Y'know what this fandom is missing? The 'your soul mate's name appears on your wrist' AU. But with a twist.
1. Everybody has their canon soul mate but only in Oliver/Roland's world does the name on wrist thing. Everyone is aware that they have a soul mate but no one has actually met them. The best you can get is dreams where you experience part of your soul mate's life. In some cases, it is really confusing because, for example, now you occasionally speak cat. But in the unlikely event you and your soul mate are in close proximity, the letters on your wrist start tingling and get more intense the more you get closer.
2. The markings on your wrist are referred to as your 'Name' because again, that's usually all you get. They appear sometime after you turn twelve. The letters always appear in a dark red color. If your soul mate dies, the letters turn black and then you die within a year. If you or your soul mate get broken hearted or corrupted by darkness, your Name is immediately covered by a weird affliction.
3. Very rarely do people not get their Name. These people are called Nameless and tend to be viewed with pity.
4. So...basically like real life but everyone gets a random tattoo one day and rolls with it.
I did two versions with Oliver and Roland. At first I was just going to do Roland only but then I remembered certain spoilers in the first game.
There's a Zalgo font and nnk2 headcanon warning for Roland's version.
Both versions have been combined into a single chapter because I'm trying to reduce the amount of subscription email alerts.
Both were originally posted on Tumblr on November 9, 2018 as two separate posts.
Stick to the Script and Other Stories
By Bilbo-sama
Names
OLIVER
For as long as Oliver can remember, his mother always covered her wrists. It wasn't until he turned twelve and learned why.
When one turns twelve, one of the things to look forward to is learning the name of your soul mate. Sometimes you get a full name. Sometimes it's just one word like 'Fred' and you have no idea which Fred it means. Some people, like his friend Phil, aren't pleased by the reveal.
"Who the heck is Pip anyway?" he occasionally complains.
And very rarely, does a name never appear.
His mother was in that category. She didn't have her soul mate's name. It never came to her. So she hid the fact away from the world and claimed her soul mate had died.
Oliver wished that it was the same as her.
Because what does purple and black bruises that seemed to move exactly mean? They also obscured his Name and once in a while he could see part of a letter. It wasn't enough to try to figure out what his Name could possibly be. Nights where he dreamed of the source of his Name weren't very helpful either. Mostly he dreamed of a robed figure who wandered through cities unseen. The being would occasionally use their cane to trip people.
So he chose to cover up his wrists and pretended to not notice how sad his mother looked whenever she stared at the coverings. Maybe she had hoped her child would have better luck…
Oliver was now thirteen and summer was approaching. The car he and Phil made is almost done. If the test went well, then they have most of the summer to prepare for the race in August.
Only it didn't go well. The car broke down and his mother died saving him.
The funeral had overcast skies and he kept overhearing adults muttering to each other as if he wasn't there.
"At least Allie will meet her Name in Heaven."
"Oh, haven't you heard? She never had one."
"Oh my. Well, I don't blame her for lying. That poor dear…"
"Weak heart…no Name…raising a boy all alone…"
"Now now, this isn't the dark ages. She wasn't cursed."
"But haven't you seen little Oliver? He covers his wrists…"
"That poor child…!"
Oliver could feel the pitying stares intensifying and hunched into himself to make himself smaller and unnoticeable.
He couldn't believe it.
Allie has a soul mate after all! And if Oliver freed her, then his mother might come back…!
And maybe, once Alicia is free, her Name will finally appear. He didn't share the thought with Mr. Drippy though. The fairy was surprised to find himself in a 'one-sided world' where one world vaguely knew of the other. Apparently some worlds don't have soul mates in any form and some worlds did but were never given any indication of this. It all sounded strange to Oliver. How can you go through life without knowing who you were truly connected to?
The new clothes he was given in Mr. Drippy's world had long sleeves which meant he didn't need go any further to hide his blighted Name. The idea was…freeing. Anyone who noticed any 'bruising' extending into his palm would think he merely injured himself. No one here needed to know of his Name. No one would judge him with pity for hiding his Name.
Oliver wondered if he'll somehow meet the one who matched his Name in this world.
"Also…my Name…well…" Myrtle meekly removed the bandages covering her wrist and Oliver gasped.
Her Name had been obscured with black and purple bruising that seemed to move if you look at it long enough.
"It started a few months ago," explained Myrtle, "One day, my Name became like this. I can't see the letters very well now."
"What," began Oliver, unsure how to word his question, "what did it used to say?"
"Esther," answered Myrtle. Mr. Drippy yelped in surprise. "And its not just me. It happened to my dad too. After that, he…changed."
