History Main / SoWhatDoWeDoNow

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* Used in the first few episodes of ''Anime/BattleBDaman''. Yamato finally gets his own B-daman and his first battle is against [[TheLancer Gray]], someone who's generally considered a really tough opponent. After this, even though Yamato now has the B-daman he's been wanting all these years, he gets bored with every last thing he does. Mie {{lampshade|Hanging}}s this and suggests he goes out and look for Gray.
* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', after Ichigo [[spoiler:loses his powers and his ability to see spirits, including the Soul Reapers, some of which have become his friends]], he returns to his normal life... which he quickly realizes he is uninterested in, and he [[spoiler:jumps at the opportunity to get his powers back]].
* At the end of ''Manga/BusoRenkin'', when the kakugane are collected, Tokiko feels uneasy because she was so used to having hers. Then, of course, Kazuki promises that his will be with her forever...
* ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'' both subverted and exemplified this.
** About midway through the series, Taichi and Koromon are stranded back in the Real World after defeating the current Big Bad. However, Taichi's the only one who seemingly escaped, and this fact depresses him. However, as Digimon begin appearing and causing destruction in the Real World, Taichi and Koromon realize that unless they fix things in the Digital World, they can't go home, and [[SendMeBack thus they return to the Digital World]].
** Played straight at the end [[spoiler:where the Chosen Children's success in fulfilling their destiny saves the Digital World and (seemingly) destroys the source of all evil. However, they're sent back home without their Digimon, and this time without any seeming way to return to the Digital World, leaving behind some of the best friends they ever had. Eventually averted by [[Anime/DigimonAdventure02 the sequel]], which didn't end like this]].
*** ''Anime/DigimonTamers'' has a similar ending [[spoiler:although they were already in the real world (their Digimon had to return to the Digital World without them, or be destroyed by a side-effect of their method of defeating the BigBad). There is a tiny spot of hope for them to get their partners back at the very end of the last episode, turning this into the optimistic version, but later materials crush this hope]].
** ''Anime/DigimonFrontier'' does it [[spoiler:unnecessarily - the portal is closing so the Legendary Warriors shove the kids through, not even leaving time for a real goodbye, making it almost as sudden and tragic a shock as the ''Tamers'' version. But then you realize that the Trailmon can take them back (and forth) at ''any time'' so there's really no rush]]. It's kind of a "imitate the past series, even if it doesn't make sense here and now" thing.
* After episode 5 of ''Anime/{{FLCL}}'', Haruko and Canti leave Mabase, and life for Naota briefly returns to normal. Naota is rather glad to have Haruko back in episode 6, well in time for the climactic showdown and the series' explosive finale. After said finale both Haruko and Mamimi part terms with Naota on firmer, more natural grounds and he seems to be much more comfortable with the circumstances of being a normal kid.
* ''Anime/GargantiaOnTheVerdurousPlanet'' falls somewhere between this and AndThenWhat. The main character, [[FishOutOfWater Ledo]], is a ChildSoldier raised in the dystopian Galactic Alliance. They see their endless war with the Hideauze as the only way for humanity to survive, but since the conflict orders their entire society, [[CircularReasoning continued fighting is also the only reason for humanity to survive in the first place]].
-->'''[[WiseBeyondTheirYears Bebel]]:''' But wait. What happens when the Hideauze are defeated? What would the Galactic Alliance do then? What would ''you'' do, Ledo?\\
'''Ledo:''' I would stand by until I received further instructions.\\
'''Bebel:''' And what would you do if those instructions never came?\\
'''Ledo:''' I would just continue to stand by.\\
'''Bebel:''' ''{laughs)'' Then we're not so very different after all.\\
'''Ledo:''' We are not different?\\
'''Bebel:''' Mm-hmm. Standing by. [[LivingIsMoreThanSurviving You'd have to go on living to do that, right]]?
* Twisted in Saikoroshi-hen (Dice Killing Chapter), a bonus chapter for the ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'' game that was released after the main storyline. After depressed musing over the hard work that almost came to nothing, Rika wakes up in a perfect world without any of the [[DysfunctionJunction tragic backstories]] or danger from the [[GroundhogDayLoop previous worlds]]. [[spoiler:It turns out that it was AllJustADream, and rightly so -- there might be no gore or crazies around, but there's also no TrueCompanions and ThePowerOfFriendship is replaced by bullying and apathy. See, even if you had a terrible past, don't change it!]]
* Happens to [[spoiler:Gon]] in ''Manga/HunterXHunter'' shortly before the Dark Continent Expedition arc. [[spoiler:Gon succeeded in his goal of finding his DisappearedDad and defeated his ArchEnemy [[CatGirl Neferpitou]] at the cost of [[{{Depower}} his powers]]. In a discussion with his father, he's told that after everything he's been through he's been given a tremendous blessing in just getting his life back, and should use this time to figure out exactly what he wants to do next. Gon then [[PutOnABus retires back home to Whale Island]], while Kurapika takes over as protagonist for the time being]].
* Kurau's human half in ''Anime/KurauPhantomMemory '' has fond memories of the time she was taken over by her Rynax entity, but comes to terms with the fact that it is all over now.
* This is a major theme with the Imperial characters in ''Literature/LegendOfTheGalacticHeroes''. After [[spoiler:defeating the Alliance]], they realize that they no longer have a great cause to fight for and engage in many costly battles with WorthyOpponent Yang Wenli to experience the thrill of battle again. After [[spoiler:he dies]], this trope is one of the many reasons that [[spoiler:Reuenthal rebels and Reinhardt doesn't even consider negotiations]].
* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'' does this in TheMovie ''Endless Waltz''. Most of the pilots find normal lives after the war & seem to be enjoying themselves, but ArrogantKungFuGuy Wu Fei can't find meaning in his life without battles and ends up joining a rebel group so he can help start a new war. Post-Movie he joins the Preventers, an organization dedicated to stopping wars from breaking out in the first place.
* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' ends with all the apocalypse-seeking [[MonsterOfTheWeek angels]] defeated - however, Shinji, Asuka, Rei, and Misato are each reduced to a broken, traumatized wreck by the beginning of ''[[GrandFinale The End of Evangelion]]''. It's then revealed that the entire apocalypse was planned by [[OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness SEELE]] to play out anyways, as SEELE dispatches the JSSDF to slaughter what's left of NERV, and use the Evangelions in lieu of the angels as the trigger for [[AssimilationPlot Human Instrumentality]]. Gendo tries to one-up them and use this power to revive Yui, but is thwarted when [[EmotionlessGirl Rei]] turns against her master, and hands this power to Shinji. As for [[MindScrew what]] [[NightmareFuel happens]] [[GainaxEnding next]]... well, WebVideo/BennettTheSage was best able to describe the film's second half as 30 minutes of... ''[[DerangedAnimation animation]]''.
* A particularly heartbreaking example happens in Episode 12 of ''Anime/Persona4TheAnimation''. [[spoiler:Mitsuo]] traps [[TheHero Yu]] in a LotusEaterMachine where the Investigation Team have solved the murder case and all return to their normal lives. Yu then has to see all of his friends drift apart as they focus on their own lives and don't even meet up like they used to. The clincher is when Kanji begins to complain about how none of them really have anything to talk about in their meetings any more. Fortunately, that does not happen after they defeat [[spoiler:Mitsuo]] and they all still insist on hanging out with each other.
* Happens briefly to Ash Ketchum in ''Anime/PokemonTheSeriesSunAndMoon''. After [[ThrowTheDogABone becoming the Alola Champion]], he's at a loss for what to do next (especially since the process for actually becoming a Master [[CrypticBackgroundReference is a mystery to everyone]]). He goes to Professor Kukui and Olivia for advice but both of them basically tell him FigureItOutYourself. Although Olivia suggests that he [[AndTheAdventureContinues go out and see the world]], leading to the WorldTour of ''Anime/PokemonJourneysTheSeries''.
* ''Anime/PrettyCure'':
** In most seasons, after the final battle, the girls have to return their devices to the [[MagicalLand fairy world/alternate dimension kingdom]] and usually say goodbye to their fairy partners as well. They will then have to go back to being normal girls again.
** Averted in ''Anime/DokiDokiPrettyCure'', as they get to keep both the fairies ''and'' the power to transform even after the final battle.
** At the end of ''Anime/FutariWaPrettyCureMaxHeart'', at the graduation ceremony, the Elder sadly says "The role of the legendary warriors is over. Now they can choose to travel whichever path they wish," which means that there is no more need for Nagisa, Honoka, and Hikari to be heroes and they can live normal lives again. However, the fairies stay with them, lucky for them.
** Haruka is actually seen having to hand over her device at the end of ''Anime/GoPrincessPrettyCure'' and crying afterwards. At the end of ''Anime/HugttoPrettyCure'', the girls are seen giving their crystals and Pre-Hearts back to Harry who packs them in his suitcase before leaving. They cry afterwards.
* This is a major point of contention between ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'' and many of his antagonists. Unlike them, he's willing to settle for an ordinary life. Kenshin, for one, ends his adventure by [[spoiler:[[HappilyMarried marrying Kaoru]] and [[BabiesEverAfter having a child with her.]]]]
* ''Anime/SaberMarionetteJ'' does this rather egregiously. After the three Japoness Saber Dolls sacrifice themselves to revive the one female (who was stuck in [[HumanPopsicle cryogenic suspension]] for centuries), the main character wistfully remembers all the good times he had with them and wishes they'd return. Lo and behold, [[AWizardDidIt without any explanation]], they do.
* ''Anime/SpellboundMagicalPrincessLilPri'' the girls transformation bracelets are taken away and the mapets return to Fairyland along with Wish after they save Fairyland. They're pretty bummed about it. In the end however Wish returns to Earth saying he liked being an Idol and the final shot shows the mapets sneaking up on the girls from behind.
* ''Anime/TenchiUniverse'', combined with HowWeGotHere, ''starts'' with this. It begins with Tenchi walking to school alone as he reminisces about the "carnival" of adventures he had with those crazy girls from space. [[spoiler:But when we catch back up in the final episode, Ryoko is there waiting for him, and tells him that, although carnivals do end, they eventually return. Cut to various scenes showing that the rest of the girls are already on their way back too.]] And this all leads straight into TheMovie...
* Happens to [[spoiler:Simon]] from ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'': after finally destroying the Anti-Spirals and bringing peace to the Universe, he puts on his cape, says goodbye, and spends the rest of his days WalkingTheEarth. [[spoiler:We then see him as a 40-something traveller helping a kid open a coconut with his drill key; the kid is all surprised with Simon's drilling skills, he calmly says "Of course, kid, who the hell do you think... (kid ignores him) Forget it, I'm just a nobody". Then we see the kid and Simon looking at the horizon as the Gurren Lagann is launched to outer space]].
* In the ending of both the anime and manga of ''Manga/TokyoMewMew'', everyone seems to have returned to normal permanently. Their marks have disappeared, they can't talk to animals, and Ichigo stops turning into a {{catgirl}}. Then one day, depending which version you're watching, either Ichigo's cat ears reappear just as Berii looks in the window or the girls are informed that their powers have returned and there's a new enemy to fight.
* Happens to ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'' protagonist Yusuke after his final battles with Toguro and Sensui. Kuwabara smacked him for it. [[spoiler:When you consider that he had to fake his own death before Yusuke could find the motivation to defeat Toguro (AFTER he killed OldMaster Genkai, mind), it's understandable.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Fan Works]]
* In the ''VideoGame/BioshockInfinite'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12430849/1/After-The-Baptism After The Baptism]]'', Elizabeth and the Lutece twins sheepishly realize they have no idea what they're going to do now that they've managed to end the threat of Columbia, and after a lot of embarrassed hemming and hawing, they're forced to admit they're going to have to think of something. The sequel, ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13208214/1/After-The-Burial After The Burial]]'' reveals that a year afterwards, Elizabeth has spent most of the time slowly going to pieces, abandoning all her hobbies in favor of [[TheAlcoholic getting very, very drunk at any given opportunity]]. [[spoiler:It's also revealed that the events of ''Burial At Sea'' were a massive hallucination on her part, courtesy of spicing up a binge-drinking session with a drug made of powdered coral.]]
* In ''Fanfic/LongTimeNoSee'', Asuka reveals she never stopped to think what would happen if they won the War. But then the conflict was over, and the Angels and Evangelions gone, and she was feeling scared and aimless. Though, Shinji helped her see a life without the job she worked so hard for.
* When Donut and Tucker's parole hearings come up in ''Fanfic/MurderersRow'', they realize they've become so dependent on the prison that it will be impossible for them to go back to the lives they led on the outside, and that they have no idea what they're going to do if they're released.
* In Creator/AAPessimal's ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13154617/3/The-Price-of-Flight The Price of Flight]]'', after the Ankh-Morpork City Watch Air Arm is deployed to fight in an actual shooting war [[note]]They add an aerial dimension to the fighting with Elves described in the canonical ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novel ''Literature/TheShepherdsCrown''[[/note]], its commanding officer [[AcePilot Olga Romanoff]] is concerned about the effects it has on her girls. She is particularly worried as to whether they can settle down to being everyday Air Policewomen and working witches again, after letting their dark sides out to play, and seeing comrades killed in the fighting. The one thing she hasn't anticipated is that quite a few of her veteran pilots now want out. The oldest pilot in the force decides she simply doesn't want to do it anymore. Marina's close friend Kiiki decides if life is now going to be boring, she isn't going to do it by halves. She and Marina resign from the Force and move to [[UsefulNotes/{{Finland}} one of the remotest possible places on the Disc]], to start a Witches' steading. Another decides to embrace post-war boredom by going hometo [[UsefulNotes/{{Australia}} Fourecks]] to work for the Flying Igor And Witch Service.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* E.K. Johnston's book ''The Afterward'' is entirely about the aftermath of a heroic quest. The thief is having trouble finding jobs now that her face is well known, the apprentice knight still needs to pay her debts, the main hero is learning how to be queen, and another knight is adjusting to early retirement due to disability. All of them miss the camaraderie and excitement of the quest, and are finding ways to fill the holes in their life.
* The soldiers in ''Literature/AllQuietOnTheWesternFront'' worry about this, because being so young, they have left no roots behind in the world to return to. Lucky for most them, this problem is solved when [[spoiler:[[KillEmAll they die]]]].
* Creator/JoWalton's novel ''Literature/AmongOthers'' is all about what happens after the great battle is won and the surviving heroine is left to pick up the pieces of her life. The {{bookworm}} protagonist refers several times to Tolkien's coverage of this subject at the very end of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''.
* ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'': After three years of keeping heavy secrets from everyone they know, having to contemplate the possibility of failing to save their loved ones, [[spoiler:in some cases actually causing the death of those loved ones]], and [[ChildrenForcedToKill killing countless enemies]] (and [[BloodKnight enjoying it sometimes]]), the surviving Animorphs come out of the war struggling to [[LossOfIdentity find an identity that doesn't revolve around being a child soldier]]. Jake falls into a [[ShellShockedVeteran deep depression]] over his role in [[spoiler:Rachel and Tom's deaths]], and Tobias abandons humanity entirely to live as a hawk.
* Literature/ArtemisFowl, being an InsufferableGenius [[GuileHero greedy teenager]] with [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien high tech]] [[TheFairFolk fairy friends,]] understandably feels this way whenever he has to deal with everyday life.
-->'''Artemis:''' I went from ''saving the world'' to ''geometry'' in a week. I'm bored, Holly.
* In the novel series ''Literature/TheDemonPrinces'' by Creator/JackVance, after killing the last of the titular "Princes" (the five most evil men in the Universe who destroyed the protagonist's homeworld), the hero is asked this question [[spoiler:and can only answer "I don't know ... I have been deserted by my enemies.... The affair is over. I am done."]]
* Captain Vimes from the City Watch novels in the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' series nearly falls into this in ''Literature/MenAtArms'', since he's rather reluctant to retire to the life of a nobleman. Luckily [[spoiler:the newly appointed Captain Carrot convinces the Patrician to expand the watch and appoint Vimes as its Commander... albeit with the condition of accepting a knighthood]].
** Vance's ''Literature/DyingEarth'' short story "Guyal of Sfere" ends with the main characters asking "What shall we do..." after [[spoiler: having defeated a major demon and acquiring a vast treasure of forgotten knowledge]].
* The original ending to ''Literature/EndersGame'' by Orson Scott Card had Bean ask an exhausted Ender, "What will we do, now the war's over, Ender?" and Ender's only reply was that he needed to sleep. (This was followed by a scene between two bit-parters emphasizing just how difficult it would be for the ''ChildSoldiers'' to adapt to normal life).
* Last line of Creator/AlanDeanFoster's ''Flinx Transcendent'', the last book of the ''Literature/HumanxCommonwealth'' series -- [[spoiler:'''Flinx:''' "I'm bored."]]
* In Creator/DanAbnett's ''Literature/GauntsGhosts'' novel ''Only In Death'', Rawne, who has long hated Gaunt, finds himself feel lost and bewildered, believing Gaunt to be dead. [[spoiler:When he learns Gaunt is alive, he gets SandInMyEyes.]]
* See Robert Heinlein's ''Literature/GloryRoad''. The main character gets out of 'Nam, kills a dragon, saves twenty universes, marries the empress, and is honored as a hero about 3/4 of the way through the book. He then has to figure out something else to do. By the last page he is back to being an adventurer.
** In a cameo appearance in another, less...tightly written...novel he is back to adventuring with the empress again, for an unspecified time. Probably she is on holiday.
* In the last chapter of Creator/PamelaDean's ''Literature/TheHiddenLand'', Laurie actually says "What do we do now?" She and Ted have just returned from the Hidden Land, which they had imagined and played about for years as the Secret Country. Although readers are aware there's a third book, the bitter loss is described in painful detail. They even lampshade the "we learned something" business.
-->It seemed that even imagination was no friend to them now. They could stumble from day to day, thinking they saw summons after summons back to the Hidden Land. But they had lost the Secret Country.
* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'': After the first games are over.
-->'''Peeta:''' What do we do now?\\
'''Katniss:''' We try to forget.\\
'''Peeta:''' I don't want to forget.
* Creator/KeithLaumer's "In The Queue" raises that question. The Queue is generations long, and even after you get to the front, you may get sent back because one stamp or signature is missing or incorrect. The protagonist, finally, gets to the front, gets the papers stamped...and then has no idea what to do. [[spoiler:He goes back to the end of the queue, despite having no need to.]]
* Discussed by Eragon in ''Literature/TheInheritanceCycle'', where he briefly wonders what he will do after the war with Galbatorix is over. He notes that after enjoying the excitement and glories of being a Dragon rider, the thought of returning to his old and dull life as a FarmBoy terrifies him. By the end of the series, [[spoiler:he decides to leave Alagaesia altogether to train the next generation of Dragon riders]].
* Creator/JRRTolkien drafted a ''Literature/LordOfTheRings'' sequel, ''The New Shadow'', where he explored just how dullsville post-War of the Ring life would be like for those who had experienced such exciting times.
* In the ''Literature/TheLostFleet'' series, the Alliance and the Syndicate have been at war for a little over a hundred years. As such, the main character (Who spent 99 years, 11 months and change as a HumanPopsicle starting from the end of the first battle) is literally the only person on either side who can remember a time when there wasn't a war going on. The fact that nobody knows how to handle peacetime is a major plot point in the sequel series.
* The question rises at the end of ''[[Literature/TheBelgariad The Malloreon]]'', as the [[AC:Event]] that everything was building towards has come and gone. The Prophecy informs Belgarion that his new job is to [[spoiler:help the world settle into a new monotheism under Eriond, as the other gods are moving on to other worlds]]. It also adds that, after spending the past two decades constantly under threat of death, he and his friends should ''relish'' the boredom for a bit.
* Creator/NeilGaiman's ''Literature/{{Neverwhere}}''. He gets to go back to the MagicalLand, though. The whole book revolves around the idea that the price of getting what you want is getting what you wanted.
* Creator/JoWalton's short story "[[http://strangehorizons.com/fiction/relentlessly-mundane/ Relentlessly Mundane]]" goes into merciless detail on this subject. To add insult to injury, they've lost all the skills they had in the other world.
* Creator/LouiseGluck's poem "Parable of the Greeks" posits that after winning the Trojan War, the Greek soldiers felt adrift and derived of purpose, and that they would forever miss the thrills they had in Troy.
* At the end of book three of ''Secret of the Unicorn Queen'', Sheila gets to go home. By page two of book four, she's decided she can't focus on algebra and baseball, or her "normal life", so she goes back.
* The last of Bernard Cornwell's ''Literature/{{Sharpe}}'' books has this as a central theme; after a quarter of a century of bloody warfare, Europe is finally at peace - and the world is full of old soldiers who have done nothing but fight their entire adult lives. Many of them have come to enjoy it. So what next? Two solutions are presented; you can either head for South America and join the first rebellion you come across, or you can do what Sharpe does and walk away. The TV series solves the problem by sending him to India.
* Norton Juster's book (and the cartoon based off of said book) ''Literature/ThePhantomTollbooth'' ends with Milo returning home. The next day, after school, he rushes back home to return to the tollbooth... and finds it's disappeared. In its place is a note saying it's moved on to the next kid that needs a dose of the fantastic, but that Milo knows how to find it. (Presumably this means his imagination.) After a moment's thought, he smiles and admits he does know how... and he doesn't need to go back just yet, there's so much to do where he is now!
* In the concluding short-story in ''Solo Kill'' by Kye Boult, baron Amarson's pseudo-feline warrior race faces a troubling future when a violent conflict lasting for generations reaches its end. Amarson realizes that unless he can create a meaningful alternative for his people, they will perish from ennui.
* In the ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga''. Miles found himself constantly increasing his challenges every time he succeeded, and realized it was becomes of "So What Do I Do Now?" He gave it a name: "playing wall". He was forcibly divorced from his Naismith identity in ''Memory'', which allowed him to get over his rut.
* At the end of E.R. Eddison's ''Literature/TheWormOuroboros'', after the heroes' final victory, they are feasting in their hall, feeling melancholy over their inability to complete any more great deeds, when one of their powerful magical allies offers them a gift for helping her earlier. [[spoiler:[[NiceJobBreakingItHero They wish for the villain and his henchmen to be resurrected so they can fight him again]], rather than being bored, finding some other adventures, or turning on each other.]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/TheATeam'' ended on this. After the team had yet again [[spoiler: defeated the bad guys of the week]], they discuss the possibility of getting pardoned earlier than they thought, and Hannibal was thinking what they would do after they get their pardons.
-->'''Hannibal''': Well, I was thinking, like Bernie and George, what are we gonna do when this thing's over? I mean, what are we really qualified to do?
** However, they soon imply that they might likely continue doing what they did in their fugitive days - go after the bad guys.
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' ends with this. After [[spoiler:defeating the First Evil, destroying the Hellmouth and the entire town of Sunnydale, and activating all of the potential Slayers]], Dawn asks Buffy "what are we going to do now?" The final shot of the series is a closeup on Buffy, smiling.
** It's later revealed, in ''Series/{{Angel}}'' crossover episodes and the canonical Seasons Eight and onward comics that they've gone out looking for new Slayers and created a multinational demon-killing organization. That'll do nicely.
** There's a very minor one in the MusicalEpisode "Once More With Feeling", which ends with a song with these lyrics: "The battle's done / And we kind of won / So we sound our victory cheer / Where do we go from here?"
*** Not really minor, as a) the song is called "Where Do We Go From Here?" and b) the Scooby Gang is caught up in existential angst following the forced revelation that by bringing Buffy back from the dead they ripped her out of Heaven and she feels like she is literally in Hell every waking moment.
* The new series of ''Series/DoctorWho'' has explored this with respect to his companions. The episode "School Reunion" has Sarah Jane explaining to him that her life was a bit of a wreck after he dropped her off; after what she'd seen, going back to a normal life proved undoable. It's implied this is universal among his "voluntary" companions.
** It was especially tragic with Rose (and later Donna) because it was so sudden and unexpected. You're expecting to go off to the next adventure, when bam, [[spoiler: the dimensional gate closes, separating you forever, or fatal MySkullRunnethOver can only be prevented by mindwipe]]. Sarah Jane had a fairly similar situation. However, Martha made the choice to return to her old life, and was shown to not have regretted it.
*** Well, sort of. Before she met the Doctor, she was a medical student, and after she leaves him she joins UNIT and becomes an alien-fighting badass. Though she does find time to qualify as a doctor. It's implied that even though she chose to leave, she couldn't just pick up where she'd left off, particularly after her year-long WalkingTheEarth nightmare situation.
*** They made sure to wrap up some loose ends in the last episode of the Tenth Doctor. Martha's engagement, apparently, didn't work out and she left UNIT; she does, however, end up with Mickey, and the pair spend their time fighting aliens. Donna finds her true love and gets married, with a little gift from the Doctor. Even Captain Jack, who is shown sulking in an alien bar after [[spoiler:killing his own grandson and losing Ianto]] is a little cheered up by the Doctor, who introduces him to Alonso (the midshipman from the ''Titanic'' starship). He also saves Sarah Jane's adopted son from being hit by a car.
** In the episode "Vengeance on Varos", the [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure governor]] finally wins concessions and money from the company they sell their minerals to. He announces this to the BreadAndCircuses-minded populace, and two of them hear it and are bewildered because they don't know what they will be doing with themselves.
* Many of the comic sketches in Creator/SpikeMilligan's ''Q'' series end without a {{Punchline}} (he never was one for narrative convention). Instead the cast just stop what they're doing and shuffle offstage sideways, chanting "What are we going to do now? What are we going to do now?"
* In ''Series/GameOfThrones'', after Dani frees the slaves in Mereeen, most of the older ones, who had "respectable" positions as the Masters' childrens' teacher and such, wants to voluntary return to the status, since they are too old to start a new life. Dani allows them to be contracted back to the family, for no more than a year at a time.
* ''Series/GilligansIsland'' first movie, "Rescue from Gilligan's Island," shows the castaways back on the mainland, finally rescued after 15 years on the island together. When they are all finished with the parades and press conferences, they start to turn away from each other, and then realize, "Wait a minute. I/We aren't going to be together anymore" and come back together for one last good-bye hug. Later, Ginger is trying to deal with the "new" Hollywood (more sex and violence), the Skipper and Gilligan have to contend with the insurance company not wanting to pay for the ''Minnow'''s replacement, the Professor constantly "inventing" things that have been around for years, and [=MaryAnn=] having to go back to the farm on Kansas. The only ones who mostly go back to their former lives are the Howells, and later, we see that they really aren't happy in the large mansion and such after spending so much time on the island. Later, [[spoiler: when they get shipwrecked again]] it's almost a relief for them. Luckily, [[spoiler: the next movie gets them rescued and the island becoming a resort.]]
* ''Series/ResidentAlien'' has D'Arcy dealing with a lot of this in the form of post-Olympics blues-- which is TruthinTelevision.
* ''Series/{{Sliders}}'' season 3 finale. Rembrandt and Wade have presumably slid back to original Earth. Maggie and Quinn attempt to follow them and wind up in a futuristic world. Maggie: "So how do we get home?" Quinn: "I don't know." Scene. Apparently, they thought that if they ended on a cliffhanger they couldn't get cancelled. Wrong.
** [[UnCanceled Then]] the season 5 finale. Rembrandt has slid, possibly back home to his death, leaving Maggie, Mallory and Diana stranded along with Quinn's mom. And the person who can see the future just died. After standing there for five seconds, one of them asks "So... what do we do now?" "I don't know." Again, cliffhanger -> cancelled. There was talk of a WrapItUp movie, and the ending was clearly written [[SequelHook with such in mind]], but sadly it never materialized, leaving the series CutShort.
* In ''Series/StargateAtlantis'', at the end of Series 5, the Wraith lead by Todd agree to undertake the gene-therapy and free themselves from their reliance on using Humans as food. Despite the benefits, Todd laments that it's the end of millennia of Wraith society and culture, particularly their self-image of themselves as the SuperiorSpecies.
-->'''Dr. Keller''': It's for your benefit too. If you don't have to rely on human feeding, the war would be over.\\
'''Todd''': Perhaps... But then what would we do? ''Who'' would we be?
* This happened frequently in ''Series/TheWestWing'': after solving this week's problem, most of the staff sat around exhausted but exulting in their victory. President Bartlet played this one straight: he walked back to his desk, turned to his Chief of Staff and said "What's next?". Because, for the President, there is always something next.
** The last episode of the series ends with Bartlett, his time in office finally over, gazing out the window of his plane, clearly pondering what he's going to do now. It then cuts to newly inaugurated President Santos dealing with the crisis of the moment in the Oval Office, then turning to Josh and [[MeaningfulEcho asking "what's next?"]].

