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Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds wick check:

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     Character is suffering (no judgment on how sympathetic they are), and as a result is a threat to everyone in the setting/attacking fairly indiscriminately (correct usage):  

  1. Silent Möbius: Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: She only joined Ganossa because humans hunted her down for her powers when she was a child, causing her to hate humanity. I think threatening/wanting to destroy all of humanity, as implied through the other entries, counts well enough for attacking everyone, though you can argue since it's a specific group, even a large one, it would count more as Tragic Bigot
  2. Shaman King: * Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: His brother Yoh knew that he didn't have any friends. He spent 900 years in Hell and the worst part is that the 100 years he spent in the outside world were more unbearable than his time in Hell. Even among his followers, they mainly follow him BECAUSE of his power and never truly get to KNOW him. Combined with the Reishi it is no wonder he became what he is. In Zero we learn more about how he became such. After Ohachiyo abandoned him due to displeasure at Hao's thirst for revenge, Hao was picked up by an onmyouji named Tadatomo, and eventually became friends with another monk named Daitaro. However, during an exorcism ceremony, Tadatomo turned out to have been experimenting on Oni and had them enter Daitaro's body, turning him into what looked like Hana's Dark Oni. After learning about Tadatomo's Freudian Excuse for it, Hao completely lost it. (Other context in Straw Nihilist: He plays the card that normal Humans Are the Real Monsters and incapable of being enlightened, so he'll kill them all in order to create a Shaman Kingdom. Even his sparing of Yoh and co. is to show them how pointless it is to change humanity's path.)) '''Without the outside context, this only explains why he suffered and not how he is "destroying worlds", though the context shows he is trying to kill all normal humans so I think it counts.
  3. Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans:
    Vidar will become the Big Bad of Season 2
He will develop a Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds tendency for what happened to him, be it his mangled and twisted face as delivered by McGillis, or the loss of his friends in the hands of Mikazuki, or having his nine year old sister tormented by a treacherous friend he once trusted. He is no longer Gaelio Bauduin, he is now Darth Vidar, everyone must pay! Says that "everyone must pay", so I think this would qualify.
  1. Demon Legacy: God Is Evil: Though an unusual Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds variant. He created the Demi-Gods and loved them as well as humanity, but was betrayed by them and split into a good and evil half by Apollo, who sealed the evil half in the Firebrand sword. Because of this, he sought vengeance on those who cast him away, and wants to devour the world. Is an Omnicidal Maniac, so he counts.
  2. Animator vs. Animation - Adversaries: Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Why does he attempt to destroy Minecraft? His son got into a fatal accident involving a Minecraft simulation. As a result, he ends up using every trick from the game to destroy it, especially with two all-powerful Master Blocks in hand. I'm assuming here that Minecraft is not just a video game here but counts as a whole world he is destroying, so he qualifies.
  3. Power Rangers Dino Fury: Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: The reveal of just why she's got a mad-on for humanity turns her into one. She and Tarrick were Rafkonians who landed on Earth to look for supplies, were found by the government and interred in Area 62 along with their newborn baby. One day, a disaster went off and they tried getting their daughter to safety, only to presume she was lost in the destruction, which caused the injuries that required Tarrick to put Santaura in stasis. Not entirely sure of this one since while all of the entries on this character's page say she hates humanity, I don't think it's explicitly stated that she is trying to Kill All Humans (and I haven't watched this), though it is probably implied so I'm putting it in this category rather than the unclear one for now. Again just hating humans because of a tragic past if you aren't trying to kill everyone would just be Tragic Bigot.
  4. Shadow Warrior (2013): Sliding Scale of Anti-Villains: Of the Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds kind, Hoji caused the near-destruction of the shadow realm by poisoning his sister/lover out of heartbreak and revenge. Said sister/lover had promised to stay by his side, but left him after he was horribly disfigured as punishment for causing a drought in the Shadow Realm, as her tears of sadness nourish it with rain - and him being with her stopped the tears. Counts, even though he was only trying to hurt/kill one person directly the effects of this were apparently risking the destruction of a whole realm.
  5. Werewolf: The Apocalypse: Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: The Wyrm himself. He originally had the duty of removing the dead or broken parts of the universe, but wasn't really evil. Then he got trapped somehow (the books are rather vague about exactly what happened) and went insane, creating most of the bad stuff in the world. Creating most of the bad stuff in the world is indiscriminately destructive enough to count
  6. Marvel Comics: Shi'ar: Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: A Jerkass Woobie to be sure, because he's fairly horrible to anyone who isn't Deathbird, but he has a truly miserable past. He's also capable of blowing up planets, with this trope being made explicit in an alternate story where he gained the power of the Phoenix Force. This entry seems to be written as though he doesn't qualify for the "destroyer of worlds" part of the trope in main canon even though he's physically capable of it, but he doesn't in an AU story, so I put this as counting even though I'm unsure whether him destroying planets is directly a result of/motivated by his miserable past.
  7. The Stepfather: Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: The stepfather, in the original at least. The man desperately wants a family of his own. (context: Pater Familicide: When he snaps, the Stepfather wipes out everyone, from wife to children to any other relatives unfortunate enough to be in the house at the time.) Would be in the ambiguous category because of the entry focusing only on the "woobie" part were it not for the context of the other entry which shows he counts as being Ax-Crazy/attacking indiscriminately.

     As above (still may be correct usage), but the character believes they will fix the suffering through their actions rather than just lashing out:  

  1. Spirits of Mystery: Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Princess Mortis as revealed in the bonus chapter. She desperately wants to be with Isa after what happened in The Dark Minotaur and is willing to destroy the boundaries between life and death if it means getting to be with him again. Destroying the boundaries between life and death is destructive enough to count, but notably she is hoping to relieve her suffering from it (by being reunited with Isa) rather than just lashing out.

     Character is suffering and is antagonistic, but is more calculated in who they threaten:  

  1. Durarara Anime Supporting Season 2: * Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: The occults rituals her boss subjected her to caused her to become the serial killer Hollywood and go after those responsible for hurting her. I think just going after people who hurt you specifically is just Revenge, it doesn't count as being Ax-Crazy, Omnicidal Maniac or otherwise threatening everyone in the setting
  2. Wesern Animation: The Great and Powerful Trixie was turned into a laughingstock throughout Equestria by the Ursa Minor incident, to the point, it ruined her career and her life. This drives her to obtain the Alicorn Amulet, an Artifact of Doom that gives her near unmatched power at the cost of her sanity, to take her revenge on those she sees as responsible for her humiliation. Wanting revenge on specific characters, and having watched this if she goes further than this it's because of being controlled by the artifact, indiscriminately threatening wasn't her original intention.
  3. Battle For Dream Island Original Contestants: Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: He might have abandoned his team, but considering the fact that he was used by WOAH Bunch to escape Evil Canyon, was impaled on spikes, and burned alive along with Needle, it is no wonder that he snapped. WOAH Bunch did not even apologize to him for it. Abandoning your team does not count as nearly the level of destruction needed for this trope.
  4. Video Games: Dr. James Marcus splits the roles of antagonist and tritagonist, with his backstory, the mystery of his death, and the reason for his vengeance against Umbrella kickstarting the events of the game and driving the plot. For an Umbrella scientist, he's remarkably sympathetic, and it's Marcus's actions that cause the events of both the first game and the rest of the series. It seems that this character is solely wanting vengeance against a specific organization, which is too calculated, this just seems to be the trope used to mean "sympathetic villain".

     Character is suffering an antagonistic, and it's unclear how calculated they are in who they threaten:  

  1. Blank Dream: Utsuro's Abusive Parents are the reason Utsuro became the Big Bad. Rinzou, who raped his own daughter, resulting in Utsuro's birth; and Tamaki, said daughter who's horrific actions resulted in her daughter becoming the vengeful spirit she is in-game. Not clear what exactly being a "vengeful spirit" entails here.
  2. Marvel Universe: Even though he always had a knack for mischief, Loki Used to Be a Sweet Kid, and it is implied that for centuries before the events of Thor he was The Lancer who fought alongside his brother. It is his act of letting Jötunns into Asgard on Thor's coronation day that started him Slowly Slipping Into Evil, and the following Reveal of his troubled ancestry exacerbated the matter. Loki spends his next several appearances on the Heel–Face Revolving Door before finally pulling a Heel–Face Turn right before being killed by Thanos. His Alternate Self from the 2012 timeline opened in Avengers: Endgame is still alive, but didn’t perform his Heel–Face Turn until his self-titled series. Another entry that focuses on explaining the "wobble" part but never clarifies the "destroyer of worlds" besides a general sense that he is a villain.
  3. YMMV/Haven: Broken Base: Charlotte, Audrey/Mara's mother, caused this with her general demeanor as well as her treatment of her daughter. She's the one who sent her fighting the troubles in Haven, as it should have provided a cure both to her daughter, who was turning into a Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds at the time, and the townspeople of Haven, whom she'd wronged. Too bad it came at the price of Mind Rape on a previously innocent woman who was severely traumatized and shortly became much worse because of it, undoing part of the good she'd meant to do. Add to that the fact that while purely well-intentionned, hard-working brave and brainy, she's also manipulative, condescending and an adept practitioner of the Mercy Kill, and you have one of the most controversial characters in the series. This is just a pothole without clarifying why her daughter qualifies as a Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds.
  4. Star Trek: The Next Generation S 1 E 22 "Skin of Evil": Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Armus, rejected and bereft by a species that just abandoned him and left him alone. Another entry that explains the "woobie" part but fails to explain the "destroyer of worlds".
  5. Literature/Cityverse: Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Some of the Lost Cities, with the tragedies that drove them into despair and hatred, could qualify for this. El Dorado, Knossos, and Pompeii come to mind. Again, not clear what they are doing that is threatening others, instead there is just "despair and hatred".
  6. The Vampire Diaries: Elena. The SHOW seems to be about how many more times can life put her through the meat grinder. She can't seem to go a single day without herself or somebody she cares about being hurt, killed, or under threat by some supernatural being ever since the first episode, she has 2 boyfriends that endlessly fight over her that she's constantly conflicted about, she's too compassionate to just blow off anybody who's suffering so she ends up putting herself in even MORE trouble, and to top it all off she has serious loss and abandonment issues. Elena crosses into Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds territory once she becomes a vampire and turns her emotions off. Does not explain exactly what bad things she does when she becomes a vampire.
  7. The Mule: The Mule is a mutant with powerful psychic abilities... but they also come with a hefty dose of physical inferiority, leading to an aggressive personality angry at the society which used to scorn him as a child and capable of repaying it. This leads to him becoming a Galactic Conquerer and Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds. He conquers galaxies apparently but that's different from destroying them, and it's not clear if he's solely doing it to hurt indiscriminately out of his anger for the world or if he has some other goal but the anger is still a partial motivation.
  8. The Rise Of Dark Vulcan: Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: After just how badly Cirrus and Hilltop screwed them over, you really can't blame them for indirectly invoking Roaring Rampage of Revenge via Vulcan note  Not clear whether the Roaring Rampage of Revenge is on Cirrus and Hilltop alone or everyone.

