Basic Trope: A character's future self irritates and/or freaks them out.
- Straight: Bob, the Plucky Comic Relief, is disturbed by his Future Badass self.
- Exaggerated: Bob, an All-Loving Hero, is utterly repulsed by his future self's tendencies.
- Downplayed: Bob doesn't like his future self's habit of smoking.
- Justified:
- Bob is a pacifist, so seeing himself give this trait up so haphazardly freaks him out.
- Alternatively, Bob's now-evil self from the future is an omen for a much darker turn of events.
- Inverted:
- Bob admires his Future Loser self for some obscure quality.
- Or "Past Me Scares Me", said by future Bob.
- I Hate Past Me
- Bob is disturbed to find out that he doesn't meet his future self unlike the others and takes it as a sign he will die young.
- Subverted:
- Bob is disturbed by his Future Badass self... but another Bob from later on shows up, and it turns out he's back to being comic relief.
- Bob is disturbed by his future self at first, but then he starts to get to know his future self a little bit better and he actually kind of likes the new him.
- Or Bob is freaked out about being a Future Badass, but then he realizes the more awesome aspects of it and calms down.
- Double Subverted:
- And then another Bob from even later shows up; he's back to being a Future Badass.
- And it turns out, the new him was just lying to Bob to make him seem more trustworthy/likable. Past Bob find this out and doesn't like him anymore.
- Parodied: Bob, a horrible villain, is utterly repulsed by the slight pitch change in his Messiah-like future self's voice.
- Zig Zagged: Future versions of several characters are shown: the Granola Girl became a Well-Intentioned Extremist, the Jerk Jock became a Future Loser, and the Cloud Cuckoolander didn't really change at all; each with different reactions that accompanies said changes.
- Averted:
- Future Bob is more or less the same.
- He doesn't show any disturbance whatsoever and listens to his future self's warning.
- Enforced: "We need some drama in this time-travel scene!"
- Lampshaded: "I know you're scared of me, Past Bob..."
- Invoked: Bob openly looks for qualities he hates in case he ever meets his future self.
- Exploited: Emperor Evulz sets up circumstances to make Present Bob infuriated at Future Bob.
- Defied:
- "Screw it, my future self is actually pretty cool!"
- Bob is a little weirded out by his Future Badass self, but he tries to look on the bright side of things.
- Discussed: "A time machine? Oh no. What if I turn out to be evil?!"
- Conversed: "You'd think Bob would be excited about how cool his future self is."
- Played For Drama: Future-Bob makes Present-Bob worry about what he may turn into, and start trying to better himself, only to find himself turning into Future-Bob even quicker. Meanwhile, Future-Bob finds himself pining to be Present-Bob again, when times were simpler and he could afford to joke around. This leads to friction between the two characters, which culminates in one or both of them losing the trust or friendship of the other.
You can go back to my main version if you want, but he's kinda scary.
