'mneh' noise. Then they snatch up his cup and head out before he could possibly retaliate.

They keep a somewhat reasonable pace before they're halfway to the door, then tear out of the ballroom like something was hunting them down.

Where is the kitchen? Gone, apparently, or maybe they left the doors they didn't mean to. Either way, it means they take a while to get back, since they need to detour kind of far to get to the gardens and use a fountain's water. And then they need to go do that again before they actually even get back into the castle, because they trip while heading there and end up losing the water they collected, as well as making the knees of their pants filthy with dirt and scratching their palms a little bit.

Not that they care; they barely remember by the time they're actually in the ballroom again, other than that it made them take even longer. Most of that energy's burnt off. Most. They're still a little excited-looking once they find Sans and hold the cup out again. "Here!"

[sansational]

Sans moves to stick out his tongue in turn, before remembering that he doesn't have one. Frisk is such a cheater.

He drifts a little, while Frisk is gone, but doesn't quite sleep. Instead, feeling genuinely pleased with himself, Sans takes another look around at the people in the room with them. Yeah, all things considered, this looks to have been a pretty successful experiment-party. Sometimes, all people really need to be their best is some good food, some bad laughs, and some nice friends. There's never a case where a bunch of people all trapped in one place aren't stronger together.

His eyesockets are closed when Frisk returns, but Sans opens one as they approach, and then almost does a double-take at the freshly filthy state of the child's clothes. Did they have to fight a dragon for the contents of that cup, or something?

"well done, soldier." He takes the cup with no small amount of relief, considers it for a moment, and then pours half of it down his right eyesocket before swallowing the rest with his mouth. "ah, that's the stuff. just like home. ketchup was never so refreshing."

Sans must be worn out if he's talking nonsense like that.

[dustless]

"A rock attacked my foot," they reply to that look of his. Then they wonder if a rock could've actually done that, like the one in the ruin puzzle. Maybe they could go ask it sometime.

Anyway. They straighten and give a sharp salute. Even though that phrasing makes no sense doesn't mean they can't play along, at least for a second. "Mission 'complished." Then they slack again, tilting their head to the side.

"Maybe you...should...go to sleep now? For a little while? There's still lots of food here. It's gonna take a really long time for everybody to get through it all."