     Character is indiscriminately destructive and suffered, but their actions are due to being somehow controlled/they had no free will:  

  1. Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water: Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Nadia and Neo are brainwashed by Gargoyle into becoming WMDs to reduce everything to rubble and seize power for himself. Neo has to be essentially blown up to lift off the brainwashing and sacrifices his own life to lift Nadia's on his father's wishes. This is very poignant, given that it was his father Nemo the one that destroyed Neo's body in the first place; to put into perspective, Nemo committed a genocide that took Neo and he still heeds to Nemo's wishes to save Nadia. That guy really loved his dad. The characters here did not choose their actions due to suffering, they were brainwashed and suffered due to being brainwashed.

     Character is threatening indiscriminately, but it's unclear how they are suffering:  

  1. Star Trek: The Next Generation S3E9 "The Vengeance Factor": Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Yuta doesn't come across as an evil person by any means, just someone who is literally unable to want anything other than to kill all the remaining Lornaks. It's never explained how Yuta has suffered such that she is "unable to want anything other than to kill them", in fact it's written as if it's not about suffering and just about her not having free will, though I'm not 100% sure so not putting it in that category
  2. Raise Him Right This Time: When Valgaav, the half-demon, half-dragon and 100% Omnicidal Maniac and Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds from Slayers TRY is defeated, he is transformed to a dragon egg, which is entrusted to Filia to re-raise Valgaav as a good dragon. Last time he's seen, the egg is lovingly placed in a basket arranged as an impromptu baby cot while Filia and Valgaav's two followers work. A contextless link to this trope, he is an Omnicidal Maniac so he qualifies for the "threatening indiscriminately", though it's never explained how he fits the suffering part.

     Treated as a YMMV making a judgment that the character is sympathetic: 

Put Them All Out of My Misery wick check

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    Character believes that their actions will make them no longer suffer and those specific actions are the best way to stop the suffering: 10 (20%) 

  1. Big Bad Ensemble: In Fairy Tail, the endgame sets up two Big Bads in opposition with each other, and both of whom have served as Greater-Scope Villains before becoming active: Zeref, an immortal Person of Mass Destruction and Death Seeker who wants to put an end to his own evil in a manner that would wipe out all of humanity; and Acnologia, a dragon who Was Once a Man and is fueled by his hatred of dragons and his unquenchable thirst for destruction. A third candidate would be E.N.D., the master of the dark guild Tartaros and a demon created by Zeref for his own Suicide by Cop, with his guild attempting to unseal him from a book to wreak destruction on mankind. That is until he's revealed to be Natsu's Superpowered Evil Side that wasn't truly sealed to begin with, and is promptly done away with when Lucy figures out how to sever Natsu's connection to the book. Seems to genuinely believe wiping out humanity is the only way for him to die given his immortality.
  2. Dancin' in the Ruins: It's not hard to spot this guy (or girl) in an After the End setting: he's the one dancing merrily on the grave of civilization. What his particular beef was with society may vary, but in all cases he's overjoyed to have seen it bite the dust. He's not typically the one responsible for the big boom, though he might want to shake the hand of whoever is given the opportunity. Could possibly be considered a slightly less insane version of Put Them All Out of My Misery. The idea is that the character's suffering due to society is ended due to the destruction of society, which is like a more mild version of actually causing the apocalypse to end your suffering.
  3. Assimilation Plot: * Personal motive. The character involved may not care about the plan bringing massive change to the world as long as it would help them accomplish a personal objective. The assimilation is actually benefitting the character here, though only the pothole makes it clear that the benefit is supposed to be making them not suffer in some way.
  4. Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: Ravenloft: More than a few of the Darklords have messed-up histories: Meredoth, for example, was raised by Abusive Parents and flesh golems in that order, meaning that he tends to kill any living creature that comes near him because he's convinced that anything he doesn't have absolute control over is a threat. However, sob stories don't work on the Dark Powers. They don't care if your Act of Ultimate Darkness was fueled by a tragic backstory or just you being an asshole. You're getting your Ironic Hell either way. He is suffering from feeling threatened by other creatures and killing them stops him from feeling that fear
  5. UQ Holder! The Life-Maker's Apostles: * Put Them All Out of My Misery: The reason behind her plan. Justified knowing that her misery is that of everyone else's in all planets and dimensions. Seems like she suffers as long as those in other planets or dimensions suffer so destroying them will stop her suffering, though odd how it says this makes it a justified trope, as if in most examples the character doesn't get a concrete benefit and this is unusual in that they do
  6. Jerkass Woobie: Contrast Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds, where a tragic but less cruel character destroys everything around them because they have already been broken. The Jerkass Woobie's cruel acts are generally not a result of him being broken and his suffering may even come after he has sinned. Not to be confused with Put Them All Out of My Misery, where a sympathetic villain seeks large scale destruction out of a desire to end misery. See also Draco in Leather Pants, where one of these happens accidentally, and Karmic Overkill, where audiences feel that the character did deserve to be punished for their actions, but the comeuppance they received is still seen as excessive. Clearly defines the trope in opposition to Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds as the character being motivated to end their suffering, whereas Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds doesn't expect their suffering to end but is too broken to care.
  7. Grew Beyond Their Programming: * Green Lantern: The Animated Series has the robot Aya developing human emotions as a key plot point. Subverted as the crucial twist of the entire series: Aya was not completely robotic and was actually made with a sliver of a living being of pure will. Therefore, she is the only AI that can develop them, because she was not limited by programming in the first place, while other A.I.s like LANOS and the Manhunters cannot. This puts a damper of her Put Them All Out of My Misery plot to unmake all organic life. Technically contextless so I have to put it in unsure, though the fact that her plan was due to her lack of human emotions and said emotions interfering with it implies it's more likely to be of rational self-interest than spite.
  8. The Stone Sky: * Put Them All Out of My Misery: Some of the stone eaters like Steel want to crash the moon into the earth because that would be the only way to kill themselves, though other stone eaters like Hoa are happy to be alive and would rather fix the world. Steel convinces Nassun to help him in this endeavor, which she agrees to because she has her own grievances with the world and equally wants things to be at peace by ending it all. Character believes his actions are the only way to end his suffering, not clear if this is also the case for Nassun but it is true for the character who is the focus of the example.
  9. Golden Ending: Kill Six Billion Demons: It is increasingly heavily implied that the events of the series are simply one more iteration of a "Groundhog Day" Loop where Zoss keeps resetting time in a desperate attempt to get the Golden Ending where his chosen heir manages to defeat the Seven, free the Multiverse from their tyranny, and restore Throne to its former glory. Unfortunately, beings like Jagganoth and the Throne Knights have Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory and the experience of the timeline constantly resetting has understandably driven them over the Despair Event Horizon, convincing them that the only way to put an end to their eternally-recurring suffering is to destroy everything so thoroughly that Zoss can't reset it anymore. The characters actually believe that destroying everything is the only way for them to die due to the resets.
  10. Put The All Out Of My Misery: A villain wants to end their misery by killing everyone. Clearly defined as wanting to end the misery, though "killing everyone" is a bit misleading for making it seem like they have to be an Omnicidal Maniac when they can actually be lower on the Sliding Scale of Villain Threat

    The above, but the character isn't fully selfish and also believes their actions will help others: 2 (4%) 

  1. * Yuki Yuna is a Hero: * Put Them All Out of My Misery: Tougo, at the end of season 1, though she is a hero instead of villain. After learning the Awful Truth about the Earth, she considers it best to kill everyone instead of letting more girls suffer by becoming Magical Girls and holding off the inevitable demise of the planet. On a more personal note she especially wants to stop herself and her friends from becoming vegetables. Although the character wants to end her own suffering and this will accomplish it, she also believes it is for the best for other girls.
  2. "End of the World" Special: * Penny Arcade Adventures: The metaplot of the game is that the world goes through a continual cycle of destruction and rebirth, becoming more horrible and deranged each time. The Brahe clan has conceived a plan to stop this cycle by preventing the world from being reborn and therefore sending everything to oblivion. Tycho, one of the protagonists, breaks from his clan and instead tries to seed the next rebirth with a perfectly good individual: his niece Anne-Claire. In the end, he succeeds. They seem to have the goal both to end their own suffering and stop a world from being born that would be too horrible to be worth living in for others' sakes.

