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4[[quoteright:324:[[Webcomic/{{Spinnerette}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mecha_maid_1980.jpg]]]]
5
6->''"ACKNOWLEDGE MY SHOCKING REVELATION, DAMMIT!"''
7-->-- '''Zeta Vincent''', ''Webcomic/{{Narbonic}}''
8
9A character is ready to reveal their secret. Maybe they're gay, maybe they're a vampire, maybe they're a superhero, or [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking maybe they're the one who stole the cookies from the cookie jar]]. All that matters is that they've kept this a secret for a while, and now they're ready to come clean. However, when they finally tell the truth, the only shocked reactions they get, if any, are at the realization this was supposed to be a secret. [[TitleDrop Everybody Knew Already]].
10
11TransparentCloset is a common subtrope, where a character's sexuality isn't as much of a secret as they think it is. See also OpenSecret where it's painfully obvious from the get-go that no one is fooled by the secret. The metafictional version, where a writer reveals a twist that the audience already figured out, is the CaptainObviousReveal or TheUntwist. Opposite trope of ThoughtTheyKnewAlready. Super-trope to EveryoneCanSeeIt.
12
13Expect spoilers below, as the revelation that a character knew a secret all along may or may not already be known to the audience.
14
15----
16!!Examples:
17[[foldercontrol]]
18
19[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
20* In ''Manga/AssassinationClassroom'', after [[spoiler: his first match with Itona]], Koro-sensei decides he has no choice but to reveal a shocking truth about himself. He is actually an artificially created creature. No one in the class is surprised since Koro-sensei already said he isn't an alien and an artificial being was the only explanation left.
21-->'''Entire class:''' Well, duh. And?\
22'''Koro-sensei:''' What a weak reaction! That was a pretty shocking thing to confess, wasn't it?!
23* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': Ikkaku is willing to throw fights to avoid revealing his [[SuperMode bankai]], despite having willingly told [[HeterosexualLifePartner Yumichika]], [[TheApprentice Renji]] and [[ActionSurvivor Keigo]] that he possesses one. When chastising Ikkaku for his attitude, [[BigBrotherMentor Iba]] reveals he's always known. [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent Komamura]] accidentally overhears but promises to keep his mouth shut. Later on, [[MadScientist Mayuri's]] comment to Ichigo that he and Akon once patched up Ikkaku's broken bankai reminds Mayuri he wasn't supposed to reveal the secret. He concludes he doesn't care.
24* On ''Anime/{{Himawari}}'', Himari hides that she's discovered that Azami is a spy for the boy's school, but all of the other girls already knew. Only she and their teacher, Hayato, didn't. When they discover that she's hiding it, they explain that he's a double agent and that he's a boy.
25* Humorously done in ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders'' with Polnareff trying to surprise the others with the revelation that [[spoiler: Avdol [[BackFromTheDead survived a seemingly fatal attack]] [[NotQuiteDead and had been recovering the whole time he was gone]]]] only to find out that he was the ''only'' one who didn't know ([[spoiler:the others wanted to give Avdol enough time to recover from his injuries]] and didn't trust Polnareff not to blab about it).
26* In chapter 140 of ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'', Ishigami is surprised to learn that the entire student council already knew about his crush on Tsubame. It's probably a good thing that it wasn't mentioned that the entire ''school'' already knew thanks to his rather public [[AchievementsInIgnorance accidental love confession]].
27* All the girls in ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'' are confused as to how all the men never realized that Kisara's right hand Shiratori is [[spoiler:actually a girl]]. This revelation comes after a LoveTriangle arc, showing that the object of Shiratori's affection was ''not'' who all the men thought it was.
28* Near the end of ''Anime/MartianSuccessorNadesico'' Nagare dramatically reveals that [[spoiler: he is the CEO of Nergal Industries]]. Someone replies, "Yeah, I figured it was something like that." In fact, everyone except Akito and Yurika knew about it.
29* From ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'':
30** Setsuna tries to hide the fact that she has a BodyguardCrush on Konoka. No one is fooled, so when Rakan reveals that she had her FirstKiss with Konoka, no one even blinks their eyes. Not even [[ChasteHero Negi]].
31** When Takane tells Yuuna that her father is a mage, she just says she figured it was something like that since she recognized the person working at the gates was a friend of her father's. And from there she figured that Mahora is a magic school. Only really applicable to Yuuna, everyone else was pretty surprised.
32* PlayedForDrama in ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', where the "secret" was that [[spoiler:Asuka's father and the doctor who took care of Asuka's bed-ridden and driven-into-insanity mother Kyouko were involved behind Kyoko's back]]. Even [[spoiler:Asuka]] knew, which is implied to be the reason why [[spoiler:she refuses to live with her father [[ParentWithNewParamour and his "new" wife]] after her mother's suicide.]]
33* Nano Shinonome from the ''Manga/{{Nichijou}}'' manga is a robot who goes to school and believes she's convinced everyone she's [[HughMann not a robot]]. This in spite of the fact that one complaint that she has on returning to school one day is everyone keeps turning the big WindUpKey on her back.
34* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
35** Nami asked her older sister Nojiko to keep her efforts to buy back their village from the pirate Arlong a secret, even after Genzo had banished her from the village for joining Arlong pirates under the mistaken belief that she only wanted to get rich. It turned out that Genzo was unwilling to believe that Nami would join the pirates even with temptations like that, especially after Arlong had killed her mother. He and the other villagers eventually managed to get Nojiko to tell them but decided to keep it a secret from Nami so she could leave them if she wasn't able to complete her goal.
36** The citizens of Dressrosa knew all along that the fairies are actually dwarves, and that [[spoiler: Kyros/Thunder Soldier and Rebecca are father and daughter]]. They pretended not to know to protect their secrets, out of respect. [[spoiler: They also know that Luffy didn't really kidnap Rebecca at the end of the arc, but pretend not to so they can run after Luffy and his allies, thus preventing Fujitora from killing them.]]
37** The tengu mask-wearing swordsmith Tenguyama Hitetsu is actually [[spoiler:Kozuki Sukiyaki, Oden's father, Momo and Hiyori's grandfather, and former shogun of Wano]]. He states that some of Momo's retainers probably deduced his real identity already, and it's later shown that he's correct. Most of the Nine Red Scabbards guessed who he really was a while ago... except Kinemon, who is incredibly shocked by the reveal ([[SureLetsGoWithThat but hides it to not let anyone else find out he didn't know]]).
38* Used to show ValuesDissonance, and Heizo's unique character, in the episode ''The Man of the Past'' in the Anime adaptation of ''Literature/OniheiHankachou.'' When Heizo asked to marry Hisae, her parents had just told him that she had a former lover who subsequently abandoned her for prostitutes and robbery. Neither