gladdecease

Imagine a world where pairs of people are literally perfect for each other.

I don't mean they have no conflict, or that they're identical in every way; nor do I mean that they argue constantly, or that they're different in complementary ways. The most important relationship in a person's life can't be generalized that easily. I just mean that for whatever reason, they are vital and necessary to each other's life. It need not be sexual, or romantic - it is simply an essential connection, without which their lives are somehow, indescribably, less.

If you're a romantic person, you might be thinking, "Okay, but how is that any different from our world?"

The difference, you'll find, is that they have physical proof: a marking, a band around the base of the fourth finger of your dominant hand. It's called different things in different cultures, but the most common name for it is a True Ring, and it develops spontaneously the first time your soulmate looks you in the eye.

( More details - including speculation/near-fic about how living a world with True Rings might have influenced events in stories you already know - below the cut. )