History Main / MayflyDecemberFriendship

* Franchise/{{Superman}} is sometimes portrayed as immortal, meaning that he will outlive the human friends he cares about. It becomes a plot point in ''ComicBook/SupermanBatman #76''. Superman is talking to Franchise/WonderWoman in the wake of Bruce Wayne's death. Clark is discussing how they'll outlive everyone they know and how they're higher beings. Diana stops him, telling him that no matter how he wants to rationalize it, he's just a man grieving for a lost friend.

[[folder:Lets Play]]
* On the ''LetsPlay/{{Dream SMP}}'', Charlie is a [[HumanAliens human slime]] who’s been alive for [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld a very very long time]]. He develops [[InterspeciesFriendship a close friendship]] with Quackity, a mortal with only two lives left.
->'''Quackity:''' Look at me, How long do you think it’ll take for ''me'' to turn to dust?\\
'''Charlie:''' I... I’ll make sure you never turn to dust, Quackity from Las Nevadas!

[[/folder]]

** In ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', Legolas (an immortal elf) and Gimli (a mortal dwarf who may live for centuries) become best friends. Even after traveling ("it is said") with Legolas to the Undying Lands, like with the Hobbits, the Valar have no power to grant Gimli immortality and he eventually must die as well.

* On the ''LetsPlay/{{Dream SMP}}'', Charlie is a [[HumanAliens human slime]] who’s been alive for [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld a very very long time]]. He develops a close friendship with Quackity, a mortal with only two lives left.
->'''Quackity:''' Look at me, How long do you think it’ll take for ''me'' to turn to dust?...\\

* ''The ComicBook/IncredibleHulk'' and all his various friendships if ''The Incredible Hulk: The End'' is to be believed. He is the last sentient being on the entire planet Earth. Even Banner dies, and [[BittersweetEnding the Hulk is finally alone]], [[WantingIsBetterThanHaving as he has always requested.]]

* ''Series/{{Forever}}''. Morgan and Abe, the former discovering the latter as a healthy infant survivor of a concentration camp. Abe {{lampshade| hanging}}s this when Morgan prepares to move away to Europe to avoid and outlive the person who knows his secret. Morgan could outlive the person, but Abe couldn't.

There are different varieties of Mayfly December Friendship, depending on whether the immortal and the mortal are the same age or the not. It also varies based on whether the situation is mentioned InUniverse or [[FridgeHorror left for the audience to realize on their own.]]

* In ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'', the folk legends [[TricksterGod Coyote]], Ysengrin, and Renard are centuries-old [[TheAgeless ageless]] demigods on friendly terms with a group of teenagers. Taken UpToEleven by [[spoiler:Jones]], who forms lifelong friendships with select human companions [[spoiler: and has done so for the entire history of the human species, since she is an immortal being as old as Planet Earth]].

* Directly discussed in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'' fic "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6238727/1/Opposites-Destroy Opposites Destroy]]" when Agrabah is attacked by Djinn, a genie of the necklace who feels that genies should rule humans rather than serve them through wishes, Djinn using Aladdin's story to manipulate a little girl into releasing him from both his lamp and the usual rules of genie magic such as the inability to kill. After Djinn nearly kills Aladdin with a particular attack, he taunts Genie with the knowledge that his friends are all mortal and asks why Genie bothers protecting what he knows he'll lose eventually, but Genie counters that he does this because he wouldn't give up a single second of their friendship for anything, as no amount of power is more precious to Genie than the time he does have with Aladdin and the others.

* The andalite Ax from ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' once said that Andalites can live up to two hundred years. Because of this, he would probably outlive his human friends far. However, he is killed at the end of the series.

** Toby Hamee is likely to die in front of her friends because Hork-Bajirs have a shorter life expectancy than humans.

* ''Literature/DresdenFiles''. Due to wizards living for 300 to 400 years, pretty much every friendship Harry (or any wizard) has with a regular human will be this. It's explicitly cited by Karrin Murphy as a reason why [[MayflyDecemberRomance she and Harry shouldn't be a couple]]: although she's actually a few years older than him, by ordinary human standards she's already approaching middle age, while he has centuries ahead of him.

* Comicbook/{{Wolverine}} was born in the late-19th century. Even ignoring that most of his friends have been fellow soldiers, mercenaries, assassins, X-Men, and others who can be expected to have their lives cut unnaturally short, his longevity alone guarantees that he will eventually outlive every single one of his friends. His daughter/OppositeSexClone Comicbook/{{X 23}} faces the same future, a fact which she has yet to address in the books.

* In ''RolePlay/WeAreAllPokemonTrainers'', Umbra, who's immortal, has this relationship with all his mortal friends save for Lina and the Ghost-type members of his team, who are also immortal.

* Implied in ''WesternAnimation/WanderOverYonder'' between [[spoiler:Wander and Sylvia]]. The episode "The Waste of Time" shows that [[spoiler:Wander has been alive for over a thousand years with no sign of aging]], and although [[spoiler:he and Sylvia are later depicted growing old together over a period of 50 years, writer Frank Angones indicated that Wander was wearing a fake gray beard to make Sylvia feel better.]] This also likely extends to [[spoiler:every other character Wander has befriended throughout the show, with the only known exception being his fellow millenarian Jeff, formerly known as Major Threat.]]

* Implied in ''WesternAnimation/WanderOverYonder'' between [[spoiler:Wander and Sylvia]]. The episode "The Waste of Time" shows that [[spoiler:Wander has been alive for over a thousand years with no sign of aging]], and although [[spoiler:he and Sylvia are later depicted growing old together over a period of 50 years, writer Frank Angones indicated that Wander was wearing a fake gray beard to make Sylvia feel better.]]

