Line #48 Main/SoulmateAUFic


1	The "Soulmate AU" is a FanficTrope that revolves around a setting where everyone has a OneTrueLove or "soul-mate", and there's a RedStringOfFate that ties them together. [[AWizardDidIt It's just magic]]. Usually soulmates are romantic, though works with platonic soulmates exist for those who enjoy {{Heterosexual Life Partner}}s, {{Pseudo Romantic Friendship}}s, and PlatonicLifePartners.
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3	This concept commonly involves "soulmate marks", which are tattoo-like markings that help you find your soulmate. When your mark appears and what it looks like [[DependingOnTheWriter depend on the writer]], though most often, you're either born with a soulmark or it appears when you come of age, and it's either the first words your soulmate will say to you, a unique image you two share, or just your soulmate's name.
4
5	Other common types of soulmate AU include:
6	* ReincarnationRomance
7	* People see in greyscale until they meet their soulmate
8	* Soulmates have a PsychicLink -- sending mental messages, [[SeeingThroughAnothersEyes seeing through each other's eyes]], etc. -- or experience {{Synchronization}} (jokes about feeling your soulmate's periods are almost inevitable)
9	* The film ''Film/{{Timer}}'' inspired a subgenre where people have similar "soulmate countdowns", which may be voluntary to acquire like they are in the film.
10
11	Soulmate [=AUs=] are usually PlayedForDrama due to the inherent dramatic potential of having one person who's objectively your best possible partner. Recurring plots include "I haven't found my soulmate and [[AloneAmongTheCouples I'm really depressed]]", "My soulmark [[BlessedWithSuck seems like it won't help me at all]]", "I found my soulmate, but [[FoeYayShipping I hate them/they're my enemy]]", "I found my soulmate, but [[StarCrossedLovers circumstances conspire to keep us apart]]" and "I love someone, but [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy they're not my soulmate]]". More philosophical works might muse on the implications about [[BecauseDestinySaysSo free will and predestination]], or present a soulmate relationship that genuinely goes bad and watch them angst over whether to break up. Despite all this, most soulmate stories end HappilyEverAfter.
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13	This type of fanwork is most popular on Website/ArchiveOfOurOwn and Website/{{Tumblr}}. On the former, there are over 120,000 stories tagged "Soulmates" and 65,000 tagged "Alternate Universe - Soulmates" (one wonders what exactly the distinction is, or if it's just a wording choice). The earliest known cases of the "Your soulmate's name is written on you" prompt date back to the ''Series/{{Glee}}'' and ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'' fandoms circa 2011. Though the broader concepts behind this trope are centuries old.
14
15	Sub-trope of AlternateUniverseFic.
16
17	----
18
19	!!Examples:
20	[[foldercontrol]]
21
22	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
23	* ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0pIxCWoJDE Colourblind Soulmate]]'' is a ''Manga/{{Haikyuu}}'' FanVid based on the [=AU=]. It uses the "people can't see colours until they see their soulmate" version of the idea. Tooru and Hajime meet when the latter [[NewTransferStudent transfers]] to their school. They become a couple but Tooru starts seeing in monochrome again one day. It turns out Hajime is dying of cancer, and now Tooru won't be able to see in colour for the rest of his life.
24	* Tumblr's [[Franchise/LittleWitchAcademia Dianakko]] [[https://dianakko-week.tumblr.com/post/186768593975/reminding-everyone-that-dianakko-week-2019 week 2019]] featured this prompt on the first day. The most common depiction seemed to be RedStringOfFate.
25	* ''Anime/OsomatsuSan'': ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/13688301 I'll Carry You Until the End, so Just Hold On for Now]]'' is a soulmate mark fic where your soulmate's name appears on your wrist as a teenager. Jyushimatsu meets his unnamed love interest but she doesn't want to tell him her name. He begins calling her "Homura" as a pun on "home run", unaware that she's really his soulmate. Homura doesn't feel she deserves a soulmate, due to her DarkAndTroubledPast as a sex worker, and went as far as to SelfHarm her soulmark to make it illegible. Eventually, the two figure out they're soulmates when Homura sees her surname on Jyushimatsu's wrist.
