ximilialog | what do you call a lie from a skeleton? a fibula (august catch-all)

Entry tags:

what do you call a lie from a skeleton? a fibula (august catch-all)

CHARACTERS: Sans + Errybody (OTA + Closed)
LOCATION: All around the ship
DATE: Immediate aftermath of the mission + period of downtime aboard Ximlia
CONTENT: Catch-all log for post-mission feelings and general happenings!
WARNINGS: warts and all portrayal of alcoholism, some existential dread, you know the drill. any more specific warnings will be listed below the cut in the thread descriptions:

(( Pick your poison! All top levels are in the comments below, but you can click the links from the entry menu as well.

These are in rough order from directly after the mission onward. I scrutinized the locations page very closely, so feel free to refer to the map and info there if you need any additional context! ))

Sunlight Room (night) | OT1 (first come first serve) - A few hours after So-Yeon's death, their arrival back aboard Ximilia, and Sans' conversation with Viveca; Sans gets absolutely wasted for the first time in a long time and he's hating every second of it. He may be kind of an asshole so buyer beware...

Infirmary | Closed to Ratchet - Next morning; Sans is hungover af and goes into the infirmary looking for anything to ease his skullache. Winds up running into someone he'd really rather not look in the eye.

Kitchen | Closed to Shinjiro - Later that day; still in hangover land and emotionally wrung out, Sans' efforts to find food that won't make him queasy lead him to an angsty teen.

Wandering Around The Ship | OTA - That night; despite being profoundly exhausted, Sans can't get to sleep. He tries a few different tactics to remedy that aka there a few different spots to run into him. Hug a skeleton, if you dare.

Common Living Area | Closed to Finn - The second day back on Ximilia post-mission; Sans seeks out the other person who's been on his mind a lot since coming back.

Simulation Room | OT4 (first four only) - Sometime between this mission and the next; Sans is going in and out of the simulation room over and over again for reasons that are Unclear. We take a break from the abject angst on this one, promise.

Wildcard - Got another idea? Poke me at safelybeds or just comment and I'll roll w/it!

(( I've written some of these starters in prose, but feel free to swap to action brackets! I couldn't care less 8D ))

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Brother Sans… I’m sorry I couldn’t let you save me.

It's amazing what the mind will focus on when it's running away from something.

In Sans' case, it was sounds. The trickle of the creek as it whooshed artificially from one end of the impossible room to the other. The hollow clink of the bottle, gripped loosely in his bony fist, as he set it heavily down on the pebbly shoreline. The wet squelch of his slippers as he toed them against the ground. Probably shouldn't have waded across the creek when there was a perfectly good bridge, but Sans had his reasons for avoiding the main path through here.

One, this bottle of booze definitely wasn't his.

Two... well, the people he'd most like to speak to couldn't come to the phone right now.

Sans tips the bottle back up to his teeth reflexively, forgetting he'd finished the bottle. He lets it fall with a soft tsk of frustration, letting it roll to join the others near the water's edge. There were almost certainly more unattended bottles to nick at the teleportation platform -- everybody seemed to need a drink after what went down -- but that would require standing. Sans... wasn't sure he could do that right now. Maybe never again. Wouldn't that be nice?

Sans flops backwards, back of his skull hitting grass. The action makes his vision swim, turning the pinpricks of light above them into blurred streaks. They were fake, just like the ones back home. Maybe just like the ones in Gyeongje?

But he wasn't thinking about Gyeongje, remember? Sans was focusing on sounds. Flow of water, leaves rustling in the trees, the snap of a twig as someone approached the private clearing--

Jerking up too quickly, Sans feels the whole world lurch alongside him. With unfocused annoyance, he addresses the blurry shape of a figure in front of him.

"Uh uh, wrong way pal." He instructs bluntly, sockets narrowed as he tries to place exactly who the hell had interrupted him. "Go ahead and turn around, this patch of grass is occupied."

