thisavrou | [video] Feb 17th

[It's either very late at night or very early in the morning. Papyrus grins at anyone watching as he usually does, but this time around, something's off. His usual cheer seems forced, and there's a subtle, constant background rattle and the screen never quite seems to stay still.]

Hello again, everyone! This is the great Papyrus speaking, and... and I...

...

[For a moment, he seems at a loss for words. Then he rallies again and holds up his other hand. He has Sans's jacket in a tight grip, and clinging to the inside is an odd, distinctive sort of dust.]

I seem to have lost track of my brother!! That lazybones... now he's managed to slack off on naps! Is there no end to this?

So! If anyone has any idea where he is, please let me know! He probably just... fell asleep somewhere weird! There seems to be a lot of that going around lately.

[He starts to switch off the feed, then hesitates.]

Also, could someone bring some cleaning supplies to Sans's room? There's so much dust in here... I've been trying to get it all up, but it's just... getting everywhere.

[For a moment, he looks distressed, then he pastes the smile back on.]

O-once again, this is the great Papyrus! Signing out!!

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Well, we can find out, okay? Try not to worry too much. People have a habit of turning back up.

[And he tends to be able to find them even if something's happened. The perks of seeing dead people, right?

He's not putting on a front for Papyrus's sake, he's just... honestly not that rattled about any possibilities here.]

And if you really can't wait to go look, I can always take care of the mess for you so you can leave. Cleaning's one of my jobs here, y'know?

It is? Really? Wowie! About time they hired a janitor who actually wants to do the job!

[A pause.]

But would you be able to find him if you're stuck here cleaning up?

Well, uh, no, but- I could help soon as it's taken care of. He's your brother, I'm sure you don't wanna be stuck cleaning instead of looking, either.

[Another hopefully-reassuring smile, a little wider this time.]

Really, it's up to you. I'm okay with whichever way you think is more helpful, alright?

Yes... very well! Your help would be greatly appreciated! I've been trying to clean this up, but all I've really managed to do is spread it around, I think.

Just give me a bit, then, I'll grab a few things.

[Which he does, returning to his room with an armful of cleaning supplies. There'll still be work for him to do, because even if cleaning's happened in the meantime he still clearly sees the dust in the doorway.

When he shows up, he seems to be stepping over something that's possibly not there, whether it's been cleaned or just spread around in the effort.]

You weren't kidding about people not wanting to do the job, were you? I was kind of wondering why I didn't seem to be making much progress in a few spots.

[Distraction, he thinks, might be a good idea here. Let's just not talk about this mess.]

[Papyrus is more than happy with that line of talk, even as he carefully gathers the dust into piles.]

Really, I have no idea why they thought it'd be a good idea to put him in sanitation! He doesn't clean up messes, he only knows how to make them bigger!

That explains an awful lot. Least it keeps me busy, right? Maybe I owe him a thank you.

[He shakes his head, a small laugh slipping out as he gets to work. Piling up the worst of the dust is as good a place as any to start; the rest can come when that's out of the way.]

Assistant tailor's not really something they need all the time, I've gotta have something left to do. Guess that's why they gave me two assignments, though.

[Even with the talk from earlier, Papyrus sticks around to help. He doesn't seem very interested in leaving the dust.]

So you clean, make clothes, and read futures in cards? How very industrious of you!

How did you learn the practice, anyway? With the cards, I mean.

I had a lot of free time at home. Not sure you can call it industriousness, mostly it's just that I get bored easily.

[He shrugs one shoulder, with a little 'what can you do?' sort of gesture.]

The cards, though, they're just because of what I do. I'm a medium-- I see and talk to dead folks' spirits, and I kind of act as a liaison between nonhumans and the rest of the world. Help them stay hidden and all. I deal with a lot of other occult stuff in my line of work, and they seemed interesting, so-- why not, right?

[Oh, Papyrus definitely understands that. He was practically made of free time back home.]

And you're very good at talking to nonhumans! I would know, after all. But what do you mean by spirits? Is that anything like a soul?

[He's met ghosts before, but the thing about the ones where he comes from is that, well... they were probably always ghosts.]

-glad you think so. There aren't a lot of people who bother, back home.

[That gets a much warmer smile out of Ryan, gets him to pause in his work long enough to give Papyrus his full attention.]

They're essentially souls, yes-- or what people generally consider souls. Spirits are what's left behind after someone dies, and very few of us can actually see them.

That's... that's quite a power!

[And uncomfortably close to the topic he's trying his best to avoid.]

I've never heard of souls that just waited around to chat before! When monsters fall down, their souls...

[Shatter and are lost forever. He winces a little and turns his attention back to the floor, doubling his cleaning efforts.]

...don't wait around to make conversation!!

A lot of humans don't, either. We don't really know where their souls normally go, but the ones I see are just- stuck, somehow. Can't move on. There's not always a reason for it.

[His eyes drop to the floor as well, voice becoming a little quieter. He's sort of rambling at this point, but that helps him not to focus too much on it; if he's talking, he's not thinking or missing any of them. It's been too long since he was home.]

...sometimes the rules are different, though. [It's a bit of a risk, given the sensitive territory, but it's possible that the thought may help.] I wasn't home when I came here, I was on another ship kinda like this one-- people didn't stay dead all the time, there. I almost never saw ghosts because they came back to life, human or not.

I've only seen one ghost, here. Reminds me a lot of that place.

[Papyrus manages to gather most of the dust, though he's not sure what to do once it's in a manageable pile. Suddenly he feels a bit self-conscious, like this would be easier if he were alone.

It's not a feeling he's ever had or knows what to do with.

Thankfully, Ryan touches on a topic he knows reasonably well, one that's a welcome distraction right now.]

Oh, I've seen ghosts! Several of them! They might be different from human ghosts, though. Most of the ones I've met are... kind of annoying.

[video] Feb 17th

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sorry this is so slow I've been scattered...

same, don't worry about it! <3

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