Line #22 PlayingWith/ButForMeItWasTuesday


1	'''Basic Trope''': The BigBad doesn't remember some horrible act he committed because it didn't matter to him as much as it did the heroes.
2	* '''Straight''': [[EvilOverlord Emperor]] [[ForTheEvulz Evulz]] wiped out MysteriousWaif Mana's DoomedHometown. When the heroes confront him, he doesn't remember the atrocity.
3	* '''Exaggerated''':
4	** Emperor Evulz forgets ''all'' the atrocities he commits, and [[ObliviouslyEvil doesn't understand why people hate him so much]].
5	** Emperor Evulz has killed so many people and razed so many towns that they all start to blur together. Wiping entire nations off the map is just another day at the office for him.
6	** Evulz destroys Mana's hometown in the morning and forgets about it by lunch.
7	** Evulz' ADayInTheLimelight episode is essentially a WholePlotReference of ''Film/TheHangover'', [[DarkerAndEdgier replacing]] "raised hell in UsefulNotes/LasVegas" with "killed thousands of people and burnt down their town".
8	** Evulz' various levels of ApocalypseHow is just as natural as his breathing. He treats it as if it were another daily routine for him.
9	** A role-inversion-based example, all the villains of the first season [[VillainTeamUp team up]] due to their [[EnemyMine common enemy Hiro]] and try to get vengeance on him for different reasons (him crushing their crime empires, him finally catching one of them in the act, arresting them, defeating them, etc.) but when they finally confront him, all he does is give a confused stare and asks "who are all of you again?"
10	* '''Downplayed''':
11	** Emperor Evulz rarely forgets things, one of which is what the hero is after him for.
12	** While Evulz doesn't remember or even care about whose lives he's ruined, he's still aware that he made countless enemies over the years.
13	** Evulz ''does'' remember the incident, it just took a minute for him to recollect.
14	** Evulz remembers wiping out Mana's hometown, but doesn't recall her father as standing out from the others who died trying to stop him.
15	* '''Justified''':
16	** Emperor Evulz commits horrible acts daily, often to hundreds or thousands of people at a time. [[AMillionIsAStatistic How's he supposed to remember all of them?]]
17	** Evulz doesn't remember Mana's hometown because he was in the grip of a massive psychotic break and there are many gaps in his memory regarding that day.
18	** Emperor Evulz [[ScatterbrainedSenior has grown senile in his old age]], and would be lucky if he remembered what he had for breakfast this morning.
19	** Evulz's memory was altered or [[LaserGuidedAmnesia erased]] at some point.
20	** Evulz wasn't even there himself; the whole thing was carried out by a subordinate on his orders as part of a set of generalized instructions.
21	** He's totally innocent, at least this one time, -- [[NotMeThisTime someone else burned down the town and he was misblamed]].
22	** Evulz's 'cruel' act had [[DisasterDominoes dominoed]] out of an [[ObliviouslyEvil act of ignorance]].
23	** [[PunchClockVillain Drake]] is merely a BeleagueredBureaucrat who [[ObliviouslyEvil unknowingly]] authorized the destruction of Mana's hometown, and wasn't even given the opportunity to know exactly what he'd allowed to happen.
24	* '''Inverted''':
25	** Emperor Evulz remembers how he killed Mana's boyfriend. [[ForgottenFallenFriend Mana doesn't.]]
26	** Emperor Evulz only remembers killing Mana's boyfriend, and no one else.
27	** Emperor Evulz pursues Mana to [[AvengingTheVillain avenge the death of General Drake]]. When he finally catches up with her she tells him "I beat last-rate bad guys all the time, you can't expect me to remember all of them."
28	** Mana runs into the heroes and [[IOweYouMyLife thanks them]] for saving her life and her village the last time they met. [[ThinkNothingOfIt The heroes are dumbfounded]], [[AllAPartOfTheJob as they forgot all about it.]]
29	** Mana savvily waits until she's delivered the lethal blow to Evulz before [[JustBetweenYouAndMe informing]] the AlmostDeadGuy that she killed him for wiping out her hometown, and quotes the trope, expecting him not to remember it. Turns out he was NecessarilyEvil, and he remembers destroying her hometown vividly -- doing it [[SadisticChoice saved exponentially more lives]] for some reason. Perhaps it was even [[MyGreatestFailure His Greatest Failure]] -- if he'd been better at his job, he wouldn't have had to sacrifice those lives to save others.
