History Main / WhoWantsToLiveForever

** And then Helen had to jump 113 years back in time [[spoiler:to stop Adam Worth from changing the past. ]] After that was over, there was no way to get back to her own time. So, Helen had to live out 113 years in hiding, unable to contact anyone she ever knew and forced to watch horrible things happen without being able to do anything about it to prevent changing history herself, until finally she reached the point in time she first left. She was 147 when the series started. At the end, she was 270. It's no wonder she's jaded.

** And then Helen had to jump 113 years back in time [[spoiler:to stop Adam Worth from changing the past. ]] After that was over, there was no way to get back to her own time. So, Helen had live out 113 years in hiding, unable to contact anyone she ever knew and forced to watch horrible things happen for fear of changing history herself, until finally she reached the point in time she first left. She was 147 when the series started. At the end, she was 270. It's no wonder she's jaded.

** And then [[spoiler:Helen had to jump more a hundred years back in time to stop Adam Worth from changing the past. After that was over, there was no way to get back to her own time. So, Helen had live out more than 100 years in hiding, unable to contact anyone she ever knew and forced to watch horrible things happen for fear of changing history herself, until finally she reached the point in time she first left. ]] It's no wonder she's jaded.

* Some scientists argue that the longer you live, the faster time seems to flow. If you could live forever, then time would go faster and faster until everything was a blur. Eventually, years could pass in a blink of an eye. Your existence would be meaningless, and you wouldn't even remember it.

* If you assume the theories of universal entropy and the big crunch are true, then millions of years floating in completely empty space, eternally suffocating, only to to be eventually crushed into a singularity sound like a very hard price to be for a (relatively) short amount of extra time doing things you enjoy. But you also have forever to get used to it.

* Philosophers of the theological theory of UsefulNotes/{{Pandeism}} hypothesize this as one possible reason why an immortal deity would wish to cease to be one, and become the Universe instead. Expounded upon in GodsDebris.

* Buddhists, Hindus, and Jainists all believe that life is suffering, and that people are forced to repeatedly die and be reborn until they rid themselves of karma. Buddhists especially believe this as their goal, Nirvana, can be described as [[TheNothingAfterDeath non-existence]].

!!Examples:

[[folder:Film]]
* In ''TheFountain'', Tom Creo seeks to discover a medical means to immortality through experiments with the bark of a rare tree, but he ultimately learns to accept death as a necessary aspect of life. Though our bodies die, the material is recycled into new organisms, and so we live on through new life. Even planets and stars that die become new stars and bring new life to other worlds. Two parallel stories feature different versions of Tom achieving immortality and finding it fruitless. Tomas the Conquistador seeks and finds the Tree of Life, but ultimately the sap [[spoiler:turns his body into flowers, in something of a LiteralGenie ending]]. Spaceman Tom has apparently succeeded in becoming immortal by consuming bark from the rare tree that was grown from the body of his dead wife, but [[spoiler:the tree dies before he can resurrect her in a supernova. A vision of his wife convinces him to accept death with joy, and he dies in the supernova, becoming part of a new star]]. Interestingly, the story also makes room for a very unsympathetic priest to prattle on about immortal souls, which the film seems to dismiss outright.
* The cult film ''{{Zardoz}}'' features a future Earth which has degenerated into two classes -- a race of mortal slaves, and the immortal "Eternals." who live lives of purposeless luxury. Occasionally, an Eternal will develop a mental illness which makes them fall into a state of catatonia. (These people are called "The Apathetics"). If an Eternal commits a crime, they can be punished by being artificially aged (although they don't die -- they just become permanently decrepit). The end of the movie has most of the Eternals joyously welcoming their own destruction at the hands of the "Exterminators," a [[BarbarianTribe primitive warrior class]] to whom the main character belongs.
* In the 1940s German adaptation of ''The Adventures of Baron von Munchhausen'', the storyteller of the [[FramingDevice framing narrative]] is revealed to be the baron, who loves his present wife of fifty years so deeply that he decides to relinquish his immortality to die with her, aging to her exact age before his guests' eyes.
* The angelic protagonist of ''Wings of Desire'' (and its American remake, ''Film/CityOfAngels'') gives up immortality for love as well.
* When the title character of ''Literature/{{Skellig}}'' is told he looks like a dead person, he very seriously replies, "I should be so lucky." He has completely given up on life, but says he is thousands of years old and is heavily implied to be an [[OurAngelsAreDifferent angel]], so [[{{Immortality}} death is not even an option]] for him.
* In ''DeathBecomesHer'', the two female leads drink a potion that grants eternal youth, but it does not protect them from damage to their bodies. Accidents and attempted murders leave their bodies dead and permanently mutilated. On the other hand, Bruce Willis's character is offered the potion several times, but he refuses it, giving a speech about how eternal life would be a nightmare even if he ''didn't'' fall victim to accidents and mutilation (Furthermore, eternal life with only those two rather horrible women for company really ''would'' be a nightmare). He ultimately lives his life happily with a large family and dies peacefully, while the two women bitterly linger on, imprisoned in bodies that literally fall apart at the very end.

