#sometimes I forget/leave out people for reasons like they're not active or Idk if they have OCs or not that into tag games etc

[cetra]

OCs as types of suffering

Good morning! I was tagged by @gwynbleidd and @katsigian in the past couple days to complete this uquiz as my OCs. thanks for tagging me 🫡🧡 I decided to take it as my silly little family from my silly little world because my world is all I'm thinking about lately as far as OC stuff goes….. and honestly I feel like these results gave me even more insight to how my characters operate and how they complement each other. Especially Kilian's result i think shows me a side to his already existing sadness that I hadn't considered enough before; i think a lot about his anger but not as much about his sadness, so this is exciting to explore. It was fun!!

Tagging some OC people + anyone else who wants to do it— @dekarios @perpetuagf @avallachs @aelyosos @latenna @dekariosgale @tanzelwil @margaritalaux-antille @alexios @fury-brand @maxthetruman @arduath @nightwardenminthara @retsuunohana @windupreaper @ravensgard @loveofdetail @jerichoes @darkjusticiars @bladeofavernus @killerspinal @mightymizora @katagawajr @camelliagwerm @bhalspawn @mythrae @gortash @euryalex @stwaidwen @ederteylegc @glamfellens @mac-tir @varlineaux @alistairs @magebastard @reapersynth @wrymbloods @habit and whoagh that's a lot of tags! And I still pwobably forgot someone anyways lets go

Despair— The tunnel never had a light. You wish for nothing because you know you'll receive nothing, and your hopes died out long ago. The only thing that keeps you going is the thrill of emptiness you feel when things don't turn out your way. It's bitter. It's proof. Proof that you don't feel this way for nothing.

Yearning— The pain in your chest bubbles knowing that what you want may never be yours. You're lost in a fantasy world, or consumed by what you wish you were or had as opposed to what you do. It's hard to appreciate what's around you when you're appreciating the hope of what could be instead.

Yearning— The pain in your chest bubbles knowing that what you want may never be yours. You're lost in a fantasy world, or consumed by what you wish you were or had as opposed to what you do. It's hard to appreciate what's around you when you're appreciating the hope of what could be instead.

(Duslach and Eabha having the same result, it's soulmatery)

[kidcooperart]

I LOVE YOUR 2000'S AU SO MUCHHH

can you give us some hcs about it

Also, in this au harumi and hanzo are friends(or more?) with kuai ??

Love your character designs and the 00's fashion chices hope you make more 😍😍

Thanks! I can give some general stuff my sister and I have for the au 🫡 It's been fun making these designs for everyone and researching back on 2000s fashion. It's my favorite type lol, growing up I wished I could dress like all the older girls, and now I can dress up characters like it!

Mileena has a booked schedule; AP classes, soccer, fashion club, and student body president duties. She likes to keep herself busy as well as make her parents proud. She's an awful driver but hasn't gotten into an accident yet so she has a lot of false confidence lmao. Her best friends are Tanya and Rain, they give off gay friend group vibes but they gotta be in the closet I think (big inspirations for Mileena is late 2000s fashion, dipping into the mcbling era, a bit of scene as well. Total Millionaires influence as well)

Kitana is in cheer and photography! She likes being active in a way that works her whole body and keeping some grace to it. She enjoys taking photos of her friends and family, not wanting to forget a moment. She's top of her class while still finding time to roam the mall and enjoy her youth. She spends a lot of time looking out for her sister, however. (Also we hc she has a bit of a crush on Kuai Liang) (inspirations for Kitana are Britney Spears in her prime. Very girl next door, Michelle Branch inspo)

Bi han does shot put for the track & field team, and hates having to wait for Kuai Liang to finish his runs. He plays on his Xbox at home, co-op Halo matches with his friend Sektor. He's the designated driver of the group and he hates being chauffeur. Into divorced dad rock crush on kitana btw (inspirations fashion wise was lowkey LeoDicap for some reason? He's also my outlet to express how much I love grungy emo rock of the 2000s)

Kuai Liang does long distance runs for the track & field team, incredibly thankful Bi Han waits for his practice to end to drive him home. He's into skateboarding as well, often hanging at skate parks with his friends Hanzo and Harumi. He plays guitar as well, picking it up to play his favorite rock songs. He does a lot of house maintenance, going grocery shopping and cooking for his brothers. (Inspiration fashion wise was Fred Durst lmao idk why it just fits him in my brain. Also the guitar stuff comes from us just thinking Kuai being a Santana fan makes sense)

Tomas is in 5th grade and likes hanging out with his brothers and their friends, it makes him feel cool and included. He, Syzoth, and Ashrah are a little friend group of outcasts, he doesn't care and will defend his friends. He loves movies, especially ones of up and coming actor Johnny Cage. He dips his toes into the early internet, playing online games like Neopets and checking out cool websites. (Inspiration is Dewey from Malcolm in the Middle lol and really myself growing up in the 2000s. I'm projecting your honor)

Some miscellaneous stuff is these guys mentioned above are neighbors! They've known each other a long time and get along...decently. Shao is business partners with Sindel and Jerrod, often leaving Reiko to be babysat by the twins (to their dismay). Reiko is one of the kids who picks on Tomas and his friends, finding it irritating they aren't afraid of him.

Jade is Kitana's close friend, she's a member of the field hockey team and loves shopping. Tanya and Rain are in color guard! Skarlet plays bass guitar and is trying to start a band. Nitara has a reputation of dating people and stealing their wallets, also rumored to be a vampire. Sektor and Cyrax are friends with Bi Han, they're Sci Fi fans and kinda geeky but they hide it well. (Sometimes).

