History Main / ClingyMacGuffin

* The One Ring from ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' could perhaps be considered one of these: there's a moment, for example, in the first chapter of ''The Fellowship of the Ring'', when, as Bilbo is preparing to leave the Shire, Gandalf persuades him to "stop possessing it, give it to Frodo", and Bilbo agrees, but as he walks out, Gandalf stops him: "You have still got the ring in your pocket." The Ring also attempts to compel its wearer to put it on when a Ringwraith gets near. However, it could also be seen as a partial subversion of this trope, as it also has a tendency to slip off the bearer's finger unexpectedly, often when it is most needed; this is how it came to Bilbo after slipping off Gollum's finger. It also slipped off of Isildur's finger, revealing him to a band of orcs, thereby betraying him to his death.\\\

** Need takes the direct approach. Unless Need ''wants'' to change bearers, trying to get rid of it takes a fair bit of willpower, causes all manner of NightmareDreams, and frankly ''hurts''. Just trying ''not to use it'' takes an act of will. However, once Need becomes fully conscious, she is no longer clingy.

* In ''Film/{{Oscar}}'', there is a subplot revolving around three identical valises -- one containing money, one containing jewels, and one containing the maid's clothing and undergarments. The police and other gangsters are made suspicious by the way the valises keep going in and out of the house, but whenever a valise is seized and opened, it is invariably the one that contains the maid's clothing.

* In ''Theatre/{{Oscar}}'', there is a subplot revolving around three identical valises -- one containing money, one containing jewels, and one containing the maid's clothing and undergarments. The police and other gangsters are made suspicious by the way the valises keep going in and out of the house, but whenever a valise is seized and opened, it is invariably the one that contains the maid's clothing.

* In an episode of ''Series/{{Evil}}'', Kristin notices that the CaseOfTheWeek victim has a children's white tea set identical to that of her daughter, Lexis. As she is already concerned that the girl and Alexis may have had their original embryos corrupted in-utero, she finds this quite unnerving. She promptly goes home and surreptitiously throws away Lexis' copy of the tea set. However, at the end of the episode when putting Lexis to bed, she notices the tea set has mysteriously returned, and is now colored an ominous shade of red.

* The Alicorn Amulet from the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode "Magic Duel" is a variant of this trope: it can be removed, but only by the wearer. Since it grants immense magical powers to the wearer (Trixie in this episode), they will have no desire to remove it, but [[ArtifactOfDoom it also makes them evil]], so the main characters have plenty of reasons to want her to remove it. They succeed in making her remove it by tricking her with an even more powerful (actually fake) amulet.

* In ''WesternAnimation/CaptainNTheGameMaster'' we find out that [[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfZelda Princess Zelda]] was now connected to all three Triforces. When Eggplant Wizard and King Hippo steals two of the three Triforces, she's brought to the brink of death and Link and the N-Team have to hunt down the missing items.

* Bakura's Millennium Ring in ''Manga/YuGiOh'' UpToEleven in the Manga, where the ring [[spoiler: embedded itself into Bakura's chest.]] [[{{Bowdlerise}} This didn't make it into the Anime]]. It did however always manage to find its way back to Bakura, regardless of what anyone tried to get rid of it.

* Literature/TheAffix always chooses a keeper. After its former keeper passed away and Mike found it in a storage unit, it stuck with him even after multiple attempts to get rid of it. His final attempt, getting his more responsible friend Matt to hold onto it, worked: by the Affix now choosing Matt as its new keeper. Then it [[OhCrap wakes up]], ratcheting its causality-breaking ways UpToEleven.

* The Tick in ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac'', unlike every other trinket in the game, can ''not'' be swapped out for another trinket once picked up. Even the FlavorText reads "Well, that's not coming off" though, in some DLC there are items like the Match that will get this sucker off. At least it's a pretty useful trinket, removing 15% of the HP of any boss with over 60HP and giving you one red heart every time you enter an uncleared boss room which can be abused for infinite HP if combined with a teleportation power.

* In ''Manga/ShonanJunaiGumi'', Saejima sells a motorcycle to [[ButtMonkey Makoto]]. It turns out to belong to Katsuyuki, whose friends (including Makoto's friend Eikichi) have sworn to find and return it. A terrified Makoto tries repeatedly to get rid of the stolen bike -- leaving it in a junkyard, only for it to literally [[FellOffTheBackOfATruck fall off the back of a truck]] in front of him; tossing it off a short cliff, only to hit someone with it; crashing it into a pole, but the only thing that gets smashed is [[FacePlant his face]]. His girlfriend suggests customizing it so nobody will be able to tell it's the bike they're looking for, but it's AllForNothing when someone just flips up the seat and sees Katsuyuki's initials carved into it.

* In several ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' fics, the Deathly Hallows have been portrayed as unable to be left behind, given away or permanently destroyed. Some, such as ''FanFic/{{crawlersout}}'', even go as far as having the Deathly Hallows consider Harry their master no matter what time, place, or dimension they're in.

* In a {{meta}} sense, plot-relevant items which cannot be removed from your inventory are this ''especially'' if item space is limited and '''infuriatingly''' if they are completely or nearly useless. For example, the Mars Star you drag around for the entirety of ''VideoGame/GoldenSun1'' and the ATM Card[[note]]While you can technically store it, you can't replenish your money without it[[/note]] from ''VideoGame/EarthBound''.

* The Star Brand of ''ComicBook/TheNewUniverse'', an energy source that can do anything the user wants to. However, even if you do find a way to get rid of it, a piece of it will still live on in you and recharge itself.

** Cursed items have functioned like this in Camelot's games since even its earliest RPG, ''VideoGame/ShiningInTheDarkness'', and the ''Franchise/ShiningSeries'' in general as well.

* In ''Film/{{Click}}'', the "Universal Remote Control" given to the main character. In one sequence, the character tries to rid himself of the device, but it returns in a variety of hilarious ways.

'''Morty:''' I wouldn't do that if I were you. There's only one place left for it to pop up.

* In ''Manga/ShonanJunaiGumi'', Saejima sells a motorcycle to [[ButtMonkey Makoto]]. It turns out to belong to Katsuyuki, whose friends (including Makoto's friend Eikichi) have sworn to find and return it. A terrified Makoto tries repeatedly to get rid of the stolen bike -- leaving it in a junkyard, only for it to literally [[FellOffTheBackOfATruck fall off the back of a truck]] in front of him; tossing it off a short cliff, only to hit someone with it; crashing it into a pole, but the only thing that gets smashed is [[FacePlant his face]]. His girlfriend suggests customizing it so nobody will be able to tell it's the bike they're looking for, but it's AllForNothing when someone just flips up the seat and sees Katsuyuki's intitials carved into it.

* The title item of ''Anime/{{Witchblade}}'' is a strange bracelet that turns the user into a {{Stripperific}} death machine. Its clingyness is demonstrated in a sad sequence when Masane tries to get it off... using dangerous tools that could cost her an arm. At one point it wakes up, slices a press into ribbons and goes back to sleep. Worse, if Masane dies, it passes on to her daughter. [[spoiler:Eventually she sacrifices herself, taking the Witchblade with her.]]

* In the ''Literature/LordDarcy'' novel ''Too Many Magicians'', when Sean O'Lochlainn is arrested, the carpetbag containing his wizardly paraphernalia is left in his hotel room. The narrative then follows various people absent-mindedly picking it up and leaving it somewhere else until, inevitably, the warden checking what Sean wants for dinner takes it into the cell with him.

* ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' has the Mask of Life, which is both [[SentientPhlebotinum sentient]] and extremely powerful. It can only be [[OnlyTheChosenMayWield wielded by those it deems worthy]], and often [[SelfGuardingPhlebotinum curses the unworthy into becoming its guardians]], which it is rather clingy with (it was even ''fused to the head'' of one of them.) Eventually, it becomes very interested in [[TheHeart Toa Matoro]] after several [[SecretTestOfCharacter tests of his character]]; first as a guardian, but later as a wielder.

If the MacGuffin is a piece of clothing, it's a ClingyCostume. If it's a living thing, it falls into TheCatCameBack. Compare LoyalPhlebotinum, which can be physically separated from the owner but still only works for its [[TheChosenOne Chosen One]]. Contrast SlipperyMacGuffin.

