Oblivious Guilt Slinging in Fan Works.
Crossovers
- Deku the Warcrafted: While on a train, Mineta discovers that A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Read when a girl's thoughts alert him to the fact that she's being molested by her Evil Uncle. Beating the bastard up, he gets him arrested... and the media latches onto him as a shining example of what a hero-in-training should be. Mineta is guilt-ridden, knowing that he only gained his temporary Telepathy by spraying himself with what he thought was a cologne that would make him irresistible to girls. Faced with the notion that he could have turned out to be just as bad as the girl's uncle, Mineta finds it hard to enjoy the media's praise, resolving to become somebody more worthy of their respect.
- Doofenshmirtz Hero Incorporated!: During his sessions with Doof's healing device, Yagi (pretending that he's a future teacher's aide) brings up that he's heard that Doofenshmirtz is regarded as an excellent teacher, asking him for pointers. Doofenshmirtz reacts with exasperation to the notion that a place as highly regarded as U.A. has hired somebody with so little teaching experience that they have to ask him of all people for advice, causing Yagi to splutter with shock and shame.
- Joining Forces as One: Fearing that Entrapta might wind up replacing her, Catra lies to her, manipulating her into running away from Doctor Santos. Entrapta then hugs her and calls her "a good friend", leaving her guiltstriken about the deception.
- Love Is All You Need to Destroy Your Enemies: Cecil rants to Carlos about how untrustworthy and nefarious he thinks wizards are, unaware that Carlos is actually a wizard himself. One who's been feeling guilty about keeping his lover in the dark and has been working up the nerve to tell him.
- Owls and Souls, Witches and Resonance:
- Luz is an unintentional master of doing this to Maka, to the point that there are times where all Maka has to do is think about how Luz would likely react to things in order to feel guilty, without Luz actually doing anything.
- After hearing a partial explanation for Maka's conversation with Luz, Soul remarks that it makes sense for Maka to take on a student. Maka feels guilty about this, knowing that Luz wants her sister, not lessons over a phone.
- Shell Game: Kei becomes Hitoshi's First Friend, which leads to her feeling immensely guilty about keeping the fact that she's secretly a shinobi who was assigned to stay at U.A. as undercover security from him... as well as how she plans to leave Tokyo once her mission is over. Hitoshi is blissfully unaware of all this, but keeps making remarks that remind her of the deception.
- Dirty Sympathy: Phoenix praises Apollo and Klavier for their willingness to send Kristoph and Daryan to jail despite how they were close to both of them. This hits Apollo hard, as Phoenix isn't aware that the two of them were actually working together to frame Kristoph and Daryan for crimes they hadn't actually committed.
- Confessions: Sprig laughs off the idea of Anne dating Sasha, declaring that would be crazy, since that would mean Anne was dating somebody who'd previously tried to kill them while keeping it secret from everybody. He has no idea that this is exactly what is going on.
- In A Witch in Wartwood, Hop Pop unknowingly causes Marcy to have a Heel Realization over how she seperated her friends from their families. He continues to go on and on about how he could never forgive somebody who intentionally did such a thing until she finally snaps that she gets it.
- Blackbird: Quentin unknowingly did this every time he drunkenly insulted Laurel in Sara's presence, as she knew Laurel didn't leave him by choice, having been traded to the League of Assassins by Dinah in exchange for Sara's freedom. That is probably why she didn't leave Dinah to move in with him until after Laurel is rescued from the League.
- In I Knew You Were Trouble
, Oliver recalls how he cheated on Laurel almost immediately after they started dating. He was so guilt ridden by it he became genuinely ill...and Laurel came to nurse him back to health. Naturally, this only further convinced him that he didn't deserve her.
- Bringing Out the Blue: The amount of trust Aang and his friends place in the Blue Spirit leaves Zuko increasingly questioning his plans to capture the Avatar.
- Throughout The Bedside Ghost, Ernesto is haunted by the titular apparition after being crippled by the bell falling on him. When he finally passes on to the Land of the Dead, Héctor happily greets him, chatting amicably about how much he missed him and what a good friend Ernesto is, utterly unaware of the Awful Truth.
- In Wolf in the Streets, Sardine in the Sheets, Fenrich was hired to assassinate Valvatorez and kidnap one of the kids under his care. He ends up working at the rehabilitation center as a volunteer, and Valvatorez's sincere faith in his supposed nobility and earnest praise quickly worms its way under his skin.
- Darkness Burning: This occurs during Anna and Elsa's first time talking to each other on their own accord in possibly years. The conversation ends when Anna accidentally says "I guess there's a lot about me you don't know" to her reclusive sister, causing Elsa to shut down again and go back into her room.
