Dark - Darker - Yet - Darker

❝This next experiment seems very... very... interesting.❞ (*Indi. W.D. Gaster. Read rules prior to interacting! Canon divergent & highly selective in roleplay.)

[nxvigation]

Specimen-- Closed Starter for shatteredscientist

[shatteredscientist]

nxvigation

    For a moment, Navi hesitated–it was in her nature to believe the best of people– but in the end, she stayed resolute, tightening her grip on her weapon and hardening the expression on her face.

     “Unless your ‘shortcut’ is some sort of magic portal, it doesn’t exist.” She said flatly. “I may not know exactly where we are, but I know what direction we’re going– and it’s in deeper, not anywhere close to the outside.”

     She started backing away, hovering slowly back toward the direction they came.

     “Thanks for your help.” Her tone was dripping with sarcasm. “But I think I’ll take it from here.”

[☣]

   Ah, so this was as much as she would let herself be tricked. A pity, but he supposed it couldn’t be helped. If anything it only increased her value as a subject - now he only would have to ensure that she wasn’t going to get away. After all, no matter how interesting she would be, it would be for naught if he couldn’t study her.

      ❝I’d prefer if you didn’t.❞

   For a moment he wondered, if any of the local monsters would come to her aid if they were to come across this scene. That would be as amusing as it would be bothersome. Either way, he would have to find out.

   His expression still calm, smile never disappearing, Gaster had now turned around to face her properly. A flick of his wrist and, in a flash, several disembodied hands formed around him. For a second they just hung there in the air, orbiting around his head like some sort of macabre halo, before all at once they shot towards the woman.

[shatteredscientist]

smellslikebuttspie

 Chara’s eyes widened in horror as the tall figure leaned over them. He looked like he was melting. The black liquid spilling out from the cracks in his porcelain mask resembled oil or tar. Did his insides rot?

 They yelped in disgust when it stained their clothes, and Chara reflexively brushed their hand to swipe the foul substance off, but regretted it immediately. It burned.

 “S-Shit! Back off!“ they hissed while furiously wiping off the acid against the ground. “What’s wrong with you!? Leave me alone!“

 No way, could they actually take damage here? This was crazy, they were already dead! Could they die again? If they perished here, would they be gone forever?

 “-kh!!” Chara bit down a cry as they were lifted up by the demonic entity, again. “C-cut it oUT..! You sick f-freak!! Go to hell!“

 They were dead! There shouldn’t be anything he could do to hurt them, yet… Chara was scared. They couldn’t hide their anxiety. No matter how much they tried to cover it up with insults, this current predicament was too much.

  Gaster’s voice rung in their ears like he was shouting, but Chara could barely register their meaning. What was he talking about? The core? That big machine in Hotland? What about it? Did messing with that turn him into a melting acid battery?

 But Gaster’s next words did reach them, every syllable loud and clear in their mind.

 Chara lost the remaining colour in their face and stared up at the doctor in shock. Their chest felt empty, yet full of needles. They bit down so hard their teeth could break. Anger was flaring up again, burning through their entire being at full force.

 Yeah, they definitely preferred this.

 In the next moment, a flash ripped through the air, as well as the doctor’s hand; a sharp glowing blade, drawing a blood red arc in the blackness surrounding them.

[☣]

   He hadn’t spoken with the intention of upsetting the ghost, the scientist only stating what to him was a fact. Oh, not that he particularly minded or cared that it did seem to have hit a vulnerable spot. But still, the child’s reaction surprised him - for multiple reasons.

   The knife sliced through his hand with ease, the bone-like material crumbling and breaking like chalk. Eyes widening, the scientist actually moved away, releasing Chara in the process - before his smile grew again, splitting his face in half. That color, that feeling the blade in their hand was radiating... could it be?

      ❝Fascinating! Human souls truly are marvellous.❞

   He could fight back. Whether he would win or not was a different question, of course, but he could fight back... but Gaster wasn’t going to. Now that someone had finally remembered him, finally confirmed his existence in this timeline once, he had no intentions of letting them disappear.

   No, he needed the ghost. They could - no, they would be his way out of the void’s pull. He wanted to learn more. More about how they existed, more about how it was they could remember him. He wanted to learn everything.

  One of his remaining hands zipped towards their wrist. If he wanted to examine them, they would first have to hold still.

[justanothersansblog]

smellslikebuttspie

As they locked gaze with the abomination, the spirit mouthed a curse and ducked down behind the human. Chara could feel things like cold and pain second hand from Frisk, but this chill they felt was their own. They briefly wondered if Frisk could feel it too.

