King: You were the one who killed my Mom, weren't you?
Nyarlathotep: You have to be more specific than that, child; I may be eternal, but that doesn't mean I have an internal memory box that catalogues every individual scream.
Examples of But for Me, It Was Tuesday in Fan Works.Nyarlathotep: You have to be more specific than that, child; I may be eternal, but that doesn't mean I have an internal memory box that catalogues every individual scream.
Ace Attorney
- Lana Skye's Parole: Back when she was Chief Prosecutor, Lana Skye, under Damon Gant's orders, crushed a rookie attorney with forged evidence, but soon forgot the event as it was another step in protecting Ema. The rookie attorney was none other than Kristoph Gavin, and he reminds of it along with all-but-confessing that her own corrupted action is what was let him to become the Amoral Attorney who frames Phoenix for using forged evidence. In the present, Lana now blames herself for her own desperate actions that led to Kristoph's present self.
- In Abyssal Plain, the Undersiders and Breakthrough are horrified by the non-stop horrors the Abyss throws at them. For Whispers, this is simply his way of life.
- Avengers: Infinite Wars;
- When Scott wakes up from his Giant-Man-induced coma to learn that Cad Bane has stolen a record of potential future Jedi for the Separatists, Pietro observes that this is just a typical Monday/Tuesday for the Avengers (Tap clarifies that based on his calendar, it's actually Thursday back on Earth).
- When the remaining Earth-bound Avengers learn of Karness Muur and his resurrection after the threat of Kaecilius has been dealt with, Tony observes that a world-ending threat is just another Tuesday these days, and Clint reflects that he misses the day such threats weren't a regular occurrence.
- BlazBlue Alternative: Remnant: Terumi's killing of Summer was this for him to the point where he doesn't remember any details of the fight and doesn't even remember what she looked like until Ruby outright yells that he killed her mom.
- Blood That Flows: When Lina met Dilgear, she said that he tried to kill her. Dilgear didn't recognize her, but he admitted maybe he did at some point.
- The Boys: Real Justice
- Where Vought and affiliated heroes are unfamiliar with the concept of the multiverse, this kind of knowledge is so common on the Justice League’s Earth that it’s observed basically any teenager could learn the facts they’re sharing with a quick browse of the Internet.
- As the Boys try to find each other while hiding in Gotham, it’s observed that saying they’re in the hotel that was attacked by the Joker doesn’t really help anyone narrow down the options.
- A heroic example happens in The Brewmaster
. Siesta manages to recognize Chen Stormstout because he saved her great-grandfather's life in the Third War (alongside sharing his brew with him and his men). While Chen can't remember this because he has saved many lives and shared his brew with many more, he is glad that this specific man's legacy has managed to live on. - The Bridge: In the spin-off The Bridge: Sound of Thunder, the evil Mirror Universe Godzilla Junior doesn't bother to remember his victims. Titanosaurus seemed to leave an impression, but he cannot recall her name.
- As an ironic inversion of canon, in Cycles Upon Cycles, what the Citadel refers to as the "Koprulu Contact War", the Koprulu sector call the "Backyard Skirmish".
- Boldores And Boomsticks:
- Doomsday-predicting Professor Cypress believes that Professor Oak is mocking him when he asks if it's Tuesday after hearing about the newest possible catastrophe. Oak responds that he was referencing the number of near catastrophes in recent years.
- The events of the Shamouti Island Incident (Saving the world, fulfilling an ancient prophecy referencing him by name, and riding a Legendary into battle) are described as just another Tuesday for Ash.
- While explaining the abilities of Aura, Blake calls back to the example above and describes Yang being punched through a concrete pillar by a stolen military prototype about to be sold to terrorists as a typical Tuesday for Team RWBY.
- Team RWBY is touched by the sincere gratitude the people of Earth express for what to them was normal Huntress duty.
- Fate DxD AU:
- Ritsuka Fujimaru has accomplished so much that he doesn't really think of his deeds as special. This includes killing a few dragons, which utterly shocks his peers when he proves it by producing a dragon's fang.
- When Yuuto Kiba confronts Valper Galilei, the one who put him and other children in the holy sword experiment that killed many of them, Valper doesn't remember him and doesn't care about the children he killed.
- The God of Destruction comes to Remnant: Cobalt Yashi confesses he doesn't remember how many Faunus and Faunus sympathizers he enslaved, raped, and killed.
- In Heir to the Empire , an amusing inversion is used, when Setsuna looks into Ranma's past:Setsuna: THAT SON OF A BITCH! He did that to you?
Ranma: Which 'that' are you referring to? God knows I can't keep track. - When Jedi Master Fay tries to remind Harry Potter of the time he saved her life in I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, she has to elaborate quite a bit before Harry recalls the incident and he better remembers fishing a galleon out of lava than saving her.
