“There is no future. There is no past. Do you see? Time is simultaneous, an intricately structured jewel that humans insist on viewing one edge at a time, when the whole design is visible in every facet.”
— Dr. Manhattan, Watchmen
The choice and sequencing of events to depict, especially nonlinear storytelling. For events that actually happen in a nonlinear order, see Time Travel. For time periods, see Hollywood History. For depictions of various times of day in fiction, see 24-Hour Trope Clock.
- Flashback (main trope): A break in the story to remember a character's past vividly.
- Anachronic Order: Scenes, episodes, or installments are deliberately presented out of chronological order.
- …And That Little Girl Was Me: A character recounts a story about a seemingly irrelevant person before revealing the story is about themself.
- Back to Front: The story is told backwards, from end to beginning.
- Call-Forward: The flashback sequence alludes to events that the audience knows eventually happened.
- Dashed Plot Line: Time periods larger than one year where nothing interesting happens are skipped to preserve The Law of Conservation of Detail.
- Death by Flashback: Revealing a character's backstory is a good indication that they are about to die.
- Decade-Themed Filter: A flashback from a different decade is filtered in the manner of the camera technology of the time.
- Delayed Narrator Introduction: The narrator is only introduced partway through their own story.
- Distant Finale: The ending takes place significantly in the future.
- Distant Prologue: The introduction takes place significantly in the past.
- Fabula and Sujet: Distinction between the chronological order of the story's events (Fabula) and the order in which we see the scenes (Sujet).
- Fast-Forward to Reunion: The main plot resolves with characters going separate ways, the ending skips to the future when they eventually reunite.
- Flashback... Back... Back...: Flashback is preceded by an echoey sound effect.
- Flashback B-Plot: A linear secondary story is told through flashbacks alongside the main story, both involving the same character(s).
- Flashback Cut: A very brief flashback (usually lasts a few seconds) in the middle of a scene
- Flashback Echo: Events in the present are quickly followed by flashbacks to similar events in the past.
- Flashback Effects: Visual and audio effects used to indicate a flashback.
- Flashback-Montage Realization: A character's realization is shown with a montage of previous scenes and lines of dialogue.
- Flashback Nightmare: A character dreams of a traumatic past event.
- Flashback Stares: A character stares into the distance while remembering a past event.
- Flashback to Catchphrase: A flashback reveals the origin of a character's catchphrase.
- Flashback Twist: A flashback is used and subverts the audience's expectations.
- Flashback with the Other Darrin: A flashback to a previously shot scene with a new actor.
- Flashback Within a Flashback: A flashback occurs inside another flashback.
- Flash Forward: A break in the story to show a future plot development ahead of time.
- Futureshadowing: We see the aftermath of an event before seeing the event itself.
- Happy Flashback: A flashback to a happy(er) time in a character's life.
- Hilarious in Flashback: Events in a flashback turn out to be funny because the audience knows the present state of things.
- How Dad Met Mom: A flashback to how the parents of a character met for the first time.
- How We Got Here: The story starts in its climax and quickly is followed by a retelling of the events that led to it (a form of In Medias Res).
- In Medias Res: The story doesn't start at the beginning; it's either in the middle or at the end.
- Instant Mystery, Just Delete Scene: A scene is skipped so the viewer doesn't know what happened there for the sake of mystery and suspense.
- Interquel: A work takes place in the middle of a previously-published work (or in between two).
- Interrogation Flashback: The story is told via a character being pumped for information.
- Monochrome Past: Past events depicted in black and white, sepia tone, or muted colors.
- Necro Cam: A Flashback-Montage Realization about how a character died.
- Nested Story: Stories within stories within stories...
- Not the First Victim: A predator had victims before the apparent "first" victim.
- Offstage Waiting Room: Some characters do important things for the plot while others wait for them to finish their own adventure (do nothing).
- Once More, with Clarity!: We see a scene and it seems to mean one thing; after several plot developments, we see the same scene, and this time it means something completely different
- Pensieve Flashback: A character physically observes a flashback.
- P.O.V. Sequel: A story retold from another character's perspective.
- "Rashomon"-Style: Several characters narrate a past event, but each version is different.
- Retraux Flashback: A flashback is presented with an appropriate Art Shift.
- Rewatch Bonus: Now that the work is over, we'll find a new meaning in those little strange details if we watch it again.
- Seamless Scenery: Different scenes transition into each other as if they're still in one location or linear sequence; characters can literally walk into the next scene.
- Sequencing Deception: The work implies that two scenes happen simultaneously or one after the other, but the true order is completely different than we thought.
- Starts with Their Funeral: A story begins with a character's funeral and flashbacks to show how they got there.
- Stylistic Callback: A work references stylistic changes since prior works in the same series.
- Suspiciously Specific Sermon: Religious service is oddly plot relevant.
- Take Up My Sword: The Hero Dies and must be replaced.
- Third-Person Flashback: A person remembering a past event will see everything from a third-person perspective instead of through their own eyes (first person).
- Time Skip: A good chunk of time is skipped between two plot developments or installments.
- Troubled Backstory Flashback: Flashback showing the moment a character's life goes downhill.
- Viewers Are Goldfish: The creators think we can't remember past plot developments, so they will remind us constantly.
- When It All Began: A past event that is responsible for the current plot.
- Whole Episode Flashback: The entire episode is a Flashback to a past storyline.