To everyone's surprise, Rusty Cartwright's wrist cleared the moment his heart was rebuilt with the kindness he was missing. The Name Rashaad was written in red elegant letters. If his resemblance to the Mamooni sage wasn't enough to confirm Oliver's suspicions that he had met the man's Name, then the letters on his wrist definitely did.
Oliver kept quiet on what he knew. It was probably for the best he didn't say anything. He didn't know how to explain any of it without sounding crazy. He was getting odd looks around town already.
As Oliver restored Esther's heart, Myrtle watched as the bruises faded away and the red ink of Esther stood out against her pale skin.
The painting of the Cowlipha reminded Oliver of Miss Leila. He was surprised to learn that the shop owner's Name was a queen.
But with this lead, he can return home and try to find clues on how to help Her Moojesty.
To his and Esther's surprise, Esther was invisible to everyone except to Oliver and Mr. Drippy. He'll have to ask the fairy why later but for now, he watched as the girl looked around in wonder.
"Oh, it closed," groaned Oliver when the group reached Leila's store. Strange, it should be open by now.
"Hello Oliver," said Myrtle behind him, "Do you need something from the store?"
"Yeah! How did you know?"
"Now that I've gotten better, I decided to get a job here," the girl explained, her eyes shined with renewed life.
"That's great!"
"Oliver, who is that and why do I feel like I know her?" asked Esther as she approached the two.
"Um..." started Oliver.
"Oh!" Myrtle suddenly grabbed her wrist. Alarmed, Oliver hurried to her side.
"What's wrong?"
"My Name got...tingly." She released it and allowed Oliver to peer down at the letters. He heard Esther gasp in surprise.
"It's getting stronger," reported Myrtle.
"Does it hurt?" asked Oliver with worry.
Myrtle shook her head, "No, it does not. It's just...weird."
"Huh."
And then Miss Leila arrived and to the children's alarm, her wrist had bruises covering over her Name.
Oliver hissed as his wrist holding his Name suddenly throbbed as the ship got closer to Autumnia.
"What's wrong Ollie-boy?" asked Mr. Drippy, alerting Esther and Swaine.
"My Name hurts," he replied and immediately winced at how strange it must've sounded to his companions.
"What's wrong with it?" Esther unhooked her harp and peered over Oliver's shoulder to look at his wrist.
"I don't know," he uncurled his fingers and Esther 'ooohed' in sympathy.
"Blimey, how the he…heck did you do that?" said Swaine as he noticed how purple the young wizard's palm looked.
"It's always been like that," sighed Oliver, "ever since I got my Name last year."
"Your…what?"
"Where Oliver's from, people get the name of their soul mate on their arm," explained Esther, "we met the Cowlipha's soul mate in Oliver's hometown. Her wrist was doing the same thing."
"Did it get better?"
"It…must have," blinked Oliver, realizing that they never checked up on Miss Leila. "Myrtle's Name cleared up fine after Esther's heart was fixed."
"So if we find your soul mate," mused Swaine, "and restore their broken heart, your arm will get better?"
A dark chuckle suddenly filled the air, "I'm afraid I can't allow you to do that."
To everyone's horror, Shadar hovered onto the deck.
"Not before I can test you, Pure-Hearted One."
His journey was all for nothing.
The Great Sage Alicia was his mother all along. The reason why she didn't have a Name was because she was from Shadar's world. As consequence of using Breach Time and Gateway at the same time, her soul mate in Motorville was lost forever. It was just Alicia in both worlds.
There was no saving her from death.
And to make things worse, Shadar…
Of all Names Oliver could have, it was Shadar's…!
Oliver wasn't sure when he returned to his old bedroom but staying in there forever sounded like a good idea right now.
His arm became even more bruised and tender the deeper he ventured into Nevermore. Part of him hoped that he misunderstood the conversation and that his soul mate wasn't Shadar at all. His true soul mate was somebody else who was brokenhearted and Oliver was merely sensitive to dark magic which is what the Executor tends to favor.
But…even if Oliver held Shadar's Name, Shadar had to be stopped. He had been hurting people for a very long time. It was Oliver's duty as the Pure-Hearted One to make things right.
They were connected even if Oliver hated the idea. It meant some part of Oliver's soul was tainted with darkness, right? Could he truly be pure of heart? Could he purify himself by exorcising the source?
The thought of killing Shadar curdled in his stomach. How…how he could do that to his Soul Mate?
No, he couldn't do that. If it all came to a fight, then Oliver will do his best to calm the old man down. And then he could bring Shadar back to his senses…
Shadar…no, Lucien, was dead. He had been in a deep despair for centuries but now he was free.