30	** When Mana tells Evulz her boyfriend's name, Evulz suddenly starts a long rant. He keeps praising the man's bravery and affirms that he was a WorthyOpponent, how the victory over Mana's boyfriend is Evulz's greatest achievement, and how he feels his life is so empty without his rival. Mana is dumbfounded, for she never knew he was that great.
31	** Turns out he burned down her hometown [[CycleOfRevenge because years ago she burnt down]] ''[[CycleOfRevenge his]]'' [[CycleOfRevenge hometown]] -- which ''she'' doesn't remember.
32	** Mana, a DamselInDistress, has been kidnapped and almost killed so many times by so many different people, that she's forgotten who Emperor Evulz is and all the times he tried to kidnap her.
33	** Emperor Evulz has a photographic memory and remembers every person he's ever killed perfectly.
34	** Mana remembers when she killed Evulz's [[TheDragon top henchman]] [[VillainousFriendship and best friend]]. [[BadBoss Emperor Evulz doesn't]].
35	** Mana remembers how [[ChronicHeroSyndrome Jeffrey]] saved her life from an onslaught of hungry monsters. Jeffrey barely remembers the event and treats life saving as a morale-boosting activity.
36	** [[HowTheMightyHaveFallen Former Emperor Evulz]] comes to [[ChronicHeroSyndrome Hiro]]'s doorstep and speaks a [[{{Revenge}} vengeance-based]] MotiveRant on how the guy effectively ruined his life, his image, and his empire by thwarting his plans and comes to kill him as {{revenge}} for what the hero did to him, Hiro, on the other hand, barely remembers who the guy even is due to thwarting many other villains' schemes.
37	* '''Subverted''':
38	** When confronted, Evulz doesn't remember wiping out Mana's hometown... until he recognizes the scar he put on her left cheek.
39	** It's later revealed that Evulz ''does'' remember -- [[ManipulativeBastard he was just messing with her]].
40	** "{{I never said\|itwaspoison}} it happened on a Tuesday..."
41	** Evulz doesn't remember most of the places he razes, but Mana's hometown was special. After all, [[WhereIWasBornAndRazed he grew up there too.]]
42	** Mana realizes that Evulz doesn't remember the incident [[NotMeThisTime because it really wasn't his doing]]; Mana was thinking of someone else all along.
43	** Mana doesn't even care if Evulz doesn't remember or know what he's talking about. She just wants him to know about it and that she is [[PrepareToDie gonna make him pay the dearest price for it]] so he doesn't do something like that ever again.
44	* '''Double Subverted''':
45	** Turns out he was remembering scarring someone ''else'''s left cheek while burning down ''their'' hometown.
46	** He remembers, but only vaguely, and still doesn't give a damn. He forgets about it later.
47	** "Well it ''sounds'' [[YouJustToldMe like something I'd normally do on one]]..."
48	** Emperor Evulz actually destroyed his and Mana's hometown [[NoodleIncident more than once]].
49	** Mana only thought it was Evulz because he actually ''was'' there, but now she knows [[TheManBehindTheMan he was just doing the bidding of someone else]].
50	** Evulz is so confident in his prowess he doubts he'll remember defeating TheHero either.
51	** It's not so much where or when that Evulz has trouble remembering as it is ''how'' he destroyed that hometown.
52	* '''Parodied''':
53	** Upon learning that Emperor Evulz doesn't remember the wrong he committed against Mana, Mana begins to explain in detail what the wrong was in an attempt to jog Evulz's memory. Evulz still doesn't remember.
54	** Evulz doesn't remember wiping out Mana's hometown, but he ''does'' remember something trivial that is vaguely connected to wiping out Mana's hometown, like he got a lot of blood on his shirt that day and wanted to wash it off, but his washing machine at home was busted, so he had to go to a drycleaner, but he left his credit card at home so he had to pay with cash and was five dollars short...
