Two Variants and a Baby

#379: In this episode of GT Radio, Josué, Marc, Link, and Lara explore a familiar and emotionally loaded trope: meeting your younger self—or becoming the older version someone else wishes they could hear from. Sparked by an ongoing inside joke that Marc feels like a younger “variant” of Josué and Lara, the conversation turns into a thoughtful reflection on advice, growth, boundaries, and whether wisdom can actually be transferred across time. The group discusses how painful it can be to watch someone repeat mistakes you recognize from your own past, especially when you know you wouldn’t have listened either. From there, they unpack why advice often fails, why data sometimes works better than directives, and how people learn differently—through experience, observation, or repetition. The hosts examine how this dynamic shows up in therapy, particularly in trauma work, parts work, and re-parenting approaches, where the “future self” metaphor becomes a powerful way to offer compassion and understanding to past versions of ourselves. They also talk about the limits of hindsight, the importance of boundaries, and how values—not just outcomes—shape who we become. Throughout the episode, geek culture provides a shared language for these ideas, with time travel, variants, and alternate timelines offering metaphors for growth, regret, and possibility. Ultimately, the conversation lands on a hopeful note: even if we can’t go back and change the past, we can still decide who we are now—and what lessons we carry forward. Characters / Media Mentioned: Zathura: A Space Adventure Jumanji X-Men: Days of Future Past (Professor X / Charles Xavier) Spider-Man: No Way Home Danny Phantom The Fairly OddParents (Channel Chasers) Paper Girls (comic series) Steven Universe (“Steven and the Stevens”) Avatar: The Last Airbender What Remains of Edith Finch Dragon Ball Z (Future Trunks) Dragon Ball Super Terminator franchise Back to the Future (referenced conceptually) Themes / Topics Discussed: Advice and Resistance Time Travel and Alternate Timelines Personal Growth and Regret Boundaries and Burnout Learning from Experience vs. Observation Mentorship and Modeling Trauma, Re-parenting, and Parts Work Values vs. Outcomes Identity Across Time Compassion for Past Selves Relatable Experiences: Ignoring Advice You Later Wish You’d Taken Watching Someone Repeat Your Mistakes Feeling Embarrassed by Your Past Self Being Proud You Survived Hard Periods Struggling with Boundaries Learning the Hard Way Wanting a “Strategy Guide” for Life Feeling Conflicted About Who You’ve Become Join the discussion on the GT Forum at https://forum.geektherapy.org, or connect with the Geek Therapy Network on Discord, Mastodon, and other platforms linked at https://geektherapy.org. If you met your younger self, what would you want them to know? What would your past self think of who you are now? Which stories helped you make sense of growing older and changing paths?