What if the Society had moved a little less quickly? Spoilers for SOTBE. All characters belong to Alex Hirsch, not me. One-shot.
Erasure
"You kids helped me get my memories back, just like you said," Old Man McGucket said.
Mabel said, "But did you want those memories back?"
"After all these years, I finally know who I am. Maybe I messed up in the past, but now that I seen what happened, I can begin to put myself together again," said McGucket, adding another comment by hamboning.
"Still don't know what that means," said Dipper. "So, wait. You weren't the Author, but you worked with him. Do you remember who he was?"
"It's beginning to come back, but I need more time. And reading glasses. Heck!" said McGucket, spitting. "I got some rememberin' to do."
"So Mabel, you still think it was a good idea to erase those failed summer romances?" asked Wendy.
"What summer romances?" asked Mabel. "I haven't had any to forget."
"Mabel! You didn't!" said Dipper.
"It's hazy, but I guess I did do something, before those Society goons came back and grabbed us," said Mabel.
"Let's test it. You remember putting on a huge puppet show to impress a guy?" asked Dipper.
"I never put on a puppet show," said Mabel, "But I would to impress a guy as cute as this one." She unfolded the poster of Gabe Bensen she had been carrying around.
"Oh Mabel," said Dipper sadly.
"If you can't remember your mistakes, at least listen to us and don't repeat them," said Wendy.
"Do you remember liking a merman at the pool?" asked Dipper.
"Nope," said Mabel. "I can't imagine liking a guy who is half fish."
"How about liking the Sev'ral Timez boy band, and kidnapping them to keep in your room?" asked Dipper.
"I've never even heard of that band."
"Blowing away a bunch of gnomes with a leaf-blower?"
"Uh-uh. That sounds like fun, though."
"Saving our lives with your grappling hook when we were falling to our deaths because of L'il Gideon?"
"That would be a cool memory. I wish I still remembered that."
"You've lost so much we shared this summer," said Dipper. "Things that brought us closer together."
"Hey, we're still close, bro-bro," said Mabel. "We can still make some new memories."
"Yeah, I guess we can," said Dipper. "And with a clean slate you can focus on helping me find out more about who wrote the Journals."
"Who wrote what? Is that why we came down here?" asked Mabel.
"You've got a lot to relearn, sister," said Dipper, shaking his head sadly.
In the car on the way home, Soos turned on the music: "Straight Blanchin" by Little Big Dog.
"Hey, that's a catchy tune," said Wendy. "I've never heard it before, but I kind of like it."