* Ichigo's Hollow mask in ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''. If removed from his person it will disintegrate into nothing, but it always returns on him, appearing to block fatal blows early on. When his Hollow gains enough power to start interfering in Ichigo's fights, it becomes downright dangerous. The "Hollow" is revealed much later to be [[spoiler:his true [[EmpathicWeapon Zanpakutou spirit Zangetsu]]; the "Old Man" really being a manifestation of his Quincy heritage. Ichigo can't get rid of it because it's part of his own soul, and [[SplitPersonalityMerge accepting it as a part of himself]] is quite the part in his CharacterDevelopment.]]

* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', Roy's sword, because of everything he has gone through with it, has become a Legacy Weapon, which counts among its abilities the capability to return to its owner's hand if it is thrown or lost, upon being called to come. This becomes useful when he loses it while in a fight on a zeppelin and they don't have the time to go back for it. [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1078.html See here]].

* The Blue Beetle Scarab is "permanently" infused on the back of Jaime Rayes that turns him into the 3rd (rightly named) ComicBook/BlueBeetle.

* In a filler chapter of ''Manga/ShonanJunaiGumi'', Saejima sells a motorcycle to [[ButtMonkey Makoto]]. It turns out to belong to Katsuyuki, whose friends (including Makoto's friend Eikichi) have sworn to find and return it. A terrified Makoto tries repeatedly to get rid of the stolen bike -- leaving it in a junkyard, only for it to literally [[FellOffTheBackOfATruck fall off the back of a truck]] in front of him; tossing it off a short cliff, only to hit someone with it; crashing it into a pole, but the only thing that gets smashed is [[FacePlant his face]]. His girlfriend suggests customizing it so nobody will be able to tell it's the bike they're looking for, but it's AllForNothing when someone just flips up the seat and sees Katsuyuki's intitials carved into it.

* "The Thing That Your Aunt Gave You That You Don't Know What It Is", in the old Creator/{{Infocom}} text adventure version of ''VideoGame/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'', can be briefly thrown away, but will always return automatically to your inventory. Even if you've {{time travel}}led or [[FantasticVoyagePlot shrunk yourself and entered your own brain]]. It's mentioned in-game that you've been trying to get rid of it for years. But it's a good thing it always comes back, since it's also a [[spoiler:BagOfHolding]].

* In "The Sliceman Cometh" in ''Series/TalesFromTheCrypt'' #44, a French Revolutionary executioner who killed an innocent man at the request (and payment) of the victim's brother keeps trying to dispose of the head only to have it return to him in various plausible ways. Finally he decides to chop it to bits - which is when the headless corpse shows up looking for it...

* The Soul Reaver of ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain'', as his "symbiotic weapon", becomes forever inseparable from SupportingProtagonist Raziel once he obtains it -- more so in ''Defiance'', where it serves as the only weapon he and Kain ever wield.
* "The Thing That Your Aunt Gave You That You Don't Know What It Is", in the old Creator/{{Infocom}} text adventure version of ''VideoGame/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'', can be briefly thrown away, but will always return automatically to your inventory. Even if you've {{time travel}}led or [[FantasticVoyagePlot shrunk yourself and entered your own brain]]. It's mentioned in-game that you've been trying to get rid of it for years. But it's a good thing it always comes back, since it's also a [[spoiler:BagOfHolding]].



* The Keyblade in ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' is a benign example of this trope. In fact, its inability to leave its user was used as a plot device, as Sora gave it to [[Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean Captain Jack Sparrow]] as payment -- and it naturally reappeared in Sora's hand later. Said inability is also used for one of the attacks in series; who needs a boomerang when a thrown weapon will unerringly reappear in the wielder's hand, no matter how many times he throws it at an enemy? It's used in a similar way when [[spoiler:Roxas tries to disarm Sora by pinning one of his own keyblades into the ground in the handle. It returns Sora's hand, Roxas gets confused, and Sora deals a fatal blow.]]
** It can however be passed to another worthy wielder so long as the original doesn't object and call it back to them. Sora and Riku repeatedly wind up holding each others Keyblades during the Xemnas battle. Also if a keyblader is in self doubt ala Sora thinking he wasn't really accomplishing anything, then another keyblader with stronger convictions can actually steal it until they get out of their funk. Sora, Riku and Roxas have stolen Keyblades from each other and stolen them back throughout their various battles when one of their heroic resolves wavered. Lack of confidence can even lead to the wielder being unable to call the keyblade at all, though Xion can still use Roxas' own effectively when he lends it to her.
** In the ''Days'' manga Roxas throws his keyblade out the window in a fit of anger and it come right back to him.
** Despite all of the benefits and quirks listed above, the Keyblade's clinginess is actually somewhat of a case of BlessedWithSuck. For all of the power it gives, it also acts as a permanent homing beacon for the forces of darkness, meaning every user will be unrelentingly attacked by Heartless, Nobodies, etc. for as long as the Realm of Darkness remains connected to the Realm of Light (which is, luckily, usually not the case). While this is really just a framing device to give a reason for Heartless to keep popping up in the games' combat areas, it's really a nightmare when you think about it; they ''never'' get a day off (unless somebody takes the dangerous journey to disconnect the Realms).

* ''VideoGame/CosmicOsmo'': You can [[PortalNetwork use various shortcuts to slip between worlds]], but your spaceship the Osmobile will warp to the new location and wait faithfully in orbit.



* In ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie'', collecting the Stop N Swop items will cause them to stay in your inventory forever. You cannot get rid of them, even if you delete your save file. You can, however, get rid of them if you are playing the XBLA version of the game.
* In ''VideoGame/TheClueFinders4thGradeAdventuresThePuzzleOfThePyramid'', Joni gets an ancient Egyptian ring stuck on her finger, which doesn't come off until [[spoiler:the bad guy's goons use a magic spell to attract it]]. Said ring turns out to be [[spoiler:the key to releasing Set]].
* The demon summoning app from ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2''. Applying for the death site Nicea leads to the user eventually getting accosted by demons, and defeating them adds the app onto the person's phone. The app cannot be deleted, as Daichi unsuccessfully tries when he first sees it. Though given that having successfully managed to form a contract with a demon is an ''essential'' thing to have a fighting chance in the dying world, one doesn't want to delete it.
** The same happens with the Metaverse app in ''VideoGame/Persona5''. The player can delete the strange app that appeared on their phone but it always comes back, likely because [[spoiler: Yaldabaoth put it there and wants them to use it.]]
* Link and Zelda are stated to have had parts of the Triforce [[ItWasWithYouAllAlong with them all along]]. In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'', this forces Zelda to disguise herself as Sheik to stop the BigBad from getting it, implying that there's no way to just remove it and hide it somewhere. In Link's case, this is implied to be the reason he's the one who has to go on the quest to save the world.
** The Master Sword is this in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild''. Unlike all other weapons, it can't be dropped, thrown or broken, with it merely 'resting' until it recharges if it's used too much. It's also likely this in most other games in the series (since outside of the final battle in ''Ocarina of Time'', Link never drops it or has it taken away from him), though the fact ''every'' item he ever picks up is a Clingy [=MacGuffin=] with a few odd exceptions means it's hard to be sure.



* In the second ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfKyrandia'' game, it is played for laughs with Zanthia's mixing stick. After the Hand steals it and is forced to return, it appears in Act 2 stuck in the fountain, and then serves Zanthia [[BoringButPractical many various purposes]]. Even with Zanthia's BagOfSpilling tendencies, the Stick keeps appearing wherever Zanthia goes, from Moon Harbor and up to the Wheels of Destiny, and [[spoiler:after it is used as a lever to lodge the missing gear back in place, it finally meets its demise and breaks in half]].

* At one point in ''VideoGame/EternalDarkness'', Karim needs to place the ''[[TomeOfEldritchLore Tome of Eternal Darkness]]'' into a special stand to unlock a nearby door. He is literally ''not allowed to move'' until he picks it back up again. It really underscores that all of the humans in the game are being manipulated by forces outside of their control, with the Tome as the conduit.
* In ''Videogame/GodOfWarPS4'' [[spoiler:the Blades of Chaos are this for Kratos. Kratos has tried to get rid of them many times, but they always find their way back to him one way or another. Even tossing them into the ocean didn't work for long. This is why he has settled on keeping them hidden under his house. Like the ashes of his family grafted to his skin and the burn marks on his arms from the Blades' chains, the Blades themselves are a permanent reminder of his bloody past that he can never truly erase.]]

