#on soulbonding

[interstellarsystem]

Has this been done yet? Probably.

Tried to use language that's inclusive of alterhumans who are still human.

[sawyer-is-eepy]

>be me

>decide to change your name and pronouns

>tell your friends

>they are supportive and try their best

>a week later you suddenly dislike being called that name or the pronouns and the gender doesnt suit you anymore

>"i must be genderfluid!"

>actually, you're plural

>you idiot

>what have you done

[kairennart]

and isn't it just so pretty to think all along there was some invisible string tying you to me?

[theminecraftbee]

you know it's INTERESTING to look back at the double life soulmate pairs and see how they're doing now, relationship-wise, because that experience shaped every soulmate pair differently, i think:

ren and bigb i'll put first on account of "we have no idea since ren hasn't been in the series since double life". when will our doggy come back from the war.......

grian and scar are... grian and scar, the soulbond alone is only part of everything going on there. i think being FORCED to team shaped them a bit into being a little/lot more stable in their relationship with each other in limited life and secret life, as well as maybe taught them a bit about each other's limits. i am... honestly not a desert duo guy there are people who can do the analysis of the soulmate bond's impact on them WAY better than me but. it's part of their overall arc, you know?

martyn and cleo are fun. they both are still clearly CLOSE but they are also both still clearly mistrustful and angry at each other! they have this whole "the only one who can kill you is me" dynamic going on between each other that's very fun. i think being soulmates... obviously they were one half of divorce quartet and the resentment of being forced together did some stuff to that relationship. but i think maybe it also sort of gave them something that they appreciate about each other as well? and they DO care, despite everything. (i could GO INTO THIS LET ME TELL YOU.) so like, they aren't close friends or anything, but they Know Each Other now. and that's a fun dynamic.

impulse and bdubs are funny because i think their bond both did and didn't shape them. the thing is, like desert duo, their soulbond is only one step in their journey, the one that ARGUABLY only settled out in limlife after impulse permakilled bdubs. (note that this is the first series where bdubs hasn't gotten a clock! he is FINALLY PAST that one relationship!) that said i think being each other's ridiculously happy married couple did something to impulse specifically, actually. i think it sort of confused and solidified the grudge and it also like, showed him the almost-happy-loyalty that he wanted in the world. i think these days impulse, at least, has a different idea of 'loyalty' and 'betrayal' thanks to that. and bdubs... i think it's relevant that despite bdubs intentionally CONSTANTLY THROWING UP BETRAYAL FLAGS, he never actually did it. and i don't think he ever actually would. but in terms of their relationship to EACH OTHER? the soulbond was, yeah, only one step in how that arc went.

scott and pearl are... interesting. it's funny; for one of the single most consequential soulbonds in double life, it like... mostly hasn't come up again in their relationship? part of this i think is that pearl's LONELINESS had more of an impact on her than anything scott specifically did, and scott choosing had more of an impact on him. so to each other they're mostly... normal? both a bit mistrustful but like... normal? it's in the ways they act with other people that this experience shaped them, i think; i could say something about scott's next major relationship being mean gills, and the way pearl is only now learning to be a part of a team that cares again. also, pearl's discovery of her bloodlust. that kind of happened in last life to be fair, but it's relevant,

jimmy and tango are surprisingly simple because they were one of the most stable and normal soulmate pairs, lol. they're each other's ranchers! they're still friendly to each other even when their teams are on opposite sides! i think having one relationship where he was the more self-assured one was nice for jimmy and tango having a guy who, rather like skizz, was never going to point out much when tango screwed up on account of Pot Meet Kettle was nice for him, and they both know it was nice. they both get more into the teasing now that they know each other better--a big part of the early ranchers dynamic is that they Did Not Know Each Other but now that they DO it's starting to settle into something shaped more like the kinds of relationships both tango and jimmy tend to have (and they are BOTH the kinds of people to have a lot of friendly mocking in their relationships i wouldn't be surprised if that gets Even More in the future)--but i think out of everyone they probably remember the soulmates thing the most fondly, given the degree to which they are still Buddies.