- In the Pokémon: The Series and Infinity Train crossover, Infinity Train: Knight of the Orange Lily, Grace's reply about how she murdered Utahoshi, the leader of the 400 Rabbits Car is a plain "So what?" not realizing how much anguish she put on Utahoshi's best friend Kisaragi to brainwash a young boy to be Utahoshi's successor and preparing a plan to exterminate the Apex. When Tokio — who was heavily affected by the spoilers above — reminds her of it, she just looks at her number, her knife and repeats her "So what?". When the rest of White Gestalt name off all the victims she hurt, she just shouts at them "Don't know, don't care!"
- In Infinity Train: Seeker of Crocus: Grace doesn't seem to remember what she did to MT — which is send the Mirror Cops to grind her down because she believed the null was poisoning Jesse's mind.
- Invoked on various occasions in the Interventions series;
- When Peter meets Xander in the original timeline, Xander is struck by the notion that Peter has no problem with the idea of traveling in time but is put out at the notion of confronting the literal source of all Evil while doing so, Peter just observing that everything's relative.
- In the timeline created after the heroes assist in Sunnydale, when Spike tells Micah that he met Nikki a few years ago from his perspective and a few months ago from Nikki's, Micah just accepts that it's a time-travel thing while Spike muses that it's still confusing to him when he actually participated in the events.
- Later on, during Xander's first date with Elle, when Willow suggests that Elle ask Xander about the time he saved the world, Xander has to ask which time that was, affirming Elle's positive opinion of him.
- Cassie Cage invokes this trope in Mortal Kombat vs Marvel Universe after she kills Kano:Cassie: You know, when we look back on this years from now, we're gonna remember this moment quite differently.
Sonya: How so?
Cassie: Given your beef with Kano, me killing him will be the most important day of your life.
Sonya: And what will it be for you?
Cassie: Given what I go through both as a mutant and under your command on a daily basis...for me, it was Tuesday. - In My Heroes Reborn, Bakugo genuinely forgot he suicide-baited Izuku until someone posts about it online. It causes a Heel Realization for the boy that he'd both do something like that and then forget about it.
- My Huntsman Academia has Toshinori say this nearly word-for-word to Izuku after an especially tough battle.Toshinori: Damn, I can barely even remember the last time I had a fight that tough... actually, that's a lie. I can remember the fights I had that tough of a time with ease.
Izuku: Really? I mean, you've had to have a lot of fights, how could you remember all your tough ones easily?
Toshinori: [flashes a wide, cocky grin as he points to himself with his thumb] You kidding me, kid? I'm The All Mighty Huntsman, The Symbol of Peace. Sure, I get into a lot of fights but I breeze through so many of them. To a lot of these criminals, their fights with me are probably the most climactic clashes of their lives... for me, it's a Tuesday. - Nan The Keyblade Master:
- Super RWBY Sisters: In a similar example to the Fire Emblem story mentioned below, at the end of Chapter 22, we get this when Bereto recognizes Shez:Bereto: Now I know you. You were that woman that my sister had fought. You gained this new power out of nowhere.Shez: (smirking proudly) Yes, indeed. I am the same woman, now stronger than-Bereto: What was your name again?(Thud!)Shez: (anime fall) SERIOUSLY?!Yuri: (shrugging) You were probably not that memorable.
- To make it even funnier, in the next chapter, it's pointed out that, since Bereto wasn't there when Byleth battled Shez, he had a legit reason for not knowing her name. Shez concedes the point.
- Touhou Galaxy, A heroic example in Rabbids: Kingdom Battle when Mario asks "who are you again?" to Captain Goomba saying [Captain Goomba]'s got a bone to pick with Mario. Justified as at the time Captain Goomba was just used for the tutorial battle in Mario And Luigi Super Star Saga and didn't have his name yet.
- Super RWBY Sisters: In a similar example to the Fire Emblem story mentioned below, at the end of Chapter 22, we get this when Bereto recognizes Shez:
- New Stars: For a clone in the Republic, fighting massive space battles with the odds stacked against you is so normal that when helping his new crew in a mission into Krill space, Maxx views it almost nostalgically.
- Realm of Entwined Science and Sorcery — Academy City: Touma Kamijou says being attacked by Queen Medb doesn't even make it into the top ten craziest things that have happened to him.
- The Saga Of Tanya The Firebender: When they meet in Omashu, Katara wants revenge on Tanya for killing Pakku. Tanya has no idea who exactly she's referring to.Katara: I was trained by Master Pakku himself.
Tanya: Am I supposed to know who that is?
Katara: You should. You killed him.
Tanya: Do you have the slightest idea how little that narrows it down? - In The Secret Keeper, when Seth arrives in St Mungo’s, he is basically subject to this when he sees a man with literal cauliflower ears and the man shrugs it off with the explanation that he had a row with his wife.