26	* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'': In ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/49187266 I Choose You]]'', people have their soulmate's names on their left wrist. Ash grows up with Serena's name on his, but wears gloves so as not to advertise it because he doesn't care about romance. When he meets Serena again in Kalos, he doesn't tell her and she never brings up whether she has a soulmate, leading him to assume she's just ''a'' Serena, not "his" Serena. [[spoiler:They eventually start a relationship two years after their Kalos journey, around which time Ash starts to notice she's been covering up a name on her wrist and she tells him that she's not looking for her soulmate because she chooses him. However, after six months of dating, Ash happens to see the name when Serena takes the ribbon off to wash her hands, and he recognises it as his own legal name written in Kantogo, Satoshi.]]
27	* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' frequently explores the concept, often in tandem with Homura's time travel powers.
28	** The fanfic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/40600662?view_adult=true Colors Fading]]'' has Homura and Madoka as soulmates with the mechanics and customs of soulmates changing at several points as a response to Madoka's wishes prior to Homura's time jumps. The 'gains color vision once you see your soul mate' take on soul mates is first, with later takes on reality including names on wrist, death counters, communicating with each other by writing on oneself, sharing pain, and ending on an ethereal RedStringOfFate. While Madoka and Homura are soulmates in every timeline, a few soulmates do change around (Sayaka's soulmate was originally Kyosuke, but it changed to Kyoko a few loops in and stayed that way), and in the twenty-eighth timeline, Homura finds that she has not only Madoka as a soulmate, but also Sayaka, Mami, and Kyoko. Homura quickly ''nopes'' out of this timeline, though a spin off story ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/44558080 Timeline Twenty-Eight]]'' explores this timeline a bit more, showing the start of a relationship between the five and how it was developing before the events of the main story.
29	** Several such prompts appear in the anthology series ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/29779803/chapters/73259037 Orajje's As N Approaches Infinity Fan AUs and Oneshots]]'', coming in platonic and romantic variations and having the name of one's soulmate appear on the person in question being a commonly used trope. A particular common idea explored is just ''what'' Homura's time travelling and constantly seeing her soulmate or soulmates die or turn into witches does to said names, frequently warping and duplicating them, [[UncannyValley which is considered rather unsettling in-universe]].
30	** ''Fanfic/TheSoulmateTimeline'' has Homura time loop into a universe with soulmates, which is not what typical for her. [[FishOutOfWater Meaning that Homura has no idea what is going on when soulmate tropes start happening around her]] and has to [[AudienceSurrogate learn about what is going on alongside the readers]]. Soulmates in the universe have identifying marks, can come in groups anywhere from two people to at least five (as is the case with Homura), and in larger groups soulmates become 'active' in waves and are triggered by traumatic or life changing events. Homura waking up in the new timeline ended up triggering a soulbond with Mami, Madoka, Sayaka, and Kyoko, though the latter two are not active when she wakes up. Soulmates that are active can share emotions, experience the other's dreams, are cold until they find their soulmate(s) after gaining their marks, have societal services and norms set up for their relationships, and have implicitly changed history in ways that Homura can easily see when going over history books. Soulmarks themselves are distinct between each set of them and change over time to show how close a soulmate is with another, which in turn increases their connections. Magical Girls in particular gain a few unique benefits, as their bonds can purify soul gems, making it very hard, though not impossible, for them to turn into witches. [[spoiler:And when Soulbonded Magical Girls turn into Witches, [[FusionDance they fuse into a Walpurgisnacht]]]]. However soulmates have one key weakness in that [[CantLiveWithoutYou if one dies, all of them die]]. This point in particular Homura isn't exactly thrilled about.
31	* ''Anime/YuriOnIce'':
32	** ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zu17jdhKs0w all we know]]'' is a Yuuri/Viktor FanVid is of the "you see in monochrome until you meet your soulmate" variety.
33	** ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/8694154 Unspoken]]'' is a Yuuri/Viktor soulmate AU fic. In it, when a soulmate compliments you the words appear on your skin. The problem is, Yuuri is mute in this fanfic.
34	** ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/8293714/chapters/18997870 Unwritten]]'' is a Yuuri/Viktor fic. In it, whatever a person writes on their skin becomes written on their soulmates skin too. Since Viktor is Russian and Yuuri is Japanese, a LanguageBarrier is involved.