etho and joel are... good lord the boat boys. on the one hand: clearly they both still enjoy pointing out that the boat boys happened. joel gets... weirdly jealous of other people hanging out with etho? on the OTHER hand they seem determined to murder each other so so so bad. i like to think that their soulbond is a thing they look back on fondly from this but ALSO they both have such weird commitment hangups and bloodlust that maybe the fact they want to kill each other SO BADLY was inevitable. also interesting, though, is how much of this bloodlust comes from etho, given that normally you'd expect joel's relationships to go the other way. what i THINK is happening is that joel still feels a lot of loyalty towards the boat boys somewhere in his head (hence the jealousy and not typically being the one to lash out), whereas etho thinks of it as largely Done and Past, but thinks of it fondly--hence bringing it up every time he has to kill joel, and also the weird tendency to gravitate towards joel specifically. I DON'T KNOW MAN I WOULDN'T HAVE PREDICTED BEFORE LIMLIFE THAT BOAT BOYS WOULD BE THE SOULMATE PAIR THAT WERE WEIRDEST ABOUT EACH OTHER BUT HERE WE ARE,

anyway i just think it's funny to look back on the various soulbonds and realize which ones have had a big impact on sticking around and which ones haven't, you know?

[geraskierfanficprompts]

Prompt 95

Inspired by this not geraskier (merthur) fic In a world where your soulmate's greatest current fear is written on your arm, Geralt's arm fluctuates between saying "Dying alone" and "Being Forgotten", and though they do hurt him to see this is what his soulmate fears above all else, he's happy. Because just a few years ago, his arm would swap between "Mother" and "Father". Geralt is fine with it all. Until one day the words on his arm say his name. "Geralt of Rivia" Geralt deals with this as calmly and reasonably as anyone would. He has a fullblown breakdown in the middle of the woods and cries into his horse's side and digs a really big hole before just filling it back up because the digging a hole was for the therapeutic feeling and not for anything of substance. So later when he killed a horrible smelling corpse monster and had to dig a SECOND hole to bury the thing when he had a big already dug hole earlier if he just hadn't filled it fucking in-! He's having a tough week, is all. But thankfully, soon enough, he'll be meeting back up with Jaskier! The one person who's never been afraid of him, and Geralt is only just starting to feel like maybe Jaskier never will. Jaskier is terrified of Geralt. Not of him! Not of him, nonono.. Of Geralt.. finding out. If Geralt finds out Jaskier is falling in love with him, Geralt will surely throw him aside. I mean, it took him forever to say they were friends, if Jaskier tells Geralt he's in love with him, Geralt would probably do something ridiculous like... Scream at him on a mountain or something. Alright, sure, that sounds nothing like Geralt, but Jaskier's spiraling doesn't really care for what makes "sense" at the moment. He's fine. When he meets up with Geralt in a week, he'll just hide his feelings as per usual. He'll be fine.

♡!Optional addons!♡ • Jaskier has discovered that Geralt is his soulmate, because he's mended the wounds on Geralt's arm that clearly says "Geralt dying" or "Geralt bleeding out", or "Manticore Venom". Frankly, he's impressed at Geralt's lack of observational skills. Geralt's arm tends to have the name of whatever monster he's currently fighting on his arm.. But perhaps it's hard to notice that when you're currently engaged in life-or-death battle with aforementioned monster. • Jaskier isn't human. When Jaskier sees "Jaskier" on his arm one day, he feels as if his heart has shattered. Geralt must've found out what he is, and now he hates him. Jaskier can't help himself, when he next sees Geralt, he asks if Geralt would kill him, for he won't be able to keep sane by just separating. Geralt, whose biggest fear is Jaskier being hurt, being sad, dying because of him, dying of old age, loving him, not loving him, etc etc etc, is suddenly very confused over what the fuck they are talking about • Geralt knows Jaskier is his soulmate, and upon seeing Jaskier is terrified of him, Geralt begins acting and speaking completely different in order to "Fix it". Jaskier is confused when Geralt is suddenly hiding his fangs, and never touching his swords near him, and begins speaking exclusively in a soft slightly-higher voice, as if he's a scared animal.