    Character is lashing out against the world for suffering but has no reason to believe they will stop suffering as a result: 19 (38%) 

  1. The Anti-Nihilist: Instead of angsting all the time about "Life is short, we're all gonna die and you can't stop it forever, thus we might as well start killing each other right now", this type thinks more like "Life is short, we're all gonna die and you can't stop it forever... so why not make each others' lives worthwhile and enjoyable? The only thing that matters is letting people know that you care about them, because whatever someone is, has, or can do doesn't mean a damned thing in the end." Compassion, love and empathy — these may be denounced by the pessimists as nothing but fictional lies, but even if they are, to the anti nihilist, these are fictions still worth believing in. The pothole is to a character who kills others because they think people will die anyway and life doesn't matter, but the killing won't stop the killer from suffering in any way.
  2. We Are Our Avatars Escapist: * Put Them All Out of My Misery: After finally resurrecting his family members, Seymour learned they were killed again not long after. At this point, he snapped, and considered everyone alive the cause of his suffering. Just motivated by spite and anger at the world, turning against "everyone alive" won't bring back his family
  3. Animator vs. Animation: * At first, after witnessing King's backstory, you might expect that everything he's done is in an effort to open some kind of portal into the void to bring his son back. You'd be wrong, King's son is simply gone, there's nothing to bring back and he knows it. What he actually plans to do is bring the same fate onto the entire world of Minecraft out of revenge. As clearly stated, this won't bring his son back and is only about revenge.
  4. Kamen Rider Zi-O: Another Riders: [[/labelnote]] Unless destroying the era is necessary to escape it, this seems like just destruction out of spite towards Heisei.
  5. * Put Them All Out of My Misery: Due to their abusive upbringing and circumstances behind the siblings' transformation into demons, both of them display this regarding different targets. While Daki hates her colleagues who are more beautiful and successful than her and kills them once they decide to leave or they manage to draw her ire, Gyutaro hates those who had more privileged upbringing than them (read:almost everyone else) and decided to kill them so as to exact revenge upon the world. This is spite/revenge and won't help the characters
  6. Tales of Arise: ** While The Power of Hate is an excellent motivator, you have to give it up eventually. Making decisions through a mind clouded with hate will only ruin you in the end, either by blinding you to the obvious or leading to your own destruction. This is best viewed at the final battle between Vholran and Alphen. Vholran has stewed in his hatred for years, letting it get to the point where he disregards the lives of everyone around him and is willing to destroy both Dahna and Rena in order to exact his vengeance. Alphen realizes that though the Renans are not innocent, they too are victims of the real threat, and forgiving them for what they've done is the only way for both peoples to ever move forward. Explicitly said he is doing it for revenge and not to make himself suffer less
  7. Video Games: ** If a Yakuza villain isn't scum of the earth, they're usually have some dramatic reason for their actions. Yoshitaka Mine from Yakuza 3, for example, reveals just before his boss fight that he was a lonely orphan like Kiryu until Daigo befriended him, and his actions throughout the game are a drawn out case of him lashing out at others to satiate his own brokenness. When he realizes just what his actions have done, Mine chooses to kill himself and the Big Bad to perhaps earn some redemption in Kiryu and Daigo's eyes. Just "lashing out", he doesn't seem to get any benefit from it.
  8. Battlestar Galactica (2003): * Dysfunctional Family: The Cylons are painted as this both in-universe, and out, with the Cylons calling either other "brother" or "sister," and the Final Five characterized as the "parents" of the modern humanoid Cylons. Cavil himself refers to each of them as either "mom" or "dad," and his entire character arc can be summed up as "eldest son throws a cosmic temper tantrum because he thinks his parents don't love him enough." It seems like he is just mad and throwing a tantrum, he doesn't think hurting others would make his parents love him as far as I could tell
  9. Nobody's Hero: * Put Them All Out of My Misery: This is why Ai turned evil and wants to kill all humans. Soulburner bitterly notes while they understand why Ai wants revenge for Yusaku's death after he was shot by a tank, less so when he blames everyone and tries to kill everyone. This was revealed to be opposite to Ai's original plan since he cannot self terminate, but grief and two years of self-isolation is not good for one's mental health. While I Cannot Self-Terminate is mentioned this seems to be unrelated to how he fits the trope, which is just about wanting revenge on everyone without getting any benefit.
  10. Memetic Badass Wick Check: ** Dracovish. As soon as the fandom heard of the sheer power of its signature move, fans started portraying it as on the same level as (if not more powerful than) a legendary. Fanon tends to portray it as a weapon of mass destruction who wants to kill everyone for allowing it to exist in the first place. Killing everyone is just revenge and is not necessary for Dracovish to kill itself.
  11. Naruto - Sasuke Uchiha: ** Even if his motive is to honor his dead clan, his actions are increasingly self-centered. The problem begins when he chooses to ditch Konoha to learn under the criminal who attempted to destroy it, showing no regard for his classmates who risked their lives trying to bring him back, and wanting to kill Naruto because he considered acquiring the Mangekyo Sharingan more important than Naruto's life (which probably wouldn't have have worked, as the process requires a My God, What Have I Done? moment to awaken the eyes, and Sasuke clearly didn't care enough about Naruto for this to happen). It gets worse after learning the truth about Itachi. He kidnaps (what he thinks is) Killer Bee, dooming a man he barely knows to a slow and painful death just so he can have the Tailed Beast inside him to use against Konoha. During the Kage Summit, he thinks of nothing but revenge against Danzo, killing or attempting to kill all the Samurai, Kage and their bodyguards who get in his way, ditching two teammates when saving them becomes inconvenient, and stabbing through the remaining one (after she'd healed his life-threatening injuries twice during the arc) when saving her becomes inconvenient as well. Finally, his plan to kill everyone in Konoha for the Uchiha Clan massacre that only a select few are responsible for is best described as forcing his suffering onto everyone else. And * Put Them All Out of My Misery: When Sasuke discovers his clan was killed to prevent them from staging a coup against the Leaf Village, he decides they can only be properly avenged by killing not just those responsible, but also everyone who benefited from their deaths (which is to say the entire Leaf Village). He wants revenge, but his actions don't prevent him from suffering in any way.
  12. * Put Them All Out of My Misery: Darhk has a Villainous Breakdown when he finds out that his wife is dead and his Evil Plan is in tatters, while his daughter is missing and possibly dead as well, and decides to destroy the whole world anyway out of pure grief and rage, not caring if anyone survives. The motivation is, as said, grief and rage and wanting to punish the world, not a belief that he will get his wife and daughter back
  13. Fear the Walking Dead: Texas: * Put Them All Out of My Misery: She takes her grief over the loss of her husband out on anybody and everybody who either offers help or gives help to other people. Her actions don't reducing her suffering in any way, she's just angry at the world.
  14. Acts of Hatred: * Portfolio: Mystic Strategists, Feigned Courtesy, Severe Leprosy, Floating Attack Beads, Darkness, Villainous Friendship, A Desire to Spread Misery, Never Speaking the Truth. The trope here is potholed as a desire to spread misery, which would seem to imply it's about wanting to hurt others when you are hurt out of spite rather than it just being a byproduct of actions motivated to reduce one's suffering. In addition, this character is the god of the trope and it's listed under Acts Of Hatred, while as the trope is defined it's not really about hatred, which would be more Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds, but about a "rational" but selfish desire to end one's suffering regardless of who else suffers in the process, though some of the subtypes do involve also hating the thing that is causing the suffering and that being part of the motivation, hatred isn't a requirement so it seems odd to put it in that category.
  15. Fan Works: Rosario Vampire: Brightest Darkness:
    • Hokuto Kaneshiro. He commits all manner of horrible atrocities purely for the endgame of resurrecting Alucard and watching his destroy all life on Earth, simply because he believes that all life is evil, meaningless trash, and repeatedly declares that all of his actions are for a higher cause. Character isn't even shown to be suffering at all, much less feeling the suffering will be ended by his actions. There is a category mentioned on the main page for the trope where the character feels the very existence of the people/society around them is making them suffer, but this is not stated here. Claims to be Well-Intentioned Extremist but doesn't seem to actually fall into the "not entirely selfish" category.
  16. Anime & Manga: *** It's actually even worse than that sounds. He rants about how killing Danzo felt great, and he apparently thinks that the people of Konoha laughing and having fun in his memories are mocking the deaths of the Uchiha clan. He wants to kill them all because they aren't as miserable as he is. Motivated by spite for other people not being miserable, without this making him any less miserable.
  17. Abraxas (Hrodvitnon) - King Ghidorah: * Put Them All Out of My Misery: Ghidorah used to be this before it fully became an Omnicidal Maniac. Before its epoch-spanning slip into becoming the evil monster we know it as was complete; it committed mass destruction again and again in an effort to make the Old Noise stop tormenting it, and Ghidorah implicitly resorted to slaughtering lifeforms that were in no way to blame for inflicting the Old Noise on it to that end. The killing has the goal of making the noise that makes it suffer stop.
  18. Video Games: ** In stark contrast to the rare male example final boss Ramirez, whose personality was reputedly stoic-to-warm, who becomes an Omnicidal Maniac committed to destroying the world he thought only Galcian was worthy to rule after the protagonists beat him. Just seems to be motivated by spite/revenge against the world for Galcian not being able to rule it.
  19. Final Fantasy XIV - Raid Antagonists: * Omnicidal Maniac: Xande after his death, Came Back Wrong and sought to drag everyone down to death with him again when he died once more. No evidence this will prevent his death or that it's the only way for him to die permanently.

    The above, but the character isn't fully selfish and also believes their actions will help others: 1 (2%) 

  1. * 3BelowS1E7FlyingTheCoop: * Metaphorgotten: Varvatos intends to kill Birdie and put her out of their misery. Before that, he tries to give a Pre Asskicking Oneliner. No mention of Varvatos even suffering himself, this is solely about believing Birdie would be better off dead.

    Character makes others suffer in a way that will end their suffering, but the character could easily accomplish the same without making others suffer so the motive seems to be more spite or something else: 1 (2%) 

  1. Fullmetal Alchemist: Scar's goals were to die at the hands of those he wronged (particularly Winry) and to take as many with him as he can. As far as I can tell, killing other people isn't the only way he can die and he does not believe this to be the case either, so this is just a case of someone simultaneously wanting to kill their enemies and to die.

     The above but the character is not purely selfishly motivated and believes it is for the best for others: 1 (2%) 

  1. Comic Books Caliginous in Hero Squared has decided that life is nothing but pain, misery, cruelty, and death, and should be ended in preferably the most all-encompassing fashion possible. Her arch-nemesis, Captain Valor, just sees her as an evil megalomaniac, but his alternative self, Milo, manages to recognize that, beneath it all, she's a broken, lonely, psychologically tormented, and suffering woman. The goal, even if it would presumably kill her as well, seems to be to kill everyone else to spare them of their suffering, it isn't the only way for her to stop suffering. But it's not selfishly motivated in that she genuinely believes everyone else would be better off dead for their own sakes.

