skin writing soulmate AUs and red string AUs are my favorites, especially when there's an extra something to make them more unique! for example, i read a fic with a poly ship where the characters were super confused as to why they had more than one red string on their finger lol. another one i read was an au where soulmates would not only share anything they wrote on their skin, but also be able to open a temporary 'soul connection' during the time they're writing, in which they can feel each other's emotions
Definitely the genres with the “whatever I think shows up on my soulmates arm.” It’s usually very funny, and sometimes angsty. But a close second is the tattoo option.
I want to read that fic you mentioned where one person has 70 years left to live and the other one has only 5 years! Do you have the name and/or link to it? I'd read it in a heartbeat!
Soulmate au idea Character A and Character B are soulmates Character A is best friends with character C growing up Character B is best friends with character D growing up All characters meet at the park one-day by chance Character A assumes character D is their soulmate and vice versa Character B assumes character C is their soulmate and vice versa They all get married and have kids and are mostly happy, they all think nothing of it. Until they eventually find out they got it wrong the entire time. But they either stay together or it turns into a poly relationship- 😅
My fave soulmate fic was about a gay man and gay woman being soulmates through having each others names on their bodies and one growing up with a lot of angst over destiny telling them they were destined to be straight and the other being rebellious and rejecting soulmate culture, but when they met they had this almost immediate instinctive understanding that they were meant to be platonic soulmates. It has been years since I last read this and so I don’t remember all the details or even how good it was, but it was the first place my brain went.
That’s such a sweet idea! A similar , but opposite, story, and also probably one of my favourite soulmate fic ever, was a story in which there’s a pair of childhood friends, boy and girl, that click very easily and become great friends, and keep being extremely close as they grow up. They kinda develop feelings for each other, but this is an AU with the “first words soulmate says to you are tatooed on your body” premise, and their tattoos somehow both mention this random dude’s name. At first they think it could be referring to the same person, but then as they grow up they start becoming disillusioned and just give up on the fact that its probably two different dudes with the same name that just happen to be their soulmates, and they will never be together. Then, plot twist: the one character we thought was a girl… was not! He realises he’s a trans man! And the story has him transition with all the help of his friends, including the other boy. He knows he’s a man, but when the time comes to choose a new name for himself, he doesn’t know what to pick initially. Then he looks at his own wrist and it clicks. His name is the name appearing on the tattoo. He rushes to his friends house, and as soon as the friends opens the door, the two of them instinctively say to each other the exact same words that were written on their bodies. And realise that they were indeed soulmates all along. Even though technically it follows the “trapped with the rules of the universe” setups most other soulmate AUs have, I especially like this fic because their “first ever conversation” is treated as “the conversation they had after the man chose himself to become that person the tattoo was referring to”. And also because everytime one of the “you see the name of your soulmate on your body” AUs popped up my first thought was “yeah but what if they’re trans”
@@analyticaltomatomy idea for trans soulmates like that is the name on the skin changes when the trans person changes it, weather it be mentally(they start thinking of themselves as said new name) or leagally
@@Jtheartnerd Yeah, but I mean this is destiny magic, I'm pretty sure it can know what name they will eventually have. It could be their true, destined name in the same way they have a true, destined lover (a soulmate). The destiny always knows what the name will be, but perhaps the characters can't figure out they're soulmates until the time comes that the trans character starts using their true name. Either that or they already are when the soulmates meet, but that might be boring.
I prefer soulmate AUs when they're exploring the problems that would arise in that kind of soceity, like falling for someone who isn't your soulmate, or waiting to start living until you meet your soulmate to an unhealthy degree, or being an aroace person who doesn't want a soulmate at all, stuff like that is super interesting to me.
I think my favorite form of that kind of character study is when it’s done along the ace/aro spectrum (I’m a hopeless romantic so gimme my demisexuals/demiromantics) because the utter _bewilderment_ of the person on the ace/aro spectrum vs the non-ace/aro other half is… usually a fun time. Also usually a _respectful_ time. Though I have read one where it was way more social commentary on irl Aceness than fluff with a side of occasional hurt/comfort. That one was good. Just… a _bit_ too real/depressing.
@@raindrop6566 it is!! My personal favorite flavor of it is when they’re _both_ bewildered a-specs and it’s a fun time watching two rather earnest _very_ confused people navigate something they just never had click/register/matter and now it does. And they care. Bonus points if one of the two is oblivious to the entire concept of _being_ somewhere on the gray scale chart. XD
@@xxwinter_skyesxx oh god for a brief second i had forgotten, how dare you remind me 😭 i loved the season finale and think it was really well-written, but every time i think about it i wanna throw up lol
The idea of a goose who chases you until you find your soulmate is both hilarious and terrifying, I have never heard of this version of the AU before. Now I must find fics of this.😂
Oh yeah, I first found it in a Riptide JRWI fic- It was reasonabky funny as our fish from the undersea A. Did not know the importance of geese B. Was surrounded by a flock of them, with one of them practically just yelling at him to follow it to his soulmate XD
I read a soulmate au where if you were born without a soulmate, you'd slowly die and so the two met at a research facility where they tried to form an artificial soulmate bond but even as they fell in love over the year, they kept getting more and more sick till eventually they both died... I cried so hard
I think my favorite soulmate trope is when they look at each other with horror and go: "Oh fuck no, not you." Yet they still end up being ridiculously right for each other, and even when they're finally totally in mutual love, they're still kinda bitter about having given in.
I love this type of fics with every atom in my body :3 They keep bickering about everything but when someone else even looks at their soulmate the wrong way, they're ready to throw hands :3
I've read one like this that was soooo funny. The first line they had at their's skin was not spoken, but rather a rude text they got because their soulmate saved the wrong number. It was like "Oikawa, next time you do this I'll kill you" but.... it was sent to Kyousuke's phone? 😂 And then they start bullshitting each other via phone until it becomes a friendship and finally romance. 😅
I remember reading a good Yuuri and Victor fic with the “everything you write on your arm appears on your soulmates arm”, but in this fic it starts with a language barrier between them which results to them holding dictionaries in their hands as they try to communicate with each other❤ The fic continues on until their adoulthood, cue the rest of the fic!!
soulmate aus just have that different vibe to it. like i know theyre gonna end up together but im just in for the angst and misunderstandings and incredible obliviousness
I read a soulmate au where every injury your soulmate sustains will appear on your body as flower tattoos which I find very beautiful and also kind of sad because imagine waking up one morning and you're just covered in flowers that lasts a few days so everyone can see your soulmate is dead before you could meet them
I really love this au with fics about South Park because Kenny, since he dies in every episode. I remember one fic, where his soulmate would burst into flowers every time Kenny died (which is almost every day). And since every time everybody forgets Kenny dies, his soulmate just gets confused more and more
Another idea for this variation is that [Trigger warning for mentions of self harm and general wounds] the flowers differ depending on what style of wound it is and the meaning of the flower. For example, getting hurt while sleep deprived would have lavender, forget-me-not for self cuts, camomile for stress-induced scratches, etc.
That is way cuter. I read some deadpool/spidey pain/injury fic once where since early age parker would have the marks of injuries and was bitter about their soulmate's self-destructiveness, while deadpool (abused from early childhood, ran away and joined US military ASAP and then came weapon x) just didn't think he could possibly have a soulmate and wasn't careful because of that.
One of my favorite soulmate aus is the one where you can see how much longer you soulmate has. Like, a doctor sees their soulmate has a few hours, then, during their shift, a car crash victim or something like that comes in. The victim flatlines, but they revive them, and conveniently, the doctor’s soulmate gets a bunch more years
Oooh, I saw a tumblr post with a similar premise, though the actual marks was every person has the time they meet their soulmate, the time they accomplish their life's goal, and their time of death. This person died literally the minute after meeting their soulmate, but the soulmate was a doctor and saved them, and they will die together several decades later.
when i heard about the "shared fingerprints" one, i immediately got this idea of "what if one character committed a crime and framed their soulmate?" or something else, i think there's a lot of possibilities here
I like soulmate aus that are basically "there are a bunch of different soulmate links you can have mine is *insert soulmate link" bc there's always a side character that has the WORST soulmate link. The main couples will be like "oh yeah we can feel what the other feels physically" mean while a side character is just like "my soulmate link is that me and my soulmate are immortal but everytime we die the other feels it for the rest of their life. Constantly. The pain never stops. Life is pain and misery, kill me"
@@bebebonb0n - If I'm reading this right, you're unfamiliar with the specific English-language idiom "everything but the kitchen sink." It just means essentially that they threw in all sorts of random stuff.
There's this fanfic that I read recently where soulmates can't hurt each other. The beginning was really funny because the main guy is a hitman assigned to kill the other guy, and it turns out the other's an agent who knew he's a hitman. So when they try to kill each other, there's basically this invisible thing that prevents them from doing so and their weapons start burning up. The agent guy turns out to be working for the company trying to take down the hitman's boss, so they basically agree to work together, fake the former's death, and get rid of said boss, while also getting together romantically.
“Everyone has a limited number of words until they meet their soulmate” is so fascinating as a society premise because would that mean, teachers, politicians, religious leaders, actors or other positions that require a lot of speaking to function would have a requirement of finding their soulmate first? Soulmate found being a checkbox on their cv XD
I actually had a story idea for a Soulmate AU meeting. It's based off the 'You have a mark where your Soulmate will touch you, and when you make contact for the first time, it turns into a rainbow of color' set up. I remember seeing one thought regarding that set up along the lines of 'Imagine having a hand print mark on your face and knowing that your Soulmate is going to slap you when you first make contact', and I rolled with it, with a twist! Imagine someone with that hand mark going throughout their life mentally preparing for that day, maybe even avoiding potential soulmates because they fear the conflict that will come with the inevitable slap. Maybe people avoid them too because of the assumption that they'll do something to deserve that slap, thinking they'll be an asshole in the future. Long story short, they're straight up not having a good time with this Soul mark. Then, one day, they're playing a game like kickball or soccer or something, and they get hit in the face with the ball. Next thing they know, someone more popular and charismatic comes running over to check on them and gently sets their hand on their face to check their injuries. And then, when they pull back... it's nothing but a rainbow, on their face and on the other person's palm.
Ooh, I came up with another soulmate AU idea! Two characters who aren’t soulmates meet and fall in love, and they have to choose between each other and their actual soulmates-but when they choose each other, the names on their arms change! By choosing each other over fate, they’ve proven themselves true soulmates.
I think it’d be funny to have a soulmate at but one of them does not care and keeps forgetting they even have a soulmate and the other one hates their life to be pre-destined to go a certain way and take control and those two keep ending up everywhere and instead of it being a complete soulmate au it’s more of a twin flame situation like they help each other heal from their issues holding them back to continue moving along in life. In the end the one who forgets soulmates are a thing is single but loving their career and life in the end while the anti destiny flame defies fate and lives with the one they want to spend their life with.