[[folder:Music]]
* Music/EmilieAutumn has a moment of this in "One Foot In Front Of The Other" on her ''Fight Like A Girl'' album.
* Music/PinkFloyd strugged with this after the mind-blowing success of ''Music/TheDarkSideOfTheMoon'', which was reflected in some of the lyrics for the albums that came afterwards. ''Music/TheWall'' even included a song called "What Shall We Do Now?", which due to the limitations of the LP had to be shortened to become "Empty Spaces", but was heard in its full incarnation live and in the movie.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Radio]]
* After satellite radio was created, talk show hosts came flooding in. Suddenly, they were given freedom of speech. Now they could say anything they wanted to. So what do you say? Suddenly, there's no censorship, no FCC over their shoulders, no MoralGuardians "protecting" their children's virgin ears. But what do you talk about? You don't have to be creative anymore with your euphemisms, but then it's not funny anymore. Soon, the shows ended up just being the word "fuck" [[ClusterFBomb every other word]], just because they could.
* Series 5 of ''Radio/BleakExpectations'' begins with Pip Bin's ArchEnemy, Mr. Gently Benevolent, apparently gone for good. This leaves Pip at a loose end, since he's spent half his childhood and all of his adult life thwarting Benevolent's increasingly complicated schemes for killing him and destroying the universe--he's delighted when Benevolent turns out to be NotQuiteDead, again.
* ''Radio/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'': The primary phase ends with Arthur and Ford discovering that the Question to the Ultimate Answer of Life, The Universe and Everything (42) was "What do you get when you multiply six by nine?," and consigned that there is something fundamentally wrong with the Universe.
-->'''Arthur:''' What do we do now?\\
'''Ford:''' (''after a beat'') I guess we just suck in our pride and join the human race.

[[folder:Roleplay]]
* Look at the end pages of the first thread of ''Roleplay/DestroyTheGodmodder''. This was the response of many players before they realized that the second had started already.