55	*** Mana also recalls seeing and hearing him say how his shirt was a mess.
56	** Mana takes Evulz back to her hometown, which after years of rebuilding has finally got back on its feet, and encourages him to raze it ''again'' in an attempt to jog his memory.
57	** Emperor Evulz doesn't know why Mana showed up on his doorstep to kill him. Mana doesn't either, leaving each other confused why they're confronting each other like this.
58	* '''Zig-Zagged''':
59	** Emperor Evulz wiped out Mana's homeland. When the heroes confront him, he recognizes them and starts bragging about how he destroyed it ... but then they realize he's not talking about Mana. Turns out he destroyed AliceAndBob's hometown, too -- which they hadn't known about yet.
60	** Emperor Evulz comments that how he's wiped out many homelands, so Mana will have to be more specific, during the battle, he notices her weapon that she says belonged to her father, who was killed the day Evulz attacked. Things start to add up, and Evulz realizes [[WhereIWasBornAndRazed she must be from the same homeland as him]]. There's just ''one'' problem about the weapon she says was her father's, because Evulz remembers ''building and using it himself'' up until that day. [[ExplainExplainOhCrap Come to think of it, Mana also resembles a woman he was romantically involved with, and knows she never married...]] [[EurekaMoment You can see]] [[LukeIAmYourFather where this]] [[LukeYouAreMyFather is going.]]
61	* '''Averted''':
62	** Emperor Evulz knows ''exactly'' who Mana is and why she has a grudge against him.
63	** Emperor Evulz doesn't know who Mana is, but the instant she mentions the town, he puts two and two together.
64	** "Oh, I remember. I just don't ''[[LackOfEmpathy care]]''."
65	** Mana doesn't care if Evulz remembers her, and never mentions her hometown to him.
66	** Evulz has not yet had the chance to harm Mana or her loved ones. She's only there because someone else came to her for help.
67	** NeverHeardThatOneBefore
68	* '''Enforced''': The editors of the story wanted to make Emperor Evulz even more horrible and evil than was originally planned to make the AntiHero Mana look more like a good guy. To compensate for the Emperor's escalation, the writer doesn't have him remember the now comparatively tiny crime of destroying Mana's hometown.
69	* '''Lampshaded''':
70	** "My dear, you can't expect me to remember ''every'' pathetic little village I've wiped out in my time."
71	** "Yeah, I didn't think you would remember that in particular."
72	** "It was '''Thursday''', you ''sick son of a bitch!''" "Was it, now? Well, I'm sure you remember it better than I do."
73	** "Oh please, I made so many enemies, ruined so many lives, and killed countless loved ones. What makes you so special from the rest of them?"
74	** "You probably don't remember killing my father and burning my village. It's a funny thing, because I'm gonna drive this sword through your chest, walk away triumphant, and I'll soon hear a report about your death. Then, I'm gonna chuckle, shake my head.....and never think of you again."
75	* '''Invoked''':
76	** Emperor Evulz ''pretends'' not to remember just to enrage the heroes, expecting their anger to blind them and lead to them making critical mistakes in the following fight.
77	** TheHero beats Evulz to the punchline with, "I know that you probably don't remember killing my father. [[PreAssKickingOneLiner But you'll remember this.]]"
78	** TheHero beats Evulz to the punchline with, "I know that you probably don't remember killing my father. [[PreMortemOneLiner But I'll remember killing you.]]"
79	** TheHero kills Evulz before beating him to the punchline with, "I know that you probably don't remember killing my father. [[BondOneLiner But I'll remember having killed you.]]"
80	* '''Exploited''':
81	** The heroes take advantage of Evulz's terrible memory for atrocities so they can pose as a different victim of his, evading notice.
82	** Knowing that Evulz doesn't bother remembering to the atrocities he's committed, the heroes gathered allies to anyone whose lives were ruined by him into an army. It's only when the army grew big enough to be a threat to Evulz, that he realizes that he made many enemies, [[OhCrap and they're out to get him.]]
83	* '''Defied''':
84	** Before he escaped, Mana managed to gave Emperor Evulz [[AScarToRemember a distinctive scar on his face]] precisely so that he wouldn't forget her or what he did to her.
