“OKAY, WAIT,” Papyrus says. “EXPLAIN IT AGAIN.”
Frisk does. Papyrus’s eyes narrow as they sign—a little slower this time, because his fluency in ASL isn’t that great yet—and he lets out a very long and loud “HMMMM” when they finish.
“OKAY, HUMAN, LET ME SEE IF I UNDERSTAND YOU CORRECTLY.” He points at them. “YOU, AND EVERY SOFT AND SQUISHY BEING UP HERE, HAVE”—he points at himself—“SKELETONS IN YOUR BODIES. AND THESE”—he points at himself again—“SKELETONS ARE WHAT KEEP YOUR SOFT AND SQUISHY BODIES FROM COLLAPSING INTO PUDDLES OF SOFTNESS AND SQUISHINESS??”
Frisk nods. They sign again—oh god, there are bones in those fingers, Papyrus realizes—and say that having a skeleton is a completely normal thing to do.
“OKAY. ALL RIGHT. LET ME THINK FOR A MOMENT.” He pauses. “I’VE DECIDED THAT I DON’T LIKE THIS.”
Sans, lying ribcage-down on the floor, looks up from the Sunday funnies he has spread out in front of him and snorts. “yeah, well, think about how the kid felt when their insides started giving them puzzles. must’ve been a shock, tibia honest.”
“AND ALSO STARTED TELLING BAD, AWFUL PUNS???”
“hey, throw me a bone here.”
“NO!!!”
Frisk laughs, and when they look they see Papyrus gazing thoughtfully at them. What is it? they ask.
“OH—WELL! I WAS JUST THINKING THAT SANS… ACTUALLY MAKES A GOOD POINT?? SOMEHOW???” He leans closer, concern on his face. “DID YOU THINK WE WERE SPOOKY WHEN YOU FIRST MET US? MAYBE EVEN… SCARY??”
Frisk nods. They sign that yes, it was very terrifying to see bones that are supposed to be inside your body outside, walking around and talking and making puns and puzzles.
“THAT’S SO WACKY!! SKELETONS ARE EASILY THE LEAST SCARY THING IN YOUR BODY.”
Frisk grins and nods again.