Line #146 Main/ItIsNotYourTime


1	[[quoteright:345:[[Webcomic/{{Bobbinsverse}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/c72dfa9064efaed590302640256d6d01.png]]]]
2	[[caption-width-right:345:TheGrimReaper himself is a little cynical about the phrase.]]
3
4	->''"I think I'll find another way\
5	There's so much more to know\
6	I guess I'll die another day\
7	It's not my time to go"''
8	-->-- '''Music/{{Madonna}}''', "Film/DieAnotherDay"
9
10	On the brink of death, a character is told that he must go on because it is not his time to die.
11
12	It tends to play out something like this: Bob is seemingly offed. But wait! He's in the next scene, and in some kind of overexposed or soft-lit white expanse, perhaps with {{fluffy cloud\|Heaven}}s. Here, he is usually greeted by a dead loved one (or [[LovedOnesMontage several]]), but sometimes he is visited by some form of Death, or some form of God, an angel, or any other appropriate gatekeeper. Ultimately, however, Bob and his visitor's interactions boil down to this: "You cannot go yet, Bob. It is not your time."
13
14	Alternatively, the visitor will tell Bob he has the choice of whether he goes with them or returns to the living. Bob goes back to the living almost invariably, and it's probably exactly what his visitor expected to hear.
15
16	A StockPhrase and subtrope of NearDeathExperience. Might be a DisneyDeath from the point of view of the character experiencing it.
17
18	'''Remember, this is a death trope, so there ''will'' be unmarked spoilers.'''
19
20	----
21	!!Examples:
22
23	[[foldercontrol]]
24
25	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
26	* ''Anime/RurouniKenshin'': This occurs in Season 2, when Kenshin is fighting BigBad Shishio. He is laying on the ground, bleeding, thinking to himself, "Is this the end?" when he has a flashback/vision/visiting from his master, who tells him "Live on, Kenshin!" In the manga, this takes the form of a LovedOnesMontage.
27	* In ''[[Manga/IkkiTousen Dragon Destiny]]'', a comatose and almost dead Hakufu is visited by the spirit of her DisappearedDad, who more or less delivers this line.
28	* In ''Anime/SaintSeiya'' anime, episode 32, this occurs to Ikki when taking a (temporary) beating from his EvilCounterpart Dark Phoenix. One very rare instance of Ikki being beaten and relying on PowerOfFriendship, as his departed first love Esmeralda tells him he still has to fight on.
29	* ''Anime/CowboyBebop'':
30	** As an example of this as a stock phrase, in ''Anime/CowboyBebopKnockinOnHeavensDoor'', Vincent nearly kills Spike and throws him out a monorail to die. Spike is rescued by some people who look like Native Americans, one of whom tells him that it wasn't his time.
31	** The older one is Laughing Bull, who shows up from time to time in the series.
32	* The Skull Knight in ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'' gives this as his reason for pulling Guts and Casca out of the fire during the Eclipse.
33	** Actually, it ''was'' their time to die, but since they survived ''anyway'', they now stand outside of fate, which makes them capable of opposing the Godhand.
34	* During Triela's attempted LastStand in chapter 80 of ''Manga/GunslingerGirl'', she gets injured (even more so after losing an arm and a leg) to the point where she blacks out and sees what she thinks is the afterlife. She meets Rachelle Belleut (her "mother"), who tells her it's not her time and shuts the door on her, at which point she wakes up to see that Hilshire went back for her. [[spoiler:Turns out to be only a HopeSpot, as they're later found TogetherInDeath.]]
35	* In ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', after being attacked by the homunculi and losing consciousness, Al finds himself floating in a white void. A soft voice calls out to him, telling him that it's too soon for him to die. It's Pride, and he can't very well let Al go until after he's served his purpose.
36	* Mocked ruthlessly (Along with lots of other tropes) in ''Anime/ExcelSaga''. Excel is run over by a truck in the pilot, and is dying when a voice calls out "Excel. You must not die in the first episode. Even if you care not for yourself, think of the storyline." This is the first of many times that The Great Will of the Macrocosm resurrects Excel over the course of the series.