[[folder:Video Games]]
* Meta example: the ExpansionPack and NewGamePlus try to fill this role, and this is the central question behind replay value.
* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight'': Why did the titular castle reappear a mere 5 years after Richter Belmont banished {{Dracula}}? It seems like Richter couldn't go back to a normal life after saving the world from the Prince of Darkness and he wants Dracula back so he can be the hero again. [[spoiler:Luckily. he's just been brainwashed into thinking this, although you can get a NonStandardGameOver by killing him.]]
* In the [[MultipleEndings best ending]] of ''VideoGame/CaveStory'', Balrog asks Curly and the protagonist what they're going to do now. Curly declares she'd like to live out the rest of her days somewhere with a beautiful view and they all go off to look for one.
* ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 3|AbsenceOfJustice}}'' reveals that, after saving Veldime in ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 2|CursedMemories}}'', [[TheHero Adell]] has pretty much jack-all to do. Turns out the Demon Hunter skill set doesn't transfer to other jobs very well.
* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', completing Fenris' persona quests leads to this. Fenris finally kills his former master so there is no one hunting him anymore. He doesn't feel satisfied, since as an amnesiac whose few memories are still of slavery, he has no idea what do once he doesn't have to run and fight any longer. A conversation with Hawke sets him straight and he sees the bright side. Maybe he doesn't have an answer to "So What Do We Do Now?" yet...but for the first time in his life, the answer to that question is completely up to him.
-->The future of a slave is never uncertain. But I am no longer a slave. Perhaps it's time I remembered that.
* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'':
** Some of the members of the party start asking themselves this question near the end of the game. A few make plans to leave the Inquisition to either settle down or pursue their own interests, while others decide to stick around.
** The Inquisition itself is forced to confront this in the ''Trespasser'' DLC. Two years after the main story, the leaders of Orlais and Ferelden demand the Inquisition justify its heavily-armed presence in their nations now that the threats it formed to fight are long dead. [[spoiler:The Inquisitor can choose to either downsize the group and reform it as a peacekeeping force under the Divine, or disband it for fear of internal corruption and refusal to be used as a political pawn.]]
* In ''VideoGame/DragonBallXenoverse2'''s Infinite History mode, there's a point where you go to the Cell Games era and Fu has pitted Cell against Androids 13, 17, and 18. Siding with Fu will lead to an alternate outcome where after defeating Cell, the Androids then challenge and defeat Goku instead of the latter either dying from an illness or [[SenselessSacrifice fruitlessly sacrificing himself to stop Cell]]. They then wonder what to do now that their assigned goal has been achieved and set off to find something else to do.
* At the end of ''VideoGame/DragonsDogma'' the player essentially [[spoiler:becomes God]]. This is not nearly as fun as it sounds since the player can visit the game world but is unable to interact with it in any way, condemning the player character to an eternity of loneliness. The only way to escape this fate is [[spoiler:suicide, although this actually reincarnates the player character in the body of their main pawn]].
** [[spoiler:Or the other way around, if the conditions are right.]]
* Subverted in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII'', where pretty early in the game the player [[ButThouMust is forced to]] become the king of Romaly, and then must relinquish the role to continue on with the story.
* ''VideoGame/DreamfallTheLongestJourney'' asks this question in regards to the protagonist of the original ''VideoGame/TheLongestJourney'', April Ryan: after sacrificing most of her ordinary life to SaveBothWorlds, she was left to pick up the pieces without any recognition of her ordeal from anyone (since most people who knew the real story are dead). As a result, she has become a bitter cynic with DeathSeeker tendencies and refuses to get involved in anything remotely similar to another grand, world-saving adventure in ''Dreamfall''.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' {{fanon}} embraces this trope for {{continuation}}s, usually featuring [[AntiHero Squall]] trying to come to terms with life after the war and a job that, now [[BigBad Ultimecia]] is no more, [[{{Deconstruction}} is mostly paperwork]].
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'''s sequel did this twice:
** After the ending of the first game, Spira enters the Eternal Calm. ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'', posits that [[spoiler: Yuna's life has settled into a routine, which is shaken up only after discovery of a sphere depicting images of "Tidus." This prompts her to become a [[ActionGirl Sphere Hunter]] to find the truth about this. While this happens, the rest of the world discovers that being freed from Sin gives them the opportunity to squabble among each other, giving rise to religious and civilian factions which almost engage in civil war.]]
** The UpdatedRerelease, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2: Last Mission'' explicitly states that, after its own ending, the Gullwings have gone their separate ways and settled down in ordinary, domestic lives. After they receive a letter of challenge, they join up again to tackle one last dungeon, which helps them realize that [[ThePowerOfFriendship they'll always count on each other]] regardless.
* Dracon the Dragonslayer's campaign in ''Videogame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic III: Armageddon's Blade'' ends with him finally slaying the mighty Azure Dragon. As he sits on the body of his fallen prey, he wonders why the victory feels so empty. Dracon had built up the Azure Dragon as the key to long-sought personal contentment. He admits he was wrong and wonders what he'll do next.
* It's implied that Link was hit with this after the events of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' (from the child timeline) and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask''. With his adventures completed and his duties fulfilled, Link has nothing else to do and [[UnfulfilledPurposeMisery lives the rest of his life regretting that he could not pass on his sword techniques to another person]]. The Hero's Shade in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' is confirmed by WordOfGod that he is that same Link and he finally passes on his knowledge to the current Link.
* Lance Boyle brings this up in the intro to ''VideoGame/{{Megarace}} 2'': "[The winner] is crowned King Megaracer 2, he experiences a sense of achievement, and returns in regal triumph to reality, where he will probably never readapt."
* ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'''s [[MindScrew bizarre ending sequence]] has two entities speaking directly to the player, praising their accomplishments in the game and suggesting that maybe their next adventure will be to do great things in the real world, too.
* About half to two-thirds of the way through ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'', SEES has a short battle with this after [[spoiler:defeating the twelfth Arcana-shadow]]. Not long after, cue [[spoiler:the clarification of Ikutsuki's EvilPlan, followed by the build-up to [[MultipleEndings either]] the DownerEnding [[MultipleEndings or]] the BittersweetEnding]].
** The ''real'' "What do we do now?" is in ''The Answer'', a sort of expansion pack available in some releases of the game, taking place after the defeat of the final boss and the death of [[spoiler:the original protagonist]]. When Shadows start attacking again, the survivors are a little too happy to finally have something to fight, and it turns out that [[spoiler:their inability to find proper closure is part of what brought the Shadows back in the first place.]]
%%* ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon'' manages to take this to downright TearJerker levels. Seriously, it has an honest-to-God Creator/DonBluth ending.
* ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankGoingCommando'' begins with the titular duo being interviewed for a show, and they discuss the fact that they haven't done too much since the events of [[VideoGame/RatchetAndClank2002 the first game]].
-->'''Presenter:''' Welcome back to "Behind the Hero". Tonight's heroes are the duo who recently restored peace and order to our galaxy: Ratchet & Clank. So gentlemen, tell us about your latest incredible adventures!\\
'''Ratchet:''' Well as you can imagine, we've been pretty busy. After Drek's defeat there were parades, press conferences, fancy dress balls...\\
'''Clank:''' ...and the wiener roast at Al's.\\
'''Ratchet:''' Oh yeah that, and then things started to slow down a bit. After that we... well...\\
'''Clank:''' There was the grand opening at "Groovy Lube".\\
'''Ratchet:''' Right. I think that was... last week.\\
'''Clank:''' Six months ago.\\
'''Ratchet:''' We're still pretty busy, but in a more, uh, domestic sense.\\
'''Clank:''' Yesterday I flushed out my radiator core.\\
'''Ratchet:''' I guess... no one needs a hero right now.
* Shaundi asks this after the main story ending of ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2''. [[spoiler:The answer, of course, is "whatever [[PrecisionFStrike the fuck]] we want".]]
* Happens in the time between ''VideoGame/StarFox64'' and ''VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures''. After saving the Lylat System in the previous game the Star Fox team finds themselves out of work and with nothing to do. This causes Falco to leave the team and for all their fancy equipment to fall into disrepair. Same thing happens in the prologue of ''VideoGame/StarFoxCommand'', only this time the entire team breaks up.
* One of the earliest versions of this in video games is ''VideoGame/UltimaIV'', and it's ''entirely based around it.'' Basically, in the past three games, ''all'' of the big evils have been destroyed (there are still dungeons full of monsters to fight, but nothing controlling them or threatening the world). So what do you do? Go on a quest to become the most shining example of pure good in the world as an example to everyone else!
** Said example then immediately departs the world, [[VideoGame/UltimaV giving rise to a new great evil that kidnaps the king and corrupts the Avatar's philosophy, turning moral fortitude into utter totalitarianism]]. So, back to form. Of course, the kidnapping was partly a result of this trope, too (albeit offscreen) as Lord British decided that, having nothing better to do, he needed to wander down into the underworld and see what was up with that freaky place, only to have his party eaten alive by DemonicSpiders. This is why kings have champions in the first place.
** The final game in the series reveals that the Avatar's quest to become an example of pure good [[spoiler:''created'' the BigBad of the last trilogy of games, the Guardian, since he is the embodiment of the evil the Avatar left behind.]]
* In the ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' series, Maiev Shadowsong, a night elf warden personally responsible for the imprisonment of [[VillainProtagonist Illidan Stormrage]], devotes her entire life to chasing him when he escapes prison. Eventually, she ends up killing him, only to realize her life has no meaning anymore.
* ''VideoGame/YouHaveToBurnTheRope'' features a little ditty at the end of the game that's mostly about this:
-->''Now you're a hero / You managed to beat the whole damn game'' \\
''We're happy you made it / But how are you gonna spend the rest of this day?'' \\
''Maybe watch a video / Maybe press refresh and start again.''

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* With the crazy summer and the avalanche behind them, most of the former summer school class in ''VisualNovel/DoubleHomework'' turn their attention to their more mundane concerns of post-graduation plans.
* When reminded that he's on summer break, Akira from ''VisualNovel/SpiritHunterNG'' reminisces on how crazy his life has become because of spirits, and whether he'd even be able to return to a life of normalcy. In Seiji's ending, [[spoiler:he concedes that he can't go back to a life of peace, and so resumes his job as an underground fighter.]]

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* In the ''WebVideo/ImAMarvelAndImADC'' video "Justice League vs. Avengers Infinity War", when DC declares Marvel the winner and decides to end the debates, Spider-Man asks this. Superman then suggests they do the one thing they hadn't done at all: just watch the movies together as friends.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* In ''[[Webcomic/{{Sins}} Sins Venials]''], after the Sins tell Alicia that her job as host is done and it's time for her to go home, she decides that [[http://www.sincomics.com/index.php?463 if she has to live a normal, boring life, then the Sins do too]].
* In ''Webcomic/WapsiSquare'', [[http://wapsisquare.com/comic/back-to-normal/ Monica]] seems to have this problem. [[http://wapsisquare.com/comic/no-other-shoe/ Tepoz]] [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] it. And, it turns out that [[http://wapsisquare.com/comic/herculean-task/ she's not the only one.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* Averted at the end of ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''; even with the defeat of Ozai, Aang and Zuko are clear on the fact that there is a lot of rebuilding to do, both in terms of damage caused by the war and in relations between the nations.
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': The premise for the Season Six episode "On Your Marks." Having achieved their marks last season, the Cutie Mark Crusaders find themselves DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife all over again and their real challenges just beginning.
* Happens ''twice'' in ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters'' episode "Ghost Busted" - there's a dry spell of supernatural activity, so the guys modify their equipment to trap living beings and go into the crime-fighting business. Unfortunately they're too good at this, wiping out all crime...[[StatusQuoIsGod right before another surge of ghosts]]. Egon even literally says "So what do we do now?" before the hauntings start getting called in.
* In ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot'', the hero Bob manages to get villainess Hexadecimal to completely reverse her latest evil scheme to petrify all of Mainframe. He knows that she adores spreading chaos and madness, but once there's nothing and no one to spread that chaos to... It'll just be too darn peaceful and quiet for her.
* Creator/ChuckJones' latter-day [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Road Runner]] short "Soup or Sonic" ends with Wile E. Coyote finally catching his prey -- but unable to do anything with him due to [[spoiler:their difference in size]]. He holds up a [[TalkingWithSigns pair of signs for the audience]] reading, ''Okay, wise guys, you always wanted me to catch him - Now what do I do?''
* ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated'' implied this at the finale. The gang had [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu destroyed the Nibiru curse]] that engulfed the previous 51 episodes and caused a reset in the timeline which meant everything that occured actually never happened. It is after they receive a message from author Harlan Ellison that Scooby and the gang realize that this is where their mystery-solving exploits begin.
* In the episode "Make Love, Not Warcraft" of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', [[ThatOnePlayer a griefer]] was killing each player discouraging them from playing, so in order to play again, the protagonists play for months, 21 hours a day, killing boars to gain experience points to achieve a level that allows them to beat him, and when they finally do with the help of the InfinityPlusOneSword, the question is dropped. Cartman's answer: "What do you mean? Now we can finally play the game."
* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseFuture'': In [[WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse the previous series]], the Crystal Gems were always on adventures and fighting enemies. Now that there's nothing to fight for and his family and friends are moving on, Steven is DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife. [[spoiler:While the show doesn't end with him having one, he's no longer ''desperately'' searching for one, and is using [[WalkingTheEarth a cross-country road trip]] to [[LeavingYouToFindMyself calmly figure himself out]]]].
* In ''Franchise/{{Transformers}},'' the Cybertronian War has been going on for so long that whenever somebody wins for a while, or the possibility of the war ending arises, many mechs are unsure of what to do, since they've spent all their lives fighting.
* Season 2 of ''WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}}'' starts with Taranee trying to get into trouble out of fear of becoming anonymous; subverted by her teachers going easy on her since she had always been such a good student. The episode ends with a heartwarming [[AnAesop aesop]] about how she will never be anonymous as long as she has friends.
** [[spoiler:Plus she didn't have to worry about not being done as a Guardian as a new BigBad was currently building her forces at the time]].
** At the end of season 2 the heroes are relieved to have finally put that behind them and are eager to resume their normal lives, clearly excited at the prospect of this trope... and then TheStinger shows one of the antagonists from the comics taking a position at their school, setting up [[WhatCouldHaveBeen the conflict for season three that will never happen]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Many veterans of the military found during their time of service that they felt they were truly living when danger was all around. Back in the civilian world, they often don't know what to do with the rest of their lives. This is why many go into mercenary work for private contractors. (A good dose of PTSD doesn't help, either.)
* Some people who are revived after being [[OnlyMostlyDead technically dead]] recount having amazing experiences before returning to life. In some cases (especially for those who believe they experienced the afterlife), ordinary life just doesn't seem meaningful anymore.
* With glasnost, and later, when the Soviet Union fell, many people suddenly had far more freedom of speech. What do you talk about? How the Soviet Union sucks? How the 90s economy sucks? What do you do now that you have all this freedom? Do you go on with your daily lives and live the same as you always have? Do you go check out that new [=McDonald=]'s in Red Square? WhyWeAreBummedCommunismFell is all about this. There are people nostalgic for the days of Communism in the Eastern Bloc because they had to be creative about everything they did. Now that they didn't have the excitement that little kids do when they do something naughty, it wasn't worth it anymore. It's hard to understand for Westerners.
** From the American perspective, the lack of Communist rivals (China had already reformed its economy) meant that the only threats they could go up against were rogue states like Saddam's Iraq or Yugoslavia, but it was harder to unite people on these smaller threats. The War on Terror at least gave direction as does Russia and China's rise as rival powers once more in TheNewTens, but the sense of urgency and the feeling of an impending great power war is gone.
* This is the unfortunate consequence of many a revolution headed by the lower class. Without someone who has the slightest idea how to run a country, they have feuds whenever a stable government is trying to be established.
* This is one of the major hurdles to overcome after ending a relationship. It causes a lot of people to either try to run back into it, or start another (often equally ill-advised) one as soon as possible.
* This is a common reaction of any sports fanbase whose team wins a championship, particularly after a long drought. After a couple days of euphoria and celebration, it sets in that the season is over and the focus quickly shifts to next year. A few Chicago sportswriters made light of this in the days following the 2016 Cubs' World Series victory, stating that there was something strangely empty about going into the offseason without looking forward to breaking the so-called "Curse of the Billy Goat."
** A significant number of Manchester United fans felt this was the case in the nineties. After United won the European Cup in 1968, the club went into the wilderness for a quarter of a century, suceeding only in a string of FA Cup wins and missing out on other victories. They were even relegated to a lower league for a season in reward for particularly mediocre performance. Paradoxically, or perhaps proving some people are never satisfied, there are fans who consider it got really boring and predictable when the team became a perpetually victorious juggernaut, arguing it was no fun any more: they missed the frustration, uncertainty and unpredictability of TheSeventies and TheEighties when at best United were a promising side, who never quite delivered on that promise.
* A lot of activists run into this whenever their cause makes a major stride forward. For example, the LGBTQ movement in the United States suddenly didn't have a main point to rally behind when gay marriage was legalized nationwide. Fighting the nebulous threat of homophobia is more daunting and will obviously take decades. In some cases, this can even lead to a movement dissolving, such as in the case of the Civil Rights movement, which became increasingly disjointed and eventually faded out in the years after the Civil Rights Act's passing in 1964, due to the greater threat of racism being too multifaceted compared to segregation to narrow it down to a single point on which everyone could focus (that's not to say that civil rights activism is dead and buried, it's just no longer coalesced into a large, unified movement. Black Lives Matter, which centers around ending government-sanctioned racism and police brutality against black people, is the closest modern equivalent.)
* During much of the Cold War, but especially after the Cuban Revolution, Central American politics were a tug of war between the USSR (and Cuba) on the one hand and the US on the other. It split the Catholic church right down the middle, with the hierarchy in Rome favoring the old elites while many lower clergy (up to some bishops) preached "liberation theology" or even outright supported communist parties or governments (as Ernesto Cardenal did in Nicaragua). There were communist death squads and atrocities, but overall the anti-communist atrocities were probably worse than the communist ones (if only because they had greater opportunity: communists only took power in a handful of countries, with the majority under control of western-backed, anti-communist dictatorships). Then communism fell and Cuba became too poor and had to focus on itself too much to fund revolutions abroad, so Central America could mostly run its own affairs... And while the death squads are gone and some of the former guerrillas have turned into legitimate political parties winning elections, the overall reaction to the end of outside meddling seems to have been, "Huh. What now?" Guatemala elected a literal clown, Nicaragua elected Ortega ''again'' (who had already been the guy the US wanted to get rid of 1979-1990), and even when Honduras had a coup/constitutional crisis that ended with their left wing president deposed, the US actually ''condemned'' the acts of the Honduran right wing. Now where's the fun in ''that?''
[[/folder]]

