text @PAPYRUS - New Years

[spaghettimonster]

HAPPY 1962!!!

IT'S HARD TO CALL THIS A NEW YEAR... SINCE THIS SEEMS LIKE THE PAST TO ME.

BUT DECEMBER IS OVER! AND IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE IT'S SUDDENLY FEBRUARY.

HOW ABOUT.

HAPPY NEW OLD YEAR!!!

[But don't be fooled - it's the start of 1961! Despite Papyrus optimistically posting this at midnight on the dot, everything from the TV countdown to physical calendars to outstanding bills says otherwise.]

Comments

@erwinsmith

[13thcommander]

Happy New Year, Papyrus.

Is there another holiday coming that requires extra lights and decorations?

[Guess who had fun helping with the decoration war and wouldn't mind doing it again? He also hasn't noticed that the date stayed the same.]

[spaghettimonster]

IF THE HOLIDAYS ARE ANYTHING LIKE BACK HOME, THAT WAS THE BIG ONE...

[It has a different name, and some different details, but enough of the broad strokes were similar enough to be familiar. The carnivorous creatures and snowmen were horrifying, but seemingly not part of the normal celebration...? He doesn't want to think about that. Better to focus on literally brighter things.]

BUT, JACK-O-LANTERNS ARE MORE IMPORTANT HERE THAN I GUESSED.
SO WE CAN ONLY HOPE!

[13thcommander]

That's true. We'll have to see what happens in the coming months.

[A slight pause, as Erwin checks the date again.]

I don't suppose your television is still saying 1961 as well, is it?

[spaghettimonster]

IT DOES SEEM TO BE DOING THAT...
I'M SURE IT'S A BROADCASTING ERROR.
ACCIDENTALLY REPLAYING LAST YEAR'S TAPE. OR SOMETHING.

[Who's ever heard of time traveling more than once in the same year, and remembering much of any of it?]

[13thcommander]

Ah, I see.

Do such errors happen often, in your experience?

[Erwin has no idea how these tvs works and how complicated they are to make operate, and so isn't sure if this should be concerning or not.]

[spaghettimonster]

MY EXPERIENCE IS WITH MORE CUTTING EDGE TECHNOLOGY, BUT OLD-TIMERS ALWAYS SAY, HOW THE OLD WAYS WERE BEST.
SO NOT VERY OFTEN, I THINK.

[Isn't that exciting, they're watching a new and unfamiliar technological problem in play! Or possibly a spacetime continuum problem. The jury's still out.]

[13thcommander]

[Exciting probably isn't the word Erwin would use, but sure!]

Interesting.

[There's a pause as Erwin goes to investigate some other things around the house.]

The calendar changed as well. I brought home a new calendar that said 1962 on it. Now it says 1961.

[spaghettimonster]

OH.

[It takes him a minute to reply again, between the ongoing pun harassment from his brother and checking the calendar in his house.]

WELL. I DON'T THINK BROADCASTING ERRORS CAN CHANGE CALENDARS.
UNLESS IT'S A MAGIC CALENDAR.

[He's pretty sure that it's not a magic calendar. But that's hard to say for sure, when his own magic isn't working, and he's stranded in a different body.]

[13thcommander]

I hope not. I've had enough magic for a few days.

Do you think we should be concerned about this? Or is it some kind of harmless mistake?

[spaghettimonster]

UHHH. WELL, I'M NOT AN EXPERT, IN WHATEVER'S HAPPENING HERE.
IT WOULD SEEM TO WARRANT CONCERN...
BUT THERE'S SO LITTLE TO GUESSWORK ABOUT.
WHAT HAPPENED? DID SOMEONE CAUSE THIS? WERE WE SUPPOSED TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENTLY??

RIGHT NOW. I AM GOING TO DRINK MORE CHAMPAGNE,
AND MAKE MY BROTHER STOP TELLING AWFUL JOKES.

[13thcommander]

You're right. There's a lot of guesswork to be done, and possible angles to eliminate.

[A ridiculous, almost certainly hopeless challenge! Erwin's favorite kind!]

Is he making those strange word plays again?

[spaghettimonster]

YEAH, OF COURSE HE IS!
AS ALWAYS, WHEN HE WANTS TO ANNOY ME, HE TROTS OUT THE SAME TIRED JOKES.
I LOVED THEM WHEN I WAS MAYBE TEN...
BUT HE'LL NEVER GROW OUT OF THEM.

