History Main / TheAgeless

** The Doctor zig-zags this as most of his incarnations never appear to age despite spending centuries in that particular body, with the Tenth Doctor claiming to Rose that part of the reason he lets go of his companions is because it pains him to see them age [[WhoWantsToLiveForever when he doesn't]]. The First and the Eleventh Doctor are the only numbered incarnations to have become elderly, the First being introduced as an old man and the Eleventh spending over 1200 years in that form before nearly dying of extreme old age. The implication is that Time Lords ''do'' age, but it takes an absurd amount of time (and is undone when they regenerate, anyway).

** The Doctor zig-zags this as most of his incarnations never appear to age despite spending centuries in that particular body, with the Tenth Doctor claiming to Rose that part of the reason he lets go of his companions is because it pains him to see them age [[WhoWantsToLiveForever when he doesn't]]. The First and the Eleventh Doctor are the only numbered incarnations to have become elderly, the First being introduced as an old man and the Eleventh spending over 1200 years in that form before nearly dying of extreme old age.
** The retconned-in War Doctor is mostly shown as an old man, but the partial reflection seen at the end of "Night of the Doctor" seems to be that of a much younger John Hurt. It's unclear how long he lasted.

* Both Henry and [[spoiler: "Adam"]] from ''Series/{{Forever|2014}}''...sort of. They do not age, however they '''can''' be killed, but only with [[spoiler: the weapon that caused their original "real" death]]. Henry's agelessness even becomes a subplot point when it's shown in flashback that his normally-aging second wife Abigail is uncomfortable being seen in public with Henry because she is afraid people will think he is either her son or a hired escort. Also, [[spoiler:Adam tries to kill Henry with the same musket pistol that originally killed him, but Henry still comes back to life, possibly negating that hypothesis]]. One downside is that an immortal can become paralyzed and stay this way for years until someone kills him ([[spoiler:Henry does this to Adam in the final episode]].

* In the world of ''Wiki/TaerelSetting'' the kin'toni are mostly this, but this trope is averted by the Kha'orm Kin'toni Clan, who die of radiation-related health effects after about 75 years.

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[[folder:Literature]]

* n ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': Common [[PunyEarthlings humans]] and the Tau are the only ones that don't have [[FountainOfYouth a means to keep young]].

** "Literature/TheBicentennialMan": Robots do not age, and can conceivably be immortal. When Andrew finds that this is the biggest obstacle to his [[PinocchioSyndrome desire to become human]], he immediately schedules a surgery to correct this and dies after being recognized as a [[FinaleTitleDrop Bicentennial Man]].

* In Creator/LoisDuncan's ''Locked in Time'', Lisette and her children have eternal youth but not eternal life.

* Morc, in the ''De Dannan Isles'' books.

* Creator/DamonKnight had a 1957 novella variously called ''Dio'' or ''[[https://books.google.com/books?id=nZl0CwAAQBAJ&lpg=PT8&dq=Damon%20Knight%20The%20Dying%20Man&pg=PT9#v=snippet&q=noon&f=false The Dying Man]]''. In the far-off [[TheFuture Future]] humans have genetically engineered themselves into immortality and separated into the classes of "players" (consumers), "students" who remember and preserve the past, and "planners" who create environments and technology to make Earth a PleasurePlanet paradise. [[WeWillAllFlyInTheFuture Everyone can levitate]], [[WeWillHavePerfectHealthInTheFuture everyone looks like a Greek god]] and [[HealingFactor injuries regenerate]]. One of the most brilliant planners suddenly loses these abilities, subsequently discovering he's going to age normally and die. His creative work reflects his experiences, and his player girlfriend has to get serious in order to understand what's happening.

* This occurs in RealLife among several different species. Biologists know this phenomenon as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_immortality biological immortality]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negligible_senescence negligible senescence]]. Jellyfish are the most well known example. ''Website/{{Cracked}}'''s [[http://www.cracked.com/article_20055_6-unassuming-animals-that-are-secretly-immortal.html 6 Unassuming Animals That Are Secretly Immortal]] lists others, such as lobsters and turtles. Their populations are kept in check anyway since nature offers plenty of ways to die outside of old age.

Frequently overlaps with ImmortalityBeginsAtTwenty. Also frequently overlaps with immortality by HealingFactor or FromASingleCell, to the point it's more unusual to find someone with a Healing Factor ''without'' slowed or stopped aging than one with it. If this trope is combined with NighInvulnerability and taken to its logical extreme, it may become CompleteImmortality.