[omegalomania]

the full apple music interview with zane lowe is out! we got snippets of it when love from the other side dropped, but they finally rolled out the full thing. here are some highlights that stood out to me :)

patrick describes pete's lyrics as what gets him out of bed in the morning. if pete doesn't send him lyrics, he doesn't write a song.

andy and pete used to draw fake snake tattoos on each other using magic markers as kids omg?

so evidently patrick was the one who got covid during hella mega tour. and he hated it and he was miserable and that's when he called neal avron about the new record lmao

patrick says that joe was hesitant at first and he was the one who said that for this record he wanted to make something that they could all savor and spend time on and patrick was immediately on board with that

pete says patrick's job is to interpret him because pete calls his mentality a "little bit off" but patrick is capable of understanding him and translating it

patrick describes his and pete's creative relationship as "twin speak." it's not linear and it's like living in his brain a little bit. he calls it the "weirdest thing i've ever seen" when pete can just Tell that some words that patrick adjusted weren't ones he wrote despite not remembering writing them. patrick says he's gotten better at connective tissue and knowing how pete would say things

pete: back in the day patrick was like, "what's the difference between cry and weep i will KILL YOU. THEY'RE THE SAME THING. I'M GONNA KILL YOU RIGHT NOW."

zane says patrick's vocals are next level for this album. pete agrees that he kills it on this album and said he never would've expected that voice coming from him when they first met. zane says patrick could sing a recipe and it would be good. he then passes patrick a recipe and patrick. sings it???

patrick: i'm not gonna belt it. (starts belting) NINE INCH PIE PLATE ROLLING PIN

patrick says that pete doesn't mean to have rhythm to his words but there's a rhythm to them all the same and patrick can find this syncopation in his words and thinks it's amazing

more talking about patrick and pete's Magical Mystical Transcendent Soul Bond. patrick says "if we were one guy, we'd be an INCREDIBLE DUDE"

patrick and pete say that interviews with all four of them are hard because it's chaos and everyone's talking at once but it all makes perfect sense to them and no one else. zane says that sounds like fun flkjdfd [i agree please do this more it's a joy]

pete says joe really stepped up and wrote a lot for this record!

patrick: "joe is kind of a conundrum because he's this really talented...he's a brilliant writer, a brilliant player, but pete and i became the "team" and it wasn't really a plan, but that's just kind of how it happened. [brief tangent about the hiatus] we come back from the thing and joe is this fully-formed writer with a very distinct - he has one of the most distinctive writing voices. when i hear his parts, when i hear his ideas, i could pick them out of a crowd. like i know the way joe writes, and it's VERY joe." part of the process with post-hiatus was integrating him into the writing process more.

discussing the hiatus and fame and pete says his life kind of "blew up" and took it pretty hard. apparently during production for folie paparazzi actually broke down the gate to neal avron's house

patrick goes on a big tangent about how bad things got during the height of pete's fame. "part of my role is to tell his story. i'm a composer. that's what i like to do. i work on movies, i work on shows, and i work on pete. pete has a story that needs music, and if he's removed from himself, if he's not even able to access himself because he's behind all of this stuff, i don't have a story! so not only did i not have my buddy, which was heartbreaking in its own way, but then i also don't have a purpose as an artist."

patrick says that andy is always ready to play but when you get him happy to play, it's another level

"and trohman, there were these moments where he...he got so excited."

patrick describes writing what a time to be alive as wanting to write the saddest, most desperate song you could hear at a wedding. pete bursts into laughter and calls it "so twisted"

talking about other endeavors outside the band - patrick talks about composing and said joe's been super busy with his book and writing for tv and because there are so many deadlines for stuff like that, it's what hammered home to him that fall out boy needs to not be that. "there's something special about this that can't be...this has to be passionate and art."

discussing how scared patrick was of his own voice while the band took off. patrick was really scared of the song saturday at first because there are some really exposed vocal moments. he describes saturday as a song where everyone in the band lets each other go for it.

zane calls fall out boy the "emo blueprint" and says they were unapologetic in being emotional. patrick immediately says, "that was pete. i don't think we could've done that without him." he and joe were basically kids and patrick was too anxious to talk on stage.

zane says, "i remember interviewing you in the early days and i felt like every time i asked you a question i was bullying you." pete IMMEDIATELY loses his shit.

