History Main / IllPretendIDidntHearThat

* Happens twice in the same scene in ''VideoGame/Persona4''. [[spoiler: Your cousin Nanako has just been kidnapped]] after your Detective Uncle Dojima [[spoiler: takes you in for questioning.]] After he recieves the news, he takes off leaving you and your friends with his partner Adachi. When the rest of your friends come as well, [[spoiler: Adachi says he really shouldn't allow everyone to be in the Interrogation Room]], but doesn't do anything to stop it. A little while after, the team [[spoiler: finally discovers the identity of the kidnapper and tell Adachi they need to go after him, begging him to let you leave.]] He then decides to leave the room.

'''Sgt. Zim:''' Doesn't look like it to me. (''tears up the form'') Carry on, Private!\\

->'''Captain Peacock''': Would you please hurry about your business and get back to the storeroom?
->'''Mr. Harman''': You've got no authority over me, so get stuffed.
->'''Captain Peacock''': I didn't hear that.
->'''Mr. Harman''': "You've got no authority over me, so get '''stuffed'''"!

** In ''Literature/SpaceCadet'', when Tex Jarman gets drunk in public, one of the cadet's instructors (who is sitting nearby) calls over Matt Dodson and warns him, "Go back and tell Jarman to quiet down before I have to come over and ask him what his name is."

* ''Series/LawAndOrderUK''. As the father of a murder suspect starts blurting out to Crown Prosecutor George Castle that ''he'' is the killer that the detectives are looking for, Castle screams at him to "Shut ''up''! I can't hear this!", knowing that the guy is incriminating himself to someone who would be obligated to testify against him.

* Heavily implied in ''ComicBook/IdentityCrisis'' to be the way Superman and Batman (tacitly) handle [[spoiler:knowing Batman was mind-wiped by the League]]. As some of the veteran members put it, Superman [[SuperSenses hears what he wants to hear]] (said with Superman in the background of the panel) and Batman's just too good a detective to not work things out.

* Lampshaded in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12031399/16/A-Year-Too-Soon A Year Too Soon]]'' when a prefect warns Harry not to get carried away when he "has a word" with Draco because said prefect doesn't want to "Inform Lord Malfoy why [he] was looking the other why while his 'dear son' was cursed."

-->"'''What?''' I'll be spending the next four weeks filling out paperwork as it is.

* ''Fanfic/ThisBites'':
** When first informed by Smoker, Tashigi, and Hina of their planned coup against the corrupt government, T-Bone starts walking out of the room, loudly talking to himself about meeting Smoker for the first time the next day.
** On the eve of the Marineford war, Commander in Chief Kong tries to talk Sengoku out of his pending retirement by invoking the memory of Sengoku's dead son. [[PapaWolf He's promptly knocked out by Sengoku's haki]], and when he regains consciousness Sengoku [[TranquilFury very calmly]] asks if he was saying something; Kong takes the hint and changes the subject.
* Lampshaded in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2784825/1/Old-Soldiers-Never-Die Old Soldiers Never Die]]'' when Harry's SergeantRock tells him that "a good officer needs to know when to go for a walk, and a good sergeant needs to know when to [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique take a prisoner behind the rocks]]."
* In ''Brought Together'', a rookie cop spots Batman on the security cameras breaking into the evidence room but is stopped from calling it in by his sergeant who tells him that if Batman is stealing something, he's going to be saving a lot of lives by doing so, and he should just ignore it. [[WrongGenreSavvy Unfortunately, Batman's been mind controlled by Poison Ivy and is stealing some plants for her]].

* Lampshaded in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12031399/16/A-Year-Too-Soon A Year Too Soon]]'' when a prefect warns Harry not to get carried away when he "has a word" with Draco because said prefect doesn't want to "Inform Lord Malfoy why [he] was looking the other why while his 'dear son' was cursed."

* By the time [[InternalReveal Atropos reveals she murdered Sophia Hess/Shadow Stalker]] in ''[[https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/a-darker-path-worm-fanfic.1037109/page-142#post-88019744 A Darker Path]]'', the PRT understands that going against Atropos is suicide both [[TheDreaded literally]] and [[VillainWithGoodPublicity metaphorically]], especially as Atropos clearly laid out exactly why she killed Shadow Stalker. So they officially declare that Atropos is lying for attention and continue with their working theory that the murder was carried out by Othala and Cricket. Unofficially, Shadow Stalker brought it on herself by screwing with the wrong person and not backing down when warned.

** "I don't hear anything." For context, the Straw Hats learn that Usopp wants to rejoin their crew after previously quitting, and a few of them plan to go find him and patch things up. Zoro, however, insists that Luffy can't simply let Usopp rejoin without the latter first apologizing, since it would be allowing a crew member to disrespect him; if the first thing Usopp says when he returns is an apology, that's fine, but if not, they need to leave without him, to which Luffy agrees. When Usopp does come back while the crew is trying to escape from the Marines, the first ''several'' things he says are decidedly ''not'' apologies, instead trying to sidestep doing so and claiming that him quitting the crew was a joke with his usual swagger. Each time, Zoro and Luffy pull this when the others point out Usopp's presence by claiming "I can't hear anything", and eventually the rest of the crew follows suit. It's briefly subverted when, after giving him multiple chances, he still hasn't said he's sorry, and they start to escape without him; however, it's then double subverted when Usopp, upon seeing this, breaks down in tears, apologizes for being stubborn, and begs to be allowed to rejoin, at which point Luffy gladly lets him back in anyway.