37	* In ''Manga/HeavensLostProperty'', Tomoki's grandpa does this whenever Tomoki nearly dies.
38	* ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba''': In the aftermath of Zenitsu’s winning bout against Kaigaku he has a vision of the river of death, Zenitsu sees his beloved master on the other side, Zenitsu apologizes for not being a good pupil and preventing his death, the master however cries tears of joy and tells Zenitsu he has always been his pride and joy, Zenitsu tries to cross the river to his master’s side but vines bind his feet, preventing him from crossing over, symbolizing it’s not Zenitsu’s time just yet, he then gets reanimated back to life.
39	* ''Manga/YuYuHakusho''': That's basically how the story starts. Yusuke Urameshi is hit by a car trying to save a little kid... Just to be revealed that the kid would have survived even without his intervention, and that his death wasn't written to be right there. But at least he's given by the chance of live again.
40	[[/folder]]
41
42	[[folder:Comic Books]]
43	* In the ''Film/{{Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure}}s'' comic, this happens to [[TheGrimReaper Death's]] landlady: Death's replacement [[PunnyName Mort]] tries to reap her soul, but she [[ChekhovsGun remembers]] that her tenant once told her she still had many years left to live. Mort is [[StealthPun fired]] for messing with the natural order.
44	* ''ComicBook/StrangersInParadise'': Emma tells Katchoo this when the latter is on the verge of death.
45	* In the GrandFinale the second volume of ''Comicbook/TheMightyThor'' that ran between the late 90s to early 2000s, Thor fights against the {{Cosmic Entit\|y}}ies that created the [[RegularlyScheduledEvil Ragnarok Cycle]] and defeats them. However, this still results in the destruction of all of the Nine Realms of the Norse pantheon. Thor's longtime ally, Comicbook/BetaRayBill, tries to follow his friends to their oblivion, but Thor bars his way since he's a mortal, saying it's not his time to go yet.
46	[[/folder]]
47
48	[[folder:Fan Fiction]]
49	* Kirk, after his death, says this to Spock in [[http://liquidfic.net/publicrelations.html this]] SlashFic. Don't worry: It is work-safe.
50	* Roleplay/DCNation plays with this. While [[ComicBook/TheSandman1989 The Endless]] are part of the universe, Death herself is very enigmatic about when it is and isn't someone's time. She ''does'' have a pair of "agents" working on her behalf, though. Jonah Hex is her "bounty hunter," collecting the souls that are overdue, and the OriginalCharacter Ash (the ghost of a 9-11 firefighter) is sent to protect people who shouldn't die yet.
51	* ''Fanfic/MaverickSolutions'': During her NearDeathExperience, Ash runs into Thor, who tells her this.
52	--> '''"Go back, brave warrior. It is not yet your time. Go to your fellows. It is not yet your time."'''
53	* In ''Fanfic/OneSmallKindness'': "For a genius, you can be, like, ''really'' dense. Why do you think? You came pretty damn close, but ''you aren't dead''."
54	* ''[[Fanfic/HalfLifeFullLifeConsequences Half Life: Full Life Consequences 2]]''. "These birds dont have to see Gordon Freeman yet. its not time."
55	* In ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/1679018/1/Cheers Cheers]]'', a ''VideoGame/ShadowGate'' fanfic, [[IdiotHero Leander]] gets himself [[TooDumbToLive killed repeatedly]] [[EverythingTryingToKillYou by every single deathtrap in Shadowgate]]. DeathIsCheap thanks to the magical tokens Lakmir gave him which the GrimReaper is forced to take in lieu of Leander's soul. The Reaper gets so annoyed that he starts giving Leander hints on how to bypass certain traps. By the end, the Reaper hopes that Leander has a long life ahead of him so that he won't have to see him again anytime soon.
56	-->"Whoa," the knight said, backing away and holding up a hand. "I'm not dead. Leave me alone."\
57	"I know you're not," the Reaper snapped. Still clutching the Warlock Lord with one hand, he pointed a skeletal finger in Leander's face and growled, "And you'd better not be dead for a long time. It'll take me at least half a century to be able to hear your name without screaming." Death turned and began to drag his quarry away in a huff.
