"Oh I gotta avoid this character!"

[HelloHound]

Has there ever been a story where a character is trying to avoid another character or something and is actually able to avoid it? Whenever I read those lines I just know that they're going to stumble into that situation one way or another. My question is, are there any stories where the thing is actually (and successfully) avoided? Or is this a perpetual red flag?

 

[CarburetorThompson]

Off the top of my head I can’t think of anything like that. Usually if you’re going to have a character go into hiding, they are either going to be found or make themselves known later on, or it’s a way to end a story.

 

[Representing_Tromba]

None that I know of off the top of my head, sorry.

 

[Deleted member 54065]

I guess, unless the other character has a non-major role in the rest of the story and the author is looking for a 'reason' to silently delete him/her, this scenario will work. Otherwise, it'll remain as a foreboding of an eventual meeting with the main character. After all, Chekhov's Gun principle.

So yeah, none of such stories come to mind.

 

[Zirrboy]

Doing so puts focus on the character, so if it's supposed to be indefinitely I'd say it's pointless to do so.
And for anything else the "successfully" part is questionable, unless "until they change their mind on their own" counts as successful to you.

 

[FaustVoncleave]

Yes, from a web novel called Sevens. A semi relevant character gets ignored by the mc for reasons. It's the only one that immediately comes to mind, but if there's one there must be more.

Spoiler: specifics

The story deals with twelve reincarnated goddesses, and one of them sends a message to the mc that they can meet if he beats any dungeon over a hundred floors deep, and that she'd explain everything to him then. Being the G he is, mc decides that's too much trouble and says he can't be bothered and actually kept with that for the rest of the novel. Genuinely blew my mind as I thought for certain he'd be forced to at some point.

 

[Cipiteca396]

I did this, but I wouldn't say it was successful. I just didn't want to deal with a plotline I'd thought about making. My character is asocial, so I just had her fuck off after a single confrontation, and resolved the subplot offscreen.

 

[melchi]

Isn't that the whole gameplay point of yandere simulator? Game over from spending too much time in front of love interest? Don't let senpai notice you keeping him safe from other girls from the shadows.

 

[georgelee5786]

No, because the plot needs them to meet

 

[Jemini]

I think the borrowers might sorta count, depending on whether you interpret it as avoiding the "bigs" in general or just the adults among them, and if you count "staying away from" as zero interaction or just not being properly discovered and having their true state as little people revealed.

(Also, I'm counting only the book and the 2 earlier adaptations that take place in pastoral England. I do not count the more recent adaptation based in New York.)

 

[BearlyAlive]

You just placed a gun owned by a dood called Chekov with that trope. It's kinda like the "When this is over"-death flag. It can be subverted but you can't avoid it the moment you write about it

 

[ThrillingHuman]

Probably some horror novel

 

[Ilikewaterkusa]

Has there ever been a story where a character is trying to avoid another character or something and is actually able to avoid it? Whenever I read those lines I just know that they're going to stumble into that situation one way or another. My question is, are there any stories where the thing is actually (and successfully) avoided? Or is this a perpetual red flag?

You can get away from them for a time, but usually they eventually meet up.

 

[Thief]

GaHahahhahahah classic! Till now I have never read a novel where they don't encounter that character one way or another

 

[ACertainPassingUser]

It's only happening successfully when MC is trying to escape from some kind of enemy that MC MUST ESCAPE/AVOID or DIE.

The stealth or assassin type of novel usually have this avoiding characters at all times.

Otherwise, MC and the character will always met and failed to avoid meeting, even with all the circumstances that realistically not only make them not met, but even forgot the other guy even exist.

 

[Le_ther]

Has there ever been a story where a character is trying to avoid another character or something and is actually able to avoid it? Whenever I read those lines I just know that they're going to stumble into that situation one way or another. My question is, are there any stories where the thing is actually (and successfully) avoided? Or is this a perpetual red flag?

Mostly extra transmigator stories. Where the transmigated mc try his/her best to avoid mc to avoid any change in plot in which they stumble. Currently, there seems to be no solution to the mc avoiding the real mc trope and managing to get way.

 

[Tremaglif]

The fact that a character even exist in a story means they have a role. So even if there's no "Oh I gotta avoid this character!" moment, they still need to have a closure, no matter how small that is. If A wanted to avoid B, then our guy Chekov's gun is already aimed. It's either A eventually accidentally meet B, or A let B meet them because A is already prepared or something. You can be creative over this situation, but there's no just "I really avoided them!" as that character got axed to the abyss by author.