Johnny is a fresh actor with a breakout movie under his belt, he's a little excited about how quick his career caught wind and is signing up for everything. He makes tons of appearances, loves interviews, signs up for the smallest of projects, and answers every fan letter. He moved out to LA with his girlfriend Cristina, and she hired 3 bodyguards since worries about Johnny getting lost in the excitement. Jax, Sonya, and Kenshi work for Johnny and are exasperated at how much he revels in his fame, but also how he stays genuine and kind.

(As for the Harumi, Hanzo, and Kuai thing...the three are definitely friends. I could go either way about the dating stuff, whatever is more fun lol)

(Also, additional hcs, the Lin Kuei Brothers are half Chinese half Mexican. Tomas is still Czech and adopted but he is my honorary Mexican. The Twins are Vietnamese and...something. Haven't decided if they'll also get hit with the Mexican beam through Jerrod or if Jerrod to me is just South Asian, haven't deciphered something specific yet)

[possessionisamyth]

If I may add onto this, as I've been writing fic and fanfic for well over a decade, I can give you some ideas on why they're not going over well.

Hits don't really mean much. Whether someone read the first paragraph of your story or they got all the way to the end, this counts as a hit. Clicking on your fic counts as a hit even if they just went to look at any comments or to see who left kudos. They're the equivalent of Facebook video views where scrolling past counts as a hit so the numbers are bloated.

Kudos tell you more in that they got to the end and enjoyed the piece. Some people are a little forgetful, and some people get to the end and don't like it so they don't leave kudos. Unfortunately, you still can't exactly base this percentage number on hits, since fandom size varies and people who are super active on the video/art/gif end of fandom may not be on the fanfic side at all.

Comments have gotten rarer due to a more unfortunate internet culture shift where people think "they're bothering the author" especially if the fic is old, or using the excuse of "feeling guilt tripped to leave a comment". Like, idk, if you can't leave a comment, a kudos is still perfectly acceptable but they won't even do that sometimes. Entitlement has always been a problem on both ends, but its gotten weirder now.

Check the date of when other fics were posted. Older pieces are going to have more hits and/or kudos because they've been up longer. This is more of a time available thing than a quality thing. Keep that in mind.

Multi chapter fics are going to have more hits as well for the same reasons. The same audience members are clicking on the story multiple times to change chapters or pick up where they left off if they closed the tab.

Explicit or Mature fic will always get more hits and/or kudos. As much as people want to say ao3 has more than just porn, and it does, it's still very much the porn fic site. You don't see most people cross posting all their stuff to livejournal, wattpad, and fanfiction.net if it weren't just the porn fic site.

I've seen the most absolute dogshit written smut get kudos and it baffles me, but people will click on it because they're horny and desperate, hence the hit inflated numbers.

I've seen the most well loved and well written gen fics get nonya from the fandom. It's infuriating.

Speaking of which, ship fics will also always get more hits and attention. Most of the ao3 audience automatically filter out gen fic. Yes, most of them, regardless of their sexuality, are looking for their blorbos to kiss and fuck and get together or break up 6000x times in 8000x ways. Gen fic gets left in the dust every time and you can tell by the numbers and by the fandom. Very rarely do fandoms have them even, but these fandoms are tiny and about a show where possible love interests are scarce or are not white.

And, for the meanest but truest part of my explanation, most of the ao3 audience are still fujoshis at heart.

Deny it all they want, the numbers don't lie. If there are 2 pale men in the show, or 1 pale man than can be paired with a brown man, that ship will rule the tag. It won't matter how many well written women are prevalent in the narrative. It won't matter if those two characters they're shipping shared eye contact for 5 seconds. They're now the most popular and most specialist content the majority can produce art for, and everyone else has to suffer for it.

I've watched this happen in real time, and I've experienced it first hand pretty recently where I wrote a fic for an M/M ship. Had one of the guys cross dressing? Yeah, that's fine. Realize the character isn't in drag and is actually a trans woman from how you're writing the follow up so you change the tag from M/M to F/M? Immediate dead zone for the sequel. No more hits for the prequel despite it being fairly popular and well liked. It was... disgusting actually.

And for the Newest and most recent change is way more people deciding not to read multi chapter fics until they're finished. This is definitely an engagement killer! I've gone to unfinished fics, left a comment on each chapter, and the author picked up where they left off immediately because they're so thirsty and wondering if anyone gives a shit. I got a page long comment on a fic I left dead for over 2 years and it encouraged me to finish it in a week. But this type of "impatient" audience member is more worried about never getting an ending, so they don't bother thinking their encouragement to the author could very much get them to the ending.

There are so many things going into whether or not your fic will turn out to "flop". The most you can do is post for yourself first, share with your friends second, and make stranger reception a third or even a fifth priority.

Something that helped a teensy tiny bit in upping visibility count for a particular fanfic I wrote in a dormant fandom, is posting in the fandom tag(s) on tumblr. This is done by sharing a short snippet (my hook) and adding a link to the end if they're curious enough to read more. Whether or not they kudos or comment I can't measure, but the hits have steadied out for the multi chapter fic.

I hope this gives you a better idea on whether or not your fics are flops, or the much more likely reality that they just don't reach the very baseline thought process of the active fandom audience on ao3.

How many flops do you need to churn out before you accept that you're just shit at writing?

(I know, I know, writing should be fun and something you do for yourself but validation is also nice. There's a difference between 0 vs 100 and 100 vs 200 kudos or likes.)

[toujoursmiraculous]

Thoughts and Reaction to Lies!

It's another long one because so much happens in this episode! The episode starts with Marinette trying to figure out a "secret" within the grimoire. Literal first thought was that this "secret" may be the key to waking up Emilie. It's obviously going to be of huge significance later, anyway. By looking at that piece on Adrien, it does appear Adrien has an amazing life. And really, that's what a lot of people think. That's the point of featuring him. A life of a celebrity is pretty amazing, really interesting and fascinating. But it's also filled with a lot of stress, chaos, loneliness, etc. But viewers rarely ever see it. As for Marinette, while Adrien has said things about what his father allows that makes him sad, we haven't ever heard him complain to her in any way about that lifestyle. To her, he's a guy whose father has him busy with activities (interesting ones at that) and very rarely ever lets him spend time with friends. I love how this episode parallels Truth! But Adrien's POV. My boy has an episode centered around him, finally!

