Did You Actually Believe?: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

What? You mean you ''actually'' believed me when I promised you'd get a trope description? Oh, that's rich! I didn't think you were such a [[Horrible Judge of Character]]! <small>(I mean, I thought the [[Glowing Eyes of Doom|glowing]] [[Red Eyes, Take Warning|red eyes]] would be a ''[[Red Right Hand|huge]]'' tip off.)</small>

Oh, don't feel too bad, you aren't the only one to become a willing [[Unwitting Pawn]] and [[MacGuffin Delivery Service|errand boy]] with naught but a sweet story about [[Straw Hypocrite|"lofty goals"]]. You should feel ''[[Trash Talk|honored]]'' to be so used!

 

 

 

Stock phrase used by treacherous allies, mentors, and villains once they double cross the hero and have him at their mercy. This is often followed by declarations of [[Nietzsche Wannabe|sneering contempt]] for the hero's [[Honor Before Reason|idealistic moral code]] and/or [["The Reason You Suck" Speech|extended mockery of the hero]] for being [[I Lied|gullible enough]] to trust the villain's promises, [[Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids|naive enough]] to think that the villain sincerely intended to [[Enemy Mine|cooperate toward a common goal]], [[Good Is Dumb|dumb enough]] to get [[Manipulative Bastard|manipulated]] into providing the villain with [[Unwitting Pawn|aid]] or [[MacGuffin Delivery Service|equipment]], etc.

Often used as part of [[Evil Gloating]] and [[Trash Talk]]. Expect the hero to respond with [[Shut UP, Hannibal|"Shut Up Hannibal!"]]

 

* In ''[[Liar Game]]'', Fukunaga says this fairly often after tricking other players. Granted, this ''is'' the [[Liar Game]], a 'game where you lie' so he's probably justified in questioning the other players sanity when they believe his lies ''again''.

* In ''[[Bleach]]'' the [[Big Bad]] <s>[[Memetic Mutation|often]]</s> once said: Since when were you under the impression that {{spoiler|I wasn't using my [[Master of Illusion|Zanpakuto]]?}}

** Also done, in a less-[[Magnificent Bastard]] way, by {{spoiler|Yammy}} with his [[Memetic Mutation|meme-tastic]] line {{spoiler|"Who said the Espada went from one to ten?}}.

** Then there's chapter 414, with [[Laser-Guided Karma]] delivered by {{spoiler|Ichimaru Gin}} who out-chessed [[The Chessmaster]], while avoiding his "boss"'s [[Complexity Addiction]] with an simple {{spoiler|watch-and-wait strategy for the better part of a century}}. Unfortunately, {{spoiler|Gin promptly learns he was the victim of a [[Xanatos Gambit]], as Aizen actually [[Out-Gambitted|counted on being out-chessed]] by Gin to reach the next stage of his development...and somehow Aizen has become broken enough to [[Beyond the Impossible|survive being disintegrated from the inside out]]}}.

* ''[[FAKE]]'' gives us the following hilarious exchange as Dee puts the moves on his partner Ryo:

* Used briliantly by [[Magnificent Bastard]] Askeladd in ''[[Vinland Saga]]'', when his men turn against him to save their own hides against an army they could never defeat.

 

== [[Comics]] ==

* ''[[Watchmen (comics)|Watchmen]]'', of course:

* ''"The Death of [[Superman]]'' (the '60s Imaginary Story, not the '90s arc) has Luthor curing cancer and [[Civilian Villain|publicly announcing that he has renounced evil]] and will dedicate his life to doing good. Supes is delighted at this, and becomes Luthor's best friend. Then Luthor lures his new best friend into his lab and tortures him to death with Kryptonite, laughing uproariously at Supes's helpless expressions of betrayal, fury, and heartbreak and quoting this trope almost word for word. As for ''why'' [[Out-of-Character Moment|Superman]] believed it, [[Silver Age|take a look at that decade again]].

 

== [[Fan Fiction]] ==

* In ''[[The Cries of Haruhi Suzumiya]]'', {{spoiler|Takano says this to Haruhi about the Hammer of Oyashiro-sama.}} What's worse, {{spoiler|this is after Haruhi's bought into this completely, and with Haruhi being [[Reality Warper|Haruhi]]...}}

* [[Manipulative Bastard|Zachariah]] pulls this at the end of chapter 15 of [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4822628/15/The_Obeisance_of_Memory The Obeisance of Memory], a ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'' season-four AU where Dean clawed his way out of the grave with complete amnesia.

 

== Film - Animated ==

* In Disney's ''[[Beauty and the Beast]]'', during Gaston's rant as he's tormenting the Beast on the castle rooftops, he sneers, "Were you in love with her, Beast?! Did you ''honestly'' think she'd want you, when she had someone like ''me''?!"

* In ''[[Monsters, Inc.]]'':

'''Mike:''' Well... I did. Right up until you ''chuckled'' like that... }}

 

== [[Film]] - Live-Action ==

* ''[[The Bourne Ultimatum]]'' has Bourne chastise his enemies this way:

* In ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean]]: At World's End'', {{spoiler|Beckett gloats over his perceived victory, assuming Jack's reappearance after the climactic battle is an attempt on his part to gain Beckett's clemency, as they'd negotiated. But Beckett's clearly had a double-cross planned for some time. ("He actually expects me to honor our agreement.")}}

* In the 2002 film adaptation of ''[[The Count of Monte Cristo (film)|The Count of Monte Cristo]]'', Edmond manages to make the police chief that wrongfully imprisoned him implicate himself, in a bathhouse where the steam obscured the constables waiting to make the arrest. Faced with the prospect of being locked in the same [[Alcatraz]] that Edmond had spent decades in, the police chief finds a pistol in the paddy wagon, and attempts suicide. ''It's empty''.

