Chapter Text
Amygdalectomic Lesion Surgery / Lesions (noun) – A surgical procedure that creates targeted lesions to the areas of the amygdala involved in the NeuroAffective Bond. Such lesions have been documented as severing the NAB in rare cases of study, but such a procedure is highly contentious when performed, and only done in extreme conditions. Lesions may develop naturally as a consequence of neurological damage (i.e., due to advancing dementia or calcification of the amygdala).
See also: NeuroAffective Bond
Bond (noun) – The broad term for all forms of connection between two Soulmates
See also: Initial Communion, NeuroAffective Bond
Bond Baby (noun) - Any child born to two Soulmates
BondCom (noun) - A romantic comedy film about Soulmates who fall in love. A highly popular genre among 13-25 year olds.
See also: Bond Songs
Bond Family (noun) - Analogue to one's in-laws, a Bond family is the family members of one's Bonded Soulmate
Bond Songs (noun) - Any songs written about Soulmates or being Bonded.
See also: BondCom
Bond Rights (noun) - Any form of legal, constitutional, or international rights that protect the interests of Bonded Soulmates
See also: Copenhagen Convention, the; Pair Exemptions
Bondiversary (noun) - casual / colloquial term for the anniversary of a Pair's Initial Communion
See also: Initial Communion
Born Marked (BM) (verb) – When a person is born with a Mark, indicating their Soulmate is older than they are; half of all Soulmates are BM.
See also: Manifest Marked, Mark
Copenhagen Convention, the (noun) – Originally set in 1809 and amended in 1947 by the International Court of Justice (later governed by the United Nations), the Copenhagen Convention set International Law and precedent for protecting the rights and special interests of Soulmates worldwide. All nations must act in compliance with the laws set out by the convention; however, many countries where human rights violations occur fail to comply with these regulations.
Exsomnis Night (noun) – When a person is cannot sleep because their Soulmate cannot sleep; literally means 'sleepless night'.
See also: NeuroAffect Bond (NAB)
Feed the bleed (verb, phrase) – A low-brow phrase originally meaning to share in the NeuroAffective Bond with one’s Soulmate. Modern colloquial usage tends to signify any individual (with or without a Soulmate) who engages in a hedonic act simply for the joy/pleasure of it.
Infitiales Animarum Conpares (noun, proper term) - An archaic Latin term that translates to both "rejected soulmate/partners" and "denied soulmate/partners" and "negative soulmate/partners" depending on the translators' interpretation of 'infitiales'. It is used to describe the rare cases in which one or both Soulmate(s) push one another away and end up separated. The term retains its original Latin form in part because it is used as a diagnosis of conditions in which this occurs and one or both Soulmates begins to present clinical symptoms due to the separation, and in part because there is no colloquial term for these cases.
See also: Infitialis Dimidum
Infitialis Dimidum (noun, proper term) - An archaic Latin term that translates to "rejected half" and is meant to describe an individual who's Soulmate has rejected their Bond. Such cases are incredibly rare but of interest to the psychological literature when they arise, as one or both Infitialis Dimidum typically present with psychological or physiological symptoms if the rejection lasts over a duration of years.
See also: Infitiales Animarum Conpares
Initial Communion / IC (noun) – The moment when two Soulmates first touch skin to skin, thus establishing their Bond and NeuroAffective Bond.
See also: Bond, NeuroAffective Bond
Manifest Marked (MM) (verb) – When a person who is born without a Mark develops one later in life, indicating the Soulmate has just been (re)born into the world; half of all Soulmates are MM.
See also: Born Marked, Mark
Mark / SoulMark / Marked (noun, adjective) – The unique symbol that appears in the same location on both (+) bodies of Soulmates. Marks are typically white but may appear as a light shade of most primary colors, and turn black upon the death of one’s Soulmate. Marks are unique to a Pair of Soulmates and may vary in placement on the body size, shape, geometry, intricacy, and every other dimension. It is believed that a Mark persists across the different lifetimes of a Pair during each reincarnation. Any individual with a Mark is considered Marked.