* ''Series/ResidentAlien'' has D'Arcy dealing with a lot of this in the form of post-Olympics blues-- which is TruthinTelevision.
* ''Series/GilligansIsland'' first movie, "Rescue from Gilligan's Island," shows the castaways back on the mainland, finally rescued after 15 years on the island together. When they are all finished with the parades and press conferences, they start to turn away from each other, and then realize, "Wait a minute. I/We aren't going to be together anymore" and come back together for one last good-bye hug. Later, Ginger is trying to deal with the "new" Hollywood (more sex and violence), the Skipper and Gilligan have to contend with the insurance company not wanting to pay for the ''Minnow'''s replacement, the Professor constantly "inventing" things that have been around for years, and [=MaryAnn=] having to go back to the farm on Kansas. The only ones who mostly go back to their former lives are the Howells, and later, we see that they really aren't happy in the large mansion and such after spending so much time on the island. Later, [[spoiler: when they get shipwrecked again]] it's almost a relief for them. Luckily, [[spoiler: the next movie gets them rescued and the island becoming a resort.]]

--> '''Dr. Keller''': It's for your benefit too. If you don't have to rely on human feeding, the war would be over.
--> '''Todd''': Perhaps... But then what would we do? ''Who'' would we be?
* In ''Series/GameOfThrones'', after Dani frees the slaves in Mereeen, most of the older ones, who had "respectable" positions as the Masters' childrens' teacher and such, wants to voluntary return to the status, since they are too old to start a new life. Dani allows them to be contracted back to the family, for no more than a year at a time.

* ''Series/TheATeam'' ended on this. After the team had yet again [[spoiler: defeated the bad guys of the week]], they discuss the possibility of getting pardoned earlier than they thought, and Hannibal was thinking what they would do after they get their pardons.
-->'''Hannibal''': Well, I was thinking, like Bernie and George, what are we gonna do when this thing's over? I mean, what are we really qualified to do?
** However, they soon imply that they might likely continue doing what they did in their fugitive days - go after the bad guys.

* Series 5 of ''Radio/BleakExpectations'' begins with Pip Bin's ArchEnemy, Mr. Gently Benevolent, apparently gone for good. This leaves Pip at a loose end, since he's spent half his childhood and all of his adult life thwarting Benevolent's increasingly complicated schemes for killing him and destroying the universe--he's delighted when Benevolent turns out to be NotQuiteDead, again.

* About half to two-thirds of the way through ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'', SEES has a short battle with this after [[spoiler:defeating the twelfth Arcana-shadow]]. Not long after, cue [[spoiler:the clarification of Ikutsuki's EvilPlan, followed by the build-up to [[MultipleEndings either]] the DownerEnding [[MultipleEndings or]] the BittersweetEnding.]]

%% * ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon'' manages to take this to downright TearJerker levels. Seriously, it has an honest-to-God Creator/DonBluth ending.
* ''VideoGame/YouHaveToBurnTheRope'' features a little ditty at the end of the game that's mostly about this:
--> ''Now you're a hero / You managed to beat the whole damn game'' \\
''We're happy you made it / But how are you gonna spend the rest of this day?'' \\
''Maybe watch a video / Maybe press refresh and start again.''

* In the ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' series, Maiev Shadowsong, a night elf warden personally responsible for the imprisonment of [[VillainProtagonist Illidan Stormrage]], devotes her entire life to chasing him when he escapes prison. Eventually, she ends up killing him, only to realize her life has no meaning anymore.
* Happens in the time between ''VideoGame/StarFox64'' and ''VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures''. After saving the Lylat System in the previous game the Star Fox team finds themselves out of work and with nothing to do. This causes Falco to leave the team and for all their fancy equipment to fall into disrepair. Same thing happens in the prologue of ''VideoGame/StarFoxCommand'', only this time the entire team breaks up.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' {{fanon}} embraces this trope for {{continuation}}s, usually featuring [[AntiHero Squall]] trying to come to terms with life after the war and a job that, now [[BigBad Ultimecia]] is no more, [[{{Deconstruction}} is mostly paperwork.]]
* Lance Boyle brings this up in the intro to ''VideoGame/{{Megarace}} 2'': "[The winner] is crowned King Megaracer 2, he experiences a sense of achievement, and returns in regal triumph to reality, where he will probably never readapt."
* ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 3|AbsenceOfJustice}}'' reveals that, after saving Veldime in ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 2|CursedMemories}}'', [[TheHero Adell]] has pretty much jack-all to do. Turns out the Demon Hunter skill set doesn't transfer to other jobs very well.

* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', completing Fenris' persona quests leads to this. Fenris finally kills his former master so there is no one hunting him anymore. He doesn't feel satisfied, since as an amnesiac whose few memories are still of slavery, he has no idea what do once he doesn't have to run and fight any longer. A conversation with Hawke sets him straight and he sees the bright side. Maybe he doesn't have an answer to "So What Do We Do Now?" yet...but for the first time in his life, the answer to that question is completely up to him.
-->The future of a slave is never uncertain. But I am no longer a slave. Perhaps it's time I remembered that.
* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'':
** Some of the members of the party start asking themselves this question near the end of the game. A few make plans to leave the Inquisition to either settle down or pursue their own interests, while others decide to stick around.
** The Inquisition itself is forced to confront this in the ''Trespasser'' DLC. Two years after the main story, the leaders of Orlais and Ferelden demand the Inquisition justify its heavily-armed presence in their nations now that the threats it formed to fight are long dead. [[spoiler: The Inquisitor can choose to either downsize the group and reform it as a peacekeeping force under the Divine, or disband it for fear of internal corruption and refusal to be used as a political pawn.]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'''s [[MindScrew bizarre ending sequence]] has two entities speaking directly to the player, praising their accomplishments in the game and suggesting that maybe their next adventure will be to do great things in the real world, too.
* Meta example: the ExpansionPack and NewGamePlus try to fill this role, and this is the central question behind replay value.
* At the end of ''VideoGame/DragonsDogma'' the player essentially [[spoiler: becomes God]]. This is not nearly as fun as it sounds since the player can visit the game world but is unable to interact with it in any way, condemning the player character to an eternity of loneliness. The only way to escape this fate is [[spoiler: suicide, although this actually reincarnates the player character in the body of their main pawn]].
** [[spoiler:Or the other way around, if the conditions are right.]]
* Dracon the Dragonslayer's campaign in ''Videogame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic III: Armageddon's Blade'' ends with him finally slaying the mighty Azure Dragon. As he sits on the body of his fallen prey, he wonders why the victory feels so empty. Dracon had built up the Azure Dragon as the key to long-sought personal contentment. He admits he was wrong and wonders what he'll do next.
* ''VideoGame/DreamfallTheLongestJourney'' asks this question in regards to the protagonist of the original ''VideoGame/TheLongestJourney'', April Ryan: after sacrificing most of her ordinary life to SaveBothWorlds, she was left to pick up the pieces without any recognition of her ordeal from anyone (since most people who knew the real story are dead). As a result, she has become a bitter cynic with DeathSeeker tendencies and refuses to get involved in anything remotely similar to another grand, world-saving adventure in ''Dreamfall''.
* It's implied that Link was hit with this after the events of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' (from the child timeline) and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask''. With his adventures completed and his duties fulfilled, Link has nothing else to do and [[UnfulfilledPurposeMisery lives the rest of his life regretting that he could not pass on his sword techniques to another person]]. The Hero's Shade in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' is confirmed by WordOfGod that he is that same Link and he finally passes on his knowledge to the current Link.
* In ''VideoGame/DragonBallXenoverse2'''s Infinite History mode, there's a point where you go to the Cell Games era and Fu has pitted Cell against Androids 13, 17, and 18. Siding with Fu will lead to an alternate outcome where after defeating Cell, the Androids then challenge and defeat Goku instead of the latter either dying from an illness or [[SenselessSacrifice fruitlessly sacrificing himself to stop Cell]]. They then wonder what to do now that their assigned goal has been achieved and set off to find something else to do.

* In [[Webcomic/{{Sins}} Sins Venials]], after the Sins tell Alicia that her job as host is done and it's time for her to go home, she decides that [[http://www.sincomics.com/index.php?463 if she has to live a normal, boring life, then the Sins do too.]]

* Season 2 of ''WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}}'' starts with Taranee trying to get into trouble out of fear of becoming anonymous; subverted by her teachers going easy on her since she had always been such a good student. The episode ends with a heartwarming [[AnAesop aesop]] about how she will never be anonymous as long as she has friends.
** [[spoiler: Plus she didn't have to worry about not being done as a Guardian as a new BigBad was currently building her forces at the time]].
** At the end of season 2 the heroes are relieved to have finally put that behind them and are eager to resume their normal lives, clearly excited at the prospect of this trope... and then TheStinger shows one of the antagonists from the comics taking a position at their school, setting up [[WhatCouldHaveBeen the conflict for season three that will never happen]].
* In the episode "Make Love, Not Warcraft" of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', [[ThatOnePlayer a griefer]] was killing each player discouraging them from playing, so in order to play again, the protagonists play for months, 21 hours a day, killing boars to gain experience points to achieve a level that allows them to beat him, and when they finally do with the help of the InfinityPlusOneSword, the question is dropped. Cartman's answer: "What do you mean? Now we can finally play the game."
* Creator/ChuckJones' latter-day [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Road Runner]] short "Soup or Sonic" ends with Wile E. Coyote finally catching his prey -- but unable to do anything with him due to [[spoiler: their difference in size]]. He holds up a [[TalkingWithSigns pair of signs for the audience]] reading, ''Okay, wise guys, you always wanted me to catch him - Now what do I do?''