- Invoked in Spider-Man and Power Girl; when the dimensionally-displaced Power Girl reveals that she's from another Earth, Spider-Man and the Human Torch each separately ask if she means an alternate reality Earth or the restored Counter-Earth, demonstrating how used to unusual circumstances these heroes are on either Earth.
- Spider-X:
- Peter only learns the day after he did it that he assisted the police in capturing a major serial killer, arguing that he didn’t mention it at first because it didn’t seem like a big deal at the time.
- Also applies when Peter learns that he is being framed for a series of crimes by Mysterio for ruining Quentin Beck's early attempt at revenge, as it takes him a few minutes to remember who Beck is even after unmasking him.
- In Time Anomaly, once he first hears about the time Rory shoved Hitler into a closet, Tony is continually amazed that these people could have lived the kind of life where doing that wasn't the most interesting thing to happen to them.
- In Tok'ra Apocalypse, while time travel isn’t an everyday part of their activities, the SGC are still fairly nonchalant using that as an explanation for Henry Winchester's presence after he appears in Dean and Sam's room in the SGC through their closet.
- In the Mass Effect/Halo crossover When There Was a Tomorrow and its sequel Guilty Sparks, Shepard and his crew are worryingly blase about the number of people who seem to feel that Shepard is an affront to the gods, which at the conclusion of the second story include The Covenant, the vast majority of the Batarian species, the Blood Pack, the Reapers, multiple mercenary bands, Cerberus, Guilty Spark and his legions of sentinels, and Colonel Ackerson of the Office of Naval Intelligence. They also feel this way about suicide missions, with Legion stating that a mission with only a fifty-three percent chance of success is "Significantly higher" than the missions they usually undertake.
- In Wizard Runemaster, when Fleur tells Harry she wants to thank him for "killing the bastard who enslaved her", Harry blithely tells her that doesn't narrow things down any. He killed a lot during the war against the Burning Legion.
- In one of Avatar: The Abridged Series "Ships.avi" the ruthless revolutionary Amon has this to say about taking over the city.Amon: For many of you, this will be the most important day of your lives. But for me, its Amon day. Amon day. Get it? Because its like "Monday"? No?....I guess they didn't get the reference. Live action Street Fighter movie.
- In Empty, Kivan finally confronts the ogre who tortured and murdered his lover, triumphantly announces that he will die for killing her, and is appalled to find that the guy has no idea what he's talking about.
- Cassandra Cain, the Batgirl: Chapters 40 - 41 ("Sibling Warfare") deal with Tatsu deals with a villain named Alexander Spencer whose crime had been foiled by her and Batman years ago. He kidnaps Tatsu as part of his plan for revenge but Tatsu barely remembers him, and the narration states that while Batman would have a file about Spencer, it wouldn't be at the top of the list.
- In To Undo It All:
- The captains go to Ichigo when it seems Toshiro has attacked Kyouraku, seeing if he can tell them whether Toshiro is a traitor. But not only does Ichigo have over a decade of memories to sort through, but they include a war against a Master of Illusion and another where the enemy side had two separate shape shifters, plus "a whole load of bullshit spread throughout". He can name at least a dozen events where captains attacked each other and the current date isn't significant enough to ring any bells.
Yoruichi: You're looking for a memory of Hitsugaya attacking Kyouraku, that involves balls of fire and lightning, Hitsugaya being accused of treason, and a stolen artifact. How much more specific do you need to get?
Ichigo: Shiro says there's just shy of twenty memories that fit that description.- Later, Kenryū assumes Ichigo time-traveled to help save Rurichiyo from the assassins targeting her, but Ichigo has absolutely no idea what he's talking about. While he does eventually remember, the event in question was so routine that it doesn't stick out to him at all.
- BloodRayne: Chronicles of Blood: In Origins chapter 20, Ophelia doesn't recognize Rayne, revealing herself to have personally "picked out" women for Kagan to rape. It isn't until the next chapter that she remembers assisting in the slaughter of Rayne's family.
- When Suzaku asks why he made Euphemia massacre the Japanese in Screw You Fate, I'm Going Home, Lelouch has to take a moment to remember why he did it the first time, as he's been through so many loops that Lelouch initially gave the reason he did it most recently.
- In the Justice Society of America fanfic "Black Sunset", a serial killer is targeting retired supervillains, and the villains descend en mass on the JSA Brownstone demanding protection. One of them snarls that Hawkman wouldn't be sorry to see him dead, and is taken aback when Hawkman clearly has no idea who he is. They fought once, forty years previously.
- In Welcome To The Family Light takes a placement test at Wammy's House and scores number one; much to the distress of Mello and Near. Light, who is used to always getting perfect scores, doesn't see what the big deal is. Also Lampshaded when Light recalls killing Beyond Birthday:Light tried to remember what Beyond Birthday looked like—sure he had known Beyond Birthday's name and face in order to kill him but that was a while ago, it might have been on a Tuesday, but in any case he'd killed quite a few other people since then.