“I know,” they hissed. “Just calm down and be ready.” This is just another monster, this is… This is nothing.

They could’ve never imagined a day would come when the absence of Sans’ bone walls would make them feel vulnerable.

Eyes widening as the hands zipped past the skeleton, Chara reflexively dug their nails into Frisk’s shoulders.

“FRISK, MOVE!”

If all else fails, maybe they could gain control of Frisk’s hand and use the stick to swat them away or-

Sans grimaced as Gaster managed to evade his blaster somewhat. While he was still able to hit the melting pile of porcelain, he knew he wasn’t going to do enough damage to put him out of commission. That’s when he noticed something rush by him, and cursed at himself as soon as he realized what had happened. His former colleague was still as diabolical as ever when it came to getting something that he wanted.

“*kid!!!” He quickly turned in Frisk’s direction, decidedly lifting a platform of bones up from underneath them and out of the hands’ reach; summoning a variety of moving platforms for the human to jump over to if need be. He then wasted no time turning Gaster’s soul blue again and bringing him to the ground; pinning him before he could do much else.

“*heh…you’ve lost it, haven’t you, gast? the core must have melted your mind as well.” He dragged the former royal scientist across the barren floor a short way before summoning a plethora of bones from beneath him; impaling his already broken body in hopes to at least keep him still for a while. Fatigue had started to set in with Sans after all of that and he needed some time to catch his breath.

“*i uh, never thought you’d be the one that i’d have a bone to pick with.”

[fallenambassador]

[ ♥ ]

The child’s heart was racing, legs trembling as their and Chara’s combined panic washed over them at the sight of the hands, legs rooted to the ground as their body froze up in fear. Unable to breathe, to move, to speak, all Frisk managed to do in that moment was to stare as the bone-white fingers spread to wrap around their throat, Chara already in the middle of taking control, when suddenly they shot up into the air, the world shifting around them.

Sans’ bones had formed a platform below their feet, elevating them and getting them out of reach of Gaster’s hands, which now zipped uselessly through the air, crumbling to dust as soon as they were too far from their original body.

Frisk’s whole body was shaking, their breathing still shallow. They had been in many frightening situations, faced many strong foes, yet never had one of them managed to terrify not only them, but also Chara to such a point. Allowing themselves to momentarily crouch down, trying to fight the terror which still seeped through their veins like ice, Frisk exhaled.

“Chara, a-are you okay?”

[shatteredscientist]

[☣]

   He had been so close, already feeling the godforsaken human's skin below his fingertips, when they were ripped from his reach, lifted up high into the air. Remaining eye widening, Gaster could do nothing but watch as his hands disappeared once they left the radius in which he could still control them. And with his body concentrating on regenerating the parts which had been lost in Sans' attack, it would take a while before he could muster enough material and energy to form them again.

   And once more gravitation shifted for the creature, Sans' magic pressing him down upon the ground. He was in the middle of forming adapting to the situation, mind already weaving a new plan to get out of this situation victoriously, when the skeleton's words cut through his thoughts. The CORE.

   He... he dared to speak to him of the CORE? He dared to mock the agony which he had endured after his fall?!

   The bones which pierced his body were barely registered, the pain little more than a nuisance as his mind was shrouded in immense and all-consuming rage and hatred. It happened almost never that the scientist acted or spoke based upon emotions, much less being controlled by them but, possibly unknowingly, Sans had addressed his only weak point. The CORE had left cracks on his body, clearly visible to everyone, yet his former friend had just stumbled over the cracks, which the machine had left on the creature's soul.

   Teeth gritting, Gaster barely paid any mind to his mangled body, not caring how his porcelain neck cracked as his head snapped back up, glaring at the skeleton in pure lunacy. The acidic liquids of his body broke free from the wounds which Sans had inflicted, the monster's body dripping like mud, creating hissing puddles beneath him as they immediately began to eat away the bones and ground. The scientist didn't even notice.

   ❝ Y⚐︎U SPEA😐︎ TO ME OF THE 👍︎ORE?!❞

   The man's voice, before calm and collected, was now barely recognizable anymore, heavily distorted as letters turned into incomprehensible sounds, pitch broken and as mangled as his physical form.

   As he spoke, the creature seemed to lose more and more control over his body, features shifting, melting and solidifying at random intervals, flickering like a scene on a broken recorder.

