melodiesofeternity | A Starlight Carol

Ho Ho Ho...? (Good)

When the PuPu whisks Papyrus away, he's immediately taken aback. His jaw drops. Those googly eyes pop into full view. Snow crunches beneath his boots. Trees span far into the distance, and ahead he spots... himself. A very small, skeletal child, with a metal bowl on his head and a mixing spoon in hand. He's clad in a short-sleeved short with bone-shaped stripes, a striped orange scarf, and brown snow pants to go with his little red boots.

The younger Papyrus sniffles and cries, prompting his present self to frown and sigh. If only he could reach out a supporting hand.

But this is a memory of a time long passed. And perhaps, in time, a friendly face will lift his spirits.

Those listening closely may already hear the distant, "Dum de dum~" from a deep, baritone voice.

Everything is... Not Fine (Bad);

It's dark. So very, very dark. The distant hum of machinery echoes off the walls, a dark, almost grotesque sort of teal. Footsteps, like the humming, echo off the walls. Not that Papyrus moves- at first, anyway. Having landed here, in the True Lab, he hesitates. This is... a memory like the last, but. When? Just what awaits him if he wanders down the hallway?

As if to answer him, there's a sharp, pained, "NO!!!!!"

He flinches. But despite it all, his feet propel him forward- at least until his past self zooms by.

He's a bit shorter. His labcoat's baggier than before. Rather than his battle body, he wears baggy tan pants and an orange shirt that reads WIZ KID. Not that it's easy to make out in the dark.

With no other choice, Papyrus follows his past self into a room, lit only by the faintest glow of a skull-shaped monstrosity attached to the wall, adorned with spikes. The shadow of a taller monster stands before the machine's ominous figure, hunched over and... dripping?

There's. A trail of something sticky on the floor. A labcoat tossed aside.

Syringes, too.

The past Papyrus speaks. "UNDYNE! WHAT'S GOING ON?"

But his present self is stunned silent.

Edited 2018-12-18 01:42 (UTC)

Tilly's not sure how to feel about all the memory diving she's been doing since coming to Vaikuntha. Granted, she had her share of it back home, but even when communicating with the dead, actually peering into memories like this? Very very rare.

Still, it seems like a relatively calm memory, even if the young Papyrus seems so sad and adorable. Odd that a skeleton could be so small and then grow up, but she recalls him mentioning that he's not undead like skeletons she knows. Fortunately, Tilly's here with the actual Papyrus and she's making her way over to him.

"...You never told me you were a cute kid, Papyrus."

Oh! The sudden voice jars the present Papyrus out of his nostalgia, and he peeks over his shoulder. A sheepish smile crawls across his skull. "OH. WELL... I WAS FIVE OR SIX AT THE TIME. FAR FROM THE STRONG, HANDSOME SPECIMEN YOU SEE TODAY!"

The younger Papyrus continued sniffling and rubbing at his teary eye sockets, but the snow began to crunch more audibly than before. A very large, horned figure in a suit of red and white begins marching their way, still humming as he carries a great big sack of goodies.

The present Papyrus can't hide his grin at the sight. "YES!!! YOU'RE JUST IN TIME TO SEE THE TRIUMPHANT APPEARANCE OF SANTA!"

He may be a young adult now, but. Santa is always a source of excitement.

Honestly? Even Matilda can't help being excited about seeing Santa. The mention of him has her blinking and actively keeping lookout, only to find the jolliest of gift givers on his way to comfort the small skeleton. Her eyes widen and she can't help joining Papyrus with an eager grin, hands folded in childlike eagerness.

"Santa! Oh my goodness it's Santa, he's here too it's so good to see him again!"

"YOU KNOW SANTA?!?!" Oh, would you look at that? The googly eyes remain in full force! How exciting! But was it the same Santa, or one from a parallel world? So many questions! So little time...

Ah, but it seemed that big, fuzzy goat had made it up to the crying child, kneeling down before him.

"Why hello there, little one! What are you doing here all alone?"

The tiny Papyrus just stares, equally googly eyed and jaw agape. Seems he's having trouble processing the jolly figure before him!

"Not this Santa, no. Back home, my...I guess you could call them my adoptive family, helped him save the holidays. They introduced me to him and he's just as jolly as everyone says.

This may not be my Santa, but I'm glad to know he's universal."

The one she knows, sadly, is not a big, fuzzy goat. He still seems just as friendly and full of good cheer and the spirit is what's really important here.

That coming from a necromancer.

She laughs a little. "I think my reaction to meeting him was exactly like yours here."

