History Main / PlanningForTheFutureBeforeTheEnd

* In ''[[ComicBook/BatmanBeyond Justice League Beyond]]'', we learn in Warhawk's ADayInTheLimelight flashback story that after the events of ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'', his father Green Lantern/John Stewart was going to propose to Vixen. However, [[spoiler:Shadow Thief kills her right as he proposes. As John rushes her to the Watchtower med bay, she uses her final breath to say yes.]] For the record, John ends up marrying Shayera afterwards.

This is usually used as a means to either [[LetThemDieHappy comfort the one that is dying]], or comfort the one left alive who is witnessing their loved one's death. Sometimes, a character isn't dying at all and is just being PutOnABus, and the two are just avoiding any overt showing of emotion. Sadly, in the case of a character actually dying, one will usually die while it's their turn to talk, leaving the anguished survivor desperately trying to continue the conversation. An especially tragic bit can be if one person [[DistractedFromDeath dies unnoticed]] (at least at first) in the middle of such a conversation.

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

* In ''Anime/CodeGeass'', [[spoiler:as Euphemia dies after being mortally wounded by Lelouch,]] Suzaku tearfully begs her to join him[[spoiler:and his friends at Ashford Academy. Euphie gently rejects the idea, having already accepted that her time is up, and tells Suzaku to continue on in school for both of them.]]

* ''Anime/AngelBeats'' contains a obvious example of this trope, when the main character Otonashi promises to his dying [[spoiler:little sister]] that he is going to make this christmas night the best possible. For more tearjerking, she dies on his back, without him noticing, after thanking him.

[[folder: Films -- Animated ]]

* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/MonstersVsAliens''. After The Missing Link and Dr. Cockroach are telling each other ItHasBeenAnHonor, B.O.B. tells them he'll see them tomorrow for lunch. They agree, although B.O.B. was totally serious...

[[folder: Films -- Live-Action ]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Live-Action TV ]]

* ''Series/{{Quantico}}'': Simon asks Raina if she wants to grab a tea with him sometime as he's driving to his death.

[[folder: Theater ]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' had this as a major and very well developed plot point for the first 3/4 of the game where Tidus and Yuna talked about what they were going to do after defeating Sin with the Final Aeon; they did this all the way up to just before entering Zanarkand. When Tidus learns that Yuna's death would be a part of the summoning, it crushes him as he thinks about how much time they spent talking about the future beyond Sin's death. Towards the end of the game it actually switches around as Tidus keeps secret that he will disappear when they stop Yu Yevon.

* ''VideoGame/KantaiCollection'': Shoukaku's marriage line has her telling the Admiral to wait until after Marianas. Her historical counterpart never made it.

[[folder: Web Comics ]]

* ''{{Webcomic/Homestuck}}'': The last thing uranianUmbra does before taking her (possibly final) nap is call Roxy and confide in her: [[spoiler: her true name, her real species, her species' nature, and the relationship between herself and her brother. The first and last ones are most important to this trope: if somebody says her name to her brother, he will fall asleep and she will wake up, and vice versa. She leaves Roxy with her name so that if she never wakes up on her own, Roxy can contact her brother and do it herself.]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* In ''Film/StarTrek'' (2009), George Kirk has a conversation with his wife on what to name their son. All the while, he's being totally awesome and securing the escape of his wife and crew.

* ''TheOffice'' invokes this trope in "Goodbye, Michael," when Jim finds out Michael is leaving a day earlier than he claimed. The two make plans for lunch the next day, even though Michael will be gone, and Jim tells him all the things he "plans" to tell him. A tearful Michael tells him that he can't wait.

-->'''The Missing Link:''' It's been an honor knowing you, Doc.
-->'''Dr. Cockroach:''' The feeling's mutual, my friend.
-->'''B.O.B.:''' I'll see you guys tomorrow... for lunch.
-->'''The Missing Link:''' That's right, Bob.
-->'''Dr. Cockroach:''' There'll be candy and cake... balloons.
-->'''B.O.B.:''' CAKE AND BALLOONS FOR LUNCH? IT'S GONNA BE THE BEST DAY EVER! I LOVE YOU GUYS!

* In the third installment of ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', [[spoiler: Jon has something of a one-sided version of this with the dying Ygritte. He tells her that she'll be fixed up, that she'll see a hundred castles, and that they'll return to their cave together. Her response is simply, "[[MeaningfulEcho You know nothing, Jon Snow.]]"]]

-->'''Luke:''' Mara... will you marry me?
-->'''Mara:''' You mean if we get out of here alive?
-->'''Luke:''' I mean regardless.