- Silent Partner, Unfinished Business: Koreyoshi Kitamura sent Naomi Misora's fiancee to his death so she would rejoin the FBI. When she comes for revenge, he not only has no idea who she is, he has no idea why anyone would be mad at him.
- A rare heroic example in The Road to Shalka - Feigle (the antagonist) hates the Doctor viciously for helping out a guy who toppled Feigle's Evil Empire. Since this is pretty much what the Doctor does on a daily basis, he has a lot of trouble placing Feigle (although he remembers the man he's helped back then).
- Dragon Ball Z Abridged:
- Freezanote has gotten so bored of the heroic speeches by people saying how awful he is or how they'll be the ones to stop him that he's turned the trope into a game, keeping a running total of how many times he's heard certain lines. Goku's declaration that he's gonna "deck [him] in the schnozz" is literally A Rare Sentence for him.
- Subverted in the Broly movie. When Paragus comes clean and admits that luring the group off planet was part of a revenge plot to kill Vegeta, he states it's because "That bastard Vegeta left us to die!" Vegeta acknowledges that it sounds like something he would do, but he has no idea what Paragus is talking about. Paragus then clarifies that he means Vegeta's father who was also named Vegeta, and going after the younger Vegeta is a case of Revenge by Proxy.
- Chaos Theory Z: During Raditz's rematch with the Z Fighters, he fails to recognize Yamcha, whom he killed during the first fight (Yamcha having been resurrected in the meantime).Raditz: I killed you?
Yamcha: You don't remember?
Raditz: Do you have any idea how many people I've killed? You are just another face amongst the corpses. - Dragon Ball Z: A Different Journey: When Frieza is confronted by Bulma for causing the death of her son, Frieza dryly notes that she's going to need to be more specific, as that's not the first time he's heard that accusation today.
- In Unlimited Babe Works, Ruru explains to Archer that the countless broken hearts he's left in his wake have gained enough magical weight to transform his Reality Marble. Archer says that he doesn't remember breaking any hearts. Ruru replies, with increasing anger, that that is the problem.
- In this story, Shez, the protagonist of Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, years before the story began, had a run-in with the protagonist of Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Byleth, lost badly, and spent several years training in hopes of a rematch. When he comes face to face with her..."Well? Got anything to say before I end you?"
The Ashen Demon remained silent. Heh, was his sudden reappearance so frightening, she was at a loss for words? Or no. Her blank stare hadn't changed a bit, not even when Shez leveled his twin blades at her.
"I'm sorry. Who are you again?"
What?! He spent so much time and effort preparing for this fight, and she didn't even remember him?!
- In The Debate, Tiberius Ogden's "firewhiskey" is actually ordinary whiskey stolen from a Muggle distillery - until the day he loses his magic and gets arrested.Policeman: Well, well. A wizard. One of Hogwarts' finest, dropping his wand and getting belted by a mere muggle?
Ogden: You clearly know me. Get me away from here. I can make it worth your while. I am very appreciative to my friends.
Policeman: You don't remember me, do you, Mr Ogden? Well, why would you? I was just a young parent when you'd paid Pius Thicknesse to kill my little little girl. It took me a few years to put the pieces together, then your Death Eater buddy Pius Thicknesse tried to obliviate me. There was no getting justice with Fudge as minister. He's gone now and you are so screwed.
You took away my little girl. Now, I get to help you take your freedom. - In the Troll Fic Genesis, Dumbledore lets his students get gang-raped on a regular basis.
- In The Hidden Hero, Harry pretends to be a Muggleborn. After an unjust stay in Azkaban and a recovery period in St. Mungo's he confronts Voldemort.Voldemort: Mudblood! You think you, a mudblood, can kill me? Me! The greatest wizard of all time! I will swat you like a fly!
Harry: Like Cedric Diggory?
Voldemort: Who? I don't know who Diggory is. Another mudblood? - In Limpieza de Sangre, neither Sirius nor Voldemort can tell Harry about a battle that took place at Brecon, neither even remembering why it happened to begin with. It wasn't particularly notable at the time and took place almost fifteen years prior.
- In The Medium Between Life and Death Cedric's spirit makes itself visible as a distraction during the fight in the Department of Mysteries, shouting that Voldemort will never know peace for killing him. Voldemort actually has to think for a minute or two before puzzledly asking "The Hufflepuff?"
- In A Muggle Technicality, Fenrir Greyback encounters an unjustly imprisoned Muggle werewolf during an Azkaban break-in staged by Voldemort.Fenrir: I bite anyone. The younger the better though. Don't remember biting an ugly bleeder like you though.
Muggle: I was much younger...only seven...it would have been 1970.
Fenrir: Really? They all sort of blur a bit. I'll take your word for it. - Susan Bones and the Prisoner of Azkaban:Cho: All I ever wanted, Harry...is the truth about Cedric! (sob) And for you to love me (bawl) Like he did!