"in another life where i didn't have a pete...cause saturday, i did write most of that by myself...so there's a world where that song exists without the band. there's no world where i sing it in front of people without pete."

pete says every night before they put out a new song he calls patrick up and gets really scared and wants to back out and patrick talks him down every time

they talk about how scary it was when arm's race released and performing it at the amas. patrick starts laughing rly hard as they get into how there were giant crickets on stage and the crowd was just stone-faced and utterly nonresponsive and their stage manager was utterly panicked

towards the end patrick really loosens up and starts swearing more dlkfjdfd

[mothiepixie]

Something I'm curious about, do you have any head canons about soulbonding? If so, who would Motti have soulbonded with? 💜💙💚💛🧡❤️

Sorry for taking so long to answer! I hope you enjoy! I kinda got carried away ahaha

Soulbonding is an ancient and intimate affair and rarely practiced in modern day, but it is considered the highest form of trust and some would say it transcends usual bonds. Once soul bonded; the individuals can experience a merge of memories, feelings, etc. It can also extend or decrease one’s life to the corresponding partner who initiated the act, thus the individuals can live their life as long as their chosen partners. 

Although soulbonding is a form of strong magic, it can also be broken. However, the individual(s) will experience a sense of intense loss and an emptiness that may never be filled. The reason being is when the soulbond happens it creates an invisible “string" to the respective partners. If the “string” is broken the merge isn’t completely severed, and the missing specs will constantly call out to each other. It’s one of the reasons why it's not a common practice anymore as the few who have broken the bond cannot stand the feeling. 

If a partner were to pass away by unnatural means, the bonded individual(s) would also experience an intense sense of loss and most do not come back from that. Especially for monsters; their hope would drop to practically nothing and eventually the grief would cause them to dust. Most bonded individual(s) will age and pass away alongside each other. 

Soulbonding isn’t reserved for just romantic partners as many platonic individuals can bond. In ancient times it was a great way for members of armies/guilds/party members to better fight alongside each other, and if ever lost in battle the bond acts like a beacon. This was only done with close and trusted parties though. 

But as monsters were cast underground, and times became more modernized it wasn’t really necessary to continue that kind of practice. (Depending on the AU, monsters became pacifists or many lost trust in others to bond). The history behind soulbonding eventually died for humans as well once the monsters were no longer on the surface. 

Who would soulbond:

Boysen: However, this would be many years down the line and the thought of Motti aging and dying without him would definitely have him initiate the bond. (He would actually dust if Motti were to pass away, his HP just couldn’t bear the loss regardless bonded or not.)

Passive Nightmare: Even without soulbonding he is so deeply attached to Motti, and vice versa, that he could not even bear the thought of losing her. He is willing to let Motti initiate the act, but Motti would rather he do it so they could make up for all the tragedies they suffered. (I guess Motti would become immortal if that’s the case)

Farmer: A country man stands by his partner through and through, and given Motti’s life span being shorter than his, he would think about it for a good long while before having the discussion with her. Mainly it would be because he doesn’t want her to feel pressured into something like that and if she ever would want to leave, he’d like her to have that choice. But boy, he would be over the moon when she agrees.

Blue: This monster loves long and hard. He would not think twice about approaching the subject and offering it to Motti. There will be a discussion of who will initiate the act, but Blue would 100% be okay with either decision. 

Who would be apprehensive:

 Sans: While he would never let anyone know or show it, he is scared by the prospect that if he bonded with Motti and something were to happen to her; he knows he will dust instantaneously. He most likely will never approach the subject to her and would hope that no one ever mentions to Motti about it. 

Dream: He already has commitment issues and is already overwhelmed with his powers of empathy. It makes sense that soulbonding may even be a more exhausting and stressful experience. It took him years to accept that Motti’s feelings were genuine and not a by-product of his powers, so the thought of bonding to a degree could be more harmful to his psyche than good. 

Horror: He actually leans into being apprehensive to not even consider it, but he would be lying if he said the thought never occurred to him. Especially when he is in a good head space, he does fantasize what a nice domestic life would be like with Motti, but he would eventually convince himself that’s just a pipe dream. Although if Motti showed genuine interest/want, he just may be persuaded. 

Who would not:

Big Red: That’s far too intimate and scary, he already cannot handle his emotions as is and his trauma would make him scared to bond with Motti. He may just dust on the spot if something ever happened to her. 

Killer: It’s already hard for Motti to discern if his affection comes from a genuine place to begin with and even for Killer that may be a step he has never considered. 

Dust: He has experienced far too much trauma and his brother haunting him does not help in the slightest. He already knows what it is like to have someone’s feelings and influence hanging over his head and he would never want to subject Motti to his warped mind and soul. 