See also: Unmarked, Widow Mark
Marked and Waiting / MaW / maw (noun) – A person with a Mark who has not yet their Soulmate. Typically used to refer to people who are adults and have not yet found their Soulmate; seldom use for anyone under the age of 16-18. Carries overtones similar to a modern day ‘spinster’.
Example: “He’s never had a girlfriend because he’s a maw, just biding his time.”
See also: Born Marked, Manifest Marked, Mark
Marking Day (noun) – The day when a Manifest Marked individual's Mark appears; also their Soulmate's birthday.
See also: Born Marked, Manifest Marked
Matemaker (noun) - Similar to a "matchmaker," this term refers to any individual who introduces two people who happen to be Soulmates. The matemaking can be intentional, as when a person realizes they know two others with the same Mark, or totally unintentional, such as inviting two friends to a party only to have them meet and discover they are Soulmates.
Meutre De La Moitié / Meutre De La Moitié Syndrome (noun) - Literally meaning "Murder of the Half", this refers to one member of a Bonded Pair murdering their Soulmate. MdlM Syndrome is a psychological condition that occurs after a person has killed their own Soulmate, typically characterized by dissociation, paranoia, delusional thinking, and violent behavior. It is believed that the intent to kill and the knowledge of having murdered one's Soulmate, coupled with the sensation of their death experienced through the NAB, results in a neurological chemical imbalance, largely related to dopamine and acetylcholine levels.
See also: NeuroAffect Bond (NAB)
NeuroAffective Bond / NAB / The bleed (noun) – A neurological connection between the two (or in extremely rare cases, more than two) members of a Soulmate Pair. The neurological connection allows Soulmates to experience a range of sensations from one another remotely, typically including a range of emotions and very rarely physical sensations.
Though the scientific world is in disagreement about its exact form and function, the NAB is commonly believed to originate in the limbic system within the brain, particularly the amygdala (feeding into the nucleus accumbens and related structures). After achieving Initial Communion via skin-to-skin contact, the central nervous systems (i.e., brains) of each of the Soulmates appear to ‘recognize’ one another, activating the brain’s NeuroAffective receptor cells located in the limbic system. In doing so, they establish a neurological bond.
Through this bond, the Soulmates can transmit and receive distinct signals from one another without physical contact. It is understood that upon receiving a remote ‘signal’ via the NAB (commonly: the bleed), the NeuroAffective cells in the limbic system active the amygdala in the recipient, and this individual’s brain then replicates the original pattern of activity, due in part to mirror-neurons (i.e., specialized brain cells for mimicry).
The strength and type of signals that comes through the bleed is impacted by the intensity of the felt emotion/sensation, the physical distance between the Pair, and often by skin-to-skin contact. The NAB is strongest: directly after being established when control is not yet possible; when physically touching one’s Soulmate and especially touching their Mark; and when extreme situations/emotions call for it.
With practice, Soulmates can deliberately block incoming NAB sensations and deliberately block their own from being sent. Deliberate transmission is far more rare, but is believed to be possible by some scientists. Transmitting images and actual thoughts is not considered possible, as the ability to mimic the unique neurological activation pattern of complex ideas and images is not believed to be possible, and because the NAB begins in the limbic system and does not (according to the current scientific consensus) feed into the brain’s memory or visual centers. Shared sensations are often fleeting, not constant, and seldom go beyond basic or semi-complex emotions.
In rare cases, physical sensations have been documented as shared, and this is believed to occur when the brains of the Pair have NeuroAffective receptor cells extending beyond the amygdala to other parts of the limbic system in the brain, including the thalamus. The Pairs will experience a more intense bleed that can extend to pain, pleasure, and a host of other phantom sensory experiences.
The archaic term for the NAB was “Communion” but this has fallen from common usage.
See also: Bond, Feed the Bleed, Initial Communion
Nab (verb) – Using the NeuroAffective Bond as an action. Usage is not particularly common, as social trends in propriety and social closeness dictate whether it is appropriate to discuss experiencing the NAB.
Example: “You seem distracted, is your mate nabbing at you?”
