milliways_bar | (no subject)

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Gaster is sitting outside, beneath the awning of the porch out back, watching the rain.

It's one of the first rains of the season, and a welcome change from the snow. It's beginning to melt what little clumps of snow still remain on the ground, and he can see small green shoots coming up in places.

Gaster isn't sure that he'll ever get quite used to the changing of the seasons - or to rain, for that matter.There was water that dripped from the ceiling in Waterfall, of course, but it's not the same. The thunder, the clouds, even the smell - part of him still can't believe he's experiencing it for real.

He breaths in a deep sigh.

"Asgore would have loved this," he says to himself softly.

(At least he got to see it in one timeline.)

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Rain reminds John Constantine of Liverpool, and thinking of Liverpool makes him melancholy.

One of these days he'll get back to the Old Smoke. One of these days.

He nods to the fellow already on the porch. "Mind if I smoke?"

Gaster turns at the sound of the voice, startled slightly out of his reverie.

He gives the human a polite smile. "Not at all. Go right ahead."

"Ta." He lights up, and blows his first puff out toward the lake.

He looks at the fellow again. "You from a skeleton planet?"

"Oh, no, I'm from Earth." John's not the first one to ask Gaster about his appearance. "In my world, monsters - my species - live in caverns underground."

Gaster calling himself a monster gets a twitch from John, but he reminds himself of the rules.

Besides, this bloke seems harmless enough.

"Is it your natural habitat, caves?"

"No," Gaster pauses a moment, as humans here always seem to react a certain way when he mentions this part.

"My species was magically sealed underground by humanity many centuries ago."

"I see."

He smokes. He's sent a good number of demons back to Hell and monsters to their Maker, but still.

"Must be good to come here, then, where it's ... not a cave."

Technically, Gaster's door doesn't lead to caverns anymore, just...a whole lot of nothing. But he nods all the same.

"I'm still in awe of the rain - the way the sky darkens, the way the earth smells afterwards - I never could have imagined."

John nods. He gets it.

"Petrichor, that smell."

"Mmmm." Gaster hums thoughtfully. He hadn't known the name.

"I'd dreamed of seeing the sky for so long. I'm glad I get to see it now."

John nods again, though when he looks up the sky is covered with rain clouds and there are no starts to be seen. Even the moon is only a faint glow through the clouds.

"This is like where I'm from," he says. "It rains a lot in my hometown. I'm more used to a cloudy sky than a clear one."

"Is that right?" Gaster murmurs. "Where are you from?"

It occurs to him, vaguely, just how little of the world he's seen.

"Planet called Earth, country called England, city called Liverpool.

"England is known for being rainy."

"I'm from Earth as well. I'm...not sure what part of the world the Underground was in."

"Hm, yeah... there are caves all over. Do you know what the cave was under?"

"It was under a mountain - Mt. Ebott, I believe it was called."

John thinks about it, then shakes his head. "There are some famous mountains in the human world, but I don't recognize that one." He smiles at Gaster ruefully. "Sorry, mate."

"Well, everyone speaks English in the Underground, so I can only assume it's in a country where English is spoken. Or, at least, was spoken at one time."

"That narrows it down some. Of course, even the countries that speak English do it different. There's one where they sound a lot like me, and one where they sound like this." In his best American accent, he says, "Ranch dressing, soccer, chocolate chips cookies."

Gaster stifles a chuckle at the impression.

"I think it's probably the latter. Most of the monsters I know speak that way."

"Probably somewhere in the United States, then. It's a big country, lots of mountains. I've travelled it some."

"Most likely."

Gaster gazes up at the sky.

"Goodness, there's so much of the world I haven't seen. The Underground was so small, in comparison."

John chuckles wryly and crushes his cigarette.

"There's a lot to see, depending on what you're looking for.

"Do you know what you're looking for, or do you just want to see what's out there?"

Gaster shrugs. "Call it a natural curiosity. Part of being a scientist."

(Not that he has much chance of seeing the rest of his world now.)

"That's as good a reason as any," John says with approval. "Inspiration of explorers and artists alike."

"Well, the chill is settling in my bones so I think I'm headed inside. Come join me by the fire sometime, yeah?"

He gives Gaster a nod before going back into the bar.

"Yes, I'd like that." Gaster smiles.

"By the way, my name's Gaster - W.D. Gaster. It was nice to meet you."

"John Constantine.

"See you around, squire."

Gaster nods, and turns back to watching the rain.

(ooc: Thanks for the thread!)

[ooc: Anytime, thank you!]

What. The Fuck. Is that.

It's like a skeleton but somehow blobby, which is worse than normal skeletons, which are not particularly blobby. Lupin leans against the wall of the porch, staring at the back of Gaster's head for as he slowly chews on a pastry.

After a moment, Gaster catches sight of Lupin out of the corner of his eyesocket.

"Hello there." Gaster nods to him.

"Hi," says Lupin, in a strained voice that's a half-octave above his usual pitch. "How's, uh. How's things."

It's looking at him. With no eyes. What the hell.

Gaster lets out a soft chuckle. "It's alright, I don't bite."

Goodness knows this fellow isn't the first one in the bar to be intimidated by his appearence.

"I mean. Do you even have teeth in there?" Lupin leans in a little closer, trying to tell.

"Why, yes, of course I do." There's a bit harder to see than earlier in life, but they're in there.

"Huh. Good for you." Lupin looks up from getting way too personal with Gaster's dentistry and asks, "So I hope this isn't too personal, but what the fuck are you?"

Gaster rolls his eyes inwardly. Lupin's not the first to ask that question.

"I'm a monster. A skeleton. And before you ask, yes, I've always been a skeleton."

Edited 2021-03-22 22:56 (UTC)

"Like. You were born a skeleton? Or hatched? Was your mom also just a skeleton?" Lupin perches on the edge of the porch, just under the eaves.

"Yes, both my parents were skeletons. And no, I wasn't hatched - some monsters are, certainly, but not me."

"So you were..." And Lupin makes a series of gestures that that are definitely not family friendly but at least get the vague point across of "So by what method do skeletons, devoid of flesh, make other skeletons'.

Gaster clears his throat. "This is, ah, getting a bit personal."

He's not about to explain THAT, not when he doesn't even so much as know this human's name.

Edited 2021-03-24 03:05 (UTC)

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