* ''Manga/MahouShoujoNoKareinaruYosei'': Magical girls in this setting stop aging once they retire. This is why Mimi, Lilas, and Sasari look to be about 14 year-old Shijima's age or younger, despite their actual ages ranging from mid-thirties to over a ''millinium'' old.

* Both Henry and [[spoiler: "Adam"]] from ''Series/{{Forever}}''...sort of. They do not age, however they '''can''' be killed, but only with [[spoiler: the weapon that caused their original "real" death]]. Henry's agelessness even becomes a subplot point when it's shown in flashback that his normally-aging second wife Abigail is uncomfortable being seen in public with Henry because she is afraid people will think he is either her son or a hired escort. Also, [[spoiler:Adam tries to kill Henry with the same musket pistol that originally killed him, but Henry still comes back to life, possibly negating that hypothesis]]. One downside is that an immortal can become paralyzed and stay this way for years until someone kills him ([[spoiler:Henry does this to Adam in the final episode]].

* In ''Webcomic/ABetterPlace'', Hannah has used her powers over creation to halt her aging process, staying a child for a hundred years until the events of the main comic.
* The companies from Webcomic/{{Consolers}} don't physically age (120+ year old Nintendo being a good example) and won't die from simply aging or other natural causes. However, they can still die, usually from going bankrupt or otherwise going out of business - they still have to make an effort to "keep themselves alive" as a company. However, as long as they manage to stay in business they'll still stay alive even for hundreds of years.
* The fae races of ''Webcomic/{{Drowtales}},'' (drow, light elves, faeries) provided they live with enough other fae to generate a surplus of mana. Otherwise they will suffer from mana deprivation and will start to age much like humans do. One audiobook explains that fae do in fact have a finite natural lifespan (implied to be somewhere around 1000 or upwards), but most don't live long enough to ever get close to it, making them effectively this trope to any humans they might run across. [[http://www.drowtales.com/mainarchive.php?sid=7606 It's explained by Quain'tana]] that the older you get, the more mana you need to sustain your body - thus the very old become increasingly trapped living in cities so there are enough fae around to sustain them. Diva'Ratrika, the Imperial Queen was most likely aged in the 4 digits and was essentially stuck in her fortress.
* Elves in ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' are the offspring of one human parent, and one [[OurFairiesAreDifferent Immortal]] parent. While they can be killed, they don't physically age [[ImmortalityBeginsAtTwenty past early adulthood.]] However, the one elf we have seen so far (who has lived in the same city for decades) hides this by using magic to appear elderly in the presence of {{muggles}}.
* In ''Webcomic/AMagicalRoommate,'' Oracles live for as long as they want. They can be killed by outside forces, but otherwise, they will live until they decide to die - unlike their counterparts, Sages, who do die of old age.
%%* In ''Webcomic/{{Sinfest}}'', [[http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=2888 Monique craves this.]]
* Pretty much everyone is this in ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod''. The spiritual energy that suffuses the Tower means that anyone who can use that energy well enough to become qualified to climb it will also stop aging. Some have been climbing for centuries.

* In ''Webcomic/YokokasQuest'', spirits don't age in the conventional sense - they don't even have an age listed on their bio pages.

* [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Vampires]] in ''Manga/{{Happiness}}'' don’t seem to age in a few years or so.

* ''Literature/MotherOfLearning'': The "Immortal Eleven" aren't truly immortal. Rather, they are a group of expert alchemists who gained notoriety when they succeeded in brewing potions that stopped them from ageing. [[spoiler:Silverlake is one of them; she doesn't reveal her exact age, but it's a 3-digit number and yet she looks merely middle-aged. She next wants to invent a potion that will restore her body's youth, though she's in no hurry.]]

* ''ChrysalisRinoZ'': Dungeon monsters don't appear to age at all (although most of them have short lifespans simply because they're all surrounded by carnivores). Anthony relies on this when creating the aphid queen, figuring that he'll only need to do it once if they're careful.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLifeAsATeenageRobot'': Since she’s a robot, Jenny will remain a teenager forever. She is capable of maturing mentally though.

* [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Vampires]] in ''Manga/{{Happiness}}'' don’t seem to age in a few years or so.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLifeAsATeenageRobot'': Since she’s a robot, Jenny will remain a teenager forever. She is capable of maturing mentally though.

Frequently overlaps with ImmortalityBeginsAtTwenty. Also frequently overlaps with immortality by HealingFactor or FromASingleCell, to the point it's more unusual to find someone with a Healing Factor ''without'' slowed or stopped aging than one with it. If this trope is combined with NighInvulnerability and taken [[UpToEleven to its logical extreme]], it may become CompleteImmortality.