we never were good at doing what we’re told - completed fic
now that the story’s complete at 21 chapters and 113k words, i can make a more detailed post about it!
the important surface shit:
soulmate AU featuring pynch, platonic ronanessy, background ot6
angst and hurt/comfort with a happy ending
exploration of everyone’s varying neuroses
all the characters get to love and be loved
non-traditional takes on soulmates and relationships
the under-the-surface shit:
soulmate AU for people who don’t like soulmate AUs
fate doesn’t always equal happiness
hard work and commitment both beat fate in existential rock-paper-scissors
all three narrators (ronan, adam, hennessy) are about as messy and dysfunctional as they are in canon
but the story revolves around working thru that!
lots of themes about surviving trauma, mental illness, generational curses, etc, etc
honestly, very similar themes to CDTH itself, just explored through a different framework
the premise:
no magic AU (besides soulmate magic) in which you’re born with silhouetted tattoos representing your soulmate(s). when you touch your soulmate, the tattoo colors in.
so you always know how many soulmates you have, but not who they are.
in rarer cases, people might not have any soulmates at all.
adam has no soulmates, ronan has Many, and hennessy has just one.
so you’ve got adam “i don’t want to be pitied” parrish constantly pitied for his lack of soulmates, ronan “i destroy everything i touch” lynch feeling responsible for multiple people’s lives, and hennessy “i get my own and make no excuses” bitchqueen convinced that her soulmate will be her ruination…. or vice versa
the relationships:
pynch
despite not being soulmates
adam and ronan have been in a healthy and committed relationship for about a decade
they are Deeply in love
conflicts arise because of adam’s insecurities combined with ronan’s mental health struggles
these can be an explosive combination
but bringing these issues to light ultimately allows them to foster a deeper, more loving bond
ronanessy
(mild suicide warning)
ronan is far too gay and hennessy is far too traumatized for this to be even REMOTELY romantic
but their platonic relationship has the same weight and intensity as a romantic arc
it begins when ronan saves hennessy from a suicide attempt
and then discovers she’s his last soulmate
uh oh
this triggers a fun spiral of both of their fucked-up issues
which eventually resolves with mutual support and partnership
and loving each other. despite being the most antagonistic shitheads alive
adamnessy
a relationship that starts out antagonistic as Fuck
because adam does not think hennessy is good for ronan
and hennessy likes causing problems on purpose
it doesn’t stay that way forever tho.
i love them i can’t summarize all their bullshit antics in bullet points
adam & ronan & hennessy
this triad’s dynamics are constantly shifting in terms of allyship, conflict, and commitment
the shenanigans that any 2 people get up to affect the 3rd
sometimes in positive ways
sometimes… not so much
also features brief one- or two-chapter explorations of bluedam, adansey, ronsey, roah, and czarrish
content warnings:
there’s a lot of heavy shit touched on and sometimes explored more in-depth. again, very similar themes to CDTH, which means:
literally every narrator fucks up in a major way at least once
past suicide (kavinsky and hennessy’s mother)
grief and trauma surrounding that
so many maladaptive coping mechanisms
current suicidal ideation in hennessy (and discussions surrounding that)
some substance abuse, mostly on hennessy’s end
just….. hennessy is her own content warning. okay
seriously, if you take out the hennessy-related warnings the fic is basically a disney show
that’s not true but close enough
extra notes:
it’s good
seriously i poured too many hundreds of hours into crafting this behemoth to pretend i don’t know it’s good. trust me
i’ve been told some of the mental health exploration hits hard so like. if it is not for u then it is not for u
despite the heaviness of the premise, the narrative’s purpose Is to construct healthy relationships and fix serious problems and create support systems
instead of, like….. ruining people’s lives for the angst
also all of the dialogue is funny as hell
i’m a genius
and characters are depicted, like, enjoying each other’s company
what a wild concept
anyway that’s been my heart project for the past year so. enjoy
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