History Main / RippleEffectProofMemory

* ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'' had an episode in which the BigBad Shendu had used Jackie in a plot to rewrite the history of the world (in a literal, giant Book of History) that more or less canceled all of Shendu's defeats and favors the villains. While in the process of rewriting history, Jade rips a page off the book that mentions her place in history. She keeps this paper so when history is rewritten only she remembers how things were. In this alternative reality Shendu also remembers what things were like, so he is surprised when Jade is able to gather all the main characters to combat him. In the end, the good guys rewrite history to what things were originally like and only they remember this alternative reality.

** Hunter Zolomon has repeatedly demonstrated himself to be immune to the CosmicRetcon, likely due to his disconnection from the timestream. He first demonstrated this when he retains his knowledge of Wally West's secret identity after the Spectre wipes it from the world's minds, and second when he resurfaces in the ''Rebirth'' era, remembering his encounters with Wally prior to the New 52. Writer Joshua Williamson has even explicitly said that he is the pre-Flashpoint Hunter Zolomon.

** And now in ''ComicBook/DCRebirth'' is the pre-Flashpoint Wally West who has been stuck in the Speed Force since the New 52 began. He remembers the past relationships, at least until he's pulled out and the old memories begin to fade or get jumbled with the New 52 timeline. While he mostly remembers the pre-Flashpoint timeline, he's also starting to remember his newer, New 52 timeline.
** Eobard Thawne returns during the ''Rebirth'' run of ''The Flash'', possessing his New 52 counterpart and overriding the latter's powers and costume. He ''only'' remembers the timeline right until the New 52 began (he died right before it), and this becomes a plot point later when he finds that his knowledge of the Flashes and their history is in need of updating.
** Jay Garrick in ''Rebirth'' is found stuck in the Speed Force, and seems to remember his history with Wally West and Barry Allen, which didn't exist in the New 52. Like Wally, his being stuck in the Speed Force seemed to allow him to view both histories, but unlike Wally, Jay doesn't ''exist'' in the New 52 timeline.
** In ''DC Universe: Rebirth'' #1, the original Wally West appears to Johnny Thunder. His narration makes it clear that Johnny remembers the pre-Flashpoint timeline as well, including the history of the ComicBook/{{JSA}}, who don't exist in the New 52. As a result of his ramblings (and the unfortunate fact that he ''really'' does have Alzheimer's), he's been diagnosed as insane. However, when he escapes the hospital, he shows he remembers the Society and Green Lantern's battery.

* In the episode of ''WesternAnimation/Ben10'' aptly named "Gwen 10", [[Characters/Ben10BenTennyson Ben Tennyson]] is sent back into the first day of summer vacation, before he got the Omnitrix - which ends up on Gwen's wrist instead of Ben's - yet he knows about all his adventures up to defeating Vilgax.

* In ''Literature/TheGoldenSpiral'', only Abby remembers how things were "supposed" to be after[[spoiler: Zo starts messing with her past--erasing her best friend, her sister her father, from her life.]] Explained because she's been "outside" of time. She can also sense when he changes something. Later she learns that she can "fix" someone in reality (this can't be altered) and restore their 'true' memories by [[spoiler: taking a real photograph--not digital, but film.]]
* In one of the ''Literature/{{Griezelklas}}'' books by Creator/TaisTeng, Meral summons the trickster god Loki who proceeds to make her life a living hell. He shows up in her class one day to wreck havoc, having changed everyone's memory to think he has been a student from day one. Meral is the only person who actually knows the truth about Loki's true nature, but isn't able to prove it until he overplays his hand.

* {{Justified|Trope}} by Chronos in the ''Literature/IncarnationsOfImmortality'' series. As the Incarnation of Time, him and his memory would be impervious to any ripple effects. (Within limits; he isn't allowed to affect the past in a way that would prevent him from becoming Chronos.)
* In ''Literature/JohnDiesAtTheEnd'', the LivingShadow monsters regularly jump around through time and change things for sinister, unknowable reasons. However, random people end up with memories from before the timeline was changed. It's played for horror; it's made clear that there was a third member of the AdventureDuo who got [[RetGone Ret Goned]], and the love interest in the first book has only one hand - which, we discover, was the result of a shadow grabbing her hand-that-she-had-always-lost in the second book.

* In ''Literature/TheGoldenSpiral'', only Abby remembers how things were "supposed" to be after[[spoiler: Zo starts messing with her past- erasing her best friend, her sister her father, from her life.]] explained because she's been "outside" of time. she can also sense when he changes something. Later she learns that she can "fix" someone in reality (this can't be altered) and restore their 'true' memories by [[spoiler: taking a real photograph- not digital, but film.]]

* The time-traveling protagonist of Ward Moore's novel ''Literature/BringTheJubilee'' accidentally ends up changing the outcome of UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar from a Confederate victory to our own time-line. He remembers the previous history, but is stranded in our version of reality and lives of the rest of his life here.

* Explained within the ''ComicBook/AstroCity'' series, as anyone jumping into the 'empyrean fire' of the time stream seems to be immune to the effects of any temporal changes. That such a thing also happens to impart the user with superpowers and would be the only way to make the local pastiche of Superman/Captain Marvel/generic hero work without a paradox is just an extra bonus. Oddly, some people in the series have at least some resistance to the Ripple Effect. In one story, the viewpoint character [[spoiler:Michael Tenicek has his wife [[RetGone erased from reality]] by an unsuccessful attempt by a villain to muck with the timestream, presented in the style of a Crisis-like event]], but the old timeline haunts his dreams. [[spoiler:A godlike character tells him what happened, and offers him the option to forget her, but he declines... and is told that no one ever accepts.]]

