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{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|'''Talking lizard:''' We must find and protect the princess before our enemies get to her! Then we shall fight the enemy and overcome them! First--
▲{{quote|'''Talking lizard:''' We must find and protect the princess before our enemies get to her! Then we shall fight the enemy and overcome them! First--<br />
▲'''Yuuhi:''' Did I ever mention anything about helping you?<br />
'''Yuuhi:''' You mentioned fighting, right? Wouldn't that, like, strain me physically? You expect a normal college student to fight against people who can destroy the earth?
▲'''Talking lizard:''' ...Eh?<br />
▲'''Yuuhi:''' You mentioned fighting, right? Wouldn't that, like, strain me physically? You expect a normal college student to fight against people who can destroy the earth?<br />
'''Yuuhi:''' So there are other warriors? Then I'll leave it to them. But I'm not doing it. It would be great if Earth survived, but I'll just hedge my bets and watch from the sidelines.
▲'''Talking lizard:''' You'll combine your power with other warriors...<br />
The character, typically the hero, receives a [[Call to Adventure]] but at first refuses for some reason. [[You Can't Fight Fate|Events then conspire]] to force them to accept the call, and in a good number of cases, the events in question [[The Call Knows Where You Live|hit home in a very tragic fashion.]]
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If this is the second (or further) iteration of a Hero's cycle, it isn't uncommon for the Hero to have ''forgotten'' his adventures, given up his Hero powers, or some combination of the two, deliberately or otherwise: this variant of the refusal is [[Can't Stay Normal]].
The term comes from anthropologist Joseph Campbell's analysis of heroic sagas; it is a standard feature of such stories. (See [[
Of course some heroes [[Jumped At the Call|jump at the chance for adventure]]. (Others would have [[Missed the Call|if they'd only gotten it!]])
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{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* In the second episode of ''[[Yes! Pretty Cure
* It happens in ''[[Heartcatch Precure]]'' in the same exact way, except Erika didn't want to because of other responsibilities. She changes her mind when she sees how awesome it is (and when she sees Tsubomi get herself into trouble.)
** Itsuki's the same way - Potpourri chose her to be a Precure, but she didn't feel she was worthy. It isn't until her brother is turned into a monster that she takes it up.
** Then, there's Yuri, the former Cure Moonlight. The first time, Tsubomi's grandma has to remind Tsubomi and Erika that she can't transform. The second time, Potpourri tries to recruit her, but she turns it down. It isn't until the Precure Trials that she's dragged back, kicking and screaming.
* In ''[[AIR]]'', once Yukito realizes that {{spoiler|Misuzu's illness is killing her because she's become his friend}}, he tries to leave and never see her again, but then remembers that he has to try to save her. Also, in the movie, he did not even want to look for the girl in the sky.
* Zakuro in ''[[Tokyo Mew Mew]]''. She was already a [[Magical Girl|Mew Mew]] by this
* Usagi in ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' [[I Just Want to Be Normal|just wanted to be normal]], only agreed to get powers in order to save her friend, and even got out of having them once when she died at the end of the first series of the anime. She never got out of it in the manga, though she killed herself after being forced to kill her lover. They were ''both'' reborn and she had to fight again immediately afterward.
** Haruka (Uranus) in the anime refuses until a daimon is about to kill Neptune. She is warned not to say yes just to save them because she can't take it back once she does. She says yes finally anyway.
** Ami (Mercury) in ''[[Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon]]'' refuses because she believes Usagi only befriended her so that she'd join up. As usual, a battle forces her to make the choice - although afterward, she claims to Usagi that she really does want to fight with her, probably still hoping it will let them become friends.
* Nakajima Youko in ''[[The Twelve Kingdoms]]'' spends an unusually long portion of the entire first [[Story Arc]] of the series refusing the call in various ways.
* This is Jomy's initial reaction in ''[[Toward the Terra]]''. Mixed with a great dose of [[I Just Want to Be Normal|reluctance in accepting his role as a Mu]].
* Ginrai in ''[[Transformers Super God Masterforce]]'' initially refuses to get involved in the Autobot/Decepticon war, and only changes his tune when Hydra and Buster kill some of his friends while trying to get to him.