Lucien is dead. Oliver would be dead too if the old man hadn't severed the link between them.
Oliver wasn't sure what to feel about that as he watched the land around Castle Nevermore became green and full of life.
"Oh yeah," said Swaine suddenly and it broke Oliver out of his thoughts, "your arm. Does it say anything now?"
Oliver then noticed the lack of pain coming from his arm. He pinched a fingertip and felt sensation.
Oliver pulled back his sleeve, expecting to see the usual cloudiness. But to his surprise, he saw letters. When one's Name dies, the letters turn black. Usually when that happens, the holder of the Name dies soon after that. But he never heard what happens if the link was severed.
In white ink, like a scar, was Lucien.
ROLAND
Roland sighed as he stared at his wrist. Typical. Just...typical. Of course the universe would give the bullies more ammo to use against him.
He had been twelve for three months now and had been patiently waiting for his Name to appear. He had worried that it would do so at the last literal minute before he turned thirteen. Or worse: it might never emerge and he was destined to be one of the rare Nameless.
Maybe it would be better if he was. He could handle the bullying if it was about that (...probably).
What the heck does purple and black shadows even mean? Is he cursed? He quickly shook his head. No, that's ridiculous. There's no such thing as curses. Perhaps this how the process starts.
Roland slipped a sweat band over the affected wrist and decided to deal with it properly later.
Melissa eyed the covering on her date's wrists. Not everyone liked to share their Name with the world. It was considered impolite to ask again if your request was refused.
But maybe...his reasons were similar to her own.
She brushed a strand of hair away from her face, making sure the man before her noticed how she hid her Name as well.
"What happened to your hand?" he asked with restrained concern and an emotion Melissa couldn't identify.
"What do you mean?" she asked back, raising an eyebrow to his stupid question.
"Your..." he vaguely pointed to her hand to avoid alarming the other people in the restaurant, "it's...spreading."
Melissa looked down at her hand and sighed as she noticed that the shadows decided to spread up into her palm again.
"It does that sometimes," she said, hoping this Roland guy would take the hint.
"Yeah," Roland nodded sympathetically, "mine does that too."
She stared at him wide-eyed as she realized that he couldn't read his Name too.
Roland felt his heart clench as his eight year old son let out a pained whimper as he slept in the hospital bed. The treatment was hard on his body but the doctors were optimistic that Sean will soon enter remission. And perhaps, he will live to see his Name emerge. He may even get lucky and be able to display his Name to the world.
...Three years later, as Roland sang along with sky pirates, Greenlings, and refugees from Ding Dong Dell to celebrate Evan turning eleven despite Mausinger's best efforts two months before, he suddenly realized that Sean will never get to see his Name.
He stumbled on a verse, blinked, and quickly repressed that thought. Now was not the time to dwell on it.
Evan heard Roland bite back a curse as the exiled prince dismissed his sword.
"Are you alright?" he asked. Tani, who they just rescued an hour ago, quickly ran over to check Roland for injury. They were still a long ways away from the village and there were monsters waiting along the path to ambush them. Injuries that are more than a Higgledy can handle would just delay Tani's homecoming and make them vulnerable to vengeful wyverns.
"I'm alright," grumbled the displaced man, "that bird nearly got lucky." Evan turned to properly look at him. Roland was unraveling a torn cloth from his wrist. To the boy's shock, it revealed a deep bruising on the man's arm. Tani winced in sympathy.
"What happened?" he yelped as he quickly rifled through his arms band for a spare soreaway.
"It's always been like that," dismissed Roland as he inspected the cloth, "ever since I got my Name."
"Your...Name?" said Tani as she and Evan tilted their heads at the man inquisitively.
"Where I'm from," explained Roland, "we get the name of our soul mate on our wrist after we turn twelve."
"Do you ever get to meet them?" queried Evan as he recalled that everyone he had known had bare wrists. Maybe it only occurred in Roland's world.
"I never heard anyone meeting theirs outside of vague dreams," revealed the older man, "and I never got to know my Name because this," he pointed to the swirling shadows, "started immediately the moment mine emerged."
"How awful," frowned Tani. What terrible luck to have that hidden from you before you can actually see it.
"I've gotten over it a long time ago," reassured Roland, "It doesn't bother me anymore." He banished the torn cover into his arms band. He'll repair it later.
His wrist seemed to...burn. Roland pulled back his suit jacket and undershirt sleeves to look at it. The shadows on the affected area continued to swirl, expand, and retract. But now there was a new localized pain. It felt about seven or eight letters long.