Ink: He doesn’t have a soul to bond with, but he may play with the idea by using physical strings if Motti were to bring it up. He doesn’t really understand the idea or appeal, but he likes the thought of crafting an idea. 

Nightmare: He doesn’t really have much of a soul to begin with, but even so Motti would not entertain the idea if she knows she’ll feel what he feels. (Him embodying all negative emotions and enjoying it is not a good time in Motti’s eyes)

[sand-stinger]

gorey double life art below the cut!! be warned!

no bodies here!! no way! no dead bodies or heartbeats here! nope!

a gift for @kingscourthouse as another part of @mcythorrorgiftexchange !

[moeblob]

Impulsively shoving a guy's hand in your mouth after having the thought "oh just like when my little sister used to prick herself on a rose thorn" and then immediately being treated like a pet who ate something they shouldn't have? Wonderful. Thank you, Thane.

(also not pictured is Thane apparently trying to scrape your tongue with his hand BEFORE pouring the holy water down your throat because NO. BAD.)

[the-bar-sinister]

Its like, people can ask me "why do you like this flat, two-dimensional, obnoxious fictional character and read into them a complex and nuanced inner life, and not this other flat, two dimensional, obnoxious fictional character?"

But all I can respond is that one of them I know personally and understand as a fellow being with a rich inner life and many positive qualities, and the other is just a flat, two dimensional, obnoxious fictional character to me. 🤷

[fromfiction]

hii!

idk if you knew this, but "soulbond" and "plural identity" are vv harmful terms

:( theyre pro endo (endogenic, aka a "system" without trauma) and endos scientifically cant exist. /info

basically, systems like ourself stem from childhood trauma. before the ages of 9-12, your brain is physically unable to create a solid identity. normally, by that age, what we call "facets" or "fragments" of identity will either:

- fuse together, creative your identity (which is ever-changing but now has a "root"); or

- disappear for any reason

but when someone goes through extreme trauma before that age, those facets are unable to develop properly and instead become identities. this results in DID/OSDD/USD, which are the only ways plurality can exist.

soulbonding is (and correct me if im wrong) the practice of creating a spiritual connection with someone or something, or bringing their soul/spirit into your body. this is similar to introjecting (having an alter form based on a real person, fictional character, etc.) but alters cannot be made intentionally as they form at the brain's subconscious and not the conscious. therefore, it isn't possible and soulbonding is purely misinformation.

likewise, "plural identity" is equally harmful if not even more so because it implies that one can just "identify" as a system or as having fragmented identity, which in turn mutes the people like me whove been through horrible things and had to suffer for it our whole life. if plurality was an identity, then 100% of real systems would identify as singlet because it really isnt fun.

please remove those from your blog... /nm /lh

I am begging you to at least think about what you're doing and saying when you come to a person and ask them to negate and deny their entire personhood and entire lived existence to make you comfortable and to conform to your worldview.

This is what you are doing when you come to a spiritual plural or a spiritual fictionkin and say "stop using those words, because I don't believe in those things".

When you say "DID/OSDD/USD, are the only ways plurality can exist" to someone who has lived the past 30 years of their life as a spiritual plural system you are saying "you don't exist, and I want you to deny your own existence for my comfort."

You are literally coming to me and telling me my soul doesn't exist.

You don't think that's a fucked up thing to say to someone, even if you believe it?

[the-soulbonded-teaparty]

The soulbonding carrd!

Ahhh I finished it! Also, the history bit is just a quick summary, but since history is my passion- and the profession we're probably going into, I'll write an essay on it eventually.

[incesthemes]

read two insane wincest fics in the last two days and honestly i have no idea how to move on from them. they've bored into my skull like worms and i will not get over them any time soon

watch you weigh your powers

selfishly, i wish there had been more actual mind control in the fic because i have problems in my brain and the horrors attack me nightly, but otherwise this is just really great. i love the focus on sam's emotions and the fear and horror of what he's been doing. the paragraph spacing is all kinds of wonky and honestly really off-putting, but once i pushed past that, it was an awesome read.

camdon inn

deadass i think this author lives in my brain. i can't believe they wrote my exact kink, wrote it well, and gave it a satisfying ending all in one fic. i love how they executed their incest headcanons and developed the background for their relationship, and jesus christ i can't even stress how good this soulbond is. i can't be normal after reading this. author has a tendency to skip over words on occasion, but otherwise it's really well written and i'm so impressed with it.