So we know her standing Chat Noir up is because Luka came by reminding her of a date she forgot she rescheduled. You know she's extremely distracted and stressed when she can't remember a date with Luka or a patrol with Chat Noir, or remember that she planned them at the same time. It's really not her fault, and I feel so bad for her that things are becoming so difficult. "No messages, but don't forget my cheese!" LOL this is perfect. Plagg has to get that reminder in wherever he can! The Chat Noir appreciation was so wholesome to see awww, I bet so many boys in Paris look up to him, so sweet x33 Mr. Banana, Chat Noir, and the man who frequently is Mr. Pigeon just chilling on a bench in the park together. What a scene! lol But Chat wanting them to be akumatized so he could see Ladybug. Big oof. He's going to get his wish, a few times over. Careful what you wish for, Kitty! "A glass of milk as usual, mister Chat Noir?" Okay so when Chat's down, he goes to that bar and has a glass of milk. Or more if he's having a bad day. Awwwww. If you think about it, Adrien probably isn't allowed to have milk. With the fat content and all. :/ Kagami lying to her mother and Nathalie/Gabriel just to spend some time with Adrien. Considering how difficult their lives are, that's pretty impressive to be so brave. Not too fond of the lying part though, since there's not a noble reason for doing so. But I can understand it. We found out Kagami's real passion: drawing! Which is pretty cool. That's one thing Kagami and Marinette have in common that'd make them good friends. Very sad how her blind mother tells her she's not good enough. That just tells you what she thinks of her daughter and what she wants her to do with her life. She's afraid she'll pursue the arts rather than something practical, so best shoot down any thoughts of being an artist now. And then, like with all episodes that have Kagami in them, this is where I start to dislike her. "I want to draw the real you, on the inside." Adrien makes various model poses, none work for her as she knows they're just him being a model. Then he actually poses as himself. A silly, goofy cat having fun and being happy. Adorable. "What do you think of... CAT?" deathglare "No, this is absolutely not natural." "Yes it is. I promise, this is really me!" "NO! This is you when you're acting like a clown!" Adrien looking hurt, "But maybe when I act like a clown, it's really me." Then she takes his hand, (gently) pushes him back up against the wall, her hands on his chest, "That way, that's who you really are." What way? Her telling him how to be is who he really is? He stammers, looking very uncomfortable. "But are you sure?" "Yes... you are perfect." Then she leans in to kiss him, while he's still looking uncomfortable. Right here, she's trying to tell him who he is. What kind of relationship is healthy and a good one one at that, when one side is trying to tell the other who they are, how they must act, etc? That's toxic. Keep in mind, after this scene, during Truth's attack. He found out that Ladybug actually in fact loves (said she prefers) the humorous, "clown" side of him. Yes, she only knows it as Chat Noir for now, but she actually appreciates and loves Chat for who he is. Kagami doesn't love nor appreciate that side of Adrien. Which is a very big and important side of him. We knew this in Ikari Gozen, she couldn't stand the thought of Chat Noir being compared to Adrien, pretty sure she even seemed offended by it if memory serves. But it's laid out more in Lies, it's more direct. (Marinette's done this too in the past, but when she's done it, her tone's more like pssssh please! while she looks off to the side, like she's mostly just telling herself that, to convince herself, rather than believing it.) Kagami thinks she knows Adrien, knows that him being funny and a clown is not the "real" him. Acting like she knows him better than he knows himself. Thinking he's perfect. That was a very hurtful thing to have said and you can see it in his expression the same kind of pain and hurt

he gets a lot. I also want to talk about how watching her back Adrien up against the wall like that and leaning into kiss him made me feel particularly uncomfortable. While they might have a little thing going on, he was clearly not comfortable by it and it just did not sit well with me. This entire scene was riddled with red flags. Adrien smiled at the end of that on his way out, yes, but having someone tell you you're perfect would seem like a compliment to you, wouldn't it? The one you like thinks you're perfect, thinks the facade you put up is perfect and anything less isn't okay with them. That'll end up so well! The almost kissing scenes this episode literally had me like

I'm sorry, I just feel so very uncomfortable by them, I can't help it. xD Just before Chat Noir sneaked up on Ladybug, he almost kissed Kagami right? And yet here he is, being a bit flirty, saying he's missed her on patrols. I also want to point out she tells him to stop with his stupid jokes, because she doesn't want to accidentally hurt him! She could've hurt him by scaring her like that. While she likes his humor, they're only problematic if it puts himself in danger or distracts them from fighting an akuma. "I promise I won't forget our patrols anymore." The looks that passed between LB and CN here is just so cute! OOOF as Luka walks away sad because Marinette had to run off, here comes Adrien, about to do the exact same thing as Marinette to Kagami... Now Kagami's not as accepting of him running off as she was just a little while ago.

