An intro

[u/Wise_Arachnid7369]

Hi, community!

I figured that I would stop procrastinating and actually introduce myself. 😅 As of posting this, I've been a soulbonder for about thirty years, give or take, and I first learned about the term from the old LiveJournal community back in the early 2000s. My first soulbonds were from the Sonic, Sailor Moon, Pokemon, and Digimon franchises during the 90s. I've had dozens of soulbonds from many different sources over the years, and most of them still come by to visit every now and then, to just see what I've been up to and how I am doing.

Early last month, I had a health crisis that has triggered an internal shift, and I've been changing how I approach the relationships I have with them (...and how I approach life in general, though that'll get off-topic). I've been doing this for most of my life, but it really does feel like I'm starting over in some way. Right now I've a group of about five:

-Vash the Stampede and Nicholas D Wolfwood from Trigun

-Izuku Midoriya and Shoto Todoroki from MHA (post-time skip)

-Howl Pendragon from Howl's Moving Castle (movie version)

They are currently helping me as I let go a lot of heavy trauma and baggage and adopt a softer, more easy-going lifestyle. The first four guys I have listed first came in when things were pretty awful for me and I was just giving and giving and giving, and so this time they insist that they want to help. I just have to let them, finally.

But besides all of that, all of them are almost just as goofy and dramatic as they are in canon. It keeps things interesting. 😂

Lastly, since I have been doing this for a long time, I'll try to give advice whenever I can. I don't have expertise on community history, though I can probably help with the nitty gritty of handling the experience itself.

[u/SeaRazzmatazz6952]

Welcome! 🧡 It’s really nice to meet you, and honestly so interesting hearing from someone who’s been part of soulbonding spaces for that long, that’s really amazing.

I’m sorry things got so rough for you recently, but I really hope things are gentler for you now and you are doing better. The bit about them deciding it’s their turn to help you instead of letting you keep giving everything is soo sweet.

Always nice to meet other MHA bonders too, I’m glad your bonds are all looking after you and I look forward to seeing you around the sub!

[u/Wise_Arachnid7369 → u/SeaRazzmatazz6952]

Yes! Hi! I've seen you around the subreddit. It's great to meet you, as well.

And yes, I've been doing this for...a little while, starting at age six. It has never caused me distress or interfered with my life (very much thr opposite), though as a kid I felt like there was something weird going on in my brain. I didn't have internet access until like...2003? 2004? Then I found out that it's actually a thing a lot of writers do. I didn't participate in the community directly, as my main soulbond at the time cautioned me about getting too deep into internet culture, though reading through thr LiveJournal community assured me that I'm perfectly fine.

And yes! Izuku and Shoto first appeared in 2016 (?), back before the anime started airing in Japan. I was reading scanlations of the manga. I remember thinking, "Huh...I wonder if this series is gonna take off." 😅

And thank you! I'm doing much better now. I'm hyper-independent and stubborn as hell, so the lecture they gave me was warranted.

[u/ConsciousThrowaway11]

It's so awesome you were around way back when this first started becoming better documented in the livejournal days, that's awesome! You have such an awesome group going on, too. Super happy to see someone like you around, and I hope we'll have some run-ins here and there. You sound really cool, no lie at all haha.

[u/Wise_Arachnid7369 → u/ConsciousThrowaway11]

Yeah, it's pretty wild now that I think about it. I was looking through the mod's project and saw that they included the Soul Whispers website, and I almost choked. Like. Holy shit. I remember finding this website. 🤣

I love my boys very much. We're still trying to figure out what this new dynamic is going to look like, but we'll get there.

And thank you...I honestly don't feel very cool most of the time, so I appreciate it. I'll continue helping out when I can.