Quotes / Death Seeker

Anime and Manga

"I do not wish to live a life with no tomorrow, for a life spent merely for the sake of living is no better than that of a filthy cur. There is only one thing I wish for: to meet that one chosen person in that one chosen battle, and to die remembering who I once was."

— Balalaika, Black Lagoon

"(...)I wanna die. I want to die in the heat of battle. That's why I wanna get stronger. The stronger I get, the more battle will surround me. I want to be able to live and breathe the heat of battle."

— Nnoitra Gilga, Bleach

"I want life to have fled my body before it hits the ground. That's how I want to die."

— Nnoitra Gilga, Bleach

Mao: (to Suzaku) You killed your own father seven years ago. He called for do-or-die resistance, and you thought stopping him would end the war...what a childish idea! The fact is you're a murderer! How lucky for you that no one ever found out: All the adults lied to protect you!
Lelouch: But all the reports said his suicide was a protest against the military's actions.
Mao: A big fat lie, all of it!
Suzaku: I didn't have any choice! If I didn't, Japan would-
Mao: That's how you justify it in retrospect?! Well, it explains your death wish! You wanna save people's lives? It's your own wretched soul you're trying to save! That's why you're always charging into danger, placing yourself on the edge of death! You're no hero, you're just trying to wash the blood off your hands! A little brat begging to be punished!

— Code Geass, moments before Lelouch geasses Mao to never speak again.

"I just want to DIE!!"

— Nico Robin, One Piece

Comic Books

"This would be a good death... but not good enough."

— Batman, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns

What is the terror of death?
That we die, our task incomplete.
What is the joy of life?
To die, knowing our task is done.

— Black Templars catechism, Damnation Crusade

Medusa: A warning for you, Corvus Glaive. People have come before this throne before with demands. Many times it has cost them their lives.
Corvus Glaive: I wonder, when you correct your children, do you threaten them with candy, if they misbehave?
Medusa: Excuse me?
Corvus Glaive: You cannot threaten somebody with what they want.

— Infinity #2

Hank Henshaw/Cyborg-Superman: Over the years, I have been detonated, burned and disintegrated, yet I continue to survive. The cosmic accident that cursed me with immortality murdered my friends and drove my wife mad. She was able to end her own life. I am not, Anti-Monitor.
Anti-Monitor: When you have done what we have asked of you, I will not fail where Superman and Green Lantern have. I will kill you, Hank Henshaw.
Henshaw: [a tear in his one human eye] Thank you.

— Sinestro Corps War

Fan Works

And as he stood upon the battlefields, she thought back to his oath: to be reunited with his love upon a hill of swords. To be reunited with his lover. His lover was dead. And it was only through battle that he could finally join her again. When he too was dead.

— The Hill of Swords

The guy had no intention of letting anyone in this building leave alive. Including himself.
A deathwish? The lust for posthumous fame? Or just a more fitting, final Statement? The motivation didn't matter. All that would matter was the result.

— X-Men 1970

Film — Live-Action

"That photo's all I've got left of my family. Martha was taking the kids to visit her mom. They were hit... by a drunk driver. I wanted to be with them so much. I... I couldn't bring myself to do it. But I know they're waiting for me. I can't live forever. I can't. Eben. Don't let me."

— Carter Davies, 30 Days of Night

"Everybody wanted me to [kill Kurtz], him most of all. I felt like he was up there, waiting for me to take the pain away. He just wanted to go out like a soldier, standing up, not like some poor, wasted, rag-assed renegade. Even the jungle wanted him dead, and that's who he really took his orders from anyway."

— Willard, Apocalypse Now

"It has been an extraordinary life, but always with one foot in the future. Carter, for the first time in 100 years, when I look ahead... I see nothing. And... it's... beautiful."

— Kent Nelson / Doctor Fate, Black Adam (2022)

"I'd give my life to be dead."

— Francesco Dellamorte, Cemetery Man

Bruce Wayne: Are you worried that I'm going to fail?
Alfred: No, Master Wayne. I'm worried that you want to.

— The Dark Knight Rises

Paul: On the day of my judgment, when I stand before God and He asks me why did I kill one of his true miracles, what am I gonna say? That it was my job? My job?
John: You tell God the Father it was a kindness you done. I know you hurtin' and worryin', I can feel it on you, but you oughtta quit on it now. Because I want it over and done. I do. I'm tired, boss. Tired of bein' on the road, as a sparrow in the rain. Tired of not ever having me a buddy to be with, or tell me where we's coming from or going to, or why. Mostly, I'm tired of people being ugly to each other. I'm tired of all the pain I feel and hear in the world everyday. There's too much of it. It's like pieces of glass in my head all the time. Can you understand?