Even Andre's like, what the heck was that?! His expression watching Adrien run off made me laugh, I had to share it. I was wondering how Adrien got to the boathouse before Marinette did, as it made it seem like Adrien was there long before Marinette was. He just ran in and started playing along where they were. Good lord, he has a lot going on too, doesn't he? Only difference from Marinette here is Adrien has a built-in and believable excuse he can tell his friends. Kagami's forceful "Adrien, it's time." "Five little minutes?" *shakes head sternly* Who does this remind you of in Adrien's life already? Is this what a good girlfriend, what a good friend would do? And here again is the pattern we see a lot with Kagami. She manipulates situations so that they can spend time together. Adrien wants to spend time with his friends AND girlfriend at the same time. Rehearsing for their band, it looks like. He rarely ever gets to spend time with others, be a normal kid. But no, she drags him away early, making it sound like they had to leave, but it's just her wanting him to herself. When he couldn't go to New York, oh well that's unfortunate you're sad, but we can spend more time together now, isn't that great? It's about what she wants, not what he wants or what's best for Adrien. She spends more time with Adrien (not counting Ladybug spending time with Chat Noir here) than anyone else does by the looks of it, and she doesn't even know him at all. It's really sad. Adrien still carrying around Marinette's lucky charm bracelet in his pocket x3333 This never fails to make me happy. But oof that boy's seriously going to lose it one of these days if he's not careful! There's something different about seeing the Ladynoir scene on the roof that we got in Truth, but from Adrien's perspective. Something about it feels like it means more to me, idk. Adrien gets caught in a lie, saying he lost something but found it. Kagami asked what it was, holding Marinette's lucky charm behind her back. He says it was the lucky charm Marinette gave her, as he's scrambling in his pocket to pull it out seeming a bit frazzled, but realizes he actually in fact lost it (again! he says). But Kagami caught him in that lie, showing him that she actually had it.

I'm not sure if he's so shocked because she actually had it and wonders how she got it, or if he looks like that because he just got caught in a lie. But the way his eyebrows raised a little makes it seem like he's surprised she had it after all and was testing him the whole time. I've always hated the way sometimes someone when in a relationship will test the other one like this. Really not fair in Adrien's case at all. Things aren't always as they may seem. And here's the thing, she's admitting to him that she's lying just to be with him. She lies all the time. Adrien caught on that she was lying, but didn't really understand why I don't think. Earlier in the episode he says, "What are you hiding, Kagami?" he didn't know her purpose for it. Now she says, "We're both liars, the difference is I lie to be with you. You. You lie to get away from me." Which is a yes but actually no situation. It's not that he doesn't want to be with her, it's that he needs to get away temporarily. It just looks really, really bad. Getting off track from that conversation briefly, but that scene where the akuma goes off into the night, with the blurred city lights that becomes clear. Just wow. That shot is beautiful, I can't help myself from playing it back and admiring it. I'm also totally digging the new transformation music! it gives me 90s vibes and makes me happy. Seeing Jagged after Truth is just completely different xD "I fear nothing, I am an artist! I still hold to my fans." Both Roth: "Wrong, you lie to them about your age!" "That's not Rock and Roll!" Had me rolling!! Jagged sure is something XD Chat just up and about to cataclysm the sphere, thinking he'd be okay because he doesn't lie. Except he lies all the time to protect his identity and get himself away from people so he can transform. xD Silly Kitty. The drone as a Lucky Charm is super cool! In Truth, Chat Noir said a truth about how he felt about Ladybug. In Lies, he tells lies to Lies to get her attention. "My name's not Chat Noir! I'm not a superhero! I hate Ladybug! And I think Hawk Moth should've called himself Panfly! It's funnier! Oh, I was about to forget: my favorite dish is cabbage with white sauce! Yummy!" Cabbage...with white sauce... as a dish. Is this like, a real fancy dish or something or is this boy being completely starved? o.o CN: "There are only two more liars left in Paris, and one of them knows how to turn his attention." LB: "No, wait! Don't do that! What if I'm mistaken?" "You know what? I trust you." he lets go, sacrificing himself again "Chat Noir, no! Don't do that! You're crazy!" "Yes, crazy for you, m'lady." Says softly, sadly, "No, you're just crazy unconscious." This ENTIRE scene right here. The love, the trust, the pain in this scene. It's so beautiful and well done that I can't stop getting emotional from it and gushing! Everything's on the line from that decision, and the trust he has for her, the faith he has in her really helps her know she can do what she needs to do. She's always doubting herself, and he's always there to say he doesn't feel that way at all, and it gives her that confidence and courage she needs. The moment Chat Noir is okay, the first thing Ladybug does is run up and smack him, grabbing him anxiously saying "Seriously, you need to stop doing this to me!" The girl is stressed seeing her partner sacrifice himself time and again! IF THIS BOY DOESN'T REALIZE JUST HOW MUCH SHE CARES ABOUT HIM AT THIS POINT, I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY. Any fan that still thinks Ladybug doesn't love Chat Noir and thinks poorly of him, clearly does not understand it at all. My Ladynoir heart is SO HAPPY! I was thrilled with them in Truth, but this is a totally different level. I'm almost in tears with how happy I am. And then I noticed something. I don't know if it's anything or not. But Chat Noir says to her, "Yes, but it's because I find that angry look of yours irresistable." and Kagami turns around to look at him, only him and never Ladybug. Just watching him. Which is a bit... odd. "Ahh, Ladybug..." he sighs. After what

