#memory inheritance

I’ve meant to clarify about the original statement Justice made back just before she died in 2180 at Sol’s hand:

Most of the GG fanbase assume that when Justice said she wished the three of them could talk one last time, she was speaking with Aria Hale’s memories in mind, but that is not entirely correct.

By that time, most of her memories had either been scrambled or erased by the Universal Will, with what little that remained becoming the basis for Jack-O’Valentine’s creation much later on.

She never once referred to Sol as Frederick Bulsara, nor did she directly mention Asuka. Furthermore she had no knowledge of her true purpose in connection with the Scales of Juno, only somehow knowing that Sol was the Flame of Corruption.

No, from Justice’ perspective, she had only recently discovered that Sol Badguy was a Gear, not to mention one of many prospective Prototype Gears few knew existed. Most importantly of all, that Sol had betrayed Gearkind, and refused to obey her near-absolute Imperial Orders as the First Command Type Gear.

She referred to her creator as someone whom she loathed, and would spend most of her lifetime developing in to a deep Narcissist, trusting only in her own existence. This Narcissism later became a psychological trait that Ramlethal would inherit.

There is even further evidence of this due to Justice rejecting Jack-O’ during the events of Xrd Revelator, as even in her state of un-death, she was in full denial of her origins as a former Human. She absolutely could not accept herself as having been human once upon a time. That is literally how deep her Pride as a Command Type Gear ran within her, even as a biological weapon and warrior in her own past history.

It is much much later in Guilty Gear Strive that we learn that Aria had literally been psychologically “broken” over the course of her lifetime existing as Justice.

So then, what sort of deep traumas had she faced that would drive her in to full denial of her own humanity? Aria was already very much a reclusive individual in her past, that is the reason she could so easily connect with an anti-social cowardly introverted man such as Frederick was originally known to once be.

Certainly losing her memories was a core part of all this, but experiencing a lifetime of 100 years of bloodshed blamed on her own hands would most certainly impact her identity.

The way both Humans and Forbidden Beasts hunted her and her kind probably also exacerbated her emotions as well, driving her in to a corner.

Perhaps there was still a tiny glimmer of hope in the back of her mind that someone in the vast universe would one day accept her existence as a Gear, or perhaps she had long ago abandoned all considerations in her dedication to eradicate Humans.

Though even these darker unconsidered aspects of Aria’s personality traits were also inherited by the Original Valentine and Elphelt Valentine as well. Perhaps many aspects of Elphelt’s own personality are part of the reason she had a higher compatibility with Justice than her other sisters, even if Jack-O’ retained the highest compatibility.

In her final moments of life, Justice wished to see her creator and the other Prototype Gears created before her, even if she could never see the bright future her true purpose was meant to become.

Though it is for this very reason Sol Badguy swore an oath of revenge towards Asuka R. Kreutz, for the suffering Justice had endured, not yet knowing that she was his former lover, killed by his own hands.

History would also repeat itself when Sol was later forced to kill Valentine at Asuka’s behest, a history he was never supposed to undertake. A lost daughter in his family.

Perhaps it is also this untold history that will influence Unika in the upcoming events of Dual Rulers, it is hard to tell.

Regardless, the Aria whom we knew, and the Aria we never understood, human or otherwise, are key points in this narrative.

Justice is not the only Gear to forget her Humanity… of course a man like Happy Chaos has recently abandoned his Humanity as well… a chilling and cautionary tale of the dangers of indulging in Human Desires in excess.

Even Sol struggled for many years to remember he was once human. It took the efforts of Ky Kiske and Leo Whitefang and others, to bring back those considerations. It was Asuka who chose the heaviest burden for Sol’s sake, even if he had as much Guilt as Sol did.

Even Jack-O’ struggled with the burden of her own existence and purpose, but she would become her own person, despite Aria.

A long broken history, perhaps, but what Future will be built on the buried memories of someone like Justice?

Having "access" to different continuities isn't the same as having all "knowledge" of them.