* "A Little Fall of Rain" from ''Theatre/LesMiserables'' is this trope for Marius and Eponine. While Eponine insists that she's at peace with the prospect of dying, Marius attempts to assure her that she'll survive somehow and that they'll be together. Unfortunately, she becomes his ForgottenFallenFriend almost instantly as he goes back to chasing Cosette - though in all likelihood he was just trying to invoke LetThemDieHappy.

* ''Series/StrangerThings'' has Mike repeatedly reassuring Eleven with his plans that she'll come to live with his family after everything's over, and that he'll take her to the Snow Ball as his date. [[spoiler:The second time they have this discussion, Eleven is rapidly weakening and trying to summon the strength to make a last stand against the Demagorgon. A minute later she and the monster both sort of... explode.]]

* Related: In ''Film/ReturnOfTheKing'', when Frodo's lost all hope of even reaching Mordor, Sam perks him up by planning out loud how to ration their food [[BoringReturnJourney for the trip back home]]. All Frodo can do in response is look at him.

* Related: In ''Film/ReturnOfTheKing'', when Frodo's lost all hope of even reaching Mordor, Sam perks him up by planning out loud how to ration their food [[BoringReturnJourney for the trip back home.]]

* In ''Tribesmen of Literature/{{Gor}}'' aliens plan to blow up the planet. Tarl manages to stop the bomb, and is briefly surprised when a band of humans employed by the aliens come to bring supplies the next day - then Tarl realizes that the aliens wouldn't tell the humans that they were going to destroy the planet, so they'd have supply runs scheduled well beyond the time when the bomb was supposed to go off.

* At the end of ''SeekingAFriendForTheEndOfTheWorld'', Dodge and Penny lay down in his bed and share small talk about her childhood to distract themselves from the impact of the giant asteroid that is about to decimate the planet and destroy all life on it. It turns into a variation of DyingDeclarationOfLove when they confess their love for one another--neither of them is in any pain, but they're both about to die.

* In ''Film/StarTrek'' (2009), George Kirk has a conversation with his wife on what to name their son. All the while, he's [[MomentOfAwesome being totally awesome]] and securing the escape of his wife and crew.

[[folder: Film ]]

* In ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'', after Cap makes his choice to [[spoiler:[[HeroicSacrifice sacrifice himself]], he and Peggy make plans for a date. A tearful Peggy tells him, [[HowDareYouDieOnMe "Don't you dare be late."]] He agrees, and reminds her that he can't dance, and worries about stepping on her feet. He gets [[KilledMidSentence cut off mid-sentence]] as he crashes into the sea.]]

[[AC: Anime and Manga]]
* In ''Anime/CodeGeass'', [[spoiler:as Euphemia dies after being mortally wounded by Lelouch,]] Suzaku tearfully begs her to join him[[spoiler:and his friends at Ashford Academy. Euphie gently rejects the idea, having already accepted that her time is up, and tells Suzaku to continue on in school for both of them.]]

[[AC: Film]]

[[AC: Literature]]

[[AC: Live-Action TV]]

[[AC: Theater]]

[[AC: VideoGames]]

[[AC: WebComics]]

[[AC: WesternAnimation]]

* One of the most famous and touching scenes in ''TheIliad'' is Hector visiting with his family. His wife Andromache knows that Troy will fall and begs him not to go. Hector then goes to his son Astyanax and accidentally scares him with his helmet. After taking it off, he holds his son and prays to Zeus, blessing his son to be a greater warrior and leader than himself. Therefore this is OlderThanFeudalism.

* The obscure late-90's film ''Last Night'' is about an unspecified, but unpreventable, cosmic disaster that's going to destroy the planet. The whole movie is about the last few hours of life on Earth, with a special focus on a man and a woman (who are total strangers to each other) planning on committing suicide. Instead, just as the destruction begins, they kiss and listen to music.

* A vicious one in the third FinalDestination. One of the girls who dies in a roller coaster accident at the beginning confides that she's planning to break up with her boyfriend after graduation. Much later, said boyfriend, having yet no knowledge of this, reveals his plans to marry her after graduation.

* In ''Tribesmen of Literature/{{Gor}}'' aliens plan to blow up the planet. Tarl manages to stop the bomb, but and is briefly surprised when a band of humans employed by the aliens come to bring supplies the next day - then Tarl realizes that the aliens wouldn't tell the humans that they were going to destroy the planet, so they'd have supply runs scheduled well beyond the time when the bomb was supposed to go off.