chabra-a

[chabra-a]

// Moved to @chabra!

[chabra-a]

* (Asked @dreeming-royalty a few questions.)

Ah. Now these answers are hardly surprising. Murder and betrayal had featured so heavily in their deaths; it only made sense that the pair would base their concept of morality and justice on such things.

But an expected answer is no less important than an unusual one. This, too, will be remembered.

[chabra-a]

Initially, Chara thought that the flame elemental might give a curt answer before simply walking away, or even just move on without saying anything. She looked uncomfortable and wary, regarding them with the sort of scrutiny the child had given numerous others in their (short) lifetime. Yet, there were no hard feelings on their part. The two of them were complete strangers, after all, and while Chara still didn't know much about this strange void they'd found themself in, they did suspect that it was possible to encounter just about anyone else who'd ended up here. It made sense to be cautious.

But finally Mara sat down and began to speak, leading the child to kneel politely in front of her and listen. She certainly had a... peculiar perspective that Chara would never have guessed a monster to possess, making them all the more intrigued. Where exactly had this elemental been born? In what lands had monsters and humans been evenly matched in terms of power? Every story of the ancient conflict the child had heard up to now had described it as more of a massacre than a war; the thought that somewhere out there it had been more balanced was...

... Well, it certainly explained Mara's answer to their question.

"I see," they replied at last, and Chara truly felt they did. If you believed your enemy to be similar to yourself, then it made sense you would be a bit more forgiving of their actions. ... Well, if you happened to be forgiving of yourself in the first place, anyway.

But... surely Asriel hadn't viewed humanity in this way. He'd heard the same stories as Chara, and for a longer period of time. Plus, the child had told him in no uncertain terms how they themself hated humanity while admiring monsterkind. Believing that humans and monsters weren't all that different couldn't've been Asriel's reason for refusing to kill those villagers.

It was interesting to think about, though. And it did suggest that Asriel had spared them not because he had forgiven humanity, but for some other, presently unknown reason.

Still, while Mara was here... maybe she would indulge Chara a bit further. Another question loomed large in their mind, one that had troubled them for years.

"Do you think humanity can be — should be — truly forgiven for what they've done?"

chabra​:

Ah–?

Chara turned as their vision was interrupted with pale purple light, and in so doing proved that they were no human child. A furry face framed by long, droopy ears looked up at Mara, surprise and confusion painted across their short muzzle.

At the same time, though, it was easy to see why they could be mistaken for a human from a distance. From the neck down, Chara possessed the basic build of one, and their fluffy ears blended in perfectly with their hair. It really took being this close to notice their monstrous features.

“Lost?” they repeated quietly, tilting their head in thought. Was that possible? Could one be lost in such a featureless, infinite space as the Void?

Well. Perhaps one could, if not in terms of trying to reach a destination…

Chara broke into a wry grin that looked quite out of place on such a young child, giving a dark little chuckle.

“Yes. I suppose I am,” they answered at last, tucking their hands behind their back. “But not in a way that can be helped.”

Hearing that statement out loud made Chara pause again. Forget about being lost; there was something far more pressing on their mind they could use some assistance with.

“You may be able to help me with something else, however,” the child told Mara, all trace of black humor gone. “I would like to know what you think about humanity. Do you hate them for what they’ve done to your– to our people? Or… have you somehow managed to forgive them?”

Ah, so she wasn’t going to be eaten today. A good thing, most likely. Mara watches the child with a slight frown, adjusting the pack on her shoulders.

[ Mm, I’m sorry to hear that. ] Indeed, the people she met out here were not often children. Nor do they ask her rather… philosophical questions.

Perhaps being eaten would have been easier. 

Her expression tightens, warmth receding as her light dims ever so slightly. Such a strange query, and yet one that is clearly weighing heavily on their mind. Glowing eyes scan over the goat child’s expression, calculating. For a moment she considers offering a simple answer, perhaps moving on her way, but… no. This… this is important.