Edited 2021-08-19 23:53 (UTC)

If he was making a lot of noise sorting through the infirmary medicine cabinets, Sans couldn't hear it over the throb of his own skull. To say he'd overdone it the night before was an understatement. Unless he found something to help quiet that pounding, Sans was certain he'd fall ass backward into his favorite hangover cure from his Grillby Days: hair of the dog. And he didn't mean Dogamy or Dogeressa getting fur in his drink.

The last thing he needed was yesterday's backslide to turn into a more permanent freefall.

"Aw, c'mon..." He grits out, frustrated, when a clumsy effort to move some pills aside results in a bottle coming free from the ledge and rolling under the nearest closed curtain. Pulling it aside to retrieve it, Sans' sockets fall on the bed's occupant.

"Ratchet?" Also known as the last guy to see him as So-Yeon dusted herself. Sans swallows dryly, forcing on an easy smile. Ratchet looked a lot more banged up under the bright hospital lights (so bright, much to Sans' hungover chagrin), but he seemed more alert too. Or at least, his ears weren't drooping quite as much. "Sorry for bargin' in. Didn't wake you up, did I?"

Edited 2021-08-19 23:54 (UTC)

Well, the pills had been a bust. In hindsight, he was a magic skeleton. Modern organic medicine had yet to find a cure for whatever his deal was.

In lieu of treatment, Sans' symptoms don't leave him so much as gradually ebb. Once late morning crept into the afternoon, they'd quieted enough that the idea of eating didn't immediately make him feel ill. With the influx of food requests, the Mess Hall was anything but quiet. Sans hugged the wall on his way to the kitchen. You could usually find someone's old leftovers in the fridges there.

Instead, Sans finds Shinjiro, wearing... wait, was that an apron? He was assembling ingredients on the counter, apparently oblivious to Sans' intrusion.

"Uh, hey, kid. What's cookin'?"

Edited 2021-08-19 23:54 (UTC)

Imagine what the people back home would say if they knew Sans the freakin' Skeleton couldn't get to sleep. There'd be riots in the streets. Insomnia wasn't his thing, y'know?

Which, unfortunately, meant he didn't have a damn clue what to do about it.

A - At the Door to the Northeast Wing

[ The floor outside the large doors sealed doors isn't comfortable, but he's gotten lucky with mysterious doors before. Maybe whoever was on the other side of this one had some sheep counting tips for him.

Passers by will see him with his hood drawn up, rapping a hand against the door in a steady knock knock, muttering something under his breath that sounds kinda like.

Uh.

Knock knock jokes. ]

B - Common Living Area

[ Sans is pulling books off the shelf, flipping through the pages with an appraising expression before setting them down in an untidy stack by his feet.

Whatever he's looking for, it seems like the only thing he's accomplishing is making a big mess. ]

C - Living Quarters

[ Shocking as it may be, Sans never bothered to stake permanent claim on a room. Each night before the mission was an exercise in trial and error, skulking around in search of unlocked doors and empty beds.

Things were different, now that he was back. For one, his fellow orbers had graduated from suspicious strangers to people I kinda don't wanna steal a bed from. And second, things were starting to feel a little... y'know, permanent.

For better or worse.

It's late -- you may even be asleep, or close to it -- when there's a knock at your door. Answer it? ]

Edited 2021-08-20 00:15 (UTC)

Finding Finn in a quiet moment was trickier than Sans thought. The guy was always busy, always lending a hand, always trying to be an asset to the team... whatever that meant. Were Sans a different man, he might've chalked Finn's activity up to him being an all around well-adjusted kid.

Unfortunately for them both, Sans knew a few too many people for whom helpfulness was their favorite (and most debilitating) crutch. Double unfortunately, he had a real habit of projecting onto other people.

Those two facts come together that evening when Sans spotted Finn sitting in the Common Area. It's the first time he's seen the kid off his feet all day.

"Well if it isn't the big damn hero." The back of the chair Finn picked was a little too tall for Sans to lean over, but an attempt is made. "I've been meaning to congratulate ya, kid. Your blood really saved the day."

Edited 2021-08-20 00:26 (UTC)

As time crept on and the inevitable reality of their next mission looming, Sans came to a decision: If he was going to make it through this meat grinder with his soul intact, he was gonna need to actually... apply himself. Gross.

