Death Seeker: Difference between revisions

Consequently, they travel, seeking greater and greater enemies to fight, hoping to find a [[Worthy Opponent]] [[Strike Me Down|to finally kill them.]] Sometimes they'll fail to die so spectacularly and repeatedly that they acquire riches, renown, ranks or romance as a result of their exploits. This rarely, but sometimes, stops them.

 

 

If a villain is one of these, it's sometimes mixed with shades of [[Nietzsche Wannabe]] or [[Omnicidal Maniac]]: they want to die, and they don't care if they have to drag the rest of creation down with them to do it. The worst of them ''want'' to destroy everything else too.

* In ''[[Corsair]]'', [[The Atoner|Canale]] is a former assassin who made a promise not to kill himself, but wishes to die because he thinks he brings misery and destruction wherever he goes. Early on he begs Ayace to do so, but Ayace refuses. Later Ayace makes a promise that if Canale brings destruction on Preveza he ''will'' kill him, so until then he should try living normally, which reassures Canale greatly.

* ''[[Madoka Magica]]'': {{spoiler|Sayaka}} does not react well to [[Awful Truth|finding out that]] {{spoiler|[[Soul Jar|her soul had been moved into]] her [[Transformation Trinket|Soul Gem]].}}

** Long before him, Nico Robin loses her last hope and purpose to life at the end of Arabasta arc. It needs two [[Unwanted Rescue|unwanted rescues]] until she is ready to admit in the middle of [[Rescue Arc|Enies Lobby arc]] that she has found her [[Worth Living For|reason to live]] and that she [[I Don't Want to Die|doesn't want to die.]]

* {{spoiler|Johan Liebert}} in ''[[Monster (manga)|Monster]]'' near the end.

* [[Black Butler|Grell]] when we first meet her.

 

== [[Comic Books]] ==

== [[Fan Works]] ==

* For ''[[The Legend of Zelda]]'', in Kasuto of Kataan's "[https://web.archive.org/web/20160914005458/http://kasuto.net/fanfic.php?main=fanfic%2Feternity.html&top=fanfic%2Feternitymenu.html Eternity]", the villain is attempting to kill herself with a special spell {{spoiler|which would happen to kill several million bystanders}} after realizing that immortality is actually a curse since the world is boring after living for a really long time. She had already tried every other conventional method and failed.

* In ''[[The Hill of Swords]]'', a crossover between ''[[Fate/stay night]]'' and ''[[The Familiar of Zero]]'', Shirou [[Up to Eleven|outperforms]] Saito's [[Last Stand]], {{spoiler|and ends up dying after having pretty much wiped out an army of 70,000 soldiers.}} He went into the battle for this reason:

{{quote|{{spoiler|And as he stood upon the battle fields, she thought back to his oath: [[I Will Wait for You|to be reunited with his love upon a hill of swords.]] To be reunited with his lover. His lover was dead. [[Together in Death|And it was only through battle that he could finally join her again. When he too was dead]].}} }}

* The WWI pilot in [[The Mummy Trilogy|The Mummy]] wants to go out in a blaze of glory like the rest of his deceased war buddies. {{spoiler|Seeing as he dies fighting a giant face made of sand while successfully escorting Rick and Johnathan to Hamunaptra, it's probably safe to say that he succeeded. His last words?}}

{{quote|{{spoiler|"Here I come, laddies!" and a huge laugh.}}}}

* Sir Lancelot in ''[[Excalibur (film)|Excalibur]]''. He's more of a defeat seeker than a death seeker though, having traveled around looking for a King who was good enough to beat him and thereby win his fealty. He claims he was [[Cursed with Awesome]].

 

== [[Literature]] ==

* One of the characters in Peter David's black comedy fantasy novel ''[[Sir Apropos of Nothing]]'' was a Death Seeker whose reckless deeds resulted in him becoming the most highly respected knight in all the land. At that point he realised that he actually quite liked being alive, hung up his sword and retired behind a mantle of [[Obfuscating Stupidity|obfuscating senility]].