35	[[/folder]]
36
37	[[folder:Comic Books]]
38	* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/4025482 Oil and Watercolor]]'' is a platonic soulmate ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' fanfic focused on family soulmarks where the first time you touch someone, they leave a "soulmark" on your skin- the darker the mark, the more closely your souls are connected.
39	[[/folder]]
40
41	[[folder:Crossovers]]
42	* There are plenty of ''Fanfic/MaribatAU'' fics where Damien ([[Franchise/{{Batman}} Robin]]) and Marinette ([[WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug Ladybug]]) are soulmates.
43	* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/35935897/chapters/89595292 Come Undone]]'' features Wanda Maximoff & Dryden Vos as soulmates.
44	[[/folder]]
45
46	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
47	* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/17498354 You'll Find Your Wings]]'' is a ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAsThePrincessAndThePauper'' oneshot where Princess Anneliese will be forced into an ArrangedMarriage unless she can find her soulmate in a week. She meets a woman named Erika who turns out to have a matching wrist soulmark.
48	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen\|2013}}'':
49	** ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/21591610 but we were in screaming colour]]'' is based on the idea that a person starts to see in colour the moment they meet their soulmate; Elsa started to see in colour the moment Anna was born, but she was so young that they never remembered this as they were growing up, speculating that they just ran into their soulmates when some other royals visited Arendelle while they were young (Hans is also told by his brothers that the reason he could always see in colour is because he never had a soulmate). Eventually, Elsa and Anna decide to go to Ahtohallan to try and learn the identities of their soulmates, witnessing the memory of their first meeting in the ice.
50	** ''Fanfic/LoveWorthWaitingFor'' is a CrossoverCouple fanfic involving ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}''. In it, everyone is born with a soulmark of their soulmate's name on their hand. For her entire life, Elsa thought her mark was gibberish, however it turns out to be Chinese calligraphy. Her soulmate is Mulan.
51	** ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/5069302 rise like the break of dawn]]'' is ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'' crossover one-shot that ships Elsa with Merida. It uses the "your soulmark is of the first words your soulmate says to you" variant.
52	** ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/5149832 Soulmark]]'' is a fic where this is invoked. Anna goes to the trolls and asks for a soulmark in order to prove that Kristoff is her soulmate. It turns out [[IncestYayShipping her sister Elsa]] is instead.
53	* ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon'':
54	** ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/15437610/chapters/35945436 And even if I lived a hundred lives]]'' has an AU where soulmates have the first words their soulmate will say to them tattooed on their body in some place. It is noted that this can meet with mixed results at best if those first words are something relative common, such as 'Yes', 'No', or 'Thank You', and even more distinctive words have their challenges, such as one person whose soulmate's first words were "Man, I can't believe Dumbledore died" and thus had to walk around with a major spoiler for a famous fictional series on their body for years. In Astrid's case, her soulmate's first word to her was 'Oh', but she lucked out in that the words on Hiccup's body were the more distinctive “SNOTLOUT YOU FUCKING SON OF A HALF-TROLL I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU FUCKING TRY TO TOUCH ME AGAIN I WILL RIP YOUR BALLS OF AND THEN STUFF THEM DOWN YOUR THROAT!” (Hiccup expresses his regret as he didn't realise that 'Oh' would count as a first word).
55	** ''Fanfic/TheSavageSeas'': Soulmates have the first words they speak to each other marked on their wrists. Astrid's mark says “Well. I suppose this dance is ours, milady, but you may lead.” She always assumed she would hear those words at a dance so she is surprised to hear them spoken by a pirate (Hiccup) she’s about to fight. Her reaction to this is “Oh fucking Hel, no! You fucking have to be fucking kidding me!? You!?” which are the words marked on the pirates wrist.
56	** ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/5250473 Screaming Colour]]'' is a modern AU where one in five people have a 'soulmate charm' that gives some indication of when they meet their soulmate, ranging from the first words the soulmate will say to them to timers counting down to the moment of their first meeting. In Astrid's case, she cannot see colour until she meets her soulmate, but it takes four years after meeting Hiccup to realise that ''he'' is her soulmate when he helps her ''feel'' colour rather than just imagine what it looks like.
