Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

AT FIRST, THERE WAS NOTHING. OR SO THEY SAY.
IN ACTUALITY,EVERYTHING EXISTED AT THE SAME TIME. SO MUCH SO THAT THERE WAS NO NEED FOR WORDS LIKE THESE TO EXIST.
THE WORLD’S POTENTIAL WAS AT A MAXIMUM, THEN A CHANGE HAPPENED.
SOMETHING WANTED TO EXIST, WHILE ANOTHER WANTED TO NOT.
A CHAIN REACTION BEGAN,CONCEPTS KNOCKING INTO OTHER CONCEPTS OF WHICH SOME BECAME ENERGIES, THEN WAVES, MATTER, ATOMS, MOLECULES, AND SO ON.
THE UNIVERSE AS ONE KNOWS IT STARTED BEGINNING. EVEN SO,THERE IS A CATCH.
THE ABSTRACT THAT REMAINED CONTINUED TO GROW AS WELL,REFLECTING THE OTHER LIKE TWO MIRRORS STANDING SIDE BY SIDE.
ONE MAY QUESTION, AS A RESULT OF THIS, IF THE SIDE OF THE MIRROR THEY ARE ON IS THE “REAL” ONE OR NOT.
TRULY, IT IS JUST A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE. AFTER ALL, THE GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE.

* * *

Assignment due: Tomorrow
“For your final grade,write a freeform essay about a peculiar thing that scares you, in at least 500 words. These will be sent to me by email, so feel free to be as personal as you desire, since these will not be read out loud.”
Signed , ██████

Do video game characters dream of electric sheep?

██████

An artist,by virtue of its creative prowess, can be given the title of a demiurge, a being with the power to create and maintain an entire universe. Taking into account the vastity of our own universe compared to what a single human mind can produce, a logical conclusion can be reached that artistic creations are akin to pocket dimensions, spaces contained within a small, finite carcass, that contain the infinite. The carcass represents the form in which a piece of art exists, whether it be a painting, a poem, a song, a movie, limited either by its material or by time. The pocket space is made by the ideas imbued into the artwork, as well as the ideas that ricochet from the audience.

What is important in art anyway, the shape or the idea? Plato talked extensively about a purely conceptual plane, inhabited by Ideas which find themselves imperfectly represented in our world. Just like how impossible it is to perfectly draw a circle on paper, so too is anything we experience . For him, this meant our physical world was a mere illusion, and the truth resides up there,with ideas. This feeling seems to echo with the artist, since the art they envision only exists in their mind’s eye.

Art, in the most barebones definition, is composed of 3 elements: the author, the artwork, and the audience. For far too long, it has been chained down by the invisible wall between the artwork and the audience. The artist, as the creator, gets to touch, mold, sense the art in a much more intimate way than the audience, forced to spectate from a distance. Of course, humans entertain themselves in passivity pretty efficiently, but this barrier needed in one way or another to be broken. There is a need of interactivity between one and the art, so it can become closer and closer.
In the last century, the first footings of a new artform appeared. PONG [1972] , while not being the first video game, is certainly the one that marked a new trajectory in video game history. It may be ridiculous now, to think about something as frivolous as an arcade game, but it is an absolute must to understand what video games actually mean, therefore a series of definitions will be written about neighbouring concepts.

A video = recording of moving pictures which usually contains sound as well. You cannot [meaningfully] interact with a video apart from playing it backwards, pausing, watching at a slower or faster speed or cutting parts from it. Pure “output” media.

A game = entertaining activity based on a set of rules which have to be interacted with by the players in order to reach a conclusion, most of the time it’s the state of winning/losing. It cannot exist without a player,making it highly conceptual even if it has an inherent physical aspect. Pure “input” media.

A toy = an object or device with a strictly entertaining role, its limited stimuli promoting imagination. It is specifically designed to be interacted with. A higher meaning is not contained in the toy, but generated by its audience. The input is bigger than the output.

Visual art = artwork that is meant to be experienced visually. Its purpose is to be perceived, but profound meaning is extracted from the limited interactivity, making it valuable. The output is much bigger than the input.

Music = artwork that is meant to be experienced auditively. Time grants the sound shape, making it the most important aspect. The output is much bigger than the input

Literary art = artwork that is meant to be understood through writing or listening.This time, there is no immediate physical reward, but an act completely dependent on the audience’s capacity of interpreting ideas by translating audio-visual shortcuts, or words. Purely because of what the concept of reading entails,there is bigger interactivity, but the input is still smaller than the output.

Finally, a definition of a video game shall be made:

Video game = form of entertainment in which a player is visually and auditively stimulated to play [interact] with the electronic device, but the stimuli emited can be of varying complexity,at its highest having narrative value. A complete system, with equal input and output,creating a constant feedback loop.It is also a form of art, a creative mind imparting onto the game intriguing ideas, interesting visuals and sound, while hoping for an audience to experience it, and reach back.

No video game is equal, some are more centered around the rules of the game [gameplay], some are so focused on storytelling there is minimal gameplay. Not every form of interactive media is a video game, but most of them still need some sort of electronic device. Regardless, video games somehow manage to be in superposition, having multiple elements of each of those other concepts, being easily associated as belonging to one of them while also being distinct enough that they can exist standalone. This is why the act of defining video games is so hard , and why there is so much discourse around whether or not video games can be considered art. In my opinion, they are art, and the games that are brought as examples of them not being art either are bad games, just like how there is bad art, or the result of a misunderstanding of what art actually means.

If art is a pocket dimension, then video games are the best at illustrating this, by virtue of them creating a vector of yourself to interact with its vast world, contained on a screen.

If art has an artist and an audience, then video games manage to make the connection between each of them and the artwork more equal, therefore it makes experiencing one more fulfilling.

If art is conceptualized in a truer sense somewhere beyond our reach, and what is exposed to the world is a mere copy, then video games...are more real than us?

The last statement is completely nonsensical, that is, if we lived in a world where Undertale didn’t exist... │

* * *

> https://www.forumnation.com/forums/videogames

G00dy2shoez : New weird game suddenly appeared
09/15/2015
Hey guys, so I was looking like one always does on sites such as Steam etc for new games to play, and today i rlly wanted to find new releases. I have this thing where if I have the chance I really want to be the first one to comment on a youtube video, or leave the first review on a game, which was the case today. I was browsing the site █████.com, known for hosting more indie video games, so I stumbled upon this:

<img.png>
*you do not have permission to view

It seems pretty normal, right? Just an indie rpg type of game, i don’t think the game engine is rpgmaker or smth. The sprites are kinda wonky from what I see, so this gotta be made by a random guy, right?
Well, if I zoom in closer, you can see that there is no mention of a developer or publisher or literally anything

<img.png>

At first I thought it was stupid,maybe either the site was broken or the gamedev name was hidden somewhere else, but I checked other games on this site and no, this is the only game that behaves like this. I even tried using inspect tool to see if the dev name was simply hidden with css/html, but no.
I downloaded the game in the meantime, and its pretty fun as of now, so maybe this could mean nothing.
If you want to play the game too, I added the link here:
https://www.██████.com/Undertale

Laboratory_d0g: re G00dy2shoez
09/15/2015
Hmm,youre right, there is no dev mention anywhere, almost like this game appeared from nothing. Its probably just a quirk to make the game seem more mysterious. Even so, is it even legal to hide out the name of a developer on sites like these?

ConQuest: re G00dy2shoez
09/15/2015
Downloaded just now, it looks like shit haha but maybe it gets better, I got no idea how long this game is.

Seraphyyyy: re G00dy2shoez
09/15/2015
Played for 10 minutes and goosh I really love toriel <3 I hope I don’t see that stupid flower again xD

BAGELGOD: re Laboratory_d0g
09/15/2015
If more of us come together we can message the site admins to explain the situation

Laboratory_d0g: re BAGELGOD
09/15/2015
Is this even worth bothering them for?

Seraphyyyy: re BAGELGOD, Laboratory_d0g
09/15/2015
Guuys! Stop talking and play the damn game !!!

* * *

Show transcript for : Undertale - The game that took the internet by storm

5:00 the mysteries of this game begin even before the game itself is ever opened
5:04 because even after so many years, we still have no idea who made this game
5:06 the admins of the site that undertale was originally posted on
5:08 claimed that they had no idea how the game ended up on ██████.com
5:10 since then, almost like a virus, undertale began appearing
5:12 by itself on steam, reaching even gaming consoles like
5:14 xbox ,the ps4, even the switch,through their online shops
5:16 even if it seems hard to believe, the most popular theory
5:18 is that the game managed to create itself, without
5:20 being directly programmed by a game developer
5:22 basically being like artificial intelligence gone rogue
5:24 this idea is supported by the fact that no matter what anyone
5:26 tries to modify inside the game’s code, even spritework,
5:28 it is immediately reversed back to its original state
5:30 initially it was thought it had just a very proficient
5:32 method of blocking modding the game, but then what would
5:34 be the purpose of that, considering you can still look inside
5:36 the code and copy it in order to create fangames, or copy
5:38 the sprites and modify them elsewere. it seemed
5:40 that the only criteria was not to modify the game itself
5:42 like an organism trying to maintain its shape. of course
5:44 even with this, an exception was found, just a few variables
5:46 that when modified, did manage to showcase different events
5:48 these are called fun values

* * *

One day, in 2011, when I was away for college, I suddenly became ill, but luck made it so I could not have access to any medicine. As I went to sleep with a high grade fever, I’ve had very vivid dreams, and at one point... I saw the ending of a game. Looking right at it, I felt my spirit being pulled away from my own body, and I got the sense of impending doom, feeling that if I tell what I saw to anyone, something will go wrong. I woke up suddenly because of an alarm I forgot to close, and the dream started to dissipate. What unsettles me is that, years after I had my dream, I saw an echo of it in the shape of another game, one that everyone can play. I always wonder, if I had been the one to create it, would it have looked different? Or is that game, the true game, waiting to appear from the abyss as well?