58	* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11494031/1/Fair-Lady Fair Lady]]'', [[ComicBook/TheSandman1989 Death]] warns a young Literature/HarryPotter about doing hazardous activities, citing that he's still too young to join her.
59	[[/folder]]
60
61	[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
62	* In ''Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren'', Cloud is shot and caught in a massive explosion. He then hears the voices of his deceased friends, Aerith and Zack, tell him that he doesn't quite belong with them yet, and wakes up in the former's church.
63	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfKells'': Abbot Cellach is shot with a flaming arrow, then struck down and run through with a sword, while the rest of his village is raided. After the battle, the villagers flock around him, finding him still alive.
64	--> '''Cellach:''' [[ImColdSoCold I'm so tired.]] Tang, leave me be. Please, leave me be.
65	--> '''Tang:''' You are the abbot of Kells! [[ItIsNotYourTime You must get up!]] ''[He goes on to live for many years.]''
66	* Played with in ''WesternAnimation/AllDogsGoToHeaven''. Charlie dies, and, well... he's explicitly told that it ''was'' his time, but he refuses to stay dead. He breaks the rules and [[BackFromTheDead sends himself back]], and when asked for an explanation, he lies, "What can I say? It wasn't my time."
67	[[/folder]]
68
69	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
70	* In ''Film/BruceAlmighty'', Bruce is hit by a truck before waking in a white expanse and having a chat with God about it. Perhaps subverted in this case, as Bruce has been chatting with God regularly throughout the film.
71	* Parodied in the ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' spin-off film ''Superstar'', a TV falls and crushes Mary's dog. Her subconscious version of God then tells him it's not his time and to go back, ultimately having to throw a treat back into the world of the living to get him to leave.
72	* ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven_Can_Wait_(1978_film) Heaven Can Wait]]'' (1978).
73	** Joe Pendleton is in a traffic accident and finds himself in the afterlife. He's informed that an inexperienced angel plucked his soul out of his body too soon, before he actually died. Unfortunately his body has already been cremated, so he has to return to life in the body of someone else who has died. A remake of the 1941 film ''Here Comes Mr. Jordan''.
74	** Which was also remade as the Chris Rock vehicle ''Down to Earth''.
75	* ''Film/TheFrighteners'': The main character is delighted to be dead so he can be reunited with his wife, but she tells him to go back and enjoy being alive.
76	* ''Film/LastActionHero''. In Danny's encounter with the Grim Reaper, he worriedly asks if he's going to die soon. The Grim Reaper says no, he'll die as a grandfather.
77	* ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen'': The heaven Sam goes to has Autobots in it for some reason.
78	** Alternatively, this could be interpreted as him having a vision and not him actually being in the afterlife.
79	* ''Film/MaxPayne'': Max sees a vision of his wife telling him, "Not yet, Max." when he is about to drown, giving him the strength to swim to shore.
80	* ''Film/DateWithAnAngel'' centers on this trope. The titular Angel is injured while coming to earth to escort the protagonist, Jim, to the afterlife. Once she regains her powers, she prays to God to spare Jim from the brain tumor that's killing him. It works.
81	* ''Film/Deadpool2'': After finally dying at the end of the film, [[spoiler: Wade meets Vanessa in the afterlife as [[DeathSeeker he had always intended to]] after her death. The two share some sweet words about their reunion, but Vanessa tells Wade to go back to his surrogate family because they need him more than she does. Wade reluctantly accepts as Cable undoes Wade's death.]]
82	* ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol3'': [[spoiler: After [[NearDeathExperience flatlining]], Rocket meets his old friends, Lylla, Teefs and Floor, in the afterlife. When he asks if he can join them, Lylla says yes...then stops him and adds "But not yet". She urges him to continue living to make the world a better place and they share one final kiss before he's resuscitated.]]