— The Green Mile

"I had lost my wife in childbirth, and she and the infant had been buried less than half a year. I would have been happy to join them. I couldn't bear the pain of their loss. I longed to be released from it. I wanted to lose it all... my wealth, my estate, my sanity. Most of all, I longed for death. I know that now. I invited it. A release from the pain of living."

— Louis, Interview with the Vampire

Laura: You are dying. You want to die. Charles told me.
Logan: What else did he tell you?
Laura: Do not let you.

— Logan

"My running days are over. This is where it ends for me."

— Solomon Lane, Mission: Impossible – Fallout

Reverend Coot: No, no, no! Declan, wait! Think, think! He doesn't care about you! When it's finished with you, what will it do with you?
Declan O'Brien: Kill me... I hope!

— Rawhead Rex

Colonel Kerby: What in God's name did they teach you in here? What did they turn you into?
Brian Moreland: A soldier, which is the only thing I ever wanted to be.
Colonel Kerby: A soldier? No, goddamn it, I'm a soldier, with the career goal of all soldiers. I want to stay alive in situations where it ain't all that easy, but you, my friend, you're a death lover. I know the species. Seventeen years old and some son of a bitch has put you in love with death. Somebody sold you on the idea that dying for a cause is oh so romantic. Well, that is the worst kind of all the kinds of bullshit there is! Dying is only one thing: bad.

— Taps

Johnny Ringo: I'll put you out of your misery!
Doc Holliday: Say when!

— Tombstone

Delia: It's you, isn't it? You've come to kill me?
V: Yes.
Delia: Thank God.

— V for Vendetta

"Oh, thank God."

— The Oil Watcher, after the Mariner drops a flare into the oil tank on Deacon's ship, Waterworld

Literature

"That bitch deserved to be run over by a train or something."

— Molly Carpenter about herself, Brief Cases, "Bombshells"

"Finally..."

— Marcus, smiling as he's about to be killed, Breaking Dawn

Alone at a table in the Jarre de Thé, with the octagon coming on, pinheads of sweat starting from his palms, suddenly aware of each tingling hair on his arms and chest, Case knew that at some point he’d started to play a game with himself, a very ancient one that has no name, a final solitaire. He no longer carried a weapon, no longer took the basic precautions. He ran the fastest, loosest deals on the street, and he had a reputation for being able to get whatever you wanted. A part of him knew that the arc of his self-destruction was glaringly obvious to his customers, who grew steadily fewer, but that same part of him basked in the knowledge that it was only a matter of time. And that was the part of him, smug in its expectation of death, that most hated the thought of Linda Lee.

— Neuromancer

"They are fleeing and I have triumphed. For goodness sake, it is a shame to miss such a great opportunity to die. [...] They are praising me! When will God want that they mourn over my grave?"

— García de Vargas, The Sword of Saint Ferdinand

Live-Action TV

Loa: You risk your life, human, calling on the loa. Perhaps what you really seek is death. The pain in your heart begs for it.
Wesley: Then do it and be done. Nothing else will stop me.

— Angel, "Loyalty"

"Every day you wake up, it's the same bloody question that haunts you: is today the day I die? Death is on your heels, baby, and sooner or later it's gonna catch you. And part of you wants it... not only to stop the fear and uncertainty, but because you're just a little bit in love with it. Death is your art. You make it with your hands, day after day. That final gasp. That look of peace. Part of you is desperate to know: What's it like? Where does it lead you? And now you see, that's the secret. Not the punch you didn't throw or the kicks you didn't land. Every Slayer... has a death wish. Even you. The only reason you've lasted as long as you have is you've got ties to the world... your mum, your brat kid sister, the Scoobies. They all tie you here, but you're just putting off the inevitable. Sooner or later, you're gonna want it. And the second — the second — that happens... You know I'll be there. I'll slip in... have myself a real good day."

— Spike to Buffy regarding Slayers, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Fool for Love"

"But the one thing I didn’t anticipate was just how far Moriarty was prepared to go. I suppose that was obvious, given our first meeting at the swimming pool — his death wish."

— Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock

"The truth? That I am too old? Hah! Yes! I am old, but I have been a warrior all my life! Many years I sailed with Lord Haraldsson and fought battles against the Eastlanders. And I have watched all the companions of my youth die. And though I fought with them in the shield wall, never once was I touched by a blade! All the friends and companions of my youth are dead and are feasting and drinking with the Aesir in the halls of the gods while I... I am forsaken! bereft! Which is why I beg you, lord — give me the chance to die with honour in battle and join my friends in Valhalla!"

