chapters three and four of my ghost story soulmate au are up!

reblogs are appreciated as it helps me get more reach!

thinking of this

Um

ghost story soulmates au. :D

reblogs r suuuuuper appreciated … also comments on the fic are VERY appreciated !!!!!!!

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Ghost Story - Valentine & Hornyak Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Hao Wen Yang/Józef Pulaski, Joey Pulaski/Anthony Tian Characters: Hao Wen Yang, Józef Pulaski, Joey Pulaski, Anthony Tian Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, jozef has a wife for a bit, Old man yaoi, Lack of Communication, Compulsory Heterosexuality, Heteronormativity, hao is stepfather of the year, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Hao Wen Yang has chronic fatigue syndrome, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Gender Dysphoria, Coming Out, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Summary:

When a person with a soulmate turns eighteen, they get a locket with a photo of their soulmate and their soulmate’s initials on their wrist.

uuuuuuh hi i mayyyy have wrote another ghost story au

PLEASE REBLOG!!!!!!!! FOR REACH!,,,!,!!?!!?

hao not calling “józef” (joey) his in the first verses of i don’t know you anymore is really important to me because hao realises this isn’t his józef because of small details joey would have never known (his speech, his mannerisms…) as all the information joey has is the newspaper fragment of their arrest and second-hand tales of józef’s life after he was married to joey’s great-grandmother, as józef would’ve died before joey was born or when he was very young. hao knows this isn’t his józef, but it’s only when he understands joey to be a water ghost he realises his józef is still there but joey has possessed him

I Don’t Know You Anymore analysis

I HOPE I'M NOT RIGHT

I HOPE YOU WON'T THINK ME INSANE

BUT SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH JÓZEF

In the scene prior to the song, Hao gains sentience after Joey ‘possesses’ Józef’s body and enters the past. He gains sentience after Joey reads the draft of his dissertation to Anthony the morning after an argument. Hao commonly refers to Józef as his, (shown later on in the song where he says “how dare you wrong my Józef”), but he knows this is not his Józef, or Józef at all. Hao gains sentience because Joey, in his book, makes Hao say things he doesn’t say and because Joey’s mannerisms are worlds away from Józef’s.

I DON’T WANT TO FIGHT

BUT THE THOUGHTS I HAVE REMAIN

SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH JÓZEF

Again, Hao doesn’t refer to Józef as his. He knows that this isn’t his Józef.

HE COMES HOME TOO EARLY

COMES HOME TOO LATE

COMES HOME TOO DRUNK

WANTS FOOD ON HIS PLATE

Joey is enforcing heteronormative standards to Hao and Józef’s relationship. Joey’s reason for ‘killing’ Józef and entering the past is Anthony’s obsession with Garret due to his OCD and his insecurities around his race. Joey, being a stealth trans man (Anthony presumably doesn’t know he’s trans), is hurt by Anthony’s focus as he feels he is unable to compete with Anthony’s cisgender ex’s. Joey enforces the heteronormative standards by feminising Hao, another trans man. In his book, he makes Hao somewhat submissive, which is also likely racially motivated due to the stereotypes of Chinese men as submissive and easy targets for violence which were especially present in the 19th century. This is what tips Hao off that none of this is real. He never says those things, nor does his Józef. The feminisation of Hao is also Joey projecting his own thoughts of being fetishised as a trans man, ironically fetishising Hao. In modern society, trans men are commonly considered submissive.

A DIFFERENT STEP

A DIFFERENT SMELL

FORGETS A SONG

HE SHOULD KNOW WELL

FORGETS A SONG

HE SHOULD KNOW WELL

Joey doesn’t know much about Hao or Józef. All he knows about them is Józef’s recounted life after marrying his great-grandmother after he and Hao were arrested for ‘sodomy’ and a newspaper fragment of said arrest. Joey, according to Hao, forgets how the key turns in the lock and smells like “the city, or the trains, or incense, but more sour”. The “song he should know well” most likely refers to the song from the bar in the phonograph Józef had bought. Joey, having “extrapolated from the newspaper fragment”, does not know of the dance Józef and Hao attended, the song or the phonograph.

SOMETHING HIDES INSIDE YOUR SKIN

I DON’T KNOW WHEN I LET IT IN

WATER DROPLETS ON THE DOOR

Hao compares Joey to a Chinese folkloric creature, a water ghost, 水鬼 (shuǐ guǐ). In the legend, if someone takes their own life in a body of water, the spirit will haunt the water until it can drag another person into the water and kill them. Hao understands Joey as a water ghost. Joey metaphorically drowns himself and drags Józef down with his fixation on his dissertation.