83	[[/folder]]
84
85	[[folder:Literature]]
86	* In ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows Deathly Hallows]]'', Harry is nearly killed by Voldemort. Next we see him, he's in some kind of surreal void, and is greeted by Dumbledore, who has been dead since the last book. Ultimately, he asks Harry whether he wants to go back to the living; an opportunity Harry takes.
87	* Several [[TheBigGuy Badger]] [[LargeAndInCharge Lords]] in ''{{Literature/Redwall}}'', notably Sunflash the Mace.
88	* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' series, the anthropomorphic personification of Death is rather prone to this.
89	** In ''Literature/{{Mort}}'', Death is out fishing. His lure scares all the fish into the basket of someone fishing nearby, who is then pulled into the river. Death saves him, and when asked why, responds with:
90	--->'''Death''': [[AC:For later.]]
91	** In ''Literature/CarpeJugulum'', when he shows up before Granny Weatherwax, she asks if she is dying or is going to die. Death replies [[AC:Yes]]. But she then reasons that Death is more or less immortal, so to him, ''everyone'' is "dying", so [[MathematiciansAnswer that doesn't really mean much]].
92	* At the end of ''Literature/{{Sabriel}}'' by Creator/GarthNix, Sabriel is seemingly killed, but upon entering Death she is greeted by the spirits of her ancestors, who tell her that as she is the last of the family line, she must go back until there is another.
93	* ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'': in ''Inferno'' when the Toa Inika reach the Chamber of Death, Matoro offers himself as a sacrifice so that the rest can continue further. He is promptly killed ... and then revived, as the voice that commanded the sacrifice says it wasn't his time and lets the group continue on. The whole trial in the chamber was a test of courage [[spoiler:and for the Kanohi Ignika, the last bit of proof it needed to confirm that Matoro was indeed the one destined use its power to save Mata Nui...and [[HeroicSacrifice die in the process]].]]
94	* The protagonist of ''{{Shadowmancer}}'' is ripped up by a demon and sees a vision of Riathamus (who's clearly the Abrahamic god), and given the choice of going to Heaven or being resurrected--he chooses to go back and save his friends.
95	* In ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', Gandalf falls exhausted after defeating the Balrog atop the mountain. But his bosses don't let him die, for he still has work to do.
96	* Happens to Apollus in ''Literature/WarriorsOfCumorah'' after he drowns in the creepy time-travel river. His dead little sister tells him to hold his breath, his time is not yet. Probably a good thing.
97	* In the Creator/MercedesLackey Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar book ''Arrow's Fall'', the ghost of Talia's dead friend [[spoiler: Kris]] appears to her after she has been thrown back in her cell after a session of ColdBloodedTorture. When Talia tells him about her plans to [[DrivenToSuicide kill herself to escape further torture]], he tells her that it isn't her time yet. [[spoiler: And indeed, she is rescued in the middle of her suicide attempt.]] This also happens to Herald Vanyel in ''The Last Herald Mage'' trilogy, when the Shadow Lover (the Angel of Death) gives him a choice.
98	* In ''Literature/FateOfTheJedi'', Luke Skywalker and Darth Krayt [[EnemyMine team up]] to take on [[EldritchAbomination Abeloth]]. They win and sustain severe injuries as a result. Luke decides to give up the struggle and die so that he can finally reunite with his wife Mara Jade. Mara's Force Ghost shows up and tells him he still has a lot of work to do, especially since Darth Krayt recovered and is now on the loose. Mara then says that she loves him but doesn't want to see him again for a ''long'' time (meaning she wants him to live). Luke obeys her and lives.
99	[[/folder]]
100
101	[[folder:Live Action TV]]
102	* ''Series/TheXFiles'' gives these to both main characters. Scully gets hers in the season two episode "One Breath" (in which her deceased father gives her the trope line). Mulder gets his in the season three episode "The Blessing Way" (where ''his'' deceased father and Deep Throat both give him the line).
103	* Hiro Nakamura in the latest season of ''Series/{{Heroes}}''.