just happened, I don't blame him! x3 These two are honestly fire. When D'Argencort has to step in to keep Kagami from hurting Adrien during fencing... Doesn't matter how upset she is, that's gross to physically take it out on him to the point a teacher has to intervene. Kagami tells Adrien she knows he's hiding something, but that he's sincere, too. But when he asks if they can't be friends then, she responds, "How can you trust someone who lied to you?" and finally gives him back the lucky charm. Ever since Gorizilla, I've been worrying of him losing it for good! Glad she gave it back to him. I've said it already, but he's really going to lose that thing if he's not careful! "When I'm ready to see you again, I'll let you know." and she just leaves. I get she's upset, he's been lying to her to get away when he's with her and all that. But this is worse than what happened with Lukanette. Luka wanted to actually know what was going on, he asked Marinette about it directly. She told him honestly, it's the one thing she can't tell him. Kagami on the other hand never actually asked. During one of the scenes when he was spacing out, she asked what was the matter is all. All she's cared about is that he's lied, and now that he's lied she can't trust him. Doesn't even want to hear him out, not that he'd explain it to her. Kagami doesn't even want to see Adrien for awhile now. At least Luka's more understanding and isn't as harsh being in the exact same situation. This poor boy... But it's also for the best. Marinette and Adrien both after breaking up with Luka and Kagami, decided to transform and meet up to just be in each other's company. They're both sad, but not especially so. "Do you know what the difference is, between us and the rest of the world, m'lady? We can't be completely honest with each other. We have our secrets, and sometimes we have to lie." Ladybug frowning hums in agreement. But at the same time, they both turn to each other and say happily "But we know we can trust each other!" finishing with a pound-it! IT'S JUST SO BEAUTIFUL AND MY HEART IS HAPPY After Truth, where Luka and Marinette were so sad and having a hard time, I really needed such an episode with such good Ladynoir! It really looks like the story is going in a really good direction, in my opinion. x3

[ssweeneys]

What are your predictions for next week’s episode?

sdfjndsjkfnksdjnf Listen, I predict shit is going to go down, Lexi’s play will be a riot and someone will die....

More thoughts under the cut as to not spoil anyone... :D

There's been lots of Maddy pregnancy foreshadowing and I've seen some people speculate that she might already be pregnant. Marsha stated to Nate she was worried he'd get her pregnant and she'd keep it just to spite him, earlier in the season Maddy says she'd look "so sexy pregnant", she's idolizes Samantha who (in her eyes) has a beautiful family and perfect life, and when Nate threatened Maddy with the gun, they highlighted the fact that he touched her side and sorta brushed her stomach. Now, Idk if I firmly believe any of this because it hasn't been insinuated that Maddy and Nate have hooked up at all. Then again, they've been showing snippets throughout random parts of the story so who knows?

To me, I feel like Nate giving Jules the tape was a huge power move on his part. He knows that the only person besides Cal who wouldn't want that tape out is Jules herself. So really, handing it over to her was a way for Nate to wipe his hands clean but also ensure that Cal's secrets never get out. I just feel like it was too easy and I wouldn't be surprised if there's a copy somewhere. Seems weird to me that he didn't even question that to Maddy? But again, guess we'll see.

There was also some foreshadowing too with Lexi and Fez with the whole stand by me thing? I feel like Lexi was very much torn this episode between putting on the play or not because of Cassie's mental state. Fez encouraged her to do it and the whole "stand by me" thing correlates with him standing by her as she goes through with it. And then her waking up and seeing that Cassie was gone... I think solidified the go ahead in Lexi's mind. Like she's gonna do it because as Fez suggested it needs to happen and sometimes people "need to get their feelings hurt".... aka: maybe in some weird way she's hoping it will waken everybody up idk, idk...

Sidenote: I think Fez will get all dressed up and never end up making it to the play bc of the Custer/Faye shit. He’ll either get arrested or something bad will happen. He could be the one who dies? I mean, I hope not because I do love his character and lately he’s been the only comedic relief.

Rue seems like she wants to get clean. That’s all great and dandy but also, let’s not forget that she still owes Laurie a fuck ton of money and she hasn’t paid up. You really think that woman forgot? I theorized that I thought Rue might die. Only because it’s Zendaya and while yes she’s the lead and very much an active and core member of the show, she is super busy and Idk for some reason I just thought she wouldn’t stay on for more than 2 seasons.

I'm willing to bet they're going to leave us on a fucking cliffhanger at the end of this season and man oh man I'm going to be so upset about it lol since we'll have to wait FOREVER to find out what happens.

But yeah those are my theories so far... Also, Idk what's going on with Cal or Elliot anymore. And I think Kat may reach out to Jules and be her lifeline right now as shit between her and Rue continues and since she's no longer talking to Elliot after their whole thing.

I'm scared for everyone tbh. Lexi's about to destroy and expose them all and don't ask me why but I'm kinda here for it.... YOU GO GIRL!!!

[queenaeducan]

ian and solas for that shipping meme 👀

send me a pairing and I’ll tell you who:

falls asleep on the couch:

Both Very Much are guilty of it, although Solas is the more likely culprit. In Inquisition that little rotunda couch sometimes doubles as a nap bed, but mostly for Solas. Ian finds the windowless walls and high ceilings of the rotunda at times too reminiscent of Kinloch Hold for comfort. As their relationship progresses you're more and more likely to find them spending quality time together there (albeit usually the companionable sort where both are working on separate things) Ian prefers napping in open spaces.

In modern it's still Solas, although Ian's chances are better. The thing is Ian watches reality tv shows that put Solas right to sleep, so he has an edge.

makes friends with the neighbors

Ian is friends with a few of his neighbours before they meet, and his talents lie in baking and flowers, which make better gifts and conversation starters than obscure Fade dreams about a memory that happened in your home before you moved in. Solas is likely decent acquaintances with some of his neighbours, others he may have only spoken to once or twice. At least one may have had a life-changing conversation with him and then they never spoke to each other again. Both are probably slightly divisive among the neighbourhood because they are both weird, but Solas is more openly opinionated so there's a higher chance of someone liking Ian and disliking Solas.

is the adventurous eater

I think they're both pretty open about it, Ian has some dietary restrictions as a vegetarian but I don't think it's fair to count that against him.

hogs the covers at night

Solas sleeps like the dead and is unlikely to move once he's fallen asleep, Ian is a little more fitful and more likely to draw the covers into him as he sleeps.

forgets to do the dishes

Solas tbh b/c I don't know when the last time he'd really have to do dishes was, and tbf in their default Inquisition verse I'm not sure at what point they'd have to do dishes excepting like. Communal meals where different people get assigned to clean up every night. Imagine your fave DA:I companions cleaning out the camping pot on stew night.