      ❝ WH⚐︎💧︎E FAUL❄︎ W✌︎S ✋︎❄︎, THAT I FE-FE-FE-F☜︎LL?❞

[shatteredscientist]

smellslikebuttspie

  The child fell to the floor with a dull thud. They lied motionless for a few seconds, their head hurt and the monster’s broken mess of a voice wasn’t helping. It was like a drill in their ears.

 Did Frisk already go to bed? The thought of them sharing some kind of fever dream was very appealing rigth now. How else could they make sense of this surreal situation?

  “What-” Chara reluctantly sat up and stared at the deranged doctor, their expression a mix of dread and disgust.

“What the hell happened to you?”

  He didn’t look alive, anything with that kind of body couldn’t be alive. But monster souls are destroyed upon death. They don’t turn into ghosts like humans could. He looked more like some kind of disease than a living creature. He was absolutely revolting.

 Why was he here? Why did he, the Royal Scientist, the most loathsome monster in the entire underground, stand in this secret area, looking a melting slug? Why had Chara forgotten about him? No…

 Why had the world forgotten about him?

  “What did you do, Gaster!?“

[☣]

   He was still shaking, fighting for control over his own form - his own emotions when Chara’s question reached him. A moment of anger surged up in the scientist, broken fragments of fingers and palms circling the ghost’s form like a threat - but the euphoria of being remembered outweighed it quickly again, bone pieces crumbling to dust.

      ❝ Me?❞

   More hissing static as he laughed more, less amused and more scornful now. New hands forming, his melting frame bent over the child, drops of his tar-like form now dripping onto their body. His appendages were still fragile, the creature having a hard time to remain concentrated, but they would do for now. Grabbing onto their arms and legs once more, he heaved Chara into the air, closer to his face

      ❝I did n-☠othi-i-✋ng. Do you believe I WANTED this form?!❞

   He needed to calm down. He couldn’t disappear again - not now where he finally had someone who remembered him. And them, of all people! No... he needed to compose himself. Getting too excited wouldn’t do him any good.

     ❝I fell into the CORE. My own creation. They LET me fall. But, lo and behold, it seems hope is all but lost after all!❞

   Voice still crackling, accompanied by an uncomfortable highpitched static screech, Gaster hat at the very least gotten to the point where he was no longer losing his ability of speech. Temporarily having stopped to melt and shift, his face slowly began to reform as he once more grasped Chara’s face between his hands- Tilting their head roughly from side to side, the creature peered into their eyes as if trying to read something.

     ❝Your true use apparently only manifested itself in death. But we were both aware of that for long, no?❞

[nxvigation]

Specimen-- Closed Starter for shatteredscientist

[shatteredscientist]

nxvigation

     “…Hm.” For some reason, Navi didn’t feel as chatty as she normally did. Something felt off; she instead turned her attention to her surroundings, to where they were headed.

        Although Navi had gotten lost in this underground cavern, she had a fairly good internal compass. As they walked, she grew increasingly suspicious of her new companion; something told her that they were going deeper underground, not closer to the surface.

       When the reached a deep, dimly-lit cavernous area full of waterfalls, she’d had enough. She froze in place and drew her blade once again. “Stop.” She said, her tone becoming more assertive. “We’re going the wrong way. where are you taking me?”

[☣]

   He has begun to walk as they were talking, the strange girl following him on instinct, but against all odds she seemed to be rather sharp. They had only just barely reached Waterfalls, avoiding Snowdin on the way there, when she protested.

   Should he attack? He considered it for a moment, but decided to keep up the act for a while longer. At the very least he would prefer to get her deeper into the area, to a more secluded portion. The cavern was too spacious and would make it difficult to capture a winged creature such as herself. Not to mention that, if the locals were to spy him, there would be unpleasant rumors spreading about again.

    ❝Please, there is no need to fret. I know of a shortcut to the surface, just beyond this area. I did not mean to make you worried.❞

[shatteredscientist]

resetbroke

The dislike is seen, hell, Sans practically reads it as he straightens up and shrugs. Soon he starts walking towards the other before passing him, waving a hand lazily. Nah, he isn’t going to deal with one that didn’t like Sanses, he already had to deal with one lie that- He tried to kill him with a black slimey tongue around his skull.

Looking at you avoiided.

*cool, gaster, i guess it has its reason; not really open about it though.

In other words, he was about to nope out of a possibly bad situation. His paranoia was starting to seep out and it showed as he scratched at his left socket, tapping and scratching at each crack.

*welp, ’m due for a smoke, so i should get goin.

[☣]

   Smoking? As far as he was concerned, none of the other variants of ‘Sans’ has ever mentioned such a habit. Of course it was rare for every single variant to be exactly the same, but this was the first one he had encountered one this different from the others.

