[Open] working your fingers to the bones, cause nobody loves you when you're gone

[coolskeletonnyehntyfive]

Who: Papyrus, Sans, and YOU!
When: March 12th and onwards
Where: Medbay
What: Papyrus had a really bad idea that nearly got himself and Sans killed. Sans put out a call for help. This log is for the general followup/aftermath.
Warnings: Broken bones and hearts, cracked skulls, life draining, will add more if necessary.

((OOC Note: The translator event will affect the skeletons, so anyone tagging in on the 13th will be in for a lively game of charades!))

Comments

[takeitslow]

"There's no magic where I'm from." None that he's heard of, at least. He runs a hand through his hair, sighs. It's always a little awkward explaining being a mutant. At least there's no fear in talking about it now. He doubts monsters care about the DNA politics of humans. "I'm a mutant. We're people who have different DNA, mutated from humans. Some of us get powers from it. Or, you know, weird stuff like gray hair. I don't know a whole lot about it, the science parts of it or how it works."

[skelepun]

There's a beat of pause while Sans processes that, looking from Peter back down to his brother. With a noise that comes somewhere between a sigh and a chuckle, Sans squeezes Papyrus's hand.

"I'll bet they just love you for that." Sarcasm isn't Sans' favorite when it comes to jokes, but he's also not feeling particularly funny right now. Humans are humans. Neither all good nor all bad, but certainly easily frightened.

[takeitslow]

"Oh yeah, we're just everyone's favorite." He snorts, smile turning brittle. "Most of them don't know about us, you know? We keep it hidden. You just can't risk the neighbor's finding out and calling in the feds to take you away. Or starting a mob and burning down your house just because they realize you're the town freak."

"Some people don't care," he says, because it wouldn't be right to let Sans think all humans were against them. His family had never been anything but understanding. "But to most, we're, I don't know, abominations. I don't think you'd like my world much."

[skelepun]

"To be honest, it doesn't sound too different from mine. And I like mine well enough." It's a bland over generalization, but it's true-ish. Living underground came with awful consequences -- bad education, bad general health, bad overcrowding, bad food shortages -- but there was plenty to like, too. His brother, for once. His house. Grillby's. It's a monster tradition to keep smiling, no matter how many blinders you have to strap on.

At the very least, they were safe from human cruelty. Until they weren't, of course.

"Then again, I don't have to live with 'em."

[takeitslow]

"You'd be the only one though, where I'm from. At least you had other monsters back home. Right?" Sans had his brother, at least. "Being the only one, it's shit dude. A lot different than having a community."

He sighs. "That's what I'm saying. You'd stand out, if you did live there." Peter doesn't say it to be cruel, it's just the fact of the matter. Looking different was a sure way to get attacked back in his day, being different wasn't to far off. There was a reason he'd already warned Wanda about ever visiting his world, if the chance came. "You have to be able to hide it, to make it by. And it sucks."

[skelepun]

That gives Sans pause.

"You're the only one?" That makes him frown. A community of people, it's what made the Underground bearable. For a young kid, Peter could really hit to the heart of things. "Yeesh, kid."

[takeitslow]

"Not the only one in the world. It's just, people keep it hidden. So you really just hear the rumors, you never actually meet them." It's the same as being the only one, in all the ways it counts for a kid. Even knowing others must exist doesn't make the world feel any less lonely when none ever show up. "I met a few, the day before I came here. It was the first time I'd ever seen another mutant."

[skelepun]

"Were they everything you hoped they'd be?"

If there's a bit of cynicism under that statement, Sans hopes it doesn't show.

[takeitslow]

"No," he says, openly honest. Everything he hoped would have meant another speedster, would have meant finally meeting his dad. It would have meant not just being something for them to use. But he's not bitter about it. He'd still gotten that moment of the world sliding into place when he saw Logan bring out the claws. "But it was worth it. It's different, knowing you're not the only one and actually getting to see it."

[skelepun]

"Heh, that sounds about right." Sans nods, looking a little wistful. His experiences with displacement never ran along the same lines as Peter -- he's always had his brother, and one other skeleton was more than enough.

There are other ways to stand out, of course, even among monsters. Subconsciously, Sans lets his fingers ghost across his left eye socket.

"I'm betting you've found a lot more of that belonging around here, seems like half the humans I meet can use some sort of magic."

[takeitslow]

He watches Papyrus a moment, thinking about what Sans is saying. He can't help but smile a little, thought the expression comes off as embarrassed. As gratifying as it's been to have some form of acceptance, there's some part of him that knows it shouldn't have taken him so long to find it. That makes him feel a little weird that he's so pleased with all the attention he's never gotten before and that he's so inexperienced in dealing with it.

"Yeah. Most people don't seem to care too much. They freak out a little when they first see me run and then they're okay with it. Maybe it's like you said, they're used to weird stuff in their own world." He hesitates, still refusing to look Sans's way. "It's kind of nice though, that they don't care what I am. I'm practically normal here."

[skelepun]

"There're always gonna be a few who take a bit to adjust." Sans knows this all too well. It seems a day doesn't pass without another invasive question about how his body works or whether he's dead or just goggle eyed staring.

Fortunately, he's not the sort of guy to take it personally.

"But you're a good guy and you don't use your gift for anything rotten. Can't see any reason why someone would hold it against you." Sans leans forward, winking conspiratorially. "And if they do, send 'em my way."

[takeitslow]

"Depends on what you define rotten as, honestly." He's pretty sure the Pentagon thing would count in most people's eyes. And it might be why he's still not talked about it to anyone, not even Wanda. But beyond that the stealing was certainly what some would call a waste of his gift. He hasn't figured out where Sans's moral code might fall on the reappropriation of goods.

"You don't want to get into that over me dude." Peter's grateful for the offer, that allegiance for what he is. He's never felt so much like he's got people in his corner as he does here, with all these people like Sans trying to give him some loyalty. But he's unused to it, and as grateful as he is, Peter doesn't know what to do with it. "I can handle myself pretty good."

[skelepun]

If Peter's small clarification surprises Sans, he certainly doesn't show it, smile unfaltering as he listens.

"I don't doubt it, kiddo." He winks again before leaning back, grabbing a book from the stack on side table. The bounty of Elizabeth's gifts were still paying off dividends, and Sans flips to the dogeared page. It was getting late, after all. He hadn't broken his bedtime story streak since his run-in with Chara a few months back, and a few broken bones wasn't going to stop him now.

"Since you're an old pro at handling yourself, I'm gonna give you a choice to stick around or bail. Papyrus might be out cold, but I'm pretty sure he'd still get pissed if I didn't do the voices, so."

[takeitslow]

He laughs, somewhat disbelieving but mostly fond. There's something sweet about reading to a younger sibling, bittersweet in doing it while they were laying in a hospital bed. Papyrus is far away from kindergarten age, but it still reminds him of the little girl he'd left back home and her instance at hearing fairy tales even when she was too sick to keep her eyes open. It's a very personal thing, that kind of dedication between siblings and it's why he's shaking his head, letting the moment remain private.

"As awesome as I'm sure you're storytelling skills are, I'm going to bail." He steps back, casts on last smile down on Papyrus's sleeping form. "I'll see you when you're both out of here."

With a small salute to Sans, he takes another step back and disappears.