My favourite type of soulmate au is specifically one where the main couple *arent* each other's soulmate, but specifically choose each other against 'fate' anyway. I think ive always found that much more powerful because then these people have to defy everything to choose their partner- and they do. Like choosing each other despite everyone and the universe saying it isnt meant to be, that gets my little heart going
Some of my absolute favorites I’ve read (that are somewhat rare) are 1: Soulmates share a special song only they can hear 2: Soulmates have special “pets” or magical companions that guide them to each other (animals, birds, dolls, etc) 3: Soulmates share tears 4: Soulmates have wings and their wings are colored to resemble each other
I enjoy found family soulmates. No romance, just a group of people finding each other and feeling at home and comfortable with each other. They get the support of a family they never had. They can still have romantic soulmates, but they also have their family soulmates.
@@anagraceatkins3731 i don't know your taste , but loublouve has good fics.also malberry223.yyeni. and Upsideofcrazy -run through the middle.are also really good .
I actually had an idea for a soulmate AU where your eyes start as grey and then change color when you kiss your soulmate for the first time. The main premise was that the MC went to a party, drank too much, and woke up the next day with colored eyes. He then runs around all day trying to find every girl he kissed while drunk and it turns out that his soulmate is actually a friend who kissed him goodbye after getting coffee the morning before the party.
I read this one fic where everyone received a stack of sticky notes and they could send them to their soulmate but couldn’t tell them anything about their identity, almost like an anonymous way of messaging. It honestly was a really good way to have some angst moments, because there’s always the ideas of like what if they don’t write back or what if you run out of sticky notes or even like what if somebody takes your sticky notes and you can’t write back. It’s ripe for miscommunication and family drama where maybe a characters parent doesn’t believe in soulmates and so doesn’t get their child any notes so they can’t respond to their soulmate, and there’s also the fun colour dynamic that can be represented by the colours of the sticky notes
Here's a couple of my favorite variants I've seen in fics that I genuinely adore: - You have bruise-like patterns where your soulmate will first touch you, but they become bright and vibrant with pretty colors. I saw this in a Medic x Scout TF2 fic once. Medic's pattern happened to be on his face, so he ended up wearing a mask most of the time to cover it because people thought it was ugly. And then the bigger twist when it turned out that Medic's soulmate was on the other team - You can't see the color that your soulmate's eyes are until you lock eyes with your soulmate. This one comes from a Homestuck fic I read a long time ago featuring John x Dave. It was especially interesting because Dave did know who his soulmate, but apparently looking at someone through sunglasses doesn't count as "locking eyes" so he basically made the decision not to reveal to John who his soulmate was until he actually fell for Dave
I'm not a romantic type, but i love shipping. I love soumate AUs cause theyre the simplified version of dating. No muss no fuss, here's your permanent lover, lets go! Im also AroAce, so that might explain it lol
As another AroAce, i love pining in fiction, but in real life when i hear people pine over their crushes i’m like “Stop talking to me and just go ask them out”. Single allos can be irritating sometimes.
As another AroAce, I really love to interpret soulmate AUs as everyone being in queerplatonic relationships. I just really like the idea of finding someone and instantly knowing that they are going to be your best friend, but with really cute almost romantic things happening. Like, it's almost romantic, but just platonic enough that I don't get sickened by it.
the concept of platonic soulmates is such a beautiful one to me, like having a number of people in your life who just match your energy and will support you no matter what is so priceless and amazing to read about
I'm in love with the idea of two characters being forced into relationships with their respective soulmates, but breaking free from them after meeting eachother and fighting against all odds for the relationship they chose themselves rather than staying in the ones assigned to them, even though they were "meant for them". I just really like stories about free will winning against destiny
I’d recommend watching black mirror episode Kill the DJ, it also not a horror, but on account of being British there is some T&A etc Anyway it’s similar to the premise you’re talking about!
This makes me remember an AU I called "Soulmates Are Made Not Born" in which the closer people get to each other, the more they're meant to be together. (There's more I wrote but I love writing my own destiny hehehe)
Oh, goodness, my crossover project is a mess, there are too many fandoms and I've been reigning in my MADD back to immersive daydreaming to try to function. But it's all the daydreaming that's got me wanting to get this crossover mess out of my head. 😭
@@DaelyahOMG you too? I’m glad I’m not the only one. I’ve been trying to work on a massive crossover fanfic for years, with all these characters from different anime and movies, and it’s becoming quite the hot mess. :/
@@gangurogeisha So I'm a multishipper. I can't land on one ship for the life of me. But I want a soul mate au in my massive ass crossover. I decided to let Ao3 decide the fate of these characters and let the most popular ships win. But a lot of characters have a lot of popular ships. So for the next 3 fucking years, I've made a list compiling all the ships on Ao3 from all the movies and shows I wanted to crossover. And the longer the project took, the more movies and shows I added. It was actually a great way to waist time during quarantine. After 3 years I realized I lost the original goal with what I was doing, question my life choices and decided to scrap the project. Though through this project I can confidently say I hate the Miraculous Ladybug fandom, The Barbie fandom, and the RWBY fandom. Those fandoms gave me the hardest time trying to find all the damn ships.
@@zoguy6988 oof yup, former miraculous fan here, the weird ass love... square? octagon? idek at this point can and will give anyone who tries to decipher it a stroke
One of my favorite soulmate fics, featuring a polyship, had started with someone confused because his soul timer went well beyond his expected life expectancy until he was attacked by a vampire. As time goes by he meets three of his soulmates over the years, who he turns into vampires one by one until they meet their last soulmate in the present day - which is when their soul timers finally reach zero.
I recently entered the Detective Conan fandom and I just say canon age regression works very interestingly with soulmates, especially when soul marks are only supposed to appear when one reaches a certain age. Additionally, the existence of secret identities also adds additional spice to situations where you 'know' your soulmate and don't know, of course the "I cannot tell them else I will reveal my identity" is also fun.
I'd say my favourite soulmate AU so far has been when you have two timers counting down to your platonic and romantic soulmate, with your platonic on your non dominant hand and your romantic on your dominant. The main pairing consisted of one person who was ambidextrous and had one timer, and the other who had none. To say it was both extremely wholesome and sad is an understatement.
Soulmate AU??? You mean my favorite AU OF ALL TIME? YESSSSSS and you know, Merthur is canonically a soulmate kind of ship. Would really awesome if you made that Merlin video you mentioned 👉👈🥺
Once read a fanfiction where one of your eye colours would change to that of your soulmate if the connection was recipricated (if it wasn't only one of the characters would change eye colours). Being with your soulmate felt a bunch of dopamine that could cloud your judgement to be near them, making youwant to be closer and not harm them. The main character hated how the world revolved around soulmates and the effects of being near them and tried to find happiness with someone else who felt the same way
i really like the idea of the timer counting down to when you meet your soulmate but character a and b are childhood best friends and weren't even old enough to remember when they met, so both of them think their timers are broken. sometimes they get together and figure out that they are soulmates and their timers aren't broken, they could never find out but still get together anyway or they could not get together because they were always meant to be platonic soulmates!!
Soulmate AUs are so fun! The one I'm writing (don't ask when I last updated) actually wasn't mentioned here. I'm not sure from which fic I got the inspiration, but it's basically that when you're asleep you see through you soulmate eyes, like a live feed of what they're doing at that moment. It works better if each soulmate is in a different timezone or if one is a night owl and the other an early bird :D
@@SuperMonaLisaBros I did mention timezones, but I'm not sure it's good specifically for angst, rather than just for the functionality of that kind of bond at all - because if they slept at the same time, they'd see nothing and we would have nothing to work with in the story :D
I somehow came up with a concept for an angsty Soulmate AU during the "What is a Soulmate AU" section where Coley was listing off unconventional and often angsty soulmate ideas. Two people, soulmates, decide they want to choose their own destiny and end up with anyone other than their soulmate. They meet up, and they're completely on the same page about this, so they decide to go their separate ways, live as far away from each other as possible (preferably different counties, like Germany and Australia... or wherever, I don't know why they came to mind), and never see each other again. So they each live their separate lives, dating different people, but in the end the relationships never work out. Eventually they're very old and completely alone, and at least one of them knows they're dying. The dying one decides to travel with the hope of finally finding some happiness in the little time they have left. They end up going to the country the other moved to (they agreed not to tell each other where they were going to live) and ends up running into their soulmate again after all these years, finding them just as sad and lonely. They both agree that they were wrong to try and deny fate, and cry with regret for wasting their entire lives just because they were stubborn. Some people never find their soulmates, but these idiots found them when they were young and deliberately lost them again, just to waste their entire lives in their defiance. They spend some short amount of time together (hours, days, weeks?) only for the one to die and the other to be alone yet again, having wasted all the years they could have spent happy together. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?! I HATE ANGST! I WOULD NEVER READ THIS! WHY DID THIS COME TO ME?! Anyway so yeah, if you want to use this go ahead I guess, I don't know why you would but for some reason people like this kind of thing I guess, just let me know in a reply and credit me for the idea would be nice please. I'm Johanna6Cats on AO3 and Wattpad.
I'm a sucker for found family and the idea of parental soulmates, ie. a child who doesn't have parents or whose parents suck has an adult soulmate who is fated to adopt/guide them.
My fav version of soulmate au is when it's "right person, not the right time" and circumstances pull them together and apart, time and time again-- which is how they build up a relationship and grow with each other until they reach a point when they realize no one else could ever understand them quite like each other does. I especially enjoy when one or both KNOWS they are soulmates from the first meeting, but because they are so different or are adverse to the idea of love/destiny, they continue to fight it until it eventually hits them in the face.
The funniest soulmate AU I've ever read is where you can feel each others pain. Person A and Person B meet in a waiting room and strike up a convo. Person A goes in. It turns out they were waiting to get their butthole waxed. Wax comes off. There’s a scream from the waiting room from person B 😂😂😂💀
"You and your soulmate share a language only you can understand" That's something in real life called "Having a different interest alongside your SO then your friends" 🤣
An idea I've had, though it is actually more comedic than romantic, is having the picture or ship name of your soulmate's OTP appear on your body. Just imagine the shenanigans. Although it can be a nice fluff prompt too, if the poor OTP did not become canon or died.
Omg Soulmate au where the thing most important to your soulmate ends up on your wrist. Most people have family, or knowledge. You have a ship name like Klance or something hahahah
@@coffee8090 actually that's a genius idea, not even because of shipping, but because of how diverse and hilarious a reality like this would be, given people's different priorities. Perhaps most would indeed have "family", "love", "career" and stuff, but then there are you with "finding the Scroll of Truth" engraved on your skin in black ink. The barista in your local café, apparently the apple of some hyperfixated scientist's eye, has something like "that one black hole several thousands of kilometres from [insert thing]", "discovering a new species of frog" or "were those two people that once went to my school in love or just friends?". And do not get me started on star-crossed lovers with opposing political parties or sports teams on their wrists! (also, if my wrist had "Klance" on it, I'd personally be quite happy. Maybe my soulmate would watch the entirety of Voltron with me, I've wanted to for like two years, but my duties and my laziness didn't let me get past Season One Episode One. It'd be worse if they worshipped something like, idk, Tycutio. Then I would have to send them to some re-education programme.)