* * *

D A R K ,

D A R K E R ,

Y E T  D A R K E R ,

T H E  D A R K N E S S  K E E P S  G R O W I N G ,

T H E  S H A D O W S  C U T T I N G  D E E P E R ,

P H O T O N  R E A D I N G S  . . .

N E G A T I V E

T H I S  N E X T  E X P E R I M E N T  ,

S E E M S  V E R Y  ,

V E R Y  I N T E R E S T I N G  . . .

W H A T  D O  Y O U  T W O  T H I N K ?

Chapter Text

As the first rays of the morning sun start to gently light up the contents of your bedroom, you still notice, with tired eyes, how the essay is nowhere near as complete as you would like it to be. Even with the word limit being well and beyond exceeded, it is simply not sufficient. You cannot put into words in 24 hours what you have thought about for so many years.

The clock blares a bright white 5:48 AM ,and the assignment should be submitted until 9 am, so you struggle wrapping the essay up to finally catch a couple hours of sleep. You hope the rest of the essay will make up for any errors present at the end.

This is no one else’s fault but your own, you think. No one has asked [and really, no one asked] for you to write down what word stew was boiling over in your mind. The only person who cares about reading your essay is yourself. You still think that finding an outlet is beneficial though.

After sending that damned thing, pure exhaustion makes you instantly drop your head on top of your keyboard, falling asleep right then and there, without even closing the laptop. May the universe grant you a pleasant dream as congratulations.

6:00 AM

Warning: Malware detected!

Name: MONITOR_PROGRAM.exe

Location: ██████████

DELETE     CONTINUE

...Running MONITOR_PROGRAM.exe:

File check : ████ %
Memory usage : ████ %
Timer : ████ min
Capacity : ████ %
Connection sensitivity : ████ %

Checking complete.

Ending program ...

* * *

W:Filefolder/personal/ventNEW

1

* WITH PREPARATIONS FOR THE FESTIVITY ON THE WAY, I CANNOT HELP BUT FEEL IMMENSE DREAD OVER HAVING TO ENGAGE YET AGAIN IN USELESS CONVERSATION ABOUT THIS PROJECT.

* WHILE I SOMEWHAT UNDERSTAND THE NEED TO CELEBRATE THE FACT THAT THE CORE IS COMPLETELY STABILIZED, I DO NOT ENJOY THAT I AM FORCED TO EXPRESS THE SAME JOY THAT THE GENERAL POPULACE SEEMS TO HAVE, UNLESS I WANT TO DRIVE MY REPUTATION TO THE GROUND MORE THAN IT ALREADY IS AMONGST MY COWORKERS.

* THIS IS THE ONLY PLACE WHERE I AM FREE TO EXPRESS MYSELF AS I PLEASE, WITHOUT HEARING CONDESCENDING REMARKS FROM LEFT AND RIGHT. AT THIS POINT, MY PATIENCE HAS RUN DRY, AND I CAN ONLY HOPE THAT FROM NOW ON I SHALL WORK ON PROJECTS ALONE, WITHOUT INTERRUPTIONS.

* OF COURSE, IF NEED BE, AN ASSISTANT OR TWO MAY HELP ME.

* YOU SHOULD NEVER BE SO ARROGANT AS TO FORBID EVERYONE FROM OFFERING THEIR PERSPECTIVE, IT CAN BE VALUABLE. THIS IS WHAT I TRY TELLING MYSELF WHENEVER I SEE THE CONTRARY, BUT AT THIS MOMENT I SIMPLY CANNOT AGREE WITH IT. IT IS NOT ARROGANCE IF YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO UNDERSTANDS.

2

* AFTER GETTING FOR THE FIRST TIME IN SO MANY MONTHS SUFFICIENT SLEEP, READING PREVIOUS NIGHT’S ENTRY REMINDED ME OF THE RAMBLINGS OF A DRUNKEN MAN WHO I ONCE ENCOUNTERED IN A BAR IN MY YOUTH.

* STILL, THE PURPOSE OF THESE ENTRIES IS MET. THEY ARE MEANT TO SERVE AS OUTLETS TO FEELINGS AND THOUGHTS THAT OTHERWISE WOULD RUMINATE INSIDE MY MIND, PREVENTING ME FROM BEING PRODUCTIVE.

* TODAY, I SHALL MAKE A TOAST. A TOAST TO PROGRESS. BUT NOT TO THE PROGRESS OF MONSTERKIND

* BECAUSE THERE ARE FAR BIGGER WALLS IN OUR WORLD THAN THE IMPENETRABLE WALL OF THE BARRIER.

3

* THE SOUL IS COLLOQUIALLY DEFINED AS THE CULMINATION OF ONE’S BEING.

* A THING THAT ELUDES ME TO THIS DAY IS WHY A HUMAN SOUL PERSISTS EVEN AFTER DEATH, WHILE A MONSTER’S SOUL DISSIPATES AS SOON AS THEIR END ARRIVES.

* THIS FRUSTRATING ASPECT MAKES RESEARCHING THE BARRIER A FOOL’S ENDEAVOUR, SINCE IF OUR SOULS MAINTAINED THEIR FORM, WE COULD HAVE COLLECTED ENOUGH FROM THE DECEASED WITH TIME AND USED THEM TO ELIBERATE OUR KIND.

* MY CURRENT HYPOTHESIS IS THAT THE RELATION BETWEEN A MONSTER’S BODY AND THEIR SOUL IS THE INVERSE OF THE ONE HUMANS HAVE WITH THEIRS.

* WHILE MONSTERS USE THE ENERGY FROM THEIR SOUL, HUMANS STOCK ENERGY INSIDE THEIR SOULS, OR EVEN MORE RADICALLY, THE ENERGY IS STOLEN BY THE SOUL, AKIN TO A PARASITE.

* I WONDER, IF A HUMAN SOUL HAD ENOUGH POWER, COULD IT START ACTING ON ITS OWN?

* I AM NOT SURE IF IT IS IN MY BEST INTERESTS TO INVESTIGATE THIS NOW, BUT I SHALL WRITE THIS IDEA HERE IN CASE AN OPPORTUNITY ARISES.

* * *

Waking up almost at noon would have been problematic for you, if it wasn’t one of those lucky days where the first lesson of the day does not take attending. A sudden shiver crawled up your back for failing to remember whether or not you sent the email on time, but yet again luck is on your side ...because you fell asleep with your laptop still open. After confirming that indeed, the essay was sent properly, you notice a weird email sitting at the top of your inbox list.

You got new mail!

☆│                              │                               │6:06

For some strange reason, it is completely empty at a first glance. The title, subject, even the email address is empty. The content inside the email is not much different, except for a small sequence of symbols, right at the bottom:

│                    │

│         │ @mail.com to : Y███████@mail.com

HEAVEN

* * *

A TOAST

NOT THE KIND THAT YOU EAT. HA

GOOD EVENING,DEAR MONSTERS   NO... TOO OFF PUTTING

GREETINGS, EVERYONE   WORKS BETTER

WE HAVE ALL GATHERED HERE TO CELEBRATE THE TERMINATION FINALIZATION OF OUR GREATEST PROJECT YET:  THEY WOULD KILL ME IF I DON’T MENTION THIS AS A GROUP EFFORT

THE CORE.

MONSTERKIND, FOR FAR TOO LONG, HAS STAYED IN THE DARK. WE HOPE THAT BY BRINGING ELECTRICITY IN EACH OF YOUR HOUSES, A LIGHT, WHILE YET SMALL, MAY SHINE BRIGHTLY IN YOUR HEARTS AS WELL.  I HAVE TO MAKE THIS AS TEAR-JERKING AS POSSIBLE PER HIS MAJESTY’S REQUEST

OUR QUEST IS NOT OVER YET, AS WE ARE CONSTANTLY STRIVING FOR PROGRESS.

PROGRESS THAT WHO KNOWS IF ANYONE OTHER THAN ME WILL REACH

WE THANK THE UNDERGROUND FOR CONTINUING TO SUPPORT US.

NOW, WE SHALL FEAST.