* Asuna of ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'' seems to fit this. When she first finds out about magic, she wants nothing to do with it, and seems downright offended by how it's going against her nice and orderly world (the fact that it seems to be losing her crush isn't helping.) {{spoiler|She actually falls into the "did this before, but forgot about it" category, having erased her memory [[Older Than They Look|ten years prior]]}}. Needless to say, given that the principal put Negi (The Call personified as a [[Cute Shotaro Boy]]) in her room and he won't hang up, she gives in eventually.
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* ''[[The Lucifer and Biscuit Hammer]]'': Yuuhi gets picked to be the Lizard Knight, protect the princess, save the world, and so forth but flat out refuses to have anything to do with the whole affair and throws his [[Mentor Mascot|spiritual advisor]] out the window ([[Clingy MacGuffin|several times]]). That doesn't stop golems from trying to kill him, though, and the Princess's oath to destroy the world herself finally convinces him to participate wholeheartedly.
* Kamina Ayato from ''[[RahXephon]]'' waffles between this and being willing to fight throughout the show.
* In ''[[Prétear]]'', Himeno at first doesn't even ''believe'' the Leafe Knights when they tell her she's the titular [[Magical Girl]], thinking they're pulling a prank. When a monster actually shows up, she's rebuffed by the [[Tall, Dark and Snarky]] leader of the knights and runs
* One side hero in ''[[Fist of the North Star]]'', name of Jyuza, adhered to his trope. Jyuza is part of the Nanto Five Chariot Stars who defend the Last Nanto General. When Jyuza is sent a note telling him that he must jump into action to stop Raoh from getting to the Last Nanto General....he slices up the note saying "how stupid!", claiming that he'd rather be as free as a cloud. Course, since this is the series where [[Anyone Can Die]], he's gotta answer the call sooner or later. You know what that means...
* In ''[[Fushigi Yuugi]]'', Chiriko intially ignores the mark on his foot designating him as a Suzaku warrior because he's terrified of what duties will be placed on him. Quite a natural reaction, considering he's ten years old; in fact, this is his default state whenever the mark ''isn't'' glowing. {{spoiler|Which makes it all the more horrific when he's forced to kill himself as a [[Taking You with Me]] sacrifice later in the series.}}
* Ichigo Kurosaki in ''[[Bleach]]''. At first he wants nothing to do with the Soul Society and fulfilling the job of a Soul Reaper, having enough trouble with normal ghosts as it is. Then Rukia makes him watch as a hollow nearly tears the soul of a little kid to pieces, forcing him to accept his Soul Reaper obligations.
** Actually, when Rukia says if he saves the boy he'll have to accept his duties as a Shinigami, he respondes that his 'duties' mean nothing to him, he's doing it because its the right thing to do. So heeding the call but not ''because'' of the call.
* In the first arc of [[
* In ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'', Shinji at first refuses to pilot Unit 01, out of a mixture of fear, confusion, and anger over the circumstances that got him to that point, only to have [[Manipulative Bastard|his father]] essentially guilt him into the task by forcing [[Bandage Babe|a very badly injured Rei]] to try to crawl out of her gurney to take his place. He ultimately agrees to pilot.
** He also quits later after his father crosses the [[Moral Event Horizon]] during the Bardiel incident only to return as Zeruel [[Curb Stomp Battle|curb-stomps]] the rest of NERV.
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* In ''[[Keroro Gunsou]]'', while Fuyuki is [[Jumped At the Call|wildly enthusiastic]] about [[Alien Among Us|finding a live alien in his house]], Natsumi wants to ignore the whole thing. Even long after this proves impossible, she occasionally wishes Keroro and his squad would go away [[I Just Want to Be Normal|and let her live a normal life.]]
* [[Katekyo Hitman Reborn]] is basically an endless cycle of Tsuna refusing the call, his friends being put in danger, and him thus being forced to accept the call for just long enough to deal with this new threat. Each arc starts off this way, and several ''individual battles'' are sparked by near-identical internal struggles.