   Oh this would provide to be educational.

     ❝A rather short visit. Personally, I have no... aversion to smoke, so why not stay for a while longer? I have to admit that my curiousity is piqued.❞

   If the other decided to leave nonetheless, would he be able to stop him? The skeleton had always been known for his rather annoying ability to teleport, and this one didn’t seem to be any different from that for once. In fact, seeing how he could just skip through different timelines, it seemed that his ability was even beyond that of the others.

   An ability that Gaster would love to learn more about.

     ❝I might even consider picking up a... nickname.❞

[shatteredscientist]

yuujinchouno-natsume

The high school boy covered his mouth and pressed his back against the stone. His lungs were burning but he needed to be quiet. The frantic voices of his pursuers were close by, searching for him.

Takashi pushed himself as far back as he could as he tried to avoid detection, when suddenly the solid ground ended.

“Aa-kh!”

His startled cry was cut short. The drop was only a little over a meter deep. Takashi lied on the hard floor for a few moments, letting his shock dissolve into relief. The cave was slightly damp and the chill felt pretty nice after running. He sat up and rubbed his head. Short fall or not, it still hurt.

It had seemed like a small crevice at first glance, but it was surprisingly spacious. He couldn’t hear the youkai anymore, it should be okay to rest here for a bit.

What was Nyanko-sensei doing? He was going to give him a piece of his mind later.

[☣]

   Following the noise, his pace began to speed up as his body continued to reform, legs solidifying. He detested the slug-like unshapely form he was often confined to, finding it to be a rather pleasant surprise that he was able to regenerate with more ease in this world.

   Now all that was left was to find a way out of these tunnels. Oh, they were far more preferable than the void of course, but still... the scientist could think of more pleasing sights. But first things first; he would have to find the source of the footsteps from earlier. If the life form would turn out to be intelligent, that would make his stay here so much more enjoyable.

   It didn’t take long for him to stumble over the presumed origin of the sound, either; turning around a corner, he could spy a pale creature sitting on the ground. Human from the looks of it - it was rare to find a realm where they didn’t crawl on the planet’s surface like a disease. Well, at the very least they were not boring. The smile on his lips spread.

     ❝It seems I am not the only one lost down here.❞

[shatteredscientist]

sneak-me-a-biscuit

   He was a doctor?

   That was somewhat reassuring to her. It explained his fondness of books and why he would’ve been allowed to visit the archives in the first place. And perhaps also why he looked so strange. In her experience, folk studying science or medicine tended to be quite eccentric. But they were pursuing knowledge in order to help people, so they weren’t bad!

   Or at least she hoped so…

   Still, Zelda relaxed just a tiny bit. Talking to a scholar, no matter how creepy-looking, was still better than talking to a demon.

   Noticing were he was looking, her face tinted slightly red in shame. He was thinking the same thing. But the books hadn’t been damaged, and he had scared her so it should be his fault, technically…..

   When he asked for her name, Zelda tilted her head to the side, confused. Hadn’t he realised that she was the princess? That was a bit odd, she was wearing the royal crest after all.

   Maybe he was cooped up all day in a study, nose (wait no nose) deep in a book and didn’t pay attention to much else, or perhaps he was just asking out of courtesy.

   “I am Zelda,“ she answered, observing him carefully to detect any kind of reaction, more out of curiosity than anything.

[☣]

   Her reaction to him asking her name was an odd one, the confusion clearly visible in her face. Was he assumed to know her then? Or were names not a common thing in this place? A possibility - it would not be the first world he would encounter with such odd habits.

   However, when the girl introduced herself, that quickly erased that possibility, as well as the one that she might have forgotten her own name. So, assuming by that, she was someone known enough as though even strangers would know her name. How curious. He would have to continue a little more carefully then in order to not draw anymore suspicion to himself.

     ❝Ah, of course. You must forgive me, I am... not from the area.❞

   Gliding over to the collapsed heap of books, he delicately picked one up with long fingers, opening it up at a random page. The same script as before greeted him, still a mystery that ought to be solved. Perhaps...

     ❝Truth be told, I came here to practice. The script you use is still very foreign to me. Would you possibly be willing to aid me, Zelda?❞

[nxvigation]

Specimen-- Closed Starter for shatteredscientist

[shatteredscientist]

nxvigation

       “I–Oh!” Navi’s eyes glanced to the small weapon still in her hand. Trust was two-sided; she wanted to give the other the benefit of the doubt, to an extent. Besides, putting the knife away didn’t mean she’d be losing it. If things started to go south, she’d be able to pull it out again.