* ''Literature/TheWayOfKings'': During a heated discussion Sadeas insults Renarin Kholin and calls him "useless". [[PapaWolf Dalinar Kholin]] [[TranquilFury calmly]] replies that he obviously didn't just hear his friend-turned-rival insult his son because if he ''had'' heard it then he would be obliged to make Sadeas pay for it.

** As Luffy and Koby part ways, a Marine officer asks Koby if he's Luffy's crewmate. Koby tries to deny it at first, aware that being associated with pirates would end his dream of becoming a Marine, though he finds the decision painful due to having become friends with Luffy after he rescued Koby from [[FatBitch Alvida]]. But when Luffy decides to bring up Koby being press-ganged into being her cabin boy, Koby punches him in the face to shut him up; Luffy retaliates by beating up Koby until he can't stand, leaving the Marine officer in question to determine that Luffy and Koby aren't affiliated after all, before demanding that he and Zoro leave the town. He later makes it clear that he's aware of the truth, but that he wants to discreetly thank Luffy for getting the local Marines rid of [[TheNeidermeyer Axe-Hand Morgan]].

* ''Manga/OnePiece'': "I don't hear anything." For context, the Straw Hats learn that Usopp wants to rejoin their crew after previously quitting, and a few of them plan to go find him and patch things up. Zoro, however, insists that Luffy can't simply let Usopp rejoin without the latter first apologizing, since it would be allowing a crew member to disrespect him; if the first thing Usopp says when he returns is an apology, that's fine, but if not, they need to leave without him, to which Luffy agrees. When Usopp does come back while the crew is trying to escape from the Marines, the first ''several'' things he says are decidedly ''not'' apologies, instead trying to sidestep doing so and claiming that him quitting the crew was a joke with his usual swagger. Each time, Zoro and Luffy pull this when the others point out Usopp's presence by claiming "I can't hear anything", and eventually the rest of the crew follows suit. It's briefly subverted when, after giving him multiple chances, he still hasn't said he's sorry, and they start to escape without him; however, it's then double subverted when Usopp, upon seeing this, breaks down in tears, apologizes for being stubborn, and begs to be allowed to rejoin, at which point Luffy gladly lets him back in anyway.

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': After overhea... sorry, NOT overhearing a conversation between Iba and Ikkaku regarding Ikkaku's secret bankai,
-->'''Captain Komamura:''' Rest easy. Unfortunately, my ears are not working well today.

* Subverted in an episode of ''Series/{{Bones}}''. Bones told Caroline Julian (the DA) something and Julian said "I didn't hear that," so [[LiteralMinded Bones]] started to repeat herself louder.
-->'''Caroline Julian:''' (''dumbfounded'') Do I have this right, you're a genius? An honest-to-goodness-dyed-in-the-wool genius?\\

* In a ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' segment, MickeyMouse questions the romance between [[InterspeciesRomance Goofy and Clarabelle]], to which Goofy replies there aren't a lot of dogs around for him to date. When Mickey recommends Pluto, who is licking his private parts, Goofy says this in response.

* In Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} it's a written rule. On the user level, offenses are excused for the first couple events without penalty, and those first couple events can happen many times if spaced far apart. On the article level, they have a number of rules and even a pillar saying in almost as many words "If it sounds right, it doesn't have to follow the rules." [[SelectiveObliviousness If we don't like what you're saying though,]] there are no shortages of rules and clauses it [[ByTheBookCop can be attacked with]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fanfic ''Fanfic/LittleDeceptions'', MasterOfDisguise [[PhantomThief Blank Slate]] has made it all the way to the vault and is pretending to stand guard outside, dressed in guard armor. [[ThePerfectCrime Everything has gone according to plan,]] until [[BigGood Princess Celestia]] shows up, sits down next to him, and calls him by his real name.
--> “Good evening, Cuckoo Cloud. I’m glad to see we have an extra-vigilant guard on duty here tonight. It’s an important position, protecting the treasures of our nation. Especially these days…” She sighed quietly, looking away, the shining afternoon clouding over. “I’m sure you’ve heard that there have been many unfortunate thefts lately throughout the city. “It’s… very unfortunate. Equestria is a wonderful nation, but despite my best efforts, there are still some ponies that need to turn to crime to survive. We do our best to help them whenever possible. But there’s nothing that disappoints me more than knowing that there are ponies who turn to crime without truly needing to… hurting other ponies without real reason. It’s something I’ve always found hard to understand. And if there was anything I could do to discourage it further, I would. But I want you to remember – no pony is beyond redemption. There’s always another chance, always a better way to use their talents. Do you agree?”
--> All he could do was nod his head, the actual message too huge to truly take in. ''She’s… not going to…?''
--> And she gave him another smile, the sunlight breaking through the cover once again as she gazed down at him proudly, warming him down to the tips of his hooves. “I’m glad. Good luck, Cuckoo Cloud.” She stood. “But I don’t think you’ll need it. I don’t think there will be any problems at the vault with somepony like you standing guard, will there?”
: He spends the rest of the night guarding the vault before turning himself in the next morning. [[spoiler:This is played for laughs in the epilogue, when it is revealed that Princess Celestia [[AchievementsInIgnorance had no idea]] [[OneDialogueTwoConversations that he was the thief]], that she only knew his name because of a {{Namedar}} spell she had (because addressing her little ponies by their names always made them feel special and important), and she can't even remember his name without the spell.]]