History Main / IJustWantToBeNormal

* Violet from ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'', at least in the beginning of the movie.

* Jarod Shadowsong, a night elf from ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}''. In the novel ''Literature/TheWarOfTheAncients'', he is a simple guard from the city of Suramar who gets wrapped up with major lore characters in the fight against the [[LegionsOfHell Burning Legion]]. When the general of the night elven army dies, Jarod is given the job of commanding the army comprising of night elves, [[ALoadOfBull tauren]], [[BearyFunny furbolgs]], [[LivingStatue Earthen]], and ''demigods''. He knows the job has to be filled but wants nothing more than to go back to just being a faceless guard. After the war, Jarod vanished instead of taking up the offer of being co-leader of his people. He would reappear in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft Cataclysm'' when Mount Hyjal was threatened by Ragnaros, this time much more willing to take command after his [[TenMinuteRetirement Ten-Thousand Year Retirement]].

* ''[[Fanfic/AChildShallLeadThem A Child Shall Lead Them]]'': Swoop is like this after gaining the Matrix and becoming leader of the Autobots -- he feels rejected by both the Autobots and the Dinobots due to his new position, and at one point even ''throws the Matrix at Grimlock'' in an effort to reject his position. He ends up coming to terms with his new role as he undergoes CharacterDevelopment.

[[AC:''VideoGame/MegaMan'']]

* In ''Fanfic/ForgedDestiny'', Pyrrha Nikos came to [[ExtranormalInstitute Beacon academy]] to escape the fame and expectations placed on her in Mistral due to her being a [[PrestigeClass Champion]].
* In ''FanFic/AGamerInSouthBlue'', Jack decided early on that he really didn't want to be in the center of all of the insanity that [[Manga/OnePiece the Straw Hats are causing]]. But he reflects at the end of Chapter 9 that getting sucked into canon may be inevitable.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'' story ''Fanfic/HellsisterTrilogy'', Kara is getting tired of the constant battles and light-and-death struggles and expresses her desire to live like a normal woman:
-->'''Supergirl:''' But I'm... oh, Sheol, I'm so tired of all this stuff. Fight after fight after fight. We save the universe, we kill Mordru, we kill Satan Girl, we come back, and here somebody throws Darkseid in our face again. Can't there ever be an end to it? [...] Well, it's gonna have to start coming somewhere else before long. I'm tired of this. I wasn't born to be a, a super-heroine. I just wanted to be a normal girl from Argo, and, and get a good job and a good man and settle down...
* ''Fanfic/NewTamaran'':
** The story begins with this being Starfire’s ultimate desire, which is the reason she starts a modeling career. Robin shares her dream, which is why he decides to retire from hero work and proposes to her.
** Once Wonder Girl finds out she’s pregnant, she asks Speedy (who isn't the biological father) to have a normal life with her. He agrees.
* Having been BlessedWithSuck, both Paul and John in ''Fanfic/WithStringsAttached'' are terrified of going home as is, with all the life-ruining complications their new bodies and magic would entail. When told they have to be returned to normal to go back to Earth, they're delighted. The other two are... not as delighted.
** In ''Fanfic/TheKeysStandAlone: The Soft World'', the situation changes somewhat. First, everyone now knows it's temporary, so John, at least, can view their second trip to C'hou as a vacation rather than a curse. (At least until he realizes what a CrapsaccharineWorld C'hou has become.) Not so with Paul, who suffered tremendous psychological difficulties when he returned home because he couldn't shake the feeling that he was going to kill his family by touching them. He had just gotten over that when he was sent back. And Ringo, who discovered he was hopelessly addicted to his mindsight after he lost it, must now choose between keeping it, thus staying on C'hou and giving up his new love Barbara Bach and everything else in his life, or returning home and giving up his magic. (George, who is not connected to his magic like the others are, mostly views his ring as an experience; he hardly thinks it's worth giving up his family for. And he's certainly not willing to trade his freedom just for a little magic.)
* Kairi Niko in the ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' fic ''Destiny's Pawn'' is an amnesiac bookworm with skills she can't explain and really didn't ''want'' to know where she learned them. She flat-out asked the Masters if they could "shut off" her Force sensitivity, and only agreed to her conscription into the Jedi because there wasn't another option. Given her druthers, she's just quit and become a translator, but seeing as she's the ex-Dark Lord...

* ''FanFic/MyLittleAvengers'': [[TheHero Big Macintosh]] spends a good portion of the story regretting ever finding Mjolnir and becoming Thor but eventually comes to terms with it. [[spoiler: This contributes to his HeroicBSOD when [[BigBad Loki]] steals Thor's powers from him, and after he gets them back, it's shown that he's fully embraced his role.]]

* In the Transformers fanfic ''[[Fanfic/AChildShallLeadThem A Child Shall Lead Them]]'', Swoop is like this after gaining the Matrix and becoming leader of the Autobots -- he feels rejected by both the Autobots and the Dinobots due to his new position, and at one point even ''throws the Matrix at Grimlock'' in an effort to reject his position. He ends up coming to terms with his new role as he undergoes CharacterDevelopment.
* In ''FanFic/TheEndOfEnds'', this gets subverted and possibly {{deconstructed}} depending on how you see it. [[spoiler:Terra's]] decision to lead a normal life drove Beast Boy over the edge and [[spoiler:caused him to gain a SuperpoweredEvilSide simply because the only person who actually liked him dumped him.]] When the former finds out what her actions of trying to be normal caused, not to mention the whole [[ApocalypseHow void thing]] going on, it made her reconsider her decision.
* Celestia breaks down at one point in ''FanFic/DiariesOfAMadman'', and laments that she would have preferred being a simple healer instead of a ruler.

