Soulmate Marks in Fiction (19 books) (2024)

For fiction books that feature worlds where people are marked in some way with the name or identity of their soulmate (such as Soulmate's name appearing on skin).

"Soulmate Marks, also called Soulmarks, developed as a subtrope of Soulmates, commonly referred to as Soulmates AU. It takes the idea of people who are fated to be together further, imagining there is physical proof to identify this connection. Soulmarks are often explored through how this mark affects one's approach to relationships and the certainty of a destined relationship.
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The most common types of soulmarks are Names, First Words, and Symbols.

Soulmarks are often identical or complementary. The mark may appear at a set time in the characters' lives – this time is often the eighteenth birthday or when a person goes through puberty. Sometimes the mark appears when the soulmate is born. So the younger of the pair is born with a soulmark, but the older character receives their mark when their soulmate is born.

Marks may also appear when the soulmates first touch each other. These marks sometimes appear on a character's body where their soulmate first touches them. In other cases, a dark soulmark may become colorful at first touch, or soulmates may share a deep emotional (almost telepathic) bond at first touch. First Words marks may appear as they are spoken.

Early in the trope's evolution, soulmarks were almost always on the wrist or hand and on the same place on every individual. With the advent of First Words or marks that vary greatly in size and appearance, soulmarks may appear anywhere on the skin. Sometimes soulmate pairs will still have their marks located in the same spot.

The mark of a soulmate that has died is imagined in various ways. It may fade and become fainter, disappear completely, turn black, or take on the appearance of a scar."
From: https://fanlore.org/wiki/Soulmate_Marks