#memory wipe

[car9723-t]

When I heard that Stan and Ford swapped their clothes again before recovering Stan's memory after the memory wipe in the finale, I decided to put some thoughts on it after watching the episode.

Right now, I think it's possible that Mabel asked Ford to do that. And Ford accepted the offer to commemorate Stan's deeds, or at least give him something more comfortable to wear.

In the finale, Ford seems skeptical about repairing the memory loss. So, trying it out to fix the loss was out of question for me. But at the same time, would it stop Ford from taking Mabel’s offer? No matter what he overlooked about her, he still seems to like her to a point - especially when the moment was emotional to the top.

So, I modestly suggest that it was probably the least to make his brother feel better in his perspective.

[arrowheadedbitch]

Hear me out, Psych Doctor Who crossover where Shawn is immune to the silence. Or memory wipes in general if you wanna play it like that.

[gottawhump]

Dreams

251892

CW/TW: lady whump-ish. Post memory wipe, some time after this. BBU/WRU. She has a name; hopefully she’ll tell me somedsy what it is.

She dreams about him sometimes.

A pretty young man, almost a boy, with curly dark hair like her own and the saddest dark eyes in the world.

She dreams of quiet conversation in daylight.

Her days are quiet and lonely now.

She dreams of hearing him scream and weep at night, in the now empty guest bedroom.

She doesn’t talk about these dreams. False memories, they called them in the treatment facility, and taught her to repress them, to replace them with real memories.

She needs to stay grounded in this reality, her husband reminds her.

But.

Sometimes she dreams of him.

Old Friends taglist: @painful-pooch @justplainwhump @redwingedwhump @maracujatangerine @honeycollectswhump @tragedyinblue @taterswhump

[falloutconfessions]

"I played over 120 hours of fallout 3 my very first time. No dlc, just the base game.

When I did get the dlc playing them and the base game took less than 100 hours.

I wish I could re-experience the joy, wonder and discovery of exploring the fallout worlds for the first time."

Fallout Confessions

[pannman]

You know the memory wipe trope but can we get a version of it where the two characters hated each other and forget that they hated each other and fall in love. "I don't know you and this gonna sound foward but you're very attractive" "omgsh thanks so are you!" Then their memories come back later their just like "uhhhhhhhhmmm...."

[promptsforyourwhumpfic]

Whump Prompt #1168

@cyborg0109 Asked:

Do you have any prompts for 2 inseparable besties who both get mind wiped, become rivals, then one gets injured and the other one is like FINE I’ll help you and then they get their memories back.

I love how specific this is. 

Sure:

A isn’t sure what compels them to help B. But they do it anyway. They try to tell themselves that its out of the goodness of their heart... not because B looks so pathetic... and oddly endearing. 

Maybe it’s an existing scar/the nature of B’s injuries that brings the memories back. Its sudden and jarring and they can’t help but double over. 

Suddenly they’re doing everything they can do to help. B’s name is imprinted on their brain, as is the way they’ve been treating each other. A is racked with guilt. Maybe they immediately text C ‘I remember’ to which C replies: ‘I’m on my way, where's B?’ - ‘With me’

B is still an amnesiac, and fighting against the help. 

Desperate, A starts pointing at different aspects of B’s body (because the used to be so close they knew everything about each other.)

“[date] you fell over and sliced your knee on a rock, I remember your mother was so mad... You got that one when we were kids, [kid] pushed you off the gym equipment...”

B looks at them blankly.

“Please... you have to remember. [Nickname] you have to remember me!”

At the nickname, recognition comes into B’s eyes. Then they pass out.  

[whump-queen]

[tw: pet whump, memory wipe mention]

Maya hadn’t even stepped out of bed when she saw the farmiliar head of messy black hair bowed low at her bedside.

“Mm.. hello pet.” Her voice was still gravely with sleep. She rubbed her eyes.

“Good morning master,” came the dutiful, pleasant response she was never sure she’d grow accustomed to hearing. His tone still made her head buzz.

She only chuckled and ran a hand through his soft, dark waves, relishing in how he sighed and leaned into her touch.

Was this just how he was trained to act?

Or was this really that enjoyable?

Perhaps enjoying being pet like an animal was a trained response too.