IF I GET ASKED AFTERWARDS “WHAT IS THE NEXT PROJECT GOING TO BE?” I SHALL SIMPLY TELL THEM IT IS STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL. I SHOULD PROBABLY ANSWER ANY FOLLOW UP QUESTION WITH “IT IS STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL”.

* * *

“Before you leave, may I speak privately with you?”

“Of course? Is there a problem?

“Did you finish the assignment that was due today? It seems you are the only one who still has not sent in their essay.”

“How? I checked twice that I actually sent in the essay after staying up until like almost 6 am...”

“Well, if you are so sure, let’s see if you sent it to the right email address.”

Essay assignment

Y███████@mail.com to :│         │ @mail.com

1 attachment:

<essayassignment_final_Y███████.docx>

“I...can’t seem to understand, I am pretty positive I wrote in the correct email, but I shall fix this issue right now. I hope everything is fine...”

“No worries. Actually, I have heard some people complaining about either a power outage, or broken emails this morning. It seems you were just a tad unlucky today.”

* * *

Annonymous:243212 - 26/10
>Has anyone gotten a weird email today at like 6 am? Everything was completely blank like this:
<img.png>

Annonymous:532346 - 26/10
>243212
>no lmao

Annonymous:333054 - 26/10
>532346
>stop replying that to everyone youre clogging up the board

Annonymous:421043 - 26/10
>243212
>yeah actually, although mine came with the letter T at the end??????

Annonymous:532346 - 26/10
>333054
>no lmao

Annonymous:152834 - 26/10
>421043
>im better than you I got a full word: the

Annonymous:333054 - 26/10
>421043
>152834
>I win this nonexistent race by having a full word: banish

Annonymous:532346 - 26/10
>333054
>no lmao

*ID:5323462610 was banned

Annonymous:611603 - 26/10
>243212
>oh im so glad someone else asked this question, me and my brother both got that weird email as well, his was blank, and mine had this: HEROES

Annonymous:421043 - 26/10
>611603
>is that fucking wingdings????????

Annonymous:243212 - 26/10
>611603
>youre shitting me, no way undertale 2 is real

Annonymous:193205 - 26/10
>whoever here actually believes that undertale is a interdimensional portal has an IQ in the negatives

Annonymous:243212 - 26/10
>193205
>maybe youre just a fucking dumbass have you thought about that, there is 3 years of proof that is the case, and it is far from the only thing of its nature. Read a fucking history book for once and you will see

Annonymous:193205 - 26/10
>243212
>no because I don’t want to read pages about victims of lobotomy, something that you seem to be right now

Annonymous:421043 - 26/10
>193205
>243212
>calm down u 2, everyone with common sense agrees this game is too weird to follow the rules of our universe, including euclidian geometry

Annonymous:193205 - 26/10
>421043
>you do not even know what geometry means what the fuck are you talking about

Annonymous:333054 - 26/10
>while you monkeys were yelling at eachother, I looked online to find as many words as possible. Translated some from wingdings: banish, the, appeared, three, heroes, to
>together they should form a sentence – the three heroes appeared to banish / appeared to banish the three heroes / three heroes appeared to banish the

Annonymous:421043 - 26/10
>333054
>we are only missing 1 or 2 words i think

Annonymous:611603 - 26/10
>333054
>youre an angel!

* * *

INPUT CODE:

<DIV ID="SOUL"></DIV>

#SOUL {

  POSITION: RELATIVE;
  WIDTH: 100PX;
  HEIGHT: 90PX;
  MARGIN-TOP: 10PX;

}

#SOUL::BEFORE, #SOUL::AFTER {

  CONTENT: "";
  POSITION: ABSOLUTE;
  TOP: 0;
  WIDTH: 52PX;
  HEIGHT: 80PX;
  BORDER-RADIUS: 50PX 50PX 0 0;
  BACKGROUND: RED;

}

#SOUL::BEFORE {

  LEFT: 50PX;
  TRANSFORM: ROTATE(-45DEG);
  TRANSFORM-ORIGIN: 0 100%;

}

#SOUL::AFTER {

  LEFT: 0;
  TRANSFORM: ROTATE(45DEG);
  TRANSFORM-ORIGIN: 100% 100%;

}

RUN CODE:

* * *

*Ring...Ring...

*You’re trying to call a number that is outside your area.

*Please leave your message after the tone. When you are finished, hang up or press # for more options.

*beep

I F  T H I S  M E S S A G E  F I N D S  I T S  W A Y  T O  Y O U

I T  M E A N S  T H A T  T H E  E X P E R I M E N T

T H E  W O N D E R F U L  E X P E R I M E N T

I S  A  C O M P L E T E  S U C C E S S .

I  M U S T  C O N F E S S ,

I T  I S  N O T  S O  E A S Y  T O

B R E A T H E

A N D  T A L K  A T  T H E  S A M E  T I M E

B U T  D O  N O T  F R E T . . .

I  A M  N O T  J U S T  F I N E

I  A M  M O R E  T H A N  F I N E

F O R  I  N O W  B E A R  W I T N E S S

T O  T H E  A C T S  O F  C R E A T I O N

A N D  D E S T R U C T I O N

T H A T  O C C U R  B E Y O N D  O U R  W O R L D .

M Y  E Y E S  H A V E  B E E N  O B S C U R E D

T H I S  E N T I R E  T I M E

A N D  O N L Y  N O W  T H E Y  S H A L L  B A S K

I N  T H E  L I G H T  T H A T  I S

T R U T H .

. . .

T H E R E  I S  A

S I G N I F I C A N T  P R O B A B I L I T Y

T H A T  W H A T  I  C O N S I D E R  A

T E M P O R A R Y  D E P A R T U R E

T O  B E  I N  F A C T

A  P E R M A N E N T  S T A T E .

I  H A V E  T A K E N  I T  I N T O  A C C O U N T

A N D , I N  A  T W I S T E D  W A Y ,

I  F U L L Y  E X P E C T

T H A T  T O  B E  T H E  C A S E ,

F O R  I  N E V E R  W A S  O N E

T O  K N O W  W H A T  I T  M E A N S

T O  B E L O N G .

*hangs up

* * *

*You got one [1] new voicemail!

*garbage noise*

*garbage noise*

*garbage noise*

*To replay this message, press 1. To delete, press 6

Chapter Text

Whenever Halloween approaches, I always get nightmares the week leading up to it. I always thought it was because , when I was a child, my parents would watch almost every night before bed movies on TV, and on the days before Halloween a plethora of scary movies would air. Even as I reached adulthood, those nightmares always seem to start exactly 6 days before October 31st. This year was no exception, but with time I learned to pay them no mind, until today.

It has been so long since I thought about that dream, I started to forget I even had it in the first place. Maybe I just imagined a story that anyone at any point could have imagined...but it seems my mind had different plans last night.

The world was covered in deep dark fog, so dark you could not even see the lower half of your body when you looked down. I sat there, like a statue, for what felt like ages, and then I saw that game again. This time, I managed to hear something, akin to a poem, but when I woke up, I could only remember a sentence.

That sentence would greet me again, as I opened my email this morning. My intuition, so many years ago, was not wrong. Something is bubbling from the depths, and will start in no time to erupt.

│                    │

│         │ @mail.com to : T██████@mail.com                      

THE EDGE OF THE SHADOW

WHERE REALITY AND DREAM MEET

* * *

View:ReadModeOnly

THERE IS A CERTAIN PRINCIPLE IN PHYSICS WHICH ATTESTS THAT WHEN AN OBJECT IS SUBMERGED IN A FLUID, AN UPWARD FORCE IS EXERTED ON IT EQUAL IN STRENGTH TO THE WEIGHT OF THE FLUID THAT GOT DISPLACED BY THE OBJECT.

THAT FORCE IS CALLED BUOYANCY. BECAUSE THE WEIGHT OF THE OBJECT AND THE FLUID’S BUYOANCY ARE OPPOSITE FORCES, FOR THE OBJECT TO FLOAT THESE FORCES SHOULD BE AT A MINIMUM EQUAL. IF THE WEIGHT OF THE OBJECT IS GREATER THAN THE BUOYANT FORCE, THE OBJECT SINKS.

