#there should be more unwilling but in control reader fics out there imo

[artpoplibrary]

“Gods aren’t called upon, rather, they are made. They are made with blood and tears and the strain of muscles; bones crushed under the feet of the first ‘heretic’ prophet to preach your gospel. Gods are made in battle, in the solace of the night skies, or, in your case at least, in the obsession of one human; your prophet, with you as their muse.”

God!reader x m! or gn!worshipper

How do we feel about this idea, broskis? Is this the vibes? It would most likely have some toxic codependency stuff going on (but in a romantic wayyy), and also some Yandere behaviour directed at reader—

If folks vibe with this I’ll probably drop the actual first post about this concept on the weekend?

[gypsin]

Thoughts on the Soulmate Trope

Here are some of my thoughts, notes & tips on writing the soulmates trope. (clearly, I’ve been thinking about writing my own soulmate fic someday and how I want to do it)

It’s also pretty clear that I went a bit overboard with my thoughts. So since that’s the case I thought I’d share.  Below are soulmate ‘quirks’, my thoughts on them, and ‘roadblocks’ followed by a general example and some ranting.

Enjoy!

Quirks: (These are mostly just the ones I can remember other people using.)

- writing on your skin shows up on your soulmate too.

This is basically just a pen pals trope. XD

-dream sharing

Always a fun one, but it takes a lot of creativity to be pulled off really well IMO.

-sharing/splitting injuries

almost a surefire hurt/comfort fic if you use this one, but some people use it like the ‘writing on your skin’ quirk and just hint at the connection with bruises and small cuts.

-telepathy

(especially in moments of physical or mental weakness)

-seeing something about the other that no one else can see

It could be anything from a weird/supernatural physical trait, (pointed ears/ fangs/ weird eye color/ mysterious tattoo, etc) to something even stranger (tiny spirits that follow people around, each others aura, flashes of who they used to be in a past life) whatever appeals to you and your story.

-shared birthmarks / soulmarks

Oh man soulmarks, it’s like one of the most popular quirks in the trope. And it’s really versatile too! For example, the position of the mark could indicate the kind of relationship it will be  (ex: over the heart = true love, on the hand = steadfastness and resolve)

And a lot of the time the mark is a clue toward who the other person is. it’s a great opportunity for symbolism in a story. Or you could just straight up make the soulmarks be each other’s NAMES, there are a billion ways you could play it.

-first touch/ eye contact triggers intense mental or physical reaction

(usually feelings of love coming from a past life or some sort of future nostalgia’?’) this is sort of the bread and butter quirk of the trope. Its main issue is that it makes for a SUPER short fic if the two people just fall in love at first sight/touch with no hijinx involved. But I’ve also seen it effectively mixed with quirks like shared emotions, telepathy, and dream sharing so it all depends on how you use it I guess.

-shared emotions/sensations

(intense anger, sadness, joy, pain, pleasure, etc)( intensity can likely be controlled or varies based on the situation) this is a fun one if you’re writing smut for sure, but it's interesting to play with all around too. It basically means every stressful/amazing moment gets shared with the other person and with a supportive couple that’s going to get you far in the fluff & hurt/comfort camps.

-intense need to be near each other

(can compel one or both to drop what they are doing and go to each other, especially in times of distress.)

the weird thing about this one is that I’ve seen it used alongside all sorts of other quirks, and it totally works. Like if one character gets hit by a car in a soulmates fic it's almost guaranteed that this quirk is going to hit the other person like a freight train for no good reason and they are RUNNING to the scene of the accident/hospital.

But it’s sort of unsurprising that it works considering the fact that the whole point of the soulmates trope is that the characters share a weird magical/spiritual bond.

- soulmates can hear each other sing no matter how far apart they are

I’ve seen this one before in a MLB fic and it was cute/silly as HELL. I firmly encourage more inventive and oddly specific quirks like this to fatten up the trope.

-the ability to share what the other is seeing and/or hearing.

(If it’s at will then it probably requires concentration for a clear picture/sound)

I’ve seen this one in movies and it’s pretty cool! But a lot of what’s makes it work is the story going on around them and not the romance itself. I’m not saying to neglect the romance but if you use this quirk you’d better have a super good story to go along with it because this one is all about how the character’s share their lives and situations with each other. If you don’t make those lives interesting then the quirk is wasted. But that’s just my opinion.