* PlayedWith in ''Series/NewAmsterdam'', where an immortal (but looks early 30s) man is great friends with and gets advice from a grizzled old black bartender, who it turns out is [[SupernaturallyYoungParent his son]] from a relationship he had in the 1930s.

* Several people in ''Literature/TheShadowhunterChronicles'' have this problem. For this reason, most [[WitchSpecies warlocks]] and vampires only have other immortals as friends, since don't want to see their friends die in old age [[TheAgeless while staying young themselves]]. Some specific cases:

* The [[WitchSpecies half-witch]] Sabrina Spellman from ''Series/ChillingAdventuresOfSabrina'' is as longlived as any pure witch. However, this does not apply to her human friends.

->''Well, I like you and princey. You're pretty cool, for humans. Yet, you're still humans. And humans are born and die in the blink of an eye... The deeper our connection becomes, the lonelier I'll be once we part.''

* ''Fanfic/TheConfectionaryChronicles'' begins with a seven-year-old Hermione pledging her servitude to Loki if he’ll help her get justice on the bullies who drove her older sister to suicide, with Gabriel swiftly becoming intrigued at Hermione’s inquisitive mind and strong sense of self. While Gabriel acknowledges that he prefers to interact with other pagan gods as it always hurts when he loses his mortal friendships (as he can’t visit them in Heaven without drawing attention to himself), he decides that he’s already too attached to Hermione to cut himself out of her life, particularly when such an act would cause her emotional pain in turn.

* Directly discussed in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'' fic "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6238727/1/Opposites-Destroy Opposites Destroy]]" when Agrabah is attacked by Djinn, a genie of the necklace who feels that genies should rule humans rather than serve them through wishes, Djinn using Aladdin’s story to manipulate a little girl into releasing him from both his lamp and the usual rules of genie magic such as the inability to kill. After Djinn nearly kills Aladdin with a particular attack, he taunts Genie with the knowledge that his friends are all mortal and asks why Genie bothers protecting what he knows he’ll lose eventually, but Genie counters that he does this because he wouldn’t give up a single second of their friendship for anything, as no amount of power is more precious to Genie than the time he does have with Aladdin and the others.

* In ''Literature/ISitBehindTheEyes'', the two child protagonists Emily and Terry are very good friends and enjoy playing together in the park. [[spoiler: What neither of them know is that Emily is really an amnesiac entity that is thousands of years old possessing the real Emily’s mind and body]].

* Duncan [=MacLeod=] and Joe Dawson in ''{{Series/Highlander}}''. Joe took an oath as a Watcher to never interfere, but it quickly got tossed aside. Joe is also friends with Methos and Amanda as well. He even left the Watchers to maintain his friendship with Duncan but Duncan said he wanted the immortals’ lives recorded by people like Joe, people with honor.

* In the first two seasons of ''WesternAnimation/TheDragonPrince'' it looked as if Callum and Rayla would face it because they are friends, but elves live much longer than humans. From the third season, however, it is a [[MayflyDecemberRomance Mayfly-December Romance]]. Of course, both are in the middle of a dangerous adventure, with either one of them at any time or they could both perish.

* Featured in the backstory of a Zora character named Lochlia in ''Fanfic/BreathOfTheWild''. She's a hybrid Zora, daughter of a male Hylian and a female Zora. Her parents ended their relationship because her they were inevitably going to outlive him, and the father hoped that Mipha would find another man to share her life with so that Lochlia would have a present father. Lochlia wasn't happy not to have her father around, and even after they died, she still held resentment. And then Lochlia had a Hylian friend...who she watched aged to death while she remained young, finally helping her realize why her parents couldn't stay together. Her parents are [[spoiler: Link and Mipha, and Lochlia tells her this story, and tells him that she forgives him and understands why they ended their relationship.]]

* Humans and their pets. Most human beings have longer lifespans than dogs and cats, so their pets will probably die before they do. This is espcecially sad in cases where the owner is faced with the decision of [[MercyKill ending a sick old animal's suffering]] when nothing else can be done.

* Humans and their pets. Most human beings have longer lifespans than dogs and cats, so their pets will probably die before they do.

* The ''Franchise/HarryPotter''/''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' crossover "[[https://archiveofourown.org/series/968343 The Confectionary Chronicles]]" begins with a seven-year-old Hermione pledging her servitude to Loki if he’ll help her get justice on the bullies who drove her older sister to suicide, with Gabriel swiftly becoming intrigued at Hermione’s inquisitive mind and strong sense of self. While Gabriel acknowledges that he prefers to interact with other pagan gods as it always hurts when he loses his mortal friendships (as he can’t visit them in Heaven without drawing attention to himself), he decides that he’s already too attached to Hermione to cut himself out of her life, particularly when such an act would cause her emotional pain in turn.

* ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterStories2WingsOfRuin'': The PlayerCharacter is the grandchild of Red, a highly-regarded Rider who was the sole human to be allowed entry to the [[OurElvesAreDifferent Wyverian]] HiddenElfVillage of Rutoh. Deuteragonist Ena was friends with him, [[ProportionalAging and yet appears barely older than the 14-year old protagonist]]; another Wyverian, Alvin, looks only slightly older than that, yet knew Red for his entire life. The latter muses that the people of his village always believed that friendship between humans and Wyverians was doomed to fail, as the humans would inevitably grow distant as they grew more physically mature, but Red proved them wrong and remained close even as an old man.