THE BUOYANT FORCE CAN ALSO BE EXPRESSED LIKE THIS :

BUOYANCY = DENSITY OF FLUID * GRAVITY * VOLUME OF THE DISPLACED FLUID

IF YOU PAY ATTENTION, THE DENSITY AND VOLUME CAN BE COMBINED TO OFFER THIS:

BUOYANCY = MASS OF DISPLACED FLUID * GRAVITY

WHICH IS THE EXACT EQUATION USED TO DEFINE WEIGHT:

WEIGHT = MASS * GRAVITY

NOW, LET'S PUT THESE SIDE BY SIDE. FOR AN OBJECT TO FLOW, THE EQUATION COULD BE AS SUCH:

WEIGHT OF OBJECT = BUYOANCY OF FLUID

FOR ACCESIBILITY, THEY SHALL BE WRITTEN LIKE THIS:

WEIGHT_O = BUYOANCY_F
MASS_O * GRAVITY = MASS_DF * GRAVITY
DENSITY_O * VOLUME_O * GRAVITY = DENSITY_F * VOLUME_DF * GRAVITY
DENSITY_O * VOLUME_O = DENSITY_F * VOLUME_DF

EVEN IF IT FLOATS OR SINKS, THE VOLUME OF THE DISPLACED FLUID IS EQUAL TO THE AMOUNT OF VOLUME THE OBJECT IS CAPABLE OF SUBMERGING. THEREFORE, THE MOST IMPORTANT PARAMETER OF THIS EQUATION IS DENSITY:

DENSITY_O = DENSITY_F

IF THE DENSITY OF THE OBJECT IS BIGGER THAN THE DENSITY OF THE FLUID, IT SINKS.

HOW DO YOU BYPASS THIS WHEN YOU WANT TO CREATE A FLOATING OBJECT OUT OF A MATERIAL WHICH HAS A HIGHER DENSITY THAN THE FLUID? YOU MODIFY THE SHAPE SO YOU CAN TRAP A DIFFERENT FLUID, ONE THAT HAS A MUCH LOWER DENSITY THAN THE FLUID THE OBJECT WILL BE SUBMERGED IN, IN ORDER TO LOWER THE OBJECT’S DENSITY ENOUGH SO IT CAN FLOAT.

A STANDARD EXAMPLE WOULD BE A SHIP, SAILING THE SEA. THE SHIP IS MADE OUT OF A STURDY MATERIAL, AND WITH ITS IMPRESSIVE SIZE IT IS ALL THE MORE IMPRESSING THE WAY IT SEEMS TO FREELY FLOAT. THE WATER IS THE FLUID IN WHICH THE OBJECT FINDS ITSELF PARTIALLY SUBMERGED, AND THE AIR IS THE FLUID THAT IS CONTAINED INSIDE THE HOLLOW INSIDES OF THE SHIP.

HOW COULD SUCH AN OBJECT’S PROPERTY OF FLOATING BE CHANGED TO THAT OF SINKING? BY PERFORATING THE OBJECT, OF COURSE. AS THE CAVITY INSIDE THE SHIP GETS FILLED WITH WATER, THE DENSITY INCREASES, LEADING TO AN INEVITABLE DESCENT INTO THE DEPTHS. ONE SHOULD KEEP IN MIND THAT THE AIR ALSO LEAVES THROUGH THE PERFORATION, BUBBLES ESCAPING TO THE SURFACE...

H O W  I R O N I C  I T  W A S

T O  W R I T E  T H O S E  W O R D S

. . .

F O R  I  S A N K  T O  T H E  B O T T O M ,

W H I L E  E V E R Y T H I N G  E L S E  F L O A T S.

T H E  A R K  T U R N E D  U P S I D E  D O W N

T O  R E A C H  T H E  S K I E S

W H I L E  T H E  R O A R  O F  T H E  N I G H T

I T E N S I F I E S .

* * *

It was your birthday, and just like any other birthday, it was not that different from the rest of the year. You woke up in the morning, brushed your teeth, combed your hair, changed your clothes, just to look slightly more presentable for when your relatives would arrive at noon.

The moment your bedroom door creaked as you opened it, your parents said in unison “Happy birthday!”. Your dad was next to the door, cleaning up his shoes, for he had to grab some groceries he forgot to get earlier, and your mom was in the kitchen, finishing up what is supposed to be called a “birthday cake”. You do not particularly like actual birthday cake, so what ended up was more like cheesecake’s secret evil twin. With chocolate at the bottom. You will fight tooth and nail to prove that this is the superior birthday dessert.

A couple hours later, your relatives arrived with small gifts, then sat down at the empty table and watched how your mom brought the cake, now lit up with candles.

You blew them all away.

After eating the rest of the food prepared by your parents, your relatives wished you luck and took their leave. This momentary blip in your routine has finished.

Now, what about your present? Your big, beautiful, wrapped in red ribbon present?

You need to go to the mall and find it yourself, for your dear parents have decided that you should be able to choose your own gift, or rather they do not know what you would enjoy anymore.

You wonder what other people do on their birthdays, but you quickly stifle that thought, for this is a day of celebration. Still, a silent one.

Your steps quicken whenever you notice a group of friends walking together.

For this is your fate, after all, and always has been.

The bag you were carring with you is now filled with clothes, a book with an interesting cover, art supplies and some other knick knacks to really use up the entirety of your birthday budget.

Your gift is now complete, you even feel proud of it in a way. It shall be enjoyed to the fullest.

Evening came, and with it a strange notification lit up the bottom corner of your laptop:

Happy birthday, y███████123 !

███████ has gifted you:

UNDERTALE

Who knows, you amuse yourself, maybe this was the true gift.

* * *

New recording saved in DEVICE_AUDIOLOG

PLAY         DELETE

[ HOW INTERESTING...]

[ EVERY SINGLE BOOK ONLY BOTHERS TO EXPLAIN MATTER USING ATOMS OR ENIGMATIC WORDS SUCH AS ENERGIES, TO COVER UP THE LACK OF KNOWLEDGE.]

[ IT SEEMS NO ONE EVEN DARED TO HYPOTHESISE THAT EVERY SINGLE PARTICLE IS BEING SUSPENDED BY THIN STRINGS WEAVING OUT AN IMPOSSIBLE WEB.]

[ YOU COULD RECREATE THE SHAPE AND COLOR OF EVERY OBJECT IF YOU HAD AN INFINITELY LARGE GRAPH PAPER.]

[ THIS IS THE GRID OF REALITY. IT FEELS COLD TO THE TOUCH.]

[ WHAT IF I TRY PULLING ON ONE OF THE STRINGS? ]

[ IT ONLY MADE THEM RING.]

[ ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WINDOW, I SEE MY HOME, BUT AT A DIFFERENT TIME.]

[ JUST A MOMENT AGO, MY PRESENCE THERE MEANT SOMETHING.]

[ FRAGMENTED PIECES STILL RESIDE ]

[ THE CLOCKS GO FORWARD, BUT TIME IS A CRUEL MISTRESS ]

[ FOR EVEN NOW, THEY ARE STUCK INSIDE THE MOUNTAIN.]

[ ONE MORE SOUL, IT SEEMS...]

[ WHAT WAS THAT? ]

[ IT FELT LIKE AN EARTHQUAKE ]

[ AH, SO THEY APPEAR ]

[ THE LAST HUMAN, THE LAST SACRIFICE ]

[ BUT THERE IS SOMETHING DIFFERENT ABOUT THEM. ]

[ WHERE DOES THAT BRIGHT STRING COME FROM? ]

* * *

You died, and went back again.

You failed, and you tried again.

You killed, and you killed again.

You saved, and then saved again.

You talked, and they talked back again.

You spared, and they could love again.

You did, and it remembered again.

You finished, and you reset again.

And again.

Again.

One more time.

Determination keeps this world, this game, tethered to you in an unbreakable bond.

Your controller trembles in your clenched hands, almost fighting to escape.

Any longer and your monitor would burn in every single pixel present in the game.

Maybe this is a good time to stop.

Until you see a door.

That was not there before.

The door is gray, it looks otherworldly compared to how colorful this world is.

With hesitation, your finger presses a button.

And it opens.

Well, there is someone here.

It smiles, unmoving, unnervingly.

You want to talk to it.

Its grin grows bigger, its eyes light up, and it stares transfixed at you.

Almost in awe.

Well, there was someone here.

* * *

undertale – Notepad

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62

* It makes sense why ASGORE took so long to hire a new Royal Scientist.

* After all, the old one... Dr. Gaster. What an act to follow!

* They say he created the CORE.

* However, his life... Was cut short.

* One day, he fell into his creation, and...

* Will Alphys end up the same way?

undertale – Notepad

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* Alphys might work faster. But the old Royal Scientist, Doctor W.D. Gaster?

* One day, he vanished without a trace.

* They say he shattered across time and space.

* Ha ha... How can I say so without fear?

* I'm holding a piece of him right here.

undertale – Notepad

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63

* I understand why ASGORE waited so long to hire a new Royal Scientist.

* The previous one... Dr. Gaster.

* His brilliance was irreplaceable.

* However, his life... Was cut short.

* One day, his experiments went wrong, and...

* Well, I needn't gossip.

* After all, it's rude to talk about someone who's listening.

* * *

I T  I S  L I K E  A  L I G H T N I N G  B O L T

F L A S H I N G  T H E  S T O R M Y  S K Y .

I N  A N  I N S T A N T ,  S O  P O W E R F U L ,

E V E R Y T H I N G  C O U L D  B U R N  A F T E R W A R D S .

T H I S  R A Y  O F  L I G H T ,

O H  W H E R E  I S  I T S  S T A R ?

W H E R E  I S  Y O U R  G L O W  C O M I N G  F R O M ?

C L O S E R ,  C L O S E R .