* Petra in ''FanFic/{{Drakonophobia}}'' never asked to be [[TheChosenOne Dragonborn]]. All she wants to do is to live her life out in peace earning coin and getting enough to get by. Events at Helgen and the Western Watchtower cause the titular phobia to which Petra runs away to Riften where Brynjolf finds her in her sorry state and convinces her to join the Thieves Guild. She becomes a skilled thief and enjoys that because she gets to be on her own and it keeps her away from anything particularly major. Fate decided otherwise when an encounter with a dragon leads to Brynjolf eventually finding out about it. Everything just spirals downwards after that.
** It happens to Brynjolf as well, as their adventures take them to disturbing revelations [[spoiler: like Mercer's betrayal and the reveal that he's Bryn's father, but he's also the descendant of Tiber Septim, and the Grand Dragon Priest Zoklitinhaar and how the latter's spirit is encased in his body.]] he just wants to do his part as second-in-command.
* ''FanFic/ConsequencesOfUnoriginality'' points out just what it would mean if every character were to [[MindRape fall in love]] with a "perfect" character in a world where only they can save the day -- in shorter, every other character tries to violate him, while monsters spontaneously come into being to destroy the innocent for the sole purpose of making him show up to fight them. He ends up voluntarily ripping out one-third of his being in order to become normal, but the world remembers what happened because of him.
* ''Fanfic/TheBridge'': Godzilla Junior's greatest dream is to live the rest of his life in peace. As long as there are evil Kaiju and evil aliens threatening the world, he will continue to fight and lead the Defenders.
* In ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''/''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'' crossover ''Fanfic/TheVampireOfSteel'', both Kara and Buffy remember what to be a normal, powerless teenager was like; and often they'd like to be normal again.
-->'''Supergirl:''' Sorry, I wasn’t trying to put anyone down by comparison. I know what it’s like, believe me. I didn’t always have powers.\\
'''Buffy:''' Neither did I. Sometimes I think I’d like to be back there.\\
'''Supergirl:''' That makes two of us.
* Since it's basically the title from ''Fanfic/ReluctantHero'', Zuko's stubborn desire to go back on his ship with his uncle doesn't come as a surprise. Alas for him, the Universe needs the Avatar and finds a way to force him on the path to his destiny.
* In ''Fanfic/NeitherABirdNorAPlaneItsDeku'', Izuku is horrified by his growing array of ComboPlatterPowers after he nearly killed Katsuki Bakugou -- whom he considered his best friend -- when they got into a fight as kids. This piles on top of his angst over being an alien on a planet that hates aliens. Because of this, he swears off his dream of becoming a superhero until the day he meets All Might.
* ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'':
** Harry struggles with a conflict between this and ChronicHeroSyndrome, further complicated by the meddling of Doctor Strange. On the one hand, he'd really, ''really'' love to have a normal life (defined as one where he doesn't have grand responsibilities). Sadly, being the Boy Who Lived, son of an Avenger, second in line to the throne of Asgard, and the [[TheChosenOne keystone]] to Doctor Strange's plan to prepare Earth for the coming of Thanos, all means that that is unlikely to happen. On the other hand, he's an adrenaline junkie -- a large part of him ''enjoys'' being InHarmsWay, and he just can't turn aside. Eventually, in the sequel, he becomes first a KnightInSourArmor who's bitterly ResignedToTheCall, then [[{{Reconstruction}} more]] [[KnightInShiningArmour classically]] [[KnightErrant heroic]] again.
** Jean-Paul Beaubier, one of Harry's friends, a mutant speedster -- and from the finale of the first book, [[spoiler:this world's version of the Flash]] -- who makes it very clear that he prefers ''not'' to get involved in fighting (though when he does get involved, he demonstrates just how terrifying an utterly ruthless speedster can be), and in the sequel somewhat wistfully discusses this trope, wishing he was just a normal mutant or even a normal human.
** Jean Grey is, by the sequel, the most powerful psychic that Earth has ever seen [[spoiler: (jointly with her SeparatedAtBirth twin, Maddie, and even then, it's hinted that Jean is ever so slightly stronger)]]. However, as Harry points out to Clark (also an example), she's much more comfortable leading a normal teenage life and studying to probably become a doctor someday. Unlike most eamples, though, she's perfectly comfortable with her powers.
** Clark Kent, as on ''{{Series/Smallville}}'', really just wants to be normal -- though as Harry points out, [[ChronicHeroSyndrome he can't resist helping]], on the quiet. Unfortunately, destiny (and Doctor Strange) have other plans.
** Hermione just wants to be a normal witch, with [[MagicAIsMagicA logical magic]] to study and understand. Unfortunately, though she doesn't know it ([[spoiler: until chapter 66 of the sequel]]), she's the biological daughter of [[ComicBook/ScarletWitch Wanda Maximoff]] and ComicBook/JohnConstantine, the granddaughter of {{ComicBook/Magneto}}. This leaves her with Chaos Magic based RealityWarper powers that play to the exact opposite of her strengths, and, from chapter 64 of the sequel, [[spoiler: an Omega Class spatial manipulation based X-Gene]]. In the former case, she keeps refusing to truly accept that chaos magic doesn't work like normal magic, and it keeps tripping her up, something that she resents. Accordingly, she takes both [[spoiler: the manifestation of her X-Gene and the revelation of her heritage]] extremely badly.
* ''Fanfic/AFinelyHonedBlade'': [[Literature/{{Worm}} Taylor]] does ''not'' want to be a cape, and actively despises her powers. Even after Bakuda forces her to accept them, she's not exactly happy about having to [[spoiler:ascribe to cape traditions like hiding her face after taking over the ABB and going after Coil, though she relents when Lisa points out the practical value of a helmet]].
* ''Fanfic/MyLittleTitan'': A variant after the "Return of Harmony" arc. [[spoiler:The Teen Titans don't give up their powers, but they ''do'' opt to retire from superhero life and live as normal civilians in Equestria. Raven does this in part because she ''does'' want to be normal and be able to feel and act on her emotions without risking her powers going out of control, which she can't do back on Earth.]]

* ''Fanfic/LeastNoticeableAndLittleFlappy'': Though Claire likes herself and her powers, she sometimes wishes she could have a more normal life -- impossible for her, given her size, shape and invisibility:
-->She couldn't even go inside and be with other ponies at their festivals. None of the buildings in Dunnich, not even the Town Hall, was big enough for her now-gigantic form. And she couldn't dance at them, not even outdoors -- a couple of near-tragedies had made her realize that somepony who could crush a house in an act of clumsiness should neither dance around normal-sized Ponies nor even their structures. Sometimes she would stand at a window and watch a party, but never in town -- things were just too crowded there for her ungainly form.\\
Romance and marriage seemed out of the question for her. By her nature she was able to love anything sentient, of any sex, but there was no suitable creature for her to court. Normal Ponies, even those who knew and liked her, were not attracted to a huge invisible fluffy pony, especially one overendowed with heads and eyes and tongues.
* ''Fanfic/NewBeginningsSmallville'': Early in the story, young Clark Kent shouts that he would give anything to have no powers as arguing with his adoptive father.
* Downplayed for Leslie Willis in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13535700/7/Sparks-Fly Sparks Fly]]''. She ''does'' enjoy the perks of being a celebrity -- having enough money to be financially secure, being able to influence thousands of people listening to her radio emission -- but she's pretty unhappy about reality intruding on her private time (paparazzi barging in the restaurant in which she took her boyfriend in a date).
** Unbeknownst to her, Superman too feels the same, and has started to date her because she was interested in his SecretIdentity of Clark Kent rather than his superpowered self -- she makes him truly feel a FarmBoy instead of an HumanAlien.

They [[BlessedWithSuck didn't want these powers]], this magic, this curse, or whatever it is that was foisted upon them. [[ComesGreatResponsibility The responsibility to save the world?]] Forget it! [[InHarmsWay All those exciting adventures and the ability to potentially do anything?]] Take it away. [[HomeSweetHome They want nothing to do with it]].

* ''Fanfic/MyImmortal'' gives us [[OverlyLongName Ebony]] [[MarySue Dark'ness]] [[SoBeautifulItsACurse Dementia]] Raven [[CostumePorn Way]], who likes to remind us that being such a special snowflake isn't really a good thing

* A common trait in Mary Sues is the Sue bemoaning their perfection and wishing they could be normal. But what if an ordinary person were forced to become a Sue? ''FanFic/ConsequencesOfUnoriginality'' points out just what it would mean if every character were to [[MindRape fall in love]] with a "perfect" character in a world where only they can save the day -- in shorter, every other character tries to violate him, while monsters spontaneously come into being to destroy the innocent for the sole purpose of making him show up to fight them. He ends up voluntarily ripping out one-third of his being in order to become normal, but the world remembers what happened because of him.