85	** Fearing that someone will rise up and wanting revenge against him. Evulz keeps a running journal of his misdeeds.
86	** Evulz has a cell built, with the name of each town he razed carved into the walls. Once a week, he visits that cell, and has himself whipped while he chants their names.
87	** "Well, since you never bothered to remember or even care what you have done and how many lives you have ruined, so I won't bother telling you what you have done to me personally either. [[PreAssKickingOneLiner Now,]] [[SuddenlyShouting EN GARDE,]] [[ThisIsForEmphasisBitch SON OF A BITCH!]]"
88	* '''Discussed''': "Mana, this psycho commits at least two world-shattering atrocities every day before lunch. You really think that [[YouKilledMyFather killing your father]] is going to stand out in his mind?" "It will once I beat him senseless." "[[DeadpanSnarker Well, at least]] [[DoWrongRight save some of him for the rest of us.]]"
89	* '''Conversed''': "I'm waiting for a scene where somebody calls Evulz on the phone and gets the message: 'Please leave your name, number, and relation to people I've killed, and I'll get back to you shortly.'"
90	* '''Implied''': The hero [[HeroicMime doesn't say much]], but he obviously holds a grudge against Evulz, one which Evulz is honestly surprised to learn of.
91	* '''Deconstructed''':
92	** Evulz doesn't remember who Mana is until she reminds him in specific detail. Then, [[ArmorPiercingQuestion he asks her]] the names of all the members of his LegionOfDoom that she's killed, and where they live, and if they have families. He then shows her a memorial he's built for the dead soldiers, a gigantic stack of letters he was writing to their families, and [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes a platoon of the friends and surviving colleagues of the deceased,]] all of whom are quite eager to get their own revenge on Mana.
93	** Alternatively, Evulz's multiple acts of reckless KickTheDog moments pile up throughout his career, causing the rise of one revenge-seeking hero after another. They team up to hunt down Evulz en masse and defeat him. Evulz doesn't know how to deal with this; he doesn't remember any of them.
94	** Emperor Evulz and Mana's allies call her out for focusing one on a single event rather than the sum total of his travesties.
95	** Deconstructed Inversion: Considering the fact that Evulz [[TargetedToHurtTheHero is killing everything Mana loves]] as revenge for something she did, the fact she cannot remember what she did and thus cannot look at her loved ones in the eye and reassure them that whatever happens, good or bad, as a result of said deed is worth it [[WhatTheHellHero ticks them off]].
96	* '''Reconstructed''':
97	** Okay, [[BothSidesHaveAPoint so the heroes may have killed their fair share of Evulz's allies themselves just to get to him, but there's still a few problems]] [[ArmorPiercingResponse with the survivors wanting their own revenge.]] For starters, [[CreateYourOwnHero Evulz's atrocities were what caused many of the heroes to take up arms in the first place]], and they were only KillingInSelfDefense, so if anything, the deceased tried to kill ''them'' first. [[RevengeMyopia The survivors can't actually be good people themselves]] [[FridgeLogic if they're willing to work for an]] EvilOverlord, [[EvilerThanThou and go as far to commit much worse things than them.]] [[UnderestimatingBadassery They're also attempting to fight and/or kill people who are probably much stronger than them if they managed to make it this far.]] So if they and Evulz really want to go through with all of this, [[BringIt then now might as well be their chance.]]
98	** Evulz doesn't recognize the name of the town, but finds out where it is and unapologetically explains that it was part of a scorched-earth campaign to keep his enemies from sheltering there. Of course, a man with [[TakeOverTheWorld world domination]] on his to-do list can't fight a personal duel with every kid whose [[YouKilledMyFather father he may have killed]], but have you met TheDragon? [[LetsYouAndHimFight You kids play nicely now.]]
99	** Evulz is the evil-overlord equivalent of DumbMuscle: He doesn't need to remember atrocities because he's powerful enough to [[HeroKiller execute the army of traumatised survivors baying for his blood.]]
