[Open] It's Raining Somewhere Else

[gainedlove]

Who: Frisk and anyone else
When: 17th to the 24th
Where: Frisk's dorm, the mess hall, and a few places in-between
What: Frisk has never grieved well.
Warnings: References to death? Undertale spoilers, depressed kids, will update as necessary.


Ever since the notice of Sans's death circulated the ship, Frisk hasn't been themself. Quiet, reclusive, subdued...a very different child to the enthusiastic youngster that had bounded all over the ship looking to help anyone they came across. They try to put on a brave face for anyone around them, assuring anyone that asks that they'll be okay, but...

While they can be found on occasion wandering the ship or at meal times in the mess hall, most of the time Frisk hides in their room, curled up on their bunk in a miserable ball under the rumpled sheets. They try and try and try to turn things back, to take this whole month away, but even their Determination can't fight against the laws of this reality. No matter how hard they try, things remain the same. And when they aren't awake...the nightmares don't make them scream, but their whimpers and the tossing and turning are more than enough to show how upsetting they are.

Comments

[notyetsore]

Ginko has never been the best at comforting people. He doesn't even really know enough about the situation to feel all that comfortable trying - he's vaguely aware that Frisk knew Sans (knows? he's not totally sure how that works here), and he can assume based on that that they're probably upset.

But he just... isn't quite sure what to do about it. Or if he should even try.

In the end, it's about all he's willing to do to just sort of. Move a little faster for a couple seconds to catch up to them in the halls of the ship.

"...Hey."

[gainedlove]

Frisk pauses when they hear the soft footfalls on the hard floor, half-turning back to see who it is with a subdued sort of worry. When they see Ginko they smile and finish the turn, one arm curled tightly around their middle.

"Hi, Ginko. Um, how are you doing?"

[notyetsore]

"...Okay."

No ship-wide outbreaks of illness yet, after all. But that's not why he's here.

"Um... how about you?"

[gainedlove]

Frisk's arm curls tighter around their middle, but they force their smile a little brighter.

"I-I'm doing fine! Um, how is the library doing?" Smooth.

[notyetsore]

"It's... it's good."

Ginko may not be the best at social interaction, but he can generally tell when someone is unhappy, and Frisk is not hiding it nearly well enough to fool him. His fingers curl a little and he slides one bare foot back and forth over the floor.

"If you... wanted to come see some of it or anything, I could... show you some books you might like?"

He's trying, okay. He has no idea what kind of books Frisk likes, but it's the only thing he can think of.

[pleasereset]

When Asriel hadn't seen Frisk around for a while, he started to get worried. The ship was big, so it was easy enough for them to miss one another. But with the news of Sans being dead, well... he knew how much they cared for each other.

When he sees them in the mess hall, it only comes as a small relief. The cracks in that mask of bravery are easy enough to see, and Asriel thinks he's pretty good at knowing how to hide and pretend that everything's okay. Cutting through the crowd of busy people, he makes a straight line towards the other child.

"Frisk!"

[gainedlove]

Frisk startles when they hear Asriel calling for them, scrubbing quickly at their eyes before pulling the orange around themself a little tighter and smiling back at him.

"A-Asriel! Um, hi..." They've only just gotten their meal, a bowl of cereal that they'll probably only push around for a while before abandoning. Frisk's hands curl around the bowl a little further, not sure how to keep a hold of it and also give him the hug they ought to right now.

[pleasereset]

Asriel starts to open his mouth, but he's not really sure what to say. Should they go somewhere to talk about it? He didn't want to make Frisk more upset than they were already. Asking if they were okay didn't seem right when they clearly weren't.

"Have you found a seat yet? I think there's a couple of empty ones near the back."

Where there's less people around and they can talk easier. If Frisk lets him, Asriel will place a hand on their shoulder and guide them towards said seats.

[gainedlove]

"Um, no, I hadn't yet..."

Frisk doesn't resist Asriel's gentle guidance, their smile broadening a little as they follow along. There's a twinge of guilt in their chest; it's been a while since Frisk checked up on Asriel, and they know he's been just as upset as they've been.

"Hey, um...are you. Doing better?" It's weak and pretty pathetic, but it's a start, at least.

Mess Hall

[takeitslow]

He had been on his way to steal some snacks when he caught sight of a familiar kid out of the corner of his eye. Peter comes to a dead stop in front of Frisk's table, air kicked up from his attempt to dart into the kitchens. He leans over the table, hands planted firmly. "Well, look at you kiddo. Whole room full of people and you're just sitting tight, acting normal. I knew you had it in you."

[gainedlove]

Frisk is used to people appearing suddenly around them (or, well, one skeleton), but the gust of air that comes with it is definitely new. They yelp and jump in their seat, dropping the fork they had been using to poke at a plate of mashed potatoes and gravy-covered meat.

"Wh--huh?" Frisk blinks in utter confusion at Peter. "Um...I. I'm always normal?"

Who is this guy?

[takeitslow]

Peter leans far over the table, watching the kid's reaction. It was not what he expected. "Yeah. No. Nothing about that little tantrum you threw was normal. People just don't go around threatening to kill people they just met."

[gainedlove]

Frisk actually flinches at that accusation, their eyes going wide before narrowing in mingled annoyance and grief.

Why do people keep mistaking them?

Looking back down at their food, Frisk replies in a faint mumble. "'M not Chara."

