Let Us Never Speak of This Again: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

 

This trope can be used to introduce a [[Noodle Incident]], with one character reminding the other they promised never to speak of that again. Alternatively they may have just completed the action, make some passing reference to how unusual or interesting it was, and then pull this line.

It can be parodied by the person(s) who are told to never mention it again is genuinely unaware of what happened for whatever reason, with them asking "Speak about what again?" getting taken by the person wanting the secret kept as a joke implying compliance with their wish.

 

{{examples}}

* ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]''

** Asuna says this to everybody after an unfortunate incident involving [[The World Tree]] that turns Negi into "[[Determinator|the kissing Terminator]]" who [[Kissing Under the Influence|forces her into a french kiss]]... for so long that she nearly suffocates. Negi is still totally unaware that this happened.

* During the first ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh (anime)|Yu-Gi-Oh]]'', Kaiba sums up the Noah filler arc as a "complete waste of [his] time and effort, so let's move on and pretend that nonsense never happened."

** [[Hilarious in Hindsight|Which really sounds like the sort of thing that]] [[Little Kuriboh]] [[Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series|would have made him say.]]

 

== Comic Books ==

* In ''[[Transformers Animated|Transformers Animated: The Arrival #2]]'', after Professor Princess blackmails Starscream into not attacking her (by threatening to broadcast an [[Embarrassing Old Photo|image of him]] [http://tfwiki.net/w2/images2/3/39/StarscreamProfessorArrivalIssue2.jpg in a wig and makeup] around the galaxy), a rather perturbed Starscream says this [[Villain Exit Stage Left|and flies off]].

* Nikola Tesla made ''[[Atomic Robo]]'' promise that he would shoot Charles Fort and [[H.P. Lovecraft]] if they should ever mention [[The Tunguska Event]].

 

== Fan Works ==

'''Matsushita-sensei:''' And they never did. }}

** Thereafter, every filler or otherwise irrelevant chapter was ended by the narrator saying "...And they never did."

* ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series|Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Movie]]'' gives us this exchange:

'''Pegasus:''' I agree. So, from now on, let's pretend it never happened. }}

* Freeza from ''[[Dragon Ball Abridged|Dragon Ball Z Abridged]]'' has one of these after an awkward conversation with Zarbon after the latter mentions his girlfriend.

'''Freeza:''' Oh no, that minion died. Could you go fix that? We'll continue this conversation never. }}

 

* Crane says this to Po in ''[[Kung Fu Panda]]'' after Crane helps him out of an uncomfortable position.

* A variation in ''[[Ice Age|Ice Age 2]]'': After Diego and Sid are easily beaten up by two possums:

* The ''[[Starsky and Hutch (film)|Starsky and Hutch]]'' film has this in spades. After Starsky (Ben Stiller) and Hutch (Owen Wilson) have to do some fairly embarrassing things to get information out of a con, Hutch starts to talk about it in the car ride back, and Starsky shuts him. "No! No! Let's not talk about it. In fact, let's never speak of this again." Of course, when they get back to the station, it's been recorded and is playing in the Captain's office with all of the other officers watching.

* In the film version of ''[[The Lord of the Rings (film)|The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers]]'' Gimli says the above quote before having Aragorn use him in a [[Fastball Special]] (a reference to a scene in the first movie in which he objected to being thrown by Legolas). Aragorn promises not to say a word.

* An oblique variant in ''[[Spaceballs]]'': after watching the painful footage of being catapulted into the bulkhead of Spaceball One, Dark Helmet says "No, no. Go past this part. In fact never play this part again."

* ''[[The Hunt for Red October]]''. After Admiral Greer fakes the torpedoing and destruction of the ''Red October'', he tells the torpedo control officer of the frigate he's on:

* In the end of ''[[Zathura]]'', {{spoiler|the sister Lisa says this to her younger brothers, mainly because she thought the future version of one of them was hot before finding out who he was}}. They bring it up anyway.

* Burt Gummer says this after surviving being swallowed by a Grabiod in the third ''[[Tremors]]'' movie.

* ''[[Wild Wild West (film)|Wild Wild West]]'': When Jim West gets [[It Makes Sense in Context|stuck to Artemis Gordon's belt buckle]], he tells Gordon to make sure and leave that part out when retelling the story. Artemis responds with a very emphatic "Oh don't worry."

