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[determinedest]

You've reached Frisk. If I'm not answering my phone, please leave a message or find me on the second floor, Room 12.

( text | audio | video | or literally anything )

Comments

4/11 text, mid-afternoon

[punful]

hey kiddo

sorry to message you out of the blue like this

but by any chance have you talked to mettaton recently?

text

[determinedest]

[Out of the "blue" would be worth a handful of horrible jokes in its own right, but the subject matter demands their attention a little more thoroughly. The response come shortly.]

Not since we were in space.

Why?

text

[punful]

huh okay

was he acting pretty normally?

or at least, you know, normal for him?

like did he say anything weird?

[Text, May 21st]

[didntknowbest]

Hello, Frisk! This is Toriel.

I just thought that I should let you know- we are going to be celebrating your birthday, on the 25th!

We have been planning it for a while now, but I thought that perhaps you might not appreciate a surprise party! So, I am letting you know now.

So far, Alphys, Shepard, Coraline, Turing, Mae, and I think Lapis have expressed interest in attending. Mettaton and Asgore, as well. And of course, it will be a celebration for Chara, as well!

Is that too many people, or are there any that you would prefer not to be there? Or, is there anyone that you would like to be certain receives an invitation?

[Text]

[determinedest]

[...oh. Oh. She's made - plans. As if to make up for what happened before. Even if she doesn't have to, she doesn't have to at all, and there's the immediate response that has hands fisting into the fabric of their sweater at their front, pulling and twisting at the loose and fraying threads. Grateful that it isn't Toriel's. Ruining that would be anathema, on top of everything.

She's doing all this...for them?]

Thank you.

You didn't have to do this.

Thank y ou

text; 6/15, afternoon

[punful]

[It takes him about an hour to get up the nerve to send this. He types up the start of several jokes before he decides humor isn't the way to go right now. Just--be open. Be clear.]

hey frisk?

if you're not too busy, could we maybe talk?

was thinking of making pancakes

[Always comes back to pancakes.]

text

[determinedest]

[Unexpected is one word. But it's not, really, unexpected. They'd made their opinions, since the last time they talked, quite clear, and whenever he's breached that gap, it's - it's always been him. Him reaching out. Him trying a little harder, because they're in a crisis, or because he just happens to be there. Happens to pick up on the knowledge of things he shouldn't know.

Can we talk?

They spend at least ten minutes with the phone on their lap, legs crossed as they sit on their bed, cross-legged, the room now slightly larger to contain a third such piece of furniture. It's wrong, probably, to feel a bit crowded, feeling like they're imposing on a state of affairs that should carry on without them. They spend ten minutes surveying the message with hooded eyes, trying to decipher the code and intent behind it.

In the end, they abandon the effort. Chara's better at interpreting him than Frisk ever was.

Keep it simple, for now.

One word.]

Why?

Video;

[slapfight]

Frisk! Frisk! Friiiiisk!

I have your shirt! I don't know how it got on my doorstep, but I have it! See?

[She gleefully holds up the blue hoodie.]

Video;

[determinedest]

[...]

[Ha ha.]

[There was no warning for something like this. No warning whatsoever. They can't stamp out the brief flitting of shock across their features, the subtle widening of their eyes that soon clips itself off, closing into nothingness. They're good at that, though. Good at putting everything aside.]

[Pack it away.]

...that's not mine.

text

[cloned]

Hey, I have something that belongs to you. Or someone you know.

[He attaches a snapshot of some polaroids.]

text

[determinedest]

[The name attached to the text is...unfamiliar. The pictures, however, are not.]

Asgore. That's the monster in the pictures.

They belong to him.

Text, also pretend this was like a week ago idk

[ssmisery]

frisk, what's a soul?

[Asking a question she already knows the answer to out of the blue, written for deliberate ambiguity. Lapis knows how to start a conversation.]

text

[determinedest]

[???]

[The question hurls out from nothing, from no source they can readily discern, and the question is so immediate and to the point that it takes them off guard. But it's also done over text. Meaning it buys them some time to answer.]

[It's an uninventive answer, in the end.]

The very culmination of your being.

[Text]

[mypartnerintime]

Hi Frisk. I normally don't write long texts like this but I really want to explain what happened during that last event, and I know if I did it in person I'd mess it up.

I wish we'd talked more before. To be honest I kind of didn't want to because the whole time travel thing would open up old wounds. I'm sorry Frisk. I never thought that you wanted to talk about it. I dunno why.

But now I understand how similar our situations are. I think we're struggling with the same things, and I hope you think so too. Because if yes, then maybe we can help each other out. Even if it's just someone to listen.

I really did try to listen during the event. I think I let you down, and I'm so so sorry. I couldn't handle everything at that moment and I needed to get away for a while or I'd go nuts. At the same time I was so worried that I'd give you bad advice, or give you the wrong ideas.