[Papyrus says that, but sooner or later he'll tell his own puns at people. It's just the principle of the thing: there's only so many skeleton jokes, and so much humor to get out of them.]

[13thcommander]

It sounds rather nice to me.

I never had a brother or sister growing up; it would be nice to have jokes like that with someone.

[spaghettimonster]

I GUESS IT'S NOT SO BAD. SOMETIMES.

[He tries, briefly, to imagine having never had a sibling. It's difficult to picture, with how long it's been the two of them. Profoundly lonely, he concludes.]

DON'T TELL HIM, BUT... I'M GLAD HE'S HERE.
I WOULDN'T WANT TO BE ALONE, FOR THIS.
SO, IF YOU ARE... DON'T HESITATE TO REACH OUT TO ME!!
PAPYRUS DOESN'T WANT ANYONE TO BE LONELY.

[13thcommander]

Thank you, Papyrus. That's very kind of you. And I won't tell Sans.

You don't have to worry, though. Someone from my world, Levi, is here too, so I'm not alone.

[spaghettimonster]

OH, CONGRATULATIONS. WHAT A RELIEF.
EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT SIBLINGS, I HOPE YOU'RE FRIENDS.

[For the rest of it, he's happy to drop the subject, pretending there's no chance of Sans reading this. He'd probably play along, either way.]

[13thcommander]

We are. Levi is very important to me, and I'm glad he's here.

I honestly don't know what I'd do with myself if he wasn't.

[spaghettimonster]

OH, THERE'S LOADS OF OPTIONS. TAKING UP NEW HOBBIES, TO FILL THE HOURS.

MY NEIGHBORS HAVE A LOT TO SAY ABOUT BUILDING DECKS.

BUT! SINCE HE'S HERE INSTEAD! YOU COULD ALWAYS BUILD ONE TOGETHER.

[13thcommander]

You know, that is an excellent idea. Once the weather gets a bit warmer, I'll talk to him about it.

You and Sans should work together on one as well.

skeleton icon, because the human icons don't do it justice

[spaghettimonster]

WHAT AN OPTIMISTIC SUGGESTION. ALLOW ME TO CORRECT YOUR ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT MY BROTHER!!

THE REALITY WILL BE, I WILL BUILD A DECK. (IF KIARA IS HOME, SHE MIGHT HELP.)

SANS, WILL NAP. PROBABLY ON SOME OF THE DECK SUPPLIES.

AND WHEN I YELL AT HIM TO MOVE, HE'LL PRETEND HE DIDN'T HEAR ME... OR MOVE TO A DIFFERENT PILE OF SUPPLIES, AND NAP THERE.

gasp, Papyrus and Sans are skeletons?!

[13thcommander]

[Based on what Erwin knows of Sans... yes, this checks out. He bursts out laughing when he realizes he's been had, and that he totally played into Sans's laziness by carrying the tree back for him.]

In that case, I'd be happy to assist you. I promise not to nap on any building supplies.

I'm sure I could convince Levi to come along and help, too.

astonishing but true!

[spaghettimonster]

WOW, THAT'S A GENEROUS OFFER! I ACCEPT.

I'M WAITING UNTIL THE SNOW IS GONE, SINCE I NEED TIME TO PLAN, AND DESIGN...

BUT I'D LOVE TO BUILD A DECK HERE, AND HELP WITH YOURS SOMEDAY! AND GIVE THE NEIGHBORS SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT.

[Since they just... love decks, so much. He couldn't walk ten feet at the block party without hearing about deck-building plans. They must build them and disassemble them yearly, for it to be such a common subject of conversation. But he needs to keep balancing that line between standing out and fitting in, and what better way?]

AND WITH THREE OR FOUR PEOPLE, I'M SURE CAN ALWAYS MOVE MY LAZY BROTHER OUT OF THE WAY.

[13thcommander]

It's a deal, then. When the weather clears, we'll build decks.

[Since that is apparently what people do around here.]

And who knows? If anyone can convince Sans to help, it will be Levi.

[spaghettimonster]

OH? IS HE ESPECIALLY CONVINCING??

I'LL HAVE TO TAKE NOTES ON HIS TECHNIQUE.

[Goodness knows he's got years of experience pushing Sans to do things, with only inconsistent results.]

[13thcommander]

He has the ability to be oddly persuasive.

Sans doesn't stand a chance.