Anyway in modern he's more in the habit but also more likely to forget.

tries to surprise their partner more often

Solas is more into planned gestures, although not always pleasant ones, lest we forget the whole grove conversation is a surprise.

leaves dirty laundry on the floor

Ian, although Solas would also be guilty. To be fair to Ian I think when you've lived in places like the Circle where there's a communal living space and you have to bunk with a good 20+ apprentices there's probably something very liberating about taking off your pants and leaving them where they fall.

stays up til 2 AM reading

Solas is pretty fastidious about making sure he gets to sleep (not always at a reasonable hour, but if it is unhealthy then it's because he's going to bed too early and too late), so I think Ian. That being said, reading isn't Ian's go-to pastime, and especially later in his arc it's difficult for him to concentrate long enough to read. So if you swap reading with watering plants or standing at open windows then it'd be a firmer yes.

If Solas is staying up late it's usually because he's talking to someone rather than doing a solitary activity which he could do in the Fade.

sings in the shower

I had to ask Joly about this one b/c idk if Solas would sing in the shower very often, and they said "Definitely, but usually only if [Ian] thinks solas can't hear him" so the answer is Ian.

takes the selfies

Ian is big into taking photos and big into selfies. Solas probably gets better at it once they're dating though because he has longer arms.

plans date night

Solas. I mentioned this here yesterday that in their mainverse dates aren't really something Ian ever thought of going on before, but Solas is more familiar with the idea. They're also just how he shows affection, he labours a lot over how they're going to spend their trip to Crestwood, etc. They are both apostate elves so sometimes date night is just "go sit on a hill and drink the wine he stole from the Winter Palace." In modern it is still more his realm, but in both mainverse and modern as Ian gets more confidence in himself and how well he knows Solas he starts to take things into his own hands.

[undertaleartistshit]

Ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23186284/chapters/60573760#workskin

Aaand the next chapter of my fanfic is out! Btw, does anyone know how to put it under a cut? Cuz idk how 👀

____________

Chapter 2: Morning Meeting

The loud, repetitive beeping of the alarm shook Ink out of his slumber. He didn't dare open his eyes, his head felt too groggy and hazy to even think about properly waking up, however his alarm didn't fail its job of annoying him awake. Despite having no true emotions and having to rely on bottles of paint to feel, Ink made it day to day acting - almost - like a normal monster. He was happy, sassy, bright, he got annoyed *very* easily, and... he was forgetful. Was that an emotion? Ink didn't know, no one ever told him. No one explained exactly what feelings were to him. Since he FELT forgetful, he just assumed it was a feeling everyone got, just like happiness or sadness or whatever else.

Ink opened his eyes to a ceiling marbled silver and gold and walls filled with papers and ideas, sketches mostly. Color peeked through every few inches, giving the room an incomplete feeling and giving Ink the adequate motivation to get up. He hated incomplete things, hated the way it made his head ache and his spine tingle and his chest tighten. He switched the alarm off, wincing at the bright red colored numbers. 6:30. He slid his legs off the bed onto the hardwood floor, not bothering to make the bed. By his logic he was going to sleep in it again in a few hours and felt no reason to waste time on tidying it. Although it was quite contradictory to his hate of incompletion, Ink just didn't have the energy to care about the bed. It wasn't like magic or a drawing; sometimes it doesn't do what you want it to. Some days the fabric is just wrinkly, for example.

He stood up slowly, careful to not jostle his skull too much, and wove his way through the stacks of notebooks and papers and whatnot, careful not to knock anything over as he made his way to the door, the only think uncovered by paper. He took his sash off of the hanger set off to the side and made his way through the house to the living room. It was empty.

Ink was then hit with the memory of the previous night, realizing his mistake far to late.

Meanwhile, Blue was already awake in his tidy room, silently scribbling away ideas and plans at his large desk. He rarely needed sleep and he considered himself lucky, for the most part. He had only slept 3 hours the night before, but he didn't dare go to the kitchen or turn on any significant light source, in case Dream was awake. Dream was like an older and overprotective sibling, however Blue refrained from considering Dream a brother.

He wrote down idea after idea, answer after question, in beautiful cursive handwriting. He was almost done when a soft alarm went off in his pocket. He took out his rather modern phone, shutting off the buzzing immediately. He sighed softly, looking at the time. 6:30 already. Unlike the other Star Sanses and despite what people thought about Blue, he preferred to keep his phone on a dark setting and color scheme. In fact, most objects in his room where either a soft neutral color or a darker color. His eyes didn't burn that way.

He stood up, putting his pen down and pulling out a sweatshirt to wear instead of a tang top. It reminded him of his battle body. He never put it on anymore. He was pretty sure he burned it or at least tossed it. In the past. He shook his head, pulling the grey article of clothing over his skull and left the room soundlessly. He wasn't in the mood to get snapped at by either of his teammates, and no amount of them saving him could put him in the mood for that.

He stopped before going into the living room, taking a second to stop and self reflect. He was still riled up from being kidnapped just two days ago, plus last night's argument between Dream and Ink, and he needed some time to calm himself. He couldn't go into battle like this or even simply have a civilized discussion without his survival instincts kicking in. He had to tell Ink and Dream about it but he had no idea how the two would react. He wanted to put it off but if something happened than he would have no choice. Despite this, he decided to wait.

Blue casually strolled into the room, sitting down besides Ink on the couch, who seemed to be just... blah. "Mornin' Blue," Ink mumbled with a sour biting tone. "Good morning, Ink. Did you sleep well?" Blue inquired softly, keeping his naturally attention seeking voice low. Ink let out a 'hmpf', and let his head flop backwards. "I got sleep but there was no quality to it, if you understand what I mean." Blue didn't quite know what he meant, but he nodded believably anyways.

