Therein lies the rub. Sans's own thoughts are conflicting enough of the time, with his rational mind competing with the illness that haunts him. He's a person naturally attuned to facts, but knowing something isn't the same as knowing it.

See? Just like that. Maybe Papyrus is right. Maybe him settling on the idea that he's never going to get better is just another way of giving up.

He coughs out a little laugh.

"Sounds like a smart idea," he admits. He's still got that half-hearted tone, but he's clearly exerting an effort. Not everyone is going to have the same way of dealing with things, so not necessarily trying to follow Papyrus's direct route is just logical. "...I'm not trying to make things hard, honest."

His tail swishes through the water. Helvetica emerges from his eyesocket for a moment to speak.

"Sans is troubled by irrational thinking more often than he would like to admit," she says. "He's not always the best judge of what is possible and what isn't... the most productive response seems to be believing the way he feels while not necessarily believing those feelings are objective truth."

She hates to see Papyrus struggle with this as much as Sans does.