    Other: 1 (2%) 

  1. Monster: Video Games (D to F): ** Barclyss is the rogue Tren General who is revealed to be behind all the tragedies that Xero and his companions has to endure. Starting as a normal street urchin with intellectual potential, Barclyss lost any respect towards human life after studying biology books. After he joins the Judgment Faction, he first decimates the peaceful town of Ellea. When Corporal Slash of the Blaze Soldiers is captured by the Judgment Faction and refuses to be subjugated by Barclyss, he then spares the Corporal so that he can hear all the screams of his men being butchered in the arena. When Xero tries to challenge Barclyss in order to save the Tren Captain Farrell, Barclyss beheads the captain out of spite. It was also revealed that he turned the people that he slayed into his slaves for Judgment Faction. In addition, he was also responsible for the loss of his childhood friend's eye. When the heroes tries to form a pact with another country, Heyama, Barclyss takes a mobile "Aquadome" fortress to Heyama's shores and has it fire on a building complex. After Barclyss confronts the heroes, he then launches a spell towards the duo and throws warning shots out of petty amusement. After Barclyss's army is defeated, he uses a weapon that could decimate most of the planet's surface by causing a nuclear winter. Although claiming to be a victim of his nihilistic grief and saying that survival is merely an option, Barclyss really does all of his atrocities in order to slake his sadistic and nihilistic pleasures. Slaking pleasures seems like the opposite of this trope, there's no evidence he is suffering at all.

    Unsure: 15 (30%) 

  1. Rick And Morty S 3 E 6 Rest And Ricklaxation: * Put Them All Out of My Misery: Toxic Rick doesn't want to become part of Rick again but also hates his own existence, so he decides to turn the whole world just as toxic as he is. There is no evidence here turning the world toxic will stop him from becoming part of Rick, end his existence, though it could be that his suffering is caused by being the only toxic thing in a non-toxic world and making the world toxic would make him comfortable with his existence, but that's not stated explicitly here
  2. Mirror World: * Put Them All Out of My Misery: A devoided and insane Zeil opts the best way out of things is to just kill Cheshire to collapse Inoptica and wipe everyone out, allowing him to find a measure of peace. Not clear what exactly a measure of peace means, if he will survive and be helped in some way or if this is the only way for him to die, or if peace just means he will be satisfied with his revenge.
  3. My Hero Academia: *** Creepier than that is Toya's reaction. Having spent 3 years in a coma, he's mentally still a 13-year old. Upon being told he'll never see his family again, and thus never gain the recognition from Endeavor that he so craves, Toya's reaction is a hate-filled 'shut up' to All For One, trying to manipulate him through a monitor, telling the Diabolical Mastermind that he will never be trained by any other man but his father before burning the whole building down to escape, endangering or possibly killing all the other orphans there in order to get what he wants. Many of those orphans were shown to be excited about Toya joining their family and never did anything but be kind towards his comatose body, but Toya is shown to be running away from the blazing building without so much as a backwards glance at their fate. Garaki himself, of all people, notes that Toya was already 'festering away inside' from his obsession with Endeavor, showcasing that there was something deeply wrong with him even as a young child before he embraced the identity of the villain Dabi. All the murders, manipulations and pain caused by Dabi's actions have no connection to All For One — it's all the actions of a disturbed teenager, angry and determined to make the world around him burn to spite everybody else. The pothole "defines" the trope as wanting to hurt others out of spite due to their suffering without necessarily wanting to end that suffering, but the context outside the pothole shows he also had the motivation of needing to burn the building down to escape a place he was presumably suffering in, which would fit into the first category.
  4. Digital Personas: * Portfolio: Digital Abomination, The Heartless, Big Bad, Final-Exam Boss, Virtual-Reality Warper, Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds, Tragic Villain, Go Mad from the Isolation, Put Them All Out of My Misery, Attempted Last-Ditch Suicide Explosion. Not clear because this is just a contextless statement that a character in the Pantheon fits the trope.
  5. Tropes U to Z: ** Kuja in Final Fantasy IX and Seymour in Final Fantasy X are Put Them All Out of My Misery types, and thus their examples fall under that page. Seymour was waaaaay too far gone to Take a Third Option, however. This in in the entry for Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds when listing how every villain is either that trope or Put Them All Out of My Misery, no context given here for why they fit it.
  6. Mercy Kill: ** Although there were many factors involved in it, Jaime Lannister's Bodyguard Betrayal and murder of King Aerys "The Mad" has a huge wedge of this to it, combined with putting down somebody hell-bent on Put Them All Out of My Misery before he, you know, could deliver on it. Aerys was a mess, and needed help he didn't get long before he hit his nadir. Not clear, it just says he fits the trope without elaborating.
  7. Ravenloft Darklords Of The Eastern Sea: * Put Them All Out of My Misery: His general attitude towards sapient life. No context whatsoever to his motivations, just that he's targeting all sapient life.
  8. Academy of Merlin: Graduated Tomas: * Put Them All Out of My Misery: She was in a great amount of pain, and she was willing to take everyone else down with her. Not really clear at all whether her actions would help her pain in any way.
  9. Guilty Gear -STRIVE-: * With Happy Chaos and I-No finally having merged into a godlike being and Sol de-powered and unconscious, all hope seems to be lost as the now deific I-No begins her own spin on Instrumentality for the sake of achieving her "perfect universe", causing every single human to helplessly cry in joy as they witness a giant version of I-No in the process of rewriting reality. Cue Ky Kiske, one of the only people who doesn't get reduced to tears, walking up to I-No, popping Dragon Install and giving her the fight of her life, which ends with Ky impaling her with Rising Force. Sadly, the attempt to kill her falls flat as his Scales of Juno powers are insufficient, but even I-No admitted that Ky momentarily put her on the ropes. Not clear if she is suffering in any way from the universe not being perfect, and whether it is solely motivated by wanting to alleviate that suffering or if she genuinely believes that universe would be better for other people i.e Well-Intentioned Extremist
  10. Ultra Series: Ultraman Belial: * Put Them All Out of My Misery: When Geed sees his memories, one of the things he realizes is deep down, Belial is filled with as much sorrow as he is rage over his banishment and is tired from his countless resurrections, but too consumed by his grudge to ever let go and pass on. Belial makes no attempt to dispute the idea, which paints his attempted destruction of the universe in a rather different light.. Unclear if he is consciously choosing to be resurrected even if it means he suffers more out of spite, with his attempted destruction of the universe having the "bonus" effect of killing him but he could easily choose to die otherwise, or if he is resurrected against his will due to his grudge and destroying the universe is the only way he can die for real.
  11. Sonic Forces: Potholed with no context
  12. MARDEK: * Put Them All Out of My Misery: He utilizes this logic to justify his career path. No context, though it does describe him as using logic as opposed to just being angry.
  13. Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: * Put Them All Out of My Misery: Princess Serenity. No context
  14. MCU: Thanos: * Put Them All Out of My Misery: His 2014 self changes his goal to this once he realizes that the people of the world will not take the destruction he has wrought lying down. No context
  15. Deltarune W.D. Gaster/The narrator:
    If Gaster ends up being the true Big Bad or the mastermind behind most of the events of the game, his motivations would be to try and kill himself or everything.
Being rendered a non-entity and having pieces of your soul scattered across spacetime (in the form of the Goners,) while (presumably) being functionally immortal would likely drive one over the Despair Event Horizon mighty quick. Thus, it's probable that Gaster would want to end himself (and/or everyone else.) Since this is a WMG, the speculation leaves it ambiguous whether the imagined scenario will involve Gaster only being able to kill himself by killing others or being able to kill himself in another way/unable to kill himself no matter what but just wanting to take his suffering out on others

Can't Refuse the Call Anymore wick check:

    open/close all folders 

    Character refuses the Call to Adventure but is forced to accept it or changes their mind, no symbolic death involved: 53 (52%) 