If that were the case, Axl Low would remember every instance of every timeline he ever created... and based on his encounters with Slayer, while Slayer WAS aware of Axl Low's powers... it actually took some convincing from Axl for him to believe such a power even existed.

Of course, this also applies to I-No as well... but in her case the "original timeline" which she "remembered" was vague and fabricated to the point where she couldn't convince herself if it was real or not.

That's not to say those events didn't exist... it only supplants the idea that "different events" can't always be recalled with clarity.

If someone like I-No would have trouble remembering her own paradoxical past, what chance would Slayer or Nagoriyuki or even Raven have?

This in particular ALSO applies to the extreme with Ky Kiske... if he remembered the timelines in which he died... it's hard to say what effect that would have on Ky in particular.

And, to some degree, this also applies to Bedman's Deja Vu Dreamlike Reality: no matter how far back he can recall events... once something "dies" unless he remembers exactly how that happened, that person can't be restored.

Even in Sol's case... witnessing his past-self get killed by I-No had a drastic effect on him for a short amount of time (at least until he denied the events applied to him). That likely also applies to Ramlethal and her timelines of possibility involving I-No.

Asuka R. Kreutz posited that the "Present" is more powerful than the "Past" or "Future" events (at least in terms of how GG establishes itself).

So any event that "could happen" likely isn't as well-established as something that "already happened", whether treated as a reality, a dream, a wish, OR a memory.

For I-No's case in particular she is the result of a desire that people "wished would happen", but even if that were true, permanently establishing herself would've caused more problems than simply establishing who she "used to be" (Megumi in Axl Low's past).

I will probably post the full bios for Bedman? (I'll refer to it as Bedframe in tags, because ? question marks don't work on my blog's tag system very well) sometime later, but from what I've translated of the Famitsu article a ways back:

Although it is capable of simple communication, complex communication such as answering and accumulating daily memories is not possible for it (when interacting with Delilah).

In a lot of ways this is a case of "the body knows, but the brain doesn't know".

Physical memory and reflexes can effectively cover for most anything the mind lacks.

Here's another example:

Answer has an Eidetic memory. He can verbally repeat the exact location and index information of a book if he's seen it only once.

However, he can't use his memory and instincts the same way Chipp Zanuff can. In that sense, Chipp has a stronger sense of precognizant prediction in his kit of abilities.

Bedman once stated that Chipp's reflexes could out-run Bedman's ability to teleport and even mind-read, to the point where he would have to completely re-compose his Magic Theory.

Chipp's speed combined with his ability to read and predict others' intentions, means he has a step above any opponent he goes up against. In fact the only real reason he lost to Bedman the first time around is because Bedman could read his mind.

Happy Chaos is a naturally gifted genius... so his intelligence allows him access and the ability to process a great deal of information at any given time, much like Answer's Eidetic Memory.

Having access to the Backyard, as well as the Tome of Origin, means that he has a firm grasp of how Magic works on a fundamental level.

Magic, however... doesn't simply apply to spells or Elements: in this case, it applies to real world physics and spatial awareness. The link between the Backyard's defining information and the "reality" of this world.

Here's another example:

Axl Low has the exact same powers as I-No... so in-theory, he could "pull the moon" closer to the Earth just the same way I-No did.

The only things that keep Axl from being able to do that right now, are understanding the physics involved and the Magic that could cancel out the danger involved.

Axl could still "instinctively" mimic what I-No did if he so wished... it's just an issue of him "figuring out" on a basic level how she did what she did.

So, again, it really boils down to "knowing how" versus "doing".

For some, "doing" is easier than "knowing how"... like in Chipp's pre-cognizance example.

For others, "knowing how" is already established... it's just a matter of actually "doing", like in Happy Chaos' case.

Applying what you know in to physical memory and training that physical memory to a point where the things you "do" can be done without actually "thinking" about them, is actually a major goal in the case of fighting games.

Of course "not thinking" (auto-pilot) isn't necessarily a good thing, since you can sometimes do things out of bad habit or reflex and make mistakes, but having a certain level of awareness in any given situation helps improve how any given situation is handled.

