029. [Text]

[explosivecombat]

Memory seems to be something of an elusive thing for some people, from what I've heard; I've never really considered it to be much of a problem myself, for various reasons both personal and not. But since we're all in this more or less together, and we have no obvious indication of if - or when, depending on your level of optimism - we'll be returned to our worlds of origin, I have to admit curiosity regarding the experiences of others.

Memories being the finicky things that they are, I'm sure we all have things we remember vividly about home - people, places, various other whatnot that I'm sure mattered to you at the time. I'm mostly curious about the people; you don't have to give me specifics if you choose not to, but I want to know -

What sort of things do you remember most vividly about the people that were important to you, and what sort of things do you not remember but wish you could? I'm sure we've all had that jarring moment when we realize that we don't remember what someone's voice sounded like, for example; I want to hear about things like that, if you don't mind. As always, do it anonymously, if you wish; I have less interest in your name than I do your answer.

Perhaps someday I'll learn to ask questions that are more seasonally-appropriate for any oncoming holidays; unfortunately, I've never really been one to adhere to the spirit of a season that I have no real understanding of in the first place.

Comments

Anon text

[doubleornothing]

It's always the interesting ones that leave the most impression on me. They tend to stay far longer in my memory, no matter how brief a role they played. I suppose it's because they stand out from the crowd.

I suppose I wish I could remember my life before I lost it, but given that I can't miss what I can't remember, one could argue that I'm not missing much at all. I'm more driven by curiosity's sake, to know what sort of person I was before I lost myself to darkness.

And I also despise losing, so there's that motivator to recapture my past.

[explosivecombat]

As well it should be - that's something of an important thing to lose, if you ask me, and it's not something I would take lightly, either.

So am I to assume you're dead now, or just presumably so fundamentally different that "you" might as well be?

Text

[itsjustdust]

[Just for you, he actually turned off his sparkletext.]

Expressions. Things I see I remember so much more vividly than things I hear. I'll always remember when someone gave me a dirty look, but it's harder to remember when they apologized, if they did. A smile has always meant more to me than a laugh, and just... things like that stick with me better.

I wish I remembered the details that were more... pleasant? Unfortunately, I always notice the bad things first, and those always stick with me the longest.

text forever then

[explosivecombat]

[My, consider him flattered.]

I'm the same way, actually, though perhaps in a more complete way than most - I never forget the faces of those I've seen, and I can recall surroundings in exact detail despite not having seen them in years; if I've seen it for long enough, it's always going to be with me. I can recall exact details of conversations as well, though that's taken practice and is something I've trained myself into; unfortunately, though I'm rather fond of sound and like to consider myself an aural person, things like that don't tend to stay. So, for example, I can recall every detail of an important conversation I've had with a friend of mine, but I can't remember what his voice sounded like when we had it.

And I think that latter part is probably just human nature; we remember the things that hurt us, because we have cause to remember them.

[itsjustdust]

[He would be pleased if he knew.]

I think part of it, with me, is family bias. Our eyes are everything, so we're trained to watch from very young, because there is always the hope we'd be able to do something special when we're older.

But touch has been more vivid than sound in my memories, which can be irritating since touch isn't really a common thing where I'm from.

[nostabbing]

Did you know there are people who can't draw a person's face from memory after seeing it for a couple seconds?

[explosivecombat]

Is that so? It's not terribly common where I'm from, either - at least not among the circles I spent time with.

Is there a particular reason for that?

[explosivecombat]

Apparently it's a bit of a rare gift; I admit that I was disappointed the first time I found out that others' memories are so short.

[nostabbing]

It's really weird. I didn't know everybody couldn't do that.

[explosivecombat]

How did you find out they can't?

[nostabbing]

I did it, and people were surprised.

[explosivecombat]

Well, that's certainly one way of working it out, yes; I haven't had any similar experiences, but that's more due to my inability to draw people in any manner that might be recognizable.

Do you just remember faces, or is it everything else as well?

[nostabbing]

I guess it's most stuff. Numbers are easy, especially if they're in sequence. Pretty much anything in a sequence. Or I guess most stuff. Important stuff.

Like the way gold tastes, that's important. What something else tastes like, maybe not so important.

[explosivecombat]

...Why were you tasting gold?

[nostabbing]

It's the quickest way to tell if it's fake.

[explosivecombat]

...Surprisingly, we haven't had much of this problem where I'm from, though judging by everyone's reactions here we should have.

[nostabbing]

...

What?

[explosivecombat]

Nothing, nothing.

Do you work with gold often, then?

[nostabbing]

Yeah, a lot of the time.

[...]

Like, on books. When they print the titles in gold letters, you have to tell if it's fake. If you're a bookkeeper. That's your job. Which is my job.

[NAILED IT.]

[itsjustdust]

Yeah. Shinobi... We're a combat oriented people. You can poison with a touch. You can disable with a touch, you can crawl inside someone's head with a touch... You can do a lot of that without touching too, but inviting contact tends to be a risk that no one really feels it's worth it to take.

[explosivecombat]

[...oh, what fresh hell is this, now.]

...You...taste your books.

[explosivecombat]

Understandably so.

Alchemists are the same way.

[nostabbing]

Just the covers.

[explosivecombat]

What else does your job entail? I'm not familiar with it.

[nostabbing]

You don't have books where you're from?