* In ''Franchise/{{Transformers}},'' the Cybertronian War has been going on for so long that whenever somebody wins for a while, or the possibility of the war ending arises, many mechs are unsure of what to do, since they've spent all their lives fighting.
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': The premise for the Season Six episode "On Your Marks." Having achieved their marks last season, the Cutie Mark Crusaders find themselves DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife all over again and their real challenges just beginning.

** Played straight at the end [[spoiler: where the Chosen Children's success in fulfilling their destiny saves the Digital World and (seemingly) destroys the source of all evil. However, they're sent back home without their Digimon, and this time without any seeming way to return to the Digital World, leaving behind some of the best friends they ever had. Eventually averted by [[Anime/DigimonAdventure02 the sequel]], which didn't end like this.]]
*** ''Anime/DigimonTamers'' has a similar ending [[spoiler: although they were already in the real world (their Digimon had to return to the Digital World without them, or be destroyed by a side-effect of their method of defeating the BigBad). There is a tiny spot of hope for them to get their partners back at the very end of the last episode, turning this into the optimistic version, but later materials crush this hope.]]
** ''Anime/DigimonFrontier'' does it [[spoiler: unnecessarily - the portal is closing so the Legendary Warriors shove the kids through, not even leaving time for a real goodbye, making it almost as sudden and tragic a shock as the ''Tamers'' version. But then you realize that the Trailmon can take them back (and forth) at ''any time'' so there's really no rush]]. It's kind of a "imitate the past series, even if it doesn't make sense here and now" thing.
* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'' does this in TheMovie ''Endless Waltz''. Most of the pilots find normal lives after the war & seem to be enjoying themselves, but ArrogantKungFuGuy Wu Fei can't find meaning in his life without battles and ends up joining a rebel group so he can help start a new war. Post-Movie he joins the Preventers, an organization dedicated to stopping wars from breaking out in the first place.
* Kurau's human half in ''Anime/KurauPhantomMemory '' has fond memories of the time she was taken over by her Rynax entity, but comes to terms with the fact that it is all over now.
* ''Anime/SaberMarionetteJ'' does this rather egregiously. After the three Japoness Saber Dolls sacrifice themselves to revive the one female (who was stuck in [[HumanPopsicle cryogenic suspension]] for centuries), the main character wistfully remembers all the good times he had with them and wishes they'd return. Lo and behold, [[AWizardDidIt without any explanation]], they do.
* ''Anime/TenchiUniverse'', combined with HowWeGotHere, ''starts'' with this. It begins with Tenchi walking to school alone as he reminisces about the "carnival" of adventures he had with those crazy girls from space. [[spoiler: But when we catch back up in the final episode, Ryoko is there waiting for him, and tells him that, although carnivals do end, they eventually return. Cut to various scenes showing that the rest of the girls are already on their way back too.]] And this all leads straight into TheMovie...
* Happens to [[spoiler:Simon]] from ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'': after finally destroying the Anti-Spirals and bringing peace to the Universe, he puts on his cape, says goodbye, and spends the rest of his days WalkingTheEarth. [[spoiler:We then see him as a 40-something traveller helping a kid open a coconut with his drill key; the kid is all surprised with Simon's drilling skills, he calmly says "Of course, kid, who the hell do you think... (kid ignores him) Forget it, I'm just a nobody". Then we see the kid and Simon looking at the horizon as the Gurren Lagann is launched to outer space]].
* Twisted in Saikoroshi-hen (Dice Killing Chapter), a bonus chapter for the ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'' game that was released after the main storyline. After depressed musing over the hard work that almost came to nothing, Rika wakes up in a perfect world without any of the [[DysfunctionJunction tragic backstories]] or danger from the [[GroundhogDayLoop previous worlds]]. [[spoiler:It turns out that it was AllJustADream, and rightly so -- there might be no gore or crazies around, but there's also no TrueCompanions and ThePowerOfFriendship is replaced by bullying and apathy. See, even if you had a terrible past, don't change it!]]

* In the ending of both the anime and manga of ''Manga/TokyoMewMew'', everyone seems to have returned to normal permanently. Their marks have disappeared, they can't talk to animals, and Ichigo stops turning into a {{catgirl}}. Then one day, depending which version you're watching, either Ichigo's cat ears reappear just as Berii looks in the window or the girls are informed that their powers have returned and there's a new enemy to fight.
* ''Anime/PrettyCure'':
** In most seasons, after the final battle, the girls have to return their devices to the [[MagicalLand fairy world/alternate dimension kingdom]] and usually say goodbye to their fairy partners as well. They will then have to go back to being normal girls again.
** Averted in ''Anime/DokiDokiPrettyCure'', as they get to keep both the fairies ''and'' the power to transform even after the final battle.
** At the end of ''Anime/FutariWaPrettyCureMaxHeart'', at the graduation ceremony, the Elder sadly says "The role of the legendary warriors is over. Now they can choose to travel whichever path they wish," which means that there is no more need for Nagisa, Honoka, and Hikari to be heroes and they can live normal lives again. However, the fairies stay with them, lucky for them.
** Haruka is actually seen having to hand over her device at the end of ''Anime/GoPrincessPrettyCure'' and crying afterwards. At the end of ''Anime/HugttoPrettyCure'', the girls are seen giving their crystals and Pre-Hearts back to Harry who packs them in his suitcase before leaving. They cry afterwards.
* Happens to ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'' protagonist Yusuke after his final battles with Toguro and Sensui. Kuwabara smacked him for it. [[spoiler:When you consider that he had to fake his own death before Yusuke could find the motivation to defeat Toguro (AFTER he killed OldMaster Genkai, mind), it's understandable.]]
* This is a major point of contention between ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'' and many of his antagonists. Unlike them, he's willing to settle for an ordinary life. Kenshin, for one, ends his adventure by [[spoiler: [[HappilyMarried marrying Kaoru]] and [[BabiesEverAfter having a child with her.]]]]
* ''Anime/SpellboundMagicalPrincessLilPri'' the girls transformation bracelets are taken away and the mapets return to Fairyland along with Wish after they save Fairyland. They're pretty bummed about it. In the end however Wish returns to Earth saying he liked being an Idol and the final shot shows the mapets sneaking up on the girls from behind.
* This is a major theme with the Imperial characters in ''Literature/LegendOfTheGalacticHeroes''. After [[spoiler: defeating the Alliance,]] they realize that they no longer have a great cause to fight for and engage in many costly battles with WorthyOpponent Yang Wenli to experience the thrill of battle again. After [[spoiler: he dies]], this trope is one of the many reasons that [[spoiler: Reuenthal rebels and Reinhardt doesn't even consider negotiations.]]
* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' ends with all the apocalypse-seeking [[MonsterOfTheWeek angels]] defeated - however, Shinji, Asuka, Rei, and Misato are each reduced to a broken, traumatized wreck by the beginning of ''[[GrandFinale The End of Evangelion]]''. It's then revealed that the entire apocalypse was planned by [[OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness SEELE]] to play out anyways, as SEELE dispatches the JSSDF to slaughter what's left of NERV, and use the Evangelions in lieu of the angels as the trigger for [[AssimilationPlot Human Instrumentality]]. Gendo tries to one-up them and use this power to revive Yui, but is thwarted when [[EmotionlessGirl Rei]] turns against her master, and hands this power to Shinji. As for [[MindScrew what]] [[NightmareFuel happens]] [[GainaxEnding next]]... well, WebVideo/BennettTheSage was best able to describe the film's second half as 30 minutes of... ''[[DerangedAnimation animation]]''.
* A particularly heartbreaking example happens in Episode 12 of ''Anime/Persona4TheAnimation''. [[spoiler:Mitsuo]] traps [[TheHero Yu]] in a LotusEaterMachine where the Investigation Team have solved the murder case and all return to their normal lives. Yu then has to see all of his friends drift apart as they focus on their own lives and don't even meet up like they used to. The clincher is when Kanji begins to complain about how none of them really have anything to talk about in their meetings any more. Fortunately, that does not happen after they defeat [[spoiler:Mitsuo]] and they all still insist on hanging out with each other.
* Happens briefly to Ash Ketchum in ''Anime/PokemonTheSeriesSunAndMoon''. After [[ThrowTheDogABone becoming the Alola Champion]], he's at a loss for what to do next (especially since the process for actually becoming a Master [[CrypticBackgroundReference is a mystery to everyone]]). He goes to Professor Kukui and Olivia for advice but both of them basically tell him FigureItOutYourself. Although Olivia suggests that he [[AndTheAdventureContinues go out and see the world]], leading to the WorldTour of ''Anime/PokemonJourneysTheSeries''.
* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', after Ichigo [[spoiler:loses his powers and his ability to see spirits, including the Soul Reapers, some of which have become his friends]], he returns to his normal life... which he quickly realizes he is uninterested in, and he [[spoiler:jumps at the opportunity to get his powers back]].
* Happens to [[spoiler: Gon]] in ''Manga/HunterXHunter'' shortly before the Dark Continent Expedition arc. [[spoiler:Gon succeeded in his goal of finding his DisappearedDad and defeated his ArchEnemy [[CatGirl Neferpitou]] at the cost of [[{{Depower}} his powers]]. In a discussion with his father, he's told that after everything he's been through he's been given a tremendous blessing in just getting his life back, and should use this time to figure out exactly what he wants to do next. Gon then [[PutOnABus retires back home to Whale Island]], while Kurapika takes over as protagonist for the time being.]]

* One Magazine/{{MAD}} comic strip, "It Only Hurts When I Laugh", featured a pair of conspiracy theorists discovering the conspiracy they had spent their whole lives planning for had been uncovered and the masterminds brought to justice. They briefly rejoice before realizing they'd entrenched themselves in the lifestyle so deep, they had nothing left with no conspiracy to plot against. After nearly being DrivenToSuicide, the two decide [[MovingTheGoalposts there must be a new conspiracy behind the solving of the old one]] and return to their lifestyles.

* ''ComicBook/{{Nextwave}}'' ends with the titular squad's members asking each other what they should do now that they've defeated the H.A.T.E organization, as they stand on the top of its former mothership. Monica's answer, [[spoiler: after she realizes the mothership is still ''fully operational'': "Anything we want."]]

* In the Franchise/MarvelUniverse, Richard Rider aka ComicBook/{{Nova}} went through this situation when he choose to give up his powers to leave the planet Xandar to return home. As it happens, his life was completely ruined with a disrupted education, dead end jobs and no future. At best, Rider tried to live as best he can while wishing with all his heart that he could get the powers back and become a superhero again. Unfortunately, the planet Xandar was destroyed later, which seemed to mean that any chance of Rider [[RePower getting repowered]] was gone forever. However, Night Thrasher, wanting a FlyingBrick for his planned superhero team, deduced that there might be a way through a [[DieOrFly high stress situation]]. To do so, Night Thrasher abducts Rider, drops him off a roof and sure enough, Rider's powers reignite before he hits the ground. Naturally, Rider overjoyed at this and even though he didn't care for the fact that Night Thrasher didn't know if his plan would work, Rider still owes him big time.
* The ending of Mark Waid's ''ComicBook/{{Empire}}''. Golgoth has succeeded in conquering the world and [[spoiler: killed his daughter and his only friend]]. Now what?