100	** Mana points out that the single event ''is'' connected to the rest of Evulz's actions. [[KnightInShiningArmor Sir Robert]]'s whole adventure? That was caused by Evulz burning Mana's hometown down, which enraged Sir Robert's queen, who then sent him out to teach a lesson to Evulz. [[WhiteMagicianGirl Diane]] being sent on this holy quest? Coincidentally, her monastery (which had been wrecked too, unbeknownst to Diane) was right next to Mana's hometown. [[TheLancer Lance]]'s plot to do the greatest heist? It was because Lance's boss was trying to make him rob Evulz out of revenge for what he did to Mana's hometown (which is actually pillaging one of the most priceless gems known to man). Except [[TheBigGuy Claidheamh]]. Claidheamh's TheRival and also TheBrute, and is only joining them because they beat him in a fight and is practically holding him captive (the reason why he was TheRival and TheBrute was because ''they'' burnt his hometown down, and it was all because of a [[DisproportionateRetribution stupid prank]]. [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality It's not like his hometown matters more than Mana's]]). It's part of her motivation to help those who could end up like her, or anyone else that's suffered from him. [[TrueCompanions That's why she has her allies, so they can defeat him together instead of losing to him separately.]]
101	** Reconstructed Inversion: ...Of course, Mana and her loved ones believe that Evulz is [[HeWhoFightsMonsters no better than her]] for how far [[EvilIsPetty he's willing to make her suffer]], suspecting that [[RevengeMyopia he may or may not have deserved whatever Mana did if he was already close to who he is now]].
102	* '''Played for Laughs''':
103	** "Oh yeah! It bothered me that the body count was one short. Well, time to fix that mistake."
104	** "Oh, it's all coming back to me, I went to Subway before that."
105	** "Still not ringing any bells ... Maybe you should talk to my secretary? She usually knows when I schedule my massacres."
106	** ''Evulz pulls out his diary.'' "Let's see ... March 4, March 4 ... ah, here it is! ''Now'' I remember! 'The smoke rising from the burning buildings looked particularly striking against the cloudless blue sky. As I rode into the sunset I spotted a solitary child glaring balefully from the rubble, doubtless plotting her eventual revenge.' [[ReminiscingAboutYourVictims Ah... Good times, good times]]."
107	** "Seriously? You don't remember?! [''Holds up an issue of ''Magazine/TimeMagazine'' showing Evulz attacking the village.''] Not even one of ''these'' framed up on a wall somewhere?!! Everyone across the land thought that must've been a ''very'' big day for you and your men!!!"
108	** "...It was the one where we raised those cute monkeys and penguins." "Oh yeah! [[EvenEvilHasStandards I meant to let those live.]]"
109	* '''Played for Drama''': Mana takes her revenge on Evulz, but [[VengeanceFeelsEmpty her victory feels hollow]] to her, since Evulz didn't completely understand what he had done to deserve it.
110	** Mana finally meets Evulz ''long'' after a HeelRealization, where he's a [[VillainousBSOD broken mess of a man]] [[DrivenToMadness barely clinging to reality]]. His inability to remember one specific crime is played more as a sign of his massive guilt and mental degredation, not indifference or cruelty. For further drama, Mana refusing to let go of her hate when she sees how broken Evulz is and how hollow her vengeance would be because killing him now would be like beating on a dead horse [[NoSympathyForGrudgeholders only makes her look like a monster to everybody else]].
111	* '''Played for Horror''': The death of Mana's village was done in the third ''[[VillainBasedFranchise Evulz Strikes!]]'' film. Mana's RoaringRampageOfRevenge was done in the thirtieth film. The number of corpses that piled up in the meanwhile is not only forgettable by Evulz, but by [[YouMonster the audience]].
112	* '''Plotted a Good Waste''': Emperor Evulz has a PhotographicMemory and an [[WouldYouLikeToHearHowTheyDied all-too-fond recollection]] of [[ReminiscingAboutYourVictims his countless atrocities.]] The fact he can't remember Mana's village is {{Foreshadowing}} for LaserGuidedAmnesia, TomatoInTheMirror, NotMeThisTime or some other plot twist.
113	----
114	For you, the day this {{stinger}} sent you back to [[ButForMeItWasTuesday the main page]] was the most important day of your life. [[TitleDrop But for it, it was Tuesday.]]

Context PlayingWith / ButForMeItWasTuesday