OTA and Closed

[heart_breaking]

Who: Chara and misc!
When: Any time, will probably span as far back as Feb 24th
Where: Training Simulation Room, Library, maybe Medbay, and misc
What: Chara learns things about and in the simulation room, and avoids counseling where they can.
Warnings: General dark theme warnings for Chara! Also Undertale Spoilers.


Training Simulation Room - OTA

The Simulation Room's Default Environment #4 settings reminded them of a magazine cover. Not the interesting kind, but the boring one, with green golf courses and perfect people with perfect teeth. They were in a similar green field right now. The sky was completely blue.

Chara lifted their wrist, poking experimentally. Hadn't there been a note taped to the wall somewhere talking about controlling the room from the inside? It hadn't been very clear, and Chara is distracted for several minutes.

Without much outward warning the field shifts, and suddenly green is mixed with a carpet of yellow flowers. The effect on Chara couldn't be more different: their wrist falls to their side, and they don't seem bored anymore.

It's a sight that could hold them for a long time. They'll probably still be standing that way when someone else arrives.

Library - Closed

Their eyes hurt, and every few minutes Chara catches themself staring vacantly at some shelves beyond the book's top. They're not used to this much reading, and it's taxing them like exercisng a rarely used muscle. Can they really keep this up forever? Probably not. They have't thought that far.

There's nothing long-term-thinking at all about the way they've taken to hiding in the library. Their MID weighs on their wrist like a leaden weight, and they know there's things they should be doing. Screw those things! No one's the boss of them. They turn another page very defiantly, sinking further down in their chair.

Comments

[heart_breaking]

The fact that they look up after only a second or two of his pose gives them away. They frown at him, study the pillow-igloo (pigloo?) for a bit too long to be really disinterested, and then turn back to their second half-cut pillow. Just destroying it is already boring, so they're trying to cut a soul-shaped (heart shaped) panel from the rest.

If he were Frisk, Chara would be dragging over every blanket they could carry. Maybe there was a lamp they could use as a central post? The fort would be huge. About a minute or so later Chara sneaks another glance, wondering if he has the same idea.

[takeitslow]

He keeps an eye on Chara as he works, attention more on the child than pillow fort but he takes pains to keep his attention from being noticeable. He sees the long looks, hoping the unusual shape to the fort will catch the kid's imagination.

He pauses in building up the walls, stepping out to grab shift through some of the blankets. "I know you're pretty busy with your project over there kiddo, which I want to see when you're done, by the way. But which one? I'm not all the artistic." He's holding up two blankets, one red and one blue.

[heart_breaking]

Chara promptly makes plans to hide their work in the mess of stuffing and shreds. (It's not all spite: the heart is lopsided and ragged, and they'd be embarrassed.)

Being called over for help like this is more involvement than they want, but Chara lifts their head anyway, studying both colors. They don't want either color at all. They don't want to build a fort. They lower their head again, resuming cutting.

Although. There is an empirically correct answer to that question. After a few seconds they mutter, "The blue one's bigger." The bigger the blanket, the higher the roof. They don't explain their decision, finishing cutting and disemboweling this second pillow.

It's so... unexciting.

[takeitslow]

At least the child is looking. Peter will take whatever scraps he can get from Chara today. He can worry about bigger displays down the road. A little interest now is a building block for later.

And then Peter gets an actual answer. He doesn't bother to hide the pleased smile that stretches across his face. That's more than a scrap, in his opinion. "You know kid, I think you're right. Good call."

He throws the red blanket down, heading with the blue one inside the fort again. "I'm a little too short to tie it to the light." It's just an observation, another attempt to see if Chara will respond.

[heart_breaking]

"So get a ladder," they shoot back archly.

They've made a cut into a third pillow, and this time they set the scissors aside, trying to pull threads apart by hand. It's strong stuff. They don't get far quickly, and wind up having to use their foot for leverage. It's an artless tear, and that's three imaginary pillows they've thoroughly wasted.

Chara drops this one to the floor without even de-stuffing it, sending bits of fluff and feathers flying. They're bored beyond taking this any further. They stand.

[takeitslow]

"I could lift you up there," he replies. But he's already searching for something he can pull over to stand on. If Chara actually agrees to let Peter touch them, he might fall over from the shock.

He pauses when Chara moves, eyeing the cloud of mess from the massacred pillows. "Finished with your art project?" His tone is trying for joking, kept light. "You're not leaving already, right?"

[heart_breaking]

His guess is right, and the suggestion only earns him a withering look of scorn.

"I have things to do," They confirm, brushing pillow-fluff from their clothes. The fort he's started really is starting to look pretty cool, and the lengths they go to while avoiding looking at it are studious to the point of being obvious.

The fort is between them and the door. They start walking around.

[takeitslow]

He frowns, not the the brush off. He expected that. But the fact that Chara's leaving is disappointing, even as much sense as it makes. Peter should be happy the kid humored him so long, he supposes, but he wishes he could get Chara to actually play a little before.

"Yeah? Too busy to hang out with me? Too bad," he say, shrugging and putting back on a smile. He folds the blanket, setting it aside and going back to adding pillows to the fort. "This is going to be pretty awesome when it's finished. But if you're busy..."

[heart_breaking]

Chara snorts and rolls their eyes. Either he'll be delighted with his own creation, or he'll abandon it at the loss of anyone to cajole into helping. Well, that's his problem. He's the one who wanted to make one, and he should have known he would fail.

There's a moment when they reach the door where they consider stopping and giving some sort of parting shot. Maybe a glance to what he's built so far, or--maybe they should march over and kick down all the cushions he's arranged. That would be nice. (It'd show him why he shouldn't bother them like he had.)

Their hands curl into fists, and they leave the room without comment.

[takeitslow]

He watches the child leave, watches them hesitate. For a moment he pretends the kid is going to come back. They’ll help out, maybe even enjoy themselves for a moment. Maybe he’ll be able to get another smile, another laugh out of Chara. Prove there’s still something childish and innocent in there.

And then Chara is gone. No goodbye, no attempt at fun rather than some destruction. No attempt at murder either, hardly an ill word spoken in the time they’d been stuck in there with Peter. He checks the time on the MID, impressed Chara had stuck around so long voluntarily.

It was progress.

He sighs, finally abandons the pillows and heads back to the controls. In a few moments, the pillows and fort and mess are all gone. The room is as Chara had found it, ready for the next simulation. Peter surveys the empty room, pulls down his googles and runs off.