* The Necklace of Septumet in the currently defunct comic ''For Your Eyes Only'' not only had a difficult to control ([[HypnoTrinket and undesirable]], [[ChickMagnet at least for the current wearer]]) power, but it ''transforms into a tattoo'' when put on, making it irremovable.
* ''Webcomic/GrrlPower'':
** The [[http://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/163 artifacts]] that give Sydney her powers. She can't get more than [[http://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/184 a few meters from them.]] The opposite is also true; Maxima assumes she can drag Sydney out from under an ambulance by pulling on the orbs, [[http://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/370 but instead they simply won't move past a certain point.]]
--->'''Maxima:''' That's impossible! Do you have any idea how strong I am!?
*** Later exploited [[https://grrlpowercomic.com/archives/comic/grrl-power-899-throne-bound/ to her detriment.]]
** Apprentice mage Elsbeth has a magical "Book of Holding" chained to her waist, which can't be removed. There is a discussion about how it's not the most comfortable thing for sleeping or bathing.
* In ''Webcomic/FullFrontalNerdity'', Lewis has a cursed 20-sided die that is every gamer's nightmare; it always rolls a 1. The gamers give is a burial, [[http://ffn.nodwick.com/?p=125 but it returns]]. They bury it again, this time under a statue of the Virgin Mary, with a bunch of garlic. It returns again. The characters decide to de-curse it by mixing it with some dice that are extra lucky -- they rolled every die in their gaming store and bought the ones that came up as 20 three consecutive times. But after doing this, ''all'' the dice start rolling 1s. ("[[TheVirus It's like we tried to cure a zombie by locking it in a room with normal people!]]") Then the other cursed dice vanish, and the number 1 starts appearing world wide -- sports all end up with a score of 1, clocks stop at 1:11, etc. The gamers decide that the only way to break the curse is to make rolling a 1 ''good''. Fortunately, Nelson had the foresight to buy a lottery ticket with all 1s, and won $1,111. They use this money to bribe Creator/WizardsOfTheCoast to temporarily change the rules of ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' so that 1s are good (version 1.1.1 -- their word processor was cursed too). Lewis rolls the die in the hopes of getting a 1 and lightning strikes, destroying it.
* The Dewitchery Diamond in ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2009-06-09 seems to have a will of its own]], somehow managing to thwart attempts to permanently hide it away from where "cursed" beings can touch it.
* The Sword of Return in ''Webcomic/{{Kubera}}'' is a god-level item, a powerful weapon against [[OurDemonsAreDifferent sura]] that inhibits their HealingFactor. The problem is, it also inhibits the owner's HealingFactor, bringing it down to human normal. Furthermore, once the sword has bonded to an owner, only that individual may use it, and the only way to give it up is to die (at which point it returns to its resting place in the Temple of Chaos). Yuta claims that the standard rules don't apply to him; he could draw the sword, use it, then hand it off to someone else. It's not clear if this is because he's half-Chaos Clan (magic doesn't work on them quite the way it should) or if it's because [[spoiler:his mother is the goddess Kali, who made the sword in the first place]].
** The [[AmplifierArtifact Golden Knight]] qualifies as well. It's a bracelet that attaches itself to whoever is wearing it, and the only ways to get it off are to die, cut your arm off, ask the Priest of Earth how, or make a wish to a 5th zen god. Currently the heroine Leez is wearing it, and has no way to get it off since [[spoiler:Asha bribed the Priest of Earth not to tell her]].
* When Parson ends up in [[spoiler:Transylvito]] during a failed escape in ''Webcomic/{{Erfworld}}'' he offers to buy back his prediction bracer as part of the [[spoiler:prisoner ransom]]. When [[spoiler:Benjamin]] says they might not want to return it ''at all'' Parson stops smiling and offers his unsure theory that this would be a very bad idea and that the bracer would just end up returning to him anyway, probably harming [[spoiler:Benjamin and Transylvito]] in the process. Though Parson wasn't entirely convinced that the bracer was a Clingy [=MacGuffin=], the bracer's own prediction confirmed it when asked.
* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', Roy's sword, because of everything he has gone through with it, has become a Legacy Weapon, which counts among its abilities the capability to return to its owner's hand if it is thrown or lost, upon being called to come. This becomes useful when he loses it while in a fight on a zeppelin and they don't have the time to go back for it. [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1078.html See here]].
* Invoked, taken literally, and parodied in ''Webcomic/DanAndMabsFurryAdventures'' when [[http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_1305.php Mab tries to explain away]] some [[BearTrap bear traps]] as "aggressive earrings":
-->'''Alexsi:''' They're not on your ears, Mab.\\
'''Mab:''' Very aggressive earrings with very bad aim!

* ''Webcomic/IslaAukate'': At the end of [[https://overlordcomic.com/archive/default/pages/2330 "Rebuilding"]] Darius winds up with the fire stone attached to his neck after defeating the previous owner. When he tries taking it off [[https://overlordcomic.com/archive/default/pages/Shipwreck32 it teleports]] [[https://overlordcomic.com/archive/default/pages/Shipwreck33 back]].
* ''Webcomic/{{Housepets}}'': The AltText of [[http://www.housepetscomic.com/comic/2019/12/02/visiting-day/ this comic]] suggests King has tried to get rid of Kitsune's statue multiple times, only for it to mysteriously reappear in a more provocative pose with the plaque changed to "can't get rid of me that easily."

* In ''WebVideo/JourneyQuest'', you have the Sword of Fighting. Sir Perfluous wants nothing to do with it (as he's a LovableCoward, not the kind of hero who'd willingly wield a magic weapon in face of danger), but after accidentally picking it up he just can't get rid of it. Even after repeatedly throwing it away, including down a cliff, it just comes back. Worst, it's a TalkingWeapon, and it makes very clear that it will always find Perf... "Everywhere!"
* In ''WebVideo/TheAdventuresOfTheLeagueOfSTEAM'' episode "The Tiki Room", the title Tiki can't be removed from the living room of its owner, despite the efforts of the Leaguers.

* ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce''. Two undying, self-mobile dummies (voiced by Josh Homme of Music/QueensOfTheStoneAge and Music/TPain) plague the household. Smash them, bash them, they just return. Shake, in an odd moment of logic, uses them to create a profitable magic show. Turn one into splinters, it just wanders right back out from behind the curtain.
* ''WesternAnimation/SabrinaTheAnimatedSeries'' has Sabrina getting a pair of magical dancing shoes for her boyfriend Harvey when he confesses that he can't dance. Unfortunately, the shoes work ''too'' well, as they won't come off Harvey's feet and force him to dance whenever he's in the vicinity of music.

* One ''WesternAnimation/HouseOfMouse'' short was actually about MickeyMouse having a hard time sleeping because of his new alarm clock's ticking noise. He always tries to get rid of it, but no matter how hard he tries, the clock will inevitably make its way back to his house.
* The Green Shoes in the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' cartoon ''The Wearing of the Grin''.
* The Alicorn Amulet from the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode "Magic Duel" is a variant of this trope: it can be removed, but only by the wearer. Since it grants immense magical powers to the wearer (Trixie in this episode), they will have no desire to remove it, but [[ArtifactOfDoom it also makes them evil]], so the main characters have plenty of reasons to want her to remove it. They succeed in making her remove it by tricking her with an even more powerful (actually fake) amulet.

* In ''WesternAnimation/CaptainNTheGameMaster'' we find out that [[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfZelda Princess Zelda]] was now connected to all three Triforces. When Eggplant Wizard and King Hippo steals two of the three Triforces, she's brought to the brink of death and Link and the N-Team have to hunt down the missing items.
* In ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGummiBears'', a Gummi medallion cannot be taken from a Gummi Bear by force (humans, should they get one, have no such privilege) and will zap anyone who tries (unfortunately, it ''can'' be lost or dropped).
* In the ''WesternAnimation/WeBareBears'' episode "Jean Jacket", the eponymous jacket [[GoodLuckCharm brings enormous good luck to its owner]], but the Bears [[AppleOfDiscord get into a huge fight over who gets to wear it]]. They decide to get rid of the jacket for good, but every attempt they make not only causes the jacket to return, but [[PlagueOfGoodFortune brings even greater luck]], as if [[ArtifactOfDoom the jacket itself was trying to tempt them into keeping it]].