  1. Call to Adventure: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: The Chosen One can no longer ignore their destiny.
  2. Refusal of the Call: See also: Achilles in His Tent, "Leave Your Quest" Test, Refreshingly Normal Life-Choice and The Drag-Along. Contrast Adventure Rebuff and Refused by the Call, where the call refuses you, We Are Not Going Through That Again which takes place at the end of a story where the heroes refuse to repeat their adventure when confronted with the possibility, and Can't Refuse the Call Anymore, when circumstances force the hero to accept the call. Not to be confused with Didn't Want an Adventure. This page makes it clear how redundant this definition of Can't Refuse the Call Anymore is, because Refusal of the Call already has contained in it the assumption that the hero will eventually not be able/willing to refuse anymore and go on the adventure
  3. The New Albion Radio Hour: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: Constance finally has to choose a side in the war
  4. Avataro Sentai Donbrothers Donbrothers: The Zenkaigers were a team of one humans and four kikainoids, who willingly Jumped at the Call to fight against the Tozitend Dynasty. In contrast the Donbrothers are a team of two Ambiguously Human men and four humans, who are more or less being forced to take part in the fight against the Nōto Layer.
  5. BoxxyQuest: The Shifted Spires: Refusal of the Call: In the beginning, he turns down the chance to join Catie's party, saying he promised to keep the other tourists safe.
  6. Catch Your Breath: Heroic Neutral: At the beginning of the story, Kei doesn't have any particular interest in fighting for the good of Konoha. Instead, she begins the process of becoming a ninja for the express purpose of protecting her younger brother and her friends. Notably, she never truly leaves this mindset, instead choosing to expand the ring of people she cares for one person at a time. She tends to do her job, get paid, and go home in some form or another, and shinobi are generally not moral exemplars at the best of times. On the other hand, she's willing to fight to the death for those she's close to, who do tend to have heroic streaks.
    • Retreats back into this mode during Ocean Stars Falling, due to not really being invested in the overall conflict between pirates and the World Government. She really, really just wants to go home, but unfortunately Can't Refuse the Call Anymore is in full effect.
  7. Critical Role: Wildemount Campaign: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: The Mighty Nein has gone out of their way to avoid committing to any greater calling beyond their own personal goals, only taking mercenary work when they need the cash and allowing the machinations of the world at large to go unaddressed. Whatever plans are put into motion as a result of their actions elicits no intervention on their part, and is often not even taken into consideration. They might have continued to do so had they not stolen the Dodecahedron early on in the campaign. They then proceeded to carry the artifact around the world, using it without any real understanding of its purpose, all while fully aware that there would be people coming after it, and still they refused to pick a side in the conflict happening around them. Only Caduceus is aware that the Nein has a greater destiny ahead of them and, by returning the Dodecahedron to the Kryn Dynasty and being named heroes of Xhorhas, the Nein are on a collision course with that destiny, whether they like it or not.
  8. Deltarune: Susie: Refusal of the Call: In Chapter 1, she wants nothing to do with Ralsei's prophecy about being a legendary hero. She only goes along with him and Kris because it's her only chance to get home. Eventually she softens and comes to accept the call at the end of the chapter.
  9. Kamen Rider Dragon Knight: Sympathy for the Devil: Despite his grudge against Adam, he can’t help but wonder if his betrayal was due the fact that being stuck as a Kamen Rider meant his Advent Deck would always alert him to monster attacks making him unable to ignore them. He even says that while Adam was a good fighter, he wasn’t ready to make it his life.
  10. Son Of The Black Sword: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: by Destroyer, Thera has reluctantly accepted her place as leader of the faithful refugees.
  11. Starlink: Battle for Atlas: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: He wanted to just settle down and dig for Electum. The Awakening made him question his choice for decades, until finally being pushed by Shaid to help them fight back. He helps the crew earn enough money to upgrade the Equinox, then sticks around to teach everyone enough to keep them alive.
  12. Mr. Love: Queen's Choice: * Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: Of Asskicking Leads to Leadership Rank Up variant. Throughout the course of Season 1, to save the life of The Heroine from The Black Queen, Victor has grown and utilized his Time Master and Time Travel EVOL powers to the point of defying the laws of time, space, and universes. The Time Administration Bureau send Moderators to warn him many times that if he wants to stay in the same timeline as The White Queen (Heroine), he would have stay in his intended place, otherwise they willforce scout” him to serve the TAB. Then the last straw was drawn when he showed up Taking the Bullet for The Heroine, who, intended to take that bullet for a Evolver civilian who was suppose to die in their timeline. The TAB issued Victor to leave the timeline by the end of S1 Chapter 34 to their place to pay up his due by providing his service of overseeing the entire multiverse. Though this calling seems cool, and Victor willingly takes it eventually, Victor understands this is the price he has to pay for wanting both The Heroine and himself to live happily ever after.
  13. Mr. Love: Queen's Choice: * Guardian of the Multiverse: Highest ranked officials of the administration are assigned to this. The only person currently known in this position is Victor. No, he doesn’t like this job one bit. But he knew he has to take it.
  14. Namesake: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: She tried to leave the Rippers and her messy life behind, but Banshee found her and urged her to help saving the universe. Bird is not thrilled.
  15. The New Albion Radio Hour: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: Constance really has to choose a side in the war.
  16. The Reincarnated Vampire Just Wants To Enjoy Her New Life: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: In the aftermath of dealing with evil-vampire Bolthorn, as she's being mobbed by the survivors, she comes to the conclusion that she can no longer proclaim she's not the spiritual successor to "Saint" Scarlet.
  17. The Walking Dead (2010): Greene Family and Friends: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: The destruction of the farm leads them to accept the new state of the world and follow Rick's group to survive. Now the destruction of someone's home as a forcing to accept the call could be read as a symbolic death but I'm not including that because it's already covered by The Call Knows Where You Live.
  18. The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: Initially quite hesitant to join Lyngel's campaign against the demons, he relents when he realizes he doesn't have a choice, if he wants to survive. King Lyngel bowing his head to the ground and apologizing for summoning heroes without consent is what finally sways him.
  19. True Potential Krigakure: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: During the Shimagame-arc, he resolves to return to Kiri, which he presumably does after the Kumo-Invasion.
  20. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 - Ouroboros: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: When they first become Ouroboros, they decide to go their separate ways and return to their respective colonies. Said colonies treating them as enemies forces them to reunite and head for Swordmarch.
  21. Adventures In Aurora: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: Ossalir has a choice to get involved with the plot, but decides to go his own way. Arkham is unsure at first, but the attack on his temple changes his mind. He badgers Ossalir into accepting it later when the two of them meet finally.
  22. Cinders and Ashes: the Chronicles of Kamen Rider Dante: Call to Adventure: Like with most modern Kamen Riders, Hoshi obtains his Rider powers and chooses to fight as Dante.
    • Refusal of the Call: He tried to ignore his drafting into the war and tried to run to Akihabara in the second chapter.
    • Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: However, during an encounter with Blitz and Yuuya, Hoshi ends up entering the battle to save Blitz's life, only to get injured and eventually coming across Mamika and Alicetaria. Afterwards, he accepted his role as Kamen Rider Dante.
  23. Got The Baby Blues: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: The alternate Lance can't ignore not being the Blue Paladin any longer. Especially when his universe Paladins and canonish verse team up to get him.
  24. Keys to the Kingdom (Kingdom Hearts): The fic goes to great lengths to explore his personality as presented in canon, notably taking notice of his All-Loving Hero traits and how throughout the games, he Can't Refuse the Call Anymore and is The Chosen One. The story showcases how these events serve to boil over; Sora is just a teenager who has been thrown into one dangerous situation after another, each escalating as Master Xehanort's plans continue to come to fruition; while canon brushed off Sora potentially becoming Master Xehanort's vessel, this story showcases how that process actually happening tears Sora's psychology apart and brings these issues to the surface. Sora may be an All-Loving Hero...towards other people, we've never seen how he views himself. As it turns out, Sora is full of deep self-loathing partly because he keeps putting the needs of others before his own, and having to deal with ever-worsening crisis's did not help, and was why he refused to divulge that Xehanort was taking him over.
    • At the same time, the fact that Sora is very capable of caring about other people is also highlighted; the fact that despite his degrading mental state, he still strived to help others in every world, whether they were strangers or people he met in previous adventures, and never truly desired to hurt his friends (even the maiming of Riku is clearly shown to be an accident), compared to the sociopathic Xehanort who actively desires to destroy every world, and is the root cause of much of Sora's current misery. His friends are primarily motivated to help him, and will always care about him no matter what drama or suffering they undergo. Note that said character, Sora, is listed in another entry here where the trope is used to mean symbolic death, but in this context it just seems to be referring to how he has no choice but to go on his adventure
  25. The Eternal Crown: Jaune wants no part of Ozma's goals. He's a goddess-fearing adherent of the Eternity Queen's faith, and has no reason to doubt she's a glorious ruler besides the testimony of her evil enemy. Though Ozma urges him to rebel, and the Chosen search for him, the whole issue is a non-starter as far as he's concerned, and all he wants is to live his life without the Dark Lord's feud screwing things up for him. Unfortunately, Ozma exposes him so completely that there's no possible way for him to escape the conflict.
  26. The Courier (2021): Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: After spending most of the film looking forward to the day he could stop working for MI-6, Wynne is finally allowed to return to his normal life... only to realize that, with his friend and potentially the world in danger, he cannot bring himself to quit quite yet.
  27. The Force Awakens: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: Rey has let go of her past and accepted that her family is never coming for her, and seeks out Luke to further her training. This example is part of a larger The Hero's Journey entry.
  28. The Pirate: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: Despite being an excellent singer and dancer, Manuela repeatedly turns down Serafin's offer to join his troupe since she thinks she'd only be humiliating herself. Ultimately she puts on an act in front of the entire town in order to prove Serafin's innocence. The movie ends with her and Serafin performing "Be A Clown" in full clown makeup and costumes.
  29. Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: Character stops refusing the call and accepts life as The Hero.
  30. Bodacious Space Pirates: Spiritual Rebirth: Marika has decided to become the Bentenmaru's captain and live her life as a Space Pirates. Part of a larger The Hero's Journey entry rather than its own trope.
  31. Onslaught Cycle: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: After refusing to return to Otaria with Akroma in Legions, Ixidor is forcibly hauled back to the world by Kamahl in Scourge.
  32. Slaves of the Abyss: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: In the beginning you are given the opportunity to leave Kallamehr for your adventure, or stay in the city behind the safety of its walls. If you chose the latter, the book will throw several hints and chances at you to leave the city as soon as possible. And if you still stubbornly insists on staying behind, you are then treated to a Time Skip where Kallamehr gets destroyed, and you are among the casualties.
  33. This Is Unforgivable!: Zig Zagged: Yoshio realizes vengeance against Oda isn't in the cards for him, so he does his best to get over the tragedy... until Oda sets his sights on the new village he's settled down in. Realizing he can't let Oda continue his acts of cruelty, he vows to both avenge his past and defend his present from the warlord with the help of an army of his own.
  34. Avataro Sentai Donbrothers Ep 01 Avataro: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: Haruka is forced to fight as Oni Sister no matter how much she hates it, as she literally can't get rid of the glasses and DonBlaster. While she's reluctant to be a hero, she decides to find Taro and her other teammates at the end.
  35. Batwoman (2019) S1E3 "Down Down Down": Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: Faced with Tommy's plot to kill dozens of people, Kate accepts the role of the city's protector after previously avoiding the role due to self-doubt and reluctance to be that sort of symbol.
  36. Haven S 3 E 13 Thanks For The Memories: Refusal of the Call / Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: Audrey is initially determined to find another way to stay, but in the end, realizes there is no other way—or rather there is, but as we find out in the next season, it's not an option she's willing to take.
  37. Odd Squad S 1 E 22 The Potato Ultimato Fistful Of Fruit Juice: Refusal of the Call: When O'Donahue asks Oprah if she's seen any odd stuff happening, Oprah cuts him off abruptly, stating that she doesn't want to get involved in any Odd Squad-related shenanigans, and is happy just selling fruit to the townsfolk. However, she eventually does get dragged into Odd Squad business when some of her fruit is stolen, much to her chagrin.
  38. Odd Squad S 2 E 15 O Is For Opposite Agent Oksanas Kitchen Nightmares: Refusal of the Call: While Olympia is more than willing to help mend the rift between Oksana and Ms. O, Otis flat-out refuses to help, saying that he doesn't want to get involved. Eventually, he Can't Refuse the Call Anymore when he is assigned to take Oksana's place in the Food and Beverage department along with Olympia.
  39. Otherside Picnic V 01 F 04 Time Space And A Middle Aged Man: Refusal of the Call: Both Sorawo and Kozakura do this when asked to go into the Otherside. Unfortunately, when the call knows where you live you haven't really got a choice. Another one that could count as symbolic death if its wasn't already covered in The Call Knows Where You Live.
  40. Outlander S 6 E 1 Echoes: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore:
    • Jamie initially refuses to become the Indian Agent to the Crown. But after Major MacDonald tells Jamie the position will go to Richard Brown, who is ruthless, Jamie quickly decides to become the Indian Agent.
    • Still grieving Claire and his unborn child, Jamie is completely uninterested in leading the Highlanders in Ardsmuir prison, no matter how much deference they instinctively give him. However, when the tensions between the Protestant and Catholic prisoners boils over into a brawl that kills a young prisoner, Jamie steps in and takes command to broker a peace between the two factions.
  41. SCP Foundation: SCPs 4000 to 4999: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: Frederick implies that at least some of the SCP-4918 instances were forced awake in order to aid in the war effort; in particular, he found all of the ravens on the mountain he was sleeping under were shot dead by German bullets.
  42. Sailor Mon S Ep 17 The Bond Of Destiny Uranuss Distant Past: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: After hearing Neptune confess her love for her and seeing first-hand how painful her new life as a Sailor Guardian is, Haruka decides to stop running and accepts her destiny as Sailor Uranus.
  43. Strike Witches Ep 2 "That Which I Can Do": Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: Despite Miyafuji's protests against fighting the Neuroi, they don't leave her a choice when they attack the Akagi.
  44. Supernatural S 13 E 03 Patience: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: When told that she is psychic, Patience insists that she's "normal", but when she's kidnapped, her visions show her everyone will be murdered in their attempt to rescue her. She has to use her visions to save the cavalry so they can save her.
  45. Live-Action TV: In "Agent Oksana's Kitchen Nightmares", Olympia becomes more than willing to help mend the rift between Oksana and Oprah. Otis, on the other hand, straight-out refuses, but when Olympia comes back from a chat with Oprah and reveals that both her and her partner have been shifted to the Food and Beverage department in Oksana's place, he Can't Refuse the Call Anymore and is forced to get involved.
  46. Crossbow: Refusal of the Call: Will says in the first episode "you give me a choice between war and Gessler, and I'll take Gessler every time." Naturally, he changes his mind.
  47. Kamen Rider Dragon Knight: The Call Knows Where You Live: Once a Kamen Rider is linked to his or her Advent Deck, the deck will always alert them to when there a monster attack, thus making them unable to refuse the call.
  48. Tropes A to L: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: Following Zelda's abduction, this happens when Link finally makes the jump from the safety of The Sky to the desolate Surface below.
  49. Child of Light: Aurora just woke up alone in Lemuria and founds herself learning to fight in order to found a way to return home. After realizing (in the worst way) that the portal back home was a trap, she understood that she must defeat the evil in this land and save her new friends; later she's tempted by the Big Bad with an easy way to return home but she declines it after seeing her father a last time, who's proud of her doing the right thing. She then loses her protective crown, gets killed and revived (fitting the Apotheosis), meets the Goddess (in the form of the Queen of Light) and defeats the Big Bad. Part of a Hero's Journey entry. There is a symbolic death but it's at the very end of the story and not listed as the same as the Can't Refuse the Call Anymore moment.
  50. Starlink: Battle for Atlas: Peppy, if only briefly. He's quick to remind Fox of their original mission and how helping Starlink would be a distraction, but the others quickly leave to join the fight before he can argue further, begrudgingly lending his assistance as well. He says he should have retired after beating Andross (which he also said in other games), but every time he tries, he just gets back into it.
  51. The Legend of Zelda: The Sage of Darkness: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: Link is hesitant to accept his role as the hero, because he just wants to take care of his brother. The actions of both Zelda and Ertegun make it impossible for him to stay put.
  52. Loving Vincent: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: Armand didn't particularly like Vincent and wasn't interested in delivering the letter, but begrudgingly accepts the task when his father guilts him into it.
  53. Starchaser: The Legend of Orin: Played with. Orin escapes the Mine World with all the determination befitting a rebellious slave in a sci-fi flick. Shortly afterwards, though, when he is captured by the man-droids, Orin can briefly be heard apologizing for escaping and promising to go back to the mines if they will spare his life. By then, of course, it is far too late. It's arguable where to put this, since you could interpret being captured as a symbolic death, but the capture really isn't presented as the reason he can't refuse the call anymore, just the thing that makes him want to refuse.