104	* ''Series/BattlestarGalactica1978'' episode "War of the Gods". After Apollo is killed by Count Iblis, his body is taken aboard the ship of the "angels". The "angels" say that Apollo was not meant to die and that Ibis had broken their laws by killing him. They then bring him back to life.
105	* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration''. "Tapestry".
106	-->'''Q:''' You will go on with your life with a real heart.
107	-->'''Picard:''' Then I won't die.
108	-->'''Q:''': Of ''course'' you'll ''die''! It'll just be at a ''later'' time.
109	* The ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' episode "Barge of the Dead" has B'Elanna having a NearDeathExperience on the titular barge. The Klingon version of Charon tells her that it's not yet her time, and mentions previous instances when she came close to boarding the barge.
110	* ''Series/CriminalMinds''
111	** In "The Fisher King (Part 2)," Elle talks with her dead father after being shot by an [=UnSub=]. Somewhat bizarrely, the entire conversation (which is interspersed throughout the episode) takes place on the team's jet, which is slowly being emptied of furniture. At the end of the episode, Elle returns to life, and her father promises they'll see each other again, when it's her time.
112	** In "Epilogue," there was an [=UnSub=] who would drown people and then try to bring them back to life to ask them if they saw a light or something. At the end of the episode, he almost drowns and we see his dream or whatever and then we hear a angelic voice saying "It's not your time, Chase." He wakes up and Prentiss repeats the line as her and Reid are arresting him.
113	* On ''Series/{{Sliders}}'', the gang landed on a world where people were conducting afterlife experiments by killing and resuscitating people. When they did it to Quinn, he saw his father who told him it was not his time.
114	* Happens to Sofia from ''Series/TheGoldenGirls'' ''twice'', both times seeing her late husband Salvadore and being tempted to stay.
115	* In one episode of ''Series/AreYouAfraidOfTheDark'', a rather morbid kid obsessed with death is mistaken for a wandering spirit ready to enter the afterlife by some sort of spiritual attendant (played by Gilbert Godfrey). He eventually gets thrown into the afterlife...and is promptly thrown out. He explains that "they" said he wasn't dead yet. The kid seems to take that to heart and is noticeably less morbid at the end of the episode.
116	* ''Series/{{CSINY}}'':
117	** Some time after Danny is shot in the season 5 finale, he's wondering why he survived. Stella tells him, "It wasn't your time."
118	** Mac gets told this, though not verbatim, [[DeadPersonConversation by his late wife Claire]] in the episode "Near Death," where he's been shot and is hovering on the brink.
119	* Inferred in a funny variant in an episode of ''Series/TheGoldenGirls'' where Rose has a scare from overworking herself-we don't see it, but she tells everyone about it afterward.
120	* ''{{Series/Dinosaurs}}'': Ethyl once went to afterlife only to be told it wasn't her time yet and she woke up with earth on her face since Earl buried her. She missed her late husband so much she didn't want to wait for her time any longer until he warned her to live her life to her full extent otherwise she'd spend her afterlife at a "not so nice place". (In her case, a Sinclair household full of Earls, resulting in a BigNo)
121	* Parodied in ''Series/TheITCrowd'', when Douglas has a near death experience. His father is welcoming him to a big white glowing door, to what appears to be heaven. Then [[ThisIsntHeaven Hitler]] pokes his head out of the door, and Renholm says, "We're just having a fancy dress party in Heaven." Douglas obviously comes back to the world of the living.
122	* ''Series/{{Merlin 2008}}'': Nimueh, the BigBad of season 1, has Arthur cornered while he is hanging from a ledge. Instead of killing him, she says it is not his destiny to die at her hands. Subverted in that she is GenreBlind enough to think that various critters in the cave will finish him off for her.
123	* In the ''{{Series/JAG}}'' episode "Hemlock", Meg is shot and spends most of the episode near death. She sees her late father (who died in Vietnam when Meg was a child) riding his horse, and wants to go with him. He smiles and tells her it's not time for her, and that he was there now because she needed him.