* In ''BicentennialMan'', the robot Andrew, (played by RobinWilliams), accepts aging and death rather than let the love of his... er, ''life'' die of old age by herself.
** The Creator/IsaacAsimov short story is similar, though less about the PowerOfLove.
--> '''Andrew Martin (on being told that he had violated the [[RestrainingBolt Third]] [[Creator/IsaacAsimov Law]])''': ''"No. I have chosen between the death of my body and the death of my aspirations and desires. To have let my body live at the cost of the greater death is what would have violated the Third Law."''
* The premise of ''Film/{{Hook}}'' is that PeterPan realized the disadvantages of his eternal youth when he discovered Wendy had grown up and aged into an old woman. Which made him decide to give up his immortality, return to earth, and live a normal life.
* In ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' Théoden's battle cry "DEAAATH!" seems a less ironic version of the above-mentioned "Do you want to live forever?" because it pretty much points out that death what is what they are all heading for. Points in favor: (1) Instead of being disheartened, the Rohirrim join in and throw themselves into battle, (2) Tolkien's idea of death as a gift (see below in literature).
** Arwen definitely has shades of this, because if she lives forever she will be parted from Aragorn, who is mortal.
* ''Film/GroundhogDay'' involves a man forced to relive the same day over and over again. He commits suicide several times and that only makes the day start over again from his perspective. He doesn't let that get him down for long [[InvertedTrope makes the most of his endless time and becomes a better person.]]
* The 1990 short film ''12:01'' involves a man who encounters the destruction of the entire universe when it collides with another universe. But the process in fact sets the time back an hour. And there's nothing he can do to save the universe. So he lives the final hour of the universe, forever.
* The 1985 film from New Zealand, ''Film/TheQuietEarth'', is about a man who finds himself the only man alive [[spoiler:after an experiment he participated in to change the universal constants]], except for two other survivors he later finds. He insists at one point that he can't die. And indeed [[spoiler:he becomes the only one left alive, despite attempting at self-sacrifice, stranded in a universe which has had its physical laws rewritten.]]
* This is the premise of Ryuuhei Kitamura's film ''Aragami'', with the titular [[BloodKnight immortal war god]] having grown tired of his eternal life and [[DeathSeeker seeking to meet]] [[WorthyOpponent the one who will kill him in battle.]] It wouldn't be that difficult if he wasn't [[spoiler:MiyamotoMusashi]]
* TomHanks's character in ''Film/TheGreenMile'' ends up outliving all his family because he receives part of the life force of the death row inmate John's healing power. He believes this is punishment from God for executing John. He's not immortal, though. Death will catch up to him eventually, but not for a very, very long time [[spoiler: as seen with the mouse Mr. Jingles.]]

* In ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'', it seems [[MindScrew ("Why are these things never clear?")]] that whoever stabs Davy Jones's heart will [[spoiler:have to live forever, ferrying souls to the afterlife and being allowed to step on land only once in 10 years, or, if you don't ferry souls and skip out on your job, turn into a fishman]]. Davy Jones is depressed/angry, Will is willing to do it despite leaving his fiancee, and Jack Sparrow thinks it's freaking awesome, complete with an internal debate over whether one lifetime with unlimited rum access or an unlimited lifetime with rum every 10 years is more rum.
** WordOfGod however states that because Elizabeth waited the 10 years for Will, he is now released from it and gets to live with her and his son.
** The first movie revolves around Barbossa and his crew trying to [[GottaCatchEmAll recollect]] all the cursed Aztec gold they stole. They're cursed with Immortality, except that food and drink is tasteless and they are constantly starving.
--> '''Barbossa''': For too long I've been parched of thirst and unable to quench it. Too long I've been starving to death and haven't died. I feel nothing. Not the wind on my face nor the spray of the sea. Nor the warmth of a woman's flesh.
** At the beginning of the second film, Boot-Straps Bill Turner tells of how he, still cursed with immortality by the Aztec gold, was turned upon by the crew and left at the bottom of the ocean. Naturally, Davy Jones offers him an escape from [[AFateWorseThanDeath this]] and he takes it.
** Near the end of ''At Worlds End'', Sparrow receives an ominous warning from his father, Teague;
-->'''Teague''': It's not just about living forever, Jackie. It's about living with ''[[WhatYouAreInTheDark yourself]]'' forever.
* ''ShadowOfTheVampire''. Count Orlock reads the book ''{{Dracula}}'' and is saddened by the scene where Dracula leaves a meal for Jonathan Harker, and remembers when he used to have servants to do such tasks for him, which reminds him of when he had a wife, family, estates etc, whereas as now he's just a scavenger living in a ruined castle.
* In the film version of ''QueenOfTheDamned'', this is the driving force behind Lestat's actions, and thus the entire movie.
-->"Immortality seems like a good idea, until you realize you're going to spend it alone."
* ''{{Daybreakers}}'' has shades of this when a virus outbreak changes most of the populace to vampires. The opening of the film see a vampire girl committing suicide by sunlight having written a letter explaining how she'll never grow older. The protagonist of the film, Edward, is also weary of never growing old as well.
* ''HocusPocus'' has Thackery Binx cursed to live forever as a cat by the three witch antagonists, forcing him to live with his guilt of being unable to save his sister from them. Conversely, he three antagonists wish to be immortal (it was their goal when they were originally alive, but after being brought back to life, it was the only way to maintain it) by draining the youthful life forces of children.

