: Re: Illustrating time differences between "then" and "now" in flashbacks I am writing a medieval fantasy story, in which MC has suffered some serious injuries and has lost most of his memories leading

@Jessie137

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Extrapolating from the details you have shared, I'm making a number of assumptions: It seems that the MC is (now?) in a position to make decisions that impact the lives of his subjects/countrymen, and he comes to those decisions by approaching them through a different, possibly more fundamentally ethical, logical pathway than he did when he was unquestioningly part of a larger, established political machine/heavily prejudiced by his life experiences.

With this loosely in mind, I also assume that your MC is surrounded by a mix of new and old associates, in a familiar setting (at least some of the time), and that the political changes have at least some minor effects on the material world around him.

Show us physical changes to people:

Individuals: Aging, scars, new hairstyles, signs of status changes such as military decorations, widow's garments, pregnancy, wedding bands, etc.
Inner circle/political sphere: Who's present vs. missing? Is the formerly tough-as-nails justice of the peace tired and downtrodden now? Does the former advisor sit in a corner and get ridiculed, or are they in charge now?
Societal: changes in fashion, new regulations such as different sumptuary laws, uniforms for a new order, changes in overall health due to change in prosperity

Show us physical changes to setting:

Remaining damages from violence/political overthrow: damage to throne, ruins of burned out manor house, politics are controlled from military barracks instead of the partially destroyed palace, etc.
Evidence of new order: new banners, mounted proclamations, heads on pikes, infrastructure changes, abandoned buildings or fields, new prosperity & construction, changes to state-supported religion as new churches or symbols
Set events in different seasons as shorthand (e.g., if there's snow or cold, or a certain type of flower is blooming, it's always 5 years ago) (Edit: ooh, fun motif idea! As the protagonist's memories come back and he becomes a more cohesive, whole person, present day can be approaching that same season again, and you can reuse the blooms to represent that.)

Embed hints in dialogue (in either time period):

Discussions of current events
Habitual statements referring to the ruling powers (God bless the Queen --> God bless the King, or GBTQ --> May the sun shine ever on our democracy)
even random hopes and dreams could change quite a bit depending on current circumstances (e.g., some Democrats did care most about universal health care 4 years ago, but now it's all about damage control from the current administration). Farmers could have been trying to find some governmental support during a drought, but now they're discussing exotic new crop varieties imported from Italy.

I hope those help!

By the way, have you watched the TV show Dark Matter? It's a space western borrowing heavily from Firefly, and the writing is lamentably clunky, but thematically it has a similar premise to yours. You might want to examine the various tricks they use for exploring the characters' lost backstories and the consequences of shedding their previous personalities and biases, including flashbacks and alternate universes. I'm sure there are many more stories out there with this thesis as well.

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