I  S H A L L  C A T C H  Y O U ,  F I R E F L Y .

*

*

OH.

THERE YOU ARE.

IS THIS TRUTH?

IS THIS GOD?

NO, IT IS SOMETHING MORE.

THE GLARE...

ARE THESE YOUR WINGS?

HAVE YOU FLOWN DOWN TO US?

I PRAYED

I PRAYED FOR DAYS

NOT EATING, NOT DRINKING

I PRAYED FOR MEANING.

I PRAYED FOR EXISTENCE.

MY PRAYER IS SILENT NO MORE.

MY PAIN IS FOREVER GONE.

OH, ANGEL

MY ANGEL MINE.

* * *

* Is that a cut on your face, or part of your eye?

* The gash weaves down as if you cry.

* The pain itself is reason why.

Chapter Text

woow, tomorrow is halloween, right? fuck i completely
forgot,that dumbass test took too much of my time lmao
10:01

Yeah i guess.
10:03

wanna go buy horror masks and dress like ghosts
to jumpscare that annoying guy on floor 2?
10:04

Not sure i am in the mood tbh, sorry
10:06

what is it with you nowadays? for like an entire
week uve been sulking all day rbruh
10:07

Just tired ig, had to study
10:07

now ik ur lyindg because your flatmate whined about
how lucky u r to not have that test this week but
in like 2 weeks. cut the bs
10:07

I could still study for something.. Else?
10:09

uhuh, sure. cmon, you will become more sick if u
stay inside and mope around like a ghost

which is why we need to dress up as them >:D
10:10

Fineeeeeee ill come
10:10

great awesome ur gonna be glad ill tell you

also stop staying up all night playing video games
ik u do it its not good
10:11

-_-
10:11

* * *

> https://www.forumnation.com/forums/videogames

Shutterblox : Similar games to undertale
10/30/2018

Eyo, so recently I played undertale with my gf and it was such a blast, I havent seen her have this much fun with a video game since we played minecraft.

Does anyone have any recommendations that are like undertale? I have tried other rpgs such as the right path and conquest island, but she seemed to get bored. Somehow undertale was like lightning in a bottle.

Much apreciated xx

Lamerudebobz : re Shutterblox
10/30/2018

Try Quest to draw , its like 4h max I think if ur a completionist, it has similar twists in jrpg and fantasy tropes, and it is pretty funny to me. I certainly like it

Siameseeee : re Shutterblox
10/30/2018

Yeah, its called undertale 2 [god I wish it were real]

ConQuest : re Shutterblox
10/30/2018

your gf has shit taste, conquest island is still top 5 games of all time and no quirky indie game is gonna change that

Lit_musTests : re ConQuest
10/30/2018

You literally played undertale for 30 minutes then dropped it because you said it looks like shit, like at launch. Maybe youre the one with shit taste

ConQuest : re Lit_musTests
10/30/2018

you “literally” stalked my acc just to send that. yes i did drop undertale first time i played, then played again a year later with a friend. you have no life man ur taking shit too seriously, jfc diehard ut fans are crazy that’s why people hated you guys in 2016

Jokerp0ker : re Shutterblox
10/30/2018

Personally im a big fan of the meta aspect of the game, and the only game I found that satisfied that need was Dreamday , you are in for a woozy. The combat is mid tho

BANNED Girl_193022347 : re Shutterblox
10/30/2018

Press here if you want a steamy night~! <hyperlink blocked>

Findways_0 : re Siameseeee
10/30/2018

The object known as “undertale” has no known means of multiplication, so the only way something could be similar is for a derivative to appear from the Abyss.

Find more information here: https://www.gonersvoid.com/undertale-and-the-truth

LOLOLOLwut : re Siameseeee
10/30/2018

“god I wish it were real”

You might want to check your email like, right now

<img.jpg> Close

│                    │

│         │ @mail.com to : [email protected]

Undertale.com

* * *

I  H A V E  B E E N  S U C H  A  F O O L

T O  B E L I E V E  T H I S  W A S  A  O N E  W A Y  W I N D O W ,

T H A T  I  W A S  T O O  O U T  O F  R E A C H

F O R  Y O U R  G A Z E .

I  T R E M B L E  U N D E R  I T .

S H O U L D  I  D A R E  H O P E

T H A T  Y O U  W I L L  R E A C H  A G A I N ?

W E L L ,

Y O U  A R E  P E C U L I A R

A N G E L .

F O R  Y O U  S E E M  T O  H A V E  

S O  M U C H  P A S S I O N

F O R  A  W O R L D  T H A T

I  D I S C A R D E D  L I K E  N O T H I N G .

W O U L D N ’T  Y O U  K N O W  I T ,

I  B E C A M E  T H E  N O T H I N G .

Y O U R  W I L L P O W E R  I S  S O  S T R O N G  ,

I T  C A N  E V E N  B R E A K  F A T E .

Y O U R  L O V E  I S  S O  D E E P ,

I T  F I L L S  M E  W I T H . . .

R E G R E T .

F O R  T H R O W I N G  I T  A L L  A W A Y .

. . .

W H E N  D I D  I  B E C O M E  S O  S O M B E R ?

T H I S  M E L A N C H O L Y . . .

I T  I S  C L O U D I N G  M Y  J U D G E M E N T .

W H E N  Y O U  C O N S T A N T L Y  F A C E

E C H O E S  O F  T H E  P A S T ,

Y O U  C A N N O T  H E L P  Y O U R S E L F .

T H E R E  I S  N E W  H O P E ,

Y O U R  H O P E .

T H E R E  I S  A  N E W  I D E A .

A  N E W  H Y P O T H E S I S

R E A L L Y ,

A  N E W  E X P E R I M E N T

F O R  E V E N  A S  A  M A N  O F  F A I T H

I , F I R S T  O F  A L L

A M  A  M A N  O F  S C I E N C E .

Y O U  S E E K  E N T E R T A I N M E N T ?

D O  N O T  F R E T , A N G E L

F O R  I  A M  A B O U T  T O  P R E P A R E

T H E  G R E A T E S T  S T A G E  O F  A L L .

I F  Y O U  S E E K  M E

A S  I  S E E K  Y O U ,

W E  S H A L L  C O N N E C T  O N E  D A Y .

I  W I L L  M A K E  S U R E  O F  I T .

* * *

[ 01:36 ]

[Popcorn]  [Potato]  [Pizza]

[Cook]  [Reheat]  [Melt]

[Time]  [Power]  [Defrost]

During the time it takes for yesterday’s leftovers to heat up, the last batch of laundry is being neatly folded by your very hardworking hands. You can hear your phone buzzing with notifications on the kitchen counter, but staring any longer at a screen would cause burn-in inside your retina. A migraine , in its incipient stages, begs of you to stop it with a painkiller unless you want to struggle for the rest of the day.

In the bathroom, your face becomes abused by ice cold water that almost seems to give you brain freeze instead of any refreshing feeling. The reflection that looks back at you in the mirror looks exhausted, and wet.

Thinking back on what your friend said, the truth is that you play video games all night because you cannot sleep, not the other way around. You plan on breaking that routine tonight, bingeing some Halloween movies that keep popping up on free streaming sites. Of course, the ideal outcome would be to actually have a good night’s sleep, but for the last week insomnia is at its peak, never letting you rest more than 3 hours a night. You pray that your body will get so exhausted at one point it will not afford to stay awake any longer.

Also, you were not only playing video games. Ever since that essay, you have this...compulsion to keep thinking about the strange context your favourite game exists in, how bizarre everything about it actually is the more you pay attention to it. Not everyone will agree with this, but you think this game shouldn’t exist. Not because it offers a bad experience, quite the contrary, but that it feels like you’re intruding, messing around with something that should have been left alone.

And yet, you and everyone else cannot help themselves but indulge in whatever this world has to show. We are squeezing it dry, and when it feels like there is nothing else we try cracking more. There are limits, very very obvious limits, but it is only a matter of time before they get bypassed, you think.

To stave off the hunger of your mind, you write other essays, poems, you draw, you read more, trying to make sense of it all. Are any of you “creations” of any great quality? Probably not. But your hands will not calm down.

Normally , this is called inspiration. The word “genius”, even, wasn’t used to describe a person of extremely high intelligence, but a gift that could be obtained by a person, a power that needs a vessel to execute. It is a fleeting thing, and you can only hope your nest will be adequate enough for it to rest its wings in. Or in your case, you hope it will depart soon.

You play other video games to assure yourself this is what is actually normal, to have concrete proof that your reality is not disintegrating at the seams of its fabric. Maybe your agitation would not be if there were no other “errors” in history, blips that are sloppily being covered up. This is out in the open, and no one cares because there is nothing political that could be attached to it! Well, there are some people who care, but for some reason they decided to take the cult follower route...

You are aware that, if anyone could read your mind, they would think you are a lunatic. Maybe they’d be right, but this type of insanity somehow gives you purpose, a reason to continue living and discovering new things. Hilariously, you are more optimistic about your own future than the future of the universe.