* In one of the ''MyLittlePony'' animated specials, Lily Lightly is the only unicorn whose [[CursedWithAwesome horn glows]] when she's excited or really happy, so she tries to hide it from everyone else. She even has an IWantSong about it.

!!!"Reluctant Hero" redirects to this page. For the ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' fanfic, [[Fanfic/ReluctantHero go here]].

For the ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' fanfic ''Reluctant Hero'', look [[Fanfic/ReluctantHero here]].

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[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBook/SpiderMan https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/i_just_want_to_be_normal.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Peter Parker's finally tired of Spider-Man's messes.]]

* A common trait in Mary Sues is the Sue bemoaning their perfection and wishing they could be normal. But what if an ordinary person were forced to become a Sue? ''FanFic/ConsequencesOfUnoriginality'' points out just what it would mean if every character were to [[MindRape fall in love]] with a "perfect" character in a world where only they can save the day--in shorter, every other character tries to violate him, while monsters spontaneously come into being to destroy the innocent for the sole purpose of making him show up to fight them. He ends up voluntarily ripping out one-third of his being in order to become normal, but the world remembers what happened because of him.

** Harry struggles with a conflict between this and ChronicHeroSyndrome, further complicated by the meddling of Doctor Strange. On the one hand, he'd really, ''really'' love to have a normal life (defined as one where he doesn't have grand responsibilities). Sadly, being the Boy Who Lived, son of an Avenger, second in line to the throne of Asgard, and the [[TheChosenOne keystone]] to Doctor Strange's plan to prepare Earth for the coming of Thanos, all means that that is unlikely to happen. On the other hand, he's an adrenaline junkie - a large part of him ''enjoys'' being InHarmsWay, and he just can't turn aside. Eventually, in the sequel, he becomes first a KnightInSourArmor who's bitterly ResignedToTheCall, then [[{{Reconstruction}} more]] [[KnightInShiningArmour classically]] [[KnightErrant heroic]] again.
** Jean-Paul Beaubier, one of Harry's friends, a mutant speedster - and from the finale of the first book, [[spoiler:this world's version of the Flash]] - who makes it very clear that he prefers ''not'' to get involved in fighting (though when he does get involved, he demonstrates just how terrifying an utterly ruthless speedster can be), and in the sequel somewhat wistfully discusses this trope, wishing he was just a normal mutant or even a normal human.

** Clark Kent, as on ''{{Series/Smallville}}'', really just wants to be normal - though as Harry points out, [[ChronicHeroSyndrome he can't resist helping]], on the quiet. Unfortunately, destiny (and Doctor Strange) have other plans.

* ''Fanfic/LeastNoticeableAndLittleFlappy'': Though Claire likes herself and her powers, she sometimes wishes she could have a more normal life — impossible for her, given her size, shape and invisibility:
-->She couldn't even go inside and be with other ponies at their festivals. None of the buildings in Dunnich, not even the Town Hall, was big enough for her now-gigantic form. And she couldn't dance at them, not even outdoors — a couple of near-tragedies had made her realize that somepony who could crush a house in an act of clumsiness should neither dance around normal-sized Ponies nor even their structures. Sometimes she would stand at a window and watch a party, but never in town — things were just too crowded there for her ungainly form.\\

* Bethany in ''Film/{{Dogma}}''. Jesus is said to have also been like this for some years--the ones not recounted in the Bible.

* ''Film/GodzillaVsDestoroyah'': In the Omni Productions dub, Miki Saegusa, resident psychic of the Heisei ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' films, notes that her psychic powers have been fading away lately, which worries her. Meru Ozawa, in contrast, says that she can't wait for her own powers to fade away since it means she would be able to start a family as a normal person. Miki's reaction to Meru's response seems to indicate that she agrees with her colleague's sentiments more than she had realized. Averted in the Japanese version, where Meru's reaction is actually the opposite - she relishes having psychic powers and even says that she uses them to find out if the boys who loved her would ever marry her.
* Leonardo from ''Film/TheWayHeLooks'' gets fed up with the special treatment he gets for being blind, especially from his mother.
* In ''Film/{{Selkie}}'', this is Jamie's reaction after he first turns into a seal and finds out why. He comes to accept it by the end of the movie, backing out of a ritual that would have turned him permanently human.
* ''Film/NowYouSeeIt2005'': Danny, being someone who has uncontrollable and unexplained magical abilities, just wants to feel like a normal kid, and actively pushes Allison away when she tries to, in his eyes, take it away from him.
* ''Film/WhereHandsTouch'': This is Leyna's desire, and Kerstin also wants it for her. Of course, it's impossible under the Nazis for that to happen.
* ''Film/MargaritaWithAStraw'': Laila dislikes not so much her disability but being treated differently, and she wishes people would just act like everyone else with her. Those that do are whom she's most happy with. However, she's willing to use it once, as her professor offers an assistant to help her write which she accepts after seeing he's very handsome.
* In ''Film/ArtemisFowl'', Mulch Diggums is a "giant dwarf," or ''Dwarfus Giganticus'', but wants desperately to be short like other dwarves.
* The first leg of the documentary ''Film/ShowbizKids'' discusses the differences between being a child actor and being normal, as your childhood is essentially taken from you — there's no real way one can be 'normal' on a film set. Some of the interview subjects say that they are or were hesitant for their own kids to be in the spotlight, and a rising child star featured, Demi Singleton, expresses the desire to go to sleepaway camp with her friends.

** Zia's power is {{telepathy}}, allowing her to read minds up to fifteen miles away. Except she can't turn it off and is frequently overwhelmed with people's private thoughts that she doesn't want to hear. She wants to go back to normal- in one BadFuture, [[DePower she gets her wish]].

* In a non-superpower example, Solid Snake of the ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' series made one attempt to live a normal life in the isolation of Alaska, attempting to escape the cycle of violence and death that had killed so many people around him. Without fail, he was back fighting the titular HumongousMecha within a few years at most.
* ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' [[{{Zigzagged}} zigzags]] the trope in regards to [[AnimeChineseGirl Chun Li.]] When she debuted back in ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'', she was [[YouKilledMyFather out for revenge]] [[BigBad against M. Bison.]] Yet, in her character ending, she said she wanted to live a normal life. Like many things in ''SF'', this was [[{{Retcon}} retconned]] years later, beginning in the ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha Alpha]]'' series, which portrays Chun Li as a dedicated agent of Interpol. But by ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterIII SF III]]'', she's retired from Interpol and teaches at a dojo of her own.
** Parodied in [[Anime/ScienceNinjaTeamGatchaman Jun the Swan's]] ending in the Wii version of ''VideoGame/TatsunokoVsCapcom''. If you choose the option to try being a normal woman, you see her and the other heroines in the game (including Chun Li)... and ''none'' of them have the slightest idea of how to be normal.
* In ''VideoGame/TheSims 2'', this is generally how sims without the knowledge aspiration react to being turned into a monster. They will constantly have the want to be normal come up in their slot, or the want for one of their friends or family to be normal. You can just ignore this with no negative consequences though, or you can cash in on the points and buy the curing potion. Note that sims who ''do'' have the knowledge aspiration have this a fear instead.
* [[spoiler:Vayne]] in ''VideoGame/ManaKhemiaAlchemistsOfAlRevis''.