57	[[/folder]]
58
59	[[folder:Films -- Live Action]]
60	* The ''Film/BarelyLethal'' fic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/14192460 Watering Plastic Plants in the Hope That They'll Grow]]'' is a 'Soulmark' fic based on the premise that the name of a person's soulmate appears on their wrist when they become 13, which simultaneously deconstructs and supports the soulmark idea. Like all Prescott girls, 83's soulmark was burnt off before she could see it to ensure that they would have no attachments outside of the organisation, and Liz has developed a cynical view of the very idea of soulmarks as her parents divorced despite being soulmates as it was apparently "too much pressure" to know their destined partner. As well as the aforementioned example, Liz has never understood the meaning of her soulmark as it just states '83'. After Liz has worn bracelets or long sleeves to hide her soulmark ever since before Megan started living with the Larsons, she only learns Megan's 'real name' after Victoria Knox refers to Megan as '83' and explains the concept of Prescott's naming system. Even after that revelation, Liz still conceals the soulmark from Megan until she's spent more time with Megan with no other secrets between them, Liz wanting to know that Megan loved ''her'' and not just because the soulmark said so.
61	* In the ''Film/{{Carrie\|2013}}'' fic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/20617784 the ties that bind]]'', soulmates are identified because they can see the other's psychological scars, with the result that Sue Snell realises she's Carrie's soulmate when she sees Carrie practically covered in blood during the locker room incident and nobody else does. Carrie in turn can only see a slight scar on Sue's nose caused when she was hit by a swing as a child, but comes to accept Sue's explanation, culminating in the two discreetly attending prom together (Tommy Ross and Sue attend as each other's '[[TheBeard beards]]' while Carrie goes with Tommy's 'true' date George Dawson), and Carrie using her powers to discreetly deflect the bucket of blood before it hits Sue when she's elected prom queen.
62	* In ''Film/TheHobbit'' fic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/4037671 Soulmates And Where to Find Them]]'', each race has different types of soulmate marks: dwarves get their marks on their backs when they come of age, hobbits get theirs on their wrists but only after they and their soulmate have fallen in love, and elves get theirs on their chest when they first see their soulmate. This leads to complications when {{Interspecies Romance}}s occur as the soulmates get the mark type of their partner's species; as a result, Kili and Thorin both believe they don't have soulmates until Kili gets one on his chest after seeing Tauriel and Thorin gets one on his wrist after courting Bilbo.
63	* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/21175982 Resigned To Fate (Fading Away)]]'' is an ''Film/ItChapterTwo'' soulmate fic for the Richie/Eddie pairing where being next to your soulmate heals injuries.
64	* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'':
65	** ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/10316609/chapters/22811753 Flares]]'' features various soulmate pairings centered mostly around Wanda Maximoff.
66	*** ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/20503139 Oh, But It's Okay To Be Different, 'Cause Baby, So Am I (So Am I, So Am I, So Am I)]]'' is a expansion of Chapter Two of Flares.
67	*** ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/21460879 After the End]]'' is an expansion of Chapter Twenty Three of Flares.
68	** Deconstructed in ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/14602272/chapters/33749154 Just Close Your Eyes and It Doesn't Exist]]'' by [[https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wix/pseuds/Wix Wix]], Tony Stark rejects Steve Roger's advances despite sharing a soul mark. This is due to their initial rocky meeting, their less than stellar [[WithFriendsLikeThese relationship]] afterwards, the events of ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'', and the fact that Tony is in a loving relationship with Stephen Strange. This isn't helped by the fact that Rogers only started to act affectionate after finding out that they share the same mark when he and Team Cap came back from Wakanda.
69	*** It was also deconstructed with news reporter and [[AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul Tony's friend]], Christine Everhart, whose soulmate was a corrupt politician which she then later exposed.
70	** ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/13678824 Look Again]]'' explores Wanda Maximoff's grief as she grew up without a soulmark until the Vision is activated and their names appear on each other's wrists. The fic also briefly looks at the other Avengers' soulmarks, such as Banner and the Hulk supposedly having different marks and Thor having several due to his long lifespan. Pietro ultimately doesn't live to meet his, but her name is Crystal -- a reference to [[Characters/TheInhumans his ex-wife]] in the comics.
