Red Roses & Torturous Thorns

Soulmates are the norm. Everyone has one, and they're all connected the same way. There are no strings or timers or temporary color blindness. You feel just about everything your soulmate does. Happiness. Sadness. Anger. Pain. You can see where they got hurt if the wound is drastic enough- you can guess how and why. You can feel if they have blood trickling down their arm, but you cannot feel if someone is touching them or helping them. It can be a scary thing- waking up to a large cut, crying out in pain, or even just dropping dead out on the street. It happens, it's the harsh reality of soulmates. The minute their heartbeat fades off, your own does too. Most people like to think of it as the universe being kind. You never have to be without a connection to them. You will be reborn into a new body, and get to find your love once again, though you won't know it. However, the scariest thing is always the Rose Tattoo. Everyone is born with one colorless rose and it tells you of how your life with your soulmate will play out once you meet them. If it becomes a bright red, you are to live a beautiful life. Black means it ends tragically. Dull means it is unfulfilling or hard to maintain. Thorns? No one knows. It has never happened on record and anyone who knows of any stories does not want to talk of them..