I had a prompt generator give me a great soulmate idea once that I found most interesting- Every night you can see your soulmates reflection in the mirror.
I read a soulmate AU before where whenever you get injured, flower tattoos will grow on that area on your soulmates body. So yeah one guy keeps on getting injured, and their soulmate has flower tattoos all over their body, but they don't get injured often so the other doesn't have any tattoos. That very person who keeps getting injured believes he doesn't have a soulmate until he gets a very large fliwer tattoo in his chest area. What really seals the deal with this trope is that the flower tattoos are normally only black outlines, if the tattoos have color in them, then that means your soulmate has died. Another few tropes I like were made by the Gacha Trend Community, I like the idea of you having a matching color streak of hair with your soulmate or one of your eyes swap with them (if you found your eye on a different person, then their your soulmate).
My favourite “soulmate” concept is one where you leave what amount to paint splotches on everyone you make an impact on, and the same happens to you by everyone who impacts you
One of my favorite soulmate AUs I read took place in the dark ages. Your soulmate's first words to you are written on your wrist in their own handwriting... But in those times, only higher society and religious figures could read and write, so if your soulmate CAN'T, your wrist is blank until they learn how. (This also means you can meet your soulmate who can't read/write, and only realize later they are your soulmate after they learn and those first words appear in shaky letters on you.) In higher society in these fic, a lot of families force 'false-soulmates' in the sense that two people who know their soulmate's first words to them will meet and intentionally say the other person's words even if they don't make sense together so TECHNICALLY their first words to each other make them 'soulmates', and it's harder to disprove. Kind of an arranged marriage type thing.
I just love any soulmate au fic where two people who are supposed to be enemies find out that they are soulmates and have to navigate falling for each other when their love is either forbidden and might even get people hurt or they just are the last two people you'd expect to be fated to be. Whether they are a hero and a villain, a bully and their victim, soldiers on opposite sides of a war, members of different fantasy species (vampire/werewolf, human/elf, angel/demon, etc.), childhood enemies or rivals, people who have seriously hurt each other in the past... Anything like that, any kind of soulmate AU + forbidden love trope. Like, laws or society or circumstance or the past are telling us that our love is wrong, but fate had different plans for us. Lots of potential for angst and tension because there are so many barriers between them. I think colors, timers, and first words are my favorite versions of this AU. I have also seen some fics where you are given a journal or it materializes when you are born and it lets you communicate with your soulmate before you meet them, and version where you and your soulmate have the same song playing in your head that only the two of you know.
The one soul mate idea that I've really played around with is a story where one character met their SM early in life, it was great, but lost her tragically. Then years later, he becomes friends with someone who has a rare issue of not having a soul mark, and they begin to form a deep bond. Then, his faded mark begins to change, and she has one appear for the first time, until their marks seal them as soul mates from the most unlikely circumstance.
0:36 That Ancient Greek concept/explanation of soulmates it kinda haunting. Really interesting, but also really sad. It would be really cool to see fanfics explore that more.
One of my favorite subversions involved a character cutting their string of fate at their soulmate's wedding in order to tie the grooms together, only to end up meeting another person who could see the strings (most people can't) and tying themselves together instead. It was angsty and cute and romantic all at once.
I like specific soulmate tropes for different ships, because they'll fit the theme/aesthetic of the ship better or it's just more compelling. Like, the writing on your skin trope for a ship where they have different nationalities and speak different languages (Viktuuri). Or sharing pain tropes with ships that had rough childhoods (Tododeku). Etc.
Yes, both those ships are well suited for it. I love Burn and Breathe by PitViperOfDoom for TodoDeku, but can't remember any language barrier soulmate fics for Yuuri on ice. Recs please?
One of my favorite soulmate aus ive read is the one where once you touch your soulmate, the mark shows up on you. And of course it was a highschool au. Character a is the new kid. Character a gets a bloody nose, character b helps them. Then later they check their body and realize the mark has shown up I think its just really wholesome and soft but could also have angst potential
I've read several fics where people's eyes changed colours to match their soulmate's eyes. Only one eye changed colour. Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter were a couple of course, and there were lots of things going on in the background, trying to force bonds, people wearing coloured contacts, only one of the couple changing eye colours etc. I also remember reading a fic with soulmarks, and beliefs and religions about the soulmarks and people who didn't have them, who are kind of shunned. The MC was someone without a soulmark. But then, turns out that those weird bumps on their leg were actually their soulmark but in Braille instead of the traditional pictures (with meanings that were interpreted etc) because their soulmate was blind. Or, people can communicate telepathically, but only on certain days and you can't share personal details or the connection is severed. It's to help people connect before they meet.
My favorite is the flower marks au :) Everyone has flower buds on their body and the flowers bloom once they meet their soulmate(s) I really like it when they have romanitic, platonic, and familial marks because it looks like they have bouquets blooming all over them! They is also the angst of wilting the soul flowers by either neglecting the bound and/or refusing to acknowledge them as your soulmate And once a soulmate dies the flowers turn gray :D
ngl i used to not be a huge fan of the soulmate au, but i think as i get older, i got a new appreciation of it. i mean maybe it's just me, but imagine meeting someone who was tailor made for me and me for them. the craving to know someone inside out and have them do the same for you and both of you stick by each other no matter what, as i get older it's what i want. to be completely myself, all the good, bad, and ugly parts of myself be known by someone and they still want me. and to love all of the good, bad, and ugly parts of someone else and still choose to wake up next to them every single day. i guess i just turned into a romantic or i'm being emotional bc im on birth control, we'll never know
The best soulmate AU i ever read was a drarry fic called "You're the Antidote for Me" by Kandakickass, it's so angsty and i love it. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk
As a person who doesn’t read fanfics I’m very proud of myself for successfully sneaking into this community 😈 I’ve learned more about this stuff than I ever thought I would
I've written one Soulmates AU fic and it was of the "you're colorblind until you touch your soulmate" variety. My take on it was Character A was a famous painter known for his mastery of color in his work, and Character B was an art lover who would go to the museum just to admire one of A's paintings, though always lamented that he couldn't see them in color. One day, there's an exhibit with A's works and B goes to check it out. He goes right to his favorite of A's paintings, the one he's always looked at and wished he could see in color, and strikes up a conversation with B (who he doesn't know is the artist). B asks A what he thinks of the colors of the painting and A bitterly responds that he has no idea, and B tells him that he can't see it either. A goes on about how he's jealous that the artist of the painting is able to see the world as it truly is and how lucky the artist must be. B tells him that the artist isn't as lucky as he thinks. A asks what he means and B reminds him that he already told him, he can't see color either. A realizes that he's talking to the artist and is stunned that a painter known for his use of color can't actually see color. At the end of their conversation, they shake hands and the entire gallery is suddenly alive with vivid hues. Together, they behold the painting as it truly is for the first time. It's very sweet and cliche, but it's one of my favorite one-shots I've written and it makes me want to try writing more Soulmate AU fics.
I am a sucker for reincarnated soulmates. Especially if they died tragically young or something. Just the idea of loving someone enough that it transcends multiple lives warms my cold dead heart.
I've read one where you can see your future soulmate's self, but they appear as your imaginary friend almost. They are there the moment you are born and you can physically touch them/hear them, but others can't see them/hear them. (The ghost of them never ages/change) They basically grow up with with said character and take care of them if the family is too busy. Its funny because when the soulmate touches them, they can lift them up, but to another's persons perspective, they look like they're floating. Almost like a ghost. It isn't until you meet them at the moment in time where they match your "soulmate ghost" that those two will meet and the ghost version of them disappears, but the memory of them taking care of you still remains. Its quite cute, but also angsty because some characters could get impatient with this and try to tempt fate, but it isn't the right time until it matches their ghost. The thing that got me the most is that the ghost can have thoughts and can talk to their soulmate, but they don't know anything about themselves until they meet and merge. So for example, they don't even know their name. So they would have to give a nickname until they somehow run into their soulmate ghost and then they just tell each other and then tell their soulmate so they can meet. Another thing too is that in this AU, people have different "soulmarks", this is just happens to be one of them and another person can be experience this too and you wouldn't know it unless you tell other people what is happening. I just find this Soulmate AU quite interesting, and I think someone called it "Imaginary friend AU" but it can go in many different ways. (platonic or not)
I've always wanted to explore a soulmate AU where soulmate 1 wants the relationship while the other brutally rejects it, but due to causing soulmate 1 so much pain, soulmate 1 gets a new soulmate while soulmate 2 is stuck with 1 as their "dead end soulmate". It adds just the right amount of angst and bittersweet unintentional revenge that I don't get to see very much of. Like, soulmate 2 made this decision, now they have to live with the consequences while soulmate 1 gets to live their best life and heal
A fun play on the first words written on you au I saw was from the POV of a Starbucks employee having to tell every customer with “hi welcome to Starbucks” on their wrist that no, they are not their soulmate
One of the most interesting potentials for me, too often neglected, is exploring how a given "clichéed" trope would affect society. In this instance, wouldn't customer-facing workers each develop a signature catch-phrase that's as unique as practically possible? If everyone is colorblind pre-mate-meeting, what about traffic lights and such? Could photos of injuries on YOUR body be used in evidence against an attacker after your soulmate has healed and decided to press charges? I could go on.
My friend once told me of a soul mate AU idea: You have a small patch of color on your wrist and, for example I have teal and you have teal then we're soulmates, but there is like 100 people with teal. If someone has light blue than we could still be in a relationship but it's more likely platonic/best friends. Basically the closer your colors are on the color wheel the more compatability you have. (and there are multiple people with each color)
i'm an absolute GREMLIN when it comes to soulmate au's. it probably has smth to do with me wanting to find love but im terrified of the unknowns and insecurities that come with dating, so having a predetermined person is perfect for me bc i know theyd fit with me rly well and we'd work together through things 💀
There is a BNHA (mostly platonic) soulmate AU series on AO3 I absolutely adore, "every sign of love" by dinomight, starting with the fic "paint me in trust". In that one the first time you and your soulmate touch, the point of contact leaves a mark in a color representing your soulmate! It's really cool and really sweet and heartwarming, just. Awwwh. I love that series so much. ♡♡♡♡♡♡
Possibly unpopular opinion, but I've found the older I get the less I enjoy soulmate AUs. They used to be my bread and butter, but these days I can't help but feel like for a lot of fanfics its a cheat code to get two characters together without trying to do anything to prove why its a good match. There's only a handful of soulmate AUs that have stuck with me positively, and they're either short fics that are mainly character explorations that go through their life, and then they meet their match at the end, or they're long fics with an obscure soulmate-mark aspect that keeps them meeting their soulmate over and over before they have full confirmation, and then its more like a regular fic where they grow and bond and eventually find peace in being each others match. I'm a huge sucker for reincarnation soulmates, like "our original selves were so in love that they tied their fate together, so now we get to keep meeting each other in each life". That shit can be great, but I haven't seen a lot of good examples in my fandoms sadly.