71	** ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqCSQmVw9bw We Meet In Dreams]]'' is a soulmate AU Fanvid for Tony and Steve, pairing them up using the "everyone has a clock that counts down until they meet their soulmate" variant.
72	[[/folder]]
73
74	[[folder:Literature]]
75	* ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/4371455 hello goodbye ('twas nice to know you)]]'' is a ''Literature/HarryPotter'' fanfic where Draco and Harry are soulmates. Draco notices one day that his soulmark, which changes depending on the soulmate's thoughts, seems like they belong to Harry.
76	* ''[[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]]
77	* ''[[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.
78	* ''Fanfic/BequeathedFromPaleEstates'' is set in a version of ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''[=/=]''Series/GameOfThrones'' where soul mates are chosen by the gods for those meant to fulfill destiny. The story follows one such pairing in Oberyn Martell and Lyanna Snow (a female Jon Snow). [[DeconstructionFic The age difference is not ignored by anyone, including Oberyn]].
79	* In the ''Literature/GoodOmens'' fic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/19907998 Anam Cara]]'', soulmates don't get marks or any obvious identifiers but Chamuel, the angel of relationships, knows which humans are destined to be together and begins snubbing Aziraphale after his and Crowley's names appear on the soulmate list despite angels and demons not being supposed to have soulmates. Aziraphale is dismayed by this and tells Crowley that the notion of them being soulmates is ludicrous and should be prevented at all costs, only to realize after Crowley [[ItMeantSomethingToMe gets upset]] and begins avoiding him that it's too late to prevent them from becoming soulmates because they already are and he was just terrified of admitting it.
80	[[/folder]]
81
82	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
83	* ''Franchise/{{Arrowverse}}'':
84	** ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/19395253 Pain]]'' is an Oliver/Laurel fic where soulmates have {{Synchronization}}. Deconstructed in that turns out feeling someone's pain ''sucks''. Sara has a JerkassRealization upon learning Oliver didn't feel her pain (and thus she slept with her sister's boyfriend for nothing), and Oliver has one when he realizes the near constant sense of heartache and betrayal might be coming from Laurel, making him realize just how badly he hurt her. Laurel meanwhile is forced to drop out of law school, and can't even hold a regular job, as she keeps feeling his pain of combat, torture, etc (although this inspires her to become Black Canary even before Oliver returns to Starling City to deal with her frustration about her pain-induced feelings).
85	** ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/12304215 echoes of our pain]]'' is another one where soulmates feel each others' pain, this time focusing on Barry and Caitlin. Part of this type of bond explores how the soulmate only experiences half the pain and injury of the one who is actually injured, as well as sharing emotional pain; Caitlin enjoys making up stories for some of her soulmate's more minor injuries until she experiences a panic attack on the night Nora Allen was murdered. They only meet after the particle accelerator explosion when Caitlin ''also'' experiences the effect of being struck by lightning on the same night, although she doesn't develop any powers from the experience.
86	** A more unusual case can be found in ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/19422574 Granted]]'', a particularly depressing Oliver/Laurel fic where a person loses their ability to see color after their soulmate tells them they love them for the last time. The fic ''starts'' with Laurel losing her color during the somewhat infamous "hallway scene" (set in Season 2). She then has to live with knowing the man she loves will never say he loves her again, and struggles to adapt to living a colorless life. [[spoiler:It ends with Oliver losing color when she dies[[note]]In fact, when he starts to lose his ability to see color while she's in a hospital bed, it serves as something of a FiveSecondForeshadowing for him that she's about to die; as he knows she would want him to have color for as long as possible.[[/note]], leaving him mourning her death, how much he took her for [[TitleDrop granted]], and the knowledge that now he really will be alone for the rest of his life]].
87	** ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/13278486/chapters/30384006 Hey, are you Lena Luthor?]]'' is a Lena/Kara ship fic. The first thing your soulmate ever says to you is written on your skin. Lena is infuriated at her completely mundane soul mark, and she hears the phrase an average of once per day. On the other hand, Kara has the oddly rude soul mark "Hey, go fuck yourself!" Written in English, no less, which confused her to no end when she was a young girl on Krypton.
