If you could return to any point in your life...

Dec 12, 2013 at 12:33 AM
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Basically what the title says. If you could return to any point in your life, when (or where, dunno how grammar works) would you return to?
With all your memories intact, but returning to the body you had at that time.

I would personally return to when I was a 1st grader, life was awesome back then, plus I'd be a genius. :)

Has this been done before? If so, sorry, cause really? I'm not about to search through all the threads... yeah.
 
Dec 12, 2013 at 1:05 AM
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I wouldn't think about going far back, particularly because things just work out right now, and that type of insecurity is a fearful thing if one were to go back and not know what consequences would become of their alternate path in youth.
 
Dec 12, 2013 at 1:08 AM
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Eh, what the heck. I would return to a week before cave story was released, take a flight to japan(or where ever Amaya Daisuke was at that moment), do some fun stuff at Akiba, then somehow find out where he lives. The second cave story is released, I will sprout a pair of wings and hover in front of his window holding up a sign saying "ARIGATO GUSAIMASU"

shhh I'm not weird >.>
 
Dec 12, 2013 at 1:14 AM
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Depends. Can I return to my original or any other timeline at any point? Otherwise I expect I'll end up trapped in butterfly effect hell. What happens to past me? Does he switch places with me in "Virtue's Last Reward" style fashion or do the two of us merge? And if we merge does that mean I'm leaving a sea of comatose me in my wake every time I jump through time, or do I unmerge on the jump?
 
Dec 12, 2013 at 1:36 AM
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andwhyisit-
like, your state of mind being trapped in ya old body i guess. that way you wouldn't be able to go anytime before ya birth. not sure what you mean by other time line though... you could go back to any point that your current state of mind existed in. from there the timelines would begin to diverge....
i was never good at explaining things. does that make sense?
 
Dec 12, 2013 at 1:38 AM
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If the whole "butterfly effect" doesn't count, and I still made the same decisions even if I regreted them later... I would go back to when I turned three, and just relive my entire life all over again
except from when I turned nine until right now because thats when my life got really crappy....
 
Dec 12, 2013 at 1:51 AM
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I'd have to choose my freshman year of High School. My grades didn't compare to what I got before and what I get now, so that'd be a great thing to improve upon. I also would love to use the extra few years I got back to not procrastinate with the various activities and hobbies that I do. Having my current state of mind would make life then so much easier.
 
Dec 12, 2013 at 1:58 AM
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SableArc said:
andwhyisit-
like, your state of mind being trapped in ya old body i guess. that way you wouldn't be able to go anytime before ya birth. not sure what you mean by other time line though... you could go back to any point that your current state of mind existed in. from there the timelines would begin to diverge....
i was never good at explaining things. does that make sense?
I understand that already, you aren't following what I'm saying. You have two yous: future you and past you. When you (future you) occupy past you's body in the past, does past you occupy future you's body in the future, or does past you and future you both occupy past you's body leaving future you's body in a coma? And if you change the past can you still return to the unchanged future you came from or can you only return to the changed future? A small change to the past can create serious consequences over time. For instance if you travel back in time to become junior Einstein and your friends can no longer relate to you.
 
Dec 12, 2013 at 2:26 AM
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It took a lot of work to be here, I don't feel like doing any of it again.
 
Dec 12, 2013 at 2:27 AM
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EnlightenedOne said:
I wouldn't think about going far back, particularly because things just work out right now, and that type of insecurity is a fearful thing if one were to go back and not know what consequences would become of their alternate path in youth.
/\ this.


I wouldn't go back for anything, I would be less of me. And even if I could It would cause so much change.
 
Dec 12, 2013 at 5:43 AM
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I would go back to when I went to high school, because there were several girlfriend opportunities I passed up.

Edit: But there's a girl I think I have a chance to go with right now so my high school days are no longer needed.
 
Dec 12, 2013 at 6:50 AM
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I would go back to when I was a shitkid and punk the hell out of everyone with my adult genius and martial prowess.

Like, beat up other kids and sass the shit out of adults.

This is something I think about from time to time and that's where my mind typically ends up. Having super adult powers in a setting where they're far beyond what anyone expects. Being the biggest fish in the smallest pond. It's a weird power fantasy I guess, but there was a lot about elementary school that sucked ass. Mostly the other kids. Now that I'm capable of it, I can't solve all my problems with violence and verbal abuse, so imagining my timid babby mind replaced with current mind is enjoyable.

