History Main / YouDONOTWantToKnow

* In the XWingSeries books, an Imperial agent caused the deaths of everyone else in Donos's squadron, [[MyGreatestFailure sending him]] into a HeroicBSOD that he eventually recovered from, [[DefrostingIceQueen defrosting]] with the help of a love interest who died not long after. Later she [[TheMole joined his new squadron]] and started going through a HeelFaceTurn and BecomingTheMask. They started falling in love with each other. She wanted this and at the same time knew it could only end badly; she was only going to be able to hide the secret for so long.
--> "I could say twelve words, and when I was done, the least you'd do is turn away and leave me alone forever."
--> He could tell that she was speaking the truth, and the fact that she had the power to do this, to send him away, dismayed him. "Then don't say them."

---> '''Donos''': "I want to make you smile with something [[DeadpanSnarker other than a wisecrack]]. I want to know who you really are."
---> Her laugh, sudden and hard, startled him. "Oh, no, you don't."
*** It actually didn't turn out ''quite'' as badly as she thought it was going to in the end. Of course, in the interim, there ''was'' the proton torpedo and the psychotic fit.
** She ''was'' right...
** ''Starfighters of Adumar'' has that whole part where Wedge's young guide falls for him and starts acting strangely.

* In ''ProtectorsOfThePlotContinuum'', Agent Stormsong says that the claim that "[[{{Discworld}} the hedgehog can never be buggered at all]]" is false, and refuses to elaborate. Since he's from a DarkerAndEdgier {{Redwall}} fanfic which was riddled with violent RapeAsDrama, it's fairly easy to guess how he knows. [[spoiler:Then again, he has also had sex with his room-mate while she was transformed by the ElGoonishShive "Male Variant #5" and he was in the "Jeremy" form, which rendered him a cat-hedgehog-weasel hybrid.]] His original author, whom he has met at the OfficialFanfictionUniversity, has a hedgehog fursona and wasn't familiar with the Hedgehog Song, which has led to some embarrassing moments.

-> ''"Trust me on this: you don't wanna know. Audrey? Don't tell him. You shouldn't've told '''me,''' but you did, and now I'm telling you, '''don't tell him!'''"''

* ''The Golden Globe'' by John Varley averts ForbiddenFruit in this regard: to show that you don't want to know how Charonians have sex, you're given a description of their coming-of-age ceremony. For context, Charonians [[GoodThingYouCanHeal regenerate quickly]] and worship pain, and the ceremony itself is either {{Narm}} or NauseaFuel.

-> ''"Trust me on this: you don't wanna know. Audrey? Don't tell him. You shouldn't've told '''me,''' but you did, and now I'm telling you, '''you don't wanna know!'''"''

** According to the sequel, he was raised by naked mole rats. Of course, given that it went DirectToVideo...

** In ''Backwards'', before they leave, Lister tells Rimmer that Cat has gone off into the bushes, then he realizes what this entails, and says, "We've got to stop him!" Cat comes back, hair sticking straight up, walking stiffly, horrified expression on his face, and simply says "Don't ask."

* Pops up in ''QuestionableContent'', [[here http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=802]]. Speculations on what it could be runs rampant amongst the cast (and the fanbase) before it's finally revealed to be [[http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=814 more nerdy than anything else]]...
** Also [[here http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=632]].

** Also [[http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=632 this strip:]]

** Also [[here http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=632]]:

* Pops up in ''QuestionableContent'', [[http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=802 here]]. Speculations on what it could be runs rampant amongst the cast (and the fanbase) before it's finally revealed to be [[http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=814 more nerdy than anything else]]...

* This is [[DoctorWho Jack Harkness's]] response when his captors demand to know how he managed to pull a concealed weapon on them despite being stripped naked.