Mara removes her pack and settles down beside the child with a crackling sigh. [ As I’m sure you know, it is… complicated. And my experiences are perhaps… unique. Where I was born, things are not exactly as black and white as it may be in other… lands. ] 

[ It is less of a true forgiveness. Humanity, when compared to Monsterkind…  it can be easy, to look at us and say that we are kinder, more loving, and perhaps it could be true given the current population. ]

Her gaze trails the edge of the empty horizon, feeling not for the first time rather ancient. [ But, in my day… humanity had a reason to fear some of us, truly. Monsters are just as complicated as humans are. We love, we hate, we hunger. Every monster has the same capacity for terrible things as a human. The only real difference is… well, I’m sure you’ve seen what they can do. With their solid forms, they can take harsher beatings, and hold Determination in their veins that allows them to mold reality. ] 

Her fire sparks and crackles with a quiet hum, a dancing flame coming to her fingertips that flits through the nothingness not unlike a firefly across the night sky. [ And yet, monsters have a much more refined control of magic, a deeper link to the forces that live and die with the land, and the free ability to create wonders of life. We once had the power and the intent to attack humanity on even grounds. Once. ] Gods above, she feels tired. 

[ Did we deserve to be cast into a mountain, sealed away for all eternity? No. But… I cannot say that we truly would have done anything different, had our roles been reversed. No, it is not forgiveness, per se. It is acceptance, that we were once not so different. ]

[chabra-a]

* (Asked @chorusnihili a few questions.)

 Interesting answers for interesting questions.

The final sentiment was about what the child would expect from a monster, but the rest... it strikes a chord with them. Maddening in its truth, cold in its reality. It suits them, somehow, as disappointing as it is.

They will sit with this for some time yet.

[chabra-a]

What Are You The God Of?

Your Result: Graveyards

You are the god of dark, eerie paths filled with ghosts, but only rarely. More often you are the god of large, sprawling cemeteries that cars pass through at five miles an hour and joggers map out in good weather. You are little, neglected graveyards, the heat of a summer day on a solitary figure scrubbing lichen off of limestone. You are forgotten churchyards, paved over with county roads almost long enough to be forgotten about. You are the conglomerate of new graves an old, of monuments of polished granite and bones with no stone to lie beneath. You are the god of the remembered, the lingering, the lost and the forgotten.

[chabra-a]

may 2021

[chabra-a]

Ah–?

Chara turned as their vision was interrupted with pale purple light, and in so doing proved that they were no human child. A furry face framed by long, droopy ears looked up at Mara, surprise and confusion painted across their short muzzle.

At the same time, though, it was easy to see why they could be mistaken for a human from a distance. From the neck down, Chara possessed the basic build of one, and their fluffy ears blended in perfectly with their hair. It really took being this close to notice their monstrous features.

“Lost?” they repeated quietly, tilting their head in thought. Was that possible? Could one be lost in such a featureless, infinite space as the Void?

Well. Perhaps one could, if not in terms of trying to reach a destination...

Chara broke into a wry grin that looked quite out of place on such a young child, giving a dark little chuckle.

“Yes. I suppose I am,” they answered at last, tucking their hands behind their back. “But not in a way that can be helped.”

Hearing that statement out loud made Chara pause again. Forget about being lost; there was something far more pressing on their mind they could use some assistance with.

“You may be able to help me with something else, however,” the child told Mara, all trace of black humor gone. “I would like to know what you think about humanity. Do you hate them for what they’ve done to your– to our people? Or... have you somehow managed to forgive them?”

* (CLOSED STARTER 01: FORGIVENESS. // @bcrnt-petcls)

For every action, a consequence.

Chara knew this well. They had witnessed it time and time again, how the smallest phrase or deed could result in the greatest joy — or the deepest sorrow. Intent mattered not; it was the end result that had the final word.

This occasion was no different. A simple translation error that had gone unchecked and unnoticed had now brought about the deaths of two children and destroyed the hopes and dreams of an entire race. What was supposed to be monsterkind’s shining moment had turned into their darkest hour.

But while the pool of regret was deep enough to drown in, Chara found their thoughts turning instead to Asriel. He had refused to even harm a single hair on any of the villagers’ heads. Why? Why would he have spared them? The prince had known they needed six more human SOULs in order to procure his kingdom’s freedom; why would he have valued their lives over his future subjects’ happiness?

