#oh well i just wanna yell

[seventhdoctor]

Reincarnation and Promises

ITP a lot of thoughts related to Soulshipping as I work on this fic, as yelled to my tabletop group who basically know nothing but what I’ve told them about GX but a lot about my love for reincarnation junk.

Just how does Judai relate to his past life? How does that affect his relationship with Yubel?

In their original lives Judai promised Yubel he'd only love them, after Yubel had already voluntarily become a monster dedicated to protecting him. In the present Judai remembers their past lives while Yubel is trying to destroy the universe, tortured into insanity by a combination of his mistake and the Light of Destruction’s corruption, and he instantly flips from "you're evil and deluded and I will stop you at any cost" to "I accept your love (by choosing Super Fusion), you need healing and I will risk my entire existence to help you."

What is he thinking at that moment when he flips? The decision to fuse with Yubel is about taking responsibility, growing up, and redemption as well as - or even more than - a matter of love. But also, there's so many angles to what he’s feeling about those two things, and how much of each factors into exactly why he chooses to metaphorically return Yubel’s love and fuse their souls.

The flashback to their past lives is brief, less than three minutes of episode most of which is exposition, and you don't really get a full sense of just how much Judai connects with his past life beyond the line "I remember... They're me and Yubel in our past lives" before he watches his past self make that defining promise.

How much does he remember? Does he feel like a continuation of his past life in that moment, or like the next version of the young prince? I feel the answer to that question changes the meaning of his decision to fuse their souls together, in essence ensuring they can't be separated again as a gesture of love and/or to take responsibility for how they’ve hurt Yubel. If he feels a sense of continuity with his past self then that decision is a continuation of that promise to love Yubel, and an as-it-should-be reunion between guardian and guarded. If he views his past self as someone connected to but separate from himself, then continuing that promise is more of a decision he takes upon himself to stay connected to someone he still feels tied to - or maybe not. Maybe it’s simply a sense of duty to someone he’s hurt, someone he promised to love in another life and feels obligated to love in the present.

How much responsibility does he feel to uphold the vows of his past self? How much responsibility does he feel to heal someone who's been hurt badly because of his mistakes (which were made because Yubel was attacking his neighbors to begin with)? Is loving Yubel his obligation, his nature, or his choice? Can it be multiple of these things, or even all three?

And on the other end Yubel made their choice long ago, without all those questions about their relation to a past life because their past is their present in ways Judai's is not. If Judai really wanted, he could probably reject everything about his past life and destroy Yubel to save the world. That's the least likely choice (and again, one he implicitly rejects when he chooses Super Fusion immediately after remembering), but he could probably do it. Yubel doesn't have that choice to reject the past or they barely have it, because they were remade entirely for him and both their existence and sense of self still kinda revolve around him.

The exact feelings Judai has about Yubel and the fusion are a matter of interpretation and/or headcanon, and trying to figure out what I think for fic purposes has brought up a lot of fascinating questions about how their past bears upon the present and the unevenness of Judai’s reincarnation combined with Yubel’s more constant nature. It’s definitely making some scenes both really fun, and also hard to finish before I settle my own thoughts here.

[moeblob]

Deacon loves two things: Ymber and digging himself a grave.

Fulj hates one thing: Deacon.

[ratatatastic]

do you write fic on ao3?

unfortunately for everyone involved i do!

[ardenrabbit]

.

[goofyjelly]

ough

[anachronistic-falsehood]

sometimes im like man i wish i could go by multiple different names and then i remember Oh Yeah I Can Literally Do That Bc I Can Do Whatever I Want Forever

[razzek]

This is going to be hard to find so, to anyone else who was on James Somerton's Patreon until last night, can anyone help me find out the sources of his Revolutionary Girl Utena video? I really enjoyed that and I'd like to give whoever he got it from some love.

[attractthecrows]

brooo i hate having Dreams That Piss You Off i woke up all pissed off at NOTHIIINNNNNGGGGG

[synthshenanigans]

I now have an alt account where I will post random things and talk about nonsensical ideas. If that sounds interesting have a go at it: @starfall-calamity >:}

[zenithpng]

..