* In ''{{Troy}}'', Achilles says that the gods envy humans "because we're mortal--because any moment might be our last."
* In ''TheImaginariumOfDoctorParnassus'', Doctor Parnassus makes a wager with the Devil, with immortality as the prize. A thousand years later, Parnassus is a [[TheAlcoholic broken-down drunk]] and so miserable that he believes the Devil let him win just to torture him.
* In the movie version of ''TheLastUnicorn'' Mommy Fortuna, the old hag who captured the Unicorn, had also capture a harpy, another immortal creature. The unicorn points out that Mommy couldn't hold them forever, and the harpy will kill her for the indignity. Mommy Fortuna agrees that, yes eventually, she will slip up and the harpy will go free; but, the harpy will always remember Mommy Fortuna had captured her, forever. That is how Mommy Fortuna plans on "living forever," as a memory of the immortal harpy.
* Focused on in the ''Film/{{Highlander}}'' film, with a montage set to Music/{{Queen}}'s "Who Wants to Live Forever." Connor [=MacLeod=] and his wife Heather pass a long and happy marriage together, but Connor must watch his beloved age and die while he lives on, ever youthful. Thus Connor first learns the loneliness of immortality. The upsides and downsides of immortality becomes a running theme in the franchise (see below).
** It sucks to be an immortal in the world of ''Franchise/{{Highlander}}'', you can't have any children and you have to watch your significant other die of old age, or in Duncan's case (in ''HighlanderEndgame'') you can turn your wife into an immortal, only to have her freak out, run away and become the right hand woman to the guy that wants to kill you.
** Never mind the fact that ''many'' people will want to kill you. Some because they think the fact you're immortal in the first place means you've made [[DealWithTheDevil a pact with Satan]] or are otherwise some sort of HumanoidAbomination; others, fellow immortals, want to kill you because doing so makes them more powerful, and the whole idea of your immortality is that "There Can Be Only One" so ''all'' of you will ''have'' to kill each other at some point, until only a single one is left. By the way, the only way to kill you is OffWithHisHead- the former group probably don't know this, so prepare yourself for a lot of painful non-deaths. Which, it so happens, is how your immortality was activated in the first place - you died a ''violent'' death to get it. And you probably didn't know about it until that happened.
** We've seen in the very beginning of the first movie how people react when someone mysteriously survives an horrible death.
*** Not all immortals were like that, though. I mean, Kurgan quite obviously was pretty content with his lot in eternal life. I guess the secret to enjoying immortality is to become a psychopath who simply doesn't care... whch oddly enough kinda makes sense.
* ''Film/TheWolverine'' revolves around an old friend of the title character offering him a "gift" of sorts: the chance to negate his mutant healing factor, finally allowing him to die after having been alive since the 1800's. After the deaths of Jean Grey and the Professor during ''Film/XMenTheLastStand'', Wolverine is understandably enthused by the idea.
* ''Film/RazorBladeSmile'' has a common subtext about how a vampire can come to terms with living for centuries. By the end of the main plot [[spoiler: it turns out that the entire conflict was exactly this, a game to while away the centuries with living pieces.]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* In ''Discworld/{{Mort}}'', Mort quickly realises that Death ''wants'' to lose their DuelToTheDeath, and also that he really ''doesn't'' want the KlingonPromotion that comes with winning. In ''Discworld/SoulMusic'' Death explains that he couldn't extend Mort and Ysabell's lives, because granting them immortality wouldn't have been the same thing and they didn't want it. Albert, [[AvertedTrope on the other hand]], reckons an eternity of not-quite-life as Death's manservent suits him just fine, given [[EldritchAbomination what's waiting for him on the other side]].

** There are similar themes in many LarryNiven short stories and novellas but this trope is subverted by Louis Wu in the ''{{Ringworld}}'' novels.

* The protagonist of Drew Hayes' ''Poison Elves'' mentions in one episode that elves find it difficult to care deeply for anything or anyone, because of their long lifespans. Of course he's something of a SociopathicHero so his outlook [[UnreliableNarrator may not really reflect]] the psychology of the elven race in general.

* Creator/DCComics' Multi-Man is "sort of" immortal. Any time he is killed, he comes back to life with a [[{{Repower}} new super power]]. It's never explicitly stated whether or not this can happen throughout eternity, or if he will otherwise have an ordinary lifespan. Other super villains frequently take advantage of this, killing him repeatedly until they get a power they want, most notably [[spoiler:The Joker during the ''Last Laugh'']] and [[spoiler:Shilo Norman]]. Needless to say, Multi-Man is pretty traumatized by his power.
* Creator/DCComics' also has ResurrectionMan who has the power not only to come back to life, but also manifest a new power related to prevent the last thing that killed him from killing him again. He went through the 'repeated killings' technique, thanks to Hitman, three years before Multi-Man.
* ''ElfQuest''. Rayek eventually perfected the art of angsting about it.

* After dedicating his entire villainous career to cheating death by killing anything in the universe that might be a threat to him (which is [[OmnicidalManiac everything]]), ComicBook/FantasticFour foe Annihilus' latest incarnation has come around to this line of thought. Turns out, in the Negative Zone, everyone is like [[GreatLakesAvengers Mister Immortal]] mentioned above, and the endless cycle of death and resurrection gets old fast.

** Prometheus' punishment was to live his immortal life as a torture. Every day, deadly wounds were inflicted upon him by an eagle sent to eat his liver. Every night, he would regenerate and heal to await the next assault from the bird.