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[[quoteright:292:[[WesternAnimation/TheMummyTheAnimatedSeries https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/clingymcguffin_61.png]]]]
[-[[caption-width-right:292:Poor kid has to spend the rest of the series finding another MacGuffin just to get rid of this one!]]-]

* Bakura's Millennium Ring in ''Manga/YuGiOh'' UpToEleven in the Manga, where the ring [[spoiler: embedded itself into Bakura's chest.]] [[{{Bowdlerise}} This didn't make it into the Anime]]. It did however always manage to find its way back to Bakura, regardless of what anyone tried to get rid of it.
* Manjyome's Ojama spirit monsters in ''Anime/YuGiOhGX''.
* This is a major theme of ''Anime/YuGiOhZEXAL''. All of the Numbers (except for Number 39: Utopia, ''maybe'') are malevolent beings that corrupt whoever owns them, each causing its host to become drunk with power and become obsessed with it. What's more, the Numbers Holder is driven to find other Numbers by it. There are people, whoever, who are immune to this effect and those who can resist it, mostly Numbers Hunters like Yuma and Kaito, but they usually have some supernatural or technological aid.
** This is made even worse because Number cards start blank (the only common point is they're XYZ monsters) and tailor themselves to whoever picks them up, both in deck and personality. And Utopia DOES possess someone who holds it without protection.
* The title character of ''LightNovel/{{Gokudo}}'' planned to abuse his magic sword in a similar manner as in ''Series/DeadLast'', though his genie stops him before he can even try.
* The G Units from ''Manga/{{Guyver}}'' cannot be properly removed from their hosts without a specific piece of technology. Tearing out the control metal causes the armor to actually consume its host, but the metal regenerates the host shortly after.
* The Blue Water from ''Anime/NadiaTheSecretOfBlueWater''. There's a moment when she throws it into the ocean, only to have it rise from the waves and return to her.
* When Ichika from ''Anime/UtaKata'' tries to throw away the charm given to her by Sei, it just flies back to her, signifying that it is too late already to change her fate.
* ''Manga/MagicalCircleGuruGuru'' has an award statue that reappears whenever Nike tries to dispose of it.

* The Silver Crystal from ''Franchise/SailorMoon''. Despite the canon belief it can be taken, and in the [[Anime/SailorMoon anime]] it is passed on, present Usagi always, ''always,'' has a copy of it. Even when Chibi-Usa takes the future version, Usagi still has the past version. Usagi eventually gets that copy back as well. In the [[Manga/SailorMoon manga]], Chibi-Usa even gets a new pink crystal so Usagi can keep the Silver Crystal. Not that she's ''trying'' to get rid of it.
* A "kinda" example from ''Manga/{{Legendz}}'': in the first episode, Shuu tries to get rid of his Talispod, but the wind blows it back to him.
* In a ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'' OVA, Naga, on pure impulse, puts on a valuable bracelet made out of rare {{Orichalcum}}. Unfortunately, she discovers that she can't take it off. And what's more, a powerful superweapon became attracted to the bracelet and Naga and Lina got chased all over by this creature.

* The title item of ''Anime/{{Witchblade}}'' is a strange bracelet that turns the user into a {{Stripperific}} death machine. Its clingyness is demonstrated in a sad sequence when Masane tries to get it off... using dangerous tools that could cost her an arm. At one point it wakes up, slices a press into ribbons and goes back to sleep. Worse, if Masane dies, it passes on to her daughter. [[spoiler:Eventually she sacrifices herself, taking the Witchblade with her.]]
* Ichigo's Hollow mask in ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''. If removed from his person it will disintegrate into nothing, but it always returns on him, appearing to block fatal blows early on. When his Hollow gains enough power to start interfering in Ichigo's fights, it becomes downright dangerous. The "Hollow" is revealed much later to be [[spoiler:his true [[EmpathicWeapon Zanpakutou spirit Zangetsu]]; the "Old Man" really being a manifestation of his Quincy heritage. Ichigo can't get rid of it because it's part of his own soul, and [[SplitPersonalityMerge accepting it as a part of himself]] is quite the part in his CharacterDevelopment.]]
* ''Manga/InuYasha'': Kaijinbou forges [[EvilWeapon Toukijin]] but cannot get rid of it. It [[DemonicPossession controls]] his will, driving him to hunt Inu-Yasha and eventually (accidentally) killing Kaijinbou through sheer force of power. Death doesn't separate them, Toukjin just animates Kaijinbou's body and keeps going. In the end, Inu-Yasha has to hack off the smith's wrist to separate them, which allows the dead body to disintegrate, leaving Toukijin behind. When Sesshoumaru touches Toukijin, his will is so powerful it instantly defeats Toukijin's power, turning Toukijin into a LoyalPhlebotinum instead.
* A chapter of the ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' manga has female Ranma ending up in a cursed swimsuit with the talking figure of a devil dog adorning it. No amount of efforts can remove it (panda Genma gets near it with a pair of scissors, but the devil dog's face ''eats them''). The only way to get rid of this curse is to fulfill the swimsuit spirit's wish before the sunset... or it will drag Ranma to the bottom of the sea.
* [[Recap/LupinIIIS2E107 An episode]] of ''Franchise/LupinIII'' has Lupin steal the Hope Diamond to make into Fujiko's engagement ring, unaware of its infamous curse. After bringing misfortune to everyone around it, Fujiko attempts to get rid of it, but it just keeps reappearing.
* In ''Manga/{{Gintama}}'' once Hijikata gets the cursed sword, which alters his personality, he can no longer leave it, always taking it with him. He himselfs talks about the problem while ''stirring his drink with said sword.''
* In ''LightNovel/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'' the Legendary Weapons must always be on the Hero's person. Luckily for them, the Weapon's size and location on their body can be adjusted, so it's possible to use both hands for bathing and eating. They are also clingy in another way, as they will punish any Cardinal Hero for trying to use a Weapon that does not match their Weapon's nature.

* In ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', Liliana Vess eventually realizes that the Chain Veil is an ArtifactOfDoom and wants to get rid of it. She liked the power it gave her -- enough power to kill two of her demonic masters -- but the multitude of spirits in the Veil itself are just as eager to enslave her. And while her mind might want to throw it away, her hands refuse to obey. At one point, she even tries summoning a skeleton and ordering it to take the Veil from her. The skeleton does so, then quickly falls apart as the magic that animated it fades. As it falls, the Veil "coincidentally" drapes itself over her arm. The spirits of the Veil explain to Liliana that they are not done with her yet, and that deep down she doesn't really want to be rid of the Veil either. They even point out that she put on the Veil again during their conversation, and she didn't even notice it was on her face before they mentioned it.

* ''Pierino e il burattino'' (''Peter and the Puppet'', an Italian comic, by Antonio Rubino, 1919) used this trope as subject. Obsessively. Although defining the puppet as AppliedPhlebotinum can be excessive: it has no apparent property or power, but it comes always back to its unwilling beholder.
* One of these features prominently in one of the issues of the Spanish comic ''ComicBook/MortadeloYFilemon'', titled "The Warlock": a magical note, enchanted to kill anyone who reads it. The title characters subsequently try to remove it by the most varied means, chucking it into the bin, shredding it, burying it, tying it to a rock and throwing it to the sea, and ''hitting it with a full discharge of a flamethrower''. And yet the note manages to never be actually harmed due to some kind of karmic immunity that causes people around it to suffer instead. They do manage to get rid of it. How? [[LaserGuidedKarma They send it back to the guy that commissioned the warlock to send the note to the Super]].
* A villainous example occurs in the ''ComicBook/IronMan'' comics with the Mandarin and his alien rings, which give him a variety of fantastic powers. The rings are attuned to him and cannot be taken from him by force. A partial subversion comes from the fact that the Mandarin can voluntarily lend his rings to his [[{{Mooks}} minions]], although if they're knocked out or killed the ring automatically comes back to him. If the Mandarin himself loses consciousness, all the rings automatically reappear on his fingers, which left his {{Mooks}} powerless to stop the Stark employees they had kidnapped from escaping on one occasion after Iron Man knocked out their boss.
* Shows up in ''ComicBook/GreenLantern'' on occasion. When Hal Jordan was given a Blue Lantern ring, he was unable to remove it without hoping for something. In a Green Lantern cameo on ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'', Kyle Rayner couldn't remove his lantern ring even when he tried. And speaking of Kyle, when he had the original power of Ion, he modified his ring to become exactly this because of all the times people tried to take his ring.
* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan''. The alien symbiote-suit that does get forcefully removed (although not easily), and promptly sees about finding itself a more appreciative host (thereby becoming Venom and its offspring, Carnage and Toxin). Even having successfully removed this MacGuffin from his body, the Web-slinger still isn't free of it: year after year, host after host, it comes back to fight him. It also has a "crazy ex-girlfriend" thing going on, and several comics have stated that it would gladly go back to Peter if he accepted it, which means it's still trying to be even clingier.\\\
It's gotten worse in recent years. The symbiote messed with the physiology of its last two long-term hosts, making them literally unable to survive without it. This forced Mac Gargan to be locked back into an upgraded Scorpion suit, and nearly killed Flash Thompson when the suit possessed [[spoiler:the ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan]]. Numerous stories have seen Venom, Carnage or other symbiotes "permanently bonded" to their hosts such that they can never be removed again. Hell, it's noted in Venom's first appearance that this happened to Eddie Brock. [[{{Pun}} It never sticks.]]