That road led him to the simulation room, and whatever randomly generated world awaited him on the other side of the door. Of course, he doesn't come alone. What does he look like, a masochist?

Nudging his partner, Sans fires off a quick finger gun + wink combo.

"You first, buddy. I'll be right behind ya, promise."

---

(( ooc notes: Okay, so I'm trying something kinda experimental with this one. I'd like to run it kinda like a tabletop game, with dice rolls and randomization influencing what happens inside the simulation. I have NO IDEA if it'll work or even be fun, but if it sounds like something you wanna try out with me... hop aboard!

I've written out 4 light-hearted "mini-campaigns" for each of the simulations (I'll randomly select one for whoever comments). As events occur, I'll prompt you in a private plurk to roll dice to determine outcomes. Things won't be totally random -- if your character has skills/gifts/abilities that would affect the outcome of an action, I'll take that into account when designing the roll.

Since this is a simulation, I don't think anyone is gonna get too banged up, but I'll run any negative outcomes by you beforehand!

Please put your plurk handle in your subject line so I can send you a private plurk after you comment, ty! ))

Edited 2021-08-20 00:42 (UTC)

(( ooc: hit me with ya best shot ))

Ratchet wasn't so much sleeping as he was dipping in and out of a tedious boredom nap. "Two days rest" was what he'd been told, much to his frustration. Time to heal and time to recuperate some lost energy from their last few days on Gyeongje where Ratchet had, admittedly, not taken very good care of himself. He'd spent the better part of his time in medical catching up on lost sleep, sipping off-brand space Gatorade, and eating things that tasted more or less like a compressed bar of unconvincingly flavored sawdust. But he did feel better.

"No...no. I'm actually glad to see a friendly face." Were they friendly? It felt a little presumptuous, but...given what they'd been through, a few prank calls felt like water under the bridge. Sans certainly probably had bigger things on his mind than a few jokes gone awry. Ratchet sits up stiffly, wincing. "What are you looking for?"

Ratchet wasn't sure how Sans had talked him into this. Not necessarily because Ratchet didn't agree with the need for some time in the simulation mines keeping themselves from getting too complacent in their downtime...but because he wasn't really convinced that Sans agreed with that notion. Despite it being his idea.

Ratchet sighs, shrugging but smiling lightly, a reminder to both of them that he was here in good faith.

"Alright, but if I walk through that door and slip on a banana peel..." He trails off, leaving that possibility unfinished as he turns away from Sans to head in first. Bracing himself for a possible prank.

While she did come out of the last mission with a positive personal outcome, there were some points where things were touch and go. Luckily this had been a situation that gave those with less battle-oriented something to do, and to even excel at. Next time, however, she may not be so lucky. They could be spat out in the middle of a field of monsters, and there won't be talking her way out of staying alive — and dying again isn't on her agenda.

So an invitation to do something potentially akin to sparring...well, it's not what she's used to. But breaking out of her comfort zone has been a recurring theme in Jiang Yanli's life aboard the ship. She has a sword and all, so she might as well really learn to use it.

And who better to be partnered with than a master of magic? And undead, to boot — which she still holds no fear or ill will towards; without some miracle she'd also be a skeleton, swallowed by robes.

"I'll take your word for it." She chuffs a laugh as she moves forward, hand gripping her sword more tightly as she steps forward, opening the door. She has no idea what to expect from such a mysterious figure, but she does trust that if she can't handle something inside, he's masterful enough in magic to save the day.

Never forgetting her manners, she steps to the side once in her new reality, inviting him in with a flick of her robe.

There are few people on this station that could call Finn a hero right now and he wouldn't think they were being sarcastic. (Actually, that'd be everyone on this station, but he feels like he deserves that sort of thing, so-) Alas, Sans is thankfully one of those people.

He's tired, exhausted, has been since they got back on board. Finn's kept busy through it all, seeing as he can't seem to rest.