— Tostig, Vikings

"You put your hand in a body cavity that contained unexploded ordnance [...] Why is it that every other person in that room had the sense to hit the deck? You know, people run away from this line between life and death. You seem to stand on it and wait for a strong wind to sway you one way or the other. You're careless with your life. You're not slitting your wrists but you're careless. Probably because your mother told you you were a waste of space on this planet. The problem is you believed her. And if you don't watch out one of these days you're going to die because of it."

— Dr. Wyatt, Grey's Anatomy

Music

Searching, for something more
Searching, for something right
Searching, for a sense of clarity
Searching, for a place to die!

— Five Finger Death Punch, "A Place to Die"

Now I'm praying for the end of time
To hurry up and arrive
'Cause if I gotta spend another minute with you,
I don't think that I can really survive
I'll never break my promise or forget my vow
But God only knows what I can do right now
I'm praying for the end of time
It's all that I can do
Praying for the end of time
So I can end my time with you

— Meat Loaf, "Paradise by the Dashboard Light"

I don't want to swim forever
I don't want to fight the tide
I don't want to swim the ocean
When it's cold I'd like to die...

— Moby, "When It's Cold I'd Like to Die"

Sometimes I just wanna quit
Tell my life I'm done with it
When it feels too painful...

— One OK Rock, "Broken Heart of Gold"

I touched the grave, it's not too far away.
I'm down so low, there's nowhere left to go.
And now finally, finally, the blackest skies are calling me.
Why can't I cheat the claws of destiny?

— Ramin Karimloo, "Show Me Light"

They call me the seeker,
I've been searching low and high
I won't get to get what I'm after
Till the day I die

— The Who, "The Seeker"

Poetry

Nor law, nor duty bade me fight,
Nor public man, nor cheering crowds,
A lonely impulse of delight
Drove to this tumult in the clouds;
I balanced all, brought all to mind,
The years to come seemed waste of breath,
A waste of breath the years behind
In balance with this life, this death.

— William Butler Yeats, "An Irish Airman Foresees his Death"

Puppet Shows

"As far back as I can remember, I always knew I deserved to be dead."

—Duck, Don't Hug Me I'm Scared

Tabletop Games

"I hope to have such a death — lying in triumph upon the broken bodies of those who slew me."

— Radha of Keld, Magic: The Gathering

"I am a Dwarf! My honour is my life and without it I am nothing. I shall become a Slayer. I shall seek redemption in the eyes of my ancestors. I shall become as death to my enemies, until I face he that takes my life and my shame."

— The Oath of the Slayer (as spoken by Gotrek Gurnisson), Warhammer

"Death? What is Death? It is the natural state of all things. It is life that is the aberration. It is life that should be feared, for it can go by with our work left undone, it can be wasted away on failure and indolence. Death is to be embraced."

— Daenyathos, "The Bullet and the Skull", Warhammer 40,000

"Death holds no fear only for the fool. An Astarte's duty is to control that fear and to turn it into a blind hatred of the end of his life, for it brings with it failure of purpose and inability to fulfill his duty to the universe."

— Daenytathos, "Catechisms Martial", Warhammer 40,000

Video Games

"You've denied me honorable death twice already. Once when you arrived at Clearwater Port, and once again when your ships rescued me. I'll not be denied in this a third time!"

— Commander Aethyr, Battle for Wesnoth: The Rise of Wesnoth, "The Plan"

"If the world dies, so will I!"

— Mu -No.12- summing up her motives in one line, BlazBlue: Continuum Shift

"Oh, Laurence, Master Willem, could somebody help me? Unshackle me? Please, anybody, I've have enough of this dream, the night blocks all sight! Oh, somebody, pleaaaaseeee!! Uahhhhhhhh!! Ahhhh.... Uhhh...."

— Gehrman, Bloodborne

"IN THE FACE! NOT SO COMPLEX! NEED IT! WANT IT NEED IT HAVE TO HAVE IT! FACESHOT! BOOM! BRAINS EVERYWHERE! Not the KNEE, not the ARM, not the SPINE — FACE! IT HAS TO HAPPEN! HNNNNG! FACEY FACEY FACE FACE! TIRED OF WAITING! NO MORE WAITING! NEED A FACE SHOT! BOOM! SQUISH! YAY!"

