some nerdy pm stuff under the cut. these are hc's of mine about the puppets' memories/consciousness/sense of identity
blade: he considers himself his own person apart from aspects of dr. hess' and mephisto. but hess and mephisto are intertwined with who he is enough to cause him a little internal conflict over his identity. it doesn't stop him though. he feels the insights from those past lives help him and his friends. he's eager to help and has a nervous, yet optimistic personality. blade retains hess' respect and curiosity toward toulon. toulon would sometimes let him read pages of his journal or let him watch as he works. sometimes he discovers he knows things about toulon and his work he doesnt feel he ought to know --- he attributes this to mephisto's memories that come to him in dreams.
jester: at first jester put in a very active effort to hold onto his old identity. toulon filled in the gaps of things he couldn't remember via anecdotes and bringing him things he salvaged from his old workplace. over the years, though, especially after coming to america jester's sense of identity shifts with his puppet-self. he genuinely enjoys performing (and other aspects of puppet life). he wishes toulon would let him show himself more often. his outgoing personality is sometimes at odds with needing to stay hidden. he has a scrapbook he put together of whatever he could find of his old life, but it doesn't feel as important to him as it used to; looking at his old photograph is like looking at the face of a stranger.
pinhead: he remembers quite a lot from his former life. more than most realize. he tries not to let it effect him too much and tries to focus on taking care of the others to keep his mind off of things. when he finds himself alone he combs through his memories to make sure they don't fade away. pinhead feels guardianship over the others, especially jester and tunneler. pinhead does grow more content with being a puppet over time, but does not feel he will ever truly set aside his past. it makes him a little sad to see jester let go of it, but he doesn't hold it against him for wanting to move on.
tunneler: he has a somewhat nihilistic attitude. his human and puppet lives have both been nightmarish for him, so he tries not to think about his existence too much and lives in the "now." he takes comfort in eating and sleeping and plagued with headaches and chronic fatigue. he can get into activities on his good days, but on low energy days he just wants to rest. he hasn't fully processed what's happened to him even after all this time, but feels there isn't much of a point anymore. still, his friends keep him going.
six shooter: six is secretly afzel in an updated body after receiving too much damage to his retro six shooter body. it was his request to toulon to keep his identity a secret from his other puppets. afzel very much enjoys being a puppet. he likes the obscurity and freedom it affords him outside of human society and expectations. he can't think of a better way to pass the time and keep a low profile than to follow the misadventures of his soft hearted apprentice, toulon. like decapitron, almost all of his memories are intact due to his deep knowledge of magic, but he would rather not dwell on them. he's more interested in becoming someone new. he hopes the other puppets never find out who he really is. deep down, he cares for the others and keeps a watchful eye on them. he does not use his magic unless he thinks it will go unseen.
torch: torch does not have a past life. he is the product of an enchantment, like mephisto and toulon's other early puppets. torch's personality is simple and robotic at first, but he develops and deepens as he gains experiences and interacts with the world, especially after he's eventually given serum. he is proud of his abilities, distrusts humans, and feels loyal to his puppet friends. he struggles to understand the other puppets' relationship to toulon since he never knew him the same way.
leech woman: her personality has changed since becoming leech woman; her memories of elsa's life feel like a bad case of amnesia. they come to her sometimes when she sees familiar things, but ultimately she's a different person now. she still loves decapitron/toulon but not exactly as his former wife. she doesn't remember much of it, only that she cares for him deeply. toulon/decap doesn't dare intervene and try to jog her memory. he isn't sure whether bringing up her past would make her happy. he can't bear to bring any more pain to anyone he loves.
decapitron: decapitron, like six shooter, remembers almost everything from his life as toulon due to his extensive knowledge of magic and the techniques used. though he would like to immerse himself in being a puppet like some of the others have, he's riddled with guilt and wants to dedicate himself to being a steward for his friends as he was in life.