* The Pistols in ''ComicBook/TheSixthGun'' bond to whoever picks them up after their previous owner dies. Anyone else gets burned by green fire.
* Parodied in ''Franchise/{{Tintin}}'', with the piece of sticking plaster from ''Recap/TintinTheCalculusAffair''. When Captain Haddock tosses it off, it sticks to someone else, who in turn shakes it off. And so it goes all over the bus, before coming to the Captain's cap. It then follows him aboard the plane, eventually makes its way to the cockpit (causing the pilots to momentarily lose control), lands on the Captain again by the end of the flight, is thrown away at the police station, only to return ''yet again on the captain's clothes'' in the hotel room!
* The Blue Beetle Scarab is "permanently" infused on the back of Jaime Rayes that turns him into the 3rd (rightly named) ComicBook/BlueBeetle.
* In "The Sliceman Cometh" in ''Series/TalesFromTheCrypt'' #44, a French Revolutionary executioner who killed an innocent man at the request (and payment) of the victim's brother keeps trying to dispose of the head only to have it return to him in various plausible ways. Finally he decides to chop it to bits - which is when the headless corpse shows up looking for it...
* The Star Brand of ''ComicBook/TheNewUniverse'', an energy source that can do anything the user wants to. However, even if you do find a way to get rid of it, a piece of it will still live on in you and recharge itself.

* The quantum bands that come with the job of Protector of the Franchise/MarvelUniverse, once put on, don't come off again until the death of their wearer. As a result, ComicBook/{{Quasar}} gets killed once precisely because the BigBad of that story arc is after the bands and discovers that the bands can't even be removed from his wrists after ''cutting off his lower arms''. (He does eventually get better.)

* Loki's Mask from ''Film/TheMask'' (the Jim Carrey movie) falls into this category: when Stanley tries to throw it out the window, it boomerangs right back to where he picked it up from. It also functions in a HostageForMacGuffin scenario, although this is subverted by the fact that ''Stanley himself'' is the hostage, trying to save his own life.

* In ''Film/TheGodsMustBeCrazy'', Xi's tribe tries to throw the Coke Bottle away, but it keeps coming back (occasionally causing mayhem in the process), leading up to Xi's [[TheQuest Quest]] to throw it off the edge of the world.
* Once the ruby slippers in ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'' appear on Dorothy's feet, they become stuck and won't come off, something the Wicked Witch of the West remembers the hard way when they shock her as she tries to remove them.
* In ''Film/TheMummyReturns'', Alex tries on a bracelet that turns out to be the key the bad guys are looking for. It's not detachable. [[spoiler:It will also kill him if he does not reach the pyramid at Ahm Sher in time]].
* In ''Theatre/{{Oscar}}'', there is a subplot revolving around three identical valises -- one containing money, one containing jewels, and one containing the maid's clothing and undergarments. The police and other gangsters are made suspicious by the way the valises keep going in and out of the house, but whenever a valise is seized and opened, it is invariably the one that contains the maid's clothing.

* The bracelet-gun in ''Film/CowboysAndAliens''. Later subverted when it turns out [[spoiler:he just didn't know he needed to empty his mind of thoughts in order to unlock it]].
* Bud's titanium wedding band in ''Film/TheAbyss''. At first this is just psychological; he and Lindsey are on the brink of divorce, but he still loves her and can't bring himself to stop wearing the ring. (At one point he takes it off and throws it into a chemical toilet, but is unable to leave it there. He fishes it out, staining his arm blue to the elbow.) When he uses his hand to stop a hydraulic door from closing (which saves him from drowning), the ring prevents the door from crushing the hand, but is deformed just enough to make it ''physically'' impossible for him to remove it.
* The "Mister Babadook" pop-up book in ''Film/TheBabadook''. Amelia rips it up and stuffs it into a rubbish bin. After the ominous knocking, she finds the book on the doorstep, taped back together, and with the blank pages filled in with even more terrifying illustrations.

* In ''Literature/TheFabledLands'' if you earn the favor of Nagil, the god of death, you can be gifted with his White Sword. Besides its staggering +8 combat bonus, you'll have it forever. Even if you die and are brought back to life, you'll lose all the rest of your stuff, but not the sword.

* In the ''Literature/{{Hurog}}'' series, there is a ring that makes the wearer the owner of the eponymous castle. You only can take it off when you're dying, although there seems to be quite a long timespan between being able to take it off and actually dying. Ward is not happy when that is revealed, mainly because rings are impractical in combat.
* In the ''Undead...'' Series by Mary Janice Davidson, there is the Book of the Dead.
* The young adult novel ''Literature/TheEyesOfKidMidas'' features a pair of sunglasses that allow the wearer to change reality any way he wants... but the glasses cannot be removed.
* The short story "The Zahir" by Creator/JorgeLuisBorges involves a variant on this trope. The title object is cursed, causing anyone who sees it to become gradually unable to think of anything else. The main character succeeds in getting rid of the zahir itself, but is unable to get it out of his head.
* Another Borges example is "Shakespeare's Memory". The narrator -- a German Shakespeare scholar -- meets a man at a party and unwittingly agrees to accept ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: the personal knowledge of all the experiences of William Shakespeare, recollections of which encroach more and more upon his thoughts, threatening to displace his own identity. He can only get rid of it by convincing another person to willingly accept it.
* The Creator/JohnBellairs novel ''Literature/TheSpellOfTheSorcerersSkull'' features a miniature skull that can fit in a pants pocket... and returns there after the protagonist drops it into a lake.
* The walking stick in ''Iron Kissed'', by Patricia Briggs. The protagonist Literature/MercyThompson acquires a magical walking stick, exact properties unknown. She tries to return it to [[TheFairFolk the fairies]] several times, but it keeps coming back. A slight twist in that the stick shows up "in places where I live", like in her bed, her car and her work area. [[spoiler: Mercy later uses this fact to lure her attacker into a trap. She could have retrieved the stick from any area she spent time in, but only told him about the spot that was protected.]] Apparently, it also has the power to ensure that all the owner's ewes will bear twins -- not particularly useful for a Volkswagen mechanic. [[spoiler:It comes in handy in ''Bone Crossed'' -- apparently it was made by Lugh of the Shining Spear, and so can be used as a spear when needed.]]
* Vain from Stephen Donaldson's second ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfThomasCovenant'' trilogy, who was brought to life to serve some mysterious purpose. He doesn't actually do much except hang around grinning like an idiot, but he's virtually indestructible and has a knack for overcoming insurmountable obstacles to return to the protagonists whenever something detains him. Not so much a case of TheCatCameBack because, as it turns out, [[spoiler:he's an embodiment of pure order that will become one-half of the new Staff of Law when combined with an embodiment of pure magic.]]

