fulllifeconsequences

[The day that the event has officially ended, Toriel turns her phone back on, and gives Chara a call.]

Hello, Chara? Are you there?

I think that we can speak freely again, so please give me a call. Or come see me in my room, whichever is preferable for you. I would like to check up on you.

[The event's over. It's not surprising that when they turn their phone back on, there's a call from Toriel waiting.

Well, if it's just to check in on each other, then they may as well go visit next door. It'll let them be sure that she wasn't affected tpp badly by that whole "relive your worst memory" deal, after all, and it's not like it's all that far away!

They knock politely on her door, then fold their arms neatly behind their back. They were gonna call her "Mom." They were gonna get used to it. Gotta keep practising.]

M-mom? It's me, Chara. I got your message.

Edited (wrong event lol) 2017-11-29 07:37 (UTC)

[Toriel had been sitting down, reading a book. When Chara enters, she looks up, and quickly takes off her reading glasses, standing and going over to them.]

Chara!! Oh, there you are- Are you alright? I am sorry that I was not able to be there with you, but... as I said, I thought it better to keep my distance. I hope that things were not too unpleasant for you, my child.

There is nothing to apologize for! I rather appreciated having a little privacy.

[They're... almost surprised, actually, by how little their boundaries got stampeded during the event. Nobody asked about the surface. Nobody asked why they hate humanity. Nobody asked why they climbed a mountain, or which one they really are because nobody's actually born a "they," right, or any of the thousand other things they were terrified they couldn't lie about anymore.]

I hope that you were treated respectfully by everyone, too. There are a lot of disgusting ways that people can take advantage of unwilling honesty.

[They're comfortable enough, now, to make themselves at home in her room without waiting for permission. Their instinct is to sit on the floor, because somehow a bedroom floor is just inherently comfier than the furniture, but that would probably mean Toriel would get down to floor-level, too. So instead, they sit on the not-quite-king-sized bed.]

No, I do not think anything like that happened.

[Uncomfortable topics came up, certainly... it, wasn't great. But it didn't seem like anyone had approached those topics intentionally, to get things out of her. It wasn't quite as bad as it could have been.]

I am glad to hear that things went well for you. But, ah... Chara, I do have a question, I suppose. There are some things I learned from the event, which I feel I should address, and, well...

How do you feel about Sans?

...Sans?

[They weren't expecting the conversation to land on him, and it shows in the bewildered way they echo his name.

How do they feel about Sans? Well, he's Toriel's friend, right? They traded knock-knock jokes behind the Ruins door. He's the one she trusted to protect and watch over any human who might walk through that same door someday. They're probably even better friends here in Wonderland, then. Must spend hours and hours just swapping bad jokes and having heart-to-hearts about integrity.

Don't say anything, then, that might make her feel bad about that. She's been isolated so long that a lot of her friend-making skills might be kind of rusted. Taking friends away from her would be cruel.]

He's... o... kay?

[But the very fact she's even asking them, of all people, about Sans is... weird, right? Something must have happened.]

Why do you ask?

Just... well. During the event... some things that he has done came to light.

As I understand it, he treated Frisk- and by extension, you, very poorly. Even when you had done nothing wrong, he threatened you and made you feel unsafe.

[To say the least. But, saying more than that... she doesn't want to discuss Chara's dying. It's just, too uncomfortable. And she definitely doesn't want to get into the topic of 'I don't actually know whether or not he was justified in murdering you'.]

I simply... wanted to ensure that you are spending time with him of your own free will. And to ensure you know that you do not have to see him at all if you do not want to.

[Oh? Oh. Uh. ...Oh.]

Lots of people did that.

[That's just how adults are. Promising to give you things and swearing they're rooting for you to get your guard down. Never actually coming through for you when you need safety and protection. Bringing down judgment and mockery for every mistake, every broken rule, every bit of misbehaviour. Watching, always watching, and taking whatever part of you they feel entitled to dig into.

That's just... adults.

They can resent it all they want, but... can they really look in the eye of someone who knows best and say all those things that make adults adults are wrong? They scratch the back of their neck, look away.]

He said that he'd change, Mom. He said he'll be different this time. Part of being good - part of being better - means that... that you have to give people the chance to be different, right?

And I would not blame you for an instant if you did not want to spend time with any of them. Just because many people did something does not mean that it is okay that they did so, or that you have to tolerate it.

[Sometimes, you just need to cut people out of your life. Lots of people. Almost an entire kingdom of people, because you're disgusted by all of them and their decisions and just want to go grieve in peace.]

Yes... but I do not think that you should have to do so at the risk of your own safety or peace of mind.

If you are completely certain that you enjoy being around him, and that he does not make you even a little uncomfortable, then there is no problem. Certainly, nothing I learned that he did is new to you.

I simply wanted to be sure.

Ma'am - Mom... I am not entirely sure there is any adult out there who does not make me even a little uncomfortable.

[There's no adult out there who doesn't have the power to do the exact same to them. Shepard could easily be doing it, too. Playing all agreeable and nice until she knows she's got Chara's guard down. Waiting to punish them when she knows they'll really learn from it. Toriel could do it. The moment a child disobeys, won't go to their room, they get a fistful of hurled flame. They get told to leave and never come back. They say a human with a hopeful light in their eyes reminds them of someone, but they also only want to see their wife and son.]

I don't... know if I like him or not. I'm very rarely certain whether I can truly, selflessly care about people, or if I have simply grown so good at manipulation that I've even fooled myself into thinking I'm not just being parasitic. I cannot understand my own feelings at all.

[Maybe they don't have enough SOUL left to really care about people. Maybe at LV8, all they can do is hate or feel apathetic, and nothing else.]

But I think I have to see if he can prove me wrong. I think I have to see if... if people can change, if they only try, or if that's... if it's just what we all grow up to be.

At what point, after all, does someone stop deserving second chances?

[Toriel... doesn't say anything to that. There's nothing she could say, so she just looks down at the ground for a few moments. She knows she's included in it. 'Sorry' doesn't even come close to making up for what she did, and she doesn't want to make Chara have to comfort her, so. She's just going to move on.]

If it helps any, I am certain of it, my child. I have seen how much you care for others.

Things like that are not the kinds of things that someone says, when they are not a caring person with hope for others.

[Really, they may be more forgiving than she is. Certainly, she can think of one or two people who are beyond second chances for her. But... she'd rather not get into that. Doesn't want to talk about it, and doesn't want to ruin what Chara's saying with pointless cynicism.]

Just... please be careful, and let me know if you change your mind.

[Inside their room, Chara will find an extremely large, wrapped present from Toriel- and inside of it, is chocolate!

More specifically, their very favorite brand of chocolate bar from back Home. Even more specifically, a LOT of it. Like, this is an entire shipping crate full of chocolate. There has to be at least like, a thousand bars in here.

Attached is a note- "Merry Christmas, Chara! Please enjoy these responsibly."]

[Left at their door is a smallish package with the words from sans on the front, since he's not trying to be sneaky. Inside is a hand-knit scarf in stripes of dark and light green. The work is fairly mediocre, but there are no dropped stitches and only one row where he accidentally did a line of purl stitches instead of knit stitches. Other than that, it's a pretty solid scarf, much better than the last one he gave them.]

[The scarf is wrapped around a book.]

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12/25; a gift left inside their room

12/25