Have you ever written a story about a character who goes on a long treacherous and dangerous journey to find something or someone where they leave the people in their hometown knowing that they’ll never be able to return home?
This trope is seen is random media, famous media. The MC goes to find what they are looking for or something about themselves that they never knew. This character know that traveling to this place or to find this person or even learning about their past will become long and a dangerous obstacle, but they aren’t scared to face whatever dangers come their way. This character is fully aware of the fact that once they leave, they will never be able to come back home and chances are the MC will die along the way or end up staying in that location for the rest of their life. It was hard leaving their hometown behind and the few people they cared about, but it’s a journey they wanted to do because they felt they needed to do.
Have you ever used such a trope? Will you ever use this trope in a future story? If you have used this trope, explain it to me and what happened to the character in the end?
I’m actually using this trope in my book now, where Alma has to leave the Earth to help human life start fresh on a new planet. Not just him, either, but a lot of key characters are leaving their homes to start a new home very far away, and they will never return to the planet Earth. Either because they will settle down and start new lives off world, or because they will die along the way on the journey there.
Nope. I’ve written things where the character believes they will be able to come home again but then discovered there’s no coming back. But deliberately leaving forever? Nope. Interesting trope, though! Are you writing that now?
I’ve used variations of this trope in my first novel, and in my current work.
In To Fall for an Angel Ashley and her brother, Uric, fled the collapsing Soviet Russia to attempt a new life in Europe. Their chances of survival were slim at best (being wanted by the Soviet authorities, and almost defenceless). Neither settled in Europe, Uric did not survive their journey, but Ashley’s new home and job was not so bad…The aide of an Israeli billionaire heiress, and (honorary) second-in-command of the billionaire’s mercenary company…
In Goddess v2.0 Dov is coerced into leaving his old life (and all its traumas) behind, and to begin a new life with a unique young girl (a hybrid clone he named Freyja). This path was chosen for Dov as a form of shock therapy, to give him a task (life goal) he has no experience or preparation for.* Dov wasn’t told about Freyja, or his job with her, until they first met.To be successful, Dov must abandon post-haste his old life, old way of thinking,** and also his old home in Brisbane…Dov and Freyja become the above mentioned mercenaries’ new housemates…
*I wanted you to become interested in something beside your own troubles, and you did ~ Exodus (1960s Paul Newman film).
**The outside world vanished when you entered this theater, so why does its opinion matter? ~ Dr Lander (Freyja’s creator).
I have an MC who didn’t know if they wanted to stay or return home, then ended up staying in the faraway place with the option of returning home one day open to them.
I also have an MC that thought they would return home, and they do, and find nothing left of it, so then they leave and never return after that.
I also have a character that leaves home and never returns but not because he will never be able to. He just doesn’t wanna This is Richard, the immortal assassin. The reason is that he doesn’t want to deal with the people there. It’s just a pain in the neck. He’s too busy for that.
That’s what’s now called Memoirs of a Luna and was Begging is for Losers.
The reason it doesn’t show to be that story from the start is because we come in after she’s thoroughly left home and lost almost all memory of it. By the second book she gets to go home, and it’s alien. She can’t go back, the new place is home, and it’s another way to feel a bit trapped.
Hal-en left Dade with Geldrid to go no further than the borders of his land by his fathers decree. Yet, after unfortunate event’s cast him farther, he chooses not to return and follow Geldrid upon his quest…
It follows that Hal-en does not return home, as Dade is utterly ruined by the forces of Astiol. But even if he wished to, his heart takes him further into the Mountains of Kel to the Kingdom of Undermount, and a desire for a hand in marriage…
With that in his heart and mind, he forsakes his home, and to rebuild Dade for he would be Master of that settlement… It is a person unlooked for that Hal-en ordains that mantle to… Then he leaves Dade forever…
This is Richard, the immortal assassin. The reason is that he doesn’t want to deal with the people there. It’s just a pain in the neck. He’s too busy for that.