* In Brian Jacques' ''Castaways of the FlyingDutchman'' series, the main characters are an immortal boy and dog. Leaving aside the fact that the boy is stuck at age 14 ''forever'', they have to leave everyone they ever get close to before someone notices that they don't age.

* In Creator/CSLewis' ''[[{{Narnia}} The Magician's Nephew]]'', a tree's fruit comes with the warning that it brings eternal life and despair. The White Witch eats it, and from her expression, the title nephew understands the warning. {{Narnia}} is then protected from her by a tree grown from one of the apples; she cannot stand to come near it afterward.

* In Barry Sadler's [[CascaTheEternalMercenary ''Casca: the Eternal Mercenary'']], the titular character is [[WanderingJew a Roman legionnaire cursed by Jesus Christ to walk the world forever as a soldier]]. Amongst his challenges are his fear of being buried alive [[spoiler:(briefly realized during one of his journeys in the Orient, and notably predating the ''Heroes'' episode with Adam being buried)]], and the problem with never being able to truly find love since he stays young forever while his various wives/girlfriends/lovers age and eventually die.

* In Brent Weeks' ''Literature/TheNightAngelTrilogy'', the character of Durzo Blint is given immortality - with a catch. Durzo can still be "killed" in battle, but he always resurrects - [[spoiler:with the twist that for every "death" he comes back from, one of his loved ones will die in his place]]. Over the course of seven centuries he turns from a KnightInSourArmor into a bitter, sociopathic [[ProfessionalKiller assassin]].

* Creator/FriedrichNietzsche argued that Socrates' "defense" was specifically designed to make the jury condemn him to death, since he was tired of living, and perhaps suffered life as a disease (whether this is what Socrates himself actually thought is anybody's guess, though to be fair [[OnlySaneMan being a wise man in a world of phenomenal idiots]] could have one looking for the sleeping pills).

** The theme continues all the stronger into the last story of the series, featuring Kaguya, Eirin and Mokou, three immortals of a different variety than Yukari. The climax of the FinalBattle with Mokou has [[spoiler: the [[PhysicalGod Phoenix]] appearing and offering the three the ability to die, either right then and there or after aging naturally. [[LonersAreEvil Mokou]] takes the first option, while [[HappilyMarried Kaguya and Eirin]] opt to continue on together till the end of time]].

* In ''SoulCalibur III'', one of the fighters and the main mover of the plot is Zasalamel, who discovered the secret to eternal {{Reincarnation}} but at this point is tired of life. He pulls a vaguely defined {{plan}] to use the combined power of Soul Edge and Soul Calibur in an attempt to end his endless cycle of lives. This is because he found out in one of his lives that getting Soul Edge ''wasn't enough''. He was just corrupted and enslaved by the sword before being killed normally. His reincarnation is also coupled with a soul-rending agony that he is put through every time he comes back; which seems pretty often to a man of such advanced age. This is inverted in ''Soul Calibur IV'', when while being resurrected, Zasalamel glimpses the future and the zenith of human civilization, and is now determined to see that day in person.

* In ''MiraiNikki'', the thought of this is a source of much angst for both Yuno and Yuki, since, in order to win the Survival Game, one of them must kill the other and become god. [[spoiler: Eventually subverted, as, although Yuki does succumb to depression after Yuno dies and he becomes god, eventually third!Yuno breaks in from the third world and joins him as co-god.]]

* Played straight ''and'' [[LivingForeverIsAwesome averted]] in ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'':

** The last episode in the series is subtitled "Both those who are immortal and those who are not enjoy life equally."
* Played straight in ''FlameOfRecca'' in form of Kagerou/Kagehoshi. After literally turning immortal in order to save her son, [[spoiler:Recca]], she felt like real hell, wandering in eternity to have her son kill her. On the other hand, the two BigBad of the series, Mori Kouran and Kaima, just simply have limitless lust for humanity's evils, greed and desire (Kouran wants to continue to gain money and possession forever, while Kaima wants to kill forever), so they avert this trope by actually WISHING to live forever, so they can satiate those lusts.

* Baku in ''NightmareInspector'' are immortal, and, well... [[spoiler:The original Hiruko let Azusa become his vessel because it was the closest he could get to dying. Then Azusa got sick of immortality and looked for a dream frightening enough to swallow him up and destroy him.]] The current Hiruko seems to avert this, though.

** Unsurprisingly [[DeathSeeker Rei]] has this view, explicitly stating it throughout the series. Once she does die, but is brought BackFromTheDead and is pissed off enough with Gendou for doing so that she betrays him.
* Played with in the anime ''Anime/HighlanderTheSearchForVengeance'', both Colin and Marcus embody this, as neither have been able to get over some large events of their early lives - Marcus still pines for Rome, hoping to recreate it and working towards that for 2000 years. Colin wants to avenge the murder of his wife, and he has been hunting Marcus for two millenia.
** Someone averted with Marcus. He knows things die, but you move on and helped build civilzations. On the other hand, Colin has spent 2000 years on a quest for vengeance his dead lover never wanted him to undertake and has nothing to show for his life.