They couldn’t understand it. And yet, it felt imperative to figure out the answer. The reason for their being here, the true nature of the world… It was the key to unlocking everything.

But how were they to solve a puzzle they had no pieces to? Was the child doomed to spend an eternity in the dark?

If only they had a light…

[chabra-a]

* (CLOSED STARTER 01: FORGIVENESS. // @bcrnt-petcls)

For every action, a consequence.

Chara knew this well. They had witnessed it time and time again, how the smallest phrase or deed could result in the greatest joy — or the deepest sorrow. Intent mattered not; it was the end result that had the final word.

This occasion was no different. A simple translation error that had gone unchecked and unnoticed had now brought about the deaths of two children and destroyed the hopes and dreams of an entire race. What was supposed to be monsterkind's shining moment had turned into their darkest hour.

But while the pool of regret was deep enough to drown in, Chara found their thoughts turning instead to Asriel. He had refused to even harm a single hair on any of the villagers' heads. Why? Why would he have spared them? The prince had known they needed six more human SOULs in order to procure his kingdom's freedom; why would he have valued their lives over his future subjects' happiness?

They couldn't understand it. And yet, it felt imperative to figure out the answer. The reason for their being here, the true nature of the world... It was the key to unlocking everything.

But how were they to solve a puzzle they had no pieces to? Was the child doomed to spend an eternity in the dark?

If only they had a light...

[chabra-a]

* (Asked @coolskeletonsdontcry a question.)

The child had never given it a second thought before. It had seemed only natural – only right – to allow their pain and anger to smolder within their heart, waiting for the day when vengeance would extinguish it.

But that never happened. Instead, the flames ended up burning out of control, consuming them and Asriel both.

... They have much to consider with this answer.

[chabra-a]

* (OPEN STARTER 01: BAD MEMORY.)

There is something in their hands.

The object – if it can even be considered such – flickers wildly, an ever-shifting mass of black and white that defies all attempt to describe it in more concrete terms. Some might try by likening it to Eigengrau, that visual phenomenon of speckled grey seen in the dark. Others might call it the noise of an analog television screen.

Chara simply acknowledges it with the name it gives itself in their inventory.

“Bad Memory.”

[chabra-a]

What Crystal Are You?

Your Result: black tourmaline

you have a strength to you that has been hard earned. you don't hesitate to cut out the parts of you you despise, you're unafraid to call out others. your bluntness can off-put people at times, but you're unwilling to compromise your personal code. once your loyalty has been earned it is not easily shaken. you're a protector and you purge away anything you believe could harm you or those you love. when was the last time you relaxed, though? when was the last time you let down your guard? there is just as much strength in vulnerability.

[chabra-a]

* (Said something to @chorusnihili.)

They can’t understand.

He had been utterly broken by such a simple phrase, brought to his knees in fewer than 10 words. It sounded for all the world like he was about to cry, this skeleton with a stare that could burn right into your very SOUL.

Why? What did he feel the need to apologize for?

They just can’t understand...

[chabra-a]

Line for line, crease for crease, turn for turn, Chara’s entire demeanor slowly shaped itself to echo Gaster’s at the answer they hadn’t wanted to hear. Had the skeleton kept his eyes on them, he would’ve found a mirror image in furry miniature, grimacing softly into the darkness.

“Myself...” the child mused quietly, SOUL shard fading back into their chest as they slowly moved to wrap their arms around their torso. How could they possibly need themself more than anyone else? More than monsterkind? More than Asriel? Chara couldn’t even fathom such a thing.

Besides... doing things for the people they loved was doing something for themself. What more had they ever wanted out of life than to see the wrinkles on Toriel’s face as she laughed at a bad pun they’d told her, or the soft curves at the edges of Asgore’s mouth as he smiled at them after they’d handed him another drawing, or the sparkle in Asriel’s eyes as he listened to them recount the plotline of some anime they’d heard of? What more had they ever wanted than to see the Dreemurrs happy?

A long, soft exhalation left the child, a fragile noise of life in the unrelenting stillness of the Void.

“Even if that is true, it is far too late for me,” they said finally. “There is nothing I can do for myself now.”