You really did help me you know. And I know you did it because you wanted to stop my hurting and because you feel like it's your responsibility. (See I did listen!) So thank you. If you've done something like that even twice or thrice in your life, then I think you've used your powers for good. And that might be enough. :)

Ask your other friends what they think okay?

Do you know what pen pals are? They're people who write to each other now and then, even if they almost never see each other in person. They can write about how they feel or what they hope for or what's been happening to them. I guess it helps. I think most importantly they listen.

I'll try to listen again if you want. I wish I had all the right answers for your (our?) problems. I have some but I don't even know if they're right. Maybe we can figure it out together?

Your pen pal (if you want one),
SuperMax

[Text]

[determinedest]

[It...sounds like she spent a pretty long time composing this. Frisk rereads it in quick succession, three times over, and then sets their phone down and considers it for several long moments. Then they read it twice more, slowly.]

[Then they start to type.]

Hi SuperMax,

I think I understand. You were really upset after you had to live your worst memory, and I think I would be too. Maybe that was the wrong time to try talking to you about stuff like this. I shouldn't have tried to make you listen to something like that when you were so upset.

But thanks for talking to me.

I'd like to try and figure it out together if that's ok. I don't know very many other people like me.

Your pen pal,
Frisk =^.^=

12/25 - Christmas

[idolings]

[ Whenever Frisk steps out, they'll find a neatly wrapped package dressed up in red paper. Inside, they'll find a white scarf. Besides the present is also a plate that's filled with homemade christmas cookies. On top of the cookies, there's a cute holiday themed card from Sayaka written in pink ink. ]

Merry Christmas, Frisk! I hope you have a happy holiday. ♥

From, Sayaka Maizono

[determinedest]

[A few hours later, Sayaka's phone will receive the soft chime of an incoming photo. Attached is an image of Frisk, posed with their scarf slung fashionably around their neck and shoulders and paired with a wide grin.]

Check your doorstep (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧

[Outside her room is a red-and-green striped ceramic pot, undoubtedly painted in a child's wobbling hand. Within is a small selection of helleborus niger - also known as a "Christmas rose".]

12/25

[deadshapes]

[Mae has left a wrapped present outside their door. Inside is a wrapped package of gel pens in multiple colors, as well as a new journal. This one's a bit different, though--it's a copy of Wreck This Journal where the whole point is to create a semi-organized mess on paper. Attached is a card.]

Merry Christmas, Frisk! I had one of these a few years ago, they're rad. <3, Mae

12/25

[punful]

[He debated it for awhile, but he did get them a present. It very plainly has a small card on the front that says from sans on it--no tricks or anything, in case they want to get rid of it.]

[If they do open it, however, they'll find a hoodie inside. It's a plain white hoodie in their size--maybe a bit bulky--and it comes with a shirt decorating kit, the kind with puffy paint, iron-on patches, some dyes, and a little booklet on how to tie-dye clothes. Inside is an additional note that just says so you can make it your own]

12/25

[ngah]

[Funnily enough, giant anime shields don't get caught by the PG filter.

So this one's real.

But no one's signed their name...]

12/25

[kingtrousele]

[Oh, a gift!! Very nicely wrapped too.

Inside is...a scarf, with blue and purple stripes! There's even a note that says, 'NOW WE CAN BE SCARF BUDDIES!!!! MERRY GYFTMAS!!! NYEHFULLY YOURS, PAPYRUS']

12/25

[fulllifeconsequences]

[There's a wrapped box left on the floor by Frisk's bed.

Last Gyftmas, they didn't get Frisk anything.

This time, they're willing to begin again.

They've recreated the sweater they burned, down to the last stitch. They don't really know, to tell the truth, what makes a piece of armor have the DEF stat it does. They can read the numbers, but not the thought process that coded that value to it. They're aware they never told Frisk about the sweater that was destroyed, that there's no way of them knowing what thought is being woven into each and every knit and purl.

All the same, over the long month or so that it took to create, they never once let their thoughts dwell on the sweater curse. Each and every repetition of each and every movement in this long labour, they decided, should be done with an air of repentance. Every fiber of this should be bound with the resolve to protect them, not abandon them.

This year, they can do a little better.]

Backdated to 12/25

[romsapience]

[There’s a painting left on Frisk’s doorstep, with a tag that says, ‘Merry Christmas! Sincerely, Turing’

The painting in question is turquoise with purple stripes resembling a music staff. This is punctuated even further with several notes painted onto the staff. Turing clearly took inspiration from Frisk’s ukulele playing here!]

[Text]

[mypartnerintime]

Heya Frisk.. What've you been up to?

...two days later. [text]

[determinedest]

[Several hours pass.]

[Then days.]

[It occurs to them only on glancing at their phone in passing that they haven't dealt with that notification that still bobs cheerfully on the clear glass screen. And then...then, several more hours pass, while they try to design a reply.]

[What they come up with isn't much.]

nothing