Batu raised an eyebrow at the painful looking bruises and handed him a stronger breed of soreaway. Roland nodded his thanks before eating it. The pain eased up and became less distracting.
The trial was in ten minutes. Roland couldn't afford to be distracted.
"Is something matter, Mr. Crane?" asked Leander as Roland frowned while rubbing his wrist, "your actions are becoming more frequent the farther we descend."
"Is it your Name again?" Evan bounded over and his ears pressed down a bit as he let out a small gasp of sympathy. The shadows had decided that today they would spread up to his palm and thrum intensely. One the Higgledies squeaked and a green light gently landed on Roland. He felt better even if the shadows stubbornly remained on his palm.
"We'll explain later," Roland said to Leander. Rescuing Queen Nerea was a higher priority.
"Hello, I'm Roland Crane, Chief Consul of Evermore. My wrist is fine, don't worry about it." It actually hadn't acted up much this time.
Bracken blinked, "Right. Okay."
"Goodness, that's quite an injury, Mr. Crane," pointed out Chancellor Vermine. Roland winced as his loud voice alerted King Mausinger.
"I'm alright," Roland reassured the mouse king, "It's always been like that."
"It appears to be spreading into your hand," observed Mausinger, "will that affect your performance?"
"No, it will not."
"Then carry on," dismissed Mausinger.
Vermine would later shoot Roland in the bicep. He was alarmed by how the chancellor muttered about missing his true target.
No, he can't let his Name get obscured any further...! Roland quickly tossed the flash grenade and purposely shoved Vermine into a guard as Roland escaped the room.
The shadows have been intensifying ever since the Horned One was unleashed. He could barely hold anything with his near blackened Name hand because it hurts too much to even flex a finger. With this development and the fact that occasionally he would emit an aura of dark magic that made his heart seize as a loud voice demanded his loyalty, he was a liability to his companions. But...he had to see this through.
Maybe his Name will return to its original clouded state once the Horned One was no more, he mused.
J̵̵̨̛O͡͝҉͞I͝N̵͜͡͠ ̵̕͞͝͏M̵̶̡͡͏E͢͠͏ ̨͜Ą̡͢͞͝N̶̴D̶͢͢͢ ͞Y̶͞O̢̧͘U̴͞R̶̶͟͝ ̸̡́͜N̷A̷̢͢M̷҉̛͜͠É̶͟͟ ̶̷̢͜Ś̡͝͠H̶̀͢͟A̴͢͞L̴̢̕͠L̡͘ ̕͠B҉̧E̸͘ ̕̕R̴̵Ę̴͢͝͞V̴̵̷͞͞E̷͝A̷̧L̵̸È̵̀́D́͝͝ ̛͡͞͠T͘҉̷O̸͞ ̧҉̸̵̶Y͜҉͡O͢͟͝Ų͏́, offered the voice which by now Roland had realized must be the Horned One.
"No thanks," muttered Roland. One lunatic worshiping it is enough.
Roland must be hallucinating from the combined pain of his arm and of the Horned One bearing down on him because across the room, Doloran was wearing Roland's face underneath that ridiculous gold face paint.
"Don't you see yet?" intoned Doloran, "We are connected, you and I."
"I refuse to believe that I have your Name," Roland gritted out.
"Ah, so you came from one of those worlds. The truth is right in front of you yet you keep denying it?"
"It's been clouded over for thirty six years. It could say anything," argued Roland.
"And what does your heart say?" Doloran crossed his arms in a very familiar fashion if Bracken's quiet exclamation of 'they even move the same!' meant anything, "The very depths of your soul? Does all of you deny that two of us are soul mates?"
"I..." He fell silent because despite how fantastical this is, some part of him was excited to actually meet the source of his Name. He'd be the first to do so. He hated feeling that.
Y̴̴Ó̶U̸̡͘͘ ̷̴̡͞C͏̕͢͜À̧̛̕N͘̕͟'̕͟Ţ͜ ͏̴̢D̸҉͞҉E̵̸͘͞Ǹ̴̴̕Y̕͞ ̵̨̡͘͝I̷̡̧͘͟T̢͜͢ ̧͟F̶͜͟͠Ò͏͡R̸̀̕͜͢E҉̛͏́͞V͏̵̷͝E̢̛҉͡R̷̡̛͡, said the Horned One smugly.
Watch me, Roland thought back.
"Roland," began Doloran, "if you join forces with me and help me restore Allegoria, your country will be restored. It'll be as though war hadn't ravaged it."
