"Curse" of immortality

[AmnerisTenjo]

One of the most common tropes in fiction- the "curse" of immortality. Or "curse" of amazing strength, or "curse" of being great, and living fulfilling life while practicing your passion (usually killing)

Why the hell do any authors even pretend its a curse? I mean okay, there were instances of immortality being a curse - if its not paired with not-aging, but usually its a hunk/hunkess that says that, with pretty much no drawbacks, maybe some ocasionall innocent blood, but listen- 90% of people would not mind killing innocent child if it didn't lead to any consequences and let them have a new iPhone.

So, any opinions? I'm asking, as I was talking with my other cursed friends, as I was complaining about my huge pp curse, and how terrible it is, they claimed their immortality was worse. Posers.

Also, TV tropes for similar:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WhoWantsToLiveForever https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CursedWithAwesome

Really, it's all about the context of said curse. In some situations it is and in others it's not.

As an author who writes immortal characters, I have to agree that immortality, after a period of time, can easily come to be seen as a curse and is possibly one of the worst curses in existence. In most cases, you'd live forever. This is actually something I've explored through my characters. It was fine at first for my characters but eventually became a curse as they realised what being immortal in this particular context meant. You watch the world change and grow, and that's a good thing. BUT. You can also watch the world destroy yourself. You watch all your loved ones die. You can't form meaningful connections because one day those people will grow old and die but you will still be there. The curse of immortality, while it seems cool at the start, really is a curse of being alone forever. No friends. No family. No pets. Just you. No matter how hard you try, at the end of the day, immortality leaves you all on your own. That's why so many say it's the worst curse there is. Because no one wants be be completely alone forever.

But, yeah, that's my opinion on the matter and everyone has a different view on it. I'm certain immortality would be an amazing thing to some people and I totally agree in the short term. I just can see why it wouldn't be in the long run.

 

[Wintertime]

Curses and Gifts are just a storytelling device to engage the reader, and perhaps reflect your character's thoughts. Usually, a curse will come with a caveat. I gain Immortality, but only if I kill a child every 100 years, or if I lose my emotions entirely, or etc. etc. This is a 'Natural Curse' where the downside is layered into the actual condition.

A 'Viewpoint Curse' would just be a neutral condition, but the character gives it the meaning. For example, I could just have Immortality as straight Immortality. No downsides. You just get to live forever, stay healthy, and remain young. Of course, in this statement, there is no perceivable downside to the condition (mainly upsides), and then your protagonist, through his experiences would recount his condition as a gift or a curse.

An Immortal living a million years would explain his condition differently than an Immortal living just fifty years. Same condition, but you would probably get two different answers. They could also lead different lifestyles, value different things, understand the world in a different way. Those types of things.