Harry: Me love you? After the way you acted? Not a bloody chance! And forget the cheap shots you pulled on me! Insulting Susan, attacking Luna! Then...
Cho: Who? - In Just an Errant Thought, a group of students are meeting with Amelia Bones regarding goings-on at Hogwarts:Amelia: This meeting just keeps getting weirder and weirder.Neville: The rest of us call it "Tuesday" when it comes to anything weird that involves Harry.
- The Heart Bind Saga: Played for Laughs by Ruffnut and Tuffnut in the very first chapter of Heart Bound:"A mysterious far-away land filled with ferocious dragons – it sounds awesome!" declared Tuff.
"Sounds like Tuesday!" joked Ruff. - A Thing of Vikings:
- Heather identifies Hallr and his men as the ones who captured her and her parents before selling them as thralls to the King of Vedrarfjord. Hallr doesn't remember her as he had captured and sold lots of people as thralls.
- For the Glory of Irk:
- When Tak returns (now working for the Syndicate), the Tallest admit to not remembering her at all. According to them, the most notable thing about her — her failed attempt at getting revenge on Zim — is pretty standard stuff, considering how many Irkens hate him. Apparently plenty of them have also tried to get rid of him.
- Also, despite him having attempted a rebellion against them and them in turn having locked him up onboard the Massive, the Tallest have no recollection of Lard Nar.
- The New Adventures of Invader Zim:
- At one point in Season 2 Episode 4, Steve lampshades how odd his and Viera's lives have become since befriending Dib, when he notes that the current situation (Viera being chased by the film crew she was interning for, at the behest of the main actress, who has turned into a banshee) should not seem as normal to him as it does.
- Similarly, it's noted that the giant cat Team Save Earth is dealing with in the opening of Season 2 Episode 13 isn't even the weirdest thing that they've dealt with that week.
- Re: My Hostage, Not Yours: Due to the fact that she was 9 years old at the time of their only prior encounter in canon, Gaz doesn't initially remember Iggins or what she did to him.
- In Spider-Man: Finding Home, when Peter confronts the Shocker and the Scorpion as they rant about how he got them arrested, he asks them for more details, pointing out that given his actions as a hero he's gotten a lot of people arrested so they aren't giving him anything that would help him narrow down what they're talking about.
- In North Wind, Loki ends up delivering one of these. Given that Thor had just accused the God of Mischief of lying, he kind of walked into it.Thor: (accusatorily) You are a vile liar!
Loki: (still reading his book) You will have to be more exacting than that.
- Played with in Mass Effect: End of Days. A Batarian rebel intends to have his revenge against a Hegemony officer who killed the woman he loved, remarking the officer may not remember her, but will remember him. However, the officer actually remembers... which makes him almost shit himself once he realizes the former slave is just outside the door.
- In Square One, A Cerberus scientist who had stolen research and had been on the run for years looking over his shoulder thinking they were after him finds out they forgot about him years ago until they finally needed the research back.Miranda: "Poor little man. To you, the day you scraped up the guts to plant a knife in my back was the bravest and proudest day of your life. But to me? It was Tuesday. I didn't give a damn where you went, and I wouldn't now if you didn't have something I wanted."
- Apotheosis: The day that All Might crushed his dreams dramatically altered the course of Izuku's life, driving him to villainy in order to seize the power required to change society. To All Might, Izuku was Just a Kid — one who's now working to destroy everything he's fought for due to a bit of well-meaning but poor advice. All for One calls him out on crushing Izuku's dreams without any consideration; later, during one of their confrontations, Izuku asks him point-blank if he would have spared him a single thought if he hadn't become a villain.Izuku: You're not sorry for what you said to me! You're sorry about the end result! If I didn't become a villain, would you be here apologizing to me?! Did you even once think about me again after our first meeting?!
(All Might looks away in shame)
Izuku: That's what I thought. - Cheat Code: Support Strategist: Izuku's encounter with All Might caused him to give up completely on his dream of going Pro in favor of going the support route. All Might doesn't even remember him — despite the fact that he really should, given that Izuku learned his greatest weakness during that encounter.
- Ere we go, Pluz Ultra!: Monoma yells at Izuku for "attacking him out of the blue for no reason", only for Izuku to ask him to narrow it down. When Monoma then insists Izuku kneed him in the groin, Izuku still needs it narrowed down further though he sounds vaguely apologetic about not remembering.
- Ghost: When a sixteen year old Eri rushes up to the stage of Mirio reaching number one after Shoto's arrest and Endeavor's scandal, Mirio doesn't even remember her, much to Eri's frustration.
