[Papyrus nods, smile briefly fading, because yes - all that stuff sure happened. But he picks back up as Sans explains a little bit extra what he means.]
I'm sure that humming's no match for me. What's one more mystery sound. [Ever since transforming at that party, he's been hearing bits and pieces of things. Even right now, there's nippets of a used car sales ad, another game show, a ticker about auction prices, a phone call about a deadline next Monday... He shifts, resting the solar charger further down the bed, and examines the power pack and book more closely.] If it's humming, it must be more like music than whispers. Right?
It's like a vibration. You can feel it. [Sans rubs idly at the scar just beneath his shirt; it resonates particularly well with the magic filling up his bones in a very literal sense.] Then the whispering comes with it.
Right... So. How different from echo flowers, would you say this is.
[Are these whispers echoing the conversations around the ruins - if distorted with time and repetition - or completely mysterious and sourceless voices? Either way, he's not sure he sees the appeal.] Because that sounds a little spooky.
[Sans thinks the echo flowers are entertaining. He knows Papyrus disagrees with that assessment, and that means he has to stop and think about it a little longer.] You can't tell what the whispers are saying. It's pretty quiet. Sort of comes and goes in waves. Anyway, it's not like Waterfall, there's sun. [Verdict on the sun: still great.] Things are way less spooky with sunlight.
That's true. Sunlight's great that way. [Loads better than thunderstorms, by a mile. And further away by a larger number of miles than he cares to think too much about.] Yeah, I'll give it a shot. I should look around those ruins more, anyway...
[Not just because Sans is loitering out there, possibly working for the archaeologists, possibly illegally selling food, probably a mixture of both and napping. But his first impression was their arrival, and if they're to live here for the indefinite future, he wants to get himself used to going anywhere in this valley.]
I'll give you the VIP tour. [That isn't a real thing, but Sans can think of a few ways to spice up a tour, for Sans's definition of spicing things up.] Show you my favorite weird ruins symbol.
[That's kind of a joke, but also there's a focused interest in his tone that implies Sans may actually have a favorite weird ruins symbol.]
[The tone of this conversation is so normal, but the contents of every exchange are making it feel weirder and weirder. Is this how Sans felt, talking to him? Surely not. Sans hasn't even been involved in any mystery experiments. And yet...]
You're not telling it that it's your favorite, are you? [Don't make the other weird ruins symbols jealous, Sans!]
Nah, it's not a very good conversationalist. [Actually, when he thinks about it too hard, the whispering gets kind of aggressive. But that only stops him sometimes.] But it's in a smaller font than the others. Could be lowercase. It's relatable.
[These are stupid reasons but the interest, at least, is very genuine.]
Wow. That's incredible. [As Sans a reason as any. And technically a better hobby than sock collecting. He's both amused and concerned about all of this, and winding up in a dry tone of voice as a result.] I hope I can count on those other archeologists to keep an eye on you. Make sure you're not telling it knock knock jokes. I heard that's bad for fossils.
[If fossils are even a thing at this dig, what does he know about investigating ruins besides approximately nothing.]
Uh huh. [Insert obligatory grumbling about pun noises, to fill the air as he puts together what he's heard about these ruins so far.]
I thought this was a puzzle. Or an art installation, in the ground. [You know, unlike most puzzles, which are only partially in the ground.] But it must be really avant-garde, huh?
It's kind of a puzzle. [Not usually Sans's thing, but he can make an exception for this.] They definitely mean something, like writing, but there's no answer key, so whatever they say's still a mystery. It's where we showed up, so it could be related.
[Sans can hear the whispering again, but only barely. The others at the ruins don't notice when it picks up around Sans for thinking about the symbols, so hopefully this means Papyrus can't hear it either--Sans isn't sure how he'd explain that part.]
Some kind of cipher... [Now that's starting to sound more interesting.] How much writing is there? To work off.
[Fortunately for Sans's hopes of secrecy, Papyrus isn't reacting to any sudden whispering in the air. It could be that he hasn't been exposed to the ruins long enough, or it could be that he's preoccupied with his own omnipresent whispers - the sounds of radio frequencies hasn't stopped since the party.]
