This will not affect your original timeline.

And lets take take this hypothetical a step further:

Sceanrio 2:
Say, in the alt-timeline, present-you arrive in the year when past alt-you were 10 years old, your original parents/guardians/caretakers dies for some reason on this timeline, would you care enough about your alternate-self help them? Like take on the role of a parent/guardian in place of their now-dead parents? (Basically, its a roundabout way of asking: How much can you tolerate yourself?)

My answer:

I think I could probably remember enough of myself to understand my alt-self enough to become friends. But if their timeline got fucked up, and their parents die, I’m not sure I can actually deal with this kid who, is me, but not me, like… I would probably get so annoyed at this kid, but also, I’d think about myself when I was 10, when I was this kid, and then feel pity. Idk if I could ever abandon an alt-self, because I’ve already feel abandoned (not literally, but like as in terms of the emotional side of parental love that I never gotten), I wouldn’t wanna see someone who is practically me, also go though the same abandonment.

Idk… Time travel is so weird.

    • underreacting@literature.cafe
      21·
      1 hour ago

      Because you want them to have multiple positive adults around them, people who can watch over them in situations where a parent would be too “embarrassing”, that they can learn different perspectives from, that they can ask questions and get answers to stuff their peers would just pull out of their ass.

      You want them to have safety in numbers, that there will always be someone available to turn to if they need to talk or feel unsafe.

      Plus it’s fun to play schoolyard games and soccer and do seasonal crafts and teach them how to play card games or change tires on a bicycle or put up a shelf or make a cake or how to respectfully greet different animals.

      And as a bonus you only have to be responsible for them when we hang out, not every day of the week like a parent has to.

      Why wouldn’t you want to be friends with kids?