Precise and Organized Knowledge. Precognitive Instinct. Practiced infallible Skill. Situational and Spatial Awareness.

Raymond merged his body with that of the “then” dying King of the Underworld: Inus.

It’s about the equivalent of trying to “Kill” a Youkai, and then merging your body and soul to the corpse (ironically this is pretty much what happened with Zato=ONE but in reverse).

As you might expect, merging one’s self to a corpse or even something in a dying state will cause necrosis, even if there is a temporary transfer of power like what Judgement achieved.

I can’t really state how strong Inus was in life compared to Justice, but if Inus was weak enough to be captured and experimented on by someone like Raymond, he probably wasn’t all that powerful to begin with.

Since then, Izuna explained that even his tribe fell under the influence of Justice, so she was above and beyond even his Youkai kin to begin with.

Chronus tried something similar when he tried to merge his body and Soul with Justice directly... but because his soul wasn’t compatible, he was ultimately rejected and couldn’t control the body as his vessel.

The only soul that could was either Elphelt or Jack-O’... but Elphelt was forced in to the situation against her will, and Jack-O’ had to erase some of Justice’ memories anyway to complete the merge, so even then it was a hit-or-miss task.

Merging a separate soul from a separate body is just a risky business overall.  Even Faust knew it was taboo, but he still researched it for the little girl’s sake he was trying to save.

As a side note, A.B.A. wants to give Flament Nagel a new body, but it’s likely such a thing won’t work either.

Really, it depends on the kind of Gear and on the level of power the phenomena is using in the first place, not to mention compatibility.

If you were to base all supernatural phenomena on the "Universal Will" for a major example, then nothing would be safe... not even Justice was safe, as her mind was made unstable, along with her genetic structure being copied on to the Japanese population.

Since Valentines are closer to human than Gear anyway, they would be more likely be influenced by things like Information Flares and Supernatural Phenomena, just as humans are.

It's also possible for Elphelt and Ramlethal to be influenced by such things, but a more advanced Valentine like Jack-O' or Happy Chaos might be another story.

Since "ghosts" are supernatural entities influenced by things like Information Flares, and Information Flares themselves are (to some extent) a manifestation of Magic... then you could say that Gears and Valentines are (again, to some extent) able to influence and be influenced by said information and data.

Servant-Familiars and other summoned beings are very similar to ghosts in nature, so for beings that can influence Magic on a large scale, rather than become "possessed" by a Ghost... they could simply dominate and control said supernatural beings.

Now, really, it depends on the circumstances between a physical body and a supernatural one and their interactions.

Now, in terms of Forbidden Beast Parasites... most were created based on Gear Technology in the first place... but at the same time, many weren't constructed to have any influence over Gears at all.

A good set of examples of this is Eddie's many attempts to obtain a body prior to his death:

1. He tried to merge with Faust but was rejected (Faust is "considered" Human, but an advanced case of one.)

2. Eddie tried to merge with Sharon (an immortal) and was also rejected.

3. Lastly, Eddie tried to merge with a Justice-Copy and later Testament, both ending in Failure.

Testament stated that even if Eddie was able to take over Testament's body, he'd have no ways to control it.

Likely this is the exact same issue that Chronus had when he tried to merge his consciousness with Justice as well later on during Xrd's events.

The issue lies with the "Soul Imprint" that was used as the base for the Gear's Core.

Just like you can't just make a random key and have it fit in any door lock (even if it's built to be a master key), you can't use just any soul to take over or replace the original soul involved with the Gear body.

As Raven once said, it's very difficult to make an exact replica of a Gears' predecessor Soul.

Even in the case of the Valentine Series, they were meant to merge and be compatible with Justice... but not all were entirely compatible.  Jack-O' had the highest compatibility because she was a replica based on Aria's Soul just like Justice' original soul was.

The same is likely true (to an extent) with Happy Chaos... but in the case of Happy Chaos, her memories and emotions and mental capacity are unstable.  So it's a hit or miss prospect.

