About the term 'soulmates' and why I hate when it's used in fiction.
I just got another story ruined because the term 'soulmate' was - badly - used in the plot. And, well. Nine out of ten times, when a story decides on using a the 'soulmate' twist, it's used as an excuse to kill any and all development the couple might have had. Sadly enough, more often than not, when I see this term being used, I end up wanting to scream in frustration at how it's portrayed. It reads as a 'fuck, I can't get my main characters to have chemistry but they have to... so let's say that they HAVE to be together, problem fixed' and that's so very, very frustrating.
I'll admit that part of this itch is because my family - and I - are quite esotheric, so I have read several books concerning reincarnation and soulmates and I do believe in them, so the way it's - again, most of the time - showed bothers me. But usually I'm quite good on the suspension of disbelief and this particular pet peeve is because so very often it fails to aid the plot. It becomes bothersome. There's suddenly this huge blotch of ink there that refuses to go away.
The moment two characters become 'soulmates', as in the actual story says 'Aye and Bee are soulmates', any and all chance of romance is dead. Why? Because nine out of ten times, it stops being a 'we chose to be together because we love each other' and it changes into a 'we have to be together because Destiny says so' and, I'm sorry, I don't see anything romantic in having to be forced* into being with a person through eternity. I don't see what's romantic about being chained to someone else because The Story Says So.
To that, I may add that, in these reincarnation-soulmate combos, the characters are always the same, both physically and emotionally. I consider myself lucky when a story deals with reincarnation-soulmates and they have different names. I sort of forgive the fact that they're always the same sexual gender since it might become confuse (though with a good story, it wouldn't, but I disgress), but the fact that John Doe from the XV centruy is exactly the same person as Dohn Joe who lives in the XXI century? That, to me, is fucking cheap and disgustingly boring.
The other thing that bothers me is how, when a couple is said to be 'soulmates', one of them can't possibly be happy without the other. The sky loses its color, food has no taste, and you can't have any orgasm if you're not with Your Other Half... and this isn't treated as 'OH, it's not the same because I'M IN LOVE with them', no. It's used as 'oh, it's not the same because it's not my soulmate!' and that's just irritating, again.
Just once, I'd like for it to be different. 'You're A reincarnated but you're not A because you lived another life! If anything, you're AC!' or maybe a 'We're soulmates but I'm already in love with someone, so we can be friends!' or 'I love you madly and you compliment me but I'm not in love with you!'. SOME VARIATION, JE NE SE QUAIS! Not just more talk of 'A and B reincarnate and they're soulmates so they're still in love with each other MENT 2 B!1!'. Plot, development, give it to meeeee.
Do you know how fucking sad is it that I think that fucking Saint Seiya is one of the few series that show reincarnation in a way that doesn't make me want to hit my head against something heavy?
I think you probably do.
* This isn't about codependency or M/s or anything like that, since in those relationships there is still the matter of 'choosing'. I'm talking about when the way the story delivers what is supposed to be romantic comes through almost as 'forced marriage'.