* It's implied that [[spoiler: Joshua]] from ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'' felt this way in the stinger ending.
* Roxas spends most of ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' like this. He's perfectly happy in his nice normal town, doing nice normal chores with his nice normal friends. When the villains and the Keyblade come to call, telling him of some grand former life he used to have, he really doesn't care. He just wishes they'd all stop bothering him.
** In the first Kingdom Hearts, Sora fits this trope. He journeys not to save the Universe (which he ends up doing), but to find his friends. Once he has done that, he still needs to restore his homeworld.
* In ''VideoGame/WildARMs2'', Anastasia Valeria [[spoiler:AKA the Sword Magess]] states that she used to be a normal girl before [[TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive destiny intervened]]. She suffers a total breakdown when it looks like [[spoiler: Ashley]] is going to leave her alone, pretty much invoking the trope by name.

* Several mages in the ''Franchise/DragonAge'' franchise feel this way about their magic. One mage in the ''[[VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins Origins]]'' prays to the Maker apologizing for her very existence and thinks she is a monster. Ander's friend Karl in the sequel says that he would gladly give up his magic if it didn't also mean being turned Tranquil. In the {{DLC}} "Legacy" Hawke's father Malcolm's lingering memories reveal that Malcolm hated his magic and hoped none of his children would share his burden.
** Hawke's sister Bethany vocalizes her desire to be normal several times in party banter.
* Shinjiro Aragaki in ''VideoGame/Persona3'' would like nothing better than to be rid of his Persona - with good reason, since [[spoiler:he once lost control of it during a mission, causing the death of an innocent woman and orphaning her eight-year-old son]]. He stubbornly rejects Akihiko's efforts to bring him back into the fight and goes so far as to [[spoiler:poison himself with Persona-suppressing drugs]]. In the female protagonist's route in the PSP version of the game, he all but says the trope name word for word during his Social Link.
** Mitsuru in the same game also struggles a little with wanting to be normal; in her case it has less to do with her Persona and more to do with the fact that she's the heir to a large corporation and thus a lot of her life has been shaped by the expectations on her to live up to her role. To make things worse, her company is responsible for [[spoiler:all of the events in the game, including the Dark Hour, the Fall, Strega...]]so her company name is actually a severe burden. All things being equal, she'd like to be able to wear the same kinds of clothes and frequent the same hangouts that other students her age do, but instead her clothes are chosen for her by her family's stylist and she's engaged to a man twice her age who she feels she must marry in order to secure the future stability of her family's company.
* Labrys from ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena'' is an advanced robot designed to fight Shadows. However, she ''hates'' fighting and her true desire is to be normal high school student, to the point of [[spoiler: forcing herself to hallucinate that's what she really is. Her [[EnemyWithout Shadow Self]] decides the true way to become normal is if everybody else has the same DarkAndTroubledPast she did. Namely, forcing them to kill their loved ones.]]
* Hikari from ''VideoGame/PersonaQ2NewCinemaLabyrinth'' has constantly wanted to become "normal" because being different from other people [[spoiler: is what got her into being humiliated by her primary school teacher, isolated by her secondary school friends and her film director profession rejected by her relatives]] in the first place. Aside that [[spoiler:while "becoming normal" in this instance supposedly means fulfilling society's expectations such as studying in a regular university or finding a regular and less risky occupation, it likely isn't for Hikari. In fact, by becoming "normal," she probably meant shutting herself off from reality and other people forever, so she wouldn't have any personality to begin with.]]
* Argilla from ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga''. Originally just another emotionless combat drone, the release of the Demon Virus charged her with emotions, which neither she nor anyone in her CrapsackWorld had ever experienced. As her personality started forming, she developed a wish to know more about what had happened to her. Then she was informed she had shifted into a powerful demon form and slaughtered an enemy battalion. It was comprehensible she uttered the trope verbatim, as an emotionless existence was very much preferable to what she was becoming.
* Jarod Shadowsong, a night elf from ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}''. In the novel ''Literature/TheWarOfTheAncients'', he is a simple guard from the city of Suramar who gets wrapped up with major lore characters in the fight against the [[LegionsOfHell Burning Legion]]. When the general of the night elven army dies, Jarod is given the job of commanding the army comprising of night elves, [[ALoadOfBull tauren]], [[BearyFunny furbolgs]], [[LivingStatue Earthen]], and ''demigods''. He knows the job has to be filled but wants nothing more than to go back to just being a faceless guard. After the war, Jarod vanished instead of taking up the offer of being co-leader of his people. He would reappear in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft Cataclysm'' when Mount Hyjal was threatened by Ragnaros, this time much more willing to take command after his [[TenMinuteRetirement Ten-Thousand Year Retirement]].
** The novel ''Wolfheart'' reveals that he left because he fell in love with another night elf (not Shandris), and they decided to run away to have a normal life together. He only returned because she got sick (a side effect of the loss of immortality).
* In ''VideoGame/{{MDK}}'', janitor Kurt Hectic reluctantly dons the Coil Suit to save the day against alien invaders. In ''VideoGame/{{MDK2}}'', the aliens manage to capture him and take the suit. Kurt tells Dr. Hawkins this, relieved that he doesn't have to fight anymore now that it's hopeless and he can go back to being a regular janitor again. Hawkins then reveals that he has a bunch of backup Coil Suits ready for Kurt to wear. Kurt once again resigns himself to being the savior of humanity.
* Inverted with Tails in the ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' series. Tails is a young fox with two tails instead of one, which got him bullied by other people for it. Rather than wishing he was a normal fox, Tails shrugs it off and accepts who he is and he actually uses his tails to fly and to propel him really fast when he runs.

* Hamil of ''VideoGame/TearsToTiara2'' just wants to travel. But he has to protect his people the Canaanites from TheEmpire, and then actually destroy TheEmpire. [[spoiler: The Legendary King Eshmun, known in the stories as a Berserker BloodKnight, turns out to have felt the same way.]]

* ''VideoGame/MaxAnAutisticJourney'': While furious at himself, Max exclaims that he hates his autistic brain and wishes he didn't have autism. The King of Monsters (his ImaginaryFriend and conscience of sorts) talks Max out of it, assuring him that autism is not a bad thing and that it gives him special gifts that he should be proud of.
* Zigzagged in ''VideoGame/YandereSimulator'': EmotionlessGirl Ayano started pretending to be normal not so much because she wanted to be, but because her father (who was desperately hoping she wouldn't be a {{Yandere}} [[spoiler:like her mother]]) wanted her to be. As she got older, however, she started to resent being emotionless and was willing to do anything to feel an emotion like a normal girl for the first time. Then she met Senpai...

* ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo'': Lightly implied. While Sig is largely shown to not mind having a demonic arm, a few scenes and character descriptions show that he does have the desire to know more about it, and to possibly "cure" it. This is most apparent in his interaction with Akuma from the latter's ''15th Anniversary'' story mode.
* Eirik from ''VideoGame/DeadInVinland'' was happy living as an artisan with his wife, daughter, and sister-in-law, and never aspired to anything different. Unfortunately, he's [[spoiler: the bastard son of the recently deceased jarl, making him a potential rival for the new jarl's title and even his family a possible threat]], meaning that they had to flee town on a stolen boat so they wouldn't be murdered. He has a huge GuiltComplex about being the reason his family is stuck on an uncharted IslandOfMystery, and he'd much rather [[CallToAgriculture grow vegetables]] than be the reluctant leader of LaResistance that he's become.
* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestV'': Prince Wilbur has no interest in ruling a kingdom and prefers to be just a regular kid.
* ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'': Keqing has tried and failed on occasions to discard or destroy her Vision, which she believes is the gods' way of cursing her for her wish of human independence. She fears that people will attribute her accomplishments to her Vision rather than her own work. As she does not want the Vision to fall to the wrong hands, she had no choice left but to accept it as part of her life; still, she only sees it as just another tool without any divine will attached.

* Chigara from ''VisualNovel/{{Sunrider}}'' is a downplayed example. She is a mechanical genius who [[SmartPeopleBuildRobots built two custom mecha by herself]], can create fully functional devices in her sleep, and is pretty much singlehandedly responsible for maintaining and upgrading the Sunrider and her mechs as the ship’s acting Chief Engineer. She is happy enough to do all this, but she would much rather settle down to raise a family and open a bakery.

* ''WebAnimation/{{Dreamscape}}'': Dylan is very reluctant to tackle big, world-saving missions and adventures, and just wants to hang out with his friends.

* ''Webcomic/NowhereUniversity'': Edward has a brief spell of this after discovering PsychicPowers, but [[http://nowhereu.comicgenesis.com/d/20080603.html quickly thinks better]].

* In ''Webcomic/AgentsOfTheRealm'', at first Norah doesn't want the be a MagicalGirlWarrior, preferring to live a normal college life instead, but circumstances make her ResignedToTheCall.
* Snatcher from ''Webcomic/{{Sidekicks}}'' viewed her superpower [[BlessedWithSuck as a curse]] after them manifesting [[LadyLooksLikeADude left her bald]].
* Zoe is like this a bit in ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance''. She just wants to graduate from college and get a good job, while all her friends are more interested in summoning demons, exploring [[AnotherDimension other dimensions]], building [[HumongousMecha giant robots]], fighting vampires, or concocting various {{Zany Scheme}}s. It doesn't help that, while the other characters can cast spells, build MadScientist style inventions, or kill demons with a swing of their sword, Zoe's "power" is turning into a camel whenever someone says "shupid" (which her friends do whenever they're feeling a bit vengeful).
** In the Stormbringer arc, she appears to muster up her will in an attempt to avert this trope. Except that amongst her circle of friends, taking a shotgun into a time-travelling go-kart ''is normal''.
* In ''Webcomic/{{Misfile}}'' this is Ash's eternal lament. What with the GenderBender, the drunken angel posing as her boyfriend, and being treated like the local badass's [[ReplacementGoldfish surrogate little sister]] you can't really blame her.
** Interestingly, Emily is actually enjoying her new life more than her old one and is beginning to disagree with Ash's desire to return to the way things were.

* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' - ironically, the deepest thoughts on the subject are given by the [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20050622 supposed CloudCuckooLander.]]

* In ''Webcomic/TheWotch'', Anne has a burn-out after finding out how her magic has been screwing up the lives of people and [[http://www.thewotch.com/?date=2005-10-26 tries]] [[http://www.thewotch.com/?epDate=2005-10-28 to]] [[http://www.thewotch.com/?epDate=2005-10-31 quit]]. [[TenMinuteRetirement It doesn't last very long]].

* ''Webcomic/BittersweetCandyBowl'' has Sandy, whose mother wants her to be a model, but Sandy would like to actually have the chance to spend some time with her long-distance boyfriend Mike, rather than constantly being ripped away from normal life to go to shows.
* Titular character of ''Webcomic/JaydenAndCrusader'', Crusader, being the artist of the webcomic he is in, has struggled with his powers throughout the series but after [[http://www.jaydenandcrusader.com/2010/10/30/page-171/ gaining complete and total control of all reality]] decided it was something he didn't want and went back to his friends.

* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', Vlad is abnormal even among shapeshifting chimera in that he was made using the DNA from so many different animals that he can't transform without risking death. This leads him to be jealous of his "brothers" ability to transform into human forms and blend in with society.[[spoiler: He gets his desire partially fulfilled when he is [[GenderBender transformed into a human woman]] by [[TransformationRay Ellen's beam]] becoming Vladia.]]
* In ''Webcomic/{{Strays}}'', when Meela objects that [[KingIncognito Holland should have told her he's a prince]], [[http://www.straysonline.com/comic/173.htm he asks whether she would have treated him differently, and when she agrees, says that's why]].
* The print-only bonus issue of ''Webcomic/{{Spinnerette}}'' reveals that Heather's roommate, Sahira, is a DifferentlyPoweredIndividual [[spoiler: who can [[PowerCopying copy the powers of anyone she touches]]]]. Heather, being an AscendedFangirl herself, doesn't help by being over-enthusiastic about Sahira being her sidekick. A talk with the more experienced heroes ends with them both coming to the conclusion [[spoiler: that just because Sahira has a superpower, it doesn't mean she can't live a normal life as a civilian.]]
* ''Webcomic/SameNewWoman'' Marita, an ordinary librarian who wakes up one morning with a hyper-muscular body and extraordinary strength. She wants her normal body back while trying to go on with her old life but finds her world increasingly out of control.

* In ''Webcomic/{{Inverloch}}'', Lei'ella is a Severed elf, exiled for being born mortal and subject to FantasticRacism if she reveals her race in the human towns she lives in. She dreams of things like getting married and raising a family--ordinary, simple things, but it keeps her going.
* ''Webcomic/TheArtistAndTheMachine'' has Art, a magical girl. She is not happy about this at all.
* In ''Webcomic/AgentsOfTheRealm'':
** Camel dreams of the days when she'll retire and settle down with Filoni away from all the MagicalGirlWarrior business she's been in for the last years, if not decades.
** Norah would much rather never found her TransformationTrinket and power through the college without worrying about monsters invading our realm.
** In ''Webcomic/UncommonAnimals'', [[http://uncommonanimals.thecomicseries.com/comics/14/ Terry actually liked being collections.]]
* Amusingly deconstructed in ''WebComic/{{minus}}''. Several kids talk about this sort of plot, and all agree it's the best way to go... right up until the local RealityWarper floats by on a cloud. At that point, we're reminded that they're kids.
* One of the main conflicts in ''Webcomic/HowToBeAWerewolf'' is that Malaya is afraid of her power after [[MyGreatestFailure injuring her brother]] out of jealousy as a child, to the extent that she becomes TheShutIn. Elias's goal and the point of the story is for her to embrace her powers and her werewolf side so that she can live life outside her incredibly small comfort zone.
* ''Webcomic/KillSixBillionDemons'': Played with. In Allison's first visit to Throne, she wants nothing more to get home. Once she does, she takes some time to compose herself and returns the next day. She claims that she still just wants to rescue Zaid and get the Key out of her forehead, but both Cio and Zoss scoff at this.
-->'''Cio:''' You came back. That means you ''chose'' this. Ain't it about time to stop pretending?

