words of my friend (working title for a fic)

 I haven’t decided if I’m ever going to actually post the city spies soulmate au that’s been rattling around in my brain since (*checks draft creation date*) February of last year (technically: 2/16/22, 9:19 AM, hah), but I want the book 1 outline out of my drafts before book 4 comes out (THREE DAYS AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA), so this is a proposed outline for a city spies fic that has about 1/2 of book 1 written, all of book 1 planned out, and a loose outline for books 2 and 3. 

This was the original idea:

It's the one where whatever you write on your body appears on theirs in the same spot, starting at age 10, and it's just the person who completes you whether it's romantic or platonic; also, fate guarantees that it's someone you will have contact with even if that comes from finding out you're soulmates, you're always going to meet in person at least a bit. Often have mannerisms in common. Rio and Brooklyn get closer platonically through their notes while fighting in person cause neither knows each other's name, don't realize they're soulmates until Brooklyn accidentally says something he told her in writing and didn't tell anyone else, right in the middle of a mission. Monty and Mother were best friends as kids, corresponding through scribbled notes on their arms and not meeting until Mother showed up at the farm. Charlotte and Kat are soulmates, and that's why it hurt so much. Paris and Sydney don't know their soulmates but do write them (Sydney's is maybe someone like Mother's daughter Annie and Paris's is a boy from Kinloch who he's dating for now; he plays correspondence chess with him on a regular basis.). Endgame: Brooklyn and Rio figure it out and use it to save the day in a mission. Sydney and Annie meet in person and reunite Mother, Clementine, Robert, and Annie (who then move to Scotland to attend kinloch and Mother and Clemmie figure out their relationship again). Kat and Char reunite and end up kinda dating again (they have a queerplatonic relationship -- kat is angled aroace, both are sapphic). Paris and his soulmate come out and reveal they're dating. 

And this is the outline, mostly (it’s labeled with the big emotional plot). I have written through about items 3 or 4 on the Brooklyn & Rio list, I think:

Rio & Brooklyn Plot: 

1. Precanon: Rio and Brooklyn are soulmates and get closer

2. Book 1: Rio and Brooklyn snipe at each other and have a much more angry rivalry than in canon because Rio is jealous and proud and Brooklyn is a bit arrogant and self centered 

3. Book 1: after almost every argument they talk as Sara and João and get closer because both of them know that at least some of it is their fault but they feel too proud to apologize after Brooklyn's first attempt goes badly. 

4. Book 1: keep noticing similarities between their situations, but dismissing them because their soulmates really couldn't be their rival, right? Also similar mannerisms -- running hand through hair, 

5. Book 1: Rio and Brooklyn's arguing gets so bad that Monty and Mother force them to sit together on the way to Paris for the mission. 

6. Book 1: Moment of bonding when they realize they have the same kind of street smarts, then almost immediately after start arguing. 

5. Book 1: they discover after that argument that Rio and Brooklyn are actually João and Sara when they both decide it would help to write their soulmate, and they stomp off each blaming the other for not telling them or guessing. They refuse to talk to or write each other all day while they're sightseeing **Emotional climax**

6. Book 1: Monty and Kat talk to Rio. Rio admits that he wants to be friends with Brooklyn  because he likes the Sara he knows or thought he knew. Monty tells him that soulmates meet in the strangest of ways and that if he wants to make up with her, he's going to have to put aside the arguments and try to remember that under her shell of pride, she's just Sara and he's just João. Kat tells him he's good at charming people and so he needs to use that with Brooklyn the way they couldn't with Char (they never actually say their soulmate is charlotte but he knows)

7. Book 1: at the same time, Paris and Sydney talk to Brooklyn in the catacombs. Paris tells her a bit about his story with Will, and Sydney tells her that before Brooklyn showed up, Rio would talk about his soulmate in the best possible terms. She realizes she's been really mean to him and she's got to stop antagonizing him before she can become better friends with him. 

8. Book 1: They meet up again, and they're in the competition. Rio and Brooklyn write a little bit while they wait for the competition to start. Both of them start with an apology and they start to take down the boundary of hate between them. **start of emotional resolution**

9. Book 1: then there's the possible release of the virus and Brooklyn realizes she's going to have to make that climb. While she climbs, Rio writes encouraging notes where she'll see them. She uncaps her pen but doesn't write anything back, putting it back in her pocket. At the point where she throws the virus, she runs. When she does, she purposely brushes her arm hard against the pen so Rio sees it and realizes she's in danger so he runs to get the others and help. **action climax**

10. Post Book 1: Rio and Brooklyn sit down and discuss things properly afterwards. The scene/b1 ends with them hugging. **resolution to both plots**

11. Book 2: moment on the SE -- Brooklyn wakes up early and writes Rio about things. Blix says that the people can't write their soulmates or use their phones to call anyone. 

Kat ? Charlotte plot:

1. Precanon: Kat and Char discover they're soulmates when Char shows up to the FARM. 

2. Precanon: Kat and Char decide they're just going to be friends, but they're open to a romantic relationship when they're older

3. Precanon: They get closer, and Kat opens up to Char more than anyone else. At some point Char (whose love language is touch) hugs Kat who actually accepts it (they never have before). Shared mannerisms -- bouncing, hand flapping, other stims. Only Kat is on the autism spectrum but Char picked up some stims from them. 

4. Precanon: Char wants to experiment and at some point kisses Kat on the cheek, Kat is (surprisingly) okay with it. They actually start having these little moments of physical intimacy that aren't going very far at all, usually after the stress of a mission winds down. Sometimes they share a bed and cuddle.

5. Just pre book 1: Kat lets Char kiss them for real. The next day Char is gone and Kat doesn't get an answer when they write. 

6. Book 1: Kat is upset and heartbroken about Char. 

7. Book 1: when they're in Paris and discover Char is leading a kinloch team, Kat tries to convince Char to stop but doesn't get a response. 

8. Book 1: Char helps Brooklyn and writes to Kat that she's sorry. 

9. Book 3: Kat comes out to Char 

Sydney ? Annie plot:

1. Precanon: they don't use their real names with each other because Annie is afraid her mom would be angry. They call each other Belle (Annie, after her namesake) and Liv (Sydney because its a nickname for Olivia)

2. Book 1: nothing, though Sydney mentions her soulmate is a swimmer and just moved. 

3. They start writing a year or so after Mother loses Annie/Robert and so Mother doesn't know anything and assumes the swimmer thing is a coincidence

Paris/OC (Will?) plot: 

1. Precanon: meet the first few months of kinloch on Will's 10th birthday in chess club when Paris thinks it's safe to take notation on his hand

2. Precanon: start dating a few weeks before Char leaves

3. Book 1: don't want to tell their families but do play a lot of chess together. 

4. Book 1: Paris confides to Brooklyn and Sydney that he and will are really close now but they had to work for it at first. 

5. 

6. Book 3: Paris comes out over the summer