History Main / TheCallKnowsWhereYoulive

* In [[JossWhedon Joss Whedon's]] comic ''{{Fray}}'', new slayer Melaka Fray drags her heels over her destiny until [[spoiler: her young friend Loo - TheCutie - is murdered]]. The really awful twist is that [[spoiler: she wasn't killed by vampires, but by MrExposition Urkonn, specifically in order to motivate her]].

* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', every Origins story ends with you having to conscript to the Grey Wardens to escape jail or death giving you little choice in the matter. In many of these events people close to you get hurt or killed. Then at Ostagar [[spoiler:every Grey Warden in Ferelden gets killed by betrayal and a lot of Darkspawn, except for you and Alistair.]]

** All his ancestor [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII Ezio Auditore]] wanted to do with his life was jump and skip across the rooftops of Florence, screw the most beautiful women in Italy, and loot small chests of their money content. Then, [[spoiler: his father and brothers are arrested by the BigBad, betrayed by their close friend, and hanged in the public square]].

->''"Fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing."''
-->-- '''[[TransformersFilmSeries Optimus Prime]]''', ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen''

* In the [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Buffy]] / [[Series/StargateSG1 Stargate]] Fan Fiction [[http://www.tthfanfic.org/Story-4301/Kei+Trick+Or+Treat.htm Trick or Treat]], Xander is told point blank by an agent of the PowersThatBe that he is going to go along with their plan, one way or another. Subverted in that once his [[BerserkButton girls are attacked]], he dedicates a remarkable amount of insight into [[ScrewDestiny derailing]] not only their grand plans for him, but a for few of their favorite champions as well. [[spoiler: He succeeds.]]

* In ''Disney/{{Frozen}}, Elsa doesn't realize she's cast an EndlessWinter in Arendelle when she runs to the North Mountain and believes she's doing everybody a favor. But then, during "For the First Time in Forever" (Reprise), Anna proves her wrong.

* Terry [=McGinnis=] from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' had his father murdered, which made him steal the batsuit and set him on the path of a new Batman. [[spoiler:In ''JusticeLeagueUnlimited'', it's revealed that Project: Cadmus was planning to have his parents murdered in a manner similar to Bruce's to inspire him, but scrapped it due to moral restraint... Only to have some villain do their job for them eight years later. Didn't they get lucky?]]

* In ''[[WesternAnimation/{{Thundercats 2011}} [=ThunderCats (2011)=]]]'', during a RiteOfPassage to test if he's ready for kingship, young Prince Lion-O receives a brief, [[VaguenessIsComing vague]], frightening MirrorMonster [[{{seers}} vision]] in the Sword of Omens, but [[CannotSpitItOut avoids telling anyone]] for fear his longstanding reputation as a {{Cloudcuckoolander}} will be furthur cemented. He sees his Kingdom destroyed and his father assassinated by ancient OutsideContextVillain and series BigBad Mumm-Ra, the very enemy whose face he saw in the sword.

Just to make sure that the hero can't [[RefusalOfTheCall refuse the call of destiny]], his family or loved ones will be brutally murdered by the enemy to drive home the point that [[YouCantFightFate he can't run away]] from his life mission.

* In ''{{Smallville}}'', Jor-El knows more than where Clark lives. He is perfectly fine in (usually indirectly) harming his loved ones if it drove him to fulfill his destiny. Like [[spoiler:freezing Chloe half to death]] in ''Arrival'' and [[spoiler:intending to trap Clark in the Fortress until ''everyone he loves is dead]] in ''Gemini''.
* Happens ''twice'' in ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'''s [[Recap/SupernaturalS01E01Pilot pilot episode]] for Sam. First, his Dad goes missing and Dean comes to get him. He refuses ''that'' after killing the MonsterOfTheWeek, but watching his girlfriend burn up on the ceiling like his mother finally forces him to take the call for good.
** In fact, any time either boy starts thinking about getting out of the business, they're dragged back in by rather brutal means. The Call doesn't just know where you are, it will stalk you from Hell and back. ''Literally''. As in, angels besieged Hell and dragged Dean out because they had work for him. They dragged the brothers back from Heaven, too.
** In seasons four and five and most of three, TheCall is in fact semi-omniscient beings, requiring them to travel under a couple different types of mystic shielding. It steps up from hex bags to ribcages engraved in Enochian so Heaven and Lucifer wouldn't turn up and explain with [[ShameIfSomethingHappened nasty graphic examples]] why YouCantFightFate.

[[folder:Film]]
* Dates back as far as the 1956 classic ''TheSearchers''.

