Miles to Go Before I Sleep: Difference between revisions

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Line 9: So, you're a [[Death Seeker]], are you? You've lost everything, or you've been dishonored or wronged beyond endurance, and now you're charging off to get yourself killed in the big battle ahead? Ha! Luxury. Some of us can only ''dream'' of the sheer indulgence of surrendering ourselves to sweet, sweet oblivion! Unfortunately, we've got a to-do list as long as your arm to deal with first. [[Suicide Mission~~\|Suicide Missions~~]]s don't grow on trees; also the "Mission" part trumps "Suicide." Not every character to whom life has become a burden can kill themselves or even allow themselves to die. Sometimes there's a task or an obligation that must be discharged before they can ever have peace. It might be some grand quest only they can complete, or it might simply be the knowledge that people are depending on them, or will be devastated by their loss. Sometimes such a character must reluctantly fight to survive even though they don't want to. They might be allowed to "die trying" to do whatever it is, but not until they've exhausted every possible effort they can make. Of course what happens to such a character can vary - some will find that the obligation to keep living has actually helped them to weather the psychological storm and when their task is done, they're free to enjoy life after all. Others will die in trying to fulfill their responsibilities, or [[Post Dramatic Stress Disorder\|shortly afterward]], as if their bodies knew it was safe to give out now. Line 43: * [[Frankenstein]] intends to hunt his monster to the end of the Earth and destroy it before allowing himself to succumb to despair and embrace the oblivion of death. The monster, for its part, literally does lead Frankenstein to the end of the Earth; they are both last seen in the Arctic Circle. * Both Frodo and Sam in ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', in different ways. Frodo is committed to carrying on towards Mount ~~Doom--ultimately~~Doom—ultimately even crawling on hands and ~~knees--despite~~knees—despite a long, quietly deepening certainty that the quest is hopeless. Sam tends to take a more one-day-at-a-time approach, but when he finds Frodo, apparently killed by Shelob, his first instinct is to consider suicide, or be cut down by Orcs defending Frodo's body. Only with great reluctance does he realize that the responsibility to destroy the ring trumps his personal despair and resolves to carry on alone. Often, later, he regrets bitterly that the two of them cannot just "lie down and go to sleep." Sam, incidentally, does recover his will to live an ordinary life, while Frodo doesn't. * In ''[[The Inheritance Cycle\|Brisingr]]'', Eragon actually {{spoiler\|FORCES Sloan to do this until he gets to the Elves, as atonement for betraying the Varden.}} * Rand al'Thor in ''[[The Wheel of Time]]'' epitomizes this trope {{spoiler\|until the end of book twelve.}} Line 85: == Tabletop Games == * ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]'' gives us Baragor, the so-called [[Death Seeker\|Slayer King.]] Rather than going to seek his glorious death in battle like the rest of the Slayers, he's forced to run his city-state. His solution is to turn his city into a home for Slayers. [[Our Dwarves Are All the Same\|Warhammer Dwarves being what they are,]] ''all of Baragor's sons for five generations'' have become [[Death Seeker\|Slayers]] themselves. * In the 3.5 Dungeons & Dragons supplement ''The Book of Erotic Fantasy'' (a 3rd party supplement dealing expressly with sex and all its aspects in the terms of the d20 system), there is a spell called ''Shadow Life''. It is distinctly separate from the theme of the rest of the book, as on its own it has no sexual connotations. It grants the target ( a recently-dead character) one extra day of life for every level the caster has. The flavor text is especially poignant. {{quote\|''A life cut short. [[Unfinished Business\|A quest left unfinished]]. One more task to be done.''}} Line 91: == Video Games == * ''[[Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots]]'': Between his accelerated aging and {{spoiler\|the threat of the mutant Fox Die causing a pandemic}}, Snake knows he's not going to be around much longer, but he still has to take out Liquid first. * Auron in ''[[Final Fantasy X]]'' {{spoiler\|actually died trying to avenge his friends ''before'' the game, then as an Unsent}} lived for ten years [[Unfinished Business\|so he could guide his friends' kids to finish the job]].