    Main character symbolically dies, and this also is the point where they stop refusing the call: 13 (13%) 

  1. Earth's Children - Ayla: Refusal of the Call:
    • Ayla ignores Iza's advice to leave the Clan and seek out her own people, being reluctant to leave the only home and family she'd ever known. Of course, by the end of the first book she has no choice but to the leave, due to an earthquake destroying the clan's cave (again) and Broud ordering her to be cursed with death. The symbolic death part is arguable here but you could see being cursed to die/threatened with being cursed to die and thus being essentially dead to your home as counting.
  2. Reincarnated As The Strongest Wand: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: By the time chapter 4 comes around, she's exposed as "the magical girl" because her transformation wore off in public. She now has to fight because the demons will come after her, no matter what she does. Could argue this is a symbolic death in being transformed and now dead to her former life, though I'm not sure.
  3. Sunrider Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: When Kayto comes to ask her help in taking down Crow Harbor in Sunrider 4'', she initially says no. She believes that the threat Crow poses is real, but she has a responsibility to the Ceran people as their acting prime minister, and she can't just abandon that responsibility to go gallivanting around the galaxy. Then Veniczar Fontana springs a trap for Kayto, and Ava gets swept aboard the Maray in the confusion. Once they're out of danger, Ava realizes that the damage has already been done and settles back into her role as the ship's XO. Being accidentally taken onto the ship and separated from her previous world/life can arguably be a symbolic death.
  4. The Bible: Refusal of the Call: More like he didn't want to preach in the Assyrian capital which would have got him killed. He would face a trial that made him reconsider.
  5. Avalon Code: A Guide to Wasting Awesome Ideas: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: Yumil would rather not have monsters ripping his legs off, but holding onto the Book of Prophecy at least gives him a fighting chance. When he breaks out of Xenonbart's prison, he's no longer able to stay in Rhoan unless he wants his head lopped off, so finding the other Spirits is his only choice. I'd say breaking out of prison and knowing you'd be dead if you return can count as a symbolic death/threshold passing.
  6. Naked Killer: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: The moment Kitty wakes up in Sister Cindy's room, and learning that Cindy is taking her as a protege, Kitty immediately demands to be let out. Cindy responds by flicking on the television, showing a news broadcast about Kitty's rampage in Mr. Bee's office, that police have identified Kitty as Mr. Bee's killer, and as such Kitty is now a wanted fugitive and has no choice but to accept Cindy's offer. Debatable like all these examples but I'd say being a wanted fugitive unable to return could count as symbolic death.
  7. Book of Jonah: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: "In the belly of a whale" is often used to refer to a period in a story where the protagonist is caught in a situation with no hope. However, in the story of Jonah the whale is actually not a punishment but God's way of saving Jonah from drowning. It also represented him giving Jonah a second chance by taking him back to land. Though the Bible itself compares being in the whale as a trial, when Christ compares the three days in the whale with his upcoming three days dead before resurrection. It's not clear that he was refusing the call before, just the symbolic death part, but I know it from the other Bible entry and previous knowledge from the Bible being very well-known
  8. The Count of Monte Cristo: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: Edmond Dantès is initially a benign, trusting, and naive young man with a happy future ahead of him. Then he's falsely imprisoned. He initially hopes that he'll receive justice and return to his friends. But after four years, he realizes that he'll never be released. This is the trope-point where there is no going back to his old life, only ahead. It initially drives him to despair and a suicide attempt. But the unexpected arrival of a fellow prisoner, the remarkable Abbe Faria, turns his thoughts in a new direction, toward escape and revenge. This also marks a change in Dantès's character.
  9. The Qur'an: Yunusnote  was swallowed whole because [[What the Hell, Hero? he did not want to preach God's message to his people again, thinking they were beyond saving. After a The Reason You Suck speech courtesy of God and repentance, he was left out.
  10. Yona of the Dawn: Jae-Ha tried to avoid Kija and Shin-Ah, knowing they probably were with their master and that he would have the urge to join them, despite his desire for freedom. However, the moment he met Yona, resistance was futile, and all his attempts were just delaying the inevitable, so he ultimately becomes Resigned to the Call rather than be forced into it.
  11. Anime & Manga: Reincarnated As The Strongest Wand has Reiji's soul shoved into a wand. As the witch who did it was gushing about how "lucky" he is to be The Chosen One, he pointedly refuses her, twice. She retorts that as a wand, he Can't Refuse the Call Anymore, and then puts him on a shelf, leaving the cabin, never to return. An interesting example because while having your soul shoved into a wand counts as a symbolic death, the trope name seems to be just used as a stock quote for saying you can't refuse the call and it's just coincidental it happens to fit the other meaning.
  12. Thief II: The Metal Age: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: After spending his life running away from it, after Viktoria's death shocks and devastates Garrett, he finally resigns himself to it. Not a traditional symbolic death, but the hero's journey page does say losing people you love can count. Though by that logic losing your home could also count, which is already covered by The Call Knows Where You Live.