* ''Webcomic/FateTypeRedline'': Kanata Akagi was born with magical powers, but is completely uninterested in improving them and prefers to live a normal life.
* ''Webcomic/{{Inhibit}}'': Victor’s goal is to get a license to live a normal life despite his powers.

* Averted on ''[[http://nevermedia.blogspot.com/2012/07/i-want-to-be-forever-knight.html NeverMedia]]''. Lydia [[FullyEmbracedFiend embraces]] her otherness and [[LivingForeverIsAwesome immortality]] and chides other vampires for not doing the same.

* Jonas is still like this in the first chapter of ''WebVideo/LG15TheResistance''.
* The title character of ''Literature/TheSagaOfTuck'' has a fairly active and mad life, but [[spoiler: his discovery of his intersex medical condition]] leaves him longing for the past.
* Many of the characters in the Literature/WhateleyUniverse enjoy their abilities, but some,= -- especially those whose mutations have turned them into hideous freaks or made it impossible to live without life support -- certainly wish they were normal. Of the main characters, the intersexed Ayla Goodkind is actively researching ways to change back to a normal-looking male, and Chou Lee is still angsting about her transformation, and the tasks the Tao requires her to perform.

* Traumador the Tyrannosaur from ''Blog/TheTyrannosaurChronicles'' just wants to live a normal life... as an [[CivilizedAnimal intelligent dinosaur]]. However, with all the adventures thrust upon him, it's rather difficult to achieve this.

* One of ''Website/{{Cracked}}'''s [[http://www.cracked.com/blog/4-things-movies-always-get-wrong-about-awkward-people_p2/ 4 Things Movies Always Get Wrong About Awkward People]] is that people with NoSocialSkills necessarily want to be cured.
* After he starts transforming into a crazy cartoon character, Roy spends much of ''WebVideo/TheCartoonMan'' saga just wanting to be normal again. [[spoiler:The transformation is reversed midway through the second movie, but he soon finds that he CantStayNormal.]]
* ''Literature/EnterTheFarside'': Despite being gifted with immense strength and physical durability, Shaun just wants to be a normal person who goes through school and has a regular life.
* ''Literature/TheseDays'': Considering that Lilly was not only confessed to by her best friend, in the weeks since then she [[spoiler:gained the unstable ability to mind read]], [[spoiler:time traveled]], and nearly [[spoiler:got killed, thrice]], it's no wonder she feels that way.
* Irene in ''Literature/VoidDomain'' has quite grievous complaints about all the abnormal events that occur around the local WizardingSchool. Shalise qualifies to a lesser extent.
* Robert Dreese in ''Literature/MagicalGirlPolicy'' experiences this when he learns of the plans that Fate has for him.
* The Red Guy from ''WebVideo/DontHugMeImScared'' just wants to be left alone with his friends, rather than having to be taught by a time-traveling clock or a magical sketchbook.

* In the season two finale of ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'', Dean ends up admitting this during a fit of delusion. It's become his defining motivation. [[spoiler: By season 5 Dean finally admits to his dad he doesn't want to be a scientist or boy adventurer. What he doesn't tell him is that it's because he knows that his brother and himself are both clones after they've died over 14 times in the past.]]

* A main plot point of the '80s ''WesternAnimation/DungeonsAndDragons'' cartoon was the kids wanting to leave their new sword-and-sorcery life behind and return to the normal world.

* ''Franchise/Ben10:''
** In the [[WesternAnimation/Ben10 Original Series]] episode "Don't Drink The Water", the heroes come across the FountainOfYouth and the immortal Conquistator who has been guarding it for over 400 years. The Conquistador in question hates his immortatily because it prevents him from having a normal life, such as starting a family. [[spoiler:He is noticably relived when Ben is able to destroy the fountain as it means his immortality is gone (since you only remain immortal if you continuously drink the water) and he can now have a normal life]].
** ZigZagged in ''[[WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien Ultimate Alien]]'', where Ben either loving or hating his fame depends on the episode. While he manages to take his new-found fame in stride and seems to enjoy it after humanity finds out he's a superhero, he also admits that he wishes he could have his secret-identity back in "Absolute Power".
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLifeAsATeenageRobot'' has this with the titular teenage robot, Jenny Wakeman. While she likes the amazing capabilities of her robotic weaponry, she also longs for the life of a normal teenage girl. Though this is mainly because she's the only robot in town, and thus it's more she wishes she could fit in with everyone else and have more sentient robofolk to relate too. Even with her human friends (and later her swamp monster cousin Glenn and sorta-friend Misty), she understandably still has the longing for robotic company. It's why she dates Kenny for a while and also her time with the Silver Shell. [[spoiler: In the "Escape From Cluster Prime" special, she finally gets to achieve this and struggles with leaving since she finally has a place she feels she belongs. We also see that her heroic nature exceeds this, since she becomes a vigilante and helps overthrow Vexus when she helps restore the battle capabilities of the robots. Despite the offer to stay, with her mother's blessing no less, she remains on Earth to be with her friends.]]
* In the ''WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' cartoon episode "Legacy," Alexis dismisses her trillionaire heiress LonelyRichKid[=/=]RichBitch lifestyle with "IJustWantToBeNormal." As her first real friend apparently ever, she tries to hold on to her relationship with Superman, and thus normality, by scheming and manipulating and eventually going ''completely off the deep end'' into supervillainy, Luthor-style, giving up on normality in favor of Revenge.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'':
** Juke, who has a boombox for a head, can only speak (and write) in beatboxing because his arms are too short to reach the speech switch behind his head. He's been trying to tell that to everyone for a year. In "The Night", Juke dreams he can finally speak, but now everyone else speaks in music.
** William just wants to be friends with Gumball and Darwin, but since he's a mouthless winged eyeball, they think he's a weirdo who just silently creeps up on people.
** In the episode "The Night", Hector's dream reveals he hates being a giant, and he's so happy to be normal-sized, enabling him to roam freely without destroying the neighborhood, to hug people without hospitalizing them, to take the bus, to sit in the classroom like everyone else, to buy clothes, to use a toilet instead of a volcano and to have a girlfriend. It's so good a dream that he doesn't want to wake up. Unfortunately, he's a [[{{Sleepwalking}} sleepwalker]].