88	** ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/9626711/chapters/21747911 Not Alone Anymore]]'' is ship fic between Cat and Kara. Cat spent almost forty years of her life without a soulmark until one day it appeared. When Kara arrived on Earth, she received her soulmark.
89	** ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/9303707 Signs]]'' is a Kara/Lena and Alex/Maggie soulmate fic. It uses an interpretation where everyone has a compass pointing towards their soulmate. Kara, [[BizarreAlienBiology being an alien]], doesn't have one.
90	* In ''Series/Numb3rs'' story [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/12467588/chapters/28375072 Love Hurts]], soulmates are found when one or both are seriously hurt in accidents and it is mentioned some have died when meeting their soulmate.
91	* ''Series/PersonOfInterest'' features this with Shaw and Root, as a collection of different versions of their relationship. ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/7293025/chapters/16562557 In Every Story]]''
92	* ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'':
93	** In the ''Film/{{TiMER}}''-inspired fic ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/287582 Blue Veins]]'', everyone has a magical configuration of veins near the surface on the inside of the wrist that count down to the moment you meet your True Love.
94	** In the fic ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/322377 Finding John]]'', everyone is born with the first name of their True Love like a tattoo on the inside of one finger. With only a limited number of first names, it’s usually not enough information (unless you’re The British Government) to lead you to a person but once you meet your True Love, they’ll have your name too and the particular color and shade of your names will match.
95	** In the fic ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/440801 Put a Smile in Your Name]]'', everyone is born with the first name of their True Love in their True Love’s handwriting on their palm. Databases of this information exist and, for a fee, matchmaking companies will check for any matches between your name and the name on your palm.
96	** This trope is defied in the fic, ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/435055 To the Limits of Your Choice]]'' when Sherlock chooses not to care, or perhaps not to accept the consequences of acknowledging the person symbolized by the soulmate mark on his wrist. When John finds his soulmate, Sherlock asks John to choose between camaraderie with him and romance with her [[spoiler:and John also defies this trope, choosing to continue adventuring with Sherlock]].
97	** In the fic ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/452818 With Your Crooked Heart]]'', most people (except those supposedly incapable of love) have words on their forearm which appear as if by magic at some point in their lives, usually during childhood. The words are in the handwriting of your True Love and may be a name, address, or cryptic clue like a poem or obscure reference. When the clue is obvious, like an address, you can hurry fate along by turning up on their doorstep, but if it's as vague as a line of poetry, you may have to get to know your True Love before the clue begins to make sense.
98	* ''{{Series/Supernatural}}'' fanfic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/18145064 Kaleidoscope]]'' features an alteration of the "seeing colors" setup, where one has to consciously realize who their soulmate is before they can see in color, so most people only know they're soulmates when the other person passes away. While the majority of soulmates are presented as romantic, at one point Dean sleeps with [[PlatonicLifePartners a woman whose soulmate is her sister]], and at the end of the fic, Dean starts seeing in color after Sam [[DiedInYourArmsTonight dies in his arms]].
99	* ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/624143 Your Mark on my Skin]]'' is a Stiles/Derek ''Series/TeenWolf'' fanfic. People have marks on their body that represent their soulmate. Stiles has known Derek is his soulmate since sixth grade but [[ObliviousToLove Derek took a lot longer]] to figure it out.
100	[[/folder]]
101
102	[[folder:Video Games]]
103	* ''Cherish Me'' is a short ''VideoGame/AWayOut'' [=AU=] fanfic, centered around the headcanon that Leo and Vincent are soulmates who have TouchTelepathy with each other, which gives a plausible explanation as to why they were able to work so well together. [[spoiler:It also explains why, in the final battle, Leo and Vincent experience each other's memories every time they attack each other. The difference is that both Leo and Vincent realize they ''are'' soulmates, and end up surviving in the end]].
