History Main / Immortality

!!Subtropes:

->Immortality is not a gift, Immortality is an achievement; And only those who strive mightily Shall possess it.

Of course, having been around for so long, Our Immortality Is Different, and comes in several flavours. These tropes are not mutually exclusive; there's plenty of room for overlap. For general tropes relating to immortality in general, see ThisIndexWillLiveForever.

->''"I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying."''
-->-- '''Creator/WoodyAllen'''

** ParasiticImmortality: The users will simply take over the body of another, living off of the rest of their life.

*** NeverLiveItDown[=/=]OnceDoneNeverForgotten: No one wants people to remember the one bad thing that they did/happened to them. People remember anyway, much to their chagrin.

*** NeverLiveItDown: Someone don't want people to remember the one bad thing that they did/happened to them. People remember anyway, much to their chagrin.

*** NoImmortalInertia: When [[NoOntologicalInertia losing immortality causes]] someone's [[RapidAging true age to instantly catch up to them]].

* TokenImmortal: A member of a group who possesses some form of immortality.

Of course, having been around for so long, Our Immortality Is Different, and comes in several flavours. These tropes are not mutually exclusive; there's plenty of room for overlap.

* '''CompleteImmortality''' - A character simply ''can't'' die, ever.

* '''Retroactive Immortality''' - A character ''can'' die, but won't ''stay'' dead.
** BornAgainImmortality - if the character's mind or spirit is transferred to a new-born child, as in traditional {{reincarnation}}.
** ResurrectiveImmortality - if the character simply comes back to life uninjured, exactly as they were.

* '''Biological Immortality''' - A character is immune to the ravages of time, although usually still mortal to physical injury.
** TheAgeless
** NighInvulnerability - the character is invulnerable to all or [[AchillesHeel almost all]] physical injury, though they tend to have a weakness that keeps them from full qualification as a [[CompleteImmortality completely immortal being]].

* '''PurposeDrivenImmortality''' - Someone who is immortal to complete a purpose; once he's done he becomes mortal (or dies instantly). Either because [[{{Determinator}} of his sheer will to live to achieve it]], or someone provided him with immortality in exchange for fulfilling the purpose.

* '''Spare Bodies''' - Any injury that would be fatal is OnlyAFleshWound for this character: his spirit will come back in another body.

For general tropes relating to immortality, see ThisIndexWillLiveForever.

** NighInvulnerability - the character is invulnerable to all or [[AchillesHeel almost all]] physical injury, though they tend to have a weakness that keeps them from full qualification as a [[CompleteImmortality completely immoral]].

** NighInvulerability - the character is invulnerable to all or [[AchillesHeel almost all]] physical injury, though they tend to have a weakness that keeps them from full qualification as a [[CompleteImmortality completely immoral]].

* '''How to become immortal?''' - Methods by which a mortal character can [[ImmortalitySeeker actively cheat death]]. Key word being ''actively'', once the method is stopped or reversed, they either die or become mortal again.

** CameBackWrong: You come back alive at a great cost.

** AgeWithoutYouth: Being 100+ years old suddenly matters little when your body is as old as one.

** This trope = The Ageless + NighInvulnerability UpToEleven

** BornAgainImmortality - if the character's mind or spirit is transferred to a new-born child, as in traditional reincarnation.

* '''Force of Will''' - A character so wants to live forever (usually to complete a given goal) that this sheer willpower is enough to scare off the Reaper.
** PurposeDrivenImmortality

** BodyBackupDrive
*** BrainUploading
** GrandTheftMe
*** BodySurf
*** FamilialBodySnatcher
** FightingAShadow

* '''How to become immortal?''' - Methods by which a mortal character can actively cheat death. Key word being ''actively'', once the method is stopped or reversed, they either die or become mortal again.
** FountainOfYouth
** ImmortalityInducer
*** SoulJar
*** HeartDrive
** LifeDrinker

** MortalityEnsues

* '''Incomplete Immortality'''
** AgeWithoutYouth
** CameBackWrong
** TheUndead
** YouCantKillWhatsAlreadyDead

*** BloodBath

* '''Force of Will'''

* '''Spare Bodies'''

* CameBackWrong

One of the oldest of human desires is to counteract [[WeAreAsMayflies the fleeting nature of our short human existence]]. Eternal life is ingrained in the collective human consciousness, having been present in literature and myths for [[OlderThanDirt as long as they've been around]]. Literally. ''Literature/TheEpicOfGilgamesh'' (the oldest heroic epic known to the modern world) is, in large part, about the titular character's search for a way to live forever.

** This trope = The Ageless + NighInvulnerability

** The Ageless + FromASingleCell