* A even less funny example from ''[[Pulp Fiction]]''. After Butch saves him from Zed's... attentions, Marsellus Wallace demands two things, of which the first is... "Don't tell nobody about this. This shit is between me, you, and [[Rape and Revenge|Mr. Soon-to-Be-Living-the-Rest-of-His-Short-Ass-Life-in-Agonizing-Pain Rapist here]]. It ain't nobody else's business."

 

== Literature ==

* ''[[Discworld]]''

 

== Live-Action TV ==

* ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]''. Just so there are no misunderstandings, Nathan can fly:

* ''[[Friends]]''

** Ross and Richard are having a sleepover at Rachel and Monica's. At one point they bump into each other in the living room, wearing their girlfriends' bathrobes. After a few awkward seconds they attempt small talk, but then Richard cuts to the chase and says "Let's never speak of this again." Ross says "You got it." and they move on.

** And there's the time that Monica is stung by a jellyfish. A friend who will pee on you is a friend indeed.

* ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]''

** In "Skin of Evil", Tasha's funeral speech was supposed to include an apologetic "Data, it ''did'' happen." It's clear to see where it was supposed to be, as they left in Geordi's reaction shot.

** Subverted in that it actually is brought up again. During Data's trial [[What Measure Is a Non-Human?|to determine whether he is a full-fledged person with rights]], Picard persuades him to reveal it.

* ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''

** From the episode "Real Me":

'''Giles:''' I watched ''[[Passions]]'' with Spike. Let us never speak of it again. }}

** Spike and Andrew have an exchange on their mutual love of onion blossoms while en route to a mission, ending with:

'''Andrew:''' Right. }}

** A vampirized Harmony meets Xander and decides to feed. They apparently regress to their grade school enemy stage (since both of them ''can'' fight better), and they're so ineffectual that they eventually just give up. They agree it never happened, and both leave.

* ''[[The West Wing]]'' [[Lampshaded]] its frequent use of of the [[Walk and Talk]] by having Sam and Josh walking through the crowded hallways having a conversation as usual. At the end, they both came to a stop and asked each other where they were going. Turns out they were both following each other. Josh: "Let's not tell anyone about this."

* ''[[Doctor Who]]''

** The Doctor also had one of his own when the head of Torchwood found out that the woman he'd claimed was Rose Tyler was actually Rose's mother.

* ''[[The Big Bang Theory]]': After returning from a research grant in Antarctica, Leonard, Sheldon, Howard, and Raj repeatedly talk about how they weren't going to talk about "the night the heat went out."

* In ''[[Babylon 5]]'', after learning the secret of the 'tentacles' Londo were using to cheat at cards, Lennier decides to swear an oath of silence on the matter.

** Sam and Freddie's agreement about their First Kiss. When Sam's drugged slip-of-tongue reveals it to Carly, [[Hilarity Ensues]].

* Used ''hilariously'' in ''[[Rome]]''. Cleopatra wants to use [[The Baby Trap]] on Caesar, but knowing that Caesar has no sons, (and possibly needing a distraction from her withdrawal symptoms after [[Going Cold Turkey]]) she decides to increase her chances of pregnancy by sleeping with one of the legionnaires that Caesar sent to escort her to him. She first orders [[The Stoic|Vorenus]] to sleep with her, but Vorenus (despite being sorely tempted) refuses due to fidelity to his wife and Roman sexual attitudes to the idea of being "used" for sex. Vorenus then orders the other legionnaire, [[Boisterous Bruiser|Pullo]] to "Report to Princess Cleopatra and do whatever she tells you to." Cue a prolonged and [[The Immodest Orgasm|noisy]] bout of sex, much to the discomfort of Vorenus. When Pullo returns, they have the following conversation:

'''Pullo:''' Why? [[Just Following Orders|I was only obeying orders]]. Bloody good orders, too. }}

* Invoked almost verbatim by Cristina in the ''[[Grey's Anatomy|Greys Anatomy]]'' episode "Complications of the Heart", after a surgery wherein both she and the more experienced Dr. Altman forgot how to perform a very basic procedure and ended up needing the nurse to bail them out.

* Almost verbatim on ''[[The Peter Serafinowicz Show]]''. Upon making a breakthrough deduction in a case, Sherlock Holmes {{spoiler|becomes so sexually aroused that he forces himself on Watson. In post-coital reflection}}, Holmes says "We shall not speak of this again."

