You know, I think that somewhere along the way, I've rewired my associations with the concept of soulmates; whenever I hear the term, I have to remind myself that it's part of amatonormativity and romance for most people (whether they know what amatonormativity is or not). I've gotten a bit too deep into my own experimentation with the concept, and now the concept of "We're soulmates so that means we're destined to be together romantically" is just foreign to me. Give me more content where soulbonds don't mean shit and anyone who assumes they have to date their soulmate has either been severely misguided or is just being creepy. I want to see characters unpack their amatonormativity by learning they don't have to date their soulmate – nor do they have to be friends with them, or rivals, or whatever else – and I want to see the entire concept of soulmates picked apart in a new way that isn't just "What if there were platonic soulmates, too?"
Because to be completely honest, I think it is possible to write soulmates in a way that challenges arophobia instead of contributes to it. It's just that most people either aren't willing to do so or have no idea where to start. And to the latter, I say, start with challenging the idea that a soulmate is someone you have to be together with in any way, not just romantically. Give your characters some perspectives on soulmates that isn't "dread that turns into appreciation because they were always destined to get along" or "excited curiosity over who this One True Love may be." When you take away the idea that a "soulmate" is a responsibility you don't have the option to back out of in some way... What happens? That's the sort of soulmate story I'd like to read.
(Disclaimer that this is mostly just a personal post with some thoughts I've been having for a while, and shouldn't be taken as some perfect philosophical ideal. I just like deconstructing soulmate AUs and other amatonormative tropes.)