      That thought in mind, she sheathed the knife.

      “Sorry about that. I explore new areas rather cautiously, you see…the unknown makes me a bit, if you’ll forgive the pun, flighty.” She gave a wan, forced smile. “I assume you’re familiar with this place, though, yes?”

[☣]

   He watched in quiet amusement as she did sheathe the weapon, patiently waiting for her to address him again. Either she had supreme confidence in her skills, or she was underestimating him greatly. Not that he was overly keen on engaging in physical combat with her... but still, he found himself surprised again and again by how refreshingly illogical most creatures - be it monsters or humans - acted at times.

    ❝A wise reaction to have.❞, he replied, his own smile never wavering as he met her gaze again. The usage of puns, even though he was not too fond of them, was a pleasant discovery. Witty subjects tended to yield far more interesting results.

    ❝I tend to come here quite habitually, yes..❞

[shatteredscientist]

@yuujinchouno-natsume

   Awareness returned to him in the middle of what appeared to be a cavern of sorts, the scientist’s form solidifying as he slowly looked around. Not an unfamiliar experience by all means, but one that was uncommon. Most of his time was spent trapped in the void between realities, shifting in and out of consciousness.

   But, sometimes, he would find himself in one of the many worlds for just a while. More than not, those were quite interesting experiences. A welcome diversion from the agony that was timelessness. 

   Slowly, uncaring of the fact that his body was still partially broken, Gaster began to move forwards. Usually his time in such realms was limited, meaning he would have to use it wisely if he wanted his visit to be... educational. It had been faint, but there had been noise audible to the monster just when he came to consciousness. The tap-tapping of steps on brittle stone, echoing through the tunnel system he found himself in.

   Oh, he was eager to learn just what sort of creatures would be polluting this realm.

[veiledbyart]

Egg A2

Meme | Still accepting but also still slow af 

Excellent. Truly excellent.

Don’t use or repost my art without permission

[shatteredscientist]

initiate experimental phase: one . (from both honnismoked and stcrchiild!)

   ❝Two at the price of one… wonderful.❞

[monstroussuggestion]

Don’t turn away. Look at what you made me.

[slimeandspice]

https://instagram.com/p/BTdTT8fBBS7/

[shatteredscientist]

THERE'S A SPIKE IN MY HEAD, REMOVE IT, NOW.

      ❝And if I don’t?❞

[ask-the-imprisoned]

1҉̠̳̭ S̨̺̪̯̜͓̻T̸̷҉̠̫̦̹̺̲͙̮̝A̛̻R̻̱̖͚̳̖ R̠͡͡E̜͘͟V̴̵̨̞I͈̞͔͙̞̘͉͈̻E̸͇̦͚͎̜͟W̼͓͢!!

[shatteredscientist]

THERE'S A SPIKE IN MY HEAD, REMOVE IT, NOW.

      ❝And if I don’t?❞

[spectorhare]

@shatteredscientist

Every Gaster was different, from Avoiided to WD, to even Dings, every single one of them were different in varying levels of uniquely given traits. He knew this, yet it always came as a mild surprise to see the changes with his own eyelights.

Pressing past the initial reaction, Sans blinks as he slowly approaches the other now as his slippers catch on themselves with each step. Their words were common, a typical sentence that spewed out when a simple hello wasn’t enough. The ‘a’ typical questioning that he merely had grown too used to at this point. Shrugging it off, he could be seen as given an aloof response but it was merely a lack of emotion in the action.

*oh jus’ passin through. timeline exploring. i’d start with introductions but ’m sure we both know each others names. still, nicknames don’t hurt. you can call me reset if ya want.

*how about you?

[shatteredscientist]

[☣]

   Timeline exploring. Gaster had always known - no, he had assumed that Sans was aware of the timeline, but somehow hearing him stating it so frankly was surprising to the scientist. The few ones he had encountered before had always been tip-toeing around the topic, making this one quite the oddity. Whether he would be useful or not, Gaster would yet have to find out...

      ❝Gaster will be just fine, I assure you. Since you’ve so helpfully confirmed that you remember my name, I see no reason not to use it.❞

    Nicknames had never been a favourite of the monster, much less when used by someone he, frankly, didn’t particularly like nor care about. However, the other’s Nickname was promising, as it might just give away some information about this Sans’ timeline. Reset, was it now?

      ❝I am assuming that your nickname is not without reason?❞