She supposed that at this point, everything about her sweet thing’s ‘real’ personality had probably been wiped long ago and replaced with traits they had wanted. So maybe none of it really mattered at all.

“Good boy,” she mumbled through a sleepy smile, still stroking his hair.

His palms were now pressed flat against the ground in favor of leaning further up against her hand, like an eager puppy desperate for more attention—for more praise, to be pet.

Yes, what did any of it matter.

He was pretty, he was obedient, and best of all, he was hers.

~ ~ ~

(character sketch)

[seafoam-icecream]

“Before, all I wanted was to remember who I am. Now I wish I could’ve forgotten forever.”

[lifenconcepts]

ever heard a bad opinion from me? No? Exactly. And we’ll keep it that way with my handy dandy trust memory erasing tool.

[miss-grimwood]

Memory - Bellamione

(Grief, memory wipe, magical equivalent to terminal illness)

It was such a rare disease, even more so now, affecting one in every thousand muggleborns. So rare that Britain hadn’t seen a case for decades. 

But of course, her golden girl was once again defying the odds.

There was only one cure, but to Bellatrix, it was a fate worse than death.

Advanced obliviation. Removing all memory of magic and the wizarding world. It was the only way to free her from the disease that would soon ravage her mind, taking her body with it.

Hermione insisted she would rather let it take her, rather than lose her precious memories, her whole life, but Bellatrix refused. It was a horrible disease, a slow, painful death, and she wasn’t prepared to let Hermione suffer.

For a week, Hermione soaked up the time with her family, knowing it was the last she could see of them. The Weasleys, always so good to her, so kind, Harry, Draco, Luna, but most importantly Bellatrix, and their daughter.

How could she look her little girl in the eye, knowing mummy would disappear? Guilt plagued her, but she wanted to savour every detail, every memory, before it was taken from her.

Disgusted with herself for even thinking it, she reminded herself that Lyra was probably too young to remember, wouldn’t be devastated by the loss. Not the way Bellatrix would be. She’d put on a brave face, dealt with all the housework and arranging meals and playdates and coffee mornings so Hermione could enjoy her time, but she was struggling, Hermione could tell.

Then, the night came. Hermione tucked Lyra into bed, reading her a bedtime story, and then a second - she’d oblige every whim - and kissed her goodnight for the final time.

One last drink with Bellatrix. A butterbeer, curled together in their living room, in the home they’d shared for over a decade. They sat in silence. What was there to say? There were no more plans to make, no more gossip that mattered, it was the end.

There was I love you of course, and I wish it didn’t have to be this way, but they’d been said over and over, and it only reminded them of their loss.

Hermione’s parents arrived, solemn, ready to take her back to their home, to tell her she suffered a fall, and to take care of her. Bellatrix tried to be kind, tried not to resent them, but while they could take care of Hermione, help her recover, and be with her for the rest of their lives, Bellatrix would lose her love. With one spell, she’d lose her wife, Lyra would lose her mum, and any reminder of the family she’d made would bring the disease back, and more aggressive.

They gave them privacy, stayed in the foyer while they said their final goodbye.

Bellatrix pulled Hermione close.

‘If there was any other way…’

‘I know,’ Hermione assured her, tears welling in her eyes. ‘Just give me one more minute.’

As she held onto Bellatrix, her breaths erratic, she savoured the memories of her life. Their wedding day, the day Lyra was born, her first word, mama, the family holidays to the seaside. Her first date with Bellatrix, the smell of her smoky perfume, the way her sharp nails tickled as she played with her hair, the kisses good morning and goodnight.

She pulled away with a deep sigh. ‘Okay, I’m ready.’

‘I love you, Hermione.’

‘I love you.’

‘Obliviate.’

@sapphicmicrofics

[glowcrizzle]

They would have wiped Crowley’s memory when restoring him to an angel. Aziraphale is asking him to be Muriel, Crowley is asking Aziraphale to be Gabriel.

[birgfan]

Comic/Graphic Novel - Hayden's Notes

Dude needs to learn how to swallow his pride so he doesn't get any deeper in debt to Hayden.

It's not a position I envy.

How do you get deeper in debt to an immortal twinkie than ∞?

Become an indebted ghost after death???

Jason run.