- Beyond Heroes: Varric feels guilty about keeping secrets from Bethany (specifically those regarding the real Bianca). When she gently accepts what he does tell her, he winds up feeling much worse.
- A Tactician's Testimony: In "Footsteps of Fate," Lyn recalls that many people are prejudiced against Sacaeans due to their ways of life, and tells Katri she's glad she isn't like that and is so kind. Unbeknownst to Lyn, Katri is prejudiced against Sacaeans, and remarks in her narration that she's never felt so guilty in her life.
- Harry's New Home: After Harry figures out that his father was one of Snape's former bullies, Snape privately relishes in the notion of getting one over James while telling Harry not to think too badly of his father, as "Boys do foolish things." Harry responds "You didn't," leaving Snape shaken as he silently acknowledges that he actually did far worse things than James or Sirius, being a former Death Eater.
- In Lake's New Normal, Lake feels guilty about how she tried trapping Tulip in the Mirror World, as well as how she was forced to murder Mace and Sieve in self-defense. She hides all of this from the Cosays; as a result, Jesse's attempts to reassure her that she's a good person wind up stinging instead.
- In Back to 1987, Jolyne Kujo, having been sent to Italy in 1987 and adopted 2-years-old Haruno Shiobananote , heads to Japan and to the prison that the teenage version of her father, Jotaro Kujo, had locked himself in while dealing with Star Platinum by claiming Haruno was his bastard child (doesn't help that as DIO's son, Haruno has the same star-shaped birthmark as the other Joestars). Annoyed at the suggestion that he would have an illegitimate child, Jotaro argues it's just as likely that his grandfather, Joseph Joestar, had an affair and is trying to shift the blame on him... unaware that Joseph did have an affair around 5 years ago, to which he nervously laughs and comments Jotaro makes good jokes.
- A Piece of Rebellion: After the destruction of Cloud Cuckoo Land, Good Cop tries to comfort Unikitty. She then tries to comfort him in turn, unaware that her words are making him even more conflicted about his plan to betray the rebellion and hand the Piece of Resistance over to President Business.
- One Girl with Ten Brothers: Luke tries to tell his brothers that he's bisexual, but his efforts are hampered by Lexx forcing them all to watch him practice his audition for the Royal Woods Community Theater's Talent Night. Lexx chooses to perform "Turn it Off" from All About Mormons!; interpreting the song as homophobic, Luke becomes even more insecure about his sexuality.
- Cheshire: While discussing King Monkey's debut, Alya makes a passing comment wishing that Misterbug was more helpful, unintentionally offending Adrien. She then points out that while he's the one with Miraculous Ladybug, Cheshire's the one who actually carries most of the fights, forcing him to realize just how much he was relying upon her.
- Crimson and Noire: After learning that his father has suspended Nathalie from work, he rises to her defense — it was just a moment of miscommunication, after all! Ezra received a message from her that he misinterpreted as saying he was fired, spurring his akumatization and nearly getting Adrien killed in the crossfire. Adrien asserts that Nathalie shouldn't be blamed — the only one really responsible for the incident is Monarch, who exploited Ezra's Moment of Weakness. This doesn't actually help, as Adrien isn't aware that Nathalie is Monarch. While he recognizes that his words didn't have the intended effect, he doesn't understand why.
- Fashion Upgrade:
- After Bustier bails on her class rather than help them through a crisis, Adrien swallows his frustration and offers her comfort rather than a callout, reminding her "Aren't you the one who's always telling us it's okay to ask for help when we're stressed out?" Ironically, this causes her to dissolve completely into tears; the incident has forced her to realize how much she pressured Marinette to handle her problems all by herself, along with how she became over reliant on Marinette and other 'star students' handling problems for her.
- Adrien tells Nino about the Lila situation through the filter of having a 'model friend' dealing with it. While offering advice, Nino explains how staying silent about the lying would be the worst thing his friend could do, as he's just enabling matters to get worse and leaving the liar's victims to suffer. Adrien can't help but squirm uneasily.
- Feralnette AU: Chloé notes that the dramatic changes in Marinette's behavior are likely due to feeling that she's lost control of her life, remarking to Adrien that "Whatever pushed her to turning venomous like that must've been one hell of a bad day, or one hell of a terrible person." She does so unaware of the role Adrien himself played in pushing Marinette past her breaking point.
- the high road:
- Deliberately Invoked by Marinette when she praises her classmates for their willingness to help her accommodate Lila's various disabilities. While she acts unaware of how reluctant they are to go along with her efforts, in reality, she's fully aware, and is pretending otherwise to give them A Taste of Their Own Medicine and force them to really look at Lila.