* In ''[[Nabari no Ou]]'', [[I Just Want to Be Normal|Miharu]] completely ignores the call even after being confronted by Thobari-sensei and ''repeatedly getting attacked by ninjas''. When he finally does learn a ninja technique, [[Crowning Moment of Funny|he uses it to run away from Thobari-sensei]].
* In ''[[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]]'', Madoka, the title character of the show, is understandably resistant in accepting a contract to become a [[Magical Girl]]. {{spoiler|Which is kind of the point of the series, as it becomes increasingly clear as the series goes on that being a [[Magical Girl]] is ''not a good thing.''}}
* In ''[[Silent Möbius]]'' (the TV series and films, not so much the Manga) Katsumi Liqueur not only refuses the call, but once she's been forced into answering the call, she makes a break for it with disturbing regularity.
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* ''[[The Idolmaster (anime)|THE iDOLM@STER]]'' - Ritsuko really doesn't want to replace Azusa on the Ryuugu Komachi unit when she gets the mumps. Thing is, she doesn't [[But Thou Must!|have a choice.]]
* In ''[[Tenchi in Tokyo]]'', Tenchi's the latest line of protectors of the Earth (instead of the long-lost prince of Jurai that he is in other canons focusing on him) and [[Take Up My Sword|is given a]] [[Transformation Trinklet]] in the form of seven jewels that turn into a [[BFS]]. Instead, he'd rather be a normal teenager and gives away one of the jewels to the six alien girls. This turns out to be crucial in [[Big Bad]] Yuugi's plans.
* In ''[[One Piece]]'', Luffy would frequently deny he was some sort of savior with any sort of heroic destiny; he would fight when it was in his own best interests to do so, and fortunately, that usually meant fighting on the side of good. ''Until'', that is, the Enies Lobby Arc, where he [[Sudden Principled Stand| does the unthinkable]] and declares war on the World Government in order to save Robin. From that point forward he has little choice but to follow that path as far as it takes him.
== Comic Books ==
* [[Ultimate Spider-Man]] has Peter Parker mimicking his mainstream counterpart and the results thereof. The second Spider-Man, Miles Morales, refused to do ''anything'' with his powers; when Peter died, Miles figured that if he'd embraced his powers earlier, he might have brought aid to New York's hero, since their powers were connected. He decides to make up for it [[Changing of the Guard|by filling the gap Peter left]].
* ''[[Watchmen (comics)|Watchmen]]''. A major character arc for Silk Spectre and Nite Owl. Laurie Jupiter (Spectre) always felt pushed into being a crime-fighting heroine by her mother and is glad for an excuse to give up the role when the [[Super Registration Act|Keene Act]] is passed. Dan Dreiburg (Nite Owl) is less happy, but accepts that the days of masked vigilantes are over. Over the course of events however they remember just how ''good'' it was to fight bad guys and rescue people, and by the end have joined up to become a [[Battle Couple]].
* [http://comic.nodwick
* ''[[The Authority]]''. In the Jenny Sparks: The Secret History of The Authority mini-series, Jeroen Thornedike's
* In issue 50 of [[W.I.T.C.H.|WITCH]], the Oracle shows the Guardians an [[Alternate Universe]] where Will rejected the Heart of Kandrakar when Yan Lin offered it (something that really freaked out the girls). Inverted later on in that world as that Heart is ''very persistent''...
* ''[[Spider-Man]]''. He gets asked to stop a thief and literally refuses the call and pays the price. He quits a number of times as an ongoing refusal of the Call, only to find out that the Call has unlimited minutes.
== Fan Works ==
* ''[[Kyon: Big Damn Hero]]'' has Kyon's reluctant admission that he remembered {{spoiler|seeing his family's ancestral samurai sword in storage}} and ignoring it. Haruhi then [[Lampshade Hanging|accused him of this]].
{{quote|
* ''[[Ultimate
* ''[[Average Joe in Bullet Hell]]''{{'}}s Ryan Randa receives a series of texts from a stranger on his cell phone, telling him to go someplace and to have his boss give him time off from work. This understandably creeps him out, so he takes precautions to protect himself. Fat lot of good this does him when the caller in question, [[Touhou|Yukari]] [[Reality Warper|Yakumo]], eventually tires of texting him and drops him into Gensokyo anyway.
