History Main / DeathIsTheOnlyOption

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* ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' features this at the end of the Heaven's Feel route when Shirou and Ilya reach the Greater Grail. Each has the ability to stop the Grail, but doing so will definitely kill the one who does so.

May involve a DeathActivatedSuperpower and MyDeathIsOnlyTheBeginning. DeliberateInjuryGambit is a far less severe related trope. Depending on how far out the character sees this coming or how long they last after becoming terminal, may involve MilesToGoBeforeISleep. Not to be confused with MurderIsTheBestSolution. Compare SuicideForOthersHappiness.

->'''Chad''': I've got a solution. If everyone you care about is in trouble because of you, why don't you take yourself out of the equation?
->'''Hopper''': What are you talking about?
->'''Chad''': Kill yourself. Seems to me if you die, everyone else will be fine.
-->-- ''Series/DayBreak''

May involve a DeathActivatedSuperpower and MyDeathIsOnlyTheBeginning. DeliberateInjuryGambit is a far less severe related trope. Depending on how far out the character sees this coming or how long they last after becoming terminal, may involve MilesToGoBeforeISleep. Not to be confused with MurderIsTheBestSolution.

* In ''Series/DayBreak'', Chad suggests this as a possible solution to Hopper's failure to end the loop and the misery he causes to his loved ones.

* ''Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12086351/1/Kanashī-Wütend-Desolato Kanashī, Wütend, Desolato]]'', a WhatIf for ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11886910/1/Gankona-Unnachgiebig-Unità Gankona, Unnachgiebig, Unità]]'': When the ostracising and ridicule Germany, Italy, and Japan experienced [[{{Polyamory}} because of their relationship]] became too much, what did Italy do? Did he break up with them? Did he seek to distance himself from him? Did he try to get them to hate and leave him? Nope. [[DrivenToSuicide He tried to commit suicide]]. [[BungledSuicide He only failed]] [[NighInvulnerability because it is nearly impossible to kill the countries' personifications]].

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* In ''Literature/DragonBones'', Oreg's life is bound to Castle Hurog. Thus, when the villains are inside the castle, and about to take the eponymous dragon bones, which would make them powerful beyond human imagination, Oreg asks the only one who can kill him to do so, which makes the castle collapse. Rocks fall, everyone dies. (Except for the people who normally live in the castle. Those have been evacuated).

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** Averted due to the fact that Rick manages to find the broken collar and fix it, but it's implied that all 64 versions of him would [[AndIMustScream endlessly float through a void until they died. ]]

* In the ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'' episode "A Rickle in time", Rick, Morty, and Summer accidentally make various alternate timelines. They are given special collars that synch up the timelines together. In one of the 64 alternate timelines that Rick, Morty, and Summer have created, Morty's collar had malfunctioned. They both fall into an infinite void, and [[BadassGrandpa Rick sacrifices his collar to make sure Morty gets home safe. ]]

* ''Franchise/{{BIONICLE}}'': In the Chamber of Death, the only way to proceed was for one member of the Toa Inika team to sacrifice himself or herself. Matoro volunteered, but was revived immediately afterwards, as the purpose was a test of courage.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "Fantastic Easter Special", Jesus, who is imprisoned, asks Kyle to kill him in order for [[DeathActivatedSuperpower his powers to activate]]. Kyle, being Jewish, [[UnfortunateImplications is, naturally, very uncomfortable with this]].

* The T-800 at the end of ''Terminator2JudgmentDay'' realizes he must destroy himself to prevent reverse engineering of his design, however he [[ICannotSelfTerminate cannot self-terminate.]] John Connor has to push the button.

"In the struggle between life and death, sometimes survival is not the only way to win."

* In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3'', the "fight" against The Sorrow (when Snake is at Death's door) cannot be won. He is a ghost, so you cannot hurt him no matter what you do. The only way out is to let him kill you at the end of your walk in the river, then use a reviving pill to wake up in the "world of the living".

* Guybrush Threepwood has his destiny told in ''VideoGame/TheCurseOfMonkeyIsland'': he will die at Blood island. The fortune teller on the island gives him the death card five times in a row. He ends up faking it to enter crypts and becomes legally dead.

* Videogame/DeathGoesOn Relies on knights dying over and over- by, say, being flung by a swinging axe onto a button- so the next one can progress a bit further.

* Attempted in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0783.html #783]]: Gannji and Enor are being forced to duel with each other as part of a [[GladiatorGames gladiator tournament.]] Gannji decides there's no way out until there's a definite victor in the fight, so he tells Enor to kill him, cut off his tail and use it to resurrect him later on. [[SubvertedTrope However, Belkar provides them with another option]], allowing them to escape without killing each other.

* ''Series/{{Babylon 5}}'':

* In ''Series/TheTwilightZone'' 2002 episode "To Protect and Serve", a cop kills an abusive pimp to protect a woman, but the pimp comes back as a ghost and continues his evil ways. The cop eventually kills himself, becoming a ghost and allowing him to defeat the pimp once and for all.

* A staple of {{Speed Run}}s is using death and respawning to quickly reach one's next destination.

* A staple of {{Speed Run}}s is using death (in games with lives anyway) and respawning to quickly reach one's next destination.

* DungeonsAndDragons' ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'' setting has some adventures that require ''someone'' to die, although often you can foist this onto an npc. In addition, it has several evil beings and magic items which offer PowerAtAPrice, gradually entrapping a character until dying is the only way to escape.