[writingatdusk]

I had the weirdest dream this morning! So, naturally, I need to share it with everyone:

I was living in some underground facility with a bunch of other survivors. What we survived I have no idea. But I was married to Pedro Pascal and had just found out I was pregnant. Yay!?

I also found my husband, Pedro, making out with a woman who looked like Lady Gaga. Needless to say, I wasn’t happy. In fact, I was freaking out for many reasons (ie: How could he do this to me?? Why? How can I raise this child by myself in this dystopian underground facility?? What the hell? I thought I was cute!).

As I, understandably, was heading towards a mental breakdown, someone- not sure who- handed me this rather large folder that had my name on it. Inside were pages and pages of reports.

Apparently, this was not the first time we had been pregnant, nor the first time Pedro and I had been together either. In fact, we had had 3 babies prior. And, in fact, we were all part of some experiment! Whoever was in charge, really liked the kids Pedro and I would have. “Great genetics, beautiful and highly intelligent” were all words in the file (even in my dreams I am humble 😇). Then, after they’d take the baby, they’d wipe everyone’s memories and the whole experiment would reset!

The creeps in charge would make sure Pedro and I got together because they wanted our kids. But this time around they made sure we’d break up because in one instance we figured out what happened to our baby and started a rebellion together (because of course). So this time, they somehow made sure that it wouldn’t happen again because I guess Pedro and I being together and knowing the truth would bring them ruin.

I’m not making this up. This was an actual dream. Idk either.

[gottawhump]

Wipe

Jonas

CW/TW: discussion of trauma and memory wipe. General pet whump, BBU/WRU warnings. Lady whump. And lots of guilt to go around.

Jonas and Kolya have not always gotten along.

“You wiped her.” He throws the accusation at Nikolai, and the other man flinches.

“Yes. After Maxim.” He doesn’t need to say after you. Jonas swallows, feeling sick, reminded how she burrowed into him for comfort, even after Maxim hurt her, even after he hurt her.

He’s glad Nikolai is looking away, his eyes distant.

“After Maxim,” he repeats, “she broke a little. At home, with the two of us, she was fine. Perfect, as always.”

“Then why?”

Kolya swallows hard, turns his head to look at the wall. “She was afraid to leave the apartment. To even go out onto the balcony, or answer the door. Going out to parties panicked her. Loaning her out became impossible. So Sasha-he-I-we decided on a move and a reset. Wipe away what Maxim did.”

What I did.

“Excuse me.” Nikolai gets up, and gets a bottle and a shot glass from the cabinet. He takes them to his room and shuts the door.

He doesn’t come out the rest of the night, and Jonas doesn’t see him until late the next day.

Forgive and Forget taglist: @whumpsday @painful-pooch @whumpinggrounds @justplainwhump @bluetheautisticrat @i-eat-worlds @whump-for-all-and-all-for-whump

[sw5w]

I Will Contact Lord Sidious

STAR WARS EPISODE I: The Phantom Menace 00:03:52

[sshbpodcast]

Don’t forget to remember these Star Trek memory wipes

By Ames

What did I start writing this blogpost for? I can’t seem to remember, so I might as well make a post about memory and how frequently our heroes in Star Trek seem to get theirs erased. We see enough tampering with people’s minds to give just about anyone an identity crisis, so this week A Star to Steer Her By will be focusing specifically on memory wipes.

Read on below and/or listen to this week’s episode (discussion at 1:03:36) for all the instances of memory wipes we could remember. And if I’ve forgotten any others, there’s an obvious reason for that… I didn’t feel like including them! Prepare to have your mind blown, and then reassembled again with some chunks missing.

[Images © CBS/Paramount]

“The Changeling”

An early instance of someone getting their mind erased happens when Nomad encounters Uhura and scrubs down her brain to try to understand why she was singing. It’s debatable how intentionally malicious this was but the results are the same: a vegetable for a comms officer. Somehow Nurse Chapel is able to teach Uhura how to be a person a little and we’re left to assume she’s relearned everything, though the implications are absolutely horrifying.

“The Paradise Syndrome”

Kirk ker-zaps his brain when snooping around an obelisk and manages to lose all his memories just in time to hook up with a hot native woman. As squicky as much of this episode is, Kirk’s not really at fault here because he literally has no idea what’s going on. If that’s not an effective way around the Prime Directive, as we discussed at length last week, then nothing is!

