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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[Steven falls quiet, unsure of what to say. He doesn't really get how monsters work in their entirety, but it's becoming pretty clear that this dust is a bad thing. It being associated with Sans is a bad thing, and given recent events, it's not hard to imagine how. He's familiar with creatures that don't leave corpses when they die.

He creeps up to Papyrus's side, not interrupting him until he's reaching out to take one of his dusty hands between his root-like fingers, holding it in a way that is meant to how support.

It's hard to know how to help when people won't talk about things. Both Papyrus and Sans seem to have that problem.]

[Papyrus sweeps one-handed for a bit, a useless mechanical gesture that he soon abandons by dropping the broom completely and holding tight to Steven's hand. This can't be happening. Everything was finally settling down. He so badly wanted this place to be better, less frightening and dusty than the Underground he'd left behind.

Even if he can't face the full magnitude of what he's feeling right now, let alone talk about it, it's a lot easier to handle with a friend nearby.]

[For a while he just stands there and squeezes Papyrus's hand back, unsure of what else to do. It's hard to keep going with this sort of thing, when there's so much pressure and so little he actual knows about what's going on in Papyrus's head. He wishes he could ask him. Maybe someday he will.]

It'll be okay...

[Right now, though, he guesses Papyrus should only talk about it if he wants to. He doesn't know what made the brothers this way, but sometimes people take a long time to change. After a period of comradely silence, one of his vines comes out of his bulb on his back to twist around the broom and pick it up off the ground. His dexterity is a little limited with the vines, but it's enough to sweep.]

Here, I can do this part. Then, if...if you want, we can go get his clothes cleaned up for when he's back later, okay?

I think... I think that might be the best way to go about this, yes.

[He picks up the dusty uniform and bundles it with the jacket, then apparently has a change of heart.]

Wait, Steven! Um... how do I say this.

[He separates the bundle and sets Sans's jacket down on the floor.]

Let's just put as much dust as we can in the jacket for right now, okay? It's... it'll be easier to carry that way!

[That's obviously not the real reason, but he's not offering any other explanations just yet.]

[Steven is a little confused for a moment, but then he shrugs it off and just nods - though he looks sort of distraught in doing so. More and more it's starting to seem like this dust is all that's left of Sans, and the moment. It's a pretty disturbing thought.

It's somehow worse than the shattered remains of gems. There's too much of it. How could you ever get it all in one place?]

Okay...I'll get as much of it as I can.

[He works diligently at it, scooping it into the pan with a bizarre kind of gentleness and then carefully pouring it into the jacket like a bag. He swallows uncertainly when he's almost done, looking back to Papyrus.]

What do...what do you want to do with it?

Um...

[Papyrus gathers up the jacket carefully, bundling it up and tying the arms to keep it as snug as possible.

When monsters kick the bucket, they turn into dust.

At funerals, we take that dust and spread it on that monster's favorite thing.

Papyrus shakes his skull once, rattling noisily in the process.]

W-well! There's really nothing to be done, so I'll just hold onto it for now!

[He's super okay, you know.]

[Steven watches Papyrus with a sick feeling in his stomach. If there had been any doubt before, there isn't now. You don't just pour dust into your brother's jacket and then keep it for no reason, or handle it with that kind of care. The only way he could see it being that precious is if it represents something really important - like a grave, or an urn, or a collection of glittering gem shards.

His mind wanders for a moment, thinking about how the only thing his mom ever left behind was him. The same gemstone she shared with him, and that gift of life. At this point in his life, he's spent a lot of time wondering what the other Gems must have felt, when the only focus of their mourning was a baby.

He shakes his head a little. It isn't the same. Sans...he's going to be back. They can fix this. Papyrus is scared - or he thinks he is, from the way he's shaking - but it will get better. He just needs to help him get to the other side.]

Okay. [He goes to pick up the dusty uniform that's been folded carefully on the bed.] Is there anything else we should clean up in here, or do you want to take his uniform to the laundry?

[Papyrus tucks the jacket under one arm and goes to pick up the uniform. And any other clothes Sans left lying around at one point or another. His socks are right there, in plain view. Shameful!]

I think this is as clean as we're going to get it for now! Thank you, Steven, you've been a huge help.

[More than you know, most likely. This is so hard, and Papyrus still doesn't know what to do with himself, but moving from chore to chore is helping. Putting things back into order, getting them to make sense, it's as close to comfort as he's getting right now.]

[Steven collects the cleaning supplies he brought, and gets ready to go. Sometimes he's really grateful to have been so close to so many different kinds of people. He's seen this kind of behaviour before, and it makes it so much easier to know what to do now. Maybe eventually he can talk to Papyrus about it, but right now it's enough to help him feel a little bit better...even if they are still lugging Sans's corpse around.

He smiles.]

I'm just glad I can...help, I mean.

[In a way, he feels like what they've been talking about has been referencing the deeper issue, even if they aren't saying it outright. Papyrus knows what's wrong. Maybe he just doesn't want to really think about it yet? Steven can understand that feeling. Anyway...

He opens the door for Papyrus.]

Ready to go?

Oh yes, absolutely!

[With everything he needs in hand and a great friend at his side, Papyrus steps out.]

Come, Steven! The rest of the day awaits!

[video] Feb 17th

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nooooooooooo steven

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