* The Power of Stormhold in ''Literature/{{Stardust}}'', which Yvaine must carry until the heir of Stormhold asks her for it. But we don't know how clingy it is, because she never actually tries to get rid of it in any other way. In the book, Yvaine's lugging the gem around is explained as an obligation -- though it knocked her out of the sky it's not hers, and as stars take obligations very seriously, she can't just leave it. She dislikes having to carry it, but will not get rid of it until the right person asks -- that would be inexcusable for any star. A sort of culturally-induced Clingy MacGuffin.
* ''Literature/TheElricSaga'': Elric, Last Prince of Melibone, is a sickly albino who keeps himself competent as a badass cliché hero through drugs, magic, and his evil EmpathicWeapon, Stormbringer. After destroying his kingdom and losing his true love he has a narmy sequence where he tries to get rid of it and it stands in the ocean smirking at him and Elric becomes... very dramatic on the topic of realizing he's stuck with it. Bonus points for the illustration: it is in the fantasy-illustration style that includes every tiny detail of his outfit, and he gives an impression of faking female orgasm. Of distress. Possibly fainting, too. Perfectly normal for his type, really.

* A dragon scale keeps appearing in the path of the heroes in Creator/MercedesLackey's ''One Good Knight'' in her ''Literature/TalesOfTheFiveHundredKingdoms'' series. Fortunately, Sir George knows better than to disturb it; they eventually find that a fox has been following them and moving it around. In fact, the Tradition is a reliable source of Clingy Macguffins -- if it's [[ApothecaryAlligator Traditional for a wizard to have a stuffed alligator in his office]], he will have one there no matter how often he disposes of the existing one. The only way to escape Tradition is to shift one's personal circumstances so that they no longer suit that particular tale.
* ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'':
** Need takes the direct approach. Unless Need ''wants'' to change bearers, trying to get rid of it takes a fair bit of willpower, causes all manner of NightmareDreams, and frankly ''hurts''. Just trying ''not to use it'' takes an act of will. However, once Need becomes fully conscious, she is no longer clingy.
** Tarma and Kethry, in one of their short stories in ''Oathblood'', find a cursed bad-luck coin in their possession. They can't get rid of it in any ordinary fashion, but they do manage to find a way to pass it onto a more deserving group. It required considerable self-sacrifice on their part, with someone else inadvertently taking it.

* In ''[[Literature/{{Lyonesse}} The Green Pearl]]'' by Creator/JackVance, the eponymous green pearl is so beautiful that it fills the hearts of everyone who sees it with greed. Unfortunately, the pearl is cursed: no-one will ''buy'' it, and if thrown away or given away it will always return to the current owner (even if it has to animate a corpse to carry it back). It can however be transferred by being ''stolen'', which half the time involves the murder of the current owner.
* ''Literature/TheMisenchantedSword'' by Creator/LawrenceWattEvans is about a sword that is a flawed Clingy [=MacGuffin=]. It makes one almost invincible in single combat (against adult males) about 100 times -- then will pick a new owner and kill its old owner. And each owner will get betrayed faster. When sheathed the sword must stay within a certain distance from the wielder, but it becomes far more clingy once drawn and prior to killing; the blade must maintain contact with the wielder at all times. Trying to throw it away or hide it won't work, and is dangerous -- the spells used cause an earthquake to return it at one point. On the other hand, nothing ''except'' the sword can kill its owner. The way the owner deals with it is refreshingly different than you'd expect: he used it as a mantle piece. Someone tried to steal it, and the resulting chaos almost wrecked his bar. Finally he got tired of it and just kicked it under his bed.
* The title painting in Creator/StephenKing's short story ''The Road Virus Heads North'', which not only shows scenes of mayhem occurring in its wake, suggests that the subject of the painting is following the protagonist and fully intends to kill him as well when he catches up. It is suggested that the painting cannot be gotten rid of or destroyed by any means. [[spoiler:It's also suggested at the end that the painting isn't actually a painting, but part of its painter's ghost; the other part is hunting after the protagonist.]]
* The [[CymbalBangingMonkey creepy monkey]] in King's short story "The Monkey" is also resilient and extremely hard to get rid of.
* The One Ring from ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' could perhaps be considered one of these: there's a moment, for example, in the first chapter of ''The Fellowship of the Ring'', when, as Bilbo is preparing to leave the Shire, Gandalf persuades him to "stop possessing it, give it to Frodo", and Bilbo agrees, but as he walks out, Gandalf stops him: "You have still got the ring in your pocket." The Ring also attempts to compel its wearer to put it on when a Ringwraith gets near. However, it could also be seen as a partial subversion of this trope, as it also has a tendency to slip off the bearer's finger unexpectedly, often when it is most needed; this is how it came to Bilbo after slipping off Gollum's finger. It also slipped off of Isildur's finger, revealing him to a band of orcs, thereby betraying him to his death.\\\
In the book it is noted that ''even if thrown into the sea'' it would eventually find its way back to civilization by compelling some fish to eat it, and if ''buried under a mountain'' it would gnaw on the minds of the person who knew its whereabouts. (And imagine having the willpower to throw even an ordinarily priceless item such as the diamond in ''Film/{{Titanic|1997}}'' into the sea.) Anyone sufficiently powerful to safeguard it would be tempted to claim it and become the new Ring lord, and it would try to slip away from anyone sufficiently weak to avoid temptation or ability to wield it -- and slip into the hands of someone who could.\\\
The film explained this fairly concisely. The ring cannot be destroyed, except for within Mount Doom. The Ring cannot be guarded, buried or lost again; it will always call out to the nearest person to possess it, and cannot be resisted for long. The Fellowship could not be avoided. However, its ultimate goal is always to return to its creator. Though no characters bring up the issue in advance, this all begs the question of why its psychic influence would allow someone to intentionally carry it to the volcano and throw it in, and in the end it turns out [[spoiler:destroying it on purpose is impossible, but it ''can'' be destroyed by accident. Frodo and Sam reach the necessary lava pit but cannot bring themselves to throw it in, despite their racial resistance to its power. Gollum shows up, steals the ring and, while celebrating his success, trips and falls into the lava. In the movie version he falls in when Frodo attacks him to take the ring back (for himself, not to destroy it).]]
* Another Tolkien example, from ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'', is the Silmarils and the Necklace of the Dwarves (which was built around one of the Silmarils). Morgoth is unable to part with the Silmarils even though their holy light burns him, and later Beren is unable to throw away the Necklace when he is told to, instead giving it to Lúthien to wear.
* Played with in Creator/GeneWolfe's ''Literature/BookOfTheNewSun'' series, which takes place billions of years in the future. The hero, Severian, believes that the tiny claw shaped piece of LostTechnology called the Claw of the Conciliator that he had been carrying with him for a while was destroyed in an artillery bombardment. However, he later pricks himself on a bush and finds that the thorn is the Claw. However, later he discovers that [[spoiler: he had actually subconsciously created a new Claw using a psychic link to some ImportedAlienPhlebotinum that he did not know he had. He later goes back in time and gives the new Claw to the same religious order that he got the old one from, creating a TimeParadox. During the same time trip he acquires his link to ImportedAlienPhlebotinum from SufficientlyAdvancedAliens, giving his younger self the power to create the Claw.]]

* In ''Literature/{{Wicked}}'', when Elphaba finally confronts Dorothy, she demands Nessarose's silver slippers, which Dorothy is wearing. Unfortunately, Dorothy finds that the slippers won't come off her feet, much to her and Elphaba's mutual frustration. Dorothy {{Lampshades}} this trope by stating that she's been trying to get the slippers off for days... [[TooMuchInformation and now her socks are so sweaty that "it's not to be believed."]]
* ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'': Percy Jackson's magic pen/sword ''Anaklusmos'' ("Riptide") can't be lost. Every time it's seperated from Percy, it simply returns to his pocket as a pen.
* In Creator/DavidEddings' ''Literature/TheBelgariad'', Princess Ce'Nedra is given a magical amulet by Belgarath, Polgara, and Garion that once belonged to Garion's ultimate grandmother. Once accepted and donned willingly, it cannot be removed by anything short of the wearer's death. Being the AlphaBitch as well as a {{Tsundere}}, Ce'Nedra at first bursts into tears thinking they are giving her a symbol of enslavement, but later discovers that the amulet gives her unique powers of perception.

* The Device of Time Journeying in Weis and Hickman's ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}'' novels stays with the person to whom it is given.
* Creator/RobertWestall's ''Literature/TheCatsOfSeroster'' features a knife that conveys immortality on its owner and if you try to discard it will come back to you or bring you back to it. The only way to get rid of it is to trick someone else into taking it.

