#i love this hc more than anythingggg god. so galaxy brain

[everysongineverykey]

okay! time for a blind wd gaster headcanon masterpost! SO!

-most skeleton monsters have functional eyelights that allow them to see, but gaster was born (or yknow. the skeleton equivalent of "born") with nonfunctional ones that don't perceive even light

-they're invisible (or "off") most of the time, and only ever appear briefly when he's shocked or greatly surprised. they flicker on and off for a second, but they usually turn back off pretty quickly.

-this is why his eyelights only come on in the mystery man room when frisk goes right up to him and touches him- he didn't hear them come in, and their sudden gentle inquisitive pull on his robe is quite a shock.

-gaster, being a genius, could absolutely invest in or just build some bionic eyelights for himself, but he doesn't bother- never really has the time, and besides, he doesn't really care. he technically doesn't need to wear safety goggles in his lab (he's the only one who doesn't, obviously) but he often does anyway around new recruits, just to set an example.

-he created sans and papyrus through vague fantasy science stuff. they both have functioning eyelights, but papyrus' still aren't visible due to his genetics- he and sans are technically gaster's clones, but they're his sons in every way that matters!

-he has the ability to summon extra hands- as many as he likes. this gives him a much easier time feeling his way around the world. this ability of his is much stronger than it probably would be if he were sighted, since he's had to hone it for his entire life. the holes in his hands are also simply a genetic peculiarity, with him since birth. for as long as he can remember, he has almost never walked into a wall or anything like that.

-his sense of hearing is, of course, extremely adept, even though he doesn't have ears. he can tell who's approaching him by the sound of their footsteps. it also helps that his friends all wear different types of shoes (sans- soft quiet slippers, papyrus- probably mostly tennis shoes at that age, asgore- barefoot, etc)! he knows sans by his slow, soft pattering, papyrus by his scurrying from place to place (plus usually his voice and the small skeleton crashing into gaster with a hug), his young lab assistant alphys by the swishing of her tail on the floor, and asgore by the distinctive clicking of a trident on the ground in time with his steps.

-if he wants to read something, he has a few options- he either asks someone else (often his kids) to read it out loud for him, or he inputs the words into a computer and uses a screen-reader. or, of course, if it's in the monster version of braille, he just reads it. i think human braille texts often find their way into the underground through waterfall, but naturally they're indecipherable to blind monsters, since they were developed by humans using a separate system. all the same, he has spent some time studying their version, to understand the species better. of course, he has more than a few comical misunderstandings about the human race.

-his writing and speaking in wingdings is a result of his frustration with most sighted monsters not being able to read monster braille, leading to him just. making up his own font. he doesn't know what sighted monsters' writing looks like, so he's got basically no blueprint for it, but wingdings make perfect sense to him and everyone close to him (naturally his employees and partners make sure to take a crash course in it before they come on board).

-drawing out schematics and blueprints can be a long process, but he manages. his extra hand ability makes it easier- he can summon a million hands, join them together in a shape, and get an idea of the form based on how all the hands feel (they become real, feeling parts of him for the time they exist). he is assisted by his coworkers, who help him draw and write everything out. it's good that they have a hand in the creation process, because the blueprints are written almost entirely by him in wingdings, so they'd take a while to decipher for a stranger!

-he probably worried a bit about how complicated his job would be with his disability at the beginning of his career, but his passion for science was not to be underestimated, and while he existed, he was known as the underground's greatest mind.

-w.d. gaster may have neglected to add railings to the core (because he's a dumbass), but he knows his way around. due to his blindness, many are inclined to believe he simply stepped in the wrong place one day and fell into the core by accident. no one's fault. this is what they will tell you. it is not true.

-did someone push him? did the platform break? did he jump? who can say anymore? at any rate, he's no longer around.

-the void is dark. that's nothing new in itself. darkness, after all, is all he has ever "seen". but this is a new kind of darkness- not the familiar, friendly kind full of sounds and sensations that he is used to.

-no, this darkness is thick, and empty, and silent as the grave. it smothers his every sound and he can no longer hear himself think. there is nothing, pure nothing, and it is terrifying. dark, darker, yet darker grow his prospects.

-and yet. perhaps a new hope can be found- a new player in this twisted game- a higher being, with knowledge even he could never hope to have. their internet communication hub will translate his wingdings just fine. here, then, is the man you have been looking for all this time.

-deltarune is an experiment. the goal, you ask? you will know in due time. the doctor does not need sight to know his new world glows brightly from your hope. but be warned before you join him in his new game- in this land, only eyes blinded by darkness like his can see the way.