[[folder:Real Life]]
* These words are often the verbal equivalent of SchmuckBait. Unless someone has been taught --''repeatedly''-- to avoid it, people will almost invariably try to find out [[ForbiddenFruit what they shouldn't know]]. They are also a major reason AesopAmnesia is TruthInTelevision.
** For example you'll have this. You are warned not to see the spoiler. [[spoiler: Now you've lost TheGame. Don't tell you were not told no to see the spoiler.]]
* How 75-year-old Sally from ''America's Got Talent'' Portland discovered she could hand-whistle. She wrote a book about it, but [[spoiler: part of the book was also about her coming out]].
** Judging by how the [[IncrediblyLamePun judges]] on the show reacted ('mm-hmm'-ing and nodding), they evidently didn't consider the above to be an example of the trope. It could be a [[{{Understatement}} bit]] of a MoodWhiplash, though.
[[/folder]]

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--> ''Raine'': * EvilLaugh*

* This is [[DoctorWho Jack's]] response when his captors demand to know how he managed to pull a concealed weapon on them despite being stripped naked.

--> '''Mitsuru''': Oh, Mr. Ekoda’s punishment...? Well, there are some thing in life you don’t want to know about... This is one of them.

-->'''Player:''' "Um... probably not..."

Some secret about Character A is mentioned, either by the character himself, or by somebody else. When queried, someone replies "You ''don't'' want to know. Just trust me on this." Or words to that effect. Whether ''we'' actually find out what it is varies - if we don't, it can turn into a NoodleIncident, and might be set up for one or more [[TheUnreveal un-reveals]]. The characters who ''do'' know will usually try to avoid talking about it.

* During a DoctorWho short story, a skeleton grabs the Tenth Doctor by the ankle as it claws its way out of the earth. The Doctor, not taking his eyes off Rose, asks if he should look. She shakes her head.

* Used in the first-season StarTrekTheNextGeneration episode ''The Big Goodbye'', where the fate the [[BigCreepyCrawlies insectoid]] Jarada [[DisproportionateRetribution visit upon]] people who [[BerserkButton pronounce their ceremonial greeting wrong]] is so horrible that the crew won't even let Data hint at it.
* Speaking of [[BigCreepyCrawlies insectoids]], on an episode of StarTrekEnterprise, Captain Archer is in VERY tense negotiations with the Xindi; his linguist Lt. Sato performs simultaneous translation -- except at one point, where the insectoid goes on a long chittering rant, and Sato simply says "You don't want to know."
* Used for comic effect in BlackBooks. Manny says that something bad happens to him at 88 degrees, and Bernard wants to know what, but Manny keeps repeating, "You don't want to know." Bernard at first tells Manny to stop saying that, because he wants to know even more if he's told he doesn't. Then he switches tactics, saying that Manny doesn't know WHY Bernard wants to know. To which Manny replies, "Oh, why's that?" And Bernard has made his point.

*''{{Heroes}}'' season three demonstrates how not to do this: a character whose power is treated as a "you don't wanna know" situation turns out to be [[StockSuperpowers something pretty basic]]: your typical [[MakeMeWannaShout sonic scream]] thing, and not even (that we saw) to Black Bolt-esque mega-destructive levels.

*How 75-year-old Sally from America's Got Talent Portland discovered she could hand-whistle. She wrote a book about it, but [[spoiler: part of the book was also about her coming out]].

* About 80% of OedipusTheKing is this trope.

*If you want to know how to animate the titular character from HomestarRunner, [[NoodleImplements it involves a pair of underpants with ping-pong sensor nodes on it]]. Matt quotes this word for word after showing the viewer this.

* In the YuYuHakushoAbridged movie, after Yakumo [[spoiler:warps everyone's voices into horrible representations of what they're supposed to sound like]], Yusuke asks what Kurama sounds like and Kuwabara answers with this trope. Averted anyway since Kurama ends up speaking enough to say: "I HATE all of you."

* Used once in PennyArcade: [[http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/3/21/ "Wow, it's like...I want to see it? But at the same time, I don't want to see it."]]

* In TheRealGhostbusters, the episode 'Knock, Knock' has Egon look into the room that holds the door to Doomsday. When asks what he sees, he replies 'you don't want to know' in his usual calm, dull tone of voice.
*KimPossible, in a scene involving a "gravy ghost" spelling words in the high-school cafeteria gravy;

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