* ''WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer'': Don't you recall ... the most famous reindeer of all?
* In ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'', Danny tries to split his ghost and human halves to have some plain fun... [[GoneHorriblyWrong with mixed results]]. Similarly, in the finale, [[spoiler:Danny gets rid of his ghost half so he can be normal, though he does eventually get his powers back.]]
** Not to mention in the pilot episode, he expresses the desire to be fully human again early on ("If my dad can invent something that accidentally made me half-ghost, why can't he invent something that turns me back to normal?!")
** In TheMovie, his future self has Vlad separate his human and ghost halves to help him deal with [[spoiler:the death of his family and friends. It doesn't end well. At ''all''.]]
*** That's more of an inversion; Danny explicitly wanted to remove his ''human'' side. Well... [[GoneHorriblyRight he succeeded.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'' Jackie would love nothing more than to go back to his life as a quiet and unassuming archaeologist rather than his current life as a secret agent who routinely defends the world from demons and what not.
* In one of the ''MyLittlePony'' animated specials, Lily Lightly is the only unicorn whose [[CursedWithAwesome horn glows]] when she's excited or really happy, so she tries to hide it from everyone else. She even has an IWantSong about it.
* ''WesternAnimation/GeneratorRex'', though Rex enjoys fighting, and helping people, he's not a fan of the life he has to lead when he's not on missions, which seems to consist of training and waiting around. He sneaks out often. [[spoiler: Leading the higher-ups to hire a kid to be his friend.]]
* The title character of ''WesternAnimation/TheLifeAndTimesOfJuniperLee'' practically embodies this role. Being the magical guardian seems cool, but most of her free time is consumed and she is actually bound to live in her area, unable to leave.
* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDragonJakeLong'' also has this. While having dragon powers are cool, Jake often wrestles with being the protector of the American magical community along with the issues it brings to his personal life (especially not being able to tell his dad cause he's a normal human and losing his girlfriend... ''twice'') Even with having his friends, grandfather and animal guardian help, it often is a lot and why he is tempted to find shortcuts. It comes to a head in the penultimate episode of the series where he purposefully pulls a prank on the Dragon Council with his punishment being a week without his "dragon chi", all so he could enjoy his middle school graduation in peace.
** His overachieving younger sister, Haley, ends up appreciating this about her when she had to take up the mantle in his suspension. The massive shift in her life wrecks her nerves a fair bit though she understands Jake more too, to where she angrily defends Jake and his reasoning against their grandfather when she accidentally confesses the reason why Jake pulled the prank after he got kidnapped.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'':
** [[ComicBook/AntMan Hank Pym]] would rather study science than fight crime as an Avenger, which conflicts with his TechnicalPacifist beliefs. Opposite of his girlfriend Wasp, who loves being a superhero (and isn't happy that Hank doesn't feel the same way).
** Colonel James Rhodes explains that he rarely dons the Comicbook/WarMachine armor because he's not interested in becoming a superhero.
* In one ''WesternAnimation/GummiBears'' episode, the whole kingdom is overjoyed when Sir Paunch the royal candymaker is coming back, only to be disappointed to find he's only there to say hi, as he's retiring. While everyone loves him and his famous taffy, he's tired of all the attention, claiming it's "the pits". Unfortunately, while he seems to get his wish, he still does not divulge his secret recipe, claiming he cannot do so until he finds a worthy successor. (And after Cubbi, Tummi, and Sunni copy it and nearly blow up the castle trying to make it, one can hardly blame him.)
* The Cutie Mark Crusaders of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' suffer a bizarre mix of this and IJustWantToBeSpecial. They all want to have the Cutie Mark that every pony has in their flanks and that they themselves hadn't gotten yet. Problem is, a Cutie Mark ''only'' appears in a pony after they realize what his or her ''unique'' talent really is, so the poor fillies are DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife just to fit with everypony else. [[spoiler: They finally get their wish in Season 5 when they realize their special talent is helping others find and understand ''their'' special talents.]]
* The ''WesternAnimation/HarveyBirdmanAttorneyAtLaw'' episode "Turner Classic Birdman" reveals that this is why Harvey Birdman became a, well, attorney at law: he was tired of the constant stress of being a superhero and desired a more mundane life. A pity all his allies and enemies followed him into law, ensuring his law career was as crazy as his superhero career.
* The titular character of ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'' has a condition where she winds up HulkingOut whenever she gets too angry and does mean and sadistic things to whoever made her angry, which seem to be beyond her conscious control. She doesn't want this "power" and has tried numerous times to get rid of it, but she never can.
* In ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', Craig is shown to be TheChosenOne who will defeat the giant Guinea Creatures as foretold by an Incan prophecy, though he states throughout the episodes that he doesn't want to get involved in any weird adventures and just wants to stay away from the main characters (whose every schemes always ends up in [[HilarityEnsues Hilarity Ensuing]]). Subverted in that his attempts at RefusingTheCall ends up leading him to fulfill his destiny and defeat the Guinea Pirate, with him noting that life is unexpected in the end (though he still learns to never trust the gang with anything).
** [[spoiler:Mysterion, a.k.a. Kenny]], is tired of [[spoiler:being immortal because no one remembers [[TheyKilledKenny his deaths]].]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'' near the end of the series in the episode "World between Worlds" Ezra in a ShoutOut to a similar scene in Lord of the Rings wishes his life were different and that he had his [[spoiler:parents back.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseFuture'', especially in the episode "Mr. Universe", Steven laments that his father Greg's extremely [[FreeRangeChildren laidback parenting style]] (a reaction to Greg's [[StrictParentsMakeSneakyKids stifling childhood]]) and constant training and fighting with the Gems means that he never got the chance to have a "normal" childhood.
--> '''Steven''': ''(To Greg)'' Maybe your parents weren't so bad. Maybe they gave you curfews and chaperones and meatloaf f-for a reason! I grew up in a van! I never went to school! I've never been to the doctor until two days ago! I could have done all that stuff! My problem isn't that I'm a gem, my problem is that I'm a UNIVERSE!
* This is how ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' ends. After spending the whole episode trying to convince The Schoolgirl / [[spoiler: Terra]] that she is the Terra he thought he knew, she delivers what can be considered the saddest line in the series. "[[ImNotAHeroIm I'm not a hero. I'm not out to save the world. I'm just a girl with a geometry test next period and I haven't studied.]]" As later revealed in the ''ComicBook/TeenTitansGo'' comics, [[spoiler: this is one of the few cases where BroughtDownToNormal not only is permanent but regarded as a change for the better, even by Terra's own ''brother.'' ]]
* For a couple of episodes, [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012 April]] tries to get on with her life and pretend that mutant reptiles and aliens don't exist. She succeeds and meets the first normal human boy, Casey Jones, but she's sucked back into the crazy mess she was trying to avoid. However, April not only realized that she can't control her life but also come to terms with the excitement and adventure she has come to have.
* [[Franchise/TransformersGeneration1 Rodimus Prime]] never really felt worthy of succeeding Optimus Prime as the leader of the Autobots and bearer of the Matrix of Leadership. When Optimus apparently came back from the dead, Rodimus immediately handed over the Matrix and felt overjoyed when he reverted to Hot Rod as a result. He had to take it back when Optimus turned out to be an AxCrazy [[CameBackWrong zombie]]. Though Optimus came back for real, and Rodimus was reverted back to Hot Rod for real.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama '', Mike has a SplitPersonality. He views himself as a “freakish weirdo” because of this, and worries his LoveInterest Zoey will too. At the end of the season, he learns to the message to BeYourself and Zoey accepts him for his disorder.
** Done again in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'', once he learns he's been chosen by the Matrix to be the next Prime [[spoiler: Smokescreen]] seems to want the position less and less as the series progresses (not that he wanted to be a Prime in the first place, he just wanted to be a great soldier). He even goes so far as to try and push the future responsibility onto Bumblebee.
* Nightcrawler of ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'' was like this, but you couldn't really blame him given that he looked like a furry blue demon. Unlike the other mutants, who were actually fairly good about being exposed as mutants, Nightcrawler was really reluctant to let go of the illusion that he wasn't a mutant, but eventually did, and never let go of the human appearance given to him by his image inducer (can't really blame him, again).