- She also invokes this when thanking Adrien for how he advised her to leave Lila be and give her another chance, stating that "If it weren't for you, I would've missed out on a really amazing friend. I owe you one." This causes Adrien to realize that he unintentionally pushed her into the arms of a Manipulative Bitch.
- By contrast, this is played largely straight with Miss Bustier, who praises the whole class for helping Lila out at every opportunity. While she does notice that they aren't entirely willing, she just gives them disappointed looks and scolds them whenever they raise too much fuss.
- Hop to It: During Road Rage's attack, Rabbit jumps into his monster truck and kicks him out, but nearly runs over Chat Noir in the process. Deeply shaken by this, she retreats, de-transforming and meeting back up with Nino. Nino tells her how her heroic alter ego saved him, praising her for doing the right thing despite how scared and angry the other heroes must be. Hearing this makes Jack feel guiltier about her Moment of Weakness, spurring her to take the next chance she can to transform and return to the fight.
- LadyBugOut: After a new Cat Hero debuts, most of Adrien's classmates rave about how much more impressive and professional they are compared to Chat Noir, and how much happier Ladybug seems to be now that she has a partner who takes their job seriously. None of them realize that Adrien was Chat Noir, and that their comments are driving salt into the wound.
- Lady Luck is a Role Swap AU where Chloé becomes the titular Ladybug heroine. During "Dark Cupid", she's forced to stop at Marinette's house in order to get her help snapping Chat Noir out of the Hate Plague. While hiding in Marinette's closet, Chloé admits that she's "not a good person"; in response, Marinette reassures her that "As long as you're not as bad as this girl in my class, you'll be fine!" Naturally, she's describing Chloé herself.
- lies of attrition:
- Chat Noir's conversation with Marinette in Chapter 10 is full of this, as Chat admits to Marinette that he feels like Ladybug has never really trusted him and sees him as a risk rather than a partner, which causes her to believe that this was part of the reason for his Face–Heel Turn.
- There's also plenty of this from the class toward Adrien regarding his fight with Ladybug.
- Scarlet Lady: Played With during "Party Crasher"; upon infiltrating the party disguised as "Marino", Marinette casually remarks on what a relief it is to be out of the sweltering heat, and how she wouldn't like to be stuck out there. She goes on to casually sing "Promises, Promises" to herself while skipping around, "unintentionally" reminding her hosts of how they'd broken their promise to meet up with the girls and lied to them in favor of throwing a "No Girls Allowed" party at the Agreste Manor.
- In Something in the Night, Chat Noir makes a false report to conceal his encounter with Ladybug and defends it to a suspicious Chief Roux. He then talks with his Secret-Keeper Thomas and tells him the same story. Thomas replies, "I didn’t think you'd lie about something like this," and later praises him for how well he's stuck to his agreement over the years, causing Adrien considerable guilt about deceiving his closest friend on the force.
- Tattered Remains of Broken Dreams (Yours, Not Mine): After Marinette's sketchbook is destroyed, she texts Miss Bustier about it, taking the opportunity to step down as the class representative. When Bustier arrives, she expresses her condolances for the loss, along with lamenting all of the plans for the school trip that were lost in the process... unaware that most of her students were actually responsible for ripping said sketchbook apart. The more she talks about how amazing Marinette's plans were, and what a shame it is that none of them can happen now, the culprits are increasingly horrified by everything they'll be missing out on.
- Subverted in Truth and Consequences: Ladybug thinks Adrien is doing this when he gives a toast in her honor, proclaiming how trustworthy and honest she is, after she secretly made a deal with Hawk Moth, betraying Chat in the process. In reality, Adrien is Chat Noir, and very aware of the affect his words have on his ex-partner.
- In Unexpected Surprise, Nino says a couple of times how he would love to get his hands on Chat Noir for leaving Marinette alone and pregnant... right in front of Adrien, who already beats himself up for it far harder than Nino could ever hope to.
- Build Yourself Up (Don't Let Them Break You Down): While hiding in plain sight as Toshinori, All Might hears Hawks' "The Reason You Suck" Speech about how real heroes don't stand around and wait for someone else to do their jobs for them. He's fully aware of how well that applies to him.
- Izuku does this in Conversations with a Cryptid when All For One asks him about his family. When Izuku talks about his Disappeared Dad Hisashi, he says that he has no real relationship with his father except bitterness because his abandonment was so hard on Inko. Izuku doesn't know that All for One is Hisashi and was so distant because of his criminal enterprises.
