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yourkeepers) wrote2013-07-21 11:00 pm
yourkeepers) wrote2013-07-21 11:00 pm
Memories
ASSUMED MEMORIES
When your character first awakens, it’s as if their slavery is all they’ve ever known, besides that one lingering memory of freedom. They will not remember their name, age, or world of origin - they are waking up without any context for their own identity. They won’t even remember things as standard as the well known cultural standards of their people, or laws, or the names of their former homes. The only thing they will have to guide them will be their own, internal compass. Because that is the only thing left of who they were before.
Even without any history or knowledge of where they come from, characters will behave according to their canon personalities. It will be instinctual to do so, even if they can’t remember why they are inclined to act that way. For example, if your character has a violent fear of fire thanks to a particular childhood incident, even without memory of the accident that caused the phobia, they will still react to the stimulus with intense fear. The cause of it may feel like a block in their head, or a notable absence - they won’t know why, but they will feel that it’s natural they think or behave that way.
The same goes for their morality and preferences. They won’t remember what’s normal for their culture, specifically, but they will remember what they personally like or believe. For example, a character from modern America will not remember that their country was governed by a democracy, but they will remember the base structure of that sort of government as something that feels functional and rational - but only if that’s what they believed in the first place. A staunch anarchist will continue to feel as if the ideals of anarchy are the right ones, even if they grew up in America, because it is what they instinctively remember as being correct.
For reference’s sake, here are a couple lists of things your characters will and won’t remember.
Your character WILL remember:
skills, such as cooking, fighting, driving, or mathematics. an instinctive sense of their own preferences without the restrictions of cultural context, such as base sexual identity, what kind of foods they like, etc. basic needs such as eating, sleeping, sex, etc. they will react to phobias and other fears as normal, even if they don’t remember why.
Your character WON’T remember:
their name: your character will never be able to remember their name or anyone else’s even if a regained memory would logically have said names spoken within it. cultural context such as the name of their planet or civilization, legal and societal standards such as law or marriage (i.e. a homosexual won’t remember that heterosexual marriage is a standard, though they may have the faint feeling that their are a minority in their preference). any sort of pop culture references.
All of these can be remembered via memory regains, of course, except for names. Names can not be remembered on account of they are no longer yours.
FIRST MEMORY
A character’s first memory is what frees them of their enchantment, allowing them to partially escape the physical and mental boundaries of their slavery. As memories go it should be something fairly potent - as their first independent memory, it will have the opportunity to sway their way of thinking. It should be a memory powerful enough to wake them and spur them onward.
CATEGORIES
While the most obvious sort of memory regain to have are recollections of specific events, Changed allows for a variety of memory classifications for some variety. The basic ones are as follows:
Events: This is the standard ‘you remember one particular scene or instance' sort of memory. Any information that can be gleaned from what can be seen and heard comes along with it, but extended context does not. For example, a memory of being in prison would not include why you were in prison, though it may come with some sense of it having been a long or short time.
Concepts: These are not specific instances so much as larger ideas. Good examples are things like ‘the Christian religion’, ‘the rebellion’, or ‘country music.’ While these ideas may occasionally overlap with other information, context that isn’t about the very specific subject will be very foggy or absent altogether.
Relationships: Regaining a relationship means that you will clearly remember everything about the way you feel for another person, and about how they used to feel for you. This doesn’t give you any information about that person’s history, but it does mean that you will recall a rough outline of all your emotional highs and lows you’ve had together, your former relationship status, and way of behaving around each other.
Groups: Remembering groups is similar to remembering a relationship, except for about a larger amount of people with all the details filed off. For example, a character might remember ‘my book club’, which would involve being able to recognize anybody who had been a part of that group and the vague generalities of the group’s dynamic and role in your life. Of course, in exchange for quantity of people, the individual relationships are still lost.
Memories will be regained during events and other plot opportunities. They can also be lost again with death.
When your character first awakens, it’s as if their slavery is all they’ve ever known, besides that one lingering memory of freedom. They will not remember their name, age, or world of origin - they are waking up without any context for their own identity. They won’t even remember things as standard as the well known cultural standards of their people, or laws, or the names of their former homes. The only thing they will have to guide them will be their own, internal compass. Because that is the only thing left of who they were before.
Even without any history or knowledge of where they come from, characters will behave according to their canon personalities. It will be instinctual to do so, even if they can’t remember why they are inclined to act that way. For example, if your character has a violent fear of fire thanks to a particular childhood incident, even without memory of the accident that caused the phobia, they will still react to the stimulus with intense fear. The cause of it may feel like a block in their head, or a notable absence - they won’t know why, but they will feel that it’s natural they think or behave that way.
The same goes for their morality and preferences. They won’t remember what’s normal for their culture, specifically, but they will remember what they personally like or believe. For example, a character from modern America will not remember that their country was governed by a democracy, but they will remember the base structure of that sort of government as something that feels functional and rational - but only if that’s what they believed in the first place. A staunch anarchist will continue to feel as if the ideals of anarchy are the right ones, even if they grew up in America, because it is what they instinctively remember as being correct.
For reference’s sake, here are a couple lists of things your characters will and won’t remember.
Your character WILL remember:
Your character WON’T remember:
All of these can be remembered via memory regains, of course, except for names. Names can not be remembered on account of they are no longer yours.
FIRST MEMORY
A character’s first memory is what frees them of their enchantment, allowing them to partially escape the physical and mental boundaries of their slavery. As memories go it should be something fairly potent - as their first independent memory, it will have the opportunity to sway their way of thinking. It should be a memory powerful enough to wake them and spur them onward.
CATEGORIES
While the most obvious sort of memory regain to have are recollections of specific events, Changed allows for a variety of memory classifications for some variety. The basic ones are as follows:
Events: This is the standard ‘you remember one particular scene or instance' sort of memory. Any information that can be gleaned from what can be seen and heard comes along with it, but extended context does not. For example, a memory of being in prison would not include why you were in prison, though it may come with some sense of it having been a long or short time.
Concepts: These are not specific instances so much as larger ideas. Good examples are things like ‘the Christian religion’, ‘the rebellion’, or ‘country music.’ While these ideas may occasionally overlap with other information, context that isn’t about the very specific subject will be very foggy or absent altogether.
Relationships: Regaining a relationship means that you will clearly remember everything about the way you feel for another person, and about how they used to feel for you. This doesn’t give you any information about that person’s history, but it does mean that you will recall a rough outline of all your emotional highs and lows you’ve had together, your former relationship status, and way of behaving around each other.
Groups: Remembering groups is similar to remembering a relationship, except for about a larger amount of people with all the details filed off. For example, a character might remember ‘my book club’, which would involve being able to recognize anybody who had been a part of that group and the vague generalities of the group’s dynamic and role in your life. Of course, in exchange for quantity of people, the individual relationships are still lost.
Memories will be regained during events and other plot opportunities. They can also be lost again with death.