With soulmate AU’s you could have it so that everyone has the same quirk or You could mix it up and use all of them (In that instance, I would make some of these more common than others. ex: writing on the skin= rare, birth/soulmarks = semi-rare, first touch/ eye contact = common.) OR you could even make it so that nobody really knows about or believes in soulmates and make your couple an oddity.

Either way,  the point of the soulmate trope is that the side effect of the bond helps lead the couple together. But if you make it too easy then the relationship won’t feel genuine or earned.

Typically, you have one character who is cautiously hopeful about finding and falling for their soulmate (or is extremely eager about meeting their soulmate. See below.)

And the other character has hit some sort of roadblock that has to be overcome.

But they could both have their own issues on dating their soulmate too. It’s all up to the type of characters you're portraying and their circumstances.

Common soulmate roadblocks:

-not everyone HAS a soulmate or theirs died before they could meet and someone that doesn't have one gets jealous and tries to separate the couple.

-one of them is confused by the bond’s clues and think its leading them to someone else.

-one of them thinks the bond is wrong or that they've over thought it because they don't initially approve of their chosen partner / think their partner is too good for them /etc.

-the bond’s side effect gets in the way of their everyday life and they come to resent the other person regardless of if it's their fault or not.

-one of the characters flat out disapproves of their partner being ‘chosen for them’ regardless of who it is.

-one of them (or possibly a family member/friend) is WAY too eager about the soulmate thing and puts pressure on the other person to start a romantic relationship with their partner asap and ends up scaring them away.

-regardless of the bond they still don't find each other for years or were looking in the wrong places. (likely only find one another after they've given up) (god I hate this one, it's so sad)

-one of them gives up on finding their soulmate and goes out with someone else (only to find them during or after the breakup stages) (not fond of this one either)

-saw/ heard about a soulmate bond that should have been platonic turn romantic and then go up in flames.

-knew someone who's soulmate died and doesn't want to go through all that pain someday.

I suggest choosing at least two to make a more complex relationship that will feel earned. But you should do way more if you’re writing a multi-chapter fic. Just remember to stay consistent with the character’s situation and reasoning, and try not to overcompensate with roadblocks.

Example:

The setting is an Au where everyone knows their soulmate via soulmarks

Character A (female) wants to have a relationship with their SM and has a mark of a black fox on her shoulder.  

Character B (male) disapproves of their partner being ‘chosen for them’ regardless of who it is. This is probably compacted by the embarrassing fact that he has a pink butterfly on his shoulder. This has affected his day to day life and he resents his SM for it.

When they meet B see’s A’s fox soulmark (because she’s purposely showing it off so she can find her SM.) But he keeps his hidden.

B tries to avoid A but can’t completely. A does/says something endearing and B’s walls come down a little and they get to know each other. B starts falling for A.

From there you can go a bunch of different ways. You can end the story there by having A do/say something that makes B fall completely in love, reveal his soulmark and admit to his feelings, OR you can drag out the roadblocks you have by making B unwilling to admit to anything and have him agonize over it a while longer.

Adding roadblocks at this point is okay too.

Maybe A finds out B hid his soulmark from her and didn’t originally want to be with her and gets offended. Or Maybe A’s family is WAY too eager about the soulmate thing and ends up spooking B away again. Or you can add a jealous coworker or friend to try and sabotage the relationship and have B get jealous/ protective.

Just bear in mind that their mental states have already been covered in this example so you shouldn’t make any more mental roadblocks. Making B suddenly cut off A after they’ve gotten close because he knew someone who's soulmate died and he’s totally traumatized doesn’t make sense. Either lay out all the emotional issues at the start or keep quiet about them and lay it out later to make it a surprise. Don’t just ADD emotional issues into the mix randomly.

On the same note, I think other kinds of roadblocks get more leeway. Just don't constantly tease the reader with potential relationship development and then have some event or drama just as constantly interrupt/ruin it. People WANT to see the couple get closer. Don't drag out the story just because you can, you have to make it flow naturally. (but I feel like that should go without saying)