By the way, I know I wouldn't be physically stronger than the other kids, but I would know how to fight better than them. Would most likely get my ass kicked by the larger ones though.

Now I feel pretty fucking weird for putting all this in writing.

In the proposed situation though, what's the time limit on this blast to the past? If it's self-imposed, I would just stay in my shitkid body until I got bored of it. However, the lack of a time frame in the OP makes me think that it's indefinite. I reset my life back a number of years, keeping all my memories, and must experience time at the usual rate after that. This makes the deal less fun.

Let's go back seven years, to what would be the beginning of high school if I were in some kind of dumbass school system that needed three schools. So, the second year of high school. I was still being a huge shit, just like everyone's past selves, but thankfully I had figured out that long hair makes me look retarded. I was socially inept, lonely, disliked school, and had no concept of the future. In a nutshell, nothing was different from today.

However, if my mind was suddenly 21 years old, things would change. I wouldn't be living my old life; I'd be living a new one. Suddenly I know how social interaction works, and it turns out that ninth-graders aren't complicated beings. In fact, they're pretty dumb. I'm preaching to the choir, here. Young minds are so easy manipulated that I could be the coolest kid in ninth grade by February. I'd have said January but it's hard to be 2cool4school during Christmas break. I don't really feel like being some petty king of the munchkins, though. If I wanted company, I'd need to make grade 12 friends, or teacher friends. Okay not teacher friends, it's inappropriate to hang out with them outside of class.

So now I'm so cool that I'm hanging with the seniors. They think I'm the shit because I'm the cleverest and wittiest ninth-grader ever. These dudes are old enough that I can have a real conversation with them, so my social needs are fulfilled. Now, I know there are some 14-year-olds reading this. Actually I don't, maybe they all skipped to the end. The point is, kids, I don't think you're worthless retards, but how much would you have to discuss with a young adult? Some stuff like video games and cars, sure, but I've seen some shit, man. So I'm not trying to throw you under the bus here, but you have to recognize that we're on different wavelengths. I'd maintain relationships with some of my old friends, sure. At least one of them. But I'd basically be taking care of them, not experiencing puberty right along with them.

Aw jeez, I forgot about puberty. All those hormones are gonna make things more difficult. And my dick will be smaller :(

Alright so, I'm winning the popularity contest here. What about classes? Get the fuck out, why would you ask that. I know everything about all my classes already. English, Science, Math, Socials, Woodworking, Drama, Physical... edu... fuck.

At the very least, I now have the patience to deal with the nightmare that is PE, and the wisdom to call out my PE teacher on some of her bullshit. Man I hated that class. I hope it was first semester. I was probably in better shape back then, though.

Even with PE, I'm Wonderkid in all my classes. Straight A's, unless I can't stand doing worksheet after worksheet about repetitive garbage that's 7 years old to me. That probably won't be a problem in the program for gifted children I'd get enrolled in, though. A whole school for gifted kids. There goes the fantasy. Rats. Okay, I'd have to feign ignorance when it comes to homework. Let some of my grades fall to B's, just to keep suspicion low. Of course, that would still be a vast improvement over my previous grades.

At this point I'm kicking ass all over the school. All the boys and girls love me. Hopefully not too much. That's not a situation I want. 14-year-old me would be setting up dates left and right, good for him, but as a grown-ass dude? I can't bone anyone of any age without it being statutory. And fucking creepy. Damn hormones, you ain't helping.

But here comes another huge advantage I've earned through life experience: patience. I can coast my way through school, having the time and will to improve myself in ways only Bill Murray in Groundhog Day could imagine. Or anyone who has watched that movie could imagine. I could be anything by the time I graduate. One thing I will definitely be, though, is legal. And the valedictorian. And just the coolest fucking guy still, having had three years of not being a little shit to practice being cool. I'll have post-secondary education offers, job offers, sex offers, ALL KINDS of offers.

Rewind though, not done.

School, the most important thing in most 14-year-olds lives, is under wraps. I am literally Success Kid. Figuratively Success Kid. But how's life at home? Probably difficult. Seven years of my relationship with my family has been erased, and they don't understand why I'm suddenly different. I might have to make up a reason, possibly go to therapy. Or. Tell the truth. And go to therapy.