“Requiem for Methuselah”

Blink and you miss this one because it happens at the very end of the episode and doesn’t really get explained or lingered upon. After losing the love of his life of the week, Kirk is mourning Rayna the Robot and Spock doesn’t understand why. So when McCoy says it’d be nice if the captain could forget her, Spock (that cad!) decides on his own, entirely illogically, to go in and do something to Kirk’s memories without consent while he sleeps. It’s one of the most effed up things that Spock does, and many people won’t even notice it. Yikes.

“Pen Pals”

On the subject of our discussion of the Prime Directive from last week, here’s an episode that was pretty appropriate and has a memory wipe! It’s another sneaky way around lessening cultural contamination: just blank the relevant memories of the individual from the less developed society and it’s like we didn’t break our golden rule at all! Lucky for us, the Pulaski Method doesn’t work on all people or we could just use it in every episode and the show would never have any stakes at all.

“Transfigurations”

We’ve got an absolute ton of memory-related episodes in TNG, so let’s continue through with an amnesiac who’s evolving past his corporeal form and doesn’t even remember why. It’s kind of an interesting look at identity and a person’s potential, wrapped up in a kind of convoluted romance plot. But John Doe is a cool enough guy, especially when you look at memory loss episodes and how the individual still tends to shine through.

“Clues”

We brought up “Clues” recently when we discussed how Trek characters get possessed by entities quite a lot, so here’s a crossover in which they also lose their memories of meeting the Paxans. Like Pulaski performing a memory wipe on Sarjenka in “Pen Pals,” the reclusive aliens give a good brain cleaning to the Enterprise crew so that they don’t remember meeting them. Good for them!

“Conundrum”

Even better than the example in “Transfigurations” of amnesiac characters learning who they are is the episode “Conundrum.” The whole ship has lost their memories due to alien shenanigans, but the fascinating thing to watch is how the different crew members make assumptions about their identities through curiosity, logic, and wishful thinking while still acting fairly in character. They gravitate toward their natural personalities, which is kinda neat.

“Aquiel”

Trek doesn’t always nail mystery episodes, and “Aquiel” pulled out all the stops by including just about every red herring it could in this murder mystery in space. The top of those distractions was that the titular character couldn’t seem to remember anything about recent events for no good reason, except that there was a very good reason. Turns out nearly getting absorbed by a coalescent organism starts to wipe your memory. Who knew?

“Dark Page”

At some point (around, let’s say, “Half a Life”), TNG started writing Lwaxana Troi really well, and she gets a lot of really substantial character work in “Dark Page.” Lwaxana buried the memory of her deceased daughter somewhere in her mind. Maybe it’s a Betazoid thing. And in a much better memory-house adventure than catastrophes like “Distant Voices” and “Extreme Measures,” Deanna helps her through her trauma and it’s very sweet.

“Thine Own Self”

One more memory loss episode from TNG because there were just so many. With no memories of who he is or why he’s got so much radioactive material in his possession, Data makes himself comfortable on Barkon IV. Like the amnesia episodes discussed above, it’s very interesting to watch Data’s natural curiosity and intelligence pepper his actions even though he doesn’t know who he is as he saves the village from, well, himself.

“Equilibrium”

Moving on to other series, let’s trek over to Deep Space Nine and roll our eyes a whole bunch at how the Trill get retconned with just about every episode in which they’re the focus. It is from some big Trill conspiracy that the Dax symbiont had a whole past host’s memories removed so no one would know their big wormy secret. If it weren’t for Jadzia (or really, for Julian and Benjamin) uncovering the foul play, we’d have never learned about Joran. Oh no, big loss…

“Sons of Mogh”

Here’s another really unethical, rather uncomfortable one. If you can sort of shove Spock removing Kirk’s memories of Rayna under the rug, this one will be harder to justify. Bashir wipes Kurn’s memories with absolutely no consent because Klingon rituals seem barbaric and even less ethical to our soft Federation eyes. It’s a tough justification to make when you know that it goes against Kurn’s wishes. Ames wrote a whole fanfic about it. Frankly, he’s probably better off dead.