* Colbey, the main character of the ''[[The Last of the Renshai|Renshai]]'' novels, is a follower of the Norse gods, and must die in battle to reach Valhalla. (Dying while refusing to fight all-out doesn't count, and would get him damned to Hel.) He's in his ''eighties'' by the end of book 1, the oldest person his tribe has ever had, and the best swordsman in history. He's even given the title "Deathseeker" by some. {{spoiler|Eventually, it's discovered that he became "semi-mortal" in his sixties (meaning he can't grow any older) and eventually becomes a god. He still rejoices in a challenging fight centuries later, mind you...}}

* Brox (Broxigar [[First-Name Basis]]) of the [[War of the Ancients]] [[Warcraft]] novels trilogy fits this trope perfectly, after being the sole survivor of his squad. {{spoiler|He actually gets his wish in the end by performing a [[Heroic Sacrifice]]}}

* Eowyn in ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', whose courageous ride to the Battle of the Pelennor Fields has also been described as a lovesick suicide attempt.

** Another example from ''Animorphs'' is [[Sixth Ranger Traitor|David]] by the end of his last book. Abandoned by Crayak, betrayed by his henchmen and still condemned to [[Fate Worse Than Death|live out the rest of his days as a rat]], he tearfully begs Rachel to end his misery.

* In ''[[The Inheritance Cycle]]'', Galbatorix became one after the death of his first dragon, but then stopped after he got the idea that he might be able to convince the elders to give him another dragon. And once, that didn't work, [[Big Bad|well...]]

 

* In ''[[Angel]]'', the Groosalugg was so "hideous" that he sought monsters to destroy him. He failed to die so incredibly he got made his kingdom's champion.

** Faith is a Death Seeker when she appears in late first season, kidnapping Wesley and torturing him all to get Angel angry enough to kill her. Back in ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', she had done a similar thing with Buffy, though then her motive was that, by killing her, [[If You Kill Him You Will Be Just Like Him|Buffy would become like her]], which would be a sort of "post-death revenge" on Buffy by Faith.

* [[Doctor Who|The Ninth Doctor]] shows some signs of this. From Dalek: "You survived {{spoiler|the time war}}." "Not by choice."

** [[Doctor Who|The Tenth Doctor]] also practically personifies it. It's pretty much stated in ''Turn Left'' that he'd just let himself die if it weren't for Donna.

 

* The song "Across the Rainbow Bridge" by Swedish melodic death metal band Amon Amarth is written from the perspective of an aging Norse warrior setting out to find an honourable death and so enter Valhalla.

 

* The name comes from Death Seekers of the Lion Clan in [[Legend of the Five Rings]]''.

** The Damned of the Crab Clan are the 'diseased' variation. They are victims of the corruption they fight, and seek to do more damage to their enemy than they would giving into the Taint.

*** Although in the fluff, death is not the only way to regain the lost honour of their packs. They deliberately seek out the largest opponents not only to seek an honorable death, but also to use it as an opportunity to regain the honor of his pack. Rarely this succeeds, but sometimes they do return victorious and the avenging of the pack fulfilled. These usually get initiated into their respective Wolf Guards. This manifests in an extra re-roll against some of the stronger units on the tabletop, encouraging players to target these units with the Lone Wolf.

** The Imperial Guard has the Penal Legions. Having committed some sin against the Emperor, they are deployed [[Zerg Rush|en masse]] with even less armor and weaker weapons than the standard Guardsman; they aren't really meant to survive, just to swamp the enemy with their numbers or to clear minefields for the [[Tank Goodness|tanks]].

* One of the example villains in the old edition of ''[[GURPS]]'' Supers was a disgraced sumo wrestler who couldn't commit seppuku due to his [[Nigh Invulnerability]]. Thus, he sought out other supers to goad them into killing him. His sympathetic backstory, and his history of tracking down and defeating violent supers, make him more of an [[Anti-Villain]].

** There's also a [[Point Build System|disadvantage]] called 'On The Edge', that basically allows you to play your character as a Death Seeker. It makes you passively suicidal. You won't off ''yourself'', but if you're, say, [[Curb Stomp Battle|facing down an entire biker gang while armed with a toothbrush]]...