* ''ComicBook/TheSandman'' issue "Facade" depicts Elemental Girl as a washed-up superhero who takes no joy from life, but finds it impossible to commit suicide due to her powers.
** There was also a subversion done on this trope: a man is granted immortality by Death and Dream, and Dream visits him once every hundred years. During each visit he asks whether or not he wants to continue to live forever. Even after seven hundred years - including the death of his family and being unable to eat for years on end due to extreme poverty - he continues to want to live forever. When asked by Dream whether he will choose to die because of the pain, he responds simply with "Why? I've got so much to live for!" It's suggested that Dream subconsciously desired this, as he suffered from immortal loneliness.
** Besides Hob Gadling, another example shows up later in ''Brief Lives'' who is an even bigger contrast to most immortals in fiction - he's a dull, unassuming lawyer. People always need lawyers. He still screams "NOT YET!" when he's killed in a freak accident.

** And besides Hob Gadling is Mad Hettie, who's quite determined to keep on going no matter what it takes, even though she's, well, ''mad''. It's unclear whether she was mad to begin with, or whether immortality made her so.
* On the other hand, in NeilGaiman's ''Eternals'', [[spoiler:Sprite, the only child Eternal]] goes to enormous lengths to make the Eternals into normal people who age (and can die) because [[spoiler:he's sick of being stuck at the same age]]. (In the end, he only [[spoiler:makes himself mortal, the others are restored by the Dreaming Celestial]]).

* Averted for the most part in ''{{Fables}}'', with the notable exception of Pinocchio, but only because he's stuck as a permanent pre-adolescent and wants to age so he can grow up.
-->"I want to grow up, I want my balls to drop, and I want to ''get laid''.

* Cameron Hodge, college friend of the mutant [[ComicBook/{{X-Men}} Angel]], founded an anti-mutant organization targeting Worthington and his current team, ComicBook/{{X-Factor}}. As part of his preparations, Hodge made a [[DealWithTheDevil deal with the demon N'Asrith]] for immortality. Unfortunately by that point Angel had become Archangel, and he cut Hodge's head off in short order. As per the deal, Hodge survived... as a disembodied head. Hodge returned later with a cyborg body during the X-Tinction Agenda, only to end up as a disembodied head ''buried under a mountain of rubble''. He returned a third time as part of the techno-organic Phalanx, at which point the authors had forgotten about his immortality and supposedly killed him off, only for him to return ''again'' and finally get KilledOffForReal (maybe) during the Second Coming crossover.
** While Hodge suffers most every pitfall of immortality, he subverts the trope by never lamenting his condition, even throwing it back in the X-Men's faces. He's so insane with hatred that being a ''buried head'' is worth it if he can hurt just one mutant.

* ''Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' (2007) has Winters, who, in a subversion, was so happy to have his mortality back that he laughed and [[CaptainObvious told the heroes how happy he was]] before the result of losing his immortality took place.

* Subverted in ''[[StarWars Revenge of the Sith]]'' because Anakin wants to make ''Padme'' immortal; he would just be happy being mortal. ImmortalityImmorality reigns supreme as Anakin proceeds to slaughter children to become strong enough in TheDarkSide to make his wife immortal. Luke similarly comments in the ExpandedUniverse on what it means if his powers make him immortal. Of course, the secret is that Jedi ''are'' immortal; it just takes compassion to make them so. And ultimately their descendant Cade does have the power to raise the dead.
* ''Film/GroundhogDay'' involves a man forced to relive the same day over and over again. He commits suicide several times and that only makes the day start over again from his perspective. But subversive to the trope, he doesn't let that get him down for long.

** There are similar themes in many LarryNiven short stories and novellas. (And subverted by Louis Wu in the ''{{Ringworld}}'' novels).

* There are at least three sources of {{immortality}} in ''Literature/HarryPotter''.
** The Elixir of Life, created with a Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone, will keep you alive with repeated doses, and has eternal youth (or at least eternal middle age) added in. However, the books only speak of two people who availed themselves of this, and they eventually decided to stop making it out of fear it could be used to revive Voldemort.
*** The book also states that the two makers do not mind getting rid of the Elixir, because at their advanced ages (both 650+ ), they are bored with life, and death will be the next great adventure.
** Unicorn blood will keep you alive and rescue you even from the brink of death, but with "a half-life, a cursed life".
** You can create a Horcrux, [[SoulJar a piece of your soul hidden in an inanimate object]]. It doesn't prevent you from being killed, it just allows you to be brought back. However, doing so will make you progressively less human.
** The last two are averted though, in that the person using them (Lord Voldemort) is a violent sociopath and simply doesn't ''care'' about the negative consequences. [[spoiler:However, if you die and your Horcruxes are destroyed, the resulting afterlife is a FateWorseThanDeath, so there is some wisdom to not using the latter]]

* ''Literature/TheMisenchantedSword'' by Creator/LawrenceWattEvans. The main character receives a sword which has the interesting property of not allowing him to die until he has killed 100 men with it. He wisely decides to live forever and not kill people, but reverses this decision because of the other problems with the sword. It doesn't save him from age, and it doesn't protect him from injury. At one point he nearly "dies" because of blood loss but is still mysteriously alive the next day. When he discovers his eyesight is fading, he goes off to kill 100 men and rid himself of the sword before he becomes unable to do so.
** The end of the book subverts the trope: [[spoiler:The main character discovers magic that will keep him young and can be added onto the immortality the sword already gives him. Once he does so, he's actually quite happy to be immortal.]]
* This becomes a vague plot point in ''[[Literature/InheritanceCycle Brisingr]]'', when Eragon and Roran discuss Eragon's immortality. Eragon has concluded that this forces him to marry an elf, who are all immortal, rather than a human woman, and so thus his drooling over Arya (who refused him multiple times) is apparently justified.