- Yesterday Upon The Stair: In second grade, Katsuki pulled an especially cruel prank on Izuku, one that left Izuku unable to be in small rooms without panic attacks or withstand Bakugou touching his shoulder without completely shutting down, entirely unable to speak for eight months after the incident, and periodically Elective Mute for the rest of his life. This causes their already shaky relationship to be even worse than canon. When Izuku finally calls Katsuki out on this, Izuku makes clear that the thing that hurts most is that Katsuki seemingly doesn't even remember doing this, despite how it "changed everything" for Izuku.Izuku: That's why — that's why I don't see you the way you want to be seen. Because you want to be a hero, and yet you can hurt someone like that. You can hurt them so bad that they still think about it and the scars still itch and it's shaped the person they are, and not even remember. It was the worst day of my life, Bakugou. But it was just another Wednesday for you, wasn’t it?
My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
- In Fallout: Equestria, Littlepip comes across a memory orb (a recording of past events) where she witnesses Rainbow Dash being approached by a group of pegasi. When one asks if she remembers him, she remarks she's busy and thus only has time to remember important ponies- and promptly gets humbled when he angrily asks if she remembers his younger brother, a casualty in a recent battle.
- In Harmony Theory, Melody Drop wants revenge on Max Cash for murdering her master, destroying her hometown, and using her loyalty to her master to Mind Rape her. While he vaguely remembers the act, he doesn't remember her.
- Pony POV Series:
- Discord reacts this way to recounting his multiple counts of genocide. Ultimately subverted with the Sea Ponies: he only pretends to feel this way because he actually does care he did it because he genuinely enjoyed their music, he's just can't stand the thought of accepting responsibility for anything, including the destruction of something he liked.
- Nightmare Paradox has been pulling her "Groundhog Day" Loop revenge plan on Dark World!Discord for so long she's forgotten when she started, and reveals she doesn't bother remembering the names of anyone but her main pawns, especially the innocent bystanders who get killed, as shown when she doesn't remember who Poison Apple (Apple Pie's identical twin sister) is, asking if she's her coltfriend when asked how many times she's let her die.
- While recounting her origin story to The Interviewers, Queen Chrysalis doesn't bother to remember the names of any character she interacted with unless they were really important to her. Out of her original village, she only cared enough to remember her childhood friend Maua; even her parents only get called Mother and Father.
- The sadistic mass murdering Mad Doctor Professor Kabuto also has this mentality, viewing his victims as little more than lab rats. Given he refuses to refer to any creature whom he has no respect for by their species with a number, it's little surprise.
- Ditzy Doo's "Butterflies" story has a more humorous example with this exchange between Sparkler and Prince Blueblood (who's since undergone Character Development in his own story).Prince Blueblood: You look rather familiar, we've met, haven't we?
Sparkler: Uh... yeah... we had a date... It ended with me chewing you out.
Prince Blueblood: Unfortunately... that doesn't narrow it down as much as I wish it did... - Tirek's minion Lancaster, who tried to kill him, explains his motive was Tirek destroyed his hometown of Crystal Port and killed his brother. Tirek's response is to state he doesn't remember that one. When Lancaster asks in shock how he can't remember, his answer?Tirek: Do you remember every ant you step on?
- In the first chapter of Principal Celestia Hunts the Undead, Sunset Shimmer is confused as to why Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna are so nonchalant about the magical shenanigans caused by Sunset herself, the Sirens, and Twilight Sparkle (corresponding to the first three movies of the Equestria Girls series). It's because, as the title indicates, the principal sisters have been hunting all sorts of monsters that plague Canterlot for a while now.Celestia: I know that the Fall Formal was a terribly exciting day for you, but for us...it was Thursday.
Luna: Friday.
Celestia: No, definitely Thursday. It was a school night. - In Twillight Sparkle's awesome adventure, ADMIRAL Awesome had managed to completely forget about having killed Enemy Boss Leader's family and friends by the time we learn about it.
- Androgyninja's A Drop of Poison: Sakura realized she was Loving a Shadow after she was paired with Sasuke for a training match during their last year in the Academy. Despite her only managing to land a couple hits on him, his ego was wounded badly enough that he ranted about how civilian-born shinobi like her would never be anything more than 'paper ninja' or outright Cannon Fodder. He repeats the latter insult several times after they become teammates. When Sakura finally hits her Rage Breaking Point and attacks him for his dismissiveness towards civilian lives in the wake of the Konoha Crush attempt and the deaths of her parents, Sasuke looks at her blankly when she asserts that "We are not cannon fodder." Played With in that Sasuke does recall insulting her, but doesn't comprehend why she still identifies as being civilian-born; she's earned his respect as a kunoichi, spurring him to mentally separate her from 'their kind' without seeing how that's part of the problem.
- Referenced in two separate scenes in Kitsune no Ken: Fist of the Fox, both times concerning Gaara.
