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[spaghettimonster]

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[spaghettimonster]

[Papyrus is no longer as consistently awake at this time as he'd like to be, and it's an ongoing trial for him. Why is it that humans, so notoriously sturdy and strong-souled, would need so much sleep? There's nothing about water that makes people sleepy, so being mostly made of water shouldn't change anything... yet it does. Thankfully, there's caffeine. He's managing to wake up early like this thanks largely to the teamwork of alarm clock and coffee, with generous portions of the latter. One cup's even along for the ride, though its contents were gone before he even grabbed a book, and now it's sitting on the chair next to him cooling.

Unfortunately, he's still yawning as he starts to read - huge yawns that blind him at random. Once he loses his place for the third time in a page, it's clear:] This is a situation... for more coffee.

[He pushes himself to his feet, rubs at his eyes, and retrieves the mug. The diner's not too far away, after all. And he goes to put the book back in the return slot, to reclaim when he's a little more awake... when he notices a familiar face. He pauses, blinks and squints. Maybe it's someone else, but that'd be an uncanny coincidence.]

...Huh? Sans?

[ribticklers]

[Sans has to resist the wild impulse to sweep his arm across the table, send all the papers scattering to the floor, and escape. During that instant of thought, he stares owlishly at Papyrus like he got caught at something. Then his expression smooths out again, because the thing to do here is act like he's not doing anything.]

What's up? [He has put on his best casual tone. If he acts like it's completely normal for him to be up early and at the library, then it becomes true, maybe.]

[spaghettimonster]

You, somehow. Mysteriously... [Papyrus keeps squinting at his brother, but the focus is on his face, rather than the papers all over the table. One step at a time. He has priorities, here.]

How do you... keep being awake, when I'm not. What's your secret? [It seems like ever since they woke up as humans, Sans has had a renewed well of energy and drive, while Papyrus is weighed down and exhausted constantly. It's backwards and agitating, and the more he pushes himself to do better, the worse does. But surely embracing the laziness isn't the answer, is it?]

[ribticklers]

[Really, Sans would rather be in bed. Going back to bed is on the list of potential things to do after this, which he could make a joke about, but then it would lead to the question of what Sans specifically woke up for just to go back to sleep after.]

I take naps. Got a real good one in yesterday at work. [He shouldn't be doing that, but of course he is.] You're still up more'n me, if you line up all the hours.

[spaghettimonster]

Oh, so that's how. Sleeping on the job, as always... [Of course he is. Papyrus rolls his eyes, then glances around the rest of the situation here. These don't look like anything space-related, so it's not just enthusiasm that has his brother awake and out so early... His coffee can wait just a little longer, while he fishes.] Is that what all these papers are for? Makeshift pillows?

[ribticklers]

[They're mostly newspapers, but some magazines, too. They all have a focus on Halloween in some way.] Yup. Libraries are great for naps. Quiet, and sometimes you can find one where the lights go out if you don't move.

[spaghettimonster]

I see... I'll take that expert advice into consideration. [You know, if he ever has a midday desperate yearning for a nap, and can't go to his house for some reason.

But more seriously, Halloween? Why is Sans looking at this? Is he studying up on how the holiday normally goes...?] Hey, all this Halloween stuff... have you seen, were the zombies normal? Does that happen every year?

[ribticklers]

That wasn't normal, I'm pretty sure. [That wasn't specifically what he was looking into, but it is a safe conclusion based on all this Halloween evidence anyway.] And all those kids and that principal are still officially missing, anyway. [Even though that was before time repeated. But the way things work here is obviously not quite the same as at home, even if there are plenty of similarities.] So I guess it could happen again next October.

[spaghettimonster]

[He starts nodding slowly as he listens, taking what glimmers of insight Sans has to share, when the middle bit catches his attention.] Wait. What? They're still missing?? But, they went missing in 1961...?

[You know, the year that it supposedly is now? What gives, Sans.]

[ribticklers]

[Sans shrugs.] Yeah, but that's how it is. Ain't like I know the rules of this place. [Still, all the stuff Sans is surrounded by is more Halloween costume research rather than research on missing persons.]