124	* ''Series/KamenRiderGhost'' has this as its central premise. Takeru is killed on his 18th birthday, but in the afterlife he meets a strange old man who gives him a TransformationTrinket and says that if he unites the souls of 15 heroes within 99 days, he can come back to life; otherwise, it really will be his time. [[spoiler:When time runs out (because he resurrected his best friend's little sister rather than himself), Takeru's late father gives him a ''third'' chance. Then Takeru's primary trinket gets destroyed and he comes back a '''fourth''' time thanks to his friends' powerful emotions for him, which also unlocks his SuperMode.]]
125	** Takeru himself pulls this off in his EarlyBirdCameo in the penultimate episode of ''Series/KamenRiderDrive''. Shinnosuke (Drive) seemingly dies in the final battle, and finds himself in a misty forest where the spirits of MonstersOfTheWeek he defeated trying to drag him to hell. However, Ghost shows up and tells Shinnosuke to go back to his friends while he holds off the monsters.
126	* The Eleventh Doctor in the ''[[Series/DoctorWho Doctor Who]]'' episode "[[Recap/DoctorWho2013CSTheTimeOfTheDoctor The Time of the Doctor]]" is at the end of his final regeneration, and is dying from old age, about to be KilledOffForReal, when the Time Lords grant him a new regeneration cycle. He then uses the energy from "regeneration number thirteen", to destroy the Dalek fleet attacking Trenzalore, and manages to remain for several more minutes as the [[Creator/MattSmith Eleventh]] [[TheNthDoctor Doctor]], before permanently changing into the [[Creator/PeterCapaldi Twelfth Doctor]].
127	* ''Series/OnceUponATimeInWonderland'': A variant in that it's someone else who's told. Water from the Well of Wonders can be used to heal or resurrect, but only if it's not the victim's time. This happens at the end of the series, when Anastasia/the Red Queen has been murdered by Jafar; the Well's guardian, the Nyx, freely gives up some water to revive her because, as she tells the other protagonists, it wasn't Anastasia's time.
128	* One episode of ''Series/TheTwilightZone2002'' is all about this trope. A man survives lethal execution and a serious of other bizarre nearly life-ending mishaps one after the other, but always hears a voice shouting "not yet!" [[spoiler:When it finally shouts, [[WhamLine "NOW!"]], a statue falls on him and crushes him.]]
129	[[/folder]]
130
131	[[folder:StandUpComedy]]
132	* One of Creator/JeffFoxworthy's bits has him speculating that catch-and-release must be like a NearDeathExperience for fish.
133	-->'''Jeff''': "Guys...I was just swimming along, when I felt myself being drawn toward the light. And it was getting brighter and brighter, and then I went through this opening and I saw all my dead relatives lying all around. And I saw God. He was wearing a flannel shirt and a Budweiser cap. And He held me and said, 'It's not yet your time, go back.'"
134	[[/folder]]
135
136	[[folder:Tabletop RPG]]
137	* ''TabletopGame/{{Earthdawn}}'' supplement ''Earthdawn Survival Guide''. Some dying Name-givers who have unaccountably revived have said that when they appeared before Death, he told them that "their time had not yet come" and returned them to life.
138	* In ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'', Commander Dante of the Blood Angels has such an experience at the end of the Devastation of Baal. Horrifically wounded after slaying the Tyranid Swarmlord, he has a vision of the Primarch Sanguinius, who mournfully tells Dante that he cannot rest yet. Dante is revived all but ''begging'' Sanguinius to finally let him die.
139	* In the ''Brothers' War (2023)'' storyline of ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', one of the side stories follows a soldier in the titular war named Aiman, who was wounded and left to die in the fall of Kroog. While lying among the bodies of allies and enemies alike, he sees a blue spectre walk among the corpses, and is certain that it is Death. After looking around for a bit, the spectre says that it's not time yet, and there are many decades left. Aiman takes this to mean that he will not die, and manages to pull through. The spectre is actually not Death, but [[spoiler:a time traveling Teferi, who was trying to get to the Sylex Blast, which would happen a few decades later]].
140	[[/folder]]
141
142	[[folder:Video Games]]
143	* Used in a lot of videogames, especially MMORPGS, as a half-assed justification for death not being permanent.