    Main character symbolically dies, marking a turning point/"no turning back" point but the character wasn't explicitly refusing the call before hand: 12 (12%) 

  1. Propp's Functions of Folktales: 15: Transference - The hero is taken to a new place. Physically. Emotionally. Spiritually. Grammatically.
  2. The Hero's Journey: The Spiritual Death and Rebirth represents a symbolic death for the Hero: the Hero is defeated and killed, their flesh scattered, ready to be reborn and emerge as a new person. If you think the symbolic death ought to come later, don't worry: The Writer's Journey omits this step altogether in favor of a Resurrection step just before the end.
    • A more contemporary interpretation of this step is that the hero is taken down & demoralized by the Big Bad and hits rock bottom, without actually dying (though this can be caused by someone close to them dying). Afterwards, they have an important revelation, giving them a final bit of Character Development, and restoring their resolve.
    • Part of this step involves the Hero Losing the Guide.
  3. Mind Game: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: Also invoked in the classic sense. Stuck inside the whale, every protagonist confronts that which they have been running from before their escape.
  4. Tropes E to H: The Spiritual Death and Rebirth: When he returns to the Hawks a year later, the tragic Eclipse happens. His flesh is seared and scattered, and he is "reborn" as a new man with a burning vengeance. He is now fully initiated into the strange world, and is given further supernatural aids (the Dragonslayer and possibly his cursed brand). An example that is part of a description for The Hero's Journey rather than its own trope
  5. Kingdom Hearts: Sora: * Can't Refuse the Call Anymore:
    • Sora does this twice. Once in the sub-journey that is the first game, when he separates his heart from his body, and again and more fitting of the trope in his series-long character arc when his heart is shattered entirely and he has to put it back together and heal before he gets another chance to pass the official Hero's Test Yen Sid was giving.
    • Sora arguably had a couple of these moments in the first game. The first was when his homeworld was destroyed and he more or less washed up on Traverse Town. The second happens when he loses the Keyblade as well as Donald and Goofy to Riku, forcing him to rely on his own strength and tenacity for the first time since starting his journey rather than using the Keyblade as a handicap.
  6. The Dragon Prince: Callum: Callum finally reaches a point of no return, and concludes the first part of his Hero's Journey, when he connects to the sky arcanum and crosses into Xadia. After using Dark Magic, he falls into a coma and nearly dies. He has a series of visions that toss him around and test his character. When he awakes, he realizes that he now understands the sky arcanum, thus achieving what no other human mage has achieved and committing him to finish the journey with Rayla and Zym.
  7. Deryni: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: In The Quest for Saint Camber, Kelson and Dhugal are swept away in a mudslide and washed into an underground cave system behind a waterfall. They follow the cavernous tunnels looking for an escape route and are forced to break into the tombs of the Servants of Saint Camber (who have been in hiding for two centuries due to the anti-Deryni persecutions) to escape. To avoid death sentences for despoiling the Servants' graves, Kelson must undergo a ritual trial called cruaidh-dheuchainn; he's sent naked into an underground chapel that has chemical fumes used to induce visions, and he must stay there overnight and report whether or not Camber visits him. After this, he's ready to return to his capital and face the task of taking his throne back from his cousin Conall. Wasn't quite sure on this but I think the detail about being ready to face the task of taking the throne back counts as a turning point/being fully immersed in the adventure.
  8. Sword of the Stars: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: Black Swimmers are considered dead to their civilian fellows, as reflected in the initiation ritual. First, he goes through what is basically a funeral, where his loved ones circle him, sing to him, and touch him one last time. After he is handed over to the Black Swimmers, his lungs are filled with the oxygenated fluid that Liir warships use instead of atmosphere. To the recruit, this is very much like drowning, and indeed the first day of training is called "Drowning Day". After he has been reborn, not as a Liir, but as a Black Swimmer, he will undergo his military training. Well, this technically applies to a lot of people and not (just?) the main character, but I still think it counts because it's this archetypical moment in the hero's journey being invoked in-universe.
  9. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: This comes when he rescues Zelda from Agahnim and becomes a fugitive. Later, it comes again when Agahnim has re-captured Zelda and Link goes to confront him, only to be sent to the Dark World at the end of their encounter. Becoming a fugitive and being sent to the Dark World probably serve well enough as both symbolic deaths and turning points/point of no return
  10. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: Happens when the Great Deku Tree dies and Link must leave the forest, and later when Link is sealed in the Sacred Realm for a seven-year coma, only to awaken to a Crapsack World in which the first thing he sees is a ReDead. The first example definitely counts as a turning point, the second arguably counts too because awakening to a completely different world marks a new stage of his journey with no turning back.
  11. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: Happens when the pirates first drop Link off at the Forsaken Fortress. And because he's still an overconfident kid by then, he's tossed into the ocean and rescued, leaving him with no option other than to wise up. The mid-game twist occurs when Link first encounters Ganondorf with the Master Sword, only to find that it has lost its power.
  12. Neo-Duelist League: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: A lot of characters have these moments, some more than one. If it wasn't for the fact most apply as backstory they would almost always be a Darkest Hour.
  13. The Croods: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: While the other Croods accept Guy as one of their own and adopt his ways for the better, Grug stubbornly sticks to his own ways, meeting the change he instills in the family with resistence or hostility out of both Pride and fear that it would endanger them. It is not until he gets to know Guy better when they're trapped in the tar and they work together to escape it does he accept these changes. Being unwilling to change one's ways with regards to the family isn't quite the same as refusing the Call to Adventure, though the being trapped could count as a symbolic death.

    Main character symbolically dies, with no indication this marks a turning point in their journey: 12 (12%) 

  1. Loss of Identity: A crucial part of The Hero's Journey, frequently manifested in the belly of the whale. This seems to be solely talking about the symbolic death aspect and how it means a loss of one's former identity, there's maybe an implication that this marks a turning point where they can't turn back because they are a different person but it isn't outright stated
  2. In Pact, Blake Thorburn gets into a fight with a demon and loses, being made an Unperson in the process. There's a denouement chapter of various characters reacting to the sudden absence, with his Distaff Counterpart Rose Thorburn becoming his successor as Thorburn Heir, before the narrative abruptly shifts to Goblin hunter Maggie Holt for seven chapters. After that, though The next chapter takes place from Blake's point of view, revealing that instead of being eaten he's fallen into an Eldritch Location called The Drains, which serves as the Can't Refuse the Call Anymore moment for his Hero's Journey. This may represent a turning point, but it isn't stated, just using the trope name and expecting it will be understood what that means, though it is clearly a symbolic death
  3. Kitty Norville: The Hero's Journey: Kitty's journey has been very bumpy and not followed every step of the structure, although she has experienced The Call Knows Where You Live, tried refusing it, and has eventually become resigned to it; she's also encountered the usual Mentor Occupational Hazard, her exile would probably count as Crossing the Threshold, and any number of moments could be considered her spiritual rebirth—nearly being sacrificed by the Band of Tiamat, the experience at the Montana cabin, even her televised Change way back in book two. But book twelve contains the most explicit references. Part of a Hero's Journey entry, and there's no mention of how these symbolic deaths represent a point of fully being consumed by the world, committing to her journey, etc., just that they happened.
  4. The Castle in the Attic: There is no Can't Refuse the Call Anymore, unless you consider William having been shrunk and leaving his world behind to be a form of death, but he certainly has the Road of Trials—see The Three Trials, wherein he encounters The Shapeshifter (Dick, against his will), the "Leave Your Quest" Test (literally in the form of the forest's temptations, but a number of people try to convince him not to face the wizard), and in the castle itself, the Goddess in the form of Calendar (as the Crone). This is part of a The Hero's Journey entry and clearly defining the trope as requiring a symbolic death, but no other requirements of the placement in the story and context are mentioned besides the symbolic death.
  5. Better Call Saul S5 E10: "Something Unforgivable": Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: Variation: Lalo took Nacho with him to the Salamanca's compound in Mexico and introduced him to Don Eladio, effectively putting him in the belly of the beast.
  6. Doctor Who S35 E11 "Heaven Sent": Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: The Doctor is Trapped in Another World, completely alone save for a sinister Threshold Guardian that he must escape from or defeat.
  7. Cave Story: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: The end of the Sand Zone. You can only watch, horrified, as Toroko and King are murdered in front of you, and then you are effortlessly defeated and cast into the Labyrinth by Misery. Then everything gets much worse.
  8. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: When Link finds himself turned into a wolf and locked in the twilit Hyrule Castle. The mid-game twist occurs when Zant blindsides Link and takes the Fused Shadows they worked hard to get.
  9. Jo Jos Bizarre Summer Break: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: Dio still turned into a vampire with his head attached to Jonathan's body, only this time Jonathan also survived thanks to his Hamon powers, and he got George's body instead. I think getting a new body counts as a symbolic death here, though the context and what it means for the story is not discussed at all.
  10. The Last Halloween: Actually follows the formula pretty well, including the Supernatural Aid (the scythe), Can't Refuse the Call Anymore (Mona getting swallowed up by the monster in Ringley's castle), and the "Night Sea Voyage" (the Shadow World). Part of a The Hero's Journey entry.
  11. Rise of the Guardians: The Hero's Journey: The story follows this for Jack pretty closely, including but not limited to a textbook spiritual rebirth moment in the ice chasm. Another hero's journey example, though how it applies isn't really explained.
  12. The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie: Even something like this can be made to fit: the beginning of the film shows SpongeBob's normal life in Bikini Bottom, and then he is forced to leave the comfort of home to save Mr. Krabs and retrieve Neptune's crown, by facing all sorts of challenges that require him to realize that he needs to grow up. The trench is the nadir of the journey when he and Patrick realize how pathetic they are, Shell City is the "descent to the underworld" (in that they are very nearly killed and only miraculously survive) and, when they return, SpongeBob saves everyone in town from Plankton's mind control by admitting that he may just be a kid, but that isn't so bad. Part of a The Hero's Journey entry. The symbolic death part seems to just be used as the Darkest Hour rather than representing being fully immersed in the adventure.