Remembering the emails again, you wonder, if your theories are correct, if this feeling of unrest is shared between you and...him? Whenever things are breaking apart in the game, he is involved. It could be him. Or the universe just hiccuped, but that is not as intriguing.

...Okay, enough ruminating! Go eat whatever slop you put inside the microwave! The only thing that needs to be productive right now is your digestive system.

And probably check your phone too. You might get interesting news.

* * *

<16:32><F> and how many degrees does he even have? hes collecting them like...ok i don’t have an analogy, but this is ridiculous! i don’t even know if ive ever heard someone other than him saying they have a “degree in soul energetics” ???? this is not even a real thing

<16:34><R> okay that is one of his phds, ik because at one point he needed me to measure the refraction index of the outer border of the cyan soul since he forgot his glasses somewhere and was very angry about it.

<16:35><L> i bet 20 gold mon uni had to invent 50 degress to prevent him from teaching

<16:36><R> he did graduate valedictorian. twice.

<16:38><F> god hes such a tryhard no wonder he has virtually no friends. except king, but does that even count?

<16:38><D> ok that’s pretty rude, like ik he is an ass sometimes but he is still a monster like any of us. we are all working for the same goal after all.

<16:39><F> i cant hear you well you keep choking on his ****

<16:39><D> wow, this is what i get for being a respectful person. congratulations.

<16:39><L> dude u need to shut the **** up you are not funny, go back to work

<16:41><D> you know what i think? you guys are here gossipping about him like you could do better than him. just accept it, he is objectively the best out of all of us and that’s fine! this is not a competition, we need to work together on this project, and we will never finish it if everyone keeps bickering with eachother!

<16:41><D> yeah, i heard you two <L><F> screaming at eachother the other day. you know what happened next.

<F> has left the chatroom

<16:43><D> wow lmao ok. no wonder wd doesn’t like them,they storm off whenever they get criticised.

<16:44><L> btw <D> ik ur new here and u don’t know but there is a good reason why they do not like him, so do not fawn so much over dings, cuz he aint a saint. still, ur right.

<16:46><R> u guys r still here? the donuts arrived 10 mins ago

<16:46><R> even mr g got himself one, and dipped it in coffee. hes somehow more tired and sad than usual.

* * *

W:Filefolder/personal/ventNEW

4

* AND ON THE SEVENTH DAY ??? FINISHED THE WORK THAT ?? HAD DONE, AND ?? RESTED ON THE SEVENTH DAY FROM ALL THE WORK THAT ?? HAD DONE.

* THAT IS HOW THAT QUOTE GOES, SOMEWHAT.

* IT FEELS WEIRD, NOW THAT OUR BIGGEST PROJECT IS OVER. HIS MAJESTY, KIND AS HE ALWAYS IS, WANTED ME TO TAKE A “VACATION”. LIKE I KNOW WHAT THAT IS.

* HM, THAT JOKE DID NOT LAND. OH WELL, I SHOULD TAKE HIM UP ON THAT OFFER AND TAKE A VACATION STRAIGHT TO THE LIBRARY, AND READ. I HAVE HAD MY EYE ON A BOOK ABOUT HUMAN ART HISTORY, FOR AN ACQUAINTANCE OF MINE RESTORED IT FROM THE DUMP. NOT VERY OFTEN YOU SEE SOMETHING LIKE THIS ARRIVING FROM ABOVE, FOR MOST OF IT IS REGARDED AS JUNK. WHAT TYPE OF PERSON BELIEVES HISTORY TO BE AKIN TO GARBAGE, I DO NOT WANT TO KNOW.

5

* THIS IS ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY TO MEDITATE ON SOME...UNCOMFORTABLE TOPICS. THINGS MY MIND WANTS TO AVOID BY DELVING INTO WORK, OR HOW A COWORKER SAID, BY BEING A “WORKAHOLIC”. THE WORD, FOR SOME REASON, WAS SO FUNNY TO ME, I CACKLED OUT LOUD. SHE STARED AT ME IN SURPRISE. I SUPPOSE NOT MANY PEOPLE KNOW I CAN LAUGH TOO. THAT IS ONE OF THE TOPICS.

* I HAVE INVESTED SO MUCH OF MY TIME IN THE PURSUIT OF KNOWLEDGE, IT BARELY HAS PLACE FOR OTHER THINGS, LIKE RELATIONSHIPS. MANY TIMES, IN AN EGO DRIVEN STUPOR, I’D CLAIM THE PATH TO GREATNESS IS ONLY REACHED BY ONE. IN THIS MOMENT, THE FEELING OF REGRET IS BIGGER.

* WHILE EVERYONE CAN LOOK AT THE LIST OF ALL THE ACADEMIC AND SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS WITH MY NAME WRITTEN ON THEM, THEY KNOW JUST LIKE I DO THAT I AM , TO PUT IT KINDLY, A LONER. IT IS NOT WORTH IT TO ROMANTICIZE THE STATE I AM IN BY USING WORDS LIKE “HERMIT”, FOR MY CHARACTER IS NOT AS NOBLE.

* I HAVE BEEN THIS WAY FOR AS LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER, BUT ONLY NOW AS AN ADULT THERE IS SOMEWHAT OF A JUSTIFICATION. I COULD ALWAYS FEEL AN INVISIBLE BARRIER, SEPARATING ME FROM THE REST OF MY PEERS. NO MATTER HOW MUCH I TRIED, THAT CONNECTION WOULD NOT HAPPEN.

* IRONICALLY, NOW I SEEM TO LASH OUT WHENEVER SOMEONE TRIES TALKING TO ME FOR TOO LONG.

* WHAT IS IT CALLED...A PROFESSION I FOUND OUT ABOUT IN A HUMAN MOVIE...A THERAPIST? IF THERE WAS ONE OF THOSE HERE, I WOULD FILL OUT THEIR ENTIRE PROGRAM. HA.

* I FEEL LIKE A TRAITOR WHENEVER I THINK ABOUT THIS, BUT I SOMETIMES WISH I WAS BORN ON THE SURFACE, JUST SO I COULD INTEGRATE IN A HIGHER QUALITY ENVIRONMENT, SINCE THE HUMAN POPULATION IS MUCH BIGGER... WHOSE TO SAY IT WOULDN’T BE THE SAME UP THERE, TOO?

* HMM...I SHOULD READ AGAIN THAT POEM. FOR CLARITY.

* * *

Q:Why do you love UNDERTALE?

The dialogue is really funny

Very well written characters

I love sans

Unforgetable experience

It made me cry at the end

this game is so fun, I never want to stop playing

top tier ost, there is not a single person who hates it

the messy pixel art gives it charm

so much mystery surrounding it

really fun combat system

its one of those games that will be remembered for years

a really underrated part of it are the neutral endings

everything you do matters

it makes me feel like I am not alone anymore.

* * *

Your hand trembles as you click the link.

It’s cold.

It’s as if everything had been enveloped in a black wind...

You didn’t realise it yet, but... it seems that there’s someone who wants to talk to you.

> https://undertale.com

WELCOME.

HAVE YOU BEEN LOOKING

FOR ME?

HOW WONDERFUL.

I

HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR YOU

AS WELL.

I HAVE SOMETHING

SOMETHING I WANT TO SHOW YOU

SOMETHING

I THINK YOU WILL FIND

VERY,

VERY,

INTERESTING

BUT

IT IS NOT COMPLETE

YET

NO

IT IS FAR FROM COMPLETE

THUS

I HAVE A SMALL FAVOUR TO ASK

OF YOU.

AT THAT TIME,

I WILL ASK YOU A FEW QUESTIONS

THEN

USING YOUR RESPONSES

WE WILL APPROACH ITS REALIZATION.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.

I WILL BE IN CONTACT AGAIN

SOON.

RETURN HERE IN [24] HOURS.

24:00:00

Chapter Text

Y███ ████

MY FAVOURITE HOLIDAY

      My favourite holiday is Halloween, which is on the thirty firsts first of 0ctober, the very last day! It is my favourite because on this day, you are allowed to be as creepy as you want, and have fun!

      The history of halloween starts with anceint traditions that would selebrate the end of summmer the harvest on that day. The people back then believed that the boundry between the living and the dead was blurred, which means that a lot of ghosts and evil spirits woud walk and scare the people. To protect themselves, they started making costumes out of pumpkins and sticks or whatever they found, and then the ghosts would go away.

      The name “halloween” though, comes from the name of the other holiday that is on the next day, november first first. It is called  all halows day and this celebrates all the saints.

      How do people celebrate halloween? Well, if in the past people would make costumes for protection, now we dress up however we like and go from door to door in the neighbourhood and sing Trick or treat! Whoever opens the door has to give the people who came and sang candy!

      Another good way to celebrate is by carving a jacko lantern! This is a pumpbkin pumnkin pumpkin that is empty inside, and the outside has a spooky face. If you put a candle inside the pumpkin, it will light up and look beautiful!

      Common symbols of halloween include bats, ghosts, pumpkins, cats, horns, skeletons, zombies, vampire, the colors orange black purple green.