And now that Sans is here, he puts a smile on top of it all. He still hasn't quite figured the guy out, but it's clear he worries about people, that he wants the best outcomes possible. Finn doesn't want to disappoint him.

"Thanks. I make it myself." But all joking aside, he shrugs. "I didn't put the special parts in there, though. Just offered it up."

[It's late, but she's not asleep. When there's a knock she trudges her way over to open the door, and doesn't look surprised to see Sans there. She just assumes he knows where she's at and has come for a visit. Because why wouldn't he want to do that??]

I hope you brought a blanket. There's only one in here.

[ Yzak doesn't put up a fuss, when he's nudged to go ahead first - when he leaps into battle he's used to the danger anyway, even though he has faith in his own team to have his back while looking out for themselves. ]

You better not lag behind!

[ This simulation will be a good attempt to try his new skills in an active situation. Sabriel's only taught him a few basics, and he's been, like a good student, practicing hard, but now that he can use some basic magic, he wants to see how it feels when he has to focus on multiple things at once. ]

Nobody would accuse Shinjiro Aragaki of being particularly good at self-care. However, every person has habits they fall into when stressed, and Shinji's just so happens to be cooking. He would argue to the death the apron was a matter of convenience more than anything, but he is indeed wearing one, and is indeed surrounded by ingredients when Sans addresses him. The expression he makes upon being "caught" is truly comical--like a deer in the headlights, or one of those people in the horror movie that s l o w l y turns around to see the monster standing behind them.

"..........Hey."

He stares between his ingredients, the stove, and Sans, and then sort of helplessly mumbles: "It's. Called um. Okonomiyaki..."

He's gonna have to explain what that is, isn't he. Please end him.

Edited 2021-08-21 07:19 (UTC)

Friendly was a relative word, wasn't it? Teammates seemed more suitable. Or maybe cellmates.

Straightening up, Sans rattled the errant bottle of pills by way of explanation... promptly wincing at the way the sound seemed to echo unpleasantly in his skull.

"Went a little overboard on the sauce last night. Thought maybe I could find something to help ease the consequences." A search Sans was happy to temporarily abandon for the moment. "I'm not gonna lie, I'm glad to see ya. It was a little touch and go there, huh?"

That looks efficient.

[ renfri's tone is perfectly dry, which of course means that it looks, well, the exact opposite of efficient... not that she's offering to help, or even asking him what it is he's looking for.

what she does, however, is crouch down and pick one of the books sans has set down (Common and Uncommon Butterflies and Their Characteristics, with a highlighted note of NOW WITH PICTURES IN COLOR!) and starts to flip through it. ]

... huh. Not bad. [ she slips the book to a pouch she keeps under her cloak. ]

"I guess it was, yeah...." Ratchet trails off, his voice quiet. It was something he didn't want to think about too hard. Life or death situations didn't jar him too much; at least not as much as the average person. But there was life and death with all the abstraction of injury, of being well equipped and capable, of life-saving technology in your veins pushing pain or injury to the backseat...and then there was this. Unprepared, underequipped, bleeding out on an alien world in a universe that wasn't your own.

That did jar him a little.

Ratchet looks up at Sans, at the pills in his hand. "That was a pretty tough mission, huh?"

[ They've only had one conversation, but it's hard not to notice an animate skeleton living among them. Even with his hood up, there's little question who it must be, and River has always been of a curious nature. She hovers above him, leaning against the door. ]

Who's there?

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

what do you call a lie from a skeleton? a fibula (august catch-all)

Sunlight Room (night) | OT1 (first come first serve) | a few hours post-mission

Infirmary | Closed to Ratchet | the next morning (first day back)

Kitchen | Closed to Shinjiro | early afternoon (first day back)

Wandering Around The Ship | OTA | evening (first day back)

Common Living Area | Closed to Finn | evening (second day back)

Simulation Room | OT4 (first four only) | various times after their first two weeks back

Wildcard

no subject

@nonvieta (AS YOU KNOW)

@haseul makin ur dreams come true

no subject

C

@gaignun slips in here

no subject

no subject

B

no subject

A.