Gravity Falls, OR
August 25, 2012
His first memory is of the forest, a pair of upset children, and an old man that holds him and cries over someone he thinks he might have been before... Just 'Before.' He's not sure what happened exactly, but it probably wasn't anything good. He doesn't think he wants to remember whatever lead up to him forgetting, though, because it seems whatever it was managed to disturb everyone around him on some level.
Actually, he thinks he might be content to just not remember anything of Before. Because even if his head is empty of all the things he should know, of his past, his life, he feels safe and cared for. So, whether or not he ever remembers, he figures he'll be alright. It's not like he can't make new memories, right? (For a half-second he panics over the thought that maybe he can't, that maybe this isn't the first time he's forgotten everything. Maybe he forgets over and over and over again. He discards the thought upon realizing that everyone else's distress over his missing memories makes that theory unlikely.)
So, yeah, he thinks he'd be just fine with never remembering a thing of Before. Except those two kids are desperate for him to remember them, and the old man seems pretty broken up over it, and even the strange hairless gopher guy that shows up looks like he's about to burst into tears. Whoever he was, had been, he'd sure inspired a lot of loyalty in this ragtag group, and, frankly, he's starting to feel a little guilty over the whole not remembering them thing.
When the pig (and, really, of all things, the pig?) manages to annoy him enough to actually stir up something that might be his memories, and he sees the sudden hope painting all of their faces... Well, he decides he could at least try to be the person they want him to be. It's better for everyone that way, isn't it?
Read chapters sooner on Archive of Our Own: archiveofourown dot org slash works slash 8053783
Read the entire Dimension 297 series on AO3: archiveofourown dot org slash series slash 457846
