hadriel | 009 [text]

[Part of Chris thinks he should've made this post awhile ago, and part of him still doesn't want to. But it's a compromise to do it now, and it's probably the best time for it anyway; the last event is over, and new people haven't arrived yet. It's the calm before the whatever, storm or otherwise.

But he's going with text because even though it's been a little while, he doesn't want to try to say the first part of this post in anything other than text.]

Hey everyone. So I guess I'll start off with the bad news: anyone who were friends with Ashley or Josh should know they aren't here anymore. Also, I'm going to add that if Josh owed you money or favors or whatever else, you're totally out of luck because I'm not honoring them no matter what he might've told you.

[Jokes make this not heartbreaking, right? Definitely.]

Though I guess this is also a good time to mention that if you're working on anything important or even just keeping general notes or something, you might want to consider sending them to a friend every so often. If whatever it is is just on your phone when you disappear, it's pretty much as gone as you are.

So yeah. Back up your data and all that. Even if you don't want to send an electronic copy to someone, at least keep paper notes or something.

[Semi-relatedly...]

If anyone needs help with how to send files or whatever, just let me know. And I'm finishing a program for something else right now, but then I guess I'm taking requests? If there's something you'd like a program on your phone for, I can see if I can figure out how to do it. It's not like I have a whole lot else better to be doing, so feel free and ask even though I can't totally promise I'll be able to do it.

[But still, please ask. Please give him something to do other than miss his friends.]

And okay, last thing I swear, and it's the good part. For everyone who's new here and doesn't know, we have pretty awesome coffee at the bar thanks to Delight. Usually either Emily or I are there to make it, but if we're not just send one of us a message; it's part of the deal with Delight about the coffee to make it, so you're not bothering us or whatever.

So yeah, you might be stuck in a shitty cave, but at least there's coffee. That's something, right?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yeah, and they'd both been here a really long time, so it's kind of a big difference not having them here.

[That alone, without all the rest, would've been weird enough.]

[Boy does he know how that feels. You expect that constant to be in your life forever, and even if you catch yourself mentally bracing for the moment when it's not, it still hurts. It still aches.

Safer not to let anyone in, ain't it?]

not that it matters much one way or another but
you know.
nothing you could've done.

[There's a long delay at that because he knows Sans is just trying to help, but... Sans is right about being unable to do anything about them leaving, but everything else--]

That's not totally true. I mean, I couldn't have made them stay, but I could've done something to make what they're going back to better.

yeah.

[Not really an agreement so much as it is an acknowledgement that no matter how you might prepare for it, it still sucks when it happens.]

no guarantee they'd remember.

[That isn't exactly what he meant, but it makes him wonder; what if they do remember? It's an incredibly long shot, especially with what he knows about people that have left and come back before, but... Maybe. There's a chance that, at least in some version of his world, maybe Ashley and Josh and all the others that have been here and gone back had a chance to change things.]

Yeah. But if they do, then maybe things'll go better than last time.

that's the hope.

[That's the hope he drops in Papyrus's lap, hoping some part of him remembers. Hoping some part of him doesn't drop his guard when they come for him. Hoping that -

Well, he doesn't put much stock in hope anymore.]

you never know.
you ever heard of theories of multiple universes?
i mean, obviously we all come from different worlds, but there's kind of a branching-off point.
parallel universes defined by our choices.

I've heard the theory, yeah. Every time you can make a choice, or do anything at all, each option gets its own branch. And then those branches branch, and so on.

[He's read a lot of sci-fi, as well as going on wikipedia binges. Parallel and multiple universes and timelines also tie into the whole butterfly effect thing.]

[God, and this is him trying to be comforting. He just barely makes the cut, huh? He doesn't do this, typically. Grief. He never does grief.]

that's the basic idea, yeah.
just like there's a world where you didn't tell them everything that would help, there's a world where you did.
it's not much, i know.
but every iteration exists somewhere.

It's better than nothing. And hey, you can go the whole way and believe in the quantum immortality thing and it gets even better.

[Sure, it's a weird attempt at making him feel better, but not a bad one. Sans could be doing a lot worse and even if he were Chris would appreciate the sentiment anyway, and he does.]

pretty much, yeah.
kinda like how people say life isn't fair.
that's a good thing, right?
imagine if it was fair.

it'd mean that every horrible thing that happens to you is something you deserve.

sorry. don't usually do this.

I never would've guessed.

[Hopefully the good-natured sarcasm comes through the text, but if not--]

But no, really, you're not that bad.

There is the whole karma idea, though. Which is pretty much that.

[And he's not sure if it's better or not than the alternative of having no influence over what happens.]

heh, yeah.
what do you believe?

[It's a greater attempt at being comforting than he can ever remember putting forth. Ever.]

[He really does appreciate it.]

I don't know. I used to be pretty set on what I believed before everything that happened at home went down, and then coming here just made everything even more confusing.

What about you?

we all get what we deserve in the end.

that's my experience.

That'd be nice.

I'm not sure I could believe it, though.

it's an ongoing struggle.

anyway. here's to a better month in the future, yeah?

Yeah, definitely. To a better month or future in general.

And thanks, by the way.

[For trying to make him feel better. It really did help.]

don't mention it.

[And it's a damn good thing this conversation is private, or Sans would be losing his whole rep as an easygoing bastard.]

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