No, I can't tell the truth. That would undermine everything. But the hardest part would be knowing things. Who my brother will marry, when my cat will die, what's wrong with my father's lymph nodes.

The thing that would make it all worth it, though. The best part. The one thing I would do without regret. Finding these forums again, fresh and old, rejoining the conversations we once had, befriending SkyeWelse early on, becoming a moderator, and BANNING THE FUCK OUT OF DUNC.
 
Dec 12, 2013 at 4:44 PM
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Maybe a few weeks ago, right before I loose all my work on
msery story FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!! :sue: :critter:
 
Dec 12, 2013 at 5:45 PM
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If reality were to suddenly go bonkers and this actually happened to someone, it really should be Captain Fabulous. Seems like he would utilize his time the best. But then, perhaps it already has happened to someone and we're all typing this in Reality-2. That would be neat...

Anyway, if I had to return to a previous point in my life...then I would stay far, FAR away from me when I was a bit younger, because my god I was a terrible person back then. Seriously. And life was so dumb.

...I actually can't think of a time, actually. Sure, in some ways life was easier then, but I rather like the way things are now. Even with potential for improvement, I would run the risk of messing something crucial up, a risk I'd rather not take.

Well, I could go back really far and try going through life while NOT being horribly evil, but a straight redemption plot would be...well, boring. And it likely wouldn't work that well. And I wouldn't have my Android, which would make me horribly sad.



...you know what? If this happened to me/I was offered a choice, then I would cry and plead and ask reality for a refund. Because I think some certain other life-changing speculative event would be more fun to mess around in.
 
Dec 12, 2013 at 7:32 PM
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The time before someone in my family was found to have liver cancer then died a few months afterward.
 
Dec 12, 2013 at 8:34 PM
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andwhyisit said:
I understand that already, you aren't following what I'm saying. You have two yous: future you and past you. When you (future you) occupy past you's body in the past, does past you occupy future you's body in the future, or does past you and future you both occupy past you's body leaving future you's body in a coma? And if you change the past can you still return to the unchanged future you came from or can you only return to the changed future? A small change to the past can create serious consequences over time. For instance if you travel back in time to become junior Einstein and your friends can no longer relate to you.
ummm..... your past state of mind would magically disappear, and... i guess you could find a way to get back to your original future?
how does this even relate to the topic anyway? all i was asking is if you would change any part of your past... no need to get all technical.


 
Dec 12, 2013 at 9:04 PM
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I just knew this thread would turn into an argument about time travel bullshit lol

I honestly don't know. I cherish every memory I make, even the littlest one. They are my most prized possessions. I wouldn't necessarily go back and change a bunch of stuff, cause I've learned many lessons about my choices in life. My most recent "wish I coulda" moment was when I wished I jumped right into college as soon as I graduated, because at the point I'll graduate when I'm in my mid-20s. Anyway.

If I want to relive memories, it'd have to be THE SUMMER OF LOVE AND FALL OF FRIENDSHIP, 2011. Or, perhaps Cavecon 2012. Especially the portion involving star gazing on a boat and then thinking there is a serial killer lurking in the woods. Those were magical times.

I think it'd be nice to relive the really horrible portions of my life too, just to see how much stronger it made me. I kind of live off pain, too. So seeing it would invoke kind of a beautiful sadness, or something. I dunno. Not sure where I'm going with this.
 
Dec 12, 2013 at 11:01 PM
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SableArc said:
ummm..... your past state of mind would magically disappear, and... i guess you could find a way to get back to your original future?
So to reiterate my previous question: if I leave "past" me's body and return to "original future" me's body does that mean that "past" me's body is now in a coma because my past state of mind magically disappeared.

I take this stuff seriously. Depending upon the mechanics of time travel there are some serious consequences to be had.
 
Dec 12, 2013 at 11:37 PM
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ok. so your past state of mind will be stored in some space-time storage place, where time does not continue. IF you leave that particular timeline, the stuff that happened up to the point of you entering that time line would be reversed, and the previous state of mind will return to the body...
half of the crap i explained before was unnecessary wasn't it...
 
Dec 12, 2013 at 11:55 PM
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So I can't jump in, change something, then jump to the changed future to see said results?
 
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