W҉̨̛͝H̢͜͝҉A̵͘͜T̷̢͟͞͞ ̡͝H̢͢Ą̢̨P̵̷͘̕͟P̡͡E̸̸N̶͘͘͡S͢҉̛ ̴͟͢͡H̸͏̵̡E͟͢͝҉̧Ŕ̴̡̕E̕͠ ͢͞W̧̕͢͞͞Í̸̧͢͠L̶̵̀̕͜L̢͢͞͠ ̷͝A͏̀͢F̛͡҉͠F̛̀͢Ȩ̴́͘͠C̀͘͡T̡͟͢ ̡̀͞T̸̡H̷̸̛͞É͠R̡̢͟͡͠E̶͠, added the Horned One.
"Don't you want to see your family again, Roland?" said Doloran, his words ringing with empathy. Like he understood what Roland felt. And in a way, he did.
Roland hesitated. Could...could it actually work? His heart yearned to see Melissa and Sean again. He hadn't stopped since he arrived.
"And this time, Sean will get his Name." Roland's breath caught in his throat. Sean had been so ill. They all feared he would die before learning who his Name was. He'd be the only one in their little family to get the chance to actually see his Name.
"I..." began Roland and the very thought of Roland actually joining the mad king for such a slim chance launched Evan into an angry rant that ultimately resulted in the Horned One's release from its true seal.
The Horned One, or rather Alisandra, was no more. Allegoria remained lost. Doloran's efforts were for nothing.
Roland remained separated from his family and there was no way of restoring his country or preventing the war that destroyed it. That brief gasp of hope that maybe he could was a mere pipe dream.
Both men had refused to grieve over what they had lost until they couldn't refuse anymore. The truth was right in their faces. It was only due to Evan were either of them given the chance to start over.
Perhaps they were linked after all.
Humoring that thought, Roland pulled back his sleeve and made a small noise of surprise. The action caught everyone's attention.
"What's up?" asked Bracken.
"I can see my Name," revealed Roland with disbelief tingeing his words. He never thought he'd actually see it. The odd painful throb that would herald Doloran's proximity was a vague buzzing feeling now. Perhaps, that's what Names are supposed to feel.
His colleagues gathered around to look. On Roland's wrist, as clear as day was red letters spelling out Doloran.
They all looked back at Doloran, whose red eyes were now brown and the gold paint had cleared away to reveal his natural complexion. He'd be a total mirror image of Roland if it weren't for the white hair.
"We're connected," stated Doloran again.
Roland this time nodded, "We are."
They both felt the words ring true.
"I don't know what's waiting for me," Roland calmly said. He seemed unconcerned that he was about to fade away from existence. "It could be my family. It could be nothing but my death. But...if I am going to die, then at least this time I die knowing what my Name says."
He looked back at Evan with a sad smile, "You taught me a lot, King Evan Pettiwhisker Tildrum, Lord of Evermore. It was an honor serving you."
Evan rushed over for one last hug. Roland stiffened before relaxing into it. Eventually, he reluctantly pulled away and took several steps back.
"Farewell."
He vanished.
Melissa brushed a strand of hair away from her face, inevitably revealing to her date that she hides her name from the world. He made a small gasp that he carefully made sure didn't bring attention to the other people in the restaurant. For a moment he looked sad and guilty before retraining his expression to something more neutral.
"My apologies," said Roland, "I didn't mean to stare."
"It's alright," she forgave him, "It's...well...it used to be a lot worse until a couple of years ago."
"It...did?" her date said nonchalantly while unconsciously leaning forward in his seat, betraying his attempts at hiding his curiosity.
"Until a couple of years ago, my Name used to obscured by a giant bruise that seemed to move on its own ever since it emerged. And then one day, the bruising faded away and revealed my Name."
Roland blinked, "But why still cover it?"
"Because I think my Name is dead."
The dark-haired man froze before he awkwardly replied, "Oh. Er...I shouldn't have intruded."
Strangely, Melissa found his mortified expression rather...cute. She smiled at the thought of going on another date with Roland Crane.
She had a feeling he wouldn't judge her for having Alisandra appear in white ink.
1. Yes, nearly everybody in Oliver's world experienced the bruises of doom when the manna came down. It lead to one heck of an eventful week and a half and Oliver missed it due to being in the other world the whole time. I just felt that Shadar's defeat was a good place to stop.
2. Since I headcanon as Evan being 10 or 11ish, then so is Roland's son. Roland just wanted his son to get lucky and not be 'cursed,' is that really hard to ask for universe? :O
3. I don't always have Roland's wife as Alisandra's soul mate but, uh, in hindsight having them as soul mates this time is...confusing. Let's just say the process of creating a Kingmaker technically severs a soul mate pair. Yeeeaaah, I didn't think this one through. orz