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[punful]

hey, sup?

























just kidding. leave a message.

Comments

After the Genosha event

[mypartnerintime]

[Max left a little bundle outside Sans' door. There are no notes attached to it because... well, because it's Sans. Inside the bundle is a stack of Genosha bills (as far as she can remember how they look, anyway) in exactly the same amount that he had given her during the event. It's worthless in Wonderland of course, but she likes the symbolic gesture.

Also inside the bundle is a little model of a bus, a bunch of table napkins, and some packets of ketchup.

An odd little assortment, but she hopes he understands the implied "thank you" without her having to explain... because she won't.]

[punful]

[This is the most surreal gift he's ever received and for about two full minutes he thinks maybe someone is just pranking him. But then he puts it all together and...well, okay. Maybe this is good. This is better than them not talking and Sans hating himself. He remembers thinking once the event was over that Max would probably be really mad at him about what happened during the event. No one wants to feel like they owe the person they're angry at.]

[He sets the bus and the Genoshan bills on top of his dresser. It's nice of her. He won't message her back--he doesn't have the right, but...]

[He does leave a card outside her door. The front has the words "Safe Travels!" and a picture of a kitten in a tiny sailboat. The inside of the card is blank.]

text, 8/18

[determinedest]

Sans.

Do you remember that promise we made?

text, 8/18

[punful]

[That is exactly the sentence he wanted to see pop up in his inbox right now. This can only be good things.]

yes.

text

[determinedest]

[CLEARLY THIS WAS THE BEST WAY TO BEGIN THIS CONVERSATION.]

I'm not




Not right now. But over the last few days, Chara and I have been talking about some things. About what might happen if I die again during an event, or in some other way.

text

[punful]

oh.

[Well. That's not good. And he thinks he knows exactly where Frisk is going with this. He remembers the tunnels and what happened to Chara after Frisk died.]

and?

text

[determinedest]

They keep saying that if I go, they'll go too. There won't be much that can stop them.

I don't know if I can ask anyone else to do this. I'm sorry

[They hate asking this of them. He does say how he hates promises.]

If anything ever happens to me, can you make sure they don't

text

[punful]

[Shit.]

i'll

try.

i've never had to

you know

do something like that before but

i'll try.

text

[determinedest]

I know. I'm sorry I have to ask you this. But I don't know who else would be able to maybe stop them.

I know you hate promises.

But watch over them, and protect them, will you not?

text

[punful]

[Oh, he hates that. He hates that, because he hates being manipulated, and he hates knowing he's being manipulated, and he hates accepting that he's being manipulated and going along with it because what the hell else is he supposed to do? Tell them no, that he'll just let Chara die?]

yeah. i gotcha.

a request like that has an integrity you can't say "no" to.

[That's not fair, either. That Frisk is invoking the original promise, the script, just means they're serious about this. No margin for error. No letting him off the hook.]

sorry



you didn't have to use that line, though

yanno?

Re: text

[determinedest]

[Should've known he'd see right through it. He always sees right through them. They shift guiltily on the spot.]

I'm sorry. I've just broken a lot of promises, or almost broken a lot of promises since I got here. I don't want that kind of

I mean

Not for this.

[Not everyone is as flaky as you, Frisk. Evidently.]

text

[punful]

it's okay.

i'm the reigning champ for breaking promises, so

[This is a promise he's making, after all, not Frisk. Frisk breaking promises isn't a concern right now. This is on him, so its his total lack of integrity that's being called out here.]

but i'll do what i can.

promise.

[Look at him, making promises left and right these days. He wonders how long it'll be before he breaks all three of them.]

[Whatever. Self-loathing isn't particularly useful. This is about Chara.]

text

[determinedest]

Thank you, Sans.

I'm just worried for them. I mean I'm always worried for them, but this isn't the first time they've admitted this. And I think it's only gotten worse from there.

[Since...a few days ago. They're not sure how much he knows. How much they can tell him without upsetting someone, most prominently Chara. They don't want to risk that.

Not again.]

text

[punful]

no problem.

i'm worried about them too.

[It takes him awhile to decide to write out this next bit.]

the other day when they were out in the woods getting flowers.

they said they were narcissus

a type of daffodil

did you know that apparently daffodils are poisonous.

text

[determinedest]

[He's terribly perceptive. But then, they already knew that.

They hesitate before responding in kind.]

Lots of flowers are poisonous if you eat them. Most flowers aren't meant to be eaten.

text

[punful]

yeah i'm discovering that.

i don't know much about flowers

i had no idea so many of them were poisonous.

kind of ironic

something pretty also being deadly

hydrangeas are poisonous too it turns out

that's the other flower that's growing near that little pond





you know

i told them about that spot cause i thought it was safe.

[Turns out nowhere is safe. There's poison everywhere. There's ponds to drown in. There's trees to climb and leap out of. If it hadn't been flowers, it would have been something else. If it hadn't been there, it would have been somewhere else.]

[He can't keep these kids safe.]

cw suicide ideation like woah

[determinedest]

[It really is terribly easy, and the human body is so fragile. Did you know it only takes a pound of pressure to break human skin? That the human body can only go about seven days without water? That it only takes two to three minutes for a human being to suffocate?

Frisk has been doing a lot of reading.

The books in the library are so informative.]

It's okay. They're okay.

You couldn't have known that.

Human beings are complicated.

we need grillby's

[punful]

[It's an odd contrast. Humans can keep going and going and going, and yet at the same time one bone in the right place can kill them instantly.]

yeah.

i take it you helped them?

we need jesus

[determinedest]

Yes.

[But it was a near thing.

I almost went with them.

I changed my mind halfway through.

They hit the delete key, over and over, erasing each message as they type it out with their heart in their mouth. He doesn't need to know that. They'd be breaking their promise.]

Like I said. It was hard for them, losing Asriel again.

:c

[punful]

yeah.

i'm glad you picked up on what was happening and went to help.

[He never would have even guessed. He still wouldn't know, if not for that conversation with Frisk afterward. He was too busy being pretty sure he'd mentally broken Chara by talking about parallel worlds.]

[determinedest]

[He missed that.

He...missed something?

That strikes them as odd. Chara has a certain finesse to what they do, though, a certain subtlety, even if they don't always use it. It's worth thinking about.]

They did this the first time Asriel disappeared too. I just happened to be there that time. Didn't give them the chance to try.

[punful]

oh.

jeez.

[How the hell is he supposed to help these kids? How does he even do this?]

frisk.

what happens if one of you goes home

and the other is left here?

1/3

[determinedest]

[Ha.

Ha-ha.

Ha.

The phone shakes in their hands. Trembles beneath their fingers. They should answer. They should really answer, huh? Problem is -

Problem is that they can't.

They're too busy laughing!]

2/3

[determinedest]

[They laugh, and keep laughing. It's just so funny, Sans! Don't you know? You must already know the answer to that! You have to! You're a smart guy, aren't you? Smarter than anyone gave you credit for!











The phone is on the floor now.]

3/3

[determinedest]

[The response comes about fifteen minutes later.]

Don't ask questions you already know the answers to.