* The beginning of Mel Gibson's ''ThePatriot'' fits this to a tee. Benjamin Martin is a dedicated pacifist, arguing against going to war in the State Assembly and refusing to let his sons join the Continental Army. It's not until the British Col. Tavington [[spoiler: burns down his farm, kills his second son, and drags his oldest son off to be hung as a spy]] that Martin joins the fight.

* In TitanAE, [[{{Herald}} Korso]] [[CallToAdventure tries to recruit Cale for a mission to locate the ''Titan'']]. [[RefusedTheCall Cale blows him off]], but the agents of the BigBad promptly kick down the door and try to kill him.

* Villainous example with Music/{{Mothy}}'s character [[HangingJudge Gallerian Marlon]]: when [[MagnificentBastard MA]] asked him to help her find the remaining [[ArtifactOfDoom vessels of sin]], he asked if it would cost him any money. [[EstablishingCharacterMoment When she said it would, he declined her offer.]] Then MA noticed the picture of his family on his desk...

* Literally in ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast''. The young Charles Xavier gives up on his school and on helping mutants in general. The future Logan goes find him in the mansion to persuade him to take up the cause again at his older self's request.

->Fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing.

** Most conspicuous in ''Born'', set during Castle's time in Vietnam. Castle is seen having an internal monologue with himself, pushing him towards violence and guaranteeing that he could keep Castle's war going on forever. [[spoiler: Towards the end of the book, Castle is in the middle of a truly hopeless battle, alone versus a massive amount of VC. The voice says that it will let Castle live and continue to fight... if he pays a price. Castle agrees, goes on to murder the entire enemy force alone, but promptly leaves the service, planning to live in peace with his wife and children. The voice then reminds him, there's a price to be paid.]]

* [[TheUnderlandChronicles Gregor The Overlander]] never wants to fulfill the prophecies that Sandwich set down for him, but they always find a way to rope him in. Particularly in the third book, his Grandma tells him "You can run away, but the prophecy will find you somehow." A bit later Gregor's mother [[spoiler: is infected with a deadly plague forcing him to go after the cure.]] The call metaphorically hits him right where he lives.

* In ''Film/SpaceCowboys'', the call literally knew where Frank Corvin lived. It caught him fooling around with his wife while stuck in their garage during a failed garage door opener replacement.

* In ''Film/PacificRim'', after his retirement due to [[spoiler: his brother's death]], Raleigh was specifically sought out by Marshall Pentecost because he is the only Mark-3 pilot still alive.

** It would've made for a great Cialis commercial if you replaced the two NASA employees with two bathtubs.

* ''TheNameOfTheWind'': Kvothe leaves to gather firewood for five minutes, and comes back to witness the (supposedly fictional) Chandrian kill his entire acting troop, family included.

** God wants Jonah to deliver a message of damnation to Nineveh. Jonah says no, because he thinks that if Nineveh will repent, God won't destroy them, and Jonah wasn't a fan of Nineveh. Jonah attempts to flee God. Cue big storm and great fish. [[spoiler:Ninveh did repent. God was pleased. Jonah wasn't.]]

* Matt Murdock loses his strict but loving father when the old man refuses to [[ThrowingTheFight take a dive in a prizefight]]. [[DeathByOriginStory Father is killed]], ''ergo'' {{Daredevil}}. (Spider-Man and Daredevil were created by [[StanLee the same person]].)
* ThePunisher exists because the mob knew where Frank Castle lived. ThatManIsDead now.

* Occurs repeatedly in TheBible, as one of its central themes is that God's will reigns supreme:

* A good chunk he first episode of the ''Anime/TenchiMuyo'' OVA has the title character being pursued by Ryoko, the being that was sealed away 700 years prior. After vanquishing her, Tenchi returns to his home in the city, only to find, to his horror, that Ryoko had managed to find his house.

-->-- '''[[Franchise/{{Transformers}} Optimus]] [[Film/{{Transformers}} Prime]]''', ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen''

* In ''TransformersSuperGodMasterforce'', Hydra and Buster start killing truckers in order to eliminate Ginrai; since most of their victims are Ginrai's friends, this results in Ginrai being motivated to actually get involved in the fight.

** A LOT of neutral countries got this in spades during WWII. In sequential order: China, (arguably) Czechoslovakia, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Belgium, Greece, Yugoslavia, and the Philippines, either by being ripe pickings for the Axis powers or strategic staging grounds for Allied ones.

Just to make sure that the hero can't [[RefusalOfTheCall refuse the call of destiny]], [[FriendlyTarget his family or loved ones]] [[TooHappyToLive will be brutally murdered by the enemy]] [[DeathByOriginStory to drive home the point]] that [[YouCantFightFate he can't run away]] from his life mission. [[AndYourLittleDogToo If a villain has already threatened to do this]] the result is this trope.