Joaquim: Additional Info

Tradition of the band rings
Silver rings: Personal rings. Traditionally, they are made by the wearer when they come of age. Their name, or a nickname (typically a word), is carved into the inside of the ring. The design of the ring is typically based off of a word nickname or, if the person doesn’t have one, the meaning of their name. Ex: if someone were named Jesse, their nickname may be épée (sword), and their personal ring resemble a sword bent into a circle. When a person dies, they give their personal ring to a close friend (never a family member) to wear to bind their soul to the Earth and prevent it from wandering. If necessary, these personal rings continue to be passed along with people who knew the person, until the last person who knew them well dies-- when this happens, the person is buried with the ring, and takes the person’s soul to Rest. If a person dies and they do not have a ring (or they lost it) or it isn’t given to anyone for whatever reason, they are considered Lost-- souls that wander the Earth for eternity.
Bronze/Brass rings: Family rings. Traditionally, they are gained in two ways: if a parent dies or is separated from a child, they will give them a family ring; and when a person marries, they and their spouse make family rings with their new name. If a person dies before they wear a family ring, one is made for them and given to a member of their family (preferably a sibling). Family rings are carved with the family name on the inside, and designed based on either a family trait, trade, or something similar.

The Pocket Watch (Silent Rewind)
A pocket watch with cracked face and only a few inches of chain. One of the hands is bent. An anomalous object Joaquim found when he was a teen. Taken from his possession when he joined the foundation due to fears of further long-lasting psychological effects. Joaquim seems to realize that having the watch in his possession for so long changed him somehow, but doesn’t seem to know how it changed him, or mind that it did. Conversations with his friends and family suggest that was very optimistic and kind when he was younger, but repeated traumas wore this down-- and that, over time, beginning at a point coinciding with when he discovered the anomaly, he began to revert to his former self-- upbeat, optimistic, cheerful. This attitude only strengthened over time, and by the time the anomaly was recovered, seems to have practically solidified. No matter the subject matter, Joaquim’s cheerfulness seems entirely unshakable. This, in turn, seems to have resulted in elements of sociopathy in him, though difficult to detect. He speaks of the anomaly with interest, expressing desire to study it, and also speaks of an entity he refers to as the ‘silence.’ This entity seems tied to the pocket watch anomaly, though the nature of the link is unclear. He has mentioned that the ‘silence’ speaks to him, but no direct communication, or even communication through Joaquim, has been possible thus far. A side benefit of this anomaly’s effect on Joaquim is an increased resistance to memetic effects.

The Other History (darker points in Joaquim’s past)
Joaquim’s hometown was nearly destroyed by a hurricane when he was very young. His parents, along with any other family he may have had, were assumed to be killed in the storm. A friend of his father’s (Amelie) took him in, along with her wife (Alda), and raised him alongside their infant daughter (Mina). While his new family never spoke of his blood family, but his father’s old friend remade his family ring to give to Joaquim. They also let him choose if he wanted to take their last name or his father’s-- he chose his father’s, Adão. Alda fell ill when Joaquim was 11. Unable to receive the help she needed, she died a few years later, giving her family ring to Mina. This is what first inspired him to study medicine. A few years after that, a very good friend of his is killed while they are playing. Joaquim had pushed him, and he’d fallen, landing on a jagged rock. Without thinking, Joaquim takes his personal ring. Shortly after, Joaquim finds the pocket watch. At first, he doesn’t know why he keeps it. He doesn’t notice any of its effects. Eventually, it begins speaking to him, and the effects begin progressing faster. He kills a man who tries to take Mina. A devastating storm kills most of the people in his village. He works, spends his time studying, and gets into a medical school in the Dutch Caribbean. His hyperfixation allows him to surpass his peers early on. He is recruited by the foundation upon graduating. He spends a few months bouncing between labs to assess the extent of the pocket watch anomaly’s effects on him before being assigned.