* The four in ''[[With Strings Attached]]'' really don't want to be bothered restoring the Vasyn and removing the curse on Ketafa, but they have to if they ever want to get home again.
== Film ==
* In ''[[Star Wars]]:
** Later in the same film, as the Rebels are preparing to assault the Death Star, Han Solo refuses to take part in the attack, feeling it would just be suicide. (He [[Big Damn Heroes|changes his mind]] just in the nick of time, though.)
* A staple of action movies and, by extension, action video games. Sometimes [[It's Personal|it becomes personal]], which spurs the hero into action.
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** However, when Xur learns about him and [[The Call Knows Where You Live|sends assassins after him]], Alex realizes that his only chance of survival is as a starfighter.
* In ''[[The Matrix]]'', Neo wimps out when guided by Morpheus to escape the agents hunting for him, refusing to go out on a scaffold. He's later given a second chance to join Morpheus and decides to go along.
* After a dramatic buildup, Gary in ''[[Team America: World Police]]'' abruptly decides not to join Team America. Of course, after a montage sequence of visiting American monuments and listening to a hilarious satire of patriotic country music,<ref>"Freedom isn't freeeeeee, Yeah there's a hefty fuckin' feeee..."</ref>
* Played very straight in the troperiffic ''[[The Mummy Trilogy|The Mummy Returns]]'':
{{quote|
'''Rick O'Connell:''' Then I would reply, 'I am a stranger traveling from the West, and it is I who you seek.'
'''Ardeth Bay:''' Then it is true. You have the sacred mark. [points to tattoo]
'''Rick O'Connell:''' That? No, that got slapped on me when I was in an orphanage in Cairo.
'''Ardeth Bay:''' The mark means you’re a protector of man, a warrior for God, a Magi.
'''Rick O'Connell:''' Sorry, you’ve got the wrong guy. [lightning strikes] }}
* In [[Terminator]] 3'', John Connor refuses to be the leader of the resistance against Skynet and even at one point threatened to commit suicide in front of the T-800. This is mostly because he knows that his being leader of the resistance means that billions of people will die to nuclear holocaust. By the end of the film, he takes up this responsibility one way or another.
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* In [[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen]] and to a lesser extent [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon]], Sam actively tries to avoid getting involved with the Cybertronian Wars; in the novelization of the former, he even cites chronic pains from the climax of the first movie. Unfortunately, [[The Call Knows Where You Live]] and he's got an overwhelming sense of duty.
* In ''[[Serenity]]'', Mal's first reaction to River's sudden bout of insanity and [[Waif Fu|ludicrous martial-arts skill]] is to ''hide''. Unfortunately, The Operative has already burned down his destination on Haven and killed everyone there, causing [[Papa Wolf|Mal]] to ''[[Roaring Rampage of Revenge|snap]]''. It goes poorly for all sides. (One of the themes of the movie is that if the Alliance knew to leave well enough alone, everything would go more smoothly.)
* In ''[[Jumper (
* In ''[[Moana]]'', Maui tries to avoid his duty to return the heart of tahiti to its proper place.
== Literature ==
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** Jonah is literally called by God to deliver a message to a city. Jonah doesn't want to do it, so he tries to run away on a ship. Of course, trying to run away from an omnipresent deity doesn't really work so much. God causes a storm to come up at sea that threatens to sink the ship. Jonas knows why the storm is happening and tells the crew to throw him overboard to save themselves. They reluctantly do so. and that's where the titular giant fish ([[I Am Not Shazam|not whale]]) comes in. Making this [[Older Than Feudalism]].
** Very popular for Biblical prophets, actually. Everybody from Abraham ("What if they kill me to get my gorgeous wife?") to Jesus ("Okay, being executed really sucks") does it.
* In
* Matt from [[The Power of Five]] tries this in ''every'' book; unfortunately, the call either ''[[The Call Knows Where You Live|finds]]'' him or he's coerced into him.
** Same thing goes with [[Alex Rider]] as well, except it's a situation of [[Blackmail Is Such an Ugly Word]], rather than [[The Call Knows Where You Live]] / being [[The Drag Along]].