A soulmate AU I also like is a familial soul mark and also has the option of romantic soul marks and those are different symbols/colors etc. Like when a an adult(and romantic partner) has a soul mark for their soul child. There's so much room for angst and fluff, it's just *chef's kiss*
I’ve never been a big soulmate AU kinda person, it almost makes my reading feel too existential, and I start to think more on the logistics then my blorbos. However I can completely understand and respect the genre. It’s so popular and I don’t doubt it’s spawned some fantastic writing. I like the soulmate AU a little more now after watching this video. 10/10 fic genre.
one of my personal favorite ways the soulmate trope has been explored is in grian's double life minecraft series. there are 14 players in one server and they all are randomly assigned a soulmate who they share a health bar with. if their soulmate takes damage, they take damage and vice versa. however, they aren't told right away who their soulmate is- they have to figure out who they're partnered up with themselves. lots of potential for funny moments and angst, but i won't give away any spoilers. it's an amazingly well done series and one of my favorite series of all time, highly recommend
Soulmate AU is by far my favorite, seconded by Room Mate AU. because this ideas of 'Soulmate' intrigue me to go creative, it can be used for Angst, hurt/comfort or just some fluffy moment. I remember reading one fic where the one of soulmate has angsty past, so they tried their best to make other Soul mate go away. either by writing horrible stuff(they can read each other from away what their soulmate writes for them) or avoided them completely(ignored, run away, etc).
@@AlssyaMacki Holy shit, you give me a good ideas. this particularry can be good for 'Enemies to lover', y'know they had hate-love relationship and constantly bickering each other but this only make them fallen for each other harder. also I like if the two of them not realizing they are being soul mates because too denial and dense. Thank you very much(T▽T) now I had draft to do, a room mate in Soul Mate AU and old good 'Enemies to Lover' trope.
My favorite soulmate AU is one where the main character is married, and soulmate marks start appearing on people, and it's angst worrying about who their partner will get. The main character gets their partner but is still worried despite their partners promises that the marks don't matter and that they know they will get the main character. The author shows drama around the name with other characters, like one person got a dead lover, one person got their partner while they other didn't but they decided to stay together, one person left their partner for their soulmate etc.
Ooh, the BEGINNING of soulmate marks is a cool subset. I also read a 9-1-1 series where soulmates used to be common, but some were persecuted in some countries, and new marks stopped happening. This lasted for decades, so more people had to start marrying without them... but now there are signs they'll be coming back (the specific setup is more complex, including Buck being judged for his research obsession and "conspiracy theories"), triggering all kinds of angst from both couples and singles. But it's happy ending, a requirement for me, so...
My favourite soulmate AU is this Zosan fic, and in it Sanji and Zoro are not soulmates and they both know it. But they fall in love despite that and decide to be together, and when they each meet their soulmates (Tashigi for Zoro and Pudding for Sanji), the fic does a really good job realistically depicting how they deal with it. It's a very grounded fic and I appreciate that in soulmate AUs, where it's not just fluff and sweetness. That the romance is realistic and it's not just assumed that everything will work out because the main pairing are soulmates
7:44 I have no words... like they are best friends and all... there's no explanation on why are they so heavily made caring to each other. They are perfect either a very healthy friendship love, or those are growing up and get married asap.
I absolutely love soulmate AU that uses flower language whether it they have the same flower mark that represent each other the best or your mark is your soulmate's favorite flower. Im a HUGE sucker for flower language in fanfic and a soulmate AU is the cherry on top!
I love soulmate au's, a few of my favorite ones that are less common -when you are in danger or stressed your soulmate will take over your body but they will not remember anything until they meet you -nicknames you have appear on your skin and the size signifies the importance of your soulmate -people get wings on their 20th birthday and the wings represent their soulmate
I like subversions to the soulmate AU where one or both or all (if it’s a poly ship) of the people involved were born with out whatever the thing that indicates a soulmate is (weather it’s a string, or a mark, or a timer, etc.) - or where their soulmate dies before they could ever meet them (indicated by a cut string that doesn’t lead anywhere anymore, a timer that ran out, etc.) and it ends up being two people set within a soulmate ah who don’t have a soulmate (anymore) who meet each other and fall in love.
I love soulmate AUs, my favorite types are the classic red string of fate and when there's several strings that mean different connections between characters (for the more angsty stories). I remember one where two people were in a relationship but one of them was soulmates with someone else outside the relationship, and the other one had a black string or sacrifice on them. Meaning they were destined to sacrifice themselves and dying for the other person that was never meant to be their soulmate.
My favorite soulmate au is when everyone is inmortal until they meet their soulmate to grow old an die together, sprinkle in some soulmate is the only one that can kill you and after soulmate die you get a new soulmate. Then you baked is at 360º and bam so many possibilities.
I am both passionate reader and writer of fanfiction, and I just love your explanations and guides to all the different tropes out there; most often I don't even know half of them or example that you give xD But your videos give me so many great ideas to look into it ; thank you so much! :DDDD
I like soulmate AU’s where the concept of soulmates are not assumed to be romantic, where it’s equally accepted and plausible that they might be destined to be the perfect friends, or the perfect business partner, etc. and the story centers around the people just getting along really well on a fundamental level but still having to work through the typical challenges or being friends/romantically/etc. with another person.
I love this one fic where the soulmates are enemies but one of them knew while the other didn't. But the one who knows grew up in a loveless family and thought they were not worthy of love. At the final battle he resigned to his fate and lets his soulmate kill him. The soulmate later finds out and is devastated to know he was the one to kill him because soulmates are the only thing that can keep his clansmen stable due to the power they use, so soulmates are considered sacred in their culture and must be cherished. I come back to this fic all the time when I need a good cry.
All these videos you make are Always so interesting! Even if it's about something I'm familiar with they are always fun and informative. I love them so much. So It would be amazing if you mentioned that Merlin video you mentioned 👉👈🥺
ah, Soulmate AUs have to be my favorite AU of all time.... I'm such a hopeless romantic, the idea of soulmates just makes me so happy ~ the red string of fate will always hold a special place in my heart, and is definitely my favorite trope of the AU 💙
Lego Monkie kid, a garden across our collarbones on ao3. It’s the “draw on you it appears on your soulmate” thing and the main couple is Redson and Mk!
Oh man, I'm a slut for soulmate AUs! My very favorite is "An Ever-Fixed Mark" by AMarguerite, a deconstruction of the soulmate AU set in the world of Pride & Prejudice. She got me to start writing my own MCU soulmate AU that uses roughly the same rules (your soulmate's name appears on your wrist during adolescence) and looks at different ways you can interpret your mark.
My current main fandom, life series smp, has an entire canon soulmate season. It contains examples of basically all the main soulmate au archetypes; platonic soulmates, sappy insta love, “oh god anyone but you,” fated enemies…oh and it’s all within a death game where only one can win! the fan art for Double Life is some of the best I’ve seen in my nearly twenty years of fandom, hijinks and tears and angst and silliness abound
Which soulmate AU is your favorite?❤
Create your dream farm, forge friendships, and solve mysteries in Sunrise Village!! mtchm.de/l32ig
skin writing soulmate AUs and red string AUs are my favorites, especially when there's an extra something to make them more unique! for example, i read a fic with a poly ship where the characters were super confused as to why they had more than one red string on their finger lol. another one i read was an au where soulmates would not only share anything they wrote on their skin, but also be able to open a temporary 'soul connection' during the time they're writing, in which they can feel each other's emotions
Definitely the genres with the “whatever I think shows up on my soulmates arm.” It’s usually very funny, and sometimes angsty. But a close second is the tattoo option.
the galaxy is endless (I thought we were, too) by cosmogony broke me but i still love it (kuroken)
I want to read that fic you mentioned where one person has 70 years left to live and the other one has only 5 years! Do you have the name and/or link to it? I'd read it in a heartbeat!
Soulmate au idea
Character A and Character B are soulmates
Character A is best friends with character C growing up
Character B is best friends with character D growing up
All characters meet at the park one-day by chance
Character A assumes character D is their soulmate and vice versa
Character B assumes character C is their soulmate and vice versa
They all get married and have kids and are mostly happy, they all think nothing of it. Until they eventually find out they got it wrong the entire time. But they either stay together or it turns into a poly relationship- 😅
I feel like there's no better person to cover fanfic topics than Coley. She's practically a scholar at this point.
Fr
And shes not out rightly judgmental
she's ficterati.
So true.
They should have fan fiction scholars honestly in my opinion
My fave soulmate fic was about a gay man and gay woman being soulmates through having each others names on their bodies and one growing up with a lot of angst over destiny telling them they were destined to be straight and the other being rebellious and rejecting soulmate culture, but when they met they had this almost immediate instinctive understanding that they were meant to be platonic soulmates. It has been years since I last read this and so I don’t remember all the details or even how good it was, but it was the first place my brain went.
That’s such a sweet idea! A similar , but opposite, story, and also probably one of my favourite soulmate fic ever, was a story in which there’s a pair of childhood friends, boy and girl, that click very easily and become great friends, and keep being extremely close as they grow up. They kinda develop feelings for each other, but this is an AU with the “first words soulmate says to you are tatooed on your body” premise, and their tattoos somehow both mention this random dude’s name. At first they think it could be referring to the same person, but then as they grow up they start becoming disillusioned and just give up on the fact that its probably two different dudes with the same name that just happen to be their soulmates, and they will never be together.
Then, plot twist: the one character we thought was a girl… was not! He realises he’s a trans man! And the story has him transition with all the help of his friends, including the other boy. He knows he’s a man, but when the time comes to choose a new name for himself, he doesn’t know what to pick initially. Then he looks at his own wrist and it clicks. His name is the name appearing on the tattoo. He rushes to his friends house, and as soon as the friends opens the door, the two of them instinctively say to each other the exact same words that were written on their bodies. And realise that they were indeed soulmates all along.
Even though technically it follows the “trapped with the rules of the universe” setups most other soulmate AUs have, I especially like this fic because their “first ever conversation” is treated as “the conversation they had after the man chose himself to become that person the tattoo was referring to”. And also because everytime one of the “you see the name of your soulmate on your body” AUs popped up my first thought was “yeah but what if they’re trans”
@@analyticaltomatomy idea for trans soulmates like that is the name on the skin changes when the trans person changes it, weather it be mentally(they start thinking of themselves as said new name) or leagally
@@Jtheartnerd Yeah, but I mean this is destiny magic, I'm pretty sure it can know what name they will eventually have. It could be their true, destined name in the same way they have a true, destined lover (a soulmate). The destiny always knows what the name will be, but perhaps the characters can't figure out they're soulmates until the time comes that the trans character starts using their true name. Either that or they already are when the soulmates meet, but that might be boring.
i freakin' LOVE platonic soulmates. i eat that up so fast. i love that idea for a fic a lot.