[spaghettimonster]

Yes, I'm sure you're not the mastermind behind this. [Not to say that Sans couldn't be a mastermind, if he put his mind to it! But this town is just not Sans-inspired in the slightest.

Regardless, Papyrus is finding he's just not awake enough for wheedling the details slowly out of his brother. Best to get to the point.] And you're looking at costumes... instead of sleeping... because why?

[ribticklers]

Would you believe I'm plannin' my costume early? [Sans is entirely sure Papyrus won't believe that, which is why he's wording it the way he did. He's more testing to see how much Papyrus is going to nudge at him for information. Sharing info on the photograph isn't really a big deal, is it? He was going to give the info to some other people to deal with anyway...]

[spaghettimonster]

You, working early. [It scarcely needs to be said, Papyrus is skeptical of this and makes no attempt to hide it.] Then again... I guess it's not really work. Not job work. Or a chore.

[More like loitering in the woods reading car magazines, as a thing to look forward to happening someday in the future, now that cars are a part of their life already.]

[ribticklers]

[This sounds to Sans basically like permission to keep dodging the subject, even if he knows it's really not.] They've got skeleton costumes. What d'you think? [Sans holds up a magazine showing this thing, horrifying mask and all.]

[spaghettimonster]

[No, it's not, but Papyrus isn't sure if he wants answers on the subject, especially if things like this are what he has to look forward to.]

Oh my god?? [He outright recoils from the magazine for a second or two, hand to his chest as affronted as any leading lady on the television.] That's... That's supposed to be a skull? Have they ever seen a skeleton??

[ribticklers]

Well, real skulls aren't that scary. [At least not to Sans, who is admittedly incredibly biased.] Maybe they're goin' for a scary costume.

[spaghettimonster]

If they want scary skulls, they could go for blasters, or something. [Those are at least scarier than your average person's skull, in his opinion. They're both biased on real skulls.]

[ribticklers]

They probably haven't seen those. [But having the only two people Sans knows who can use blasters right here makes him wonder if whoever kidnapped them, at least, might have some idea. But the kidnappers probably aren't responsible for costume design.] Guess I'll just have to go as this next October instead.

[Okay, now Sans kind of is planning his Halloween costume. And it's a horrific skeleton thing. Whoops.]

[spaghettimonster]

[He nods along to the first point, because fair enough. They weren't a common thing in the first place, and with how magic barely works here, it's almost completely unlikely anyone else here has ever seen one. But.]

Sans. [Why? No.] I could paper maché a better skull in my sleep.

[ribticklers]

Sure, but that's not the point. The point is this. [He holds up the magazine displaying the mask, specifically, over his face.]

[spaghettimonster]

The point of, you wanting... a disguise...? [He drops his voice a little on the last words. There's no way Sans came here to plan a costume for gathering candy, considering the effort involved. But if there's a more mysterious or nefarious purpose behind the costume, that almost might make sense.]

[ribticklers]

[And here Sans had hoped he'd misdirected the conversation enough they could just keep going on tangents the whole time.] Nah, just--thought something was weird and wanted to check it out, that's all. [Something besides the skeleton costume.]

[spaghettimonster]

...Weirder than everything else? [Consider the tangenting belayed, because, Sans. They're suddenly humans, in a weird surface town in the past of maybe an alternate Earth, and time recently reset to the beginning of a year they (probably) hadn't been around for. Whatever's weird enough to stand out from that backdrop has Papyrus's interest.]

[ribticklers]

I didn't say that. [Being suddenly humans is still weirder. But other things can be weird, even if by comparison they're not quite so much.] I just saw this real old picture of a couple kids in some Halloween costumes, so I went to look up how old the costumes are, and they're modern for this place. That picture looked older than the costumes.

[So it's linked to the 1961 weirdness, specifically.]

[spaghettimonster]

An old photo, of "modern" costumes... Maybe they were ahead of their time. [He's already considered putting together some cutting edge tailoring, to be more at-home in his home away from home here. But that's the kind of project he'd get up to when he had the middle of the night available, and as it is, he has to cover a yawn. And he freezes, mid-yawn, connecting the dots that Sans is probably caught on.] Or maybe, it's been 1961... for a long time.