- In Chapter 132, during Yahiko's pre-recorded "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Gaara after luring him and his family into a trap, he declares that while he could explain his motive for leading Akatsuki and hunting the Kyuushingai, he won't bother to "bore" Gaara with the story since he's certain that Gaara, having taken part in the 365 days' violence with the other Terrors, likely wouldn't remember Yahiko's specific situation.Yahiko: For me, the day of my suffering was the most intense day of my life...but for you and your peers, Gaara, it was probably just another day to kill, right?
- The trope is later discussed between Gaara and Hinata during their encounter in Chapter 189. Gaara doesn't deny that, for his past victims, each act of atrocity he's pulled would have made a major impact on each specific victim...but he doesn't see it as anything more than him doing his thing as usual.Hinata: Everything you've done since you started this campaign of yours...for the victims you've left behind, every act you've committed against them was a significant event in their lives.
Gaara: For them, perhaps it was. But for me...it was just another day on the go.
- In Chapter 132, during Yahiko's pre-recorded "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Gaara after luring him and his family into a trap, he declares that while he could explain his motive for leading Akatsuki and hunting the Kyuushingai, he won't bother to "bore" Gaara with the story since he's certain that Gaara, having taken part in the 365 days' violence with the other Terrors, likely wouldn't remember Yahiko's specific situation.
- Brought up when Naruto saves Kayo in The Pride. She mentions that he rescued her once before, only for Naruto to ask her to be more specific because "When [he] was a genin, it seemed a week didn't go by without [him] rescuing someone or other."
- In Son of the Sannin, Naruto fights against Orochimaru's genin trio, Kin, Dosu, and Zaku, twice (first in the Land of Rice Fields arc, and later in the Sound Invasion). Come Chapter 73, Naruto doesn't even recognize them when they're assigned to team up with him for a mission (after the invasion they were captured and put under Anko's custody, who is now their sensei). They're naturally annoyed at having left such a weak impression on him.
- Played for Laughs in "What Went Wrong For Us". Freyja is former shieldmaiden from a Fantasy Counterpart Culture of the vikings. When Sarada excitedly asks how many people she'd killed, she responds, "How many breads have you had in your life?"
- A Crown of Stars: When the main cast confronted Jinnai, Misato showed that she remembered him too well from a prior meeting. Jinnai did not:Misato: "Well, well, well, if it isn't Katsuhiko Jinnai. I remember you, mister Junior Vice-President of Isshinshima Heavy Industries. You've oozed your way up in the world since we met, I see."
Jinnai: "Who the Hell are you?"
Misato: "You tried to sell us an overpriced second-rate knock-off of the Positron Canon we were developing ourselves. Then you grabbed my ass and tried to ask me out for drinks. I might have almost broken your wrist. I know I gave you one Hell of a black eye."
Jinnai: "Wait, Captain Katsuragi?!"
- In The Spectre Trilogy, Carla is asked if she’s seen a trainer called Randall Shaw. She says she hasn’t. The man talking to her says she might have battled Randall, to which Carla replies that she’s battled a lot of trainers and doesn’t remember half of them. Somewhat subverted in that she’s lying, and he knows she is.
- In the mass crossover Power Rangers Mythos, when Tommy, Z, and Flynn learn that their current foe, the mysterious alchemist Avanth, is likely responsible for mass cow purchases in Wales, the Mythos Rangers speculate that he might be using them for potion ingredients, and muse that they've all heard weirder in their Ranger careers.
- While pretending to not remember Blake in Not this time, Fate, Jaune keeps insisting she has to narrow things down. He does in fact remember her, but given his proclivities, it's clear he really could have had similar meetings in the past.Blake: We met a little over a week ago.
Jaune: You'll have to narrow that down.
Blake: When you were with a woman?
Jaune: You'll have to narrow that down.
Blake: I saw you naked.
Jaune: You'll... er... still have to narrow that down.
Blake: I caught you having sex with a random woman on a train! And if you tell me you need me to narrow that down, I will throw you out that window!- Raven, as monstrous as she is, at least has the decency to avert this when she comes across two people who survived her raids.
- Invoked in Playing Our Roles when Roman meets Adam years after they nearly killed each other. Roman blithely pretends he doesn't remember meeting Adam before, though it is noted that if he wasn't a Self-Insert, he might well have forgotten.
- When Mary Sioux talks about Tanya killing her father in A Young Girl's Delinquency Record, it takes a lot of narrowing down for Visha to remember the incident - as the top ace of the war, Tanya had killed a lot of people's fathers, and rarely learned their names.
- A Boy, a Girl and a Dog: The Leithian Script: In the spin-off chapter Betrayals, Renunciations Sauron tries to tempt Beren in the dungeons of Tol-In-Gaurhoth. Beren retorts that he still remembers what happened to one of his companions that trusted Sauron... but Sauron has completely forgotten that event:—Yield to me, and serve me, and undo some small measure of the harm you have worked to my King, and in return I shall give you news of one you have long wondered for: Emeldir, who journeyed far, and never guesses the fate of her only child—
—Even as you kept your promise to Gorlim, he thinks, and braces for the gloating and cruel mockery his slip must surely call forth, but the name is meaningless to his captor, and the answer but a dismissive — Who?