144	* ''VideoGame/AmberJourneysBeyond'': Near the end of the game when preparing to reset the house's breaker one last time, [[spoiler: you suddenly get electrocuted to death. Following a surreal trip through a glowing blue tunnel to a [[AfterlifeAntechamber floating arched platform in space]], an angel shows up and says not only this line, but also reminds you of your overall goal, and gives you [[ThePasswordIsAlwaysSwordfish wisdom]] to continue what you were doing.]]
145	* VideoGame/TheDarkness [[spoiler:tries to stop Jackie Estacado from committing suicide over his dead girlfriend, Jenny]].
146	* ''VideoGame/FableII'': When you get shot by Lucien and fall from the window of Castle Fairfax, Theresa and your dog find you.
147	-->'''Theresa:''' Death is not your destiny today, little Sparrow.
148	* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' ends with the entire party being annihilated and sent to the [[{{Hell}} Hill of Despair]] where they confront the death god Necron. In a variation on this trope, Necron is perfectly happy to [[OmnicidalManiac annihilate everything]], but because the party declares it's not their time yet, after taking enough damage, it decides to let them go, perplexed, but convinced by their [[{{Determinator}} sheer determination to live.]]
149	* ''VideoGame/{{Hades}}'' has what are called Death Defiances, which pull Zagreus from the brink of death back to half-health as many as three times per an escape. Expending them while in a BodyCountCompetition with Thanatos will reveal that TheGrimReaper himself is granting the reprieves, and occasionally he'll use this very line when he does.
150	* Kratos chooses his time in ''VideoGame/GodOfWarI''. Even the Judges of the Underworld admit that Kratos did not belong in the afterlife yet.
151	-->'''King Radamthas:''' Your future is cloaked in shadow. The world of the afterlife is not yet ready for you.
152	* ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' has the playable "character" [[TheGrimReaper Kindred, the Eternal Hunters]], a [[TheDividual dual personification]] of death whose pursuit of their prey represents the eventual end of their mortal coil. However, their [[LimitBreak ultimate ability]], "Lamb's Respite" (Lamb being [[DontFearTheReaper the more merciful and patient of the two]]), creates a temporary zone where [[PaddedSumoGameplay neither they, friend nor foe can die]], partially to invoke this, and also partially to represent [[TheLastDance one last stand to perhaps turn the tables.]]
153	* After falling in a river and seeming to drown in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'', Snake ends up in a very different river (evocative of Styx) in which he encounters a specter called the Sorrow (evocative of Death) along with the restless souls of every enemy the player has killed throughout the game thus far. If the ensuing boss fight goes on long enough without the player figuring out the [[PuzzleBoss trick]], the Sorrow will tell Snake that he doesn't belong here... not yet, anyway.
154	* In ''VideoGame/MightAndMagic VI'', a figure that appears to be a cross between TheGrimReaper and the boatman to the underworld says this to the player if the entire party is knocked out, killed or [[DeaderThanDead eradicated]].
155	-->"Though eternity lies before thee, thy work in the land of the living is not yet done. Return, brave ones. I am certain we will meet again... Ho ho ho ho..."
156	* In the finale of ''VideoGame/TwilightSyndrome'', Yukari has managed to find Chikako, but the two are trapped in an ethereal, surreal realm that is said to be past a PointOfNoReturn for dead souls moving on to the afterlife, until [[spoiler:the Kappa-haired girl from the first case appears and tells them that as still-living people they have no business there, and instructs Yukari on how they can return home.]]
157	* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', the Val'kyr in the Death Knight starting area actually say this word-for-word when they resurrect you. The [[BigBad Lich King]] also says it during an Alliance quest if the player gets too close to him (though he kills you anyway, [[ForTheEvulz just for lulz]]).
158	** The text box for Spirit Healers also says this. Seems like everything in Azeroth that's not [[EverythingTryingToKillYou trying to kill you]] is trying just as hard to keep you alive.