* ''Literature/{{Twilight}}''. At first played straight with the Cullens (and maybe the other vampires). Later averted, since [[spoiler:Edward finally gets to change Bella to be a vampire too.]]
** Likewise, the members of the Quileute tribe that are blessed with spirit wolves rapidly age to probably about their early twenties and then stop aging until they choose to willingly give up their ability to transform by remaining human for a certain amount of time. [[spoiler:Jacob is lucky enough to have imprinted on the half-vampire Renesmee, who likewise ages rapidly before abruptly stopping somewhere around age 16. While the future is never confirmed, it can be assumed that Jacob probably opted to keep his wolf form for as long as possible.]]

* There are many {{immortal|ity}} individuals and species in the ''MalazanBookOfTheFallen'', most of whom suffer from this trope. Examples include Kallor, who was cursed with {{immortality}} but not eternal youth for being a genocidal bastard (the punishment also preventing him from ascending - the usual method of obtaining near {{immortality}} for very powerful people[it's a complicated process]), and the [[PunctuationShaker T'lan]] Imass, [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot zombie neanderthals]] who stripped themselves of their mortality to better [[FantasticRacism cleanse the world]] from the [[OurOrcsAreDifferent Jaghut]] and now wish nothing more than to be freed from their Vow and just die already. Averted with Onrack, a T'lan Imass that's quite happy with his condition, as "there was always something else to see, after all."

* Marcellus Pye in ''Literature/SeptimusHeap''.

* Invoked and deliberately averted in ''Literature/DirgeForPresterJohn''. The Abir exists to change up people's lives every couple centuries to make sure no one is bored or dissatisfied with living forever.

* ''Series/RedDwarf''. The Inquisitor is a self-repairing simulant who lasted until the end of time and, having concluded that there was no God or afterlife, decided to travel through history eliminating from existence those who have wasted their lives.
* Invoked and averted in ''TheMiddleman'', where a character was made immortal as a punishment for leaving others to die on the Titanic. After a few decades of remorse he got a job as a stuntman, invested in some profitable stocks, and started dating.

* The whole point of ''HighlanderTheSeries''. Many immortals are shown to become psychopaths or devoted to the point of zealotry to some cause that gives meaning to their existence, whether it is "The game" or eliminating potential dictators. Some immortals - namely the good guys - are shown to somewhat avert the trope by balancing the loneliness of immortality by enjoying life to the fullest and using their immortality to develop new pastimes and experience the world like no humans can. For example, Methos - the oldest immortal - has written a journal chronicling most of his life and experiences (at least some of it -he is older than writing, so some stuff went undocumented). The episode "Stone of Scone" shows this very well. The show also explores some of the more tragic possibilities, such as a villain who spends 70 years in a jail cell before finally being released, or an immortal with mental handicaps.

* In ''SoulCalibur III'', one of the fighters and the main mover of the plot is Zasalamel, who discovered the secret to eternal {{Reincarnation}} but at this point is tired of life. He pulls a vaguely defined {{plan}] to use the combined power of Soul Edge and Soul Calibur in an attempt to end his endless cycle of lives. This is because he found out in one of his lives that getting Soul Edge ''wasn't enough''. He was just corrupted and enslaved by the sword before being killed normally.
** His reincarnation is also coupled with a soul-rending agony that he is put through every time he comes back; which seems pretty often to a man of such advanced age.
*** This is subverted in ''Soul Calibur IV'', when while being resurrected, Zasalamel glimpses the future and the zenith of human civilization, and is now determined to see that day in person.
* In the ''{{Suikoden}}'' series, one of the side effects of possessing a True Rune is being preserved at the age at which you acquired the rune. Some people revel in their immortality, while others, (like Ted) view it as a curse. The mysterious Flame Champion, bearer of the True Fire Rune, decides to seal it away for 50 years so he can marry and grow old with his sweetheart, Sana. (Of course, the fact that the Rune had gotten out of control and blown up a large portion of the countryside might have had some part to play in that decision as well). [[spoiler:This didn't work out so well for the Flame Champion, as he died while still young just a few years later. Whether this was a result of sealing the Rune or merely natural causes is unspecified.]]
** Given that the True Runes are supposed to be quite aware and possess the nasty tendency of not only snaking on your OWN soul if you happen to get killed at some later point but many having unfortunate side effects as well. Like [[VideoGame/SuikodenI Soul Eater]] taking the souls of friends who die near you, [[VideoGame/SuikodenV Sun]] driving you insane, [[VideoGame/SuikodenIV Punishment]] eating your soul[[hottip:*:a particularly nasty one, since while it doze stop the host's aging like other True Runes, they don't even get a chance to enjoy that since most bearers have their souls eaten within a few years at most]], [[VideoGame/SuikodenII Blue Moon]] turning you into a vampire (though the current bearer is [[FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire a fairly nice one]]), and so on. It's no wonder that some people come to view it as a curse.
*** One bearer of the Punishment Rune tried to escape the curse by ''cutting off his arm where the Rune had attached'', apparently having lacked either the knowledge or the resources to seal it like what the Flame Champion did with the True Fire Rune. This seems to have had mixed results at best, given his zombie-like appearance afterward, and eventually he became obsessed with regaining the power he'd given up, becoming the BigBad of ''[[VideoGame/SuikodenIV]]''.