** The real icing on the cake? ''Leaving the gun unloaded was [[Sure Why Not|an idea from the test audience]].''

* ''[[Kill Bill]]:''

'''Bride:''' You know, for a second there... yeah, I kinda did. }}

* In the Disney version of ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia|The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe]]'', {{spoiler|the White Witch says this to Aslan when she is about to kill him at the Stone Table.}}

* ''[[Wayne's World]]'' combines this with [[Breaking the Fourth Wall]] in the [[Downer Ending]]:

* ''[[RoboCop]]'': When Robocop tries to arrest Dick Jones, and suddenly discovers that he ''can't.''

* Dark Helmet does this ''twice'' in ''[[Spaceballs]]'', first stealing Lone Starr's Schwartz ring and again to toss it down a grate! And he ''still'' can't believe Lone Starr fell for it!

* ''Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows'': During the climactic confrontation between Holmes and Moriarty, the latter thinks, with a brilliant [[Smug Snake|smug]] [[Smug Smiler|smile]]: "Come now, you really think you're the only one who can play this game?" and reveals that {{spoiler|he can weaponize the [[Sherlock Scan]] too, and knows that [[Oh Crap|he's going to win their fight]].}}

 

== Literature ==

 

== [[Live Action TV]] ==

* ''[[Doctor Who]]'' has used this trope in "The Sound of Drums", {{spoiler|after the Master has taken Martha prisoner on the ''Valiant'' and is about to kill her, but she starts revealing her plans}}.

'''Doctor:''' As if I would ask her to kill. }}

** The Doctor gets his turn to use it in ''Remembrance of The Daleks''

* ''[[Sherlock]]'': "The Reichenbach Fall" - {{spoiler|Moriarty's "super-code" that works on absolutely anything and everyone is desperate to get their hands on? Yeah, he made the whole thing up.}}

 

== Professional Wrestling ==

 

== Music ==

* The end of the ballad of the "Golden Vanity". The Golden Vanity is spotted by an enemy Man-o'-War. The Cabin-Boy offers to swim up to the man-o'-war and drill holes in it to sink it, in exchange for [[Standard Hero Reward|the captain's daughter to marry, and a dowry.]] The captain agrees, the boy sinks the ship, and then after having swum back, the captain...

* "How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Loved You When You Know I've Been a Liar All My Life?"

* "I Was Only Kidding", an original song by [[Weird Al]], which lists the many emphatic ways he's told his girlfriend he loves her, and wondering why she didn't catch that he was kidding.

* ''[[World of Warcraft]]'': Did you honestly believe I would trust the future to some blind, half-night elf mongrel?

** [[Memetic Mutation|It was merely a setback]].

** Also a bit unusual that [[The Reveal]] is not their evilness, but the fact that they are alive ([[The Undead|sort of]]).

* ''[[Nethack]]:'' "A voice booms out... 'So [[Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe|thou thought thou couldst]] kill me, fool.'"

{{spoiler|'''Snake:'''}} ''I don't recall saying I was on yours.'' }}

* ''[[Umineko no Naku Koro ni]]'' does this a few times. The most notable ones include:

** EP3's ending, did you actually believe that {{spoiler|Beatrice}} is going [[Tsundere]] for you? Actually subverted, since it turned out to be true anyway.

** EP7's ending, did you actually believe that {{spoiler|Bernkastel}} will give everyone a happy ending?

* [[Rosenkreuzstilette|"It seems that I cannot change your mind. Such a shame... Do you honestly think you can stand against the entirety of RKS on your own?"]]

** Another example in ''Rosenkreuzstilette'':

'''Zero''': What? }}

** Cue that rather violent [[The Bad Guy Wins]] moment where he supposedly "kills off" both Zhoom and the hero, takes the lamp, causes a cave-in, and holds up the lamp in triumph... only for it to suddenly be replaced with a simple rock. He doesn't know that Zhoom and the hero are still alive and now have the lamp because they secretly slipped him the Dreamdust, but he doesn't care.

** Being the [[Smug Snake]] he is, Vath, after luring the hero into a trap with a fake Vath and trapping him/her in a cage, jumps down and says "Did you really think it would be that easy? I have known for weeks that you would be coming for me."

 

== [[Western Animation]] ==

* ''[[Justice League Unlimited]]'' had this, but then subverts it beautifully:

'''Flash:''' [[Narm Charm|"Ta-]][[Deadpan Snarker|da."]] }}

* In ''[[Robot Chicken]],'' they parody the ''[[Kill Bill]]'' exchange when (The Easter) Bunny/Bill says O-Ren's line, and Jesus/The Bride says The Bride's.

* In the ''[[Kim Possible]]'' episode "Go Team Go", when Shego sees an opportune moment to break her [[Enemy Mine|temporary alliance]] with Kim:

'''Shego:''' Oh, come ''on''. [[The Farmer and the Viper|Don't you know me better by now?]] I mean, ''seriously''.... }}

 

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