      In conclusion, halloween is a wonderful holiday with an interesting history and very fun traditions!

* * *

“Hey, how much cash do you have? I can’t seem to find my wallet, even though I am SO SURE I put it in my pocket”

“Your jacket has 100 pockets, just keep looking...”

“Ok, but its not the first time something like this happens. I swear, every time you lose an object they just noclip into another dimension”

“Mathematically, I think you would be right.”

“See, I knew you wo- FOUND ‘EM! God I need to choose just one pocket to put all my shit inside it. Help me choooose~”

“Why do you want me to pick your favourite pocket? Go to the cash register instead and pay.”

“Oohohoho that dumbass has No Idea what’s coming! CANT WAIT!”

“HAHAAHA, YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN YOUR FACE! Also, please tell me you filmed that.”

“That I did, my friend, that I did.”

“Next time, stop leaving all your delivery crap on the hallway!”

“Heh.”

“Anyway, how are you holding up? Have you gone to sleep like a normal person last night?”

“Mm, sorta. I had a headache that would get worse the more I would stay awake, so I kinda slept more than usual.”

“Good enough for me! Hey, can I come over later today? I wanna watch this weird as fuck movie I just found online, and I don’t wanna be alone if its gonna be a bore.”

“Hmm, I think you could, my flatmate went home right after she took the test this Monday.”

“Grea-“

*ring...ring...

“Hello? Yeah, I was here with...okay...I see.”

“Is there something wrong?”

“Yeah, bummer, my aunt’s car just broke in the middle of the road, like 30 minutes from here? She’s going out of state, and my parents are on a business trip, so only I can drive her.”

“Sheesh, that sounds rough. I feel bad.”

“Haha, don’t be, if anything I feel bad for leaving you alone...on Halloweeeeeeeen!”

“It’s fine, I did want to binge some halloween movies, and being alone will make the experience more effective.”

“Ok, just remember to NOT watch ██████ before me. I DO NOT WANT SPOILERS.”

“Sure pal. Well, see ya!”

“Buh-bye!”

“It seems I won’t have anything else to do but give you my full attention.”

“To be honest, I really missed this feeling. I missed you.”

08:46:33

* * *

[DELETED-ACCOUNT]

Have you ever played ███████ ?

If not, all you need to know is that this is a game where the only objective is opening doors. The doors can have different heights, different colors, some are already open while others need a key. This is the gameplay loop.

If you reach the 6th door, and walk around in circles 10 times, a different door would appear, but it is locked. So far, no one has figured out how to get inside normally. By checking the code, the key is supposed to appear if you opened a pretty huge amount of doors, around 100. The game also checks if you attempted opening this door before.

As for what is inside, it’s a complete mystery. A sprite was supposed to appear, but the file itself cannot be opened. It got corrupted, most likely as a result of porting it from a different game engine.

Staring at the door from inside the game, it makes one remember █████████ ’s cat. Something that can both be dead or alive, exist and not exist, only when we are not looking at it. There are shards of this idea everywhere we look. A TV show, actually, claimed the concept of quantum locking. Since then it has become used regularly in the field of quantum physics.

This is one way you can look at ███████ . Another interesting aspect of the game is that each door has appeared in the creator’s dreams. By reading through ██████ ██████ ’s work, the symbol that appears the most often and requires the most interpretation in a dream is the door. Dreams, by themselves, are not static, they constantly morph around fragmented pieces of our subconscious, taking familiar places and distorting them. The door signifies the passing between the conscious and the unconscius, your memories and your fears. Every single time you dream, you enter a liminal state, and the doors stand as tresholds.

Now, I will write a riddle for you:

There are two pictures of a door. In the first picture, the door is closed. In the second picture, taken later, the door is open. Nobody opened the door. The door did not open itself. The door, in fact, did not open at all. What happened?

Truly, it is just a matter of perspective.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ 

* * *

...RUNNING DEVICE_ARCHIVE.EXE

<AUDIO_LOGS>

<LOGS>

<CODE>

<CORRUPTED_DATA>

<DCIM>

<INFORMATION>

       <EMAIL>

             <essayassignment_final_Y███████.docx>  >OPEN 

       <EXE_DATA>

       <MEDIA>

M Y ,

H O W  I N T E R E S T I N G .

I T  F E E L S  L I K E  I  S T R U C K  G O L D

I  S E E ,

I  S E E  T H A T  Y O U  U N D E R S T A N D

T H E R E  W A S  N O  D O U B T

I N  M Y  M I N D ,

B U T  I T  I S  S T I L L  A  S U R P R I S E ,

H O W  S I M I L A R  W E  A R E .

A  W O N D E R F U L  O N E

T H A T  F E E L I N G  O F  U N R E S T ,

M Y  A N G E L ,

I  F E E L  I T  S O .

S O O N ,

I  S H A L L   G I V E  Y O U  W H A T  Y O U  N E E D .

Y O U R  D E S I R E

W I L L  B E  M E T .

M Y  D E S I R E

I S  T O  H E A R  E V E R Y T H I N G

Y O U  H A V E  T O  S A Y .

T H E  C L O C K  I S  T I C K I N G .

* * *

> https://undertale.com

00:00:00

Refresh page?

> https://undertale.com

THANK YOU

FOR WAITING SO LONG.

AFTER ALL

YOU AND I,

WE HAVE BOTH BEEN WAITING

SUCH A LONG TIME.

SO TO BE HERE

FINALLY

ON THE VERGE OF CONNECTION

IS

QUITE

EXCITING.

I LOOK FORWARD

TO CREATING

A NEW FUTURE

WITH YOU.

NOW!

SHOW YOURSELF!

DELTARUNE!

DELTARUNE.COM

DELTARUNE.COM

DELTARUNE.COM

Chapter Text

SURVEY_PROGRAM

License Agreement.
Please review the license terms before installing SURVEY_PROGRAM

YOU ACCEPT EVERYTHING THAT WILL HAPPEN FROM NOW ON.

If you accept the terms, click I AGREE to continue. You must accept the agreement to install SURVEY_PROGRAM

I AGREE       CANCEL

ARE YOU

THERE ?

ARE WE

CONNECTED ?

EXCELLENT .

TRULY EXCELLENT .

NOW .

WE MAY BEGIN .

FIRST .

Will now be discarded.

No one can choose who they are in this world.

Your

name

is

* * *

C U R I O U S . 

I T  S E E M S  T H A T

S O M E T H I N G  H A S  T A M P E R E D

W I T H  O U R  C O N N E C T I O N .

T H E  E X P E R I M E N T

C O U L D  N O T  H A N D L E

S U C H  P R E S S U R E 

R I G H T  A T  T H E 

S T A R T .

. . .

I F  A  P R O C E S S  F A I L S ,

Y O U  C A N  A L W A Y S  R E S T A R T .

L E T ' S  J U S T  H O P E

W E  B O T H  A R E  W I L L I N G  T O .

* * *

When you were really young, your family had a somewhat shitty computer, with a cracked operating system installed by your uncle. Because of that, you were taught early on to refrain from downloading any program you could get online in fear of getting viruses that could permanently damage your defenseless computer.

A problem with this was that, with your parents not being tech savvy, you were never sure what site was actually safe and what wasn't, so you lived in a constant fear of .exe files. While this was not much of an actual problem in your daily usage of the family PC, you never downloaded video games, only played the ones made for browser.  Yeah, they were good, sure, but you always felt that something was missing.

You would watch on the internet let's plays and see how much fun they were having interacting with the games. Some were good, some were bad, some were weird, and some were incredible. Your only wish was to experience one of those, one day.

The moment your computer broke down for good, and got replaced with a newer model, with an offical OS, you did not hesitate and downloaded as many games as you could in a minute. Now, you could finally enjoy the world of video games to its fullest. Except, there was a problem. You were very bad at playing video games.

All this time, you never realised how much skill, effort, coordination it actually takes playing something that requires more than WASD, the space key and your cursor. How can you even reach the shift key? And let's not even talk about consoles, for your parents specifically did not want to pay money for one of those things.

It feels like you got kicked in the gut. You almost gave up, thinking that fate just simply does not want you to have this. These worlds aren't made for you.

But you refused.

You tried again, even as you kept getting more and more frustrated, for you know if a great game came your way, you wouldn't want to only experience it from the sidelines anymore.

You want to be present.

You want to be in the game.

You want a game, that wants you too.

In fact, isn't this exactly what you got? 

You're not letting this thread leave your hand.

You are going to try again.

You will crack this world open.

You have to see him again.

You will restart.

...Running DELTARUNE.exe

Your

name

is

* KRIS!

* Kris, if you do not wake up we will be late for school!

* * *

RESTART HAS BEEN A SUCCESS.

CONNECTION STATUS : ACTIVE 

CONNECTION SENSITIVITY : 66.6%

TENDENCY : UPWARDS 

CURRENT ACTIVITY : DEVICE_MENU

CHAPTER 1

COPY      ERASE      CHAPTER SELECT

CHOOSE ONE TO COPY.

