Someone Has to Do It: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
It's a tough job, sometimes a boring job, often a dirty job, but
Literally. Some kind of supernatural force exists that ensures that there is always somebody doing the job. Once a person takes up the torch, they can't put it down unless there's somebody there to pass it on to. (Situations where it would merely be a very bad idea for the post to become vacant don't count. These are cases where having somebody doing the job is not just a good idea, it's the Law of the Universe.)
Usually, the job comes with exemption from aging and death by natural
The job itself is often something of a supernatural nature, such as guiding the souls of the departed into the Afterlife, but not always. [[Sealed Evil in a Duel]] is another common form.
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* ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean]]: At World's End'' ("The ''Dutchman'' must have a captain.")
* ''The [[Santa Claus
* "[[The Shining|No, sir, YOU are the caretaker. You've ALWAYS been the caretaker.]]"
== Literature ==
* In one of the Grimms' [[Fairy Tale
* In Piers Anthony's ''[[Incarnations of Immortality]]'' series, various [[Anthropomorphic Personification
** [[The Grim Reaper]] remains in office until he becomes complacent or suicidal and is killed by one of the people he has come to collect. That person then takes his place.
** Time holds his office for exactly as long as he lived before taking office. (It is left to Fate to ensure that there is a new candidate standing by when his time runs out.)
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* Minor example from ''[[Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell]]'' - towards the end, Lascelles kills a mysterious guardian in Fairyland, but is then forced to take his place until he is killed, its implied his predecessor threw the fight, and that this happens to everyone who passes by.
** However, almost immediately afterwards someone comes by who's powerful enough not to care about such rules, and may well have just blasted him to bits and carried on.
* In [[Jack Chalker]]'s ''And The Devil Will Drag You Under'', a magic gem is guarded by the ghost of the last person who tried to steal it. The ghost is substantial enough to hold and use a sword, but not substantial enough to be hurt by one. He stands guard until the next thief
** Chalker also uses the same concept in The Dancing Gods series: a person who has control of the Lamp of Lakash can have the genie of the lamp grant one wish. If the person makes a ''second'' wish while still in possession of the lamp, however innocently, they become the genie and the genie (themselves a former wisher who made the same mistake) is freed and returned to their previous form.
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* In one of the endings of ''[[Princess Maker]] 2'', you discover that the post of [[Satan]] passes on to the most fitting mortal should the Lord of Darkness himself ever die. Unfortunately, you only find it out when your daughter kills him and assumes the title.
* Overlordhood in the [[Nippon Ichi]] universe seems to work that
* The Nameless One in [[Planescape: Torment]] can find the Silent King of the Dead Nations completely dead. He can be replaced, but a new King would have to be someone still alive, and that person will be bound to the Throne. If the Nameless One chooses to do it, it's a [[Nonstandard Game Over]].
* The [[Fall From Heaven]] backstory has this typically happening with gods and particular elements of creation (represented in game by the different magic types.)
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== Webcomics ==
* In the spirit of ''The Santa Clause'', Bun Bun of ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' inherits the title of Easter Bunny by inadvertently killing the previous one. Then he accidentally gets stuck with the sentient Shadow of Groundhog's Day. Eventually, [http://sluggy.com/daily.php?date=031123 he just decides to run with it] and starts whacking [[Anthropomorphic Personification
* [[DMFA]] has the Phoenix Oracles, of which there are 42 - when "killed" they instantly reincarnate in a different location and travel back to one of their temples. There are also the Fae, of whom there are exactly 2,438,165. New Fae can only be born when an existing one chooses to die, apparently due to a finite supply of souls.
* At times, [[Dubious Company|Sal]] feels this way about being [[The Smart Girl|Future High Priestess]] [[Random Number God|of Phred]]. On the plus side, she gets [[Born Lucky|incredibly good luck]]. On the down side, she gets [[Damsel in Distress|incredibly bad luck]].
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