Markup View

Author: PaulA

Dec 19th 2017 at 10:03:06 PM

* "[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/3394883  J'ai fort lu Platon, mais rien ne m'en reste]]" is a ''Literature/LesMiserables'' soulmark AU, using the "soulmate's first words" variation, that mostly consists of Enjolras and his amis discussing the implications of the concept (like the fact that a soulmark is completely useless to the many people in 19th-century France who were never taught to read). It deconstructs the common "ugh, I hate this person I've just met but apparently they're my soulmate" plot by specifying that if two people haven't grown into each other's soulmates yet when they first meet, their soulmarks won't record their actual first words to each other but instead the first thing they say, however much later, when they have grown into soulmates. This also sets up the fic's big dramatic irony: that Enjolras has given up on finding his soulmate because his mark is the unhelpfully non-unique "Vive la Republique!", while Grantaire has given up on finding his soulmate because his mark says nothing at all.[[note]]In the novel, Enjolras is killed fighting for the revolution, and the prospect of his imminent death is what inspires Grantaire to abandon his neutrality and join the revolution himself, with a cry of "Vive la Republique!". Enjolras, seeing this, dies smiling, but without saying another word.[[/note]]

* "[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/8523001 An Ever-Fixed Mark]]" is a ''Literature/PrideAndPrejudice'' soulmark AU, using the "soulmate's name" variation. It's a deconstruction, critiquing the idea of One True Love that comes bundled with the soulmark concept. In the fic, each person gets only one part of their soulmate's name, making the whole business much less certain. Elizabeth Bennet's mark says "Fitzwilliam", which tips her over into starting a romance with Colonel Fitzwilliam instead of remaining single long enough to get on first-name terms with Mr Darcy.