“The Killing Game”

Update 1/26/24: Apparently my memory got wiped at some point because I didn’t remember to include “The Killing Game” in this list when I first wrote it. But obviously the Hirogen blank the crew’s memories so they can play out their battle scenarios. And like in “Conundrum” and other amnesia episodes, it’s entertaining to see the similarities and differences between the French Resistance characters and their normal Starfleet personalities. No matter the circumstance, they will always fight for individuality.

“Unforgettable”

Moving on to our friends in the Delta Quadrant, let’s visit with the Ramurans for the very first time… every time we meet them! They’re a pretty neat race who naturally block memory engrams from forming in the people they interact with, and as a bonus they also have an instrument they can use on each other as well! So perhaps they can be blamed for how the romance between Kellin and Chakotay is adorable and yet perfectly forgettable.

“Latent Image”

On the podcast, we just covered “Latent Image,” which takes some of the squickier, nonconsensual memory wipe concepts we’ve just discussed, and actually brings the ethical debate to the forefront. It reminds me a bit of “Tuvix” which we liked so much because it explores the different sides of an equally impossible dilemma and puts a human face on it. Some may say Janeway makes a better decision here though.

“Workforce”

Update 1/26/24: Here’s one that we reviewed after this blogpost came out that I have to add since I never had these memories to begin with. When the whole crew gets abducted by the Quarren, they repress everyone’s memories so they’ll be docile, hardworking drones during their employment crisis. And like “The Killing Game,” it’s actually quite fascinating to watch how their personalities are reflected in their new characters, something I always love in memory wipe episodes. Tom loves B’Elanna no matter what, and it’s so cute.

“The Seventh”

Updated 1/26/24: Now that we’re finally doing our Enterprise watchthrough over on the podcast, I see I needed to add this T’Pol-centered episode to the memory wipes list. We learn that she underwent the fullara, a Vulcan mind-wiping technique that looks none too pleasant, because she was wracked with guilt for murdering a Vulcan defector to death. Apparently Vulcans aren’t logical enough to just get therapy.

“Observer Effect”

We brought up the Enterprise episode “Observer Effect” when we talked about possessions recently, so now I know to bring it up here too! Not only are the Organians possessing people’s bodies for periods of time, but they actively have a chat with a very pissed-off Phlox and wipe his recollection of it. Those guys’ definition of the Prime Directive has always been a little different.

“Despite Yourself”

Let’s jump ahead to Discovery. We didn’t mention this one on the podcast, but I wanted to bring it up here because it’s so messed up. L’Rell makes herself a sleeper agent when she crams Voq inside of Ash Tyler, turducken style, and blanks his memory, only to turn it back on later when it’s appropriate. And that happens to be in “Despite Yourself” when the poor guy is already having enough of an identity crisis.

“Reflections”

We here at SSHB (and I specifically) are quick to judgment of Lower Decks’s comedy, but it does also get a lot right, especially in the latest season! I’m particularly a big fan of Rutherford’s character arc, and the episode “Reflection” does some really great backstory building regarding his life before his implant, which is gone from his memory. He’s a fully different person from who he used to be, and I’m looking very forward to learning more as the show goes on! You never thought you’d hear me say that, didn’t you?

“A Moral Star” et alia

We give as much guff to Lower Decks as we heap praise onto Prodigy in its storytelling, characterizations, and pretty much everything else (opening title sequence, for instance). Somehow it’s still in season one as I write this so mild spoilers abound. I actually got chills when Gwyn lost her short-term memories by seeing Zero’s reflection outside their suit in “A Moral Star”. And then more chills later in the season as her and the Diviner’s memories are coming back! This plot development is still ongoing and I can’t encourage you more to check it out and see where they take it!

“Among the Lotus Eaters”

Update 1/26/24: Adding this one after the fact, so some spoilers for Strange New Worlds season two here. But this episode is just so clever in its use of memory to a very thought-provoking effect. The idea that memory is used as a way to control people and to exert power is so original and captivating that I just needed to come back and update this list. Knowledge of your own identity is literally power here on Rigel VII, and I’m such a fan of that kind of introspection.

—

My memories are returning, so let’s wrap this one up here. Let us know what other episodes you’ve remembered that have been purged from my mind somehow. Jot down a hand-written note to remind yourself to listen to the watch-along podcast over on SoundCloud or wherever you like to tune in, recall us on Facebook and Twitter, and remind me who you are again?