* ''LostOdyssey'' may be the most well fleshed out video game example of this trope in recent memory. Main character Kaim Argonar (and supporting immortals Ming, Seth, and his wife Sarah), realize fully and consciously that living forever sucks, and the game is wholly capable through the many unlockable Dreams of a Thousand Years (essentially short stories with some aural assistance) of convincing the player that it sucks too. Kaim has lived for a thousand years, and he's watched hundreds of loved ones die, including his own children, and killed thousands of enemy soldiers in battle. Worse yet for him and the other three "good" immortals, the main villain is the only other immortal on the planet and a power-hungry maniac hell bent on using his eternal life to control the planet. Worse ''still'' for the 4 "good" immortals, he's pretty savvy as to how their immortality works: they cannot be killed. Period. Kaim survives a meteor impact at the beginning of the game, and the others have all survived one catastrophe or another. So the villain does something even worse: to each of them, he uses their most beloved friends and family, and his considerable power and, through a combination of mind control and [[ChessMaster supreme manipulative ability]], inflicts psychological pain [[FateWorseThanDeath worse than death]], after which he seals their memories, rendering them (in their own words) "walking corpses" who have no purpose in life and can only wander, fight, work, whatever, burdened by the knowledge that they'll never get to go to the afterlife and the emotional pain of the losses he inflicted on them. Immortality sucks, all right.
** After all of this, however, the game's ending subverts the theme, as Kaim and two of the other good immortals settle contentedly into their immortal lives, reasoning that eternity isn't so bad after all. It helps that [[spoiler:two of them are married to one another, and the third, although her husband is mortal, is a queen with a whole country to keep herself busy with throughout the centuries to come. All this was enabled by the HeroicSacrifice of the fourth immortal who pulled the aforementioned BigBad back into their home dimension where they ''aren't'' immortal- their immortality in the main world is due to differences in physical laws]].
* While technically ageless rather than immortal, [[spoiler:Kratos Aurion]] from ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' [[DeathSeeker doesn't seem too happy]] about the situation. To be fair, that's partially due to [[spoiler:[[ShellShockedSenior guilt over everything he and Cruxis have]] ''[[ShellShockedSenior done]]'' [[ShellShockedSenior with eternal youth]], as well as grief over losing his family.]] The other ageless characters don't seem nearly as bothered by it. Interestingly, ''Tales of Symphonia'' also partially subverts the elf immunity clause, with Genis sadly reflecting in a skit how he's going to outlive all his friends.

* This is a constant, omnipresent motif in LucasArts' adventure game ''VideoGame/TheDig'': Stranded on a deserted alien planet, a group of astronauts discover crystals that can bring back the dead, and use it to resuscitate their fallen comrade, who turns completely insane and addicted to the crystals in the process. Meanwhile, they discover that the former residents of the desert planet [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence found other means to make themselves immortal]], but never found a way to undo this.

* Subverted in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII''. The three immortal students received the gift of magic, the gift of dream, and the gift of mortality. Mr. Mortality is [[BigBad PISSED.]]
** Then again, the other two and their master firmly believe the ability to die was a great gift.
* Also Subverted by the Night Elves in the ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' series. At the end of ''WarcraftIII'' the race as a whole loses their immortality in a heroic sacrifice. Many members of the race are unhappy with this and are currently searching for a way to restore the race's immortality, despite still being an extremely long-lived race without it. It should be noted that due to the race's reclusive nature and racial Immortality before their introduction in Warcraft III, they never felt the heartache of losing friends of other sentient races to old age.

* ''FinalFantasyXIII2'' has [[spoiler:Caius, who was "gifted" by Etro the Heart of Chaos due to his devotion to the seeress, Yeul. However, seeing her constant deaths and rebirths from the visions she receives made him feel like immortality was a curse, and sought a timeless world as a result. Subverted in that he used that curse to his advantage where, regardless of what the protagonists do to stop him, all his plans lead him to winning in the end.]]

* Subverted in ''TheGodsOfArrKelaan'' - Claremont asks a fellow god for a favor to bless a potion destined for his daughter to give immortality upon consumption, to which is refused - death is a birthright to all humans - but Thanatria does nuances it the right way. ''Whomever takes this potion will not die until they wish to.''

* In ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'', [[spoiler:Sarda]] subverts this for the first two weeks of the universe by [[http://www.nuklearpower.com/2005/05/24/episode-554-fashion-advice/ growing]] a [[http://www.nuklearpower.com/2005/05/26/episode-555-a-brief-history-of-time/ mustache]], but quickly reverts into "Blind, seething rage."

* This is a major plot point in ''Ginpu'', where demigods are pretty much doomed to spend their lives losing those they love. Heck, the BBEG's whole plan revolves around [[spoiler:making a child who is immortal, so he'll have at least one family member that doesn't die.]]

* In ''[[http://ravenwolf.smackjeeves.com/ Raven Wolf]]'' the titular tribe was cursed by their totem spirits with "removal from the cycle of life" until the domestics (a faction of "civilized" furries) are no more. The usual angst about outliving one's loved ones is partially averted because anyone who marries into the tribe is cursed as well and their children inherit it, but if they fall in battle their souls are devoured by the wolf spirit. Also they can't hunt, gather, or cultivate, they depend on the charity of others for food.