— Face McShooty, Borderlands 2

"THANK YOU!"

— Face McShooty, Borderlands 2, after you shoot him in the face

"YOU'RE IN MY SPOT!"

— Krieg, Borderlands 2, when resurrecting a downed ally

"The healthy human mind doesn't wake up in the morning thinking this is its last day on earth. But I think that's a luxury, not a curse. To know you're close to the end is a kind of freedom. Good time to take... inventory. Out-gunned. Outnumbered. Out of our minds. On a suicide mission. But the sand and rocks here stained with thousands of years of warfare... they will remember us. For this. Because out of all our vast array of nightmares, this is the one we choose for ourselves. We go forward like a breath exhaled from the earth. With vigor in our hearts and one goal in sight: We. Will. Kill him."

— Capt. Price, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Flagellant: I've waited long for this! DON'T TAKE IT FROM ME.
Abomination: Whatever awaits, it cannot be worse than what I've endured.
Leper: Spare the others, I am ready.

— Darkest Dungeon, when facing the Final Boss' inescapable One-Hit Kill attack

Morrigan: You assassin types have a death wish, I see.
Zevran: Only the really good ones.

— Dragon Age: Origins

"One should find his death while he can still call himself a proper man. We Orc men are not like these Nords and Imperials who carry on until they are grey and feeble and their hair falls out. To cling to something past its usefulness is unseemly, how much more so when that thing is you?"

— The Old Orc, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

"I have done all that can be done. There is nothing left. No quests to be undertaken. No villains to be slain. No challenges to face. Except for you. You are my last challenge. Only you can send me to Sovngarde with honor."

— The Ebony Warrior, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

We all have dreams. Markov's just happens to be dying in glorious battle.

— Official description of Aleksey Markov, Evolve

The Courier: How do you know your punishment isn't over?
Craig Boone: Because I'm still alive.

— Fallout: New Vegas

"I'M A MONSTER, AND I DESERVE TO DIE!"

— Clive Rosfield, Final Fantasy XVI

"We want to die! Yay!"

— Fire Spirits, A Hat in Time

"So," you say, intrigued, "the drive just randomly gave sentience to an arbitrary part of an arbitrary thing. For no reason. Damn."
"OH NO I THINK WE'LL NEED TO MAKE A SPECIAL HOLIDAY TO COMMEMORATE HOW YOU JUST MADE THE MOST INSIGHTFUL STATEMENT EVER IN THE HISTORY OF EVERYTHING EVER, INCLUDING IN PARALLEL UNIVERSES."
"You, sir," you say, "sound as if you are harbouring a deathwish."
"OH NO, I LOVE LIVING. CAN'T YOU SEE BEING WRENCHED OUT OF BLISSFUL NOTHINGNESS INTO THE MOST BORING SITUATION EVER CONTRIVED WITH A PERSONALITY AND INTELLIGENCE I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO USE FOR — CAN'T YOU SEE, MY LIFE IS JUST SWELL!"
After sorting through all of this sarcasm mentally you come to the conclusion that the branch wants to be killed. "It sounds," you conclude, "as if you actually do want to be killed."
"NO SHIT EINSTEIN!" the branch yells. Then, in a politer tone, it whispers, "Please, kill me."

— Improbable Island

"I'm asking you, as a friend... Just... put an end to me."

— Ventus, Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep

"Thank you..."

— Kraven to Venom, Marvels Spiderman 2

"There's only so much fight in a person. Only so much death you can take before..."

— Commander Shepard, Mass Effect 3

"After Zanzibar, I was taken from the battle, neither truly alive, nor truly dead, an undying shadow, in a world of lights. Now, in front of you, I can finally die."

— Gray Fox, Metal Gear Solid

"This is it... this is what I've been praying for! I'm weary of this gilded world — all glitter, no soul! Save me from sorrow, Crownless King! Thy sword and thy wrath will deliver me!"

— Nathan Copeland, No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle

Soldier 76: One of these days, someone is going to put you down.
Reaper: I invite them to try.

— Overwatch

"I battled my way into the heart of the Red Zone, taking out hundreds of them. Truth is, I went there to die."

— James Heller, [PROTOTYPE 2]

"Go ahead! I've got nothing to live for anyway!"

— Jack Marston while in a gunfight, Red Dead Redemption

It's my pleasure.
Ready to die.