[mosspapi]

(tw discussion of self harm/wound care)

Took the gauze off this thing to change it and it immediately fuckin opened wide the fuck up again. Had to use butterfly bandages to get it to even stop fuckin bleeding. And my parents come home tmrw night. Chat am I cooked here (rhetorical. I am absolutely cooked)

[tandytoaster]

Neighbour of friend has cats that they do not take care of

Friend loves these cats

Cats keep getting pregnant.

And injured.

Friend will not rescue cats in fear of neighbours getting hostile 😔

[squishescommishes]

about to plug away more on some comms now but this month's base wips are up for a vote now on patreon! this month ended up being fluffy shrimps and i had fun coming up with the ideas 83c

[imruination]

shadow and bone fans have me screaming

[lildoodlecat]

Tales of Destiny complete!!!

I enjoyed playing it, but I think the story mostly fell a little flat for me. Part of it, I think, is because I played the official English release which removed skits, so I wasn't able to get quite as attached to the characters as a group as I might've otherwise. Still sad about that, but I still had my favorites (Leon.. ;w;) and they were enjoyable enough.

Most of what I enjoyed about Destiny were the art and the puzzles. So many of the environments and dungeons were cool or gorgeous and just downright AWESOME. I managed a good 90% of the puzzles on my own (tho a few stumped me enough to rifle through a guide, as well as some sidequests I couldn't be assed to run around trying to figure out myself) and almost always felt satisfied once I'd figured something out.

As for the combat, it was kinda neat? Pretty much the same as Phantasia (ps1) so I found it really easy. Actually, I don't think I ever fully died to a boss except once or twice early on. Even the final boss was super easy for me in both forms. I actually made myself stop my endless onslaught once or twice so I could at least see a few of his moves before I beat the shit out of him lskjdfklfsj tho that was largely bc I figured out that manually having Philia and Rutee spam high damage spells and getting Karyl (who I found out is called Johnny in jp which is hilarious) to use Golden Voice whenever Stahn had to regroup pretty much immobilized the boss so. Cheesed it a little?

I actually really liked Karyl too lol, he truly was the bard of the group.

All in all it was pretty fun but I wish the story was more engaging. I think if I went back and finished the Director's Cut I'd like the characters a lot more, since from the portion I played I noticed that bc of skits and such you see a lot more of the swordians as people and not largely plot devices as they felt in ps1 Destiny—as well as obviously more banter and connections between the main party.

Oh yeah speaking of Leon!! [spoilers ahead if uhh anyone cares. lol] WHO WAS GONNA TELL ME THAT HE DIES. WHAT. Like tbf I watched him get buried in rubble but I guess I'm just not used to tales games killing my actual party members so easily </3 even tho he'd left and technically betrayed us by then. sobs. I didn't even realize he died until we encountered Marian later and Rutee told her he was dead a;lksdjfl like out loud i was like 'HE'S DEAD???' so rip both of us. I liked him a lot I'm sad he met such a miserable end. Like!! when. uh. KRONOS that's the final boss's name anyway he brings him out and i was like YO?? AND THEN HE JUST. HE WASN'T EVEN ALIVE ANYMORE HE WAS JUST A MISERABLE HUSK BEGGING FOR DEATH AND I. NOOOOOO

anyway. my best boy. I pat his little head and wrap him in blankets forever. as the narrative refused to do for him.

Speaking of the main story again, I didn't feel completely disconnected from the emotional aspect of the ending. It was pretty sad to see everyone have to say goodbye to the swordians as they sacrificed themselves for their wielders and the world. And Stahn got really sad abt it so. I got a little sad too ;v;

The scene after the credits was nice as well (tho I uhh didn't actually know what they were talking about. I guess at some point Stahn said they should all go somewhere together in a year.) and the little epilogue text was neat.

So yeah!! Pretty alright title, tho I'm sure the Director's Cut will do it way more for me when I get around to it. So long Destiny crew, I will especially Miss Karyl's mostly terrible singing during battle <3

[carcarrot]

pour one out for the sub hoes