We keep finding more the more stuff gets dug up. [So Sans can't say for sure how much, but it's a lot.] The one I mentioned before [his favorite] is right in the center of the platform we woke up on, and there's more on the main platform, and then we find 'em scattered around, too.
So you don't even know where the start or end is... That's always hard. [In a lot of contexts, from the challenges of planning for the future, to things as "simple" as Junior Jumble.] Well! Not that I'm made of time. But I'm sure I can come give you a hand with that.
[Part of Sans worries that might infect Papyrus with the whispering, which he recognizes is probably not a great symptom even if he's dealing with it. Part of him, the part that wants to solve this, rationalizes that as long as Papyrus only helps a bit, that should be fine. The whispering didn't start following Sans right away. And Papyrus is better at puzzles than he is.] Hey, as long as you're not busy. Can't hurt to call in the puzzle expert for a day.
Pssshh, I'm always busy. [He has to keep busy! Finding things to learn and things to do, scouring the internet for leads on future homes or jobs, and now reading up even more on human electronics... Otherwise, his thoughts could get in low, unhappy places]
So be sure to appreciate it properly!! [Don't actually drag him out for a nap on the rocks, even with the excuse of testing the solar charger.]
I'll buy you something at the museum gift shop. [This is probably not what Papyrus meant by appreciating it properly and also means no promises on not showing him the napping rocks.]
Wow, thanks. [The first hint that it's not what Papyrus meant: his voice going dry with sarcasm.] Because I couldn't do that myself. Going to a gift shop... It's my one weakness.
I have to ask you again, how long have you been eating rocks??? [Sans is entirely too knowledgeable about the variety of rock-themed candy that the Ruins gift shop apparently sells.]
Since I started seeing if I could buy a whole lunch at the gift shop. [Is Sans eating rock candy and pop rocks for lunch sometimes? Maybe.] But I guess you can just bring a lunch and I'll just show you the puzzle stuff.
I am completely bringing my own lunch. [Eating rocks is completely different from eating batteries, he's sure! And leftover room service should save him the trouble of making food, whenever the room service shows up.] ...And the charger.
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spaghettimonster) wrote2021-07-31 02:32 am
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I'm sure that humming's no match for me. What's one more mystery sound. [Ever since transforming at that party, he's been hearing bits and pieces of things. Even right now, there's nippets of a used car sales ad, another game show, a ticker about auction prices, a phone call about a deadline next Monday... He shifts, resting the solar charger further down the bed, and examines the power pack and book more closely.] If it's humming, it must be more like music than whispers. Right?
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[Are these whispers echoing the conversations around the ruins - if distorted with time and repetition - or completely mysterious and sourceless voices? Either way, he's not sure he sees the appeal.] Because that sounds a little spooky.
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[Not just because Sans is loitering out there, possibly working for the archaeologists, possibly illegally selling food, probably a mixture of both and napping. But his first impression was their arrival, and if they're to live here for the indefinite future, he wants to get himself used to going anywhere in this valley.]
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[That's kind of a joke, but also there's a focused interest in his tone that implies Sans may actually have a favorite weird ruins symbol.]
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You're not telling it that it's your favorite, are you? [Don't make the other weird ruins symbols jealous, Sans!]
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[These are stupid reasons but the interest, at least, is very genuine.]
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[If fossils are even a thing at this dig, what does he know about investigating ruins besides approximately nothing.]
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[He's sure he can figure it out! He can figure all of the symbols out. He just needs to think about it a little more.]
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I thought this was a puzzle. Or an art installation, in the ground. [You know, unlike most puzzles, which are only partially in the ground.] But it must be really avant-garde, huh?
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[Sans can hear the whispering again, but only barely. The others at the ruins don't notice when it picks up around Sans for thinking about the symbols, so hopefully this means Papyrus can't hear it either--Sans isn't sure how he'd explain that part.]
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[Fortunately for Sans's hopes of secrecy, Papyrus isn't reacting to any sudden whispering in the air. It could be that he hasn't been exposed to the ruins long enough, or it could be that he's preoccupied with his own omnipresent whispers - the sounds of radio frequencies hasn't stopped since the party.]
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So be sure to appreciate it properly!! [Don't actually drag him out for a nap on the rocks, even with the excuse of testing the solar charger.]
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