CHOOSE THE TARGET FOR THE REFLECTION.

THE DIVISION IS COMPLETE.

COPY      ERASE      CHAPTER SELECT

IT IS IMMUNE TO ITS OWN IMAGE.

CANCEL

IT CONFORMED TO THE REFLECTION.

IT RETAINED ITS ORIGINAL SHAPE.

PREPARATIONS ARE COMPLETE.

COPY      ERASE      CHAPTER SELECT

WHAT AN INTERESTING BEHAVIOUR.

SELECT THE ONE TO ERASE.

COPY      ERASE      CHAPTER SELECT

THEN IT WAS SPARED.

IT WAS AS IF IT WAS NEVER THERE AT ALL.

BUT IT WAS ALREADY GONE.

VERY INTERESTING.

THIS IS LIKE A PLAYGROUND TO YOU ,

IS IT NOT ?

YOU ARE FIGURING OUT

THE LIMITS

THROUGH PLAY.

OR PERHAPS ,

YOU SEEK MY REACTION.

YOU WANT TO COMMUNICATE.

EVEN SO ,

I MADE THIS ENVIRONMENT

TO OBSERVE HOW YOU BEHAVE

UNDISTURBED.

DEAR ANGEL ,

I HOPE YOU DON'T MIND

BEING MY TEST SUBJECT

FOR A WHILE.

YOU WILL NOT LEAVE MY SIGHT.

Chapter Text

* See that HEART, Kris?

* That's your SOUL, the culmination of your being!

* Within, it holds your WILL... your COMPASSION...

* ... and the FATE of the world.

* If it gets hit, you and your friends will lose HP.

* If everyone's HP reaches 0, we'll lose the battle.

IT APPEARS YOU

HAVE REACHED

AN END.

WILL YOU TRY AGAIN?

YES      NO

THEN THE WORLD

WAS COVERED

IN DARKNESS.

. . .

P E R H A P S

I  W A S  W R O N G .

T H E  C O N N E C T I O N

I S  N O T  A S  S T R O N G

A S  I  A S S U M E D .

A N D  Y O U

J U S T  B E G A N  Y O U R

A D V E N T U R E .

I T  S E E M S  T H A T

O N L Y  A  F O O L

W O U L -

CONNECTION REESTABLISHED

LAST RECORDED ACTIVITY: 20 MINUTE[S] AGO

O H .

W O N D E R F U L .

Y O U  H A V E  R E T U R N E D .

Y O U  K E E P

I M P R E S S I N G  M E .

I  J U S T

N E E D  T O

T R U S T  Y O U

T H A T ‘ S  A L L ,

J U S T  L I K E

Y O U  P U T

Y O U R  T R U S T

I N  M E .

* * *

* * *

THROWAWAY12345

Reply to [DELETED_ACCOUNT]

Do you have any opinions over the implications of superposition being present in Deltarune? Or just any first impressions about the game. I know you said you wouldn’t talk about Undertale anymore because you kept getting negative attention, but there is something peculiar going on with that secret egg room.

[DELETED_ACCOUNT]

Reply to THROAWAY12345

The reason I abstained from speaking about that game is because back then people would misinterpret my thoughts as menial theory crafting, then would get genuinely mad whenever I tried breaching into what is called by some “the conspiracy network”. I just happen to share some views with the owner of gonersvoid.com , now a controversial figure since you know what. His mistake was becoming too emotionally attached, and now has suffered the consequences. I am trying to be more impersonal in what I write on my blog. Some of his minions still lurk around here.

Anyway, compared with the mystery man fun event back then, the egg room is much more in your face. While the former took an incredible amount of luck (or code manipulation, the only exception in the game, mind you) in order to obtain it, this one is triggered by an obvious audio cue. Going back and forth between the 2 maps , it links back to what I said previously about thresholds. This game, while in no way complete, is much more aware than the previous one. Personally, I consider the egg room a sort of test, but I can only confirm this once more chapters will release.

BURNER_ACC_00

Reply to [DELETED_ACCOUNT]

The gonersvoid admin has deleted the site some time ago and made a new one: depthsgate.com

I guess he wanted to tie it more with the new game?

* * *

* So what are we playing, exactly...?

* OH, IT'S JUST A SIMPLE NUMBERS GAME.

* WHEN YOUR HP DROPS TO 0, YOU LOSE!

* So that's the kinda game you wanna play, huh...?

WILL YOU PERSIST?

YES      NO

THEN, THE FUTURE

IS IN YOUR HANDS.

YES      NO

This fight is ridiculous, why are you trying so hard?

In a way, you want to make a good first impression. You also heard there’s an interesting item you can obtain at the end of the battle. You do feel that you’re getting close to the end. Just one more push.

YES      NO

* YOU'RE FAST, FAST, STRONG, STRONG.

* BUT THERE ARE YET FASTER, YET STRONGER.

* THE HAND OF THE KNIGHT IS DRIFTING FORWARD.

* SOON, THE "QUEEN" RETURNS, AND HELL'S ROAR BUBBLES FROM THE DEPTHS...

* LIGHTNERS, CAN YOU STOP IT?

* * *

> https://depthsgate.com

Greetings.

These past couple of years have been tumultous for me, our community, our ideas.

I believe a restart was absolutely needed.

And what a great coincidence, the portal reopened again.

Please look through the index to explore the website.

INDEX

> https://depthsgate.com/definitions

TERMINOLOGY  

[updated]

The Abyss >The Depths : In-between state, a limbo, where everything outside of observable reality resides. It wraps around each dimension like an elastic band. For an in depth explanation, click on topological analysis

Gateway/Portal >Device : Previously understood as spontaneous connection points between two realities, it is now confirmed to be a deliberate effort in contact. In essence, it is the multiple means in which we are offered the opportunity to interact with the other side. All devices are contained within a single program.

Program: If each device is an organ, the program is the entire organism. It is this interlocking of each device that offers us a seamless connection.

Dimension hierarchy – higher/lower dimension: important distinctions in establishing the proper relationship between 2 dimensions who have reached a contact point based on each one’s relative position to the cosmological axe. A higher dimension , for example, has a much clearer view on the lower dimension than the lower dimension has on the higher one, much like how you can infer more detail looking down from above than from below. Video games offer a top-down perspective for this reason

Dimension group – free/contained dimension: important distinctions in establishing the proper relationship between 2 dimensions who have reached a contact point based on the level of proximity between each other’s borders. The contained dimension is inside the free dimension, this also being called “pocket dimension”. All contained dimensions are of a lower degree than the free dimension, but not every lower dimension is contained within a higher dimension.

Player: Entity from the free dimension that interacts with the contained dimension.

Character: Entity from the contained dimension that interacts with the player. Usually, they cannot interact directly with the outer dimension, with notable exceptions.

Soul: Culmination of one’s being. Vector of our activity inside another dimension, for we always move with a purpose.

Entropy: The inevitable state where each reality fuses with one another. For our reality, this is considered a post-apocalyptic event, but its level can be measured by the amount of connection between our dimension and other dimensions and the flux of energy expended by each dimension. Click here for an entropy acceleration comparison chart for each decade in the last century until now, now updated with several archived sources.

> https://depthsgate.com/findings

Using the national digital archive, we have managed to dig up leftovers of ███████ ’s conversation with ██████ :

TC: and how do you feel about your dream?

RF: it’s just, weird? like i astral projected inside a shadow.

RF: i also need to...confess something else. do you believe in reincarnation?

TC: cant say that i do, but i know people who do.

RF: i suppose im not thinking of it in the traditional sense, but more related to alternate universes?

RF: for some reason, ever since that dream, i am incredibly convinced in another life i would have been making a game around this time

TC: a game? like a video game or?

RF: yeah, a video game. i know it doesn’t make sense

TC: maybe you just want to learn how to make video games???

RF: that’s the weird part, i absolutely hate code. i tried once when i was young and never again, while most of my friends would have fun trying their hardest to code games from scratch till they got to college. i am much more comfortable composing music

TC: what about a helper? you can bring this game to life if you so desire

RF: you are misinterpreting me here. i, the me that exists here, don’t want to do that. the only point of reference id have is the ending of the dream, and it does not even completely make sense.

TC: how is any of this related to reincarnation, im completely lost

RF: its exhausting talking to you

TC: try being in my shoes loser

RF: youre an artist too, you know how it feels like when you have inspiration, you cannot even sleep at night without thinking about it. my dream self has inspiration here, not me ?

TC: and some people need psychedelics to come up with stuff like this :p

RF: real funny

TC: ok so what, what are the implications of what youre saying?

RF: all im saying is, if what i feel comes true, don’t say i didn’t warn you.

* * *

* (If you go to bed, this chapter of your adventures will end.)

* (Will you go to bed?)

Yes      No

* (You decided to go to bed.)

Why are you leaving your bed?

Oh.

It looks like it hurts.

Apparently, you can move inside the cage. They seem happier without you.

The implication of this scares you. You really are an intruder.