* The chain letter in ''Chain Letter'' by Creator/ChristopherPike. Once the letter is sent to you and you are on the list, the only way to free yourself from eternally being commanded to perform tasks (each task progressively becoming more malicious and difficult) is death.
* In John Bibee's ''Magic Bicycle'' series, most supernatural objects are like this, especially number cards.
* In Creator/RobertEHoward's Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian novel ''Literature/TheHourOfTheDragon'', the Heart of Ahriman cannot be held by the sea.

* ''Literature/{{Lensman}}'': Creator/EEDocSmith's Lens is this after a fashion. Yes, those who acquire it do so deliberately and in full knowledge of the cost, and the thing is not ''intrinsically'' troublesome, but earning it elevates one to a rank that carries grave responsibilities for all its wearers; promotion to the elite ("Unattached" status) carries a 90% mortality rate (and the survivors are mostly artificial parts); and you '''can't ever give the thing away''' because it'll kill anyone who comes into more than fleeting contact with it. Come the final battle against the Eddorians, even Lensmen long since retired are required to do their bit.
* In ''The Wizard of 4th Street'', the runestones keep reappearing in the pockets of Wyrdrune or Kira when they try to sell or discard them. Later, when they're joined by [[spoiler:Modred]], the three stones fuse themselves with the three characters, becoming permanently Clingy.
* Michael [=McDowell's=] novel ''Literature/TheAmulet'' features the eponymous amulet as an ArtifactOfDoom that is passed from resident to resident in a sleepy Alabama town. Anyone who stumbles across it is invariably compelled to hold it up around their neck and press the ends of its broken chain together, often to imagine how it would look on them. The chain then magically fuses together, resisting any subsequent efforts to remove it - [[spoiler: until after the wearer has perished in a terrible freak accident, after which it comes loose of its own accord for the next unsuspecting victim to find.]]
* In one of the stories from ''Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror'', ''The Demon Bench-End'', the eponymous item is this, overlapping with DrivenToMadness and DrivenToVillainy. Moreover, its current owner cannot get rid of it on purpose - it has to be stolen from them. It's implied that attempting to destroy it simply causes the owner to destroy something that they hold dear instead.
* In Creator/StephanieBurgis's ''[[Literature/KatIncorrigible A Most Improper Magick]]'', the MagicMirror is this to Kat.

* In ''Literature/TheWatchmakerOfFiligreeStreet,'' the watches made by the title character can never be lost or sold - they always return to their owner after a few days. Pawnbrokers in the city refuse to accept them anymore.

* In ''Literature/MemoriesOfIce'' Picker aquires a set of self-tightening torcs through not-exactly-legal means. They quickly become a nuisance to her, and the only one who can help her with the problem is the one they were originally intended for anyway. She delivers them just in time for them to become important to [[spoiler: Gruntle's ascention to Mortal Sword of Treach]].
* A minor case in ''Literature/TheDarkWizardOfDonkerk'' where the Boreal Crown can be removed or thrown away, but will return upon the owner's head the moment they think of it.
* Literature/TheAffix always chooses a keeper. After its former keeper passed away and Mike found it in a storage unit, it stuck with him even after multiple attempts to get rid of it. His final attempt, getting his more responsible friend Matt to hold onto it, worked: by the Affix now choosing Matt as its new keeper. Then it [[OhCrap wakes up]], ratcheting its causality-breaking ways UpToEleven.
* In the ''Literature/LordDarcy'' novel ''Too Many Magicians'', when Sean O'Lochlainn is arrested, the carpetbag containing his wizardly paraphernalia is left in his hotel room. The narrative then follows various people absent-mindedly picking it up and leaving it somewhere else until, inevitably, the warden checking what Sean wants for dinner takes it into the cell with him.
* ''Literature/CradleSeries'': Suriel gives Lindon a small marble, a glass bead with an ever-burning blue flame inside. The marble will let her find Lindon again when she chooses to, and cannot be lost because it is tied to him with strings of Fate. Many times, he drops the marble, or it is taken from him, only for him to find it again in his pocket minutes later.
* ''Literature/TheSecretsOfDroon'': A rotten old stick keeps getting stuck in Eric's shoelaces, even after he throws it away repeatedly. It's only when he gets back to Earth that he realizes it's the Wand of Urik.
* ''Literature/RetiredWitchesMysteries'': Molly's amulet, which is said to be a gift from a lesser sea god, can't be removed from around her neck once she puts it on, even by herself; it's said later that it can only be removed by a family member, or once she dies. She doesn't mind so much though.

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'':
** In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS5E126LivingDoll Living Doll]]", Erich Streator cannot rid himself of the doll Talky Tina no matter what he tries. He throws it in the trash and it reappears in his stepdaughter Christie's bed. He then attempts to destroy it using a vise, a blowtorch and a circular saw but [[MadeOfIndestructium it is completely undamaged]]. [[spoiler:Erich later trips over Tina on the stairs and falls to his death.]]
** In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS5E151TheEncounter The Encounter]]", Fenton tells Arthur Takamori that he took the samurai sword from a Japanese officer whom he was forced to kill on Okinawa in order to save his own life. He claims that it keeps turning up in spite of his numerous attempts to get rid of it over the years. It bears the inscription "The sword will avenge me." As soon as he picks it up, Arthur experiences a strange sensation and says "I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill him. Why?" He later appears to be come under the supernatural influence of the sword and attacks Fenton with it. From this experience, Arthur realizes that Fenton killed the Japanese officer and took the sword after he had already surrendered. The former owner of the sword eventually has his vengeance when Fenton falls on it and is [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice impaled]].

* The magic car that Sabrina bought without her aunts' permission in ''Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch''.
* ''Series/TheAmandaShow'' has this played for laughs -- Amanda's character (in a sketch) was trying to sleep, only for the doll to be constantly talking and wake her up. She even throws it out the window, and then it jumps back in. She has her ''dog'' eat it, only to hear the voicebox still functional.

* The demonic vessel box that holds the Weapon of the Week in ''Series/{{Reaper}}''.

* A non-magical example occurs on ''Series/AllyMcBeal'' when the title character is dragged to a bowling alley by her friends after work. Since she doesn't have a ball, she borrows one from another bowler. Unfortunately, Ally's fingers swell up in the holes and the bowling ball becomes stuck to her hand. She tries to get it sawed off, but the bowler she borrowed it from pleads with her not to do it, since it was a memento of his dead wife. Ally is forced to take the ball with her to the office the next morning, just as they're about to try an important case. Fortunately, the swelling in Ally's fingers goes down and the bowling ball slides off... only to land right on her foot.

* A benign example of this, similar to the Ring of Polycrates story, can be found in the miniseries ''Series/TheTenthKingdom''. Wolf purchases an engagement ring for Virginia, and after being rejected, he throws it into the lake. At the end of the story, Virginia ends up ordering the fish that ate the ring [[spoiler:and Wolf takes this chance to propose again, with greater success]].
* The Glove of Myneghon from the ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' episode "Revelations". It's an all-powerful gauntlet that will not release its hold on the wearer until death.

* In ''Series/{{Chuck}}'', the title character accidentally has a database of government information uploaded into his brain, setting off the events of the series. A recurring storyline is Chuck's attempts to have the Intersect removed. Though he succeeds a couple of times, circumstances usually force him to re-upload it.
* In ''Series/TheInvisibleMan'', an artificial gland that allows a person to become invisible is implanted into a convict named Darrien Fawkes. The only person who can remove it is killed by the series BigBad, who wants control of the gland.
* The baseball from ''Series/DefyingGravity'' in the episode "Rubicon" is a variant on this. It is a symbol of Donner's unresolved guilt for [[spoiler: being forced to leave his girlfriend to die on the Mars mission]]. Once in each of the two time periods that the episode takes place in Donner gives the baseball up; both times he gets the ball back. The episode ends with [[spoiler: Donner chucking the ball out the airlock, a symbol that he's finally given his guilt up]].
* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'':
** In ''Series/PowerRangersDinoThunder,'' the white Dino Gem is much more powerful than the others. This makes it a very bad thing, as in this state it's (a) unremovable, (b) turns the user into an insane dark Ranger who fights [[BloodKnight simply because he can]], and (c) you can't control when it will activate. Having some of its energy drained resulted in the loss of those qualities, but also makes Trent [[RedemptionDemotion no stronger than the other Rangers]].
** In ''Series/PowerRangersWildForce,'' the EvilMask containing Zen-Aku's spirit can't be removed even while you're still yourself -- a condition that won't last long.
* The key to the ''Series/{{Lexx}}'' can only be removed from its owner through death, or late in the series as things get even more silly, at the peak of sexual ecstasy.

* ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'': In "The Gun", a gun dealer named Donald Finley (who is really an alien in disguise) sells a strange gun to Matthew Logan for $300. As soon as Matthew uses it to kill his wife Sandra for having him sent to prison for abusing her, the gun became fused to Matthew's hand and all attempts to remove it failed. The fusion process intensified every time that he used the gun as he was [[SlowTransformation slowly transforming]] into the ultimate killing machine. His father-in-law Cord van Owen is given an identical gun by Finley which likewise fuses itself to his skin after he fires it. However, it detaches itself when he refuses to kill Matthew in front of his son Ty, much to Finley's disappointment.
* In season 2 of ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'', ''Discovery'' is given the collective knowledge of a [[GeniusLoci living planetoid]]. The data thwarts all attempts to destroy it; attempting to delete it from their systems causes it to encrypt itself, and attempting to destroy ''Discovery'' (first through the SelfDestructMechanism then through conventional weapons) causes it to hijack the ship to prevent its destruction. What's problematic about this is that the data doesn't particularly care ''where'' it is, only that it remains intact, and the BigBad of the season wants the data for itself.

* In ''Podcast/{{Jemjammer}}'', Aelfgifu cannot remove her Ring of Flight once it starts [[spoiler: sending her back and forth between planes]]. Cacophony says it's either cursed or she just needs butter.

* In one ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'' module, the {{PC}}s are ordered to dispose of a trash bag full of treasonous Communist propaganda pamphlets, which prove to be indestructible (and if they just ditch it somewhere, then someone ends up finding it and returning it to them). Eventually, they get the pamphlets superglued all over themselves (though this does at least let them [[CursedWithAwesome survive a massive weapon blast]] just before the final confrontation).

* ''TabletopGame/PrincessTheHopeful:'' A Princess's [[TransformationTrinket Phylactery]] is the extra-convenient version of this trope. She ''can'' be separated from it, and could even leave it behind if for some peculiar reason having it on her person would be an issue, but if she ever wants it, she can summon it by spending a [[{{Mana}} Wisp]] and concentrating for a few moments. The same methods can be used to recreate a Phylactery which has been destroyed, and the rulebook specifies that cutting the bond a Princess uses to summon her Phylactery will always destroy it.

* In a {{meta}} sense, plot-relevant items which cannot be removed from your inventory are this ''especially'' if item space is limited and '''infuriatingly''' if they are completely or nearly useless. For example, the Mars Star you drag around for the entirety of ''VideoGame/GoldenSun1'' and the ATM Card[[note]]While you can technically store it, you can't replenish your money without it[[/note]] from ''VideoGame/EarthBound''.
* The Soul Reaver of ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain'', as his "symbiotic weapon", becomes forever inseparable from SupportingProtagonist Raziel once he obtains it -- more so in ''Defiance'', where it serves as the only weapon he and Kain ever wield.
* "The Thing That Your Aunt Gave You That You Don't Know What It Is", in the old Creator/{{Infocom}} text adventure version of ''VideoGame/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'', can be briefly thrown away, but will always return automatically to your inventory. Even if you've {{time travel}}led or [[FantasticVoyagePlot shrunk yourself and entered your own brain]]. It's mentioned in-game that you've been trying to get rid of it for years. But it's a good thing it always comes back, since it's also a [[spoiler:BagOfHolding]].

* Anything designated as a "plot item" in all of ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' is undroppable and unsellable and un-give-to-party-members-able. You are stuck with it. For example, you can't get rid of the Relic of the Reaper in ''NeverwinterNights/HordesOfTheUnderdark''. [[spoiler:At least, not until Mephistopheles, [[ChekhovsGun who turns out to be the one who bound it to you]], takes it from you in person, and in doing so traps you in the [[CirclesOfHell frozen hell of Cania]].]] The item description specifically mentions that when you tried to get rid of it in the past it somehow always turned up among your things again.
* The 27 True Runes of the ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}'' series. The True Runes are effectively the gods of the ''Suikoden'' world, but they (usually) can't do much without a human host. While the hosts can exercise varying degrees of control over their Runes, it's almost impossible to get rid of them. The Runes chose their own hosts, and also choose when (or if) they leave. Typically that only happens when the host dies, which could take awhile because immortality is one of the side effects. If the host [[IJustWantToBeNormal would prefer to live a normal life]] and [[WhoWantsToLiveForever die eventually]], but doesn't want to die ''now''...that's just too bad. There are very few methods of removing a True Rune against its will, and they either result in either a drastically reduced lifespan (as in, death within a matter of ''days'') or a FateWorseThanDeath, both of which can only be averted by taking the Rune back. And sometimes not even death is enough for the host to escape; at least two of the Runes are confirmed to have absorbed the souls of their prior hosts. Also, while it's uncertain what their agendas are (or even if they have agendas that would be [[BlueAndOrangeMorality comprehensible to humans]] at all), what's very clear is that they very much ''want their power to be used''. And they have some degree of control over fate, so they can push their hosts into situations where they're all but forced to cut loose.

* ''VideoGame/RuneScape'' has a minor variant of this to keep players on their toes -- sometimes a Strange Old Man will pop up near your character, give you a puzzle box, and disappear. This box can be solved for a small reward, but cannot be dropped or banked. What's more, if you don't solve it quickly the box doubles itself, taking up more inventory space until there is none left. Each box then has to be solved individually to make it go away, but you only get a reward after the last one is solved.

* ''VideoGame/MightAndMagic'' has several variations.
** In ''[=MM3=]'' the quest items appeared normally in the inventory but could not be dropped or sold.
** In ''[=MM4-5=]'' they never show up in the regular inventory, but had their own section and could not be manipulated in any way. [=MM6-8=] followed the traditional version of this trope, where after dropping a quest item somewhere and then going to talk to the Oracle the item would reappear in the party's hands.
** ''Clash of Heroes'' brings us the Blade of Binding, which fuses with the users arm.
* ''VideoGame/SwordOfVermilion'' has the cursed Dark and Death Swords. If you equip either one, you won't be able to unequip it or cast any spells.
* ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryIV'' has the Dark One Sign. A Zigzagged example in that, on one hand, you can use it to unlock the door to the local CreepyCathedral, temporarily removing it from your inventory until you leave said cathedral. On the other hand, if you try to put it in your storage chest...
-->''You realize with horror that you are totally unable to put down the Dark One Sign here. It seems to have a will of its own.''
* The Pyrite Parrot of Petaluma in ''VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland'', which survives being molten and keeps coming back to Guybrush Threepwood.

* The dead fish in ''VideoGame/SpaceQuest 6''. It's confiscated twice from you. First, when you're captured by the BigBad's {{Mook}}s. When you teleport away, one of them throws it back to you ("Here's your fish!"). The second time is when you are capture by the security personnel on the ''[=DeepShip=] 86''. When you escape on a stolen shuttlecraft, a bunch of [[Franchise/StarWars Imperial stormtroopers]] show up, one of which throws the fish into the shuttle's engine with the same words. Subverted in that the fish turns out to be quite useful in the end.

* The [[ArtifactOfDoom Book of Claws]] in ''VideoGame/TheyBleedPixels'' has been confirmed to be immune to burying, burning, and dumping in the river with chains wrapped around it. It may or may not be intelligent, but it can almost certainly teleport.
* Kurt from ''VideoGame/UnlimitedSaga'' has a cursed gaunlet which he can't take off. If you play as him, Kurt will be forced to fight one-on-one with a monster from time to time.
* The first game in ''VideoGame/TheSpellcastingSeries'' contains a book so good, you can't put it down. Literally. The only way to get rid of it is to give it to someone else, who then suffers the same problem. [[spoiler:Doing this to the BigBad in the penultimate puzzle thwarts his evil scheme, as he needs two free hands to activate the Sorcerer's Appliance.]]

* Ratatosk's Core does this to Marta in ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnoftheNewworld Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World]]''. The only way to remove it is [[spoiler: for her to die.]]