UTMV Story Ideas!

Terrors

Ink:  Ink is phobic of being abandoned and blank spaces. The fear is overwhelming. He's always checking up on the Creators, Blue, Dream, anyone, to make sure they haven't forgotten him. If he's meeting up with friends and the friends are late, he gets worried. The later they are, the more upset he becomes, for each passing second is another confirmation that, yes, they might have ditched him. Walking into an empty-ish room is also frightening, though, for the life of him, he can't remember why. That's part of the reason why he's such a disaster and leaves clutter anywhere that feels "too empty". 

Reactions:  Fight and Flight. Usually, he'll get panic attacks and likely also vomits. He does everything in his power to combat what scares him instead of running off, like adding a painting to a blank surface or confronting others to make contact (fight) or immediately fleeing and/or avoiding the situation, like feverishly distracting himself from the emptiness/loneliness (flight).


Error:  Error has haphephobia, meaning he hates touch. This is most likely from his time in the anti-void and being severely touch-starved. Whenever someone looks like they might touch him in any way (a punch, handshake, hug, anything), he makes it very clear to back off or suffer death. He refuses to be in situations that might expose him to the possibility of physical contact. This is why he never fights with his fists and almost completely relies on his magic and long-range attacks. 

Reactions:  Freeze and flight. He crashes when the anxiety becomes too much (freeze), or he'll take off or immediately create a generous distance between him and anyone (flight). He would fight, but again, he crashes. He might get embarrassed and attack anyone around once he's regained his bearings.


This prompt is less of a prompt and mostly a callout to many, many, many fanfic writers. There are too many fics in which either character has this fear but simply brushes it aside for the other character. NO. That's not how phobias work! Some can be more mild than severe, and vice versa, but you can't just brush off a phobia. I, an emetophobe, can't bear even being in the same room as someone who is ill. If I have a S/O or child or friend who gets sick, then I'm getting the heck away, even if I would die for them. It's extremely difficult. But, if you're going to go with the "well I'll deal with this just because I love you" trope, then at the very least, please describe how difficult and terrifying it is for this character. For example, if Ink happens to be in a blank space so he can help a friend or Creator or the Multiverse, and he chooses to fight through his phobia, what would happen? Would he tremble hard enough for his bones to rattle? Would he fight back tears even though his throat is tight with fear and his eye-sockets sting? Would he struggle to actually focus on anything other than the emptiness, and have to fight to keep himself from retching even though he can taste the ink in his throat and his stomach twists its knots into knots? Or with Error, would the point of contact violently glitch out on him? Would the slightest shift at contact scare him into a crash? Would he struggle to just reach out enough to barely touch the other? Would he be extremely agitated and irritable and snap at anyone who got too close? Would either of them feel the overwhelming exhaustion once the event is over and they're back in their comfort zone?

These notes are important! They will make your story a little more unique, or maybe help out with conflict because hey, now the characters are in a panic-induced frenzy! And anyone in such a state can't properly make reasonable decisions (so they'll likely do something stupid or reckless for their "defense"). Keep in mind, though, that I do not intend to come across as unkind or rude. This is my personal opinion, and these are simply options. If my tone was upsetting or my choice of words was too harsh, I'm sorry. However, I hope this inspired someone to play around with this concept—it'd be fun to see!