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Non-Linear Character (view source)

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{{trope}}
{{quote|'''[[Satan|Lucifel]]''':"Allow me to tell you a story. It took place 360,000 years....no; 14,000 years ago. But what is time anyways? For me, it seems like yesterday. For you, it might be tomorrow.''|[[Satan|Lucifel]], ''[[El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron (Video Game)|El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron]]''}}
 
Most people live within a time stream, where time flows in one direction and effects follow causes. However, there are some characters in fiction that are slightly removed from the time stream and are able to see the past, present, and future all at the same time. These characters tend to exude a mysterious, all-knowing air about them, as they generally know who you are, why you are talking to them, and what will happen if you do what you are planning. They aren't necessarily [[The Omniscient]] as you may [[Screw Destiny|create your own destiny]], but they may often act much like him.
 
Such characters will inevitably [[Mind Screw]] any character who thinks they ''can'' alter their destiny, since they have already seen the end of the story. [[You CannotAlready ChangeChanged the FuturePast|If there is no possible future]] other than the one the author has intended, this character may be [[You Can't Fight Fate|curiously passive]] despite their omniscience, since they already know what's going to happen regardless. May be lampshaded if they stop to contemplate what they're about to do next.
 
If played for comedy, the character may forget what period in time he currently is, sometimes uttering, "When is this again?" For extreme versions of this, go to [[Unstuck in Time]]. (You are about to, if you haven't already.)
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For characters whose lives are [[Back to Front|reversed]] from the normal timeline but otherwise linear, see [[Merlin Sickness]].
 
A simple way of showing this is [[NonAnachronic Order|Non-Linear Storytelling]], although that has [[True Art Is Incomprehensible|more general]] [[Mind Screw|applications]]; particularly in a [[Thriller]], [[Mystery]] or [[Lit Fic]] where the author doesn't want the audience to put the pieces together before the end.
{{examples|Examples:}}
 
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