#edited to include id

[csyched]

Mundane Design Detail of Digital Devil Saga: Tag Rings

(Spoilers for both DDS + DDS2.)

I have a tendency to look way too deep into little details of character designs in media, and when it comes to DDS where uniform designs are common, it gets even more fun for me. One of the things that first stood out was tag rings; the Junkyard invention that is introduced briefly and very early in the game as identifiable objects used simultaneously as trackers for downloadable mantras and can also act as digital wallets. I always wondered though, how much more they can represent for a character's actual design rather than just being a game tool for logging progress.

Rings on different fingers (and hands) represent different ideas on how we wish to present ourselves; these ideas can change from culture to culture, and in observing these differences, I looked both at general Western culture and of course, Hinduism. I was able to find more information in Western cultures with more commonalities. However, in Hinduism, by looking into mudras, you'll find rings on each finger can still hold different meanings. The middle finger is "ego", the pinky is "illusion", the ring finger is "karma". The index finger is Jiva-Atman - the individual soul or self. The thumb is Paramatman - the universal, eternal soul.

And if you've noticed, most individuals of the Junkyard wear their tag rings on their middle finger (on their left hand). In Western culture, the middle finger, similar to "ego" in Hinduism, represents "individuality". And hey, what do you know? That's a pretty important theme brought up later on.

The Samsara Tunnels scene with Lupa is actually what drove me to research further into this. Lupa removes his tag ring before performing an inevitable act of self-sacrifice, and at first, I thought it meant he was giving up his individuality. Until I noticed that no, Lupa wears his ring on his index finger on his right hand, rather than his middle finger on his left hand like almost everyone else. In Western culture, the index finger on the right hand instead represents the "potential for leadership". Fitting, for the Leader of the Wolves, who has offered his own head to the dominating tribe of the Embryon.

And then he hands it to Gale - who slips it onto his left hand next to his other ring, and he puts it on his index. And what does that represent? Comradery. Ohhhhhhhhh man. Let's go, gay subtext!!!

Irrelevant comment: (The funny thing is Lupa's ring literally does not pop up on his hand until the camera focuses on his hand and then it disappears. For the rest of the scene and the rest of the game and DDS2 it is gone. I don't know if that was an intentional choice - I doubt it - perhaps the animators didn't want to make a whole other Gale model with the two rings. I like to think he kept the ring...)

Moving onto DDS2, and Serph sells his tag ring at the Mad Mart to make some cash. Nobody else sells their rings. With the hacking disk, they are no longer needed, so it seems everyone just keeps it for sentiments. Serph himself also wears his ring on his middle finger, so was it a story choice for him to give it away - to represent him giving up his individuality? Of course, maybe not immediately, but eventually, Serph's individuality blends with another soul - being Sera's - in order to become Seraph. And no, they do not wear any rings, because neither Sera nor Serph did at the point of fusing.

Yeah.

Some additional points:

Cielo doesn't wear his tag ring as a ring, he wears it as a necklace. Similar to Lupa and his layers of necklaces with several tag rings. I'm not sure what that means - usually, necklaces with rings represent vows, most commonly found for promise rings. They can also represent deceased loved ones. Which is quite heartbreaking when you think about Lupa's necklaces...

Generally, the right hand for rings is the "action" hand while the left is the "thinking" hand.

If I ever find more information and more opportunities to extend this drabble, I will. I'm not sure how interesting this essay is for others, but some friends were interested in hearing it. I really do wonder how much thought was put into this design aspect, and if anyone has their own knowledge to bring to the table, I'd love to hear it.

[sui-imi]

Funeral, right

---

been seeing some discussion about canon/fanon sans re: papyrus' death, and then i thought, unrelatedly, "hey i wonder what he did with the dust"

[caruliaa]

staff still hasn't given me polls, what should i do?

🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪 their moms 69%

🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪 their dads 31%

grace image os i get to look at her

[tarantula-hawk-wasp]

Ides of March not included bc let’s be real that’s Brutus’s legacy

[neptunym]

ULTRATOBER // Part 3 - Day 7: Favourite OTP

i don't have one, but one or more of these guys tend to show up in my favoured pairings

[imicrowavedicecream]

[ID: Fanart of Till from Alien Stage over a white background with pink outlined hearts. He is drawn bust-up in the center of the photo and facing the camera. He is wearing his grey shirt and his hair is down. He is sweating and blushing with a frustrated expression. Four chibi icons of Ivan and Mizi surround his head, two on each side. Each icon is smiling brightly and blushing. The top of the drawing has the text "men be like 'im fighting demons'" and the bottom has the text "but the demons are just bisexuality", referencing a joke quote. End ID]

I fucked up the ivantill drawing DRAMATICALLY so y'all can have the zestiest drawing I've ever made instead (IVANTILL IS COMING I JUST NEED TO REDO IT)

[cherubytes]

decided to check out the tvtropes page for ultrakill and saw it had a drinking game section

[itslilacmoon]

finally... origins of the luz+hunter suicide pact <3

[yagi-toshi]

beastars 147 spoilers a sequence of panels that are important to me

[axel-tiredstudent]

So I did this

(I know it's not like 100% accurate cause he just wore the dolly parton t-shirt in today's episode but I just wanted to make this joke and it fits)

[good-beansdraws]

My beancret santa gift for @red-moon-at-night !

I thought your oc Electra was wicked cool, I hope I could do her justice! Both a really fun the design, and her backstory was so interesting :0

I don't think she actually cares about leaving or anything but this meme wouldn't leave my head lmao

[janetcage]

1st batch of the Johnny Cage Lesbian Pride Icons 😮‍💨

I think I’m just gonna start the reblog train here 😭😭😭

(More edits in the reblogs)

[introspectivememories]

NICO: WE SHARED THE LIFT THIS MORNING! I WAS GOING TO THE POOL TRAMPOLINE WITH MY TWO DAUGHTERS AND HE WAS GOING TO THE RACETRACK. PINKHAM: VERY DIFFERENT LIVES YOU'RE CURRENTLY LEADING.

[neptunym]

ultravalentines 💕

[v4visms]

if it doesnt have a ship name in the brackets, then i'm unaware of it (or maybe it just doesn't have one). if it does have one, feel free to tell me. i can't edit the poll, but now i know

if you voted "none of these," i'd like to hear in the reblogs/tags what i missed!

[radiantmists]

*not necessarily the 'best'/coolest, but the one you think about a lot/enjoy reading the most/vibe with/find funniest