* One happens offscreen in ''[[Black Books]]'', we only see Bernard's reaction when Manny breaks silence.

'''Bernard:''' YOU SAID WE WOULDN'T TALK ABOUT [[Noodle Incident|CANADA!]] }}

 

 

== Video Games ==

* ''[[Psychonauts]]''

** There's a Mental [[Phlebotinum Breakdown]] in Sasha's mind, and a horrible mutated monster comes up and proceeds to pound the living daylights out of Sasha in a highly embarrassing fashion. Raz saves Sasha's life, for which Sasha grants him his merit badge. This conversation then occurs:

'''Sasha:''' No. Here is your merit badge. Let us never speak of this again. }}

** If you return to clean up loose ends, Raz will bring it up again. Sasha will reveal that he expected Raz to overload the machine, and the course he ran was equally planned, to allow Raz to learn to use his power in practical application. The Megacensor was where things got out of hand, though.

** The aftermath of Mitsuru's "[[Maximum Fun Chamber|Execution]]" during the Kyoto class trip. Akihiko is ''[[Heroic BSOD|very insistent]]'' about this point.

* From ''[[Dragon Age]]'', Sten says this to Leliana when she sees him playing with a kitten and picking flowers. Also comes up after the threesome/foursome with Isabela in ''The Pearl''.

* In ''[[Cave Story]]'', one of your fights with [[Goldfish Poop Gang|Balrog]] begins after you ''almost'' trick him into helping you with a feat that requires great strength. When you win, he yields and assists you ({{spoiler|this is one of the hints dropped to you that he isn’t really such a bad fellow; [[Punch Clock Villain|he's just doing his job]]}}). He entreats you, however, not to tell anyone he did it.

* ''[[Sam and Max Freelance Police|Abe Lincoln must die!]]'' has Sam and Max take a date test to find the perfect match for each other. The result gives... Sam to Max and Max to Sam. Both agree never to speak about it again.

* One of the categories for the third annual Neopies on ''[[Neopets]]'' is named after this trope.

* ''[[Dawn of War]] II'' agrees with fans' opinion of the previous ''Soulstorm'':

* ''[[Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney]]'', case 2:

'''Apollo:''' ...Here's what I want you to do, Trucy. Take that memory, gently lock it away deep in your heart, and never speak of it. }}

* Suggested in ''[[Team Fortress 2]]'''s [[In-Universe Marketing]] for [[Urine Trouble|Jarate]].

 

== Web Comics ==

** And during Azure City's New Year, Belkar [[Kissing Under the Influence|gets drunk and kisses Vaarsuvius full on the lips]]. Afterwards, Belkar forgets it entirely and Vaarsuvius insists that, if the one witness to the kiss (Durkon) ever has to discuss it again, it will be referred to it as "the Event". And they never talk about it again.

** When Vaarsuvius is rescued from the Para-Elemental Plane of Ranch Dressing, he/she mentions that there were some adventures before they got there.

'''Belkar:''' Yeah, probably that. }}

* ''[[El Goonish Shive]]''

** [http://egscomics.com/?date=2010-11-19 Grace's suggestion that Elliot turn into her to be sexy in front of a mirror] seems doomed to a similar fate.

* ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' [http://www.sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/000419 has a great one]

'''Bun-bun:''' I vote we all go home and never speak of this again. }}

* In ''[[Homestuck]]'', Karkat takes this to the logical extreme by {{spoiler|trolling John backwards, so that they'll never be able to talk about the first conversation (from Karkat's perspective), where Karkat accidentally reveals his hatecrush for John. Needless to say, it's hilarious.}}

* ''[[Schlock Mercenary]]'': [http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2011-05-21 Ennesby to Schlock], after a particularly [http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2011-05-20 unpleasant moment].

* In ''[[Girl Genius]]'', Gilgamesh orders that his [[Nice Hat]] should be hidden in a safe place -- [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20120116 and never spoken about again.]

'''Gil:''' You're ''delusional''. }}

 

== Web Original ==

* ''[[Things Mr. Welch Is No Longer Allowed to Do In An RPG]]'': Lives up to the trope by only telling us what can't be talked about, but [[Noodle Incident|no real details]].

* Quoted during [[Riff Trax]]'s take on ''[[The Last Airbender]]'' after they see [[Memetic Mutation|The Pebble Dance]].