104	[[/folder]]
105
106	[[folder:Web Animation]]
107	* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'':
108	** ''Fanfic/CinderellaAndPrinceCharming'': Soulmates feel each other's emotions, especially negative ones, and pain most of all. When (or ''if'') soulmates meet each other's eyes, they will instantly recognize each other, but before that they have no way of finding each other. Jaune is bonded to Cinder, and the fact that she's been tortured for most of her life bled over. Jaune resolves to be a Huntsman in large part due to a desire to protect his soulmate. [[spoiler:They finally meet each other in the middle of the Battle of Beacon, the ''worst possible time'']]. For other pairings, everyone has a different opinion. Yang and Blake discover they're soulmates on the first day of school, and from then on are inseparable. Ruby is rather dismissive of the concept of soulmates, since her own parents weren't bonded but were perfectly happy together. Nora and Ren are soulmates, and while Nora claims it's platonic, no one believes her. Pyrrha has been soured on the concept due to the hundreds of fans who tried to claim they were soulmates. Weiss, on the other hand, is a hopeless romantic and finds Jaune's devotion adorable.
109	** ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/13034304/chapters/29813943 A Pair of Lost Souls]]'' is an AlternateUniverseFic where Weiss and Blake didn't go to Beacon. They first meet when Blake attacks Weiss and holds her {{hostage\|Situation}}. It just so happens they're also soulmates who have their first words to one another written on their skin.
110	[[/folder]]
111
112	[[folder:Western Animation]]
113	* A DeconstructiveParody in the ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' fic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12015993/1/Now-Kiss Now Kiss]]'', for the rarepair [[PluckyComicRelief Sokka]]/[[EmotionlessGirl Mai]].
114	* ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'':
115	** ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/26985589 Tak the Hideous Soulmate]]'': In this setting, humans' soulmate marks are the first words that their soulmates will say to them, which appear on their wrist at some point long after birth. Tak ends up greeting Dib with near-identical words to what appears on his wrist the morning before they first meet, but after stopping her plan for Earth he convinces himself that it was just a coincidence.
116	** ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/37121917/chapters/92618959 That Thing on Your Wrist]]'': In this setting where humans are born with their soulmates' name on their wrists, Tak and Zim are Dib and Gaz's respective soulmates, so their names are printed in Irken. As Irkens don't have soulmate marks, with the closest equivalent being when they brand someone they view as belonging to them, there's some CultureClash along the way once they realize who the marks identify.
117	* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'': In the DeadFic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/870139/chapters/1670887 Not Impossible]]'', the name of your soulmate appears on your arm once you turn eighteen. Kim's soulmate is shockingly not her boyfriend Ron, but a woman named "Sheyenne Gomez". Kim doesn't realize that her soulmate is [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Shego]]. The trope is also deconstructed by Felix when he mentions he had a perfect relationship with his exe Zita, but they broke up simply because Zita had another person's name on her wrist. Felix doesn't believe that two people being soulmates means they're a perfect match. It's also shown that Kim's parents weren't soulmates, but fell in love anyway and are HappilyMarried.
118	* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'':
119	** The fic ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/3947059/chapters/8847787 Rumble]]'' mixes the soulmate [=AU=] with the equalist Asami [=AU=]. Asami is an Equalist spy on a mission to befriend the Avatar. However it turns out Korra is her soulmate. The fic uses a variation of the [=AU=] where soulmates feel each others pain.
120	** ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/3765220/chapters/8363638 They say that true love hurts. Well, this could almost kill me]]'' is a Korrasami fanfic where soulmates feel each other's emotional and physical pain.
121	* Fairly common in the ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' fanbase, usually complicated by the series [[TwoPersonLoveTriangle Love Square]].
122	** ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/8971234/chapters/20512495 Colors of the Soul]]'' takes place in a world where people are born colourblind until they look in their soulmate's eyes. Marinette's connection triggers after she sees Adrien on a magazine cover years before she meets him. Adrien's triggers when he meets Ladybug as Chat Noir, and is therefore thrown when she doesn't react to him. Likewise, when Marinette meets Adrien the following day, she's thrown when he doesn't react to her when he gives her his umbrella. [[spoiler:Adrien only figures out what's going on when he hears the magazine story from both Marinette and Ladybug.]]
123	** The ''Fanfic/DreadStringOfFate'' AU offers a rather dark spin on this, as the string tying Marinette to Adrien is [[StrangledByTheRedString wrapped around her]] ''neck''. Luka gains the ability to see these strings and sets out to find some way of [[ScrewDestiny freeing her from this predicament]].