* Rincewind of the ''[[Discworld]]'' books ''always'' refuses the call, being a complete and utter coward; however, he invariably ends up being forced by the plot into following it. This is subverted in ''The Last Hero'', where he actually volunteers for a space mission, having realised that he's bound to be chosen for it anyway.
{{quote|
"I beg your pardon?" said Lord Vetinari.
"I do not wish to volunteer, sir."
"No one was asking you to."
Rincewind wagged a weary finger. "Oh, but they will, sir. they will. Someone will say: hey, that Rincewind fella, he's the adventurous sort, he knows the Horde, Cohen seems to like him, he knows all there is to know about cruel and unusual geography, he'd be just the job for something like this." He sighed. "And then I'll run away, and probably hide in a crate somewhere that'll be loaded on to the flying machine in any case."
"Will you?"
"Probably, sir. Or there'll be a whole string of accidents that end up causing the same thing. Trust me. sir, I know how my life works. So I thought I'd better cut through the whole tedious business and come along and tell you I don't wish to volunteer."
"I think you've left out a logical step somewhere," said the Patrician.
"No, sir. It's very simple. I'm volunteering. I just don't wish to. But, after all, when did that ever have anything to do with anything?"
"He's got a point..." said Ridcully. "He seems to come back from all sorts of things.”
"You see?" Rincewind gave Lord Vetinari a jaded smile. }}
** Also, Susan Sto Helit in Soul Music, Hogfather, and Thief of Time. She is so sensible that she refuses to believe in the existence of anything supernatural. Unfortunately, this proves to be difficult when {{spoiler|Death is your grandfather, and you're the substitute anthropomorphic personification of DEATH whenever your grandfather is unable to perform his duties (which seems to happen often).}} Even after being thrust into such supernatural occurrences, she immediately resets to a "I just want to be normal" frame of mind after aforementioned occurrence is resolved.
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** Not all. Moraine, for one, [[Jumped At the Call]].
* When [[Chronicles of Thomas Covenant|Thomas Covenant]] finds himself [[Trapped in Another World]], he's convinced it's [[All Just a Dream]] and refuses to do anything (well, anything except [[Wangst]]).
* Otah Machi in [[The Long Price Quartet]] {{spoiler|amazingly succeeds at ditching his poet masters and running off. He later becomes Emperor, of course.}}
* There was a ''[[Transformers]]'' [[Choose Your Own Adventure]] book where at the first choice, you ''could'' refuse the call. The adventure promptly ended, with the note that you occasionally wonder what might have happened.
** A ''[[Doctor Who]]'' [[Choose Your Own Adventure]] book allowed you to walk straight past the TARDIS, with the same result.
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* In ''The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake'', {{spoiler|Rose's father avoids hospitals because he fears a power like his own father's will manifest there.}}
* Miras Vara in the [[Terok Nor]] books from the [[Star Trek Novel Verse]]. When Vara is exposed to an Orb artifact, the spirit lifeform Oralius, leader of the old gods, makes Herself known and insists Vara is the next Astraea (leader of the church and vessel for Oralius). Vara doesn't want to give up her career and her home to live on the run as leader of an outlawed faith. Knowing that Oralius will send her psychic dreams, Vara tries to avoid sleep. This is of course futile. Eventually she gives in and accepts her new destiny. She certainly makes a good effort at refusing the call, though.
* In ''[[Sunshine (novel)|Sunshine]]'', Rae really does not want to be a vampire-slaying magic-wielder. But she's really good at it, and the humans and [[Friendly Neighborhood Vampire|Con]] need all the help they can get.
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* In ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', Buffy at first refuses her call as [[The Chosen One]], but is forced into it. And [[Ten-Minute Retirement|frequently during the series]], Buffy expresses the desire to [[I Just Want to Be Normal|quit and turn her back on Slaying]].
* In the second season premiere of ''[[24]]'', Jack Bauer initially refuses to help CTU avert a nuclear bomb threat because he is still grief-stricken over the loss of his wife. A chance sighting of a mother and her child, as well as a few minutes spent in his home mulling, change his mind, and he finally decides to help the counter-terrorist unit.