Chara squeezed their eyes shut, no longer able to bear the sight of the naked truth.

“There is nothing I can do for anyone now.”

chabra​:

The child took a moment to absorb the information they’d been given, gaze slipping away from that grin they thought to be almost as empty as their surroundings. Unlike Gaster, Chara could see nothing within the darkness, its pure, matte black so absolute that it was hard to believe it was real – and yet, somehow, they found it to be less chilling than the skeleton’s strange smile.

“I… suppose it is,” they conceded at last, still averting their eyes. What should or shouldn’t be possible, what could or couldn’t happen… It was all irrelevant in the face of what was.

They were present, in this place, at this moment. No amount of debate would change that.

But in removing that question from the list to be answered, Chara was left with the largest one of all. Reluctantly, the child looked back up at Gaster, feeling like they knew his mind before he even spoke.

“Then… What do I do now?”

“Whatever you want to.”

And yet, the words are foul, like an improper chord, and he nearly even winces at the sound of his own voice.

It’s the truth and they both know it, and yet, there’s something so wholly unsatisfying about it that even the virtually stagnant expression on his face falters, twitches, frowning, wrinkles appearing around his nasal cavity.  

There’s a taste in his mouth; bitter, and he swallows it, tension settling in around his eye.  

He refuses to look at them.  

But he supposed he had to elaborate. 

“Not everything you do has to be for the sake of another.”  The words are quiet and soft, the tone of one admitting a reluctant truth, even to himself.

“Sometimes, the one who needs you the most is yourself.”

[chabra-a]

[chabra-a]

which undertale song are you

Your Result: an ending

it’s not what you expected. not what you wanted. you tried your best, you reached a goal, but are you really satisfied? are you really happy? (or maybe youre just as upset with the idea of undying dying as i am)

[chabra-a]

* (Asked @coolskeletonsdontcry a question.)

The child silently goes over his words in their mind.

“Sometimes, bad things are necessary. And, sometimes... Sometimes doing bad things brings its own satisfaction.”

They will be thinking about this for a very long time.

[chabra-a]

The child took a moment to absorb the information they’d been given, gaze slipping away from that grin they thought to be almost as empty as their surroundings. Unlike Gaster, Chara could see nothing within the darkness, its pure, matte black so absolute that it was hard to believe it was real – and yet, somehow, they found it to be less chilling than the skeleton's strange smile.

“I... suppose it is,” they conceded at last, still averting their eyes. What should or shouldn’t be possible, what could or couldn’t happen... It was all irrelevant in the face of what was.

They were present, in this place, at this moment. No amount of debate would change that.

But in removing that question from the list to be answered, Chara was left with the largest one of all. Reluctantly, the child looked back up at Gaster, feeling like they knew his mind before he even spoke.

“Then... What do I do now?”

chabra​:

Well, it was… definitely an answer, even if it wasn’t the sort Chara had been hoping to hear. Surely there must be some sort of reason – some explanation – behind their current state.

The SOULs of dead humans didn’t just spontaneously turn into monsters, after all.

“Where is ‘here’, exactly?” the child murmured, deciding for the moment to seek information on a different issue. “Am I really alive? Is this simply the dream of an unconscious mind?”

Their gaze fell to the incomplete SOUL that hovered in front of their chest. No… no, they couldn’t possibly be simply unconscious. They had died, along with Asriel; they had felt their combined SOUL shatter into pieces… And now they were here, in a form that wasn’t theirs, in a place that had no shape.

Chara shook their head, then looked back up at Gaster.

“What of yourself? Are you really alive?”

He exhaled.

He looked past the monstrous human child–into the darkness beyond; the darkness that glistened with an endless array of streaks of colors; code, timelines, realities, whatever one chose to call it.  

He wasn’t sure if it’s something perceptible to all, or merely… a result of his unique nature.  

It was oddly peaceful.

“You are in what many refer to as the Void.  What it is exactly…questionable.  But it seems to be the buffer that prevents worlds from touching one another.”

His eye flicked back towards them in this emptiness, some sort of grin on his face.

“I’m alive enough.  In the end, that’s all that really matters.”