- In Prison Island Break this is invoked by Shadow when he admits that he's raped so many women that their faces all blur together, despite only being convicted for eleven of them. Sonic is visibly sickened by this.
- Shadow is then faced by three women whom he's raped in the past. Shadow comments mockingly on how he neither remembers nor cares. Then Rouge accuses him of this, and Shadow shrugs it off, telling her that he's raped lots of women and she's nothing special.Shadow: "One date and I changed your life forever. How does it feel to know that means nothing to me?"
- Shadow is then faced by three women whom he's raped in the past. Shadow comments mockingly on how he neither remembers nor cares. Then Rouge accuses him of this, and Shadow shrugs it off, telling her that he's raped lots of women and she's nothing special.
- Sonic X: Dark Chaos: In Episode 75, Cosmo calls Maledict out on all the people he's killed and the horrible things he's done, including slaughtering the Seedrians and ruining Tsali's life. After a moment of silence, Maledict openly admits that for him, the Seedrians' extinction and the slaughter of Tsali's family was "just another day", before following up with a Hannibal Lecture.Maledict: Do you know what I have seen in my immortal lifetime? I have watched the Big Bang scatter all the matter through the canvas of creation. I have seen whole galaxies collapse into oblivion. I have watched time itself expand and shrink in its eternity. I have seen countless civilizations rise and fall. And you think you are unique in your suffering? I have stood knee-deep in mud and bone. I have seen murdered dissidents and masses starved into faith. The innocent, the innocent, Sonic- trod and bled and starved and beaten and killed! This is your galaxy! This is the lawlessness of nature!
- There is a heroic version in the The Kirita Chronicles. Prior to the Death Game the genderbent version of Kirito, Kirita, met the genderbent version of Asuna, Akio, twice in the real world before Sword Art Online. First she complimented him and the second time she saved him from bullies. While Akio remembers their encounters as they had a huge impact on him, Kirita doesn't until Akio tells her at the end of Chapter 9.
- Transformers Animated: Cybertronian Genesis:
- Megatron has no memory of Kup's stand against him at Kaiba-3 due to how many planets he's conquered over the years.
- Megatron's ultimate goal in Cybertronian Genesis is to make Optimus Prime this. In Transformers: Animated, Optimus, as a captain of a Space Bridge repair crew, one who only had his rank thanks to the charity of Ultra Magnus, should've been just another bug on the windshield for Megatron. The fact that he wasn't grates on Megatron's nerves, and by killing Optimus, he can finally forget his name and treat him as just another Prime he's killed over the years. When Optimus escapes him again at the end of the story, Megatron edges closer to a breakdown more than ever before, and promptly clears a space between the helms of the two Magnuses he's killed specifically for Optimus. Come the sequel, he goes Jumping Off the Slippery Slope in his attempts to finally triumph over his enemy.
- Ten years before Radio Silence takes place, the protagonist Wendy was a human who breached Schreck NET. Qadir was dispatched to kill her, but she managed to trick him into leaving. Ten years later Qadir's so used to cleaning up after Masquerade breaches that Wendy has to jog his memory to get him to remember her at all, despite meeting her again a month after the incident took place.
- Attelus Kaltos of Secret War has a subversion of this when a local Hammer confronts him for killing his brother. He doesn't remember it at all, after killing so many in the many months past. But is still genuinely sorry for the loss. For a short time at least.
- In The Dimensional Drifter, Judai isn't nervous at all that he landed in a foreign dimension because it's only Tuesday. The narration even lampshades this, saying that anyone else would have a panic attack in this situation.
- This Trope is Zigzagged in Yu-Gi-Oh! The Thousand Year Door Redux. During his duel against Leopold in Twilight Town, Stan attacks his ace monster Grandsoil the Elemental Lord, making it an And This Is for... attack for Philip, one of Leopold's former victims. Leopold doesn't even remember him. In a much later chapter, however, Leopold searches through some records and looks the name up. When he finds it and realizes the frivolous nature of offense he had taken the man in for, then he remembers Philip, leading to a Heel Realization.
- In Rivals Series, Yuuri treats this as an awful fact of life. The day Viktor insulted him and crushed his dreams when Yuuri attempted to get his autograph during Viktor's Junior Grand Prix Finals was the day Yuuri's life took a drastic turn. It was the day Yuuri's previous adoration of Viktor turned into a life-long burning hatred and ignited Yuuri's desire to surpass Viktor in ice skating. Yuuri realizes that it's likely unlikely that Viktor even remembers it as Yuuri was just one of many fans that day. In a subversion, Viktor is absolutely crushed that he doesn't remember their first meeting while Yuuri is bitterly accepting of it.