124	** [[https://raydrawlings.tumblr.com/tagged/soulmate+au RayDrawlings]] on Website/{{Tumblr}} has a series of "soulmate mark [=AU=]" fanarts based on ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug''. Marinette was not born with a soulmate mark like most, which made her believe she didn't have a soulmate. When she meets Chat Noir she gets her mark, but it's a picture of a black cat instead of a name. Adrien subsequently gets a ladybug on his back.
125	** In Peppermint_Shamrock's series ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/series/1061534 The Soul System]]'', soulmates experience an intense feeling of connection and recognition upon first contact - and ''only'' first contact. So if two children meet and experience the connection when they're too young or assumed to be too young to understand it, they may not know or be able to prove they're soulmates, which is what happens to Rose and Juleka (along with an implication of homophobia on Rose's mother's part). In addition, sometimes one person experiences the connection but the other does not, meaning the former is considered Mismatched, which happens with Chloe for Adrien and Ondine for Kim. It's also shown that soulmate relationships are ''not'' destined to end happily, to the point that [[spoiler:Marinette's parents aren't soulmates, though Sabine is still close with her's (Nadja).]] In the case of the Love Square, Ladybug and Chat Noir [[CrashIntoHello meet as they did in canon]] and discover they're soulmates. The complication comes when this doesn't stop Marinette from falling in love with Adrien after the umbrella scene, leading her to feel awful about emotionally betraying Chat, especially since she believes that Adrien's soulmate is Chloe. [[spoiler:Her guilt leads her to slip Adrien's birthday scarf into his locker without signing her name (on purpose, unlike in canon), and when Chat Noir brings it along on patrol, Ladybug recognises her work, makes the connection and promptly screams before [[HeadDesk banging her head against a chimney stack]].]]
126	** In the ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/series/1556713 Fruitful]]'' series by [[https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorChibi/pseuds/SailorChibi SailorChibi]], people have the first words their soulmate will tell them on their chests. The connection manifests as a telepathic link some people choose to block until they are sure they can trust their mate, as happens with Alya (to Nino's chagrin). Meanwhile, Adrien and Marinette bond during a ball where she [[MeetCute drops some pastries on his clothes]] while catering, and choose to keep the bond open, but the relationship secret so that Gabriel won't interfere. The only one who knows is Chloe, who was present and knew Adrien's words. Then they must keep it secret from their kwamis as well, because there are rules against Ladybugs and Cats knowing each other's identity...
127	* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/479616/long-distance-soulmates Long-Distance Soulmates]]'' features the "first words mark" type, treated as a rare form of magical birthmark, and uses the concept to justify [[UpperClassTwit Prince Blueblood's]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E26TheBestNightEver treatment of Rarity at the Gala]]; any suitors he faces must be [[GoldDigger Gold Diggers]] and not his soulmate because his soulmate's first words to him will be "You watch it, ya dweeb!"
128	* ''Fanfic/OperationSoulmate'' is a series of ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'' fanfic that involve soulmates feeling each other's pain and emotions. It is also a world where 20% of people including Numbuh 2 don't have a soulmate.
129	* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/11393223 I Can't Believe Dumbledore Died]]'' is an Amethyst/Peridot fic of the "the first words you say to your soulmate are written on your arm" variety. Peridot unfortunately has "Man, I can't believe Dumbledore died." on her arm, spoiling her to the twist and leading to several uncomfortable Summers in long sleeves due to not wanting to spoil anyone else. Incidentally, the story was inspired by a [[https://littlelions101.tumblr.com/post/161426669018/adramofpoison-dondaario-so-if-in-the-soulmate tumblr prompt]], which has spawned a few other fics.
130	* The short film ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GrV4-SoAo8 The String]]'' is an original work based on this type of work. It's about a girl who doesn't have a RedStringOfFate like everyone else. She eventually finds her soulmate [[spoiler:[[QueerRomance who turns out to be a woman]].]]
131	* ''WesternAnimation/VoltronLegendaryDefender'': In [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/15117683 I'll be your knight (in shining armor)]], Lance has the unique ability to see the RedStringOfFate and learns that Lotor is Allura's soulmate...or so [[ObliviousToLove he]] thinks. Mutual pining ensues between the Galran prince and the sharpshooter.
132	[[/folder]]
133

Context Main / SoulmateAUFic