— Lyrics to Gamma's theme, Sonic Adventure

"You know what it feels like to get beaten, almost to death? Peaceful. It feels peaceful. It was like I was floating away, watching the whole thing happen to me. And then I woke up again, and nothin's changed. I'm still takin' a beating, every day. Duck. Katjaa. Sarita. No peace. No rest. The punches just keep coming. Why the hell didn't Carver just finish me off?"

— Kenny, The Walking Dead (Telltale)

"A blessing, to have finished the work I was put on this earth to do. Surrounded by friends that love me. And a great warmth washing over me. I think the sky is on fire. Death at the gates again. Howling my name. Come on in, old buddy. Sorry I made you wait."

— B.J Blazkowicz, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Shipmaster: These are my Elites. Their lives matter to me. Yours does not.

Arbiter: Then that makes two of us.

— Halo 2

Visual Novels

"I gave someone an arrogant lecture on their way of life today. Again. It's not like I think my words are actually going to change anything. Am I even doing the right thing? Should I really just keep on going like this? I don't know what I'm living for anymore. There's no one here to answer my questions. Kazuki and Asako were supposed to give me the answers, but they're gone now. It's not like I've given up. It's not like I've despaired. That's what I want to believe, at least.
But I'm just so tired. If I stop forcing myself to stand, it feels like I might just collapse. And if I fall apart now, I know from experience that I'll sink into an unendurable nightmare. I scratch at my own body, tormented by the illusion of insects running around under my skin. The pain's intolerable. Even death would be better than this."

— Yuuji's thoughts in his journal, The Eden of Grisaia

"Keep your mercy! I don't want peace! Or pardons! Or comforting lies! Give me punishment! Make me pay for what I've done! It doesn't have to be you. Find someone else if you don't have the stomach for it! Someone impartial and merciless, who will judge my crimes and pronounce a fitting sentence!
Give me death! Let there be justice!"

— Kageaki, Full Metal Daemon Muramasa

Webcomics

"ANGST ANGST ANGST ANGST! I hate everything and I want to die!"

— Fortune, Hiimdaisy, "Let's Destroy Metal Gear Again!"

Web Original

"I will find you, and you WILL kill me."

— Jack Pattillo, Achievement Hunter Minecraft Series

"Why is everyone punching me so softly today?! QUIT THE HITTING AND FINISH THE JOB!"

— ENA, "Temptation Stairway"

"Come back and kill me, you coward!"

— Markiplier, "BIGFOOT is BIG ANGRY"

"Finally, God, take me. I want it now. Give me death, just like Sonic."

— Dr. Eggman, Real-Time Fandub, "Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) | Real-Time Fandub Games", after Mephiles unleashes his true gay power

Pump: What are you doing here?
Rick: I sold some kids beer because I'm tired of breathing.

— Spooky Month, "Deadly Smiles"

"Gotrek Gurnisson is the greatest failure of a Slayer to have ever lived. His travels have taken him across the known world and despite the record number of foes that have died upon his axe, none have given him the release of death."

— The Templin Institute on the Slayer Cult in general and Gotrek Gurnisson in particular

"I'm checking the obituaries to see if I've died yet! Ohh! It seems a team of archaeologists found an ancient Egyptian artifact, and then they were all killed. Those lucky bastards! When is it going to be my turn, dammit?"

— Grandpa, Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series, "Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Movie"

Western Animation

"Take a good look, Doctor. I've been like this for nearly fifty years, and I haven't aged one day. I have become what many men have dreamed of — an immortal. And yet... there hasn't been a day, an hour, a minute, I haven't thought about death. It obsesses me, even now."

— Mr. Freeze, Batman Beyond, "Meltdown"

Dracula: You mean to stake me?
Alucard: You want me to.
Dracula: What?
Alucard: You didn't kill me before. You're not going to kill me now. You want this to end just as much as I do.
Dracula: Do I?!
Alucard: You died when my mother died — you know you did. This entire catastrophe has been nothing more than history's longest suicide note.

— Castlevania (2017), "For Love"

"Existence is PAIN!"

— Mr. Meseeks, Rick and Morty, "Meeseeks and Destroy"

Inner Jack: Who cares anymore?! There's no way home! There's nothing to fight for! There's no more honor! Come to think of it, the only honorable thing to do is—
Jack: Quiet!
Inner Jack: NO! I WON'T SPEND ETERNITY IN THIS FORSAKEN TIME!
Jack: What do you want from me?
Inner Jack: ...I want it to end. Aren't you tired? Wouldn't it be great to be free of all of this?

— Samurai Jack, Season 5

"You're insane! All of you! None of us are going to make it out of this alive! None of us! ...And I'm glad!"

— Mr. E, Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated

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