I DON'T KNOW YOU ANYMORE

Joey’s mannerisms, speech and behaviour — especially as Józef — are vastly different to the actual Józef. Due to the stereotypes around Polish men in the 19th century as them being violent or brutish, Józef “widens [his] smiles so [he] looks a bit less like a threat” and, in as well in Sheep In Wolf Country, he’s practising phrases in English out of a book (“I am sorry, I am useful, I mean no harm”). Joey, on the other hand, forces himself to be stereotypically masculine — bordering on toxic masculinity —, which means he’s somewhat aggressive, pitches his voice down and seems to code switch (seen in his overlapping verse in Sheep In Wolf Country). His toxic masculine/internalised transphobic ideals are amplified when he takes over Józef’s body, as he is now in the body of a cisgender man.

ONLY BREATHING WHEN YOU’RE GONE

In Ghost Story, the timelines overlap via the well outside the house. Whenever Joey leaves the past, Hao is able to regain his control, as, shown in the scene before this song, in Joey’s book, his speech and mannerisms are controlled.

SEEK THE HORSE I’M SITTING ON

This is an allusion to a Chinese saying that means to look for a donkey while you are on its back — to ignore the obvious.

WATER PUDDLES ON THE FLOOR

I DON'T KNOW YOU ANYMORE

Another reference to Hao understanding Joey as a water ghost. He doesn’t know Joey, feeling as if “Józef” has changed.

HIS SKIN TOO LOOSE

HIS VOICE TOO LOW

HIS EYES TOO SCARED

Hao notices the physical changes in “Józef”. Joey forces his voice down to pass better, Józef, being a cisgender man, does not do that. Hao notices every small detail that shows this is not Józef.

I STOP, HE'LL GO

The timelines in Ghost Story are overlapping. Joey leaves the past whenever Hao looks away and “stops”. After gaining sentience, Hao is seemingly able to cross over the timelines, shown by his interactions with Anthony before I Breathe In, You Breathe out.

HE WORKS TOO HARD

HE PLAYS TOO ROUGH

Hao notices the behavioural changes due to Joey’s aforementioned toxic ideals. He overworks himself and argues more.

HE CALLS ME 'LOVE'

BUT NOT ENOUGH

HE CALLS ME 'LOVE'

BUT NOT ENOUGH

One of the first things that makes Hao gain sentience is Joey’s vocabulary. According to Hao, the first English word Józef learned was “please” and Joey does not say please as much. Józef shown to be polite (most likely a part of his fear of being perceived as the stereotypes of Polish men), Joey is the opposite due to toxic masculine ideals. (“He does not say “please” as much. He said it was the first English word he ever learned […]”) Hao also notices the way Joey pronounces his name. Józef pronounces his name with the Polish o, Joey pronounces it without the Polish o, as he has no insight into Józef’s mannerisms, speech pattern, behaviour or relationship with Hao (Józef presumably died before Joey was born, or when he was young). The repetition shows that the realisation is finally set in stone — this is not Józef.

SOMETHING HIDES BEHIND YOUR EYES

SOMETHING FEEDS ON MY SURPRISE

Hao understands Joey as a malicious spirit, the aforementioned water ghost. Joey is possessing Józef’s body and “hiding behind his eyes”. Joey “feeds on his surprise” for his dissertation.

SOMETHING THAT I CAN’T IGNORE

I DON'T KNOW YOU ANYMORE

By now, Hao is fully certain and confident that this is not Józef. He can’t ignore it, he doesn’t know Joey, Joey doesn’t know him or Józef.

YOU FORGET THE WAY WE WALKED

Once again referring to Joey’s only insight into Józef being recounted tales from his life and the newspaper fragment of his arrest. Joey knows nothing about Józef and even less about Hao.

ONLY SHOUT THE WAY WE TALKED

Another reference to Józef’s unthreatening nature. Józef possesses communication skills Joey does not due to his insecurities. Joey cannot communicate without shouting, Józef can.

ASKING WHAT I’M FRIGHTENED FOR

I DON'T KNOW YOU ANYMORE

Hao is, rightfully, frightened by the fact that Joey is nothing like Józef.

MY GRANDFATHER SAID NOT TO PLAY NEAR THE SHORE

IF SOMEONE HAD DROWNED THEMSELVES THERE BEFORE

THEIR GHOST GRABS YOUR ANKLE AND SWITCHES YOUR PLACES

A GHOST WITH A THOUSAND FAMILIAR FACES

Once again, another mention of water ghosts as Hao believes Joey to be one.

WHEN DID YOU CHANGE?

WHY WASN’T I THERE?

WHY DID YOU DROWN?

WHY COME UP FOR AIR?

Another showcasing of Hao’s belief of Joey being a water ghost. Joey, in the script, ‘kills’ Józef by choking him after an argument with Anthony and takes his place at the other side of the well, which is where the two timelines cross over. That was when Józef changed. Hao wasn’t there due to the way the timelines function on top of each other.