Dream suddenly walked into the room with a bright and happy pace. "Up and at 'em you two! We have things to do today." Ink groaned rather dramatically, and Blue sighed in frustration. Blue was generally a bright and happy person, but... today he was just so out of it. He was recovering, for Christ's sake. He wasn't happy about being kidnapped at all, and he had a lot on his mind lately.

But, being him, Blue reflected a bit on what the other two are dealing with. First off, they were immortal GODS who needed to protect and help the millions of AUs out in their Multiverse at any cost. That was already almost a good enough reason to spare them a lecture. And Blue could see why having an active mortal ally would be stressful to deal with, especially when going up against the Dark Sanses, who are by far the most dangerous beings out there. The two Gods had to watch their FRIEND get manhandled and get beaten within an inch of his life every single time they went out to fight. It must be hard on them. But Blue had to really wonder for a second. If they cared so much about him, why would they leave him to get kidnapped? The way it happened was quite stereotypical.

Before Blue could start becoming self conflicted, and start another argument within himself, a screeching ringing startled the three skeletons out of any security and peace they'd found in the last few minutes. Dream flinched harshly and wiped his head to the side and glared at the telephone with an intensity that could slice diamond. Blue had a deep blue bone club materialized in his hand in an instant, his stance tense and ready to strike at a moment's notice. Ink had his paintbrush in hand, his eyes already red, pointed and alert, his body language radiating an aura that could startle the most conditioned soldier.

But it was just a telephone call. After a few moments of just sitting there staring daggers and curses into the poor phone, Blue huffed and flopped back down on the couch with a soft thud and dissipated his club. Ink relaxed soon after, not dismissing his brush yet, and Dream grabbed the phone swiftly, not wasting another second. "Hello?... Uh, yes, we have plenty of time... Yes, we're all here toge..." Dream trailed off and his eyesockets widened, a glimmer of happiness dancing across his face. Blue and Ink looked curiously at their teammate, the two sensing either mischief or pure and utter relief and joy coming their way. Or maybe both.

"OHMYGOSHYESI'LLTELLTHEMASAP" Dream blurted, looking at Blue and Ink with a stupid wide grin. "Core found a lot of useful information about the concert thing. They said that they are actually pretty proud of their work!!" Ink cocked a bone brow in confusion and spoke with a cautious tone. "It's great they found that but... what do you mean that they're 'actually proud'? Core loves all the things that they help with."

Blue looked at the two skeletons with a tired glance. "Nevermind that Ink, make a portal already," Dream snapped and quivered with excitement. Ink rolled his eyes and and stood up with his brush, making a portal to Core. Core took a step into the room with a stack of notebooks, binders, and papers and smiled politely. "Nice to see you all again. I have some useful info."

The Star Sanses all smiled softly, except Dream, who was practically vibrating with pure euphoria. "Please sit down on the couch, Core!" Dream grinned as he ushered the monochrome seer to the couch. Dream wedged his way between Ink and Blue, hissing at the latter quietly to scoot. He patted the remaining space besides him for Core, who smiled brightly and laid their stuff out on the empty coffee table in front of them.

Blue blinked a bit, listening as Core started to explain and habitually ignoring Dream's rude gesture. It wasn't a full on conversation, so it was somewhat easier for Blue to follow. Everyone settled in, patiently listening. "So," Core began.

"I have gathered some information about the concert, and although it isn't much to go off of, it's enough to give an idea about how... well, in honesty how thought out this entire event is. First off, general stuff. The place is set in an empty AU, titled "\\\\\tale" and has 3 fixated portal ports, presumably for crowd control. It is accessible by every AU, which may be a problem with culture clash and whatnot. And the date and time is pretty straightforward, maybe they rely on people to translate timezones? We may need to do our part in sending out important points to others if that's the case. The music selection will mostly consist of EDM, house, alternative rock, electro, and remixes of all sorts of other things. Any more info is in these files here."

Ink interrupted quickly. "Uh, I've never heard of \\\\\tale. What is it?" Core hummed for a second, than reached towards a binder, flipping through organized pages filled with notes and a greyscale color spectrum. After a while, Core ran their finger across a line or two, their lips moving ever so slightly in sync. "Oh, it's just an empty copy. Nothing dangero-"

Ink coughed, and pushed away from the three on the couch, and puked putred black ink all over the light colored carpet. Blue made a somewhat frustrated, somewhat skeptical grunting sound, and raced to the closest closet to grab cleaning supplies before the ink stained the carpet. Well, badly, anyways. Dream rushed over to Ink, holding him up a bit while Core sped off to the kitchen with a pitiful "oh dear".

Core scurried back to the living room with a rag and a glass of water in tow. Blue waited until Ink was safely seated on the couch before he began cleaning the carpet vigorously, spraying anti-stain detergent onto the pale flooring, and not holding back with scrubbing. This almost reminded him of the honey-stained floors of his bro's... Blue resisted the urge to knock on his head to erase those past-thoughts out.

Ink rubbed his head, mumbling a soft apology. "Uh..." Ink started slowly. "What were we talking about again..?" Blue sighed, and muttered quiet annoyed curses to himself. Before anyone else could react, Ink glared at Blue, albeit hazily, and he growled defensively. "What's *your* problem..?" Blue glanced up at Ink with a blank expression. "Ink, I'm sorry, but the last few days have been a bit hard on me, and you and Dream as well. I didn't want to deal with your... uh... condition, so to speak on top of everything else."

Ink paused, his facial expression unreadable. Then, slowly but surely, it twisted into confusion. "What the heck happened? And you mean the puking thing right?" Blue sighed and inquired with a gentle but firm tone, balancing between patient and angry, "Do you remember ANYTHING about the concert?" Ink's eyes narrowed in suspicious perplexity, and he shook his head. Blue huffed, picking the cleaning supplies back up and placing them back where they belonged.

