Beep Boop

I don’t think that tagging with both is actually going to get your fic in front of more readers. People looking for romance often exclude the “&” tag if there are too many gen fics tagged with both. People looking for gen often exclude the “/” tag if there are too many fics with both. So rather than putting your fic in front of twice the people, you are in fact more likely to get your target audience ignoring your fic because it has a tag they don’t want.

Also, by overtagging you are more likely to annoy potential readers away from your fic than entice them. A fic tagged both & and / better have both romance and a ton of platonic interaction between the two characters, like a slow burn romance friends-to-lovers arc. If it isn’t, I’m going to be very unhappy because the author lied to me with the tags to try and trick me into reading a fic with deceptive advertising.

[id: the "How do I tag a romantic or platonic relationship?" section of the tagging FAQ here.]

"But Jo," you may argue, because you're wrong. "There's no way to find that without digging through site FAQ menus, and that's really inaccessible!"

sure

except

that when you go to post a new fic, and you go to put in those relationship tags, you see this

[id: the Relationships field]

and that tooltip, the one THERE TO EXPLAIN HOW THE FIELD WORKS, links to the Relationships segment of the tag FAQ, which explicitly lays this shit out.

I don't care if you don't know fandom history. I don't care if you've never heard a goddamn word about the spirk shippers. I don't care if you've never been exposed to fandom culture in your life. It is, frankly, not fair to expect those things of everyone.

Con artist for sure, doesn’t work w/ the mafia but he does scam people

Has gotten numerous calls from angry customers about his scamming

Very particular about how he sorts his clothes

Major perfectionist, until it comes to scamming then he’s kinda bat at it.

Owns 30 of the same hat

Most people in the apartment think he’s likeable…just very weird at the same time.

Very clumsy, trips a LOT on his own shoes, mostly lands on his face.

Talks really fast when he’s either trying to sell some stupid product OR when he’s with someone he really enjoys be around

Probably tried to scam the DDD at least ONCE

Annoys the hell out of Francis (affectionately)

Loves Halloween because he can make a lot of money off of poorly manufactured products while also scaring the shit out of people

In their world, the Nightmares are actual demons and creatures of the night. There are humans but none that live in the apartment.

The "apartment" is actually just a front so humans don't enter the domain of the Nightmares. The actual building is a huge castle with everyone having their own rooms. Really the floors are just for formalities as many people switch rooms or end up living with other people. The castle encloses a huge courtyard with an altar and plenty of space for rituals. A forest surrounds the whole grounds.

The Clown is also technically a nightmare but isn't part of the main group, it is particularly for the doorman

The rest of the Nightmares are distorted versions of the neighbours, based off the outside world's perspectives on them

Yan Luo Wang Diyu is the leader, but her very inner circle consists of the other four horsemen of the apocalypse: Shub (famine), Ishtar (Pestilence), and Teutates (War)

The next closest circle is the lovers and family members of the four: Orcus, Quachil, and Ah Puch (Yog was in here once but he's fallen out of favour)

The next circle are the ritual performers: Chaugnar, Zoth, Lilith, and Anazareth. Barbatos and Abducius are also included here are they provide sacrifices and kill sacrifices respectfully, even though Abducius isn't really seen as an equal to the rest.

The most outside circle is everyone else. They are treated with the same amount of respect as the other circles but are often not privy to the inner secrets of the groups.

There is a large ritual held every full moon to replenish everyone's power, and the group spends a lot of their month preparing for it. It usually includes a bonfire and a dance which is fun.

I still believe the couples in "real life" are still couples in the nightmare. Yan Luo and Orcus are just married now. All family relations also stay the same.

The D.D.D. guy's head can just come off. He's actually chill with the clown they are buddies.

42 and Peach Peach are just sort of. Guys that hang out around the place. They are regarded as like. Stray cats you aren't meant to feed.

Angus omg, he's THE character:

Italian mafia boss, that's an obvious one

Wanted on 42 countries for multiple crimes such as scamming, robbery, torture and the list goes on.

He does most of his meetings and deals on a local bar near the building.

One night he saw a lonely, sad and miserable man about to pass out at the bar, though it was weird he had barely touched his drink. He thought this would be a great chance to scam another poor man and take whatever he had on his pockets, but as he started chatting and noticing they live in the same place, he ended up befriending him, and that's how he met Francis.