- Deku? I think he's some pro...: When Izuku admits to Sir Nighteye that he's honestly a little jealous of how Mirio's Quirk has mutated to grant him Super-Strength while he remains Quirkless, Nighteye can't help but wince. After all, he's aware that it's not a random mutation, but that All Might passed his Quirk on to Mirio... something he did on Nighteye's recommendation.
- Dirty Little Secrets revolves around the Fandom-Specific Plot of Hitoshi Shinso replacing Mineta Minoru in Class 1-A. However, rather than Mineta getting expelled for his perverted antics, he disappears after a party... which Shinso has fragmented memories of, leading to him fearing that he may have used his Mind Control Quirk irresponsibly. As a result, all the praise he receives from his parents, former and current classmates for making it into the Hero Course also doubles as this, particularly as he grapples with the fear that Mineta might have died due to his actions.
- After Monoma is seriously injured in his match against Izuku in The Emancipators, Toshinori takes his protégé aside to comfort and reassure him, believing him to be shaken by the sight. What he doesn't realize is that Izuku deliberately manipulated Monoma into doing exactly what he wanted — and in fact, the reason his opponent's Copy Quirk worked on him is because he wanted him to steal One For All and hurt himself trying to use it. His sincere efforts only intensify Izuku's horrified self-realization, leading to him getting physically ill.
- Mastermind: Rise of Anarchy plays with this: after encountering a vigilante, Ochako rants about how cowardly they were, running away after beating a man half to death. She's completely unaware that Katsuki was whom she ran into. However, rather than feeling guilty, Katsuki is more upset at her calling him a Dirty Coward and a murderous villain, failing to recognize just how accurate that description is.
- Personality Swap AU: Following Sir Nighteye's attempt to shatter Izuku's spirit with Breaking Speeches and treating him like a Inadequate Inheritor in hopes of making him pass One For All over to Mirio, Izuku leaves... and Mirio comes in, blissfully unaware of his mentor's approach. He then gushes about how awesome his friend Izuku is, remarking about how he doesn't think he would've been able to handle everything that Izuku has been through, all while believing Nighteye tried to intimidate Izuku in good faith rather than deliberately aiming to hurt him. All of this just rubs Nighteye's Heel Realization in his face.
- Viridian: The Green Guide: When Katsuki attempts to apologize to Izuku for all the years he spent bullying him, Izuku brushes him off, insisting that things weren't really that bad. This only serves to drive home to Katsuki just how much damage he did, as Izuku internalized and accepted all the abuse.
My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
- Bitter Tears: An Anon-A-Miss Fic: While she's intentionally calling out the Humane Five, Twilight ironically stumbles into this when Rarity tries to defend their actions by bringing up how some of the pictures on the blog came from Sunset's phone. Twilight suggests that her phone might have been swiped by the real culprit, causing Rarity to flinch; that was exactly what happened, and the possibility occurred to Twilight (who's from a world that doesn't have phones of its own) before it did to any of the human girls.
- Echoing Silence: Queen Atynis notes that Queen Chrysalis is hardly a master of deception, as she generally doesn't bother to mimic the personalities of those she replaces. Unbeknownst to her, this causes Rarity and Fluttershy to wince as they recall how Twilight was the only one who noticed anything odd about the way 'Cadance' was behaving and they ignored her warnings.
- Parting Words: When Applejack protests that she had no way of knowing how badly the Cutie Mark Crusaders were being bullied, Sweetie Belle actually agrees with her, listing out all the incidents that Applejack completely ignored as "proof" that they shouldn't have expected her to notice anything, given her history of ignorance. At the end of her "The Reason You Suck" Speech, Applejack sardonically remarks about her use of Sarcasm Mode, only for Sweetie Belle's response to imply she legitimately thought she was defending her.Applejack: Ain't we just gone over this? I cain't help y'all if you don't tell me what's going on...
Sweetie Belle: She's right, guys. I mean, Apple Bloom, you can't blame her for not knowing what happens to you at school...
Applejack: That's right.
Sweetie Belle: Or in town...
Applejack: Er...
Sweetie Belle: Or at Sugarcube Corner...
Applejack: Um...
Sweetie Belle: I mean, she didn't even notice it when Babs smashed our first parade float, or threw us all out of our own clubhouse, or how she was making you sleep in the floor right in your own house! If she didn't notice that, how would she ever notice Diamond Tiara teasing you and making fun of you and coming out to the farm to laugh at you for months and months and...
Scootaloo: She was right there at the cuteceañera.
Sweetie Belle: Well yeah, but so were a bunch of other grownups, and none of them remembered either. Why shouldn't she not notice something happening right under her nose?