[coolskeletonnyehntyfive]

Papyrus, in contrast, had elected to spend his week going nonstop. Checking in on people, cleaning up the seemingly endless tide of messes the crew seemed to leave behind, carrying out important tasks for Pepper Potts. She was a great boss, always ready with another job for him. It was exactly what he needed, even though the physical strain of being awake for the better part of a week and staying constantly busy was starting to wear on him.

He'd found a secret stash of garbage in the hold -- Sans's work, he was almost entirely sure, even though he didn't dwell on it. Things like that made his ribs ache. He loaded himself down with trash bags and started the long march to put all this junk in its proper place. The bags were actually heavy, which surprised him. He wasn't... getting tired, was he? That didn't seem like a very Papyrus thing to do!

He finally stopped in the hall when he realized he really did need to rest, letting the bags drop to the floor around him before sinking down the wall to have a seat among them. How embarrassing. He was glad Undyne wasn't around to see him giving up.

The sound of footsteps in the hall surprised him into looking up, and at the sight of the human, he grinned a little bigger. "Hello, Frisk! I was just... enjoying a little time on the floor with the trash! Would you care to join me?"

[gainedlove]

They hadn't even realized someone was there until Papyrus spoke up--his voice jolts them out of their reverie and makes their head snap up. A guilty look crosses their face (they should be working right now, too) before they pull that cracked mask back down again and wander over with uncharacteristically hesitant steps.

"I don't think that's how feeling like garbage is supposed to work..." Frisk smiles a little, but settles to sit among the garbage with the skeleton regardless.

[coolskeletonnyehntyfive]

It was nice, taking a moment to sit with a friend and recuperate a little. He could tell they both needed it. He nudged one of the trash bags out of the way to give them more room.

"Nyeh-heh-heh! You know, you sound like Undyne's ghost neighbor when you say things like that! And there's no reason for anyone to ever sound that sad."

[gainedlove]

Frisk takes the invitation and scoots closer, a soft giggle bubbling out of them from Papyrus's comment.

"Napstablook is the one that taught me! Um, about feeling like garbage, not being sad." They had that down pretty well before falling down. "I think I do it a little different from how they do, but it's nice sometimes."

[stompadour]

Jasper's gotten used to keeping an eye out for Frisk so as to satisfy the requirement of Zam's 'buddy' assignment. Mostly she treats this as a chore, but Frisk themself is so far proving relatively inoffensive to her personal sensibilities – and most importantly, she can see the usefulness of making sure new crewmembers are properly acclimatised, which means this isn't a pointless task... even if it isn't particularly suited to her personal skillset.

In any case she's gotten used to seeing them about the place, and making herself available to answer any questions, but... she hasn't seen much of them over the last week. Which, you know, whatever, it's not Jasper's problem, she's not going to hunt the human down and make sure they're okay... But when she does catch sight of them in the corridor she can't help noticing they seem... unusually downcast.

Technically she has no obligation to interact with them if they don't actually ask her for something. But...

"... Hey. Human. Frisk." She frowns, one hand on her hip. "I haven't seen you around much lately."

[gainedlove]

Frisk looks up in surprise, blinking for a moment as they pull themself back out of the dark loop of thoughts that seemed to follow them everywhere these days. Pulling on a smile and trotting over, they rub at the back of their neck sheepishly.

"Um, yeah...I've been feeling a little tired lately. But I'm trying to still get out and do stuff!" They frown for a moment, suddenly worried. "Um, no one was looking for me, were they?"

[stompadour]

Jasper raises an eyebrow. "I don't know," she says. She looks kind of skeptical, though. "That normal for humans? Just getting tired for days?" Why are organic life forms so rubbish,

[gainedlove]

"Um."

It's really, really not normal at all, as a matter of fact, and Frisk knows that for certain. Their diligence is one of the things Jasper actually likes about them, and admitting they've been shirking duties just because they're feeling sad...

A few drops of sweat roll down the back of Frisk's neck.

"Some...times? I. I'll try to be better."

[lets_see_what_happens]

Gregor stops short when he sees a child with short brown hair and a sweater curled in at a table in the mess and opens his mouth before he's finished thinking.

"Chara--no." His eyes narrow slightly and he tilts his head, watching Frisk's face keenly. "You aren't Chara, I apologize." He gets a better look at Frisk's expression and hesitates a moment more before sliding into a seat near them.

"Are you all right?"

[gainedlove]

Frisk's gaze snaps up at the name, accurate or not, and their frown fades from annoyance back to melancholy when Gregor admits his mistake. "...'s fine." They don't have the energy to argue.

When he sits down they curl into themself further, trying to wrangle their hurt back under wraps. Frisk shrugs, not looking up to meet his eyes. "I'm okay. Jus' not real hungry."

[lets_see_what_happens]

"I see," Gregor says, sounding like he actually does, a little, and tilts his head down at Frisk thoughtfully.

"I'm sorry for the mix-up. I'm Gregor, I'm an, uh." He reaches up to touch light fingertips to the fading bruise at his jaw, one corner of his mouth quirking up. "I'm an acquaintance of Chara's. And I'd be happy to leave you be, if that's what you'd prefer. But if you want to talk about whatever's making you 'okay' enough to not want to eat, then we could do that, too. It's entirely up to you."

[gainedlove]

Their eyes follow the gesture, a frown tugging at their lips when they see the discolored skin. Frisk shifts a little on the bench, considering Gregor carefully before they speak again.

"Why did they hit you?" Easier to ask about that, rather than address Sans's death with anyone they don't really know.