* In ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama '', Mike has a SplitPersonality. He views himself as a “freakish weirdo” because of this, and worries his LoveInterest Zoey will too. At the end of the season, he learns to the message to BeYourself and Zoey accepts him for his disorder.
* In ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', Craig is shown to be TheChosenOne who will defeat the giant Guinea Creatures as foretold by an Incan prophecy, though he states throughout the episodes that he doesn't want to get involved in any weird adventures and just wants to stay away from the main characters (whose every schemes always ends up in [[HilarityEnsues Hilarity Ensuing]]). Subverted in that his attempts at RefusingTheCall ends up leading him to fulfill his destiny and defeat the Guinea Pirate, with him noting that life is unexpected in the end (though he still learns to never trust the gang with anything).
** [[spoiler:Mysterion, a.k.a. Kenny]], is tired of [[spoiler:being immortal because no one remembers [[TheyKilledKenny his deaths]].]]

* Nightcrawler of ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'' was like this, but you couldn't really blame him given that he looked like a furry blue demon. Unlike the other mutants, who were actually fairly good about being exposed as mutants, Nightcrawler was really reluctant to let go of the illusion that he wasn't a mutant, but eventually did, and never let go of the human appearance given to him by his image inducer (can't really blame him, again).

* This is how ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' ends. After spending the whole episode trying to convince The Schoolgirl / [[spoiler: Terra]] that she is the Terra he thought he knew, she delivers what can be considered the saddest line in the series. "[[ImNotAHeroIm I'm not a hero. I'm not out to save the world. I'm just a girl with a geometry test next period and I haven't studied.]]" As later revealed in the ''ComicBook/TeenTitansGo'' comics, [[spoiler: this is one of the few cases where BroughtDownToNormal not only is permanent but regarded as a change for the better, even by Terra's own ''brother.'' ]]

* [[Franchise/TransformersGeneration1 Rodimus Prime]] never really felt worthy of succeeding Optimus Prime as the leader of the Autobots and bearer of the Matrix of Leadership. When Optimus apparently came back from the dead, Rodimus immediately handed over the Matrix and felt overjoyed when he reverted to Hot Rod as a result. He had to take it back when Optimus turned out to be an AxCrazy [[CameBackWrong zombie]]. Though Optimus came back for real, and Rodimus was reverted back to Hot Rod for real.
** Done again in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'', once he learns he's been chosen by the Matrix to be the next Prime [[spoiler: Smokescreen]] seems to want the position less and less as the series progresses (not that he wanted to be a Prime in the first place, he just wanted to be a great soldier). He even goes so far as to try and push the future responsibility onto Bumblebee.
* For a couple of episodes, [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012 April]] tries to get on with her life and pretend that mutant reptiles and aliens don't exist. She succeeds and meets the first normal human boy, Casey Jones, but she's sucked back into the crazy mess she was trying to avoid. However, April not only realized that she can't control her life but also come to terms with the excitement and adventure she has come to have.

* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDragonJakeLong'' also has the same. While having dragon powers are cool, Jake often wrestles with being the protector of the American magical community along with the issues it brings to his personal life (especially not being able to tell his dad cause he's a normal human and losing his girlfriend... ''twice'') Even with having his friends, grandfather and animal guardian help, it often is a lot and why he is tempted to find shortcuts. It comes to a head in the penultimate episode of the series where he purposefully pulls a prank on the Dragon Council with his punishment being a week without his "dragon chi", all so he could enjoy his middle school graduation in peace.

* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDragonJakeLong'' also has the same. While having dragon powers are cool, Jake often wrestles with being the protector of the American magical community along with the issues it brings to his personal life (especially not being able to tell his dad cause he's a normal human and losing his girlfriend... ''twice'') Even with having his friends, grandfather and animal guardian help, it often is a lot and why he is tempted to find shortcuts. It comes to a head in the penultimate episode of the series where he purposefully screws up a task with the punishment being a couple of weeks without his "dragon chi", all so he could enjoy his middle school graduation in peace.
** His overachieving younger sister, Haley, ends up appreciating this about her when she had to take up the mantle in his suspension. The massive shift in her life wrecks her nerves a fair bit though she understands Jake more to, to where she angrily defends Jake and his reasoning against their grandfather when she accidentally confesses Jake's mistake after he got kidnapped.

** Hermione just wants to be a normal witch, with [[MagicAIsMagicA logical magic]] to study and understand. Unfortunately, though she doesn't know it ([[spoiler: until chapter 66 of the sequel]]), she's the biological daughter of [[ComicBook/ScarletWitch Wanda Maximoff]] and ComicBook/JohnConstantine, the granddaughter of {{ComicBook/Magneto}}. This leaves her with Chaos Magic based RealityWarper powers that play to the exact opposite of her strengths, and, from chapter 64 of the sequel, [[spoiler: an Omega Class spatial manipulation based X-Gene]]. In the former case, she keeps refusing to truly accept that chaos magic doesn't work like normal magic, and it keeps tripping her up.

* In the ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'' universe, this is one of Harry's defining characteristics. He'd really, ''really'' love to have a normal life (in this case, defined as one where he doesn't have grand responsibilities or anyone expecting him to save the world). Sadly, being the Boy Who Lived, son of an Avenger, second in line to the throne of Asgard, and the [[TheChosenOne keystone]] to Doctor Strange's plan to prepare Earth for the coming of Thanos, all means that that is unlikely to happen. Complicating things is the fact that this desire for relative normality clashes with the fact that he's something of an adrenaline junkie - a large part of him ''enjoys'' being InHarmsWay - and he's got ChronicHeroSyndrome in the bones. Eventually, in the sequel, he becomes first a KnightInSourArmor who's bitterly ResignedToTheCall, then [[{{Reconstruction}} more]] [[KnightInShiningArmour classically]] [[KnightErrant heroic]] again.

** Clark Kent, as on ''{{Series/Smallville}}'', really just wants to be normal. Unfortunately, destiny (and Doctor Strange) have other plans.

Not to be confused with PlotDetour where the writer prevents the character from progressing (possibly to string out the length of the story). Compare and contrast NominalHero, where a character ends up fighting for good even though they lack morally positive motivations.

!!Examples:

[[folder:Film -- Animation]]

[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]