* A double [[GIRL]] on [http://www.bash.org/?768122 bash.org] provokes this reaction from the participants. Subverted. [[Hilarious in Hindsight|Since it's on bash.org and all]].

 

== Western Animation ==

* ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]''

** The Itchy and Scratchy Land episode, after Homer takes a disastrous shortcut:

** Marge also used the line in the same episode. A possible subversion, as the thing to never be spoken of was actually somewhat positive:

** Marge also said it in regard to a relative who snapped and went on a shooting spree:

** Subverted, since after saying this line she immediately references the incident again:

** ''Another'' episode introduces Grandpa's brother Cyrus, with dialogue to this effect (paraphrasing):

'''Grandpa:''' Yes, and I'll never speak of him again. }}

* ''[[The Powerpuff Girls]]'' had episode "[[Shotgun Wedding]]", in which the Professor tries to learn more about Fuzzy Lumpkins [[For Science!|for the purpose of science]], and after getting covered in mud, flowers, and a curtain is mistaken for a woman by Fuzzy and nearly forced to marry him. After the Professor is saved by the Powerpuff Girls, he writes on notepad that he was using "Lumpkins are, above all, stupid" and as a sidenote "never speak of this again"... and then eats it. He gets really mad when the Girls mention it about 10 seconds later.

* The 2008 [[Transformers|BotCon]] script reading, "'Bee in the City", ends with all parties involved agreeing to never speak of the incident again.

'''Phoebe:''' Forgetting! }}

** Also:

'''Helga:''' Gotcha. }}

* In ''[[Recess]]'' all the group agreed this when they see Spinelli having fun dancing Hula Hula with Finster, who was babysitting her in that episode.

* ''[[Family Guy]]''

** Meg gives her brother Chris advice on how to cajole their father Peter... that might work for a well-loved daughter:

** Chris then attempts this. Problems with this approach: Chris is fairly heavyset. And male. Therefore: trope is invoked.

** Also the time where Peter is blind and accidentally gets into Chris's bed at night...

** At the end of the episode where [[It Makes Sense in Context|Peter is temporarily turned gay]]:

* In one crossover between ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2003|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' and ''[[Usagi Yojimbo]]'', Usagi says this when he and Leonardo put on black cloaks and infiltrate a fortress. While Usagi respects the Turtles, he doesn't really like ninjas and their "cowardly and dishonorable" ways.

* In ''[[The Penguins of Madagascar]]'', ("Jiggles" episode), after Kowalski's [[Blob Monster]] spat both Kowalski and Julien out, the two were covered in green goo and draped across each other. Julien's response to the situation is, "I will not talk of this if you don't."

* ''[[Phineas and Ferb]]'': Buford and Baljeet agree on this after their clothes get blown off by [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|Ferb test-driving Meap's repaired spaceship]] in The Chronicles of Meap.

'''Baljeet:''' Agreed. }}

* ''[[Jackie Chan Adventures]]'': Ratso on having to remove an [[Mask of Power|Oni Mask]] from Finn's rear end.

'''Chow:''' I'm not even here. }}

* ''[[Danny Phantom]]'': In "Reality Trip", Sam wonders how Danny convinced her parents to let her go on a cross-country trip with him and Tucker, and the explanation is thus:

'''Sam's Father:''' And I agree with you! Let's never speak of this again. }}

* In ''[[Wakfu]]'' season 2 episode 5, "The Dragon-Pig", for not listening to [[Idiot Hero|Sadlygrove]]'s warning, Evangelyne, Amalia and Yugo fall victims to a [[Baleful Polymorph]] {{spoiler|turning them into cute, but defenseless piglets}}. Once they regain human form, Amalia insists that this incident should never be mentioned again.

* In the [[All Just a Dream]] episode of ''[[Kim Possible]]'', Kim saves villains Drakken and Shego from an exploding device. After Shego realizes how awkward it is, Drakken declares this trope, to which Kim replies "Fair enough".

* On ''[[Jimmy Two-Shoes]]'', after an episode ends on a particularly disgusting note, Jimmy and Beezy agree "This never happened."

'''Rarity''': ...I thought we agreed never to speak of that again. }}

* ''[[The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes]]'': Iron Fist and Luke Cage agree not to let anyone know that they lost a battle against a bank robber who wielded Ant-Man gear.

 

----

''[[Exact Words|Typing is fine, though.]]'' }}

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Comedy Tropes]]