    A turning point/no turning back point in the journey, but with neither symbolic death nor initial call refusal: 5 (5%) 

  1. Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: The pets reach this point once they summit the hill beyond the ranch, looking down on the intimidating Sierras. At this point, the three are debating whether or not to continue, in which they agree to go with Shadow and make the trek home.
  2. Jo Jos Bizarre Adventure Phantom Blood: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: Jonathan and Dio's first confrontation after the latter becomes a vampire signals the end of Easing into the Adventure and leads to the "bizarre" adventures of the rest of the series.
  3. Lunar: The Silver Star: All five games tell the story of a young man named Alex who sets out on a classic hero's journey with all the trimmings. The details vary a bit from version to version, but have the same underlying structure: the protagonist, Alex, admires a famous hero named Dragonmaster Dyne who died 15 years prior. So, when a dragon offers him the call to adventure, he jumps at it, seeing it as an opportunity to follow in his idol's footsteps. His journey gets him mixed up in a conflict between the forces of good and a villain called the Magic Emperor, with the fate of the world at stake. By facing this foe, Alex gains the wherewithal to make all his dreams come true. He goes on a grand adventure, prevails against the baddie when it seems like all hope is lost, gets the girl, and saves the world. Part of a Hero's Journey entry, noted to be an example where he Jumps At The Call so it's not a Refusal of the Call example.
  4. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: This happens after the Happy Mask Salesman has taught Link the Song of Healing and given him his former shape. Link had promised him to retrieve Majora's Mask, and the salesman proceeds to explain why it's important that he does so. Maybe he does refuse the call here, but it's never stated in the entry.
  5. Moana: Chief Tui's strict adherence to the rules of the Elders forbidding anyone to sail past the reef caused the village of Motunui to be especially vulnerable when the "spreading darkness" finally arrives. At that point, Gramma Tala has revealed to Moana that she's The Chosen One who Can't Refuse the Call Anymore forcing her to sail beyond the reef despite all Tui did to protect her. Used without context so it's not clear whether she was initially refusing the call, in any case there is no symbolic death.

    Other/Unsure: 7 (7%) 

  1. Darkest Hour: Compare Can't Refuse the Call Anymore, the first of the dark hours. This seems to define the trope as neither when the hero stops refusing the call or when the hero symbolically dies as a turning point, but as Darkest Hour except earlier in the story. Given the symbolic death definition often does mean a Darkest Hour.
  2. Threshold Guardians: The term comes from the work of comparative mythologist Joseph Campbell — next, the hero Can't Refuse the Call Anymore. This doesn't define the trope at all.
  3. Mobile Suit Gundam Storm: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: When Athene returns to Forge and faces possible brainwashing in order to try and save her fellow supersoldiers. This one isn't clear, was this listed because going into a dangerous place and risking herself is interpreted as a symbolic death (which seems like a stretch since heroes do risky things all the time and get out safely without it being treated as a symbolic death) or because she had been refusing the call before, which is never stated?
  4. An Elegy for the Still-living: The Hero's Journey: Deconstructed. Despite going through all the major steps, Francis remains essentially unchanged. He is constantly motivated by his own fears and selfish desires and never truly redeems himself even when he Can't Refuse the Call Anymore. Not clear in context what is meant by him being an example of this trope.
  5. Sword Art Online: Project Alicization: Kirito awakens in an unfamiliar virtual world (called "Underworld") with no memories of how he got there. He must venture to discover the secrets behind this world and why he has been trapped within it, all while questioning whether he is the real Kirito or merely an Artificial Intelligence in his likeness. Alicization is by far the longest story arc in the franchise, and the only one with subtitles for each volume.note  (LN Volumes 9–18) Contextless pothole.
  6. Tropes G to N: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: Nanako's kidnapping and death, and the permanent fog This is part of a The Hero's Journey entry, but it isn't made clear why these events fit any definition of the trope.
  7. Crash and Burn: Ketier: The bird heir of giant-insect dwelling Potanikyaa, xe has mostly lived as a sheltered royal with nothing expected of xem. Xe starts to learn and change as the story progresses, possibly straying into Can't Refuse the Call Anymore. Probably referring to xem initially refusing the call but it's not made clear at all, the trope is just mentioned with no context.

    Not Counting in wick check 

  1. Elenco Provvisorio C: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore [Il Ventre Della Balena] This is just an Italian translation and says nothing about how the trope is used.
  2. Trope Epitaph: Renamed Tropes #-L: Here lies Belly of the Whale — Faced a spiritual death from The Call.[[note]]The trope name was occasionally interpreted literally and used for examples of Womb Level or Swallowed Whole, forcing a rename. This is a just for fun talking about how the trope was renamed, it's not relevant for seeing how the trope is used
  3. Tom Waits: TV Tropes has used quotes by Waits on the following pages:
  1. All Sandbox entries including my own aren't counted either.
  2. A To E: Can't Refuse the Call Anymore used to be "Belly of the Whale". It was commonly taken literally and misused to refer to a common appearance of the Monster Whale. Just says the trope was renamed, and nothing about how it is used.
  3. Too Obscure or Bizarre: Can't Refuse the Cold Call Anymore This is just a joke Just for Fun thing and doesn't have to do with how the trope is used.
  4. I'm not counting any of the three WMG entries.
  5. Warp That Aesop/Tropes: The Call Knows Where You Live, Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: Anyone who doesn't want to be a part of something deserve to have their homes destroyed, their families and friends killed, and also deserve to be made miserable so they can go along with the plot. Does seem to lean towards the interpretation that it's about when you stop Refusal of the Call, with a bit of symbolic death in how they lose everything that formerly grounded them, but I'm not counting it because it's a fun game rather than a proper part of the wiki.

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/unnamed_701.jpg
Baron Vitellio Scarpia, God of Rape By Hostage Coercion

  • Rank: Quasideity
  • Alignment: Lawful Evil
  • Theme Song: Te Deum
  • Portfolio: A baritone, evil police chief trying to suppress revolution, a baron, succeeds in getting Cavaradossi killed after his death, lied about his ultimatum, complete depravity, admits he is evil though claims to be religious
  • Domains: Sexual violence, oppression, opera
  • Allies: Judge Claude Frollo
  • Enemies: Napoleon Bonaparte, Thelma Yvonne Dickinson and Louise Elizabeth Sawyer, Lady Oscar François de Jarjayes
  • Lusts After: Jean d'Arc, Aerith Gainsborough
  • A chief of police in Rome during the Napoleonic Wars, Scarpia was given power to hunt down the people who had participated in the city's now-deposed republic. Looking for the republic's former governing member Angelotti, he tortured his friend Mario Cavaradossi to find his location - but in the process became very interested in his lover, the singer Floria Tosca, and offered to spare his life if she slept with him. Tosca killed him instead, but not before he had arranged for Cavaradossi to be executed regardless of Tosca seemingly keeping her side of the bargain.
  • Scarpia woke up in the Pantheon after being killed by Tosca, and initially thought he was in some kind of heaven. "Well", he thought, I know I've gone a bit astray from God by lusting after someone, but perhaps He sees I am better than those interlopers making a puppet government for the French". He soon was very pleased to find out that he had been chosen for the Pantheon because of his action of threatening Cavaradossi to have Tosca for himself]], and is very happy to have earned such a holy and powerful position and thus avoid the embarrassment of having been killed by his intended victim.
  • He naturally hates Napoleon Bonaparte, given how he waged war on Rome and was responsible for setting up the puppet republic Scarpia tried to repress, and winning the battle of Marengo so that that republic would be restored despite all of his efforts. While other deities, some of whom have their own gripes with the emperor, might have been able to sympathize with Scarpia dislike of a foreign occupier, he loses a lot of sympathy with his disgust for republican government in general. In his opinion, such a government would only ever exist in Rome because of a foreign occupier; only idiots like Cavaradossi would ever willingly want one. He also despises the likes of Lady Oscar. To him, she's just the typical violent and monstrous revolutionary breed that comes from France and sends states like his into war, not to mention the depravity of being a woman who acts like and was raised like a man! He certainly wouldn't mind forcing her to sleep with him too, if he can only find someone to threaten to make it happen; not so much because he's interested in her sexually as that he just wants her to know her place.
  • Thelma and Louise heard of his and Tosca's story and sympathized a lot with Tosca, as like them she had killed a man who intended to rape her but found herself pursued by the authorities as a result, ultimately killing herself because she had no escape. As a result, they hate Scarpia and, while to their frustration they can't kill him permanently in the Pantheon, they do whatever they can to make his life as hard as possible, pulling various nasty pranks on him and always hounding him. On Scarpia's part, he regrets only that he gave Tosca access to a knife that she could kill him with, and wants to find a way to get nuisances like them alone and helpless so he can torture them in some way and not repeat the same mistake (though he doesn't have any interest in them sexually; they aren't pure and pious enough and don't have quite the right intriguing balance of gentleness and rebellion in his opinion).
  • As for the deities he actually does lust after: what fascinated him about Tosca was her piety and the religious aesthetic, and he's found a similar thing to admire in Jean d'Arc, a woman who is driven by her visions she believed to be from God. He can't get over the idea of that purity combined with the vision and drive. Likewise, he was very intrigued to discover how in some worlds, they had the concept of a "white mage" dedicated to healing and full of piety and purity, and particularly by the trope's Pantheon representative Aerith. Unfortunately, he underestimated her ability to be more than just passive, and that her specialization in healing didn't leave her completely helpless to defend herself, so he ended up getting pretty badly injured for his troubles. Ever since it's a frustration to him that the Pantheon is filled with gods so much more physically powerful than him, even the supposed passive little lambs.
  • One of the only deities who gets along with him and isn't disgusted is Judge Frollo, who found they had a lot in common with how they both are unfairly persecuted by other deities for pursuing the lust they have, in their minds, a perfect right to pursue. Though their relationship isn't without it's difficulties; while both value the importance of religious purity, Frollo is a bit disgusted by Scarpia's shamelessness in pursuing someone for her piety. All he himself did, after all, is pursue a temptress who asked for it by being from an inherently uncouth ethnic group, but it seems a little disrespectful even to him to go after someone who clearly isn't forcing his hand. But in the end, an ally is an ally, and he's the only one who understands there are worse sins than following a desire that God made inevitable anyway.

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