* In the ''VideoGame/BioshockInfinite'' fanfic "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12430849/1/After-The-Baptism After The Baptism]]," Elizabeth and the Lutece twins sheepishly realize they have no idea what they're going to do now that they've managed to end the threat of Columbia, and after a lot of embarrassed hemming and hawing, they're forced to admit they're going to have to think of something. The sequel, "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13208214/1/After-The-Burial After The Burial]]" reveals that a year afterwards, Elizabeth has spent most of the time slowly going to pieces, abandoning all her hobbies in favor of [[TheAlcoholic getting very, very drunk at any given opportunity]]. [[spoiler: It's also revealed that the events of ''Burial At Sea'' were a massive hallucination on her part, courtesy of spicing up a binge-drinking session with a drug made of powdered coral.]]
* After the Ankh-Morpork City Watch Air Arm is deployed to fight in an actual shooting war [[note]]They add an aerial dimension to the fighting with Elves described in the canonical Literature/{{Discworld}} novel ''Literature/TheShepherdsCrown''[[/note]], its commanding officer [[AcePilot Olga Romanoff]] is concerned an the effects it has on her girls. She is particularly worried as to whether they can settle down to being everyday Air Policewomen and working witches again, after letting their dark sides out to play, and seeing comrades killed in the fighting. The one thing she hasn't anticipated is that quite a few of her veteran pilots now want out. The oldest pilot in the force decides she simply doesn't want to do it any more. Marina's close friend Kiiki decides if life is now going to be boring, she isn't going to do it by halves. She and Marina resign from the Force and move to [[UsefulNotes/{{Finland}} one of the remotest possible places on the Disc]], to start a Witches' steading. Another decides to embrace post-war boredom by going hometo [[UsefulNotes/{{Australia}} Fourecks]] to work for the Flying Igor And Witch Service. See ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13154617/3/The-Price-of-Flight The Price of Flight]]'' by Creator/AAPessimal.
* When Donut and Tucker's parole hearings come up in ''Fanfic/MurderersRow'', they realize they've become so dependent on the prison that it will be impossible for them to go back to the lives they led on the outside, and that they have no idea what they're going to do if they're released.

* Subverted in Disney/Pixar's ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}''; Carl makes it to Paradise Falls, then seems at a loss for what to do next... until he takes [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsG2S_1PRnk another look]] at Ellie's "Adventure Book".

* ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' has something like this as Frodo has been feeling like this. [[spoiler:Turns out being the Ringbearer did some heavy damage to his spirit, so he decides to leave with the elves toward their holy lands in the hope he can heal over time.]]

* Creator/JimHenson's ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'' ends with this trope: With everything back to normal, Sarah is disappointed that all her magical puppet friends are now gone and is hit with the hard realization that the payoff of her adventure boils down to her parents not blaming her for being the crappiest babysitter on Earth. Soon enough, though, the magical puppet friends appear to tell her that they'll always be there for her, "should [she] need [them]" - She doesn't ''have'' to give up the Weird and Wonderful, as long as she keeps her ''imagination''! ''Awww...'' EVERYBODY (DANCE, MAGIC) DANCE!
* ''Film/TheProposition''. Charlie didn't enjoy his adventure, but the ending just screams of indeterminacy. It doesn't help that [[spoiler:both his brothers, including the one he'd set out to save, are dead]].
-->'''Arthur''': What are you gonna do now?

* In ''Film/PrinceCaspian'', Peter in particular is none too happy to be a young teen dealing with stupid schoolboys again, as opposed to a full-grown man and a king.
* Almost happened to Inigo in ''Film/ThePrincessBride''. Having finally achieved revenge, he's not sure what to do with his life now. [[spoiler:Fortunately, Westley is on hand to suggest a new career option: "Have you considered piracy? You'd make a wonderful Dread Pirate Roberts."]]
* Kind of a central theme in ''Film/TheHurtLocker''. It turns up again in Bigelow's latest picture, ''Film/ZeroDarkThirty''; [[spoiler: Bin Laden is dead. Maya, the CIA agent who dedicated her entire adult life to finding and killing him, now has to face life without her mission. The final scene of the film sees her sitting alone in an airplane and weeping, unsure of where she wants to go.]]
%%* Cheerfully averted in ''Film/TheLastStarfighter''.

* In ''Film/MeetJoeBlack'' it's more of a happy ending where Joe Black's character and Claire Forlani's character completed their mission of seeing off her father.
* A variation in ''Film/ThereWillBeBlood''; [[VillainProtagonist Daniel]] is offered a deal that would let him stop all his hard work and retire at a relatively young age, and asks the man making the offer what he thinks Daniel would do with himself afterwards. [[spoiler: It's shown by the end of the film that, without the challenge and the work, and with more money than he knows what to do with, Daniel degenerates into an unstable alcoholic.]]
* Just after the big group dance "At the Prom" number in ''Film/NotAnotherTeenMovie'', all the main characters "freeze" in front of the school, arms raised, not knowing what to do next. Jump cut to inside the prom.
* At the end of ''Film/{{Bedknobs and Broomsticks}}'', Miss Price has lost her powers, and Mr. Brown has gone off to war. Charlie laments that they're not going to have any adventures anymore, and Paul points out that he still has his enchanted bedknob. It sparkles, hinting that it retains its magic.
* ''Film/TheBestYearsOfOurLives'' is about nothing ''but'' this. It follows three World War II veterans as they return home after the war and try to adjust to civilian life. All of them have been so changed by their war experiences that they can't fit back into their old lives, and are forced to reinvent themselves . . . with varying results.

-->'''Peeta:''' What do we do now?
-->'''Katniss:''' We try to forget.
-->'''Peeta:''' I don't want to forget.

* The soldiers in ''Literature/AllQuietOnTheWesternFront'' worry about this, because being so young, they have left no roots behind in the world to return to. Lucky for most them, this problem is solved when [[spoiler:[[KillEmAll they die.]]]]
* In Creator/DanAbnett's Literature/GauntsGhosts novel ''Only In Death'', Rawne, who has long hated Gaunt, finds himself feel lost and bewildered, believing Gaunt to be dead. [[spoiler:When he learns Gaunt is alive, he gets SandInMyEyes.]]

* At the end of E.R. Eddison's ''Literature/TheWormOuroboros'', after the heroes' final victory, they are feasting in their hall, feeling melancholy over their inability to complete any more great deeds, when one of their powerful magical allies offers them a gift for helping her earlier. [[spoiler: [[NiceJobBreakingItHero They wish for the villain and his henchmen to be resurrected so they can fight him again]], rather than being bored, finding some other adventures, or turning on each other.]]
* Last line of Creator/AlanDeanFoster's ''Flinx Transcendent'', the last book of the ''Literature/HumanxCommonwealth'' series -- [[spoiler:'''Flinx:''' "I'm bored."]]
* Creator/NeilGaiman's ''Literature/{{Neverwhere}}''. He gets to go back to the MagicalLand, though. The whole book revolves around the idea that the price of getting what you want is getting what you wanted.
* See Robert Heinlein's ''Literature/GloryRoad''. The main character gets out of 'Nam, kills a dragon, saves twenty universes, marries the empress, and is honored as a hero about 3/4 of the way through the book. He then has to figure out something else to do. By the last page he is back to being an adventurer.
** In a cameo appearance in another, less...tightly written...novel he is back to adventuring with the empress again, for an unspecified time. Probably she is on holiday.

* In the novel series ''Literature/TheDemonPrinces'' by Creator/JackVance, after killing the last of the titular "Princes" (the five most evil men in the Universe who destroyed the protagonist's homeworld), the hero is asked this question [[spoiler: and can only answer "I don't know ... I have been deserted by my enemies.... The affair is over. I am done."]]
** Vance's ''Literature/DyingEarth'' short story "Guyal of Sfere" ends with the main characters asking "What shall we do ..." after [[spoiler: having defeated a major demon and acquiring a vast treasure of forgotten knowledge]].
* Captain Vimes from the City Watch novels in the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' series nearly falls into this in ''Literature/MenAtArms'', since he's rather reluctant to retire to the life of a nobleman. Luckily [[spoiler: the newly appointed Captain Carrot convinces the Patrician to expand the watch and appoint Vimes as its Commander... albeit with the condition of accepting a knighthood.]]

* The original ending to ''Literature/EndersGame'' by Orson Scott Card had Bean ask an exhausted Ender, "What will we do, now the war's over, Ender?" and Ender's only reply was that he needed to sleep. (This was followed by a scene between two bit-parters emphasizing just how difficult it would be for the ''ChildSoldiers'' to adapt to normal life).
* In the concluding short-story in ''Solo Kill'' by Kye Boult, baron Amarson's pseudo-feline warrior race faces a troubling future when a violent conflict lasting for generations reaches its end. Amarson realizes that unless he can create a meaningful alternative for his people, they will perish from ennui.
* Literature/ArtemisFowl, being an InsufferableGenius [[GuileHero greedy teenager]] with [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien high tech]] [[TheFairFolk fairy friends,]] understandably feels this way whenever he has to deal with everyday life.
-->'''Artemis:''' I went from ''saving the world'' to ''geometry'' in a week. I'm bored, Holly.
* Creator/JRRTolkien drafted a ''Lord of the Rings'' sequel, ''The New Shadow'', where he explored just how dullsville post-War of the Ring life would be like for those who had experienced such exciting times.
* Creator/JoWalton's short story [[http://strangehorizons.com/fiction/relentlessly-mundane/ "Relentlessly Mundane"]] goes into merciless detail on this subject. To add insult to injury, they've lost all the skills they had in the other world.
* Creator/JoWalton's novel ''Literature/AmongOthers'' is all about what happens after the great battle is won and the surviving heroine is left to pick up the pieces of her life. The {{bookworm}} protagonist refers several times to Tolkien's coverage of this subject at the very end of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''.
* In the last chapter of Creator/PamelaDean's ''Literature/TheHiddenLand'', Laurie actually says "What do we do now?" She and Ted have just returned from the Hidden Land, which they had imagined and played about for years as the Secret Country. Although readers are aware there's a third book, the bitter loss is described in painful detail. They even lampshade the "we learned something" business.
-->It seemed that even imagination was no friend to them now. They could stumble from day to day, thinking they saw summons after summons back to the Hidden Land. But they had lost the Secret Country.
* In the ''Literature/TheLostFleet'' series, the Alliance and the Syndicate have been at war for a little over a hundred years. As such, the main character (Who spent 99 years, 11 months and change as a HumanPopsicle starting from the end of the first battle) is literally the only person on either side who can remember a time when there wasn't a war going on. The fact that nobody knows how to handle peacetime is a major plot point in the sequel series.
* The question rises at the end of ''[[Literature/TheBelgariad The Malloreon]]'', as the [[AC:Event]] that everything was building towards has come and gone. The Prophecy informs Belgarion that his new job is to [[spoiler:help the world settle into a new monotheism under Eriond, as the other gods are moving on to other worlds]]. It also adds that, after spending the past two decades constantly under threat of death, he and his friends should ''relish'' the boredom for a bit.
* E.K. Johnston's book ''The Afterward'' is entirely about the aftermath of a heroic quest. The thief is having trouble finding jobs now that her face is well known, the apprentice knight still needs to pay her debts, the main hero is learning how to be queen, and another knight is adjusting to early retirement due to disability. All of them miss the camaraderie and excitement of the quest, and are finding ways to fill the holes in their life.
* Creator/KeithLaumer's "In The Queue" raises that question. The Queue is generations long, and even after you get to the front, you may get sent back because one stamp or signature is missing or incorrect. The protagonist, finally, gets to the front, gets the papers stamped...and then has no idea what to do. [[spoiler:He goes back to the end of the queue, despite having no need to.]]
* Discussed by Eragon in ''Literature/TheInheritanceCycle'', where he briefly wonders what he will do after the war with Galbatorix is over. He notes that after enjoying the excitement and glories of being a Dragon rider, the thought of returning to his old and dull life as a FarmBoy terrifies him. By the end of
the series, [[spoiler:he decides to leave Alagaesia altogether to train the next generation of Dragon riders.]]
* Creator/LouiseGluck's poem "Parable of the Greeks" posits that after winning the Trojan War, the Greek soldiers felt adrift and derived of purpose, and that they would forever miss the thrills they had in Troy.