I WILL CAST OUT A ROPE

TO THE AFTERLIFE’S SEA

In I Breathe In, You Breathe Out, Hao does exactly this. He makes a makeshift shrine with incense, candies, apples and honey from Józef’s bees and, after his encounter with Anthony, he attempts to use memories to summon Józef, which is successful.

YOU WILL NOT HAVE HIM

YOU WILL NOT HAVE ME

Again, Hao perceives and thinks of Joey as a malicious spirit who wants to take Hao and Józef.

I HOPE I’M RIGHT

I HOPE YOU DON’T GET WHAT YOU WANTED

Joey is doing this for selfish reasons, as pointed out by Anthony (“So you can profit off of their memories…”) as well as his own insecurities due to his communication issues, as he cannot communicate with Anthony what is wrong. To escape this, he inserts himself into the past. Hao is, incredibly justifiably, angry and wants revenge.

HOW DARE YOU WRONG MY JÓZEF?

Hao is back to calling Józef his, as now, he knows that the Józef he is seeing is not Józef, but rather Joey, who is feeding off of the possession.

I HOPE I’M RIGHT

Hao is also doubting if this is Józef being possessed, or him starting to conform to heteronormativity within their relationship. This is definitely something distressing to Hao, as a trans man, as relationships with cisgender and transgender people are perceived as straight relationships in some spaces due to transphobia and/or heteronormativity.

I DON’T KNOW WHY THIS HOUSE IS HAUNTED

The house where the two timelines cross over in Ghost Story is a metaphor for the perfect, heteronormative gay relationship. It’s destroyed when, later in the musical, Hao burns the house down to get rid of Joey.

HOW DARE YOU WRONG MY JÓZEF?

Hao repeats himself as a way of showing his anger — Joey has wronged his Józef in one of the worst ways. He’s taken over his autonomy, he’s fooled Hao. He’s wronged his Józef — the “Józef” Joey presented as was not his Józef, just a man who looked like Józef.

i’ve been thinking of this stage direction for ages so i drew what i imagined…

hao wen yang said “i hope i’m right. i hope you don’t get what you wanted” and i felt that. hao wen yang said “yes, maybe you would be a happy boy. born that way. history erased! but, it is not worse to let someone love it if they love you” and i felt that. hao wen yang said “i didn’t know there are others like me” and i felt that. hao wen yang said “two shirts tucked in one belt too thin shave cheek hairs clean look tall and mean […]” and i felt that. hao wen yang said “nothing of yours could frighten me so why should you not know. i let you think that i trust you less, and i let you let me go.”. hao wen yang (and anthony tian) said “and you don’t need to say a word, i’d do the same for you. passing favours back and forth, making one life out of two. why deny the sweets you have a bitter life without?”. hao wen yang said “i learned to copy what they wear. i cut and combed and slicked my hair, make sure no one looks at me too closely”. hao wen yang said “józef, my … husband.” and i felt that.

józef pulaski said “but i would like to be a man weathered and beaten” and i felt that. józef pulaski said “and what almost made up for the safety we lack” and i felt that. józef pulaski said “i am sorry. i am useful. i mean no harm […]” and i felt that. józef pulaski said “yes, we are not safe, but we can’t help but try!” and i felt that.

anthony tian said “if we met up, i’d gut you in the alley by a club, or your favourite overpriced gastropub” and i felt that. anthony tian said “joey pulaski and anthony tian are climbing the stairs to their apartment, and they try again” and i felt that. anthony tian said “one night, in a party game, i said that, if i killed a person, you would be that person, if i had to choose one” and i felt that.

joey pulaski said “your love could make me perfect too” and i felt that. joey pulaski said “when they call you a man they will be doing you a favour” and i felt that. joey pulaski said “to living a life as someone else before it fades away. night darker than black, fields with waves like the sea. employ me, montana, destroy me montana. help me forget i’m me! dust that shines like the stars. stars that know how to swim. eat me, montana, complete me, montana. i’ll love you just like him. help me be just like him.”. joey pulaski said “of course. the fear, the expense! the fear.” and i felt that.

@stolenmakeupbrush

Chapters: 2/2 Fandom: Ghost Story — Valentine/Hornyak Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Joey Pulaski/Anthony Tian Characters: Joey Pulaski, Anthony Tian Additional Tags: Implied/Referenced Sex, nothinf explicit!!! it’s just mentioned a few times.., Missing Scene, Pre-Canon, Gender Dysphoria, Canon Compliant, internalised transphobia in the slightest, Coming Out, during canon??? but. missing scene for chapter 2 Summary:

The first time Joey Pulaski and Anthony Tian had interacted, Joey kept a secret: he vowed never to tell it.

Years later, Joey finally stops keeping secrets, for real this time.

2 types of melliot trans men:

I NEED TO BE PERFECT THEYVCNAT KNWO

i want to kill this blond man