159	* ''VideoGame/Persona4'': [[spoiler:During the final battle against Izanami, the player is pulled to the brink of death with a OneHitKill and sees his friends and family in a LovedOnesMontage who motivate him to keep fighting.]]
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161
162	[[folder:Webcomics]]
163	* In the Webcomic/{{Bobbinsverse}}, Death himself is a little cynical about these things. [[http://www.scarygoround.com/?date=20150220 His response to someone even starting the line is "Cliché party."]]
164	* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': Jirix was sent back from the Afterlife by the Goblinoid god, The Dark One.
165	** From the point of view of the living, he was resurrected by Redcloak -- however, such spells fail if the deceased chooses to reject resurrection and remain in the afterlife. It is shown that Jirix was prepared to join the goblin army in the afterlife, but changed his mind after The Dark One personally intervened and told him he still had things to do in the world of the living. Were it not for the Dark One's encouragement, Jirix might have refused the resurrection.
166	* In ''Webcomic/ThePhoenixRequiem'', Jonas inverts in chapter 2 (his late wife appears to him while he is unconscious urges him to move on, but he refuses), and then played straight in chapter 20.
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168
169	[[folder:Web Original]]
170	* In WebVideo/ImAMarvelAndImADC, Superman has one of these, meeting up with Captain America.
171	* ''WebVideo/CriticalRoleCampaignThree'': When Orym is killed, he shares a moment in the afterlife [[AfterlifeWelcome with his late husband]], who tells him, "You're not done". It's for the immediately practical reason that Orym's friends are [[BackFromTheDead resurrecting him]], but Orym has to choose to return to life.
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173
174	[[folder:Western Animation]]
175	* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'': Batman with his parents the ones waiting at the light. Although in his case it's more ''he'' decided he wasn't ready yet. The goddamn Batman will die when ''he'' is good and ready, thank you very much.
176	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' in the episode "Bart Gets Hit by a Car." TheDevil says [[Characters/TheSimpsonsBartSimpson Bart Simpson]] isn't due, "until the next time the Yankees win the World Series - that's almost a century from now."
177	* In season 2 of ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}'' it's revealed that Sadlygrove's ascension to the afterlife was halted by Rubilax. This example is less benevolent than most since Rubilax had ulterior motives.
178	* In the ''Literature/WatershipDown'' TV series, Campion's enounter with the [[GrimReaper Black Rabbit of Inle]] in the third season. Campion tells him that he's tired and ready to go, but the Black Rabbit turns him down and gives this as his reason.
179	* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'': In "Puhoy", [[Characters/AdventureTimeFinn Finn]] winds up trapped in a world made entirely of pillows where his human abilities make him a living legend. He settles down, raises a family, and eventually dies of old age. But right after he dies, he's flying towards [[EarlyBirdCameo GOLB]], bounces off of it and pops out the pile of pillows in his house as his young self.
180	* In the last episode of the ''WesternAnimation/ToddMcFarlanesSpawn'', [[spoiler:Spawn uses his shroud to allow Granny to see her late husband again. She begs him to take her with him, but he tells her that it's not her time and there are people who still need her.]]
181	* ''WesternAnimation/OverTheGardenWall'': In the episode "Hard Times at the Huskin' Bee," one of the pumpkin girls asks Wirt, "Say, aren't you a little too…early?" He's confused and doesn't know what she's talking about. [[spoiler:The end of the episode reveals that all the residents of Pottsfield are skeletons who have emerged from the ground and donned pumpkins as clothes. It's implied that everyone ends up in Pottsfield sooner or later: "You'll join us someday."]]
182	* WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks: In the episode "[[Recap/StarTrekLowerDecksS4E03InTheCradleOfVexilon In the Cradle of Vexilon]]", Boimler is killed in an explosion, he appears in an AfterlifeAntechamber, with a view of the Black Mountain Shaxs previously mentioned from his own death. The Cosmic Koala suddenly appears to him and tells him in SdrawkcabSpeech "It's not your time, Bradford Boimler." before Boimler suddenly wakes up in the living world, having been brought back to life by Dr. T'Ana.
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Context Main / ItIsNotYourTime