That sounds like a really sweet story and has a beautiful message ❤
I prefer soulmate AUs when they're exploring the problems that would arise in that kind of soceity, like falling for someone who isn't your soulmate, or waiting to start living until you meet your soulmate to an unhealthy degree, or being an aroace person who doesn't want a soulmate at all, stuff like that is super interesting to me.
I think my favorite form of that kind of character study is when it’s done along the ace/aro spectrum (I’m a hopeless romantic so gimme my demisexuals/demiromantics) because the utter _bewilderment_ of the person on the ace/aro spectrum vs the non-ace/aro other half is… usually a fun time. Also usually a _respectful_ time. Though I have read one where it was way more social commentary on irl Aceness than fluff with a side of occasional hurt/comfort. That one was good. Just… a _bit_ too real/depressing.
@@Crisjola totally with you there! Exploring people, well, exploring those questions for the first time is just so incredibly fun in soulmate AUs.
I like when definition of a soulmate is not just romantic but also platonic like Steve and Robin from Stranger Things.
@@raindrop6566 it is!! My personal favorite flavor of it is when they’re _both_ bewildered a-specs and it’s a fun time watching two rather earnest _very_ confused people navigate something they just never had click/register/matter and now it does. And they care. Bonus points if one of the two is oblivious to the entire concept of _being_ somewhere on the gray scale chart. XD
@@Crisjola omg pls give the fic name!!! It sounds so interesting!!!!! 🙏
Soulmate AU + Hanahaki sounds interesting tbh
You don't love your soulmate and now everyone is judging you because they are coughing up flowers
Sounds angsty, I'm in
Oh this sounds good. Fanfic writers to your keyboards!
Bet.
Oh you monster, there’s a special place in hell for the idea you’ve given me (especially after Season 2 of Good Omens ended)
@@xxwinter_skyesxx oh god for a brief second i had forgotten, how dare you remind me 😭 i loved the season finale and think it was really well-written, but every time i think about it i wanna throw up lol
I feel like Coley could put “Fanfic Trope Expert” on her resume
I feel like that would actually prevent you from getting most jobs
@@LunatheMoonDragonkey word, most
How to put "fanfic trope expert" on a resume.
Is able to write or comprehend different types of works of fiction
@@LunaFicsASMRdifferent works of writing would sound better
@@LunaFicsASMRor, has a good understanding of the writing process and knowledge of the elements that make up written works
The idea of a goose who chases you until you find your soulmate is both hilarious and terrifying, I have never heard of this version of the AU before. Now I must find fics of this.😂
I’ve seen a good Miraculous ladybug/Batman AU where an akuma had this power. It was quite entertaining for all that it was a one shot
Oh yeah, I first found it in a Riptide JRWI fic-
It was reasonabky funny as our fish from the undersea
A. Did not know the importance of geese
B. Was surrounded by a flock of them, with one of them practically just yelling at him to follow it to his soulmate XD
i read a multi-chapter akeshu persona 5 fanfic with this trope and i (lovingly) hate how i am genuinely taking it seriously with how it's written 😂
@@singoflovesongs YOOO please share !!!
@@belphy205wait that sounds hilarious and fun lol
Ah soulmates, an excuse to not be alone when you're lonely but in fanfic
I was confused at first but then I realised you were talking about the y/n fanfics
Yes.
I read a soulmate au where if you were born without a soulmate, you'd slowly die and so the two met at a research facility where they tried to form an artificial soulmate bond but even as they fell in love over the year, they kept getting more and more sick till eventually they both died... I cried so hard
NOOOOOO
I need the link 😭
Link pls
Ouch
I need this story
I think my favorite soulmate trope is when they look at each other with horror and go: "Oh fuck no, not you."
Yet they still end up being ridiculously right for each other, and even when they're finally totally in mutual love, they're still kinda bitter about having given in.
I’m SUCH a sucker for those kinds of fics! 😂❤
I love this type of fics with every atom in my body :3 They keep bickering about everything but when someone else even looks at their soulmate the wrong way, they're ready to throw hands :3
I've read one like this that was soooo funny. The first line they had at their's skin was not spoken, but rather a rude text they got because their soulmate saved the wrong number. It was like "Oikawa, next time you do this I'll kill you" but.... it was sent to Kyousuke's phone? 😂
And then they start bullshitting each other via phone until it becomes a friendship and finally romance. 😅
i know it’s a soulmate relationship but.. it’s giving peter quill and gamora 🥺🥺
@Moonmademedoit100% this.
I remember reading a good Yuuri and Victor fic with the “everything you write on your arm appears on your soulmates arm”, but in this fic it starts with a language barrier between them which results to them holding dictionaries in their hands as they try to communicate with each other❤ The fic continues on until their adoulthood, cue the rest of the fic!!
I saw another comment above that mentioned that fic as well. Please, can you specify the title and/or author? I'd like to check it out.
Link please please please?
I want this too man…
Link pleaaaseeeee
the way i know the exact fic you’re talking about
soulmate aus just have that different vibe to it. like i know theyre gonna end up together but im just in for the angst and misunderstandings and incredible obliviousness
Most of the time, but not always! I read one fanfic where one of them died before they got the chance to start their relationship :))))))))))
@@pidgeongguk8818I love that kind of soulmate AUs where one dies and other stays, the undeniable angst there is just chef's kiss!
@@ПростоИнга ...you guys are the type to precisely search up mcd for the pain. stay angsty
YES!!
I read a soulmate au where every injury your soulmate sustains will appear on your body as flower tattoos which I find very beautiful and also kind of sad because imagine waking up one morning and you're just covered in flowers that lasts a few days so everyone can see your soulmate is dead before you could meet them
Omg the angst potential 😭❤
I really love this au with fics about South Park because Kenny, since he dies in every episode. I remember one fic, where his soulmate would burst into flowers every time Kenny died (which is almost every day). And since every time everybody forgets Kenny dies, his soulmate just gets confused more and more
Another idea for this variation is that
[Trigger warning for mentions of self harm and general wounds]
the flowers differ depending on what style of wound it is and the meaning of the flower. For example, getting hurt while sleep deprived would have lavender, forget-me-not for self cuts, camomile for stress-induced scratches, etc.
@@haruhitomaeda4802that's such a cool idea!
That is way cuter. I read some deadpool/spidey pain/injury fic once where since early age parker would have the marks of injuries and was bitter about their soulmate's self-destructiveness, while deadpool (abused from early childhood, ran away and joined US military ASAP and then came weapon x) just didn't think he could possibly have a soulmate and wasn't careful because of that.
One of my favorite soulmate aus is the one where you can see how much longer you soulmate has. Like, a doctor sees their soulmate has a few hours, then, during their shift, a car crash victim or something like that comes in. The victim flatlines, but they revive them, and conveniently, the doctor’s soulmate gets a bunch more years
Oooh, I saw a tumblr post with a similar premise, though the actual marks was every person has the time they meet their soulmate, the time they accomplish their life's goal, and their time of death. This person died literally the minute after meeting their soulmate, but the soulmate was a doctor and saved them, and they will die together several decades later.
Oh, give me a fic like that if i don't care whoever are they and ill just read it with interest.
The emotional whiplash 👀
Hardly anyone would find their soulmate in that world.
Doctor: Yep. I'm a merical doctor. That's me. Preforming miracles.
when i heard about the "shared fingerprints" one, i immediately got this idea of "what if one character committed a crime and framed their soulmate?" or something else, i think there's a lot of possibilities here
I like soulmate aus that are basically "there are a bunch of different soulmate links you can have mine is *insert soulmate link" bc there's always a side character that has the WORST soulmate link. The main couples will be like "oh yeah we can feel what the other feels physically" mean while a side character is just like "my soulmate link is that me and my soulmate are immortal but everytime we die the other feels it for the rest of their life. Constantly. The pain never stops. Life is pain and misery, kill me"
YES I'M LIVING FOR THIS
i love an everything but the kitchen sink soulmate au. its a just clusterfuck
@@seguaye kitchen sink?
@@bebebonb0n - If I'm reading this right, you're unfamiliar with the specific English-language idiom "everything but the kitchen sink." It just means essentially that they threw in all sorts of random stuff.
There's this fanfic that I read recently where soulmates can't hurt each other. The beginning was really funny because the main guy is a hitman assigned to kill the other guy, and it turns out the other's an agent who knew he's a hitman. So when they try to kill each other, there's basically this invisible thing that prevents them from doing so and their weapons start burning up. The agent guy turns out to be working for the company trying to take down the hitman's boss, so they basically agree to work together, fake the former's death, and get rid of said boss, while also getting together romantically.
Ohhh my god that sounds so interesting!! Could you please share the link? :)
“Everyone has a limited number of words until they meet their soulmate” is so fascinating as a society premise because would that mean, teachers, politicians, religious leaders, actors or other positions that require a lot of speaking to function would have a requirement of finding their soulmate first? Soulmate found being a checkbox on their cv XD
I actually had a story idea for a Soulmate AU meeting. It's based off the 'You have a mark where your Soulmate will touch you, and when you make contact for the first time, it turns into a rainbow of color' set up.
I remember seeing one thought regarding that set up along the lines of 'Imagine having a hand print mark on your face and knowing that your Soulmate is going to slap you when you first make contact', and I rolled with it, with a twist!
Imagine someone with that hand mark going throughout their life mentally preparing for that day, maybe even avoiding potential soulmates because they fear the conflict that will come with the inevitable slap. Maybe people avoid them too because of the assumption that they'll do something to deserve that slap, thinking they'll be an asshole in the future. Long story short, they're straight up not having a good time with this Soul mark.
Then, one day, they're playing a game like kickball or soccer or something, and they get hit in the face with the ball. Next thing they know, someone more popular and charismatic comes running over to check on them and gently sets their hand on their face to check their injuries. And then, when they pull back... it's nothing but a rainbow, on their face and on the other person's palm.
That's such a good fricking twist 😭 😭
Awwwwww so cute ❤
@robotoorigato7288 Please tell me you wrote something with this!
@@reynajelly I haven't, but I'll definitely keep it in my wip/prompt folder. Honestly if anyone wants to write something with this twist, go for it.
Ooh, I came up with another soulmate AU idea! Two characters who aren’t soulmates meet and fall in love, and they have to choose between each other and their actual soulmates-but when they choose each other, the names on their arms change! By choosing each other over fate, they’ve proven themselves true soulmates.