* As the title suggests, ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNHHG8n13hQ&feature=sub Die Now or Live Forever]]'' has this trope, but inverted. Nobody wants to become a vampire, but once you are one, you enjoy it.

** [[UpToEleven There aren'y many writers who take the concept as far as santo does]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' plays this straight with Macbeth, while subverting it with Demona, who has no problems with immortality. Mostly because she is too busy trying to eliminate the human race, whereas Macbeth has little else worth living on for. So she thinks he wants to kill her out of vengeance for her betrayal years ago, but he's really just... ''tired''.
** The 1100-year-old Hudson gives the immortality-seeking Xanatos a whole lecture on the downfalls of living for so long. "Most of my clan is dead and dust, and I am a stranger in a strange land. Demona and Macbeth are immortal. Has it brought them happiness?"

* Averted for the immortal main cast of ''WesternAnimation/MaryShelleysFrankenhole'', all whom seem to enjoy their immortality. However, there was an episode featuring the Wolfman, who desperately wanted to die. [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent Since he can only be killed by a silver bullet, and that silver bullet must be fired by a lover in order for the death to be permanent]], dying was nigh impossible. [[spoiler:The episode ends with him not only still alive, but it turns out he brought the curse upon himself, by going back in time, trying to kill himself. [[StableTimeLoop Only to turn into a werewolf by the full moon and bite himself]].]]

* The modern Transhumanists heavily avert this trope, most holding the opinion that if you do get bored eventually, then you are free to [[SeenItAllSuicide end your own existence]], but why not try to see how long you last just in case that doesn't happen, after all. Lots of interesting hypotheses have been made for escaping the universal heat-death, as well, although how well those would work in practice is still anybody's guess. Then again, there're countless of billions of years to test them, so there's hardly any hurry.

* Explored in ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8855684/1/ex-umbra-in-solem ex umbra in solem]]'', a crossover fic between ''Series/{{Warehouse13}}'' and ''Series/{{Sanctuary}}''. Helena G. Wells (while not immortal is over 100 years old via HumanPopsicle) went [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds went mad with grief and tried to end the world]], 100 years in a AndIMustScream prison couldn't have helped. John Druitt is an immortal Jack the Ripper, Helen Magnus is somewhat jaded and has an IDidWhatIHadToDo approach, Nikola Tesla is eccentric and a bit of a megalomaniac, and Adam Worth is a psychopath. Artie and Nigel Griffin talk about it:

-->'''Griffin:'''I've realized that I can't fight the tide. I'm just floatin', is all. Does that answer your questions Agent Nielson?Or do you want to listen to an old man reminisce some more?

* Edermask from {{Magician}} hardly angsts about his immortality but he is looking for a way to grow old and die naturally.

* Played with in the anime ''Highlander: The Search For Vengeance'', both Colin and Marcus embody this, as neither have been able to get over some large events of their early lives - Marcus still pines for Rome, hoping to recreate it and working towards that for 2000 years. Colin wants to avenge the murder of his wife, and he has been hunting Marcus for two millenia.

* The 1985 film from New Zealand, ''The Quiet Earth'', is about a man who finds himself the only man alive [[spoiler:after an experiment he participated in to change the universal constants]], except for two other survivors he later finds. He insists at one point that he can't die. And indeed [[spoiler:he becomes the only one left alive, despite attempting at self-sacrifice, stranded in a universe which has had its physical laws rewritten.]]

* In ''The Exiled Prince'', the second installment of the DarkParables series for PC, the antagonist is Literature/TheFrogPrince, who is still alive centuries after his fairy tale was said to have taken place. As it turns out, [[spoiler:he's miserable because he keeps outliving the princesses he loves, and all he really wants is to die.]]

* In ''[[Anime/DragonBall Dragon Ball Z]]'''s first movie, ''Dead Zone'', the villain Garlic Jr. is granted immortality through a wish. He then makes the mistake of messing with Gohan and is [[HoistByHisOwnPetard blasted into the void he opened to trap everyone else in]].

* [[PlayingWithATrope Played With]] during Kurt Busiek's ''[[Comicbook/TheAvengers Avengers]]'' run. [[TheMightyThor Thor]] states that as a god, he realizes he's destined to outlive most of his friends on the team, but that doesn't stop him from [[BerserkButton going berserk]] when he thinks CaptainAmerica, Black Knight and {{Quicksilver}} have been killed by the Presence. He then advises Firebird to be careful about forming bonds, as it will inevitably be devastating for her when her friends and family inevitably pass away.

* [[PlayingWithATrope Played With]] during Kurt Busiek's ''[[Comicbook/TheAvengers Avengers]]'' run. [[TheMightyThor Thor]] states that as a god, he realizes he's destined to outlive most of his friends on the team, but that doesn't stop him from [[BerserkButton going berserk]] when he thinks CaptainAmerica, Black Knight and {{Quicksilver}} have been killed by the Presence.

* In ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' Theoden's battle cry "DEAAATH!" seems a less ironic version of the above-mentioned "Do you want to live forever?" because it pretty much points out that death what is what they are all heading for. Points in favor: (1) Instead of being disheartened, the Rohirrim join in and throw themselves into battle, (2) Tolkien's idea of death as a gift (see below in literature).