* This is a major theme with the Imperial characters in ''Anime/LegendOfGalacticHeroes''. After [[spoiler: defeating the Alliance,]] they realize that they no longer have a great cause to fight for and engage in many costly battles with WorthyOpponent Yang Wenli to experience the thrill of battle again. After [[spoiler: he dies]], this trope is one of the many reasons that [[spoiler: Reuenthal rebels and Reinhardt doesn't even consider negotiations.]]

* A particularly heartbreaking example happens in Episode 12 of Anime/Persona4TheAnimation. [[spoiler:Mitsuo]] traps [[TheHero Yu]] in a LotusEaterMachine where the Investigation Team have solved the murder case and all return to their normal lives. Yu then has to see all of his friends drift apart as they focus on their own lives and don't even meet up like they used to. The clincher is when Kanji begins to complain about how none of them really have anything to talk about in their meetings any more. Fortunately, that does not happen after they defeat [[spoiler:Mitsuo]] and they all still insist on hanging out with each other.

* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', after Ichigo [[spoiler:loses his powers and his ability to see spirits, including the Soul Reapers, some of which have become his friends]] he returns to his normal life, which he quickly realizes he is uninterested in, and he [[spoiler:jumps at the opportunity to get his powers back]].

* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight'': Why did the titular castle reappear a mere 5 years after Richter Belmont banished {{Dracula}}? It seems like Richter couldn't go back to a normal life after saving the world from the Prince of Darkness and he wants Dracula back so he can be the hero again. [[spoiler:Luckily he's just been brainwashed into thinking this, although you can get a NonStandardGameOver by killing him.]]

* The ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' games all end with [[TheStinger Stingers]] which resolve plot points or serve as {{Sequel Hook}}s. GrandFinale ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' instead has a "What do we do now?" between [[spoiler:Snake and Otacon]].

* It's implied that Link was hit with this after the events of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' (from the child timeline) and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask''. With his adventures completed and his duties fulfilled, Link has nothing else to do and lives the rest of his life regretting that he could not pass on his sword techniques to another person. The Hero's Shade in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' is confirmed by WordOfGod that he is that same Link and he finally passes on his knowledge to the current Link.

* Discussed by Eragon in ''Literature/TheInheritanceCycle'', where he briefly wonders what he will do after the war with Galbatorix is over. He notes that after enjoying the excitement and glories of being a Dragon rider, the thought of returning to his old and dull life as a FarmBoy terrifies him. By the end of the series, [[spoiler:he decides to leave Alagaesia altogether to train the next generation of Dragon riders.]]

Some kids [[IJustWantToBeNormal just want to be normal]]. Others JumpedAtTheCall to get into the action right away. They've had wacky hijinks, great adventure and dramatic changes to their lives, but now it's over. The BigBad has been defeated. The universe is saved. The balance has been preserved. World peace has been achieved. The need for a hero has seemingly gone away. The hero can go [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome back to his ordinary, safe life]] again... [[VictoryIsBoring which will promptly bore him out of his skull]].

It turns out that the hero ''liked'' the [[InHarmsWay increase in excitement]]. And his normal life is missing some things. Friends he made from the adventure. The thrill of flying in a spaceship. All of these are gone now. He's no different from anyone else again.

* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight'': Why did the titular castle reappear a mere 5 years after Richter Belmont banished {{Dracula}}? It seems like Richter couldn't go back to a normal life after saving the world from the Prince of Darkness and he wants {{Dracula}} back so he can be the hero again. [[spoiler:Luckily he's just been brainwashed into thinking this, although you can get a NonStandardGameOver by killing him.]]

** After the ending of the first game, Spira enters the Eternal Calm. ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'', posits that [[spoiler: Yuna's life has settled into a routine, which is shaken up only after discovery of a sphere depicting images of "Tidus." This prompts her to become a [[ActionGirl Sphere Hunter]] to find the truth about this. While this happens, the rest of the world discover that being freed from Sin gives them the opportunity to squabble among each other, giving rise to religious and civilian factions which almost engage in civil war.]]

* In the ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' series, Maiev Shadowsong, a night elf warden personally responsible for the imprisonment of [[VillainProtagonist Illidan Stormrage]], devotes her entire life to chasing him when he escapes prison. Eventually she ends up killing him, only to realize her life has no meaning anymore.

* Shaundi asks this after the main story ending of ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2''. [[spoiler:The answer, of course, is "whatever [[ClusterFBomb the fuck]] we want".]]

* One of the earliest versions of this in videogames is ''VideoGame/UltimaIV'', and it's ''entirely based around it.'' Basically, in the past three games, ''all'' of the big evils have been destroyed (there are still dungeons full of monsters to fight, but nothing controlling them or threatening the world). So what do you do? Go on a quest to become the most shining example of pure good in the world as an example to everyone else!

* ''Videogame/DragonAgeInquisition'':

* Dracon the Dragonslayer's campaign in ''Videogame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic III: Armageddon's Blade'' ends with him finally slaying the mighty Azure Dragon. As he sits on the body of his fallen prey, he wonders why the victory feels so empty. Dracon had built up the Azure Dragon as the key to long sought personal contentment. He admits he was wrong and wonders what he'll do next.

* After the Ankh-Morpork City Watch Air Arm is deployed to fight in an actual shooting war [[note]]They add an aerial dimension to the fighting with Elves described in the canonical Literature/{{Discworld}} novel ''Literature/TheShepherdsCrown''[[/note]], its commanding officer [[AcePilot Olga Romanoff]] is concerned an the effects it has on her girls. She is particularly worried as to whether they can settle down to being everyday Air Policewomen and working witches again, after letting their dark sides out to play, and seeing comrades killed in the fighting. The one thing she hasn't anticipated is that quite a few of her veteran pilots now want out. The oldest pilot in the force decides she simply doesn't want to do it any more. Marina's close friend [[UsefulNotes/FinnsWithFearsomeForests Kiiki]] decides if life is now going to be boring after its SugarWiki/CrowningMomentOfAwesome, she isn't going to do it by halves. She and [[MotherRussiaMakesYouStrong Marina]] resign from the Force and move to [[UsefulNotes/{{Finland}} one of the remotest possible places on the Disc]], to start a Witches' steading. Another decides to embrace post-war boredom by going hometo [[UsefulNotes/{{Australia}} Fourecks]] to work for the Flying Igor And Witch Service. See ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13154617/3/The-Price-of-Flight The Price of Flight]]'' by Creator/AAPessimal.

* With glasnost, and later, when the [[TheGreatPoliticsMessUp Soviet Union fell]], many people suddenly had far more freedom of speech. What do you talk about? How the Soviet Union sucks? How the 90s economy sucks? What do you do now that you have all this freedom? Do you go on with your daily lives and live the same as you always have? Do you go check out that new [=McDonald=]'s in Red Square? WhyWeAreBummedCommunismFell is all about this. There are people nostalgic for the days of Communism in the Eastern Bloc because they had to be creative about everything they did. Now that they didn't have the excitement that little kids do when they do something naughty, it wasn't worth it anymore. It's hard to understand for Westerners.

* ''Series/ResidentAlien'' has D'Arcy dealing with a lot of this in the form of post-Olympics blues which is [[TruthinTelevision]]

%* Cheerfully averted in ''Film/TheLastStarfighter''.

* Creator/JoWalton's short story [[http://www.strangehorizons.com/2000/20001023/relentlessly_mundane.shtml "Relentlessly Mundane"]] goes into merciless detail on this subject. To add insult to injury, they've lost all the skills they had in the other world.

* ''Franchise/PrettyCure'':

Some kids [[IJustWantToBeNormal just want to be normal]]. Others JumpedAtTheCall to get into the action right away. They've had wacky hijinks, great adventure and dramatic changes to their lives, but now it's over. The BigBad has been defeated. The universe is saved. The balance has been preserved. World peace has been achieved. The need for a hero has seemingly gone away. The hero can go [[RealityEnsues back to his ordinary, safe life]] again... [[VictoryIsBoring which will promptly bore him out of his skull]].

* ''Film/TheGraduate'' could be the most famous example of this.

* Cheerfully averted in ''Film/TheLastStarfighter''.

%%

* A lot of activists run into this whenever their cause makes a major stride forward. For example, the LGBTQ movement in the United States suddenly didn't have a main point to rally behind when gay marriage was legalized nationwide. Fighting the nebulous threat of homophobia is more daunting and will obviously take decades. In some cases, this can even lead to a movement dissolving, such as in the case of the Civil Rights movement, which became increasingly disjointed and eventually faded out in the years after the Civil Rights Act's passing in 1964, due to the greater threat of racism being too multifaceted compared to segregation to narrow it down to a single point on which everyone could focus (that's not to say that civil rights activism is dead and buried, it's just no longer coalesced into a large, unified movement).

* ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon'' manages to take this to downright TearJerker levels. Seriously, it has an honest-to-God Creator/DonBluth ending.

* ''Anime/HimeChenOtogiChikkuIdolLilpri'' the girls transformation bracelets are taken away and the mapets return to Fairyland along with Wish after they save Fairyland. They're pretty bummed about it. In the end however Wish returns to Earth saying he liked being an Idol and the final shot shows the mapets sneaking up on the girls from behind.

* After the Ankh-Morpork City Watch Air Arm is deployed to fight in an actual shooting war [[note]]They add an aerial dimension to the fighting with Elves described in the canonical Literature/{{Discworld}} novel ''Literature/TheShepherdsCrown''[[/note]], its commanding officer [[AcePilot Olga Romanoff]] is concerned an the effects it has on her girls. She is particularly worried as to whether they can settle down to being everyday Air Policewomen and working witches again, after letting their dark sides out to play, and seeing comrades killed in the fighting. The one thing she hasn't anticipated is that quite a few of her veteran pilots now want out. The oldest pilot in the force decides she simply doesn't want to do it any more. Marina's close friend [[UsefulNotes/FinnsWithFearsomeForests Kiiki]] decides if life is now going to be boring after its CrowningMomentOfAwesome, she isn't going to do it by halves. She and [[MotherRussiaMakesYouStrong Marina]] resign from the Force and move to [[UsefulNotes/{{Finland}} one of the remotest possible places on the Disc]], to start a Witches' steading. Another decides to embrace post-war boredom by going hometo [[UsefulNotes/{{Australia}} Fourecks]] to work for the Flying Igor And Witch Service. See ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13154617/3/The-Price-of-Flight The Price of Flight]]'' by Creator/AAPessimal.

* Lanfeust des Étoiles (''ComicBook/{{Lanfeust}}'' of Troy's “second season”) opens with just this trope. Lanfeust, having gained ultimate power and saved the world, is quite bored and is travelling the wilderness in search of some quest to do that could match his skills – ultimate power is rather hard to challenge though. So this was a rather good moment to [[RecycledInSpace send him to space]].

* Creator/NeilGaiman's ''Literature/{{Neverwhere}}''. He gets to go back to the MagicalLand, though.
** The whole book revolves around the idea that the price of getting what you want is getting what you wanted.

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* The very first ''ComicStrip/BabyBlues'' comic began right after Zoe was born, with Darryl, Wanda and Zoe all sitting there thinking, "Now what?"
[[/folder]]