I love to read that
Yesss close to mine!!
I think it’d be funny to have a soulmate at but one of them does not care and keeps forgetting they even have a soulmate and the other one hates their life to be pre-destined to go a certain way and take control and those two keep ending up everywhere and instead of it being a complete soulmate au it’s more of a twin flame situation like they help each other heal from their issues holding them back to continue moving along in life. In the end the one who forgets soulmates are a thing is single but loving their career and life in the end while the anti destiny flame defies fate and lives with the one they want to spend their life with.
@thepeeps5943 I’d read that.
My favourite type of soulmate au is specifically one where the main couple *arent* each other's soulmate, but specifically choose each other against 'fate' anyway. I think ive always found that much more powerful because then these people have to defy everything to choose their partner- and they do. Like choosing each other despite everyone and the universe saying it isnt meant to be, that gets my little heart going
THIS!!! The angst potential is CRAZY with this too, so that's a bonus.
Some of my absolute favorites I’ve read (that are somewhat rare) are
1: Soulmates share a special song only they can hear
2: Soulmates have special “pets” or magical companions that guide them to each other (animals, birds, dolls, etc)
3: Soulmates share tears
4: Soulmates have wings and their wings are colored to resemble each other
I am LOVING all the Shera references in this video. Especially the part where Hordak goes looking for Entrapta to fight Adora 😭
Same
Dudeee- I am so glad that someone else noticed!
Fellow cultured men I see
Was JUST gonna comment that 😂 💪
I love how versatile this au can be. There are so many different ways to go about it and it's always fun to see how other authors interpret them
I enjoy found family soulmates.
No romance, just a group of people finding each other and feeling at home and comfortable with each other. They get the support of a family they never had.
They can still have romantic soulmates, but they also have their family soulmates.
Do You have any recomendations.
same
Any recommendations?
@@anagraceatkins3731 i don't know your taste , but loublouve has good fics.also malberry223.yyeni. and
Upsideofcrazy -run through the middle.are also really good .
I actually had an idea for a soulmate AU where your eyes start as grey and then change color when you kiss your soulmate for the first time.
The main premise was that the MC went to a party, drank too much, and woke up the next day with colored eyes. He then runs around all day trying to find every girl he kissed while drunk and it turns out that his soulmate is actually a friend who kissed him goodbye after getting coffee the morning before the party.
I read this one fic where everyone received a stack of sticky notes and they could send them to their soulmate but couldn’t tell them anything about their identity, almost like an anonymous way of messaging. It honestly was a really good way to have some angst moments, because there’s always the ideas of like what if they don’t write back or what if you run out of sticky notes or even like what if somebody takes your sticky notes and you can’t write back. It’s ripe for miscommunication and family drama where maybe a characters parent doesn’t believe in soulmates and so doesn’t get their child any notes so they can’t respond to their soulmate, and there’s also the fun colour dynamic that can be represented by the colours of the sticky notes
Ase send link and i would say meet me in a place
Here's a couple of my favorite variants I've seen in fics that I genuinely adore:
- You have bruise-like patterns where your soulmate will first touch you, but they become bright and vibrant with pretty colors. I saw this in a Medic x Scout TF2 fic once. Medic's pattern happened to be on his face, so he ended up wearing a mask most of the time to cover it because people thought it was ugly. And then the bigger twist when it turned out that Medic's soulmate was on the other team
- You can't see the color that your soulmate's eyes are until you lock eyes with your soulmate. This one comes from a Homestuck fic I read a long time ago featuring John x Dave. It was especially interesting because Dave did know who his soulmate, but apparently looking at someone through sunglasses doesn't count as "locking eyes" so he basically made the decision not to reveal to John who his soulmate was until he actually fell for Dave
Ooo, do you still have the links to those fics? They sound interesting!
Those sound rlly cool :D would you mind givin us the links? :))
I remember reading a Kiribaku fic with the first premise, it was really cute and angsty
Give the link to the first fic (the medic x scout)
This was not the place I would've expected to find someone who read the exact same Homestuck fic as me
I'm not a romantic type, but i love shipping. I love soumate AUs cause theyre the simplified version of dating. No muss no fuss, here's your permanent lover, lets go!
Im also AroAce, so that might explain it lol
As another AroAce, i love pining in fiction, but in real life when i hear people pine over their crushes i’m like “Stop talking to me and just go ask them out”. Single allos can be irritating sometimes.
As another Ace I can see how useful it could be. No fuss, no awkward dates, just vibe
As another AroAce, I really love to interpret soulmate AUs as everyone being in queerplatonic relationships. I just really like the idea of finding someone and instantly knowing that they are going to be your best friend, but with really cute almost romantic things happening. Like, it's almost romantic, but just platonic enough that I don't get sickened by it.
Oh my god, are you me??
I’m aroace too!!!
I kinda hate soulmates tho, especially if it’s only romantic.
the concept of platonic soulmates is such a beautiful one to me, like having a number of people in your life who just match your energy and will support you no matter what is so priceless and amazing to read about
0:11 I really liked that line, especially from a guy because of how easy it would've been to not say it and imply that partners are meant to fix you.
I'm in love with the idea of two characters being forced into relationships with their respective soulmates, but breaking free from them after meeting eachother and fighting against all odds for the relationship they chose themselves rather than staying in the ones assigned to them, even though they were "meant for them". I just really like stories about free will winning against destiny
heck yeah
Shuake? I feel like this could be Shuake
I’d recommend watching black mirror episode Kill the DJ, it also not a horror, but on account of being British there is some T&A etc
Anyway it’s similar to the premise you’re talking about!
This makes me remember an AU I called "Soulmates Are Made Not Born" in which the closer people get to each other, the more they're meant to be together. (There's more I wrote but I love writing my own destiny hehehe)
Honestly, when I went into fanfiction, I was more into crossovers (still am), but finding Coley helped me understand fanfiction on a broader scale.
Oh, goodness, my crossover project is a mess, there are too many fandoms and I've been reigning in my MADD back to immersive daydreaming to try to function. But it's all the daydreaming that's got me wanting to get this crossover mess out of my head. 😭
@@DaelyahOMG you too? I’m glad I’m not the only one. I’ve been trying to work on a massive crossover fanfic for years, with all these characters from different anime and movies, and it’s becoming quite the hot mess. :/
@@gangurogeisha So I'm a multishipper. I can't land on one ship for the life of me. But I want a soul mate au in my massive ass crossover. I decided to let Ao3 decide the fate of these characters and let the most popular ships win. But a lot of characters have a lot of popular ships. So for the next 3 fucking years, I've made a list compiling all the ships on Ao3 from all the movies and shows I wanted to crossover. And the longer the project took, the more movies and shows I added. It was actually a great way to waist time during quarantine. After 3 years I realized I lost the original goal with what I was doing, question my life choices and decided to scrap the project.
Though through this project I can confidently say I hate the Miraculous Ladybug fandom, The Barbie fandom, and the RWBY fandom. Those fandoms gave me the hardest time trying to find all the damn ships.
@@zoguy6988 oof yup, former miraculous fan here, the weird ass love... square? octagon? idek at this point can and will give anyone who tries to decipher it a stroke
One of my favorite soulmate fics, featuring a polyship, had started with someone confused because his soul timer went well beyond his expected life expectancy until he was attacked by a vampire. As time goes by he meets three of his soulmates over the years, who he turns into vampires one by one until they meet their last soulmate in the present day - which is when their soul timers finally reach zero.
I recently entered the Detective Conan fandom and I just say canon age regression works very interestingly with soulmates, especially when soul marks are only supposed to appear when one reaches a certain age. Additionally, the existence of secret identities also adds additional spice to situations where you 'know' your soulmate and don't know, of course the "I cannot tell them else I will reveal my identity" is also fun.
Link?? This sounds so juicy
Pls the link I'm also in the detective conan fandom and by God this sounds intriguing
link????
There’s also a bit of “Oh my god why is my soulmate this kid, I’m not a pedo, what is wrong with me?”
Poor Kaito.
This.... please. I need the link to this too xD
I'd say my favourite soulmate AU so far has been when you have two timers counting down to your platonic and romantic soulmate, with your platonic on your non dominant hand and your romantic on your dominant. The main pairing consisted of one person who was ambidextrous and had one timer, and the other who had none. To say it was both extremely wholesome and sad is an understatement.
Soulmate AU??? You mean my favorite AU OF ALL TIME?
YESSSSSS
and you know, Merthur is canonically a soulmate kind of ship. Would really awesome if you made that Merlin video you mentioned 👉👈🥺
YESS OMG I would love to see her cover merlin!!
@@qupid2589 been praying and begging for that to happen sooner or later for years
Once read a fanfiction where one of your eye colours would change to that of your soulmate if the connection was recipricated (if it wasn't only one of the characters would change eye colours). Being with your soulmate felt a bunch of dopamine that could cloud your judgement to be near them, making youwant to be closer and not harm them. The main character hated how the world revolved around soulmates and the effects of being near them and tried to find happiness with someone else who felt the same way
i really like the idea of the timer counting down to when you meet your soulmate but character a and b are childhood best friends and weren't even old enough to remember when they met, so both of them think their timers are broken. sometimes they get together and figure out that they are soulmates and their timers aren't broken, they could never find out but still get together anyway or they could not get together because they were always meant to be platonic soulmates!!
Soulmate AUs are so fun! The one I'm writing (don't ask when I last updated) actually wasn't mentioned here. I'm not sure from which fic I got the inspiration, but it's basically that when you're asleep you see through you soulmate eyes, like a live feed of what they're doing at that moment. It works better if each soulmate is in a different timezone or if one is a night owl and the other an early bird :D
Or different timezones for more angst potential.
@@SuperMonaLisaBros I did mention timezones, but I'm not sure it's good specifically for angst, rather than just for the functionality of that kind of bond at all - because if they slept at the same time, they'd see nothing and we would have nothing to work with in the story :D
I somehow came up with a concept for an angsty Soulmate AU during the "What is a Soulmate AU" section where Coley was listing off unconventional and often angsty soulmate ideas. Two people, soulmates, decide they want to choose their own destiny and end up with anyone other than their soulmate. They meet up, and they're completely on the same page about this, so they decide to go their separate ways, live as far away from each other as possible (preferably different counties, like Germany and Australia... or wherever, I don't know why they came to mind), and never see each other again. So they each live their separate lives, dating different people, but in the end the relationships never work out. Eventually they're very old and completely alone, and at least one of them knows they're dying. The dying one decides to travel with the hope of finally finding some happiness in the little time they have left. They end up going to the country the other moved to (they agreed not to tell each other where they were going to live) and ends up running into their soulmate again after all these years, finding them just as sad and lonely. They both agree that they were wrong to try and deny fate, and cry with regret for wasting their entire lives just because they were stubborn. Some people never find their soulmates, but these idiots found them when they were young and deliberately lost them again, just to waste their entire lives in their defiance. They spend some short amount of time together (hours, days, weeks?) only for the one to die and the other to be alone yet again, having wasted all the years they could have spent happy together.
WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?! I HATE ANGST! I WOULD NEVER READ THIS! WHY DID THIS COME TO ME?! Anyway so yeah, if you want to use this go ahead I guess, I don't know why you would but for some reason people like this kind of thing I guess, just let me know in a reply and credit me for the idea would be nice please. I'm Johanna6Cats on AO3 and Wattpad.
I'm a sucker for found family and the idea of parental soulmates, ie. a child who doesn't have parents or whose parents suck has an adult soulmate who is fated to adopt/guide them.
My fav version of soulmate au is when it's "right person, not the right time" and circumstances pull them together and apart, time and time again-- which is how they build up a relationship and grow with each other until they reach a point when they realize no one else could ever understand them quite like each other does. I especially enjoy when one or both KNOWS they are soulmates from the first meeting, but because they are so different or are adverse to the idea of love/destiny, they continue to fight it until it eventually hits them in the face.
The funniest soulmate AU I've ever read is where you can feel each others pain. Person A and Person B meet in a waiting room and strike up a convo. Person A goes in. It turns out they were waiting to get their butthole waxed. Wax comes off. There’s a scream from the waiting room from person B 😂😂😂💀
Soulmate AU's are such a masterpiece
The angst ones hurt much more than regular angst fic's lmao
I love the soulmate AU where everyone have an animal that represents there soulmates. It’s sooo good 😭
"You and your soulmate share a language only you can understand"
That's something in real life called "Having a different interest alongside your SO then your friends" 🤣
An idea I've had, though it is actually more comedic than romantic, is having the picture or ship name of your soulmate's OTP appear on your body. Just imagine the shenanigans. Although it can be a nice fluff prompt too, if the poor OTP did not become canon or died.
Omg Soulmate au where the thing most important to your soulmate ends up on your wrist. Most people have family, or knowledge. You have a ship name like Klance or something hahahah
@@coffee8090 actually that's a genius idea, not even because of shipping, but because of how diverse and hilarious a reality like this would be, given people's different priorities. Perhaps most would indeed have "family", "love", "career" and stuff, but then there are you with "finding the Scroll of Truth" engraved on your skin in black ink. The barista in your local café, apparently the apple of some hyperfixated scientist's eye, has something like "that one black hole several thousands of kilometres from [insert thing]", "discovering a new species of frog" or "were those two people that once went to my school in love or just friends?". And do not get me started on star-crossed lovers with opposing political parties or sports teams on their wrists!
(also, if my wrist had "Klance" on it, I'd personally be quite happy. Maybe my soulmate would watch the entirety of Voltron with me, I've wanted to for like two years, but my duties and my laziness didn't let me get past Season One Episode One. It'd be worse if they worshipped something like, idk, Tycutio. Then I would have to send them to some re-education programme.)
Imagine: two characters meet and fall in love. It's so clearly fate...
...And then they have a disagreement over who's the top and who's the bottom.
I had a prompt generator give me a great soulmate idea once that I found most interesting- Every night you can see your soulmates reflection in the mirror.
I read a soulmate AU before where whenever you get injured, flower tattoos will grow on that area on your soulmates body.
So yeah one guy keeps on getting injured, and their soulmate has flower tattoos all over their body, but they don't get injured often so the other doesn't have any tattoos. That very person who keeps getting injured believes he doesn't have a soulmate until he gets a very large fliwer tattoo in his chest area.
What really seals the deal with this trope is that the flower tattoos are normally only black outlines, if the tattoos have color in them, then that means your soulmate has died.
Another few tropes I like were made by the Gacha Trend Community, I like the idea of you having a matching color streak of hair with your soulmate or one of your eyes swap with them (if you found your eye on a different person, then their your soulmate).
My favourite “soulmate” concept is one where you leave what amount to paint splotches on everyone you make an impact on, and the same happens to you by everyone who impacts you
One of my favorite soulmate AUs I read took place in the dark ages. Your soulmate's first words to you are written on your wrist in their own handwriting... But in those times, only higher society and religious figures could read and write, so if your soulmate CAN'T, your wrist is blank until they learn how. (This also means you can meet your soulmate who can't read/write, and only realize later they are your soulmate after they learn and those first words appear in shaky letters on you.)
In higher society in these fic, a lot of families force 'false-soulmates' in the sense that two people who know their soulmate's first words to them will meet and intentionally say the other person's words even if they don't make sense together so TECHNICALLY their first words to each other make them 'soulmates', and it's harder to disprove. Kind of an arranged marriage type thing.
I just love any soulmate au fic where two people who are supposed to be enemies find out that they are soulmates and have to navigate falling for each other when their love is either forbidden and might even get people hurt or they just are the last two people you'd expect to be fated to be. Whether they are a hero and a villain, a bully and their victim, soldiers on opposite sides of a war, members of different fantasy species (vampire/werewolf, human/elf, angel/demon, etc.), childhood enemies or rivals, people who have seriously hurt each other in the past... Anything like that, any kind of soulmate AU + forbidden love trope. Like, laws or society or circumstance or the past are telling us that our love is wrong, but fate had different plans for us. Lots of potential for angst and tension because there are so many barriers between them.
I think colors, timers, and first words are my favorite versions of this AU. I have also seen some fics where you are given a journal or it materializes when you are born and it lets you communicate with your soulmate before you meet them, and version where you and your soulmate have the same song playing in your head that only the two of you know.
The one soul mate idea that I've really played around with is a story where one character met their SM early in life, it was great, but lost her tragically. Then years later, he becomes friends with someone who has a rare issue of not having a soul mark, and they begin to form a deep bond. Then, his faded mark begins to change, and she has one appear for the first time, until their marks seal them as soul mates from the most unlikely circumstance.
0:36 That Ancient Greek concept/explanation of soulmates it kinda haunting. Really interesting, but also really sad. It would be really cool to see fanfics explore that more.
One of my favorite subversions involved a character cutting their string of fate at their soulmate's wedding in order to tie the grooms together, only to end up meeting another person who could see the strings (most people can't) and tying themselves together instead. It was angsty and cute and romantic all at once.
Do you have a link?
I like specific soulmate tropes for different ships, because they'll fit the theme/aesthetic of the ship better or it's just more compelling. Like, the writing on your skin trope for a ship where they have different nationalities and speak different languages (Viktuuri). Or sharing pain tropes with ships that had rough childhoods (Tododeku). Etc.
Yes, both those ships are well suited for it. I love Burn and Breathe by PitViperOfDoom for TodoDeku, but can't remember any language barrier soulmate fics for Yuuri on ice. Recs please?
One of my favorite soulmate aus ive read is the one where once you touch your soulmate, the mark shows up on you. And of course it was a highschool au. Character a is the new kid. Character a gets a bloody nose, character b helps them. Then later they check their body and realize the mark has shown up
I think its just really wholesome and soft but could also have angst potential
I've read several fics where people's eyes changed colours to match their soulmate's eyes. Only one eye changed colour. Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter were a couple of course, and there were lots of things going on in the background, trying to force bonds, people wearing coloured contacts, only one of the couple changing eye colours etc.
I also remember reading a fic with soulmarks, and beliefs and religions about the soulmarks and people who didn't have them, who are kind of shunned. The MC was someone without a soulmark. But then, turns out that those weird bumps on their leg were actually their soulmark but in Braille instead of the traditional pictures (with meanings that were interpreted etc) because their soulmate was blind.
Or, people can communicate telepathically, but only on certain days and you can't share personal details or the connection is severed. It's to help people connect before they meet.
My favorite is the flower marks au :)
Everyone has flower buds on their body and the flowers bloom once they meet their soulmate(s)
I really like it when they have romanitic, platonic, and familial marks because it looks like they have bouquets blooming all over them!
They is also the angst of wilting the soul flowers by either neglecting the bound and/or refusing to acknowledge them as your soulmate
And once a soulmate dies the flowers turn gray :D
ngl i used to not be a huge fan of the soulmate au, but i think as i get older, i got a new appreciation of it. i mean maybe it's just me, but imagine meeting someone who was tailor made for me and me for them. the craving to know someone inside out and have them do the same for you and both of you stick by each other no matter what, as i get older it's what i want. to be completely myself, all the good, bad, and ugly parts of myself be known by someone and they still want me. and to love all of the good, bad, and ugly parts of someone else and still choose to wake up next to them every single day. i guess i just turned into a romantic or i'm being emotional bc im on birth control, we'll never know
The best soulmate AU i ever read was a drarry fic called "You're the Antidote for Me" by Kandakickass, it's so angsty and i love it. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk
As a person who doesn’t read fanfics I’m very proud of myself for successfully sneaking into this community 😈 I’ve learned more about this stuff than I ever thought I would
I've written one Soulmates AU fic and it was of the "you're colorblind until you touch your soulmate" variety. My take on it was Character A was a famous painter known for his mastery of color in his work, and Character B was an art lover who would go to the museum just to admire one of A's paintings, though always lamented that he couldn't see them in color.
One day, there's an exhibit with A's works and B goes to check it out. He goes right to his favorite of A's paintings, the one he's always looked at and wished he could see in color, and strikes up a conversation with B (who he doesn't know is the artist). B asks A what he thinks of the colors of the painting and A bitterly responds that he has no idea, and B tells him that he can't see it either. A goes on about how he's jealous that the artist of the painting is able to see the world as it truly is and how lucky the artist must be. B tells him that the artist isn't as lucky as he thinks. A asks what he means and B reminds him that he already told him, he can't see color either. A realizes that he's talking to the artist and is stunned that a painter known for his use of color can't actually see color.
At the end of their conversation, they shake hands and the entire gallery is suddenly alive with vivid hues. Together, they behold the painting as it truly is for the first time. It's very sweet and cliche, but it's one of my favorite one-shots I've written and it makes me want to try writing more Soulmate AU fics.
Have you posted it anywhere and, if so, what’s the name???
I am a sucker for reincarnated soulmates. Especially if they died tragically young or something. Just the idea of loving someone enough that it transcends multiple lives warms my cold dead heart.
I've read one where you can see your future soulmate's self, but they appear as your imaginary friend almost. They are there the moment you are born and you can physically touch them/hear them, but others can't see them/hear them. (The ghost of them never ages/change) They basically grow up with with said character and take care of them if the family is too busy.
Its funny because when the soulmate touches them, they can lift them up, but to another's persons perspective, they look like they're floating. Almost like a ghost. It isn't until you meet them at the moment in time where they match your "soulmate ghost" that those two will meet and the ghost version of them disappears, but the memory of them taking care of you still remains. Its quite cute, but also angsty because some characters could get impatient with this and try to tempt fate, but it isn't the right time until it matches their ghost.