* In the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' double episode feature "Human Nature" / "Family of Blood", the Doctor is turned human with his memories erased, and is set to live a happy, normal life as John Smith- if it weren't for the possessed scarecrows and the insane maid who thinks he's an alien. At first, Smith refuses the call, but eventually is forced to become the Doctor again- and boy, is he ''angry''.
** In the 1996 film, Grace ultimately chooses not to go with the Eighth Doctor.
*** And now with the finale of Series 6, answering the call for so long has made the Doctor become truly feared by many, to the point where whole religious orders have sprung up to kill him and many innocents along the way. It reached such a breaking point that the Doctor had to choose between dying to save the universe and {{spoiler|faking his own death so the universe will forget him}}. As a result, it seems he may now be refusing the call after a lifetime of answering it.
* Jaye on ''[[Wonderfalls]]'' has to be verbally harassed by talking tchotchkes for most of the pilot before she "Surrenders to Destiny".
* In ''[[Power Rangers SPD]]'' and ''[[Power Rangers Mystic Force]]'', the eventual Red Rangers initially don't think too highly of risking their lives to defend their personal [[City of Adventure]] from the forces of evil. In both cases, [[It's Personal]] thanks to their potential teammates/best friends for years past [[The Call Knows Where You Live|getting the crap beat out of them]], which assumedly wouldn't have happened had the Red Ranger been there from the start. Note that this situation is often used as an excuse to give the lead his own dramatic solo [[Transformation Sequence]], as opposed to the combined group one they collectively receive from that point on.
* The entire driving force of ''[[Smallville]]'' is Clark's repeated and continuous
** Not to mention having other characters, most notably Green Arrow, yell at him to pick up the damn phone.
** In seasons 8 and 9 he finally answered, even to the point where he's the one pointing out the retired members of the Justice Society that they're not returning their calls.
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* [[Heroes (TV series)|Nathan Petrelli]] initially refuses to acknowledge his [[Flight]] superpower (and his brother's powers that allowed him to mimic it), even when caught in the act by Hiro Nakamura in 1.5.
** Also...
{{quote|
'''Ando''': "I wish destiny would lose our number." }}
* In ''[[Babylon 5]]'' it took Sheridan a fierce dressing-down, a lot of denunciations and even a threat to his own life to drag Kosh down from the Vorlon's Monte Aloof and into the fight with Shadows. To a certain extent practically every race, short for Narns maybe, had to be persuaded, painstackingly negotiated, beseeched or coerced into action.
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== Tabletop
* In ''[[Hunter: The Reckoning]]'', hunters who refuse [[The Call]] are known as [http://whitewolf.wikia.com/wiki/Bystander bystanders]; they lose all their briefly-granted powers, but retain a knowledge of the truth behind the setting's [[Masquerade]].
== Theater ==
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* Glinda refuses the call to adventure when Elphaba asks at the end of Act 1 of ''[[Wicked (theatre)|Wicked]]''. Unusual in that she refused because accepting would cost her everything, and in the end she pretty much lost everything anyway, it just wasn't due to her refusal of the call.
* [[Cyrano De Bergerac]]: At Act I scene V, best friend [[Herald|Le Bret]] heralds the [[Call to Adventure]] to Cyrano: Confess his love to the beautiful Roxane. Cyrano will refuse the offer then, and even later when [[Threshold Guardians|Christian]], another of Roxane's suitors, literally forces him to confess at Act IV. [[The Call Knows Where You Live|Cyrano’s tragedy is that he keeps refusing the call until he is sure that Roxane will not cruelly reject him, and when that happened]],[[You Are Too Late|it was too late]].
{{quote|
Thus, at her breast I saw it! Speak to her
[[Call to Adventure|Speak, man!]]
'''Cyrano:''' [[The Grotesque|Through my nose?]]
[[Paralyzing Fear of Sexuality|That is the one thing in this world I fear]]! }}
== Video Games ==
* ''[[Thief]]''. Garrett.
{{quote|
** Of course, this is followed by:
{{quote|
* The story of the canceled Dreamcast game ''[[Castlevania]]: Resurrection'' had a Belmont run away from his duties of killing Dracula, forcing time to rip his ancestor Sonia to his time to fill his place, although he's eventually forced to take up the whip, regardless.
