#technically all auditioning actors get a fair shake at being lead actors

[nighttimepixels]

Imagine the skelebros... running a local theater company, and hiring [you] for help!

Theater positions:

Lead Actors: Papyrus (UT Pap), Vex (UF Pap)

Makeup/costuming: Cider (US Pap), Zen (HT Sans)

Set design/construction: Red (UF Sans- building/structures), Lune (HT Pap- painting/scene dressing/props)

Tech (lights/sound): Rus (SF Pap)

Stage Manager: Sans (UT Sans)

Directors: Sable (SF Sans), Caelum (US Sans)

You’re the human that responded to the help wanted ad/job posting looking for an all around extra hand for help... and being a human was necessary. See, they aren't a huge company, and well, while they do alright- esp amongst monsters and humans who are great allies/enthusiasts, they're still hurting from a lack of 'human outreach'. Begrudgingly, and after tons of arguing, they agreed to hire a human... but just the one, on probation no less!

See, Vex (UF Pap) and Sable (SF Sans) don't trust a human with their delicately balanced machine of a company; sure, both monsters and humans audition & have roles in the plays they put on, they're not... entirely against humans as a rule. They're pretty used to them at this point, actually. But their weird, accidental, constantly-butting-heads family only keeps this company going through a lot of work and most importantly established roles- it's all too easy to see it going sideways by adding a human to their permanent crew.

Rus (SF Pap) is vaguely worried too, but mostly because he doesn't see a human choosing this as anything close to permanent. He's not keen on letting someone in to their daily lives and figuring them out just for them to disappear for bigger and better things, y’know...? Red (UF Sans) meanwhile is a bit unconvinced they need another person on the crew in general. They're all already geniuses in their own rights after all, and several of them have damn big egos that could become a struggle with a new, constant person in the mix... but he's not actually mad about it and merely tosses in his two cents before shrugging at the decision, just doubtful anything'll pay off... well, beyond the fun of a good time teasing/flirting with a new face.

Jokes on all of them, though; Sans (UT Sans), wary enough and pragmatic to boot, has already decided to give the human they hire the primary job of ticket sales, marketing, and so on, rather than something more immediately entangled with the rest of them. See, he’s the stage manager, but also takes on the role of assigning jobs and finding squeaky wheels in their operation in general.

It's technically what they needed you for the most, anyways, and besides him casually running you through the wringer on knowledge of monsters to test whether you're really an ally/good person or just a theater person desperate enough to take a sketchy job with a bunch of monsters... well, it keeps you away from the other guys on a need-to-visit basis, and keeps the wrench out of the gears, he figures.

... and of course, joke's on Sans, then, because the other guys are far too curious, no matter where they stand, to not poke their head into your broom closet of an 'office' (that has literal brooms in it. and lavalier mics. and a precarious stack of boxes above their tiny desk on a shelf with countless wigs that Sable doesn't trust to be hidden anywhere else from the rest of the guys).

In the end, it's not long until they hit crunch time in the week leading up to the next show, and you stay late, despite not needing to- it starts with bringing Red a drink as he's hanging from a ladder, updating some high set structure that Vex will monologue from; it turns to jokes and raunchy hilarity that you roll with better than he'd have thought- you end up helping steady some plywood, and offer a cheeky hand to quicken the pace with the painting portion. Cider (US Pap) had arrived to help with that- waiting to fix up the costumes after the dress line run that was happening elsewhere in the building while Red worked on the sets.

That lead to you bonding with them both, of course- and Lune isn't far behind, just arriving back from a shopping run for new set dressing, and he's beyond delighted you're here to get to know- and Caelum (US Sans) rushes in, half attempting to check off the list of to-do's, half quickly distracted by your subtle touches on the set and praising your good eye. He'd already been the one that had welcomed you the warmest and worked most frequently with you, outlining the marketing work and focusing the vision for how to sell the show to the public, and gave some great pointers over early morning coffee-

Well, the week continues, and suddenly you're involved in a heck of a lot more of the theater tech than you'd thought. You surprise Rus (SF Pap) with knowing more about spot placement than he'd have guessed, and fixing it during a dress rehearsal when he was elbows deep in trying to troubleshoot actor lav mic nonsense- Vex is shocked when you know enough about the lines/part he's playing to offer to help him run them, the perfectionist, while everyone's on lunch and you're the only one to catch him on stage, pacing and trying to perfect his motions for his Big Scene... Papyrus (UT Pap) can't help but eagerly request the same when he finds out, and you play the badly laughing damsel stand-in as they try to up the ante on their fight choreography, surreptitiously glancing to you to see your honest reactions, and seeming extremely pleased when they get a good gasp or an oo or an aww out of you.

Zen (HT Sans) has been largely in the shadows- getting a lot of work done, because he's actually the best at sewing and has a strangely perfect eye for materials and adjustments to make every costume shine on each actor- but as he's adding the finishing adjustments/hemming to a last few outfits just a couple days before opening night, you're there late too. It's an odd, peaceful quiet that falls through the theater when most everyone's gone, yet the basic stage lights are on, warming the air and catching little drifts of dust motes on stage. You're helping Rus run a last check of the sound from different parts of the audience, and Zen's sitting on the stage itself, in the light for once, seeming to want to check his handiwork in the relative peace, and under stage lights to see if he's missed anything.

In between Rus' adjustments, you strike up conversation with him... and it... actually flows, much more than you'd thought it might, from the shorter interactions you'd had previously. He's... way funnier than you'd have guessed, albeit in a darker way - and when you dare to hop back up on stage and take a peek at his handiwork- your awed praise of his flawless stitchwork and eye for story-appropriate detail soften something in that blood red eyelight of his. He tells you more as Rus appears beside you guys, mysteriously holding a bag full of Muffet's donuts - and after Zen carefully puts aside the costumes, you end up shooting the breeze and unwinding from a long, long day with two of the softer, or perhaps simply lesser spoken of the guys.

And dammit, Sable just can't argue with the results of your hard work - from pitching in to making sure the whole show worked, to your most important assigned duty of, well, getting butts in the sold-out seats! You're invited to the opening weekend cast party by Sable himself, though neither of you catch Sans watching from the wings of the stage, a thoughtful look in his eyelights.