"GASP!!! YOU SAVED SANTA? THAT SOUNDS LIKE A FANTASTIC STORY! I'D CERTAINLY LOVE TO HEAR MORE."

Though maybe not right now, as the memory continues unfolding. For starters, the Santa goat moves closer to the still lack-jawed skelechild. When the little Papyrus doesn't speak, Santa carries on.

"Are your parents nearby? It's getting awfully late..."

The small Papyrus blinks a few times, but finally manages to get some words out. Albeit with a dry look. "I... DON'T REALLY HAVE PARENTS. JUST SANS, AND HE'S PROBABLY BUSY DOING NERDY STUFF... OR NAPPING."

"Ah... then you came here on your own?"

"OF COURSE! IT WAS AN EXPEDITION. I JUST GOT... LOST." The tiny Papyrus pouts at that remark, prompting an awkward neck rub from his older self.

"NEVER LET IT BE SAID THAT I WAS A COMPLACENT CHILD. BOREDOM AND FRUSTRATION SORT OF... PROMPTED ME TO DO SOME VERY STUPID THINGS."

"That's part of being a child, isn't it? At least, from my perspective. That's the age where you're allowed to make mistakes...and it looks like this one worked out pretty well for you."

At least, based on where this memory is going. This Santa seems like a delight, so caring and jolly and just looks like the kind of person who'd happily greet you with a hug. That seems to fit the bill for Santa, really.

"And...it wasn't me who saved Santa, no. My...adoptive family did and they introduced me. My friend, Madhuri, my father and their companions did save him as well, much later on; I only heard about it from them."

Pap raises an index finger, ready to comment when a familiar name catches his attention. "OHO!!! SO YOU'RE FRIENDS WITH MADDIE? NYEH HEH HEH! EXCELLENT. SHE TRULY IS WONDERFUL, ISN'T SHE?"

Why yes, that sure is a big, dorky smile. It's enough to distract him from the memory going on, as Santa continues to comfort the smaller skeleton, even offering to guide him home. Something that brings tears to his eye sockets.

Happy tears, though.

Which brings his thought process back to the original point. "AH, RIGHT, BUT... SAVING SANTA IS INCREDIBLE, REGARDLESS OF WHO DID IT!"

"That's true. Santa's such a wonderful person; from what Maddie told me, he and my father worked out their differences as well." A pause. "It's...a long story."

And maybe something that should be explained another time; there's a far less awkward topic to go over.

"And...yes. Madhuri's one of my best friends. We met during a festival back home; we've completed a few quests together and learned that we have a lot in common. I've been able to confide in her since and she...means a lot to me."

The statement is met with a hand to her cheek as she considers the thought.

"It sounds like she's worked her charms on you, too."

"NYEH HEH... I THINK IT WAS MORE OF A. MUTUAL CHARMING." Oh, and there's a blush. Somehow. "WE DECIDED TO... WELL, THAT IS, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, CONFESSED MY FEELINGS, AND IT WAS A MUTUAL ARRANGEMENT!!!"

Yes. Simple enough. He lets out a small sigh, lost in one of those goofy, twitterpaited dazes. All this, while the scenery shifts from the woods to a town adorned with many a christmas decoration- even a great big tree.

There, "Santa" and the little Papyrus proceed to hand out gifts.

Logic be damned, it's a cute blush.

"...You're a dork, Papyrus. And I think you two will do well together."

Tilly can't help smiling, both from Madhuri lifting someone else's spirits as well as she does and from the happy memory going with this conversation. It's cute and simple and something that even has her relaxing and getting into the spirit of things.

...Which means she's casting a knowing look his way. "So...how long have you two been dating~?"

"I LIKE TO THINK OF MYSELF AS MORE OF A HANDSOME NERD! BUT THANK YOU." Ah, such lovely support! The awkward's subsided in favor of a bigger, more bombastic grin...

Until she asks that next question, and he titters a little. "BUT WE LITERALLY JUST GOT TOGETHER BEFORE ALL THIS DREAM NONSENSE STARTED. THERE WERE HOVER BOARDS AND ACCORDIONS INVOLVED! AND PASTA SHAPED LIKE MY FACE."

Matilda has to stop and count off of her fingers for a moment. Hoverboards, accordions, face-shaped food...then she nods to herself. This sounds about in-line for Madhuri.

She leans in slightly. "Oh, so it's still too early for that to be a happy memory. Maybe if next year has an encore performance, I'll walk into something very different~"

A Starlight Carol

cw for bad prompt: some body horror and parallels to substance abuse?

The Good

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