As you progress through the story a bit, this gets mentioned multiple times. So I think there are a couple of potential ways to look at this. By way of example, I'm going to use Ellaire Aldul, Rhio's mother and a resident of Ul'dah, because she exemplifies the problem perfectly.
The obvious method is that you forget this person ever existed, left with just fuzzy memories of who they once were. This would work for casual acquaintances, but Ellaire has years of evidence to point to the existence of her daughter. If she completely forgot Rhio it would leave her completely insane, surrounded by a life with huge blanks that she can't possibly fill in.
Even in more casual cases, it has issues. Deirdre knew Rhio, for example, and they had certain interactions that shaped one another. If Deirdre gave Rhio a gift, how does she explain the fact that one of her belongings has gone missing? She knows she gave it to someone, but who? Why?
Instead, I favor a disconnect. Ellaire remembers her daughter, Rhio, and she remembers that Rhio went... somewhere. She can't remember where. She doesn't know where. And she should know, and it needles at her, but just like the year after Dalamud fell, everything gets hazy. She knows that there was a miqo'te at the battle, and it could have been Rhio, but... was that it? No, that couldn't have been.
Sure, there's still a disconnect. Rhio could show up at Ellaire's door and Ellaire wouldn't fully recognize her daughter. But it at least allows the people to be remembered without violating lore.
The obvious method is that you forget this person ever existed, left with just fuzzy memories of who they once were. This would work for casual acquaintances, but Ellaire has years of evidence to point to the existence of her daughter. If she completely forgot Rhio it would leave her completely insane, surrounded by a life with huge blanks that she can't possibly fill in.
Even in more casual cases, it has issues. Deirdre knew Rhio, for example, and they had certain interactions that shaped one another. If Deirdre gave Rhio a gift, how does she explain the fact that one of her belongings has gone missing? She knows she gave it to someone, but who? Why?
Instead, I favor a disconnect. Ellaire remembers her daughter, Rhio, and she remembers that Rhio went... somewhere. She can't remember where. She doesn't know where. And she should know, and it needles at her, but just like the year after Dalamud fell, everything gets hazy. She knows that there was a miqo'te at the battle, and it could have been Rhio, but... was that it? No, that couldn't have been.
Sure, there's still a disconnect. Rhio could show up at Ellaire's door and Ellaire wouldn't fully recognize her daughter. But it at least allows the people to be remembered without violating lore.
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In-character: Rhio's dossier | Out-of-character: Player profile
In-character: Rhio's dossier | Out-of-character: Player profile