Now, while I did state earlier that a powerful being like the Universal Will could probably dominate a Gear... the prospect of that working out successfully without causing damage to the Gear is probably pretty low.

That wouldn't necessarily be physical damage... but psychic and mental damage, affecting memories, motor functions, among other random and unknown effects.

Most likely that's the very reason the Universal Will created the Valentines in the first place: something that "is" somewhat compatible with certain specific Gears.

Putting aside your ulterior motives for asking this…

Who created them, why, and how don’t exactly determine how they’re related to anyone.

Just because Asuka R. Kreutz created Gears and is dubbed the “Gear Maker” doesn’t mean he’s related to any and all Gears he has created, even on a basic genetic level.

Valentines are different to the extent that much of what they “are” is formed within the Backyard itself.

When the first Valentine was created, her story indicated that “all possibilities to be someone else” were removed.

In other words any chance she had of being someone else other than someone who looked like Aria was eliminated.

All genetic possibilities were narrowed down until she looked exactly like the woman known as Aria Hale.

This is different from Cloning, far different from even being offspring that inherit genes from a source.

This type of “gene processessing” (for lack of a better term) suggests that every single Valentine that was created in this manner has no connection whatsoever to the original they were copied from… if you can even call them “copies” in a colloquial sense.

This literally borders the essential definition of what happens when Gear Cells “inherit” the traits of their predecessors.

An empty vessel takes all traits that define something or someone and without using any materials from the original then creates a reproduction.

Even using the term “carbon copy”, might be a misnomer here.

So how do you “copy” something without using the “original”?

Well, technically speaking, Aria was still “used in concept” as something to base Valentines upon… even if she herself was not used as materials.

Families are sometimes formed philosophically or symbolically… one of the traits and abilities of Humans: to determine what is and is not family.

Eddie also once stated that Gears [Weapons] don’t form families… they form ARSENALS.

So even if you drew a line and stated your own definitions of what a family is… they are neither absolute nor universal.

Even if a single man like the Original Sage was the “genesis” of the Gears and Valentines in concept… what connects them to him may not necessarily be wholesome or even familial.

What connects the Sage to the Universal Will is in fact a grudge… not any trace of family.  A desire for revenge on Humanity for creating unreasonable wishful thinking standards.

So even if you skipped over that relationship and simply called the Sage the Valentines’ grandfather… you’d be glossing over a lot of dark history.

Not to mention all the other “sins” born as a result of the Gears being created.

Family: at its core, is a bond between two or more people who make the decision to love, respect, and protect one another in any situation they are in.

Are Gears and Valentines capable of these?  Valentines struggled to understand the very notion of Love or even emotions… so you can’t expect them to understand the true nature of a family in absolute terms.

Can they learn it?  Yes, most definitely… if there’s someone to teach them.

Deja Vu has little to do with time and more to do with Memory.

Human beings have the ability to remember obscure things, but it’s usually the things we gloss over and don’t remember that still get traced back in our Dreams.

Individuals with Photographic Memory like Answer have a better access to those memories and somehow manage to compartmentalize all that information in their minds.  This is also true of Savants.

In other words, it only takes seeing something one time for us to have the power to “play back the memory of the event” in our minds any number of times we so desire: whether that’s an ear-worm song that won’t leave our heads or remembering a good meal we had the other day… It’s an event that we can recall.

There’s also unique individuals who can copy what they see after seeing it done only once, you could say such individuals are natural geniuses when it comes to fighting and techniques.  Chipp Zanuff is one such individual because of his ability to naturally “react” to attacks at high speeds.

However, according to Bedman, memory is also a vulnerability.  All Bedman has to do is “play back the experience” of an experience inside someone’s mind to recreate the event.  Whether that event was a traumatic experience, a painful accident, or a sad or stressful moment for someone.

That is the true power of Deja Vu.  The power to control a person’s memories and senses and create a Dreamlike Reality.

Furthermore, memories can be altered, even if for example, you saw someone get hit by a car in front of your own eyes, all Bedman has to do is tweak the perspective of the experience and get YOU to get hit by that car!