Basic Trope: A character regrets the last thing they said to someone who died or left.
- Straight: Bob goes to the work on Monday morning and his wife Alice doesn't say goodbye to him as he leaves. He dies of a heat stroke at work, and Alice regrets not telling him that she loved him.
- Exaggerated:
- Bob and Alice get into a big argument, and Alice tells Bob "I wish I never married you!" and throws her wedding ring in his face. After she cools down, Alice calls Bob several times without being answered, and leaves voice-messages apologizing and asking him to come back so they can talk about it. In the morning the police inform her that a serial killer tortured Bob to death shortly after he left the apartment where they live. She is devastated.
- Alice gives Bob a long and brutal "The Reason You Suck" Speech which ends with her telling him that he might as well go hang himself for all she cares. Bob does just that. Cue My God, What Have I Done?
- Downplayed:
- Bob leaves for a business trip, and Alice jokingly tells him she hopes his airplane crashes. Bob laughs at the joke, finds it hilarious, and tells Alice he appreciates her Black Comedy. Then his airplane crashes and he dies.
- Bob doesn't actually die, but does leave for a while or is put in danger. Alice regrets the last thing she said to him, because if he had actually died, her last words to him would've been something bad.
- Justified: Alice was angry and didn't really mean the horrible things she said, and never had the occasion to apologize for them.
- Inverted: One morning, before going for his daily walk to the park, Bob finds an old picture of his wedding night and gives it to Alice. She tells Bob she loves him and thanks him for 50 years of marital bliss. He is hit by a Drunk Driver while walking across an cross-walk, and while it is traumatic Alice takes solace in the fact that her parting words with Bob were kind ones.
- Subverted: Alice reveals that she doesn't actually regret the last thing she told Bob, because Bob was a terrible person.
- Double Subverted: However, while she doesn't necessarily regret what she said to Bob, she still feels very bad about what happens and does feel like she could've said it in a nicer way.
- Parodied: Before leaving, Bob tells Alice a joke, but she doesn't get it at the time. She only realizes why it was funny after he dies, and regrets that she didn't laugh at it.
- Zig Zagged: ???
- Averted:
- Bob doesn't die or leave Alice.
- Bob dies, but Alice doesn't regret the last thing she said to him.
- Enforced: Rule of Drama
- Lampshaded: ???
- Invoked: ???
- Exploited: ???
- Defied: Whenever Bob leaves Alice, even if just to use the restroom for a moment, Alice tells Bob she loves him and won't let him leave until he tells her the same. She does this explicitly to avoid this trope.
- Discussed:Alice: "You're so insensitive! I hate you!"Bob: "You know my line of work is dangerous. If I die tomorrow that will be the last thing you'll have said to me. Do you want that?"Alice: "... no."
- Conversed:Alice: "The Hero said that to his girlfriend? She's gonna die while he's on his quest."Bob: "How do you figure?"Alice: "That's the most dramatic; he'll regret not parting on better terms."
- Played For Laughs:
- Alice regrets that her last words to Bob were a complaint about him leaving the toilet seat up.
- Alice regrets that her last conversation with Bob was a debate about socks.
Your argument with Parting-Words Regret was the last thing you ever told that trope!