* Ichigo has this [[spoiler:for the most part]] in ''Fanfic/HogyokuExMachina'' [[PeggySue after time traveling]]. [[spoiler:The exception is he can't remember [[NonSerialMovie Senna from the first film]]. [[ForWantOfANail Since Ichigo spent all of his time after Rukia's rescue in Soul Society instead of going home]], [[RetGone she never forms in the first place]], and so he doesn't retain the memory. He doesn't know anything about her until some AppliedPhlebotinum shows it]].

* Played with in the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fanfic ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/12347/make-a-wish Make a Wish]].'' When a wish-granting comet passes by Ponyville, Rainbow Dash wishes for a chance to spend time with the Wonderbolts and the next day finds herself winning tickets from a contest she knows she never entered, only to be told she visited the contest's promotional office on a weekly basis to see if there'd been a winner. In the same vein, she never even suspects the fact she's been raising her little sister Scootaloo alone for ten-plus years is the result of ''Scootaloo's'' wish. Scootaloo, for her part, is fully aware of how she changed her own history and spends time worrying about the ForWantOfANail implications and the fact she doesn't remember the life with Rainbow Dash that Rainbow does.

* Subverted on ''Twice in a Lifetime''. After dying, a person is given a chance to go back in time and help their past self on a new path. At the end of the episode, they find themselves in an altered present, at first confused as to the changes. They'll then realize that they're suddenly remembering the events of the new history. Their angelic guide (either Mr. Smith or Mr. Jones) will pop up one last time to tell them that when he leaves, all their memories of the original history go with him. As soon as he does, the person completely forgets him and, as far as they're concerned, this is the only life they've ever known.

* ''Fanfic/TheChaoticMasters'': As it turns out, magical and otherworldly beings are immune to having their memories altered when the Book of Ages rewrite reality, so they all remember Demon World.

* ''Webcomic/KillSixBillionDemons'': [[TheHeavy 6 Juggernaut Star Scours the Universe]] implies early on that it remembers earlier iterations of a 'cycle' of existence. [[spoiler:This turns out to be because the plot is stuck in a GroundhogDayLoop which is repeating endlessly thanks to the machinations of {{Metatron}} and Zoss, and because they're both {{Non Linear Character}}s they remember each loop perfectly. Those empowered by the Metatron, like 6 Juggernaut Star and Jagganoth, vaguely remember being part of the loop and the general tendencies of every loop, but not the fine detail.]] They are also revealed [[TimeLoopFatigue to be thoroughly sick of the whole ordeal by now]].

* In ''Fanfic/OnceMoreWithFeeling'', Shinji retains his full memories of the original timeline, and due to Instrumentality he also keeps other people’s memories of the original events.

[[folder:Film — Animation]]

** In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS1E11AndWhenTheSkyWasOpened And When the Sky Was Opened]]", Colonel Clegg Forbes is the only person to remember that Colonel Ed Harrington ever existed after he fades from existence. Major William Gart is the only one to remember Forbes after he disappears.
** In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS1E27TheBigTallWish The Big Tall Wish]]", Bolie Jackson is the only one to remember the timeline in which he defeated Joey Consiglio in the ring after Henry Temple's wish is undone.
** In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS1E33MrBevis Mr. Bevis]]", the GuardianAngel J. Hardy Hempstead changes Mr. James B.W. Bevis' life so that he is a normal, straitlaced and successful person. The two of them are the only ones to remember the ways things used to be.
** In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS2E49BackThere Back There]]", when Peter Corrigan returns to his own time after his failed attempt to [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong prevent the assassination]] of UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln, he discovers that the Potomac Club attendant William has become a millionaire and a prominent member of the club. He is the only one to realize that history has been altered.
** In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS3E101CavenderIsComing Cavender is Coming]]", the GuardianAngel Harmon Cavender changes Agnes Grep's life so that she is wealthy and successful. They are the only ones to remember the previous version of her life in which she was extremely clumsy and unable to hold down a job.
** In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS5E154ComeWanderWithMe Come Wander With Me]]", Mary Rachel is seemingly the only one who realizes that the events surrounding Billy Rayford's death are [[GroundhogDayLoop repeating themselves]].

** In "Profile in Silver", once history is restored, the Secret Service agent Ray Livingston is the only person from 1963 who remembers the AlternateTimeline in which UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy was not assassinated in Dallas.
** In "The Library", Ellie Pendleton begins RewritingReality using the books recording the events of people's lives in the library. After that she does so, she is the only person to remember the way things used to be.
** In "The Card", Linda Wolfe is the only person outside of the card company who remembers that she had a cat named Boris, a dog named Scooby and three children named Matt, Evan and B.J. after they all [[RetGone disappear in turn]] because of her delinquent account. Her husband Brian worries that she may be having a mental breakdown [[spoiler:until he himself disappears]].
** In "Street of Shadows", after Steve Cranston [[FreakyFridayFlip swaps lives]] with the millionaire Frederick Perry, he is the only person who is able to remember their original identities. Perry himself was in a coma at the time so it is not clear whether he could as well.

* ''Fanfic/ButDoctorIAmPagliacci'''s premise is that the Joker manages to return to sanity, only to find out that no one else remembers that Batman exists, and when he investigates, he learns that [[spoiler: Lex Luthor altered the timeline, and only Jack is immune thanks to the time he was Emperor Joker. Booster Gold is also immune, because he was outside the timeline.]]

* In [[Webcomic/FeralnetteAU Big Fat Break's]] ''[[Webcomic/ViceroyDadVillainAU Viceroy/Dad Villain AU]]'', Gabriel [[TheBadGuyWins got to make his Wish]], and believes himself to be the only person on Earth who recalls the original reality, in no small part because he specifically included that in his Wish. However, since he doesn't see kwami or sentimonsters as people, they ''also'' remember what the world was like before.