* Urick from ''[[Drakengard]] 2'' got his butt royally kicked by Caim, but was so terrified of dying that he made a pact with a Reaper, rendering him all but unkillable. But he felt so bad about failing in his duties and letting his General get killed that finding a way to break his pact, and therefore die, is pretty much his sole reason for living. And despite the incredible [[Wangst]] potential of all this, he's actually a pretty [[Nice Guy]].

** {{spoiler|He eventually gets his wish when he runs into Caim again. Caim ''beats the pact out of him''.}}

* Albedo from ''[[Xenosaga]]''. Since his unique genetic makeup makes it literally impossible to die (as in, his head can be ripped off with no ill effects whatsoever), he gets very upset when he finds out that his two brothers don't have the same ability. This becomes the main driving force behind his actions throughout the first two games—he wants to [[Sealed Evil in a Can|unseal]] the [[Cosmic Horror]] because it's the only thing capable of killing him and ensuring that he and his brothers can be together forever.

* Tsugumi of ''[[Ever 17]]'' leaps into a dangerous situation to save the hero's life, not because she cares about his wellbeing, but because she's hoping it will kill her. {{spoiler|Unfortunately for her, her [[Healing Factor]] makes her more or less immortal.}}

* {{color|green|D}}{{color|white|o}}{{color|green|c Scratch}} of ''[[Homestuck]]'' has accomplished his life's purpose, and as such, wants his life to end. He's a [[Physical God|First Guardian]]. You can see why he's having trouble dying.

** There's also Scratch's {{spoiler|adopted daughter, the Handmaid, aka Aradia Megido's ancestor}}. In her case, she's immortal thanks to {{spoiler|a curse Lord English put on her, and can only die once she's completed her tenure}}. Thanks to Scratch's [[Abusive Parents|conditioning]], she desperately wants to die.

 

== [[Web Original]] ==

* While [[The Nostalgia Chick]]'s never said that she ''wants'' to die, it's pretty easy to infer from her growing alcoholism that she wouldn't really mind it.

* Salem, the [[Big Bad]] of ''[[RWBY]]'', was made immortal by the gods thousands of years ago, of the [[From a Single Cell]] variety, and is willing to bring about the end of the world of Remnant if it will mean she can finally die.

 

== [[Western Animation]] ==

'''Grandpa''': That's the spirit, tubby! }}

** Played straight in the ''Coon and Friends Trilogy'', when Mysterion (aka {{spoiler|[[They Killed Kenny|Kenny]]}}) confronts [[Eldritch Abomination|Cthulhu]] both to save his friends and in the apparent hope of finally being [[Killed Off for Real]].

 

== [[Real Life]] ==

* John Henry "Doc" Holliday, dentist turned infamous gunfighter and gambler of the old west, is a perfect real life example of this trope. Diagnosed with tuberculosis in his early twenties Doc Holliday went out west, hoping the drier climate would ease his ailment. However, his hot temper and belief that death by gun or knife was far better than by tuberculosis, led him to a life of adventure, taking part in many shoot outs including the famed OK corral and Wyatt Earp's Vendetta Ride. Despite this lifestyle, his extreme skill, and more-so his reputation of extreme speed, with a revolver kept him alive, he eventually died of his illness at age 36 in the bed of a sanitarium. His famous last words, upon looking at his bare feet in bed, were "Now, that's funny."

* According to contemporary records, Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary was strongly implied to have become this towards the later years of his life, going so far as to practically mention this trope by name. Then again, after having to deal with the deaths of all those around him, including his brother (Maximilian; killed by firing squad in Mexico), wife (Elisabeth/Sissi; killed by an Italian anarchist), son/heir (Rudolf; the Meyerling Incident) and successor (Franz Ferdinand; assassinated in Sarajevo, sparking [[World War I]]) and watching his Empire slowly fall apart from war, [[Iron Woobie|one has to wonder]].

 

{{reflist}}