NAB Blockers (noun) - Drugs that can be administered that block a person from experiencing a Bleed input from their Soulmate, although this does not stop the Soulmate not taking the pills from receiving a NAB input. The pills work by selectively blocking NeuroAffective receptor cells sites in in the brain. Specifically, they block receptor sites in the postsynaptic neurons that are specialized as NeuroAffective receptor cells, blocking the dopaminergic, adrenergic, and cholinergic receptor cites found there, inhibiting transmission along the mirror-neuron pathways.
See also: NeuroAffective Bond
Pair Exemptions (noun) - A term for any legal or workplace exemptions provided to Bonded Soulmates.
See also: Copenhagen Convention, the; Bond Rights
Quiet bleed (noun) – A term for when a Pair's NAB transfers very little, mostly the basic human emotions and not intensely.
See also: NeuroAffective Bond (NAB / the bleed)
Sly shaker (noun) – A derogatory term used for people who attempt to touch (usually via handshake) as many people as they possibly can in an attempt to find their Soulmate. Typically perceived as desperate.
See also: Marked and Waiting, Spoiled Ballot
Soulmate / Pair (noun) – Two people (or in extremely rare cases, more than two) who share a spiritual connection beyond the physical realm. They share a unique Mark to identify one another, and upon touching skin to skin for the first time, establish a strong and unbreakable bond. Soulmates are often romantic partners but may be platonic and even familial pairs. It is believed that Soulmates remain over the course of reincarnation from one life to the next. At any given time, approximately one third to forty percent of the population is Marked. It is further believed that the UnMarked have reincarnated at a time where their Soulmate is not currently alive, evidenced by the development of a Mark at the time of one’s Soulmate’s birth, but not until that time.
See also: Bond, Initial Communion, Mark, NeuroAffective Bond, UnMarked
Soulmate Remote Sensing (verb) – The act of psychically locating one's Soulmate in another geographical location due to one's Bond.
See also: NeuroAffective Bond (NAB)
Soul signs (noun) – Similar to astrology, a new-age pseudo science based on the shape, form, size, and patterns within a given person/pair’s Marks. According to the Soul Sign aficionados, the angularity, geometry, shapes, and symbols within the Marks are all purported to have some higher symbolic meaning about the nature of the Bond. Some supporters even claim to be able to predict the course of one’s life based on historically-known Soulmates who have similar-shaped Marks. There is, to date, no scientific evidence that corroborates these claims.
See also: Mark
Spoiled Ballot (noun) – A person with a Mark (and thus Soulmate) in this lifetime, but never finding them and never achieving Initial Communion. A common fear among aging MaWs and among those whose Soulmate is born considerably later than them.
See also: Marked and Waiting, Initial Communion
Symbolonology (noun) - The scientific study of Soulmates and Soulmate bonds. Neural symbolonology is the study of the neural/brain pathways of Soulmates and the NeuroAffective Bond. The term arises through the Greek word "symbolon," referring to the term used by Aristophanes to explain wherefrom Soulmates arise, in Plato's The Symposium. Elsewhere, a symbolon referred to the dish broken in two and given to two people to symbolize the bond between them: two halves of a whole.
Symbosexuality (noun) - Attraction and sexual orientation specific to one's Soulmate; i.e., only experiencing sexual attraction for one's Soulmate. (Also: symboromanticism).
UnBound (noun, adjective) – The loss or breaking of one's NAB. Occurs as a result of amygdalectomic lesion surgery.
See also: Amygdalectomic lesion surgery, NeuroAffective Bond (NAB)
Unmarked (noun, adjective) – Any individual who does not have a Mark / SoulMark in this lifetime; roughly 60-67% of the population at any given time.
Vitalis (noun) - A Soul Sign for individuals with a medium-to-large Soul Mark appearing over the vital organs or on the torso, particularly for Marks that have hard and broken lines. It is said to be indicative of a Bond with strife and quarrels, but also with deep passion, a strong NAB, and strong emotions. Famous couples in history with this Soul Sign include Bonnie and Clyde, Marc Antony and Cleopatra, and fictional couples such as Romeo and Juliet.
See also: Mark, Soul Signs
Widow Mark / Marked (noun, adjective) – After a person’s Soulmate has died, their Mark turns black and becomes a Widow Mark, and they become Widow Marked
See also: Mark