Nacha absolutely despises him, she does not trust him for anything, and when she sees Francis hanging out with him she keeps her distance. Also when it's Francis' turn to take care of Ana, she makes it very clear to keep Angus away for those days. Spoiler, he shows up anyway and likes to show his cheating secrets to her, and he's also teaching her how to drive (like a maniac, this man never uses the brakes).

Is always prepared to fight against doppels, just when they plant a foot inside his apartment he's already there, sitting so confortable and smiling at them, already pointing and not even taking him 3 seconds to shoot.

No one in the building besides Francis and Margarette (just bc the sweet naive person she is) likes him, always trying to sell crap to everyone or get money from them in any way possible.

Despite being someone so hungry for money, the only person he doesn't take money from and even pays everything for is Francis (is not like he can't afford it, but he's just so tired from working he never has the energy to go for groceries).

Poor guy!

That makes his nightmare form pretty sad aw

I feel bad for Gauss,I believe he's a lovely man whether he is chubby or chubby buff whatever he is under that suit.

Me personally I think he's buff chubby but the way he maintains his physique isn't in a healthy manner and that's where his eating disorder lies

Maybe he has bulimia, because it's the type of eating disorder where you binge eat a lot and then compensate for it through concerning ways like vomiting and self starvation

Maybe he's stressed about constantly having to be perfect to the public, one wrong move and he's gonna lose people and the public is.... EVERYWHERE and EVERYONE outside, must feel lonely.

Maybe he copes by having a lot of treats but then starts feeling guilty and you know

What's the point of socialising if you're never yourself? It's as bad as being lonely.

He also lives alone, so doesn't seem to have anyone for emotional support or anyone who knows him beyond his public image. Anyone who ever wants to be with him wants to be with his swauve, smug, confident, and planned out television persona he doesn't know if anyone will ever want to be with his regular self. Hell nobody knows what he's like behind the curtains.

So I think his nightmare form kinda reflects his nightmare, his fear that he's living a lie. He feels like he's not good enough. Because everything he does outside is planned out to please the public. He feels unworthy inside that if someone saw the real guy inside they'd be disappointed and put out by him.

I wouldn't be surprised if he uses steroids or some drugs to keep his physique up

Also his eyes being closed feels symbolic, like you know what they say, eyes are the window to the soul and he keeps his one closed. His smile feels forced like he feels like he's fooling nobody. The chain on his body feels restrictive like he's not allowed to go beyond a certain mold and the top of his head is tiny because he feels stupid. Just a dumb pretty puppet that's ugly on the inside, but pretty on the outside for the news industry to use.

-------------------------------------------------

So I guess the nightmare neighbors are negative perceptions of what the neighbor's fears are, worst nightmares are ect.

SPOILERS BELOW

In your supposed-to-be REST and COMFORT, you're instead a shaking, delusional mess. Imprisoned as a doorman in the fucking astral circle. You're head aches. Things are blurry. Intimidating, judging, condescending nightmares come by constantly. They eye you impatiently, and sometimes hungrily.

You take too long, continuing to question yourself. Sweating. It's hard to swallow. You have constant chills. The nightmares continuously poke at your delicate, collapsing mental state like hot cattle prods.

"Hurry up, human. You don't want to keep me waiting..."

"Take a moment longer and I will come in there."

"You would look so much better with your skin flayed out...~"

It only gets worse every night. As you walk to your room, you pass what are clearly the "normal" residents. But even still, they treat you much differently than your earthly neighbors. You can never catch a break here.

Zoth comments on how your flesh and blood would make for the perfect ritual.

Yog licks his lips ever so subtly as he walks past you, thinking you're worth more as a meal than a pathetic door-human.

Xezbet stares at you with that wide, sharp-toothed smile, able to smell your delicious soul that trembles beneath your skin.

Ah Puch imagines the crunching of your bones.

Tuetates simply longs to see you lifeless.

Your sleep area usually harbors the frequent mouse or cockroach or ant pile. You seem to always have the worst luck. You swear you were bewitched AND hexed. You felt death around every corner. You could sometimes feel yourself sleeping in your own grave.

Why? Why were you subject to this nightmare? What have you done to deserve this torture? You only wanted some simple rest. You felt like you could just pass away, even once you woke up in the mortal realm.

And it continues. Every. Night.