The thing that got me the most is that the ghost can have thoughts and can talk to their soulmate, but they don't know anything about themselves until they meet and merge. So for example, they don't even know their name. So they would have to give a nickname until they somehow run into their soulmate ghost and then they just tell each other and then tell their soulmate so they can meet.
Another thing too is that in this AU, people have different "soulmarks", this is just happens to be one of them and another person can be experience this too and you wouldn't know it unless you tell other people what is happening. I just find this Soulmate AU quite interesting, and I think someone called it "Imaginary friend AU" but it can go in many different ways. (platonic or not)
The dreamscape one seems so sweet!!! Imagine one saving the other from nightmares aghhhh
I've always wanted to explore a soulmate AU where soulmate 1 wants the relationship while the other brutally rejects it, but due to causing soulmate 1 so much pain, soulmate 1 gets a new soulmate while soulmate 2 is stuck with 1 as their "dead end soulmate". It adds just the right amount of angst and bittersweet unintentional revenge that I don't get to see very much of. Like, soulmate 2 made this decision, now they have to live with the consequences while soulmate 1 gets to live their best life and heal
I never know I need the information you provide, but once you provide it, I realize I need it
11:25 plot twist, the hero and villain are actually soulmates and heal each other of the injuries the caused to one another
A fun play on the first words written on you au I saw was from the POV of a Starbucks employee having to tell every customer with “hi welcome to Starbucks” on their wrist that no, they are not their soulmate
One of the most interesting potentials for me, too often neglected, is exploring how a given "clichéed" trope would affect society. In this instance, wouldn't customer-facing workers each develop a signature catch-phrase that's as unique as practically possible? If everyone is colorblind pre-mate-meeting, what about traffic lights and such? Could photos of injuries on YOUR body be used in evidence against an attacker after your soulmate has healed and decided to press charges? I could go on.
My friend once told me of a soul mate AU idea:
You have a small patch of color on your wrist and, for example I have teal and you have teal then we're soulmates, but there is like 100 people with teal. If someone has light blue than we could still be in a relationship but it's more likely platonic/best friends. Basically the closer your colors are on the color wheel the more compatability you have. (and there are multiple people with each color)
Oooh love that!
i'm an absolute GREMLIN when it comes to soulmate au's. it probably has smth to do with me wanting to find love but im terrified of the unknowns and insecurities that come with dating, so having a predetermined person is perfect for me bc i know theyd fit with me rly well and we'd work together through things 💀
There is a BNHA (mostly platonic) soulmate AU series on AO3 I absolutely adore, "every sign of love" by dinomight, starting with the fic "paint me in trust". In that one the first time you and your soulmate touch, the point of contact leaves a mark in a color representing your soulmate! It's really cool and really sweet and heartwarming, just. Awwwh. I love that series so much. ♡♡♡♡♡♡
Possibly unpopular opinion, but I've found the older I get the less I enjoy soulmate AUs. They used to be my bread and butter, but these days I can't help but feel like for a lot of fanfics its a cheat code to get two characters together without trying to do anything to prove why its a good match. There's only a handful of soulmate AUs that have stuck with me positively, and they're either short fics that are mainly character explorations that go through their life, and then they meet their match at the end, or they're long fics with an obscure soulmate-mark aspect that keeps them meeting their soulmate over and over before they have full confirmation, and then its more like a regular fic where they grow and bond and eventually find peace in being each others match. I'm a huge sucker for reincarnation soulmates, like "our original selves were so in love that they tied their fate together, so now we get to keep meeting each other in each life". That shit can be great, but I haven't seen a lot of good examples in my fandoms sadly.
A soulmate AU I also like is a familial soul mark and also has the option of romantic soul marks and those are different symbols/colors etc. Like when a an adult(and romantic partner) has a soul mark for their soul child. There's so much room for angst and fluff, it's just *chef's kiss*
I’ve never been a big soulmate AU kinda person, it almost makes my reading feel too existential, and I start to think more on the logistics then my blorbos.
However I can completely understand and respect the genre. It’s so popular and I don’t doubt it’s spawned some fantastic writing. I like the soulmate AU a little more now after watching this video. 10/10 fic genre.
one of my personal favorite ways the soulmate trope has been explored is in grian's double life minecraft series. there are 14 players in one server and they all are randomly assigned a soulmate who they share a health bar with. if their soulmate takes damage, they take damage and vice versa. however, they aren't told right away who their soulmate is- they have to figure out who they're partnered up with themselves. lots of potential for funny moments and angst, but i won't give away any spoilers. it's an amazingly well done series and one of my favorite series of all time, highly recommend
Soulmate AU is by far my favorite, seconded by Room Mate AU. because this ideas of 'Soulmate' intrigue me to go creative, it can be used for Angst, hurt/comfort or just some fluffy moment. I remember reading one fic where the one of soulmate has angsty past, so they tried their best to make other Soul mate go away. either by writing horrible stuff(they can read each other from away what their soulmate writes for them) or avoided them completely(ignored, run away, etc).
Consider... Roommates who unknowingly are Soulmates.
@@AlssyaMacki Holy shit, you give me a good ideas. this particularry can be good for 'Enemies to lover', y'know they had hate-love relationship and constantly bickering each other but this only make them fallen for each other harder. also I like if the two of them not realizing they are being soul mates because too denial and dense.
Thank you very much(T▽T) now I had draft to do, a room mate in Soul Mate AU and old good 'Enemies to Lover' trope.
@@RisaHana glad to inspire :D have fun!
My favorite soulmate AU is one where the main character is married, and soulmate marks start appearing on people, and it's angst worrying about who their partner will get. The main character gets their partner but is still worried despite their partners promises that the marks don't matter and that they know they will get the main character. The author shows drama around the name with other characters, like one person got a dead lover, one person got their partner while they other didn't but they decided to stay together, one person left their partner for their soulmate etc.
Ooh, the BEGINNING of soulmate marks is a cool subset. I also read a 9-1-1 series where soulmates used to be common, but some were persecuted in some countries, and new marks stopped happening. This lasted for decades, so more people had to start marrying without them... but now there are signs they'll be coming back (the specific setup is more complex, including Buck being judged for his research obsession and "conspiracy theories"), triggering all kinds of angst from both couples and singles. But it's happy ending, a requirement for me, so...
My favourite soulmate AU is this Zosan fic, and in it Sanji and Zoro are not soulmates and they both know it. But they fall in love despite that and decide to be together, and when they each meet their soulmates (Tashigi for Zoro and Pudding for Sanji), the fic does a really good job realistically depicting how they deal with it. It's a very grounded fic and I appreciate that in soulmate AUs, where it's not just fluff and sweetness. That the romance is realistic and it's not just assumed that everything will work out because the main pairing are soulmates
soulmate au's carried me through 2021-22 im so serious. One of my all time favourite tropes in every way they come because the girlies are so creative
7:44 I have no words... like they are best friends and all... there's no explanation on why are they so heavily made caring to each other. They are perfect either a very healthy friendship love, or those are growing up and get married asap.
I absolutely love soulmate AU that uses flower language whether it they have the same flower mark that represent each other the best or your mark is your soulmate's favorite flower.
Im a HUGE sucker for flower language in fanfic and a soulmate AU is the cherry on top!
I love soulmate au's, a few of my favorite ones that are less common
-when you are in danger or stressed your soulmate will take over your body but they will not remember anything until they meet you
-nicknames you have appear on your skin and the size signifies the importance of your soulmate
-people get wings on their 20th birthday and the wings represent their soulmate
I like subversions to the soulmate AU where one or both or all (if it’s a poly ship) of the people involved were born with out whatever the thing that indicates a soulmate is (weather it’s a string, or a mark, or a timer, etc.) - or where their soulmate dies before they could ever meet them (indicated by a cut string that doesn’t lead anywhere anymore, a timer that ran out, etc.) and it ends up being two people set within a soulmate ah who don’t have a soulmate (anymore) who meet each other and fall in love.
I love soulmate AUs, my favorite types are the classic red string of fate and when there's several strings that mean different connections between characters (for the more angsty stories). I remember one where two people were in a relationship but one of them was soulmates with someone else outside the relationship, and the other one had a black string or sacrifice on them. Meaning they were destined to sacrifice themselves and dying for the other person that was never meant to be their soulmate.
My favorite soulmate au is when everyone is inmortal until they meet their soulmate to grow old an die together, sprinkle in some soulmate is the only one that can kill you and after soulmate die you get a new soulmate. Then you baked is at 360º and bam so many possibilities.
I read a few soulmate AUs where you can borrow abilities or knowledge from one another, which is very cool in a superhero context
I am both passionate reader and writer of fanfiction, and I just love your explanations and guides to all the different tropes out there; most often I don't even know half of them or example that you give xD
But your videos give me so many great ideas to look into it ;
thank you so much! :DDDD
i love platonic soulmate aus so much they are the best
I like soulmate AU’s where the concept of soulmates are not assumed to be romantic, where it’s equally accepted and plausible that they might be destined to be the perfect friends, or the perfect business partner, etc. and the story centers around the people just getting along really well on a fundamental level but still having to work through the typical challenges or being friends/romantically/etc. with another person.
I love this one fic where the soulmates are enemies but one of them knew while the other didn't. But the one who knows grew up in a loveless family and thought they were not worthy of love. At the final battle he resigned to his fate and lets his soulmate kill him. The soulmate later finds out and is devastated to know he was the one to kill him because soulmates are the only thing that can keep his clansmen stable due to the power they use, so soulmates are considered sacred in their culture and must be cherished.
I come back to this fic all the time when I need a good cry.
All these videos you make are Always so interesting! Even if it's about something I'm familiar with they are always fun and informative. I love them so much.
So It would be amazing if you mentioned that Merlin video you mentioned 👉👈🥺
andddd now i have 46 more ideas for WIPs that ill never finish. thanks coley
ah, Soulmate AUs have to be my favorite AU of all time.... I'm such a hopeless romantic, the idea of soulmates just makes me so happy ~
the red string of fate will always hold a special place in my heart, and is definitely my favorite trope of the AU 💙
Lego Monkie kid, a garden across our collarbones on ao3. It’s the “draw on you it appears on your soulmate” thing and the main couple is Redson and Mk!
Oh man, I'm a slut for soulmate AUs! My very favorite is "An Ever-Fixed Mark" by AMarguerite, a deconstruction of the soulmate AU set in the world of Pride & Prejudice. She got me to start writing my own MCU soulmate AU that uses roughly the same rules (your soulmate's name appears on your wrist during adolescence) and looks at different ways you can interpret your mark.
My current main fandom, life series smp, has an entire canon soulmate season. It contains examples of basically all the main soulmate au archetypes; platonic soulmates, sappy insta love, “oh god anyone but you,” fated enemies…oh and it’s all within a death game where only one can win!
the fan art for Double Life is some of the best I’ve seen in my nearly twenty years of fandom, hijinks and tears and angst and silliness abound