i've never done a fic rec kinda thing before but idk leaving a comment wasn't enough for me. i need more people to read them. holy shit

[moonpool-system]

So like shoutout to soulbonds with exotrauma. To soulbonds with traumatic memories, soulbonds who're in a whole new life now and hafta figure out how to deal with that. Soulbonds in bodies with trauma and without. Soulbonds that're scared of people disbelieving our PTSD or other traumabased disorders, being called fake or roleplayers, or our trauma being treated as lesser. Soulbonds who even struggle to treat ourselves as just as important as others that were hurt. Soulbonds whose painful experiences involve fantastical elements that make it hard to talk about in a down to earth way. Soulbonds who're scared they'll "speak over" others with similar bodily trauma. Soulbonds in bodies who only have PTSD at all because of exotrauma.

What happened to us was real because we experienced it and it affects us, and that's so important. We deserve to be treated with respect and we deserve help! It's not fair that we're treated as lesser than bodily trauma. I want every soulbond with exotrauma to know that we CAN find healing one day, and it's gonna be okay. I love you and you'll find others that do too

[ravenwilds]

Merthur Soulmate Fic Recs

For my @merlinbingo square I3, soulmarks

Strangled by the Red String of Fate by @idlestories

Explicit; 9,971 words; posted 2020; canon era

Idlestories writes the best banter between these two idiots and that's absolutely the case here! If you like this you should also read Nicest Thing, which might be my favourite ever Merlin fic (not soulmates).

“It has its roots in a legend from the east, sire. I believe it’s called the red string of fate.” “Fate?” Arthur said incredulously. “What, is he going to be the one to kill me?” “Getting more likely by the minute,” Merlin supplied.  ...

The Rebel, the Prat and the Unfortunate Soulbound by Leandra @nuttersinc

Teen; 10,310 words; 2022; canon era

I loved betaing this fic. It is pretty darn hot for a teen rated fic, and very funny. Rebellious, sassy Merlin and pining Arthur <3 - another reluctant soulmates one.

When Arthur tries to prevent the escape of prisoners in the dungeons, he's pulled into a tussle with a mouthy, unapologetic and irritating magic user. Turns out the dark-haired stranger with the criminal streak and terribly kissable mouth is Arthur's reluctant soulmate...

Bare Your Soul by Polomonkey

Teen; 4,256 words; 2021; modern era

Delightful, funny and completely in character case of reluctant-soulmates, mixed with a classic bit of they-didn’t-realise-they-were-dating. Two sides of the same idiot. Loved Kilgharrah in this too.

An accidental soulbonding leads Merlin and Arthur into counselling to get it dissolved.  If, of course, that's what they really want...

Let it be you by Amithia

Explicit; 33,323 words; 2021; modern era

This is funny, and hot, and has a great cast of characters, besides the main pair. All the phone messages are brilliant. And it's a coffee shop au. Reluctant soulmates with great banter.

This is all Gwen's fault. Merlin never wanted a stupid smartphone in the first place. Now, he has a smartphone and a supercilious, posh git bullying him on Whatsapp. He really should block the prat.

True Love by platonic_boner

Teen; 6,927 words; 2016; canon era

Recommended to me by my friend Seth and I loved it. Such a great concept and leading to delicious mix of mutual pining, light angst and funny misunderstandings.

AU where soulmates can’t lie to each other. (That’s okay, Merlin wasn’t planning to lie to Arthur anyways! Haha.. ha.. ha…)

And finally...

Honourable mention to Gamut by Nahara - great world-building in a contemporary/future country at war au. It's hot - there's quite an age difference so mind the tags if that's not your thing.

Also for something seasonal, Seth recommended Santa ain't got nothing on tone-deaf carollers by headfirstforwaywardhalos, which is also funny and I loved the concept for the soulmarks, which behave like mood rings.

[trenchcoat-of-hats]

as a system who's been writing their whole life, I think some writers should consider that they're plural with the way they talk about their characters- because characters aren't actually supposed to take over the story, at least not in our experience, unless they're literally autonomous because they're a headmate/soulbond/whatever. if you're a good writer you keep your characters in-character so they would do whatever's in-character but the character shouldn't be deciding to do that, you're deciding that. there's a difference between knowing what a character will do because you know them well and having the character choose what to do themselves, you know?