* In ''[[Betrayal at Krondor]]'', Owyn is the only one who isn't compelled by duty or has a truly personal stake in stopping the moredhel schemes. He tries to go his separate way again after helping an injured Locklear who stumbles into his camp with a chained Gorath in tow. When they realize afterwards that he could talk to the wrong person and get them all killed if they just let him go, Locklear says he's either coming along with them or getting his throat slit, which would be undesirable for both of them. Later, however, when that part of the mission is done and it's assumed he'll be going home, he [[Jumped At the Call|goes out of his way]] to stay with them.
* ''[[Lost Odyssey]]'''s Kaim doesn't actively refuse the call, but he recognizes that, as an immortal, he has all the time in the world, and so he takes his time. But when it comes to the call of adventure that his lost memories provide, he initially refuses due to the tremendous pain he knows they will bring if he can unlock them again.
* In ''[[Devil Survivor]]'', at a specific point in the game, instead of choosing to keep fighting, you can choose to abandon everything and just try to escape the [[Hell on Earth]] scenario you're in, {{spoiler|knowingly leaving thousands of innocent civilians to die and the city you're in to go insane and be completely destroyed}}. But making this choice will ''[[You Bastard|cost]] [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero/Video Games|you]] '''[[The Call Knows Where You Live|dearly]].''' '' {{spoiler|It leads to the single worst ending of the entire game. The vast majority of your friends, along with ''hundreds of thousands of innocent people'', die extraordinarily horrible deaths. You get delivered a staggering [["The Reason You Suck" Speech]] by the ''top angel in Heaven'' for being a coward. And you cause an eternal [[Crapsack World]] where humanity is either completely stripped of its free will or trapped in a living hell where only the strong can survive and demons roam the world freely.}}
** And the worst part about all of this? ''You get told exactly what will happen if you make this choice before you make it''. [[You Bastard|It is entirely your fault.]] [[The Complainer Is Always Wrong|For listening to Yuzu.]]
* In ''[[Wario Land]] 2'', if you stay asleep long enough at the beginning, you get kicked out of your castle and get to play through an alternate storyline.
* Inverted in [[The Bard's Tale]] for the [[
* '[[
* In ''[[Phantasy Star]] IV'', when presented with the genesis story of the Algo solar system, some time after Rune has chosen him as his champion, Chaz finds the Great Light to be an extremely hypocritical absent god figure and consciously rejects his "destiny". Once he's calmed down, he says that being thoughtlessly manipulated is the difference between the heroes and the villains. He eventually does come around, but does it for his own reasons.
* In the [[
* Reid Hershel from ''[[Tales of Eternia]]'' initially refused to have anything to do with stopping the [[Earthshattering Kaboom|Grand Fall]], but was dragged along by his childhood friend Farah, who [[Jumped At the Call]]. He's content to let the military of his home world take care of things, but eventually he's [[The Call Knows Where You Live|forced to do it himself]] as [[The Chosen One]] when the ''other'' Chosen One [[Heroic Sacrifice|dies saving his life.]]
* In some ''[[Harvest Moon]]'' games it is possible to refuse to take over the farm. This usually results in a [[Nonstandard Game Over]].
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== Web Comics ==
* In ''[[Girl Genius]]'', we get a character who's aware of this trope: Othar Tryggvassen, [[Gentleman Adventurer]]! He explains it to the heroine, Agatha (emphasis in original):
{{quote|
'''Agatha:''' I told you. I'm not '''''doing''''' that. You can't '''''make''''' me.
'''Othar:''' Make you? ''(laughs, loudly)'' You ran '''''straight at''''' that danger without even '''''thinking'''''. '''''That's''''' who and what you '''''are'''''. You say you want a normal life. We '''''all''''' say that at one time or another. You deserve your '''''chance''''' at it. I'll be back in about three months -- and we'll see how "normal" you are.
''(he leaves)''
'''Agatha:''' He only sees what he '''''wants''''' to see. Which is why he's '''''completely wrong''''' about me.{{spoiler|No, he's not. For once.}} }}
* In ''[[No Rest for The Wicked (webcomic)|No Rest for The Wicked]]'', Perrault laughs at the idea of helping November, until she points out that he's bored.