Dream sighed softly, putting his hand on the back of his fellow immortal. "Ink, I'll fill you in on what happened." Blue sat down in his spot, Core sitting down next to the former. Ink stared at Blue for a second, as Blue stared at nothingness with an exhausted expression. "Blue...?" Dream asked after noticing his teammates vacant air. Blue looked at the people on the couch with him, and slowly voiced his concern. "We need to work on Ink's memory." Ink looked somewhat offended, but before Blue could elaborate his reasoning, Ink blurted out in outrage.

"Yeah, you think I haven't tried?! I've tried taking notes, sending it on my phone, using connections to things or whatever!" Blue blinked at the outburst, surprised Ink got furious about such a thing. He wasn't exactly a self conscious person... maybe feelings from the fight with Dream last night were putting pressure on his already poor self control. "Well, uh... maybe there's something we haven't tried yet..?" Blue suggested. Blue felt rather helpless. Maybe he should have waited until Ink was filled in on the situation before pointing out the age-old nuisance that plagued his mind.

Ink scoffed, averting his eyes from Blue, with a shaky hiss. "Even if there were alternatives... I don't want to hear them right now. I. Don't. Care." Blue stiffened at the tone, that phrase always seemed to bring back memories after all. He took a deep breath, and-

"Ink, please calm yourself!" Dream begged. Blue blinked and nodded in agreement. "Please?" Ink glared at Blue and Dream. An eternity of silence and harsh tension passed. There was only hostility and anger in Ink's gaze. He was truly offended that Blue thought that it was an easy thing to fix.

Blue was... not in a good mindset. He wanted to smack Ink for not using his brain, he felt like crying or screaming. He wanted to snap at the others for not prioritizing such a huge problem that really needed to be fixed. He was so frustrated and stressed, and he was just so overwhelmed. He was sad and hurt that Ink turned on him so fast as well.

Dream and Core sat helplessly as Ink continued with his rant. "You know what? NO!" he screamed at Blue, grabbing his upper arm with a steely death grip. Dream gasped, reaching out to Ink to make him stop, but Ink pushed him back down. "Dude what the-" Blue panicked. It was too familiar. Too close. Too parental.

Core sat uselessly on the couch. They were worried out of their mind, as well as Dream, but they simply didn't know any of the skeletons, besides Ink, to do anything for them in the situation. If they said something, they were truly worried about the repercussions that would stem from Ink later on.

Blue struggled to get away from the Protector's angry grasp, his mind tittering between pure panic and a sense of normalcy. Ink dragged Blue to a back room. Dream sprinted after the two other skeletons before jumping and holding Ink in place. He could sense that all Ink wanted to do was to hurt Blue, and it made Dream *sick*. Blue released himself from Ink, running to his room before he had the chance to get caught again.

"ALL I WANTED TO TO WAS TALK TO HIM IN A SEPARATE ROOM!" Ink screamed at Dream and he tried to struggle out of his companion's grip. Dream held on tighter and said in a calming voice. "No, you didn't. You wanted to hurt him all because he wanted to get rid of your memory problem. He didn't know it would offend you." Ink still struggled, although too a much lesser degree. "C-c'mon Dream! That was a horrible time to bring it up though! Give me some credit here!" Dream squeezed tighter. "You don't deserve credit here, Inky. Calm down, please." Ink stopped struggling, and began to melt into the tight grip. "I... I'm so sorry..." he whispered. "You need to apologize to Blue, not me. But I forgive you anyways! And, uh, give Blue a minute to cool off before talking. He's probably really mad." Dream released his hug, and looked at Ink as Ink smiled. "Ok.."

The two walked back to the living room where Core was sitting. Dream was beginning to shake as he sat down on the couch, and Core noticed. "Dream..?" Core asked fearfully. "I'm fi... fine..." The sentence started out confident, but then Dream shivered and collapsed on Ink, who was beside him. Ink flinched, as he started to panic as well. "Uh??" Ink's confused voice rasped. "Oh. Uh. Dream probably passed out because of the abundance of negative emotions," Core commented calmly. "It would make sense after all."

Ink nodded, getting up after shrugging Dream off of his side onto the couch so that he was laying where Ink was formerly sitting. Core got off of the couch, lifting Dream's legs up and helped Ink shift Dream's unconscious form into a seemingly comfortable position. A blanket was draped over Dream, and the Guardian of Positivity's golden crown was removed and placed on the table.

Meanwhile, Blue laid on his bed, experiencing one of the worst panic attacks he's ever had. He was in the past, and the present and future paid him no mind.

~~~[]~~~

Hate, worry, apprehension, fear, anxiety, panic, frustration, anger, nervousness, sadness, and betrayal.

Nightmare's single resting eye opened from his slumber. He took a deep breath, relieved at the singular negative emotions coming from an unknown source. He stood from his simple bed, leaving and walking towards the kitchen, where his fa-... minions were eating breakfast.

"Mornin' Boss!" Cross grinned. "Good morning everyone," Nightmare greeted, walking to the coffee machine, by which Horror was leaning on the counter, his singular eyesight fixated on the filling pot. "What's gotten you up so early?" Horror inquired, slowly. He was never a quick speaker, and the gang respected that. "You're one to talk," Killer snickered. Everyone responded with various levels of laughter and chuckles. "Well," Nightmare began. "I woke up because there was a huge influx of negative emotions from some random unknown place. And I have a feeling that if we go there, we can really fuck up whoever has those feeling, y'know?"

Dust grinned creepily. "Soo you're saying this isn't a slaughter, but a torture?" Nightmare chuckled, "That's one way of putting it. I have the coordinates so we can go right after breakfast. I've never seen code like it before though, we should be careful." All the Sanses agreed, as they began to cook and sip on their preferred drinks.

Little do they know...