Applejack: Layerin' on the sarcasm nice and thick there, ain'tcha, Sweetie Belle?
Sweetie Belle: I was? - Volume II, Chapter 9 of Spectacular Seven sees Artemis doting on his niece, the Lonely Rich Kid Moondancer. Because Artemis is giving her unbridled attention and affection with no strings attached, Moondancer feels awful Beneath the Mask, especially when he confides in her that a magical artifact was stolen. Unknown to Artemis, Moondancer helped orchestrate the theft at the behest of her benefactor Tempest Shadow, who had Moondancer exploit Lamia to steal from her own family. Moondancer feels so guilty that she briefly considers telling Artemis the truth and asking for his help, but lets the moment pass, choosing instead to brush it off.
- Through the Eyes of Anon-a-Miss: Aunt Holiday comforts Scootaloo by telling her that whoever this 'Anon-a-Miss' is, they're nothing more than a spineless bully hiding behind a computer screen, adding that she's glad she and Lofty have raised her right. Scootaloo feels sick to her stomach by the praise, knowing that she's actually part of Anon-a-Miss' collective identity.
- The First Try Series assumes that the teachers were trying to get Naruto to flunk out of the Academy through a three-strike rule. Naruto, however, thought that Iruka signed him up to attempt to graduate early because he believed in him, and thanks him afterwards. Iruka's left feeling guilty, as he wasn't even aware Naruto had been nominated, and certainly hadn't expected him to pass.
- your move, instigator (draw your weapon and hold your tongue): When Iruka calls Team 14 in for a special lesson with his class, Sakura, Kiba and Tenten argue about how they should conduct themselves, noting that if they screw up, they'll probably get shipped off to the frontlines again. After all, Bekko-sensei met that fate after they subbed in for Iruka, since they showed the clan heirs graphic pictures from the battlefield. The trio blithely agree that person was likely killed in battle, unaware that Iruka was the one who'd complained about their teaching methods; Iruka goes pale at the realization that he may have caused their demise.
- I Think We'll Be Okay:
- After Kosuke refuses to pay back her father's debt, the Loan Shark destroys one of the windows at the place where she works. Unaware of the cause, the store owner reassures Kosuke that it "wasn't [her] fault."
- In "Porcelain", Tamaki tells Kosuke that being with her has lifted Kyoya's spirits tenfold, thanking her for it... unaware that the couple is currently miserable and hate each other at that point. Needless to say, Tamaki's praise doesn't help Kosuke feel any better.
- Professor Arc: Jaune struggles with any compliments and praise he receives, as well as any sympathy others express for his backstory. Those around him assume this is just Heroic Self-Deprecation, when in reality, Jaune knows that he's a Fake Ultimate Hero, and any satisfaction he gains from being praised for his accomplishments is blunted by guilt over being a fraud.
- Downplayed in The Mountain and the Wolf: When discussing the identity of the man who sabotaged the gates of King's Landing during Daenerys' attack, Tyrion offhandedly wonders if he might have run into Jaime (who was last known to be near the walls on the day of the incident). As the Wolf is behind both the sabotage and Jaime's abduction, he gets noticeably annoyed and changes the subject, although Tyrion puts it down to nerves from not killing anything recently.
- In The Weirwood Queen, Tommen repeatedly praises Oberyn for being a trustworthy, honorable advisor, unaware that the Martell are scheming to bring down his family and take him off the throne.Tommen: We should pray for poor Robin's health, and for him to cast off his evil councillors. It isn't his fault that his mother and his lords are traitors; he doesn't have good and honorable advisers like I do.
Oberyn: Your Grace is kind to say so. (drinks a whole cup of wine in one go)
- In Suikakasen, Kasen pretends to give Yoshika hermit training so that she can gather information needed to get past the gate Rajoumon, and intends on killing her once she can get past the gate's barrier. As such, Kasen prepares to covertly off Yoshika while the latter was lying in her lap during a trip to a mountaintop. Moments before she can do the deed however, Yoshika requests permission to continue lying in Kasen's lap and begins to cry, saying that every day they spent together was wonderful, but that she can't stop thinking about the day she dies whenever she is alone. As Yoshika's reasoning for wanting to become a hermit is that she wants to become immortal, Kasen realizes that she toyed with Yoshika's emotions and confesses the truth about who she is and that she used her.
- Chapter 7 of XCOM: From the Ashes of Temples has Valdez happily thanking Bradford for letting him back on the field, which allowed him to save the life of the VIP who would have died otherwise. The same VIP he saved had just been sacrificed by Bradford for the sake of information just hours earlier.