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* This is how Jonas Wharton of ''[[LG15: the resistance]]'' reacts when the Hymn of None attempts to persuade him to lead the Resistance in the first chapter, "A Call To Arms". In the end, the FBI turn up investigating claims that Jonas has committed acts of terrorism and murder, which forces him into action.
* [[Limyaael's Fantasy Rants|Limyaael]] feels very strongly about [http://limyaael.livejournal.com/466351.html making good reluctant heroes].
* Pretty much what ''[[Living in Oblivion]]'' is all about. Who would want [https://web.archive.org/web/20160331181500/http://www.notmydesk.com/npc/nondrick004.jpg/ this] guy's face on any coins, anyway?
== Western Animation ==
* In ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'', Aang runs away after being informed (prematurely) that he is the new reincarnation of the Avatar. He is then [[Human Popsicle|frozen in a iceberg]] and reawakens to a world in a century-long war that needs the Avatar now more than ever.
* Takua tries to do this in ''[[Bionicle]]: The Mask of Light'' by tilting the mask so that it cast its light on Jaller, making everyone else believe that Jaller was [[The Chosen One]] and sending him on the quest instead. However, Jaller manages to drag Takua along anyway.
* ''[[Kung Fu Panda]]'' plays with this trope: despite his eagerness to watch the tournament in which the new Dragon Warrior is to be chosen, when Po is 'mistakenly' selected by Master Oogway, the panda protests that he can't be the one. Amusingly, but also distressingly, the Furious Five and Master Shifu refuse to accept he's their [[Designated Hero|predestined hero]] either, and do all in their power to convince, persuade, or downright browbeat him into quitting. (And [[Lampshade Hanging|this is lampshaded]] by Tigress, who insists he doesn't belong and needs to get out so the ''real'' hero can show up.) Yet he continues to keep trying to learn, mostly because he's always dreamed of learning kung fu.
** Once he finds out what he's expected to do, however (defeat [[Big Bad|Tai Lung]] all by himself), he literally runs away from the temple. (Perhaps it should be Fleeing from the Call?) Luckily for the [[Aesop|moral of the story]], Shifu stops him and convinces him he can be trained and finds a way to do it. Although Po's [[Doomed Hometown|hometown isn't doomed]], it is put in danger, and this as well as a pep talk from his Dad and a flash of insight into the Dragon Scroll convince him to accept after all.
* This trope is a [[Running Gag|running joke]] in the "Woodland Critters" episode of ''[[South Park]]''.
** Parodied in the "Pandemic" episodes, where Craig's attempts to refuse the call leads him to [[Self-Fulfilling Prophecy|accidentally fulfilling the prophecy]] associated with him.
** There's also one episode where the four boys decide that they're just not going to get involved in this week's plot. [[Averted Trope|They succeed, and are rather glad about not being involved.]]
* In "[[Danny Phantom]]", the titular character often tries to Refuse the Call. This never works well, with the result being either just a mundane ghost attack to creating horrific alternate futures where the world is destroyed. One particular example is the episode 'Memory Blank' where a powerless Danny with no memories is forced to answer the call anyway.
* In ''[[World of Quest]]'', the titular Quest spends most of the first episode actively refusing the call. Actually, more like kicking the call in the butt. Eventually he's tricked into accepting.
* Ultra Magnus in ''[[Transformers: The Movie]]'' initially believes he is "not worthy" to keep the Matrix of Leadership and become Autobot leader, but Optimus Prime convinces him to do it. {{spoiler|At the end of the movie, Hot Rod gets it.}}
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== Real Life ==
* When the [[w:Messiah claimant|Messiah claimant]] Rev. Sun Myung Moon started out at 16 (founded the Unificationists) Jesus apparently commanded him to finish the job he left unfinished 2000 years ago. Moon, knowing if he agreed how much he would have to sacrifice, refused. The third time Jesus appeared before him and asked, Moon realized there was no one else for the job, and agreed. Whether you like him or not (or believe that Jesus actually appeared before him even once,
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Call to Adventure]]
▲[[Category:Refusal of the Call]]
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