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In a multiverse where everyone has a string connecting them to their Soulmate, Ink has always been frustrated he didn't have a Soul himself.
Don't get him wrong, Most of the time he didn't actually care, His vials were what made him feel any kind of emotion, and he didn't drink every single one daily, because he couldn't afford to be overwhelmed with miserably in the middle of a battlefield. And His emotions could be unpredictable at times because every emotions he felt from his vials were so powerful.
And not having a Soul wasn't really something to think about all the time or be upset about, because that always been the case as far as he remembers.
But everytime he thought about how Soulmates were supposed to be your other half that was made perfectly for you and understand you like no one else, he couldn't stop from feeling envious of others Soulmate bonds.
He was fine being alone most of the time, and he always had the Creators to keep him company.
But they weren't like him, he was a character, as was everyone else that had a Soulmate in this Multiverse, and the idea of having someone else to understand and accept that in the same way he did, was very appealing.
Outcodes were the only ones that Soulmates sometimes weren't in the same universe they were from, and even the majority of them their Soulmates were still from their original Universe.
But no matter how long it'll take, the Multiverse will always make you find them, you were meant to be together as one after all.
He's also well aware he wasn't the only one that didn't have Soul nor Soulmate. There's many others like him. but most of them Did have a Soulmate before losing their Soul, so at least they knew who they were supposed to match with.
But he doesn't remember anything from beyond the Doodle sphere, so he's not even sure he ever had a Soul to begin with, so he might of just been meant to not have another half.
But that doesn't stop him from wondering if he actually already does have one.
He thought if he did, it would probably be another Outcode and someone he already ended up crossing paths with a lot without either of their intention.
Because Soulmates always found each other with or without their own interest in finding one other, the multiverse is stringing you together, you'll eventually get to one other regardless of anything else.
With all of that in mind, he kept ending back to same thought.
Is Fresh supposed to be his Soulmate?
Fresh being a parasite didn't have a Soul either, And if they both should've been Soulmates it'd make sense neither would have a Soul now regardless if they had Souls to start with.
And they both were Outcodes that always ended up bumping into each other a strange amount, despite the Multiverse being huge, like Soulmates tend to.
Not to mention they're both pretty indifferent to the fact that they were characters, like sure it stressed them out that the creators might get bored of them, but it's not like they were in denial about it.
It was a crazy thought he knew, but he couldn't get the idea out of his head.
And he also knew it would just continue to bug him until he let it out of his mind.
So he decided to confront Fresh with it to see what his thoughts were.
.
"Fresh! just the Outcode I was looking for!" He exclaimed the moment he caught sight of him.
Fresh started skating around Ink. "Oh yea? What's sup broseph?"
"Have You given much thought to Soulmates?" No reason to beat around the bush.
He raised a brow. "Nah bro, Why would I?"
"Isn't it a interesting concept? Two Souls made to beat together for all of time"
"I Dunno~" He sing song. "Sounds pretty wack dat yo only feel'd whole with somebody else"
"They're still probably better off than us, They might be missing one half of their Souls, but we're missing both." Ink stated point blank.
Fresh give him a peculiar look. "Dat's one way ta look at it"
"And they might be reliant on each other, but we're reliant on The creators."
Fresh stared at him, he knew Ink was blunt but he didn't usually bring them up like that.
"Dey still are too, but ignorance is bliss, Yuppp, Got ya point, dey def better off than us"
"But I was thinking" He paused. "You know how some monsters had a Soul, than lost it?"
"Course" Fresh shrugged.
"Well they had a Soulmate, losing their Soul doesn't change the fact that their Souls went together. And I was thinking, Because neither of us have Souls, Maybe that means we're Soulmates, that's why neither of us have a Soul because we were- or is connected in the same way Soulmates are supposed to be"
Fresh seem to ponder over it before adding. "There's no way to know either of us ever had a Soul tho, We could've just not had a Soulmate ta start with"
"I know! But that's also why I'm bringing it up! Isn't it strange despite everything, we always end up crossing paths? it's not like we're in one universe, we're roaming billions!" He waved his arms around in dramatics. "Yet Here we are, I didn't even need to look for you, because you were already one step away from me!"
Fresh looked doubtful. "Brah, ya lookin too inta it if yo asking ma, M'not saying t'not odd, but ya setting yo-self up for disappointment if ya think either of us could have a bond like Soulmates do, we're not capable of da same emotional attunement dey got"
"I'm not wanting that anyway Fresh! I'm just curious what we do have- or could, it doesn't have to be like everyone else's bonds, It's ours! that's what matters to me"
Fresh just watched him with a skeptical look.
"And, You and I both know what it's like to not have emotional hold ups, at least we can see where one another is coming from, more than we can with others with their emotional responses"
"N What bout ya vials? Yo saying those ain't real emotions?"
"No, they are real, just not quite in the same way that everyone else feels." Fresh just raised a brow at that.
"And regardless, we both play pretend in our own ways, but we don't care about it, about each other putting on a facade, that's my point."
"Look brah, I ain't gonna encourage dis thought, I just don't think it's a rad-o idea ta make up some kind-o fantasy where we're Soulmates, when we don'got Souls"
Ink tried not to be too dejected by that. "Could we try to be better friends at least? I meant what I said about us understanding each other. I think we could be great friends if we give it a chance."
He was hesitant to agree, on one hand they could probably get along great and it'll be nice having someone to talk and hang out with all the time, but on the other hand Ink already has the view that they were Soulmates, was it really a good idea to start a friendship where they both were already on different ends of what it means to them?
At the end of the day he should just do whatever would make the creators happy, and considering they both don't have A Soul, that gives him the impression they wouldn't want them to form a relationship.
Although...
It could be entertaining to watch them crash and burn trying to have some kind of bond they were never meant to.
And maybe they could beat the odds and actually stay friends.
"Yea alright" Fresh shrugged.
Ink grinned. "Really!? Great!" He hopped closer to the other. "Do you want to head over to the doodle sphere? I have a bunch of new AUs I could show you that I bet you haven't seen"
"Dat's what ya lead with?" He chuckled. "Dey better be some radical ones"
Ink just wrapped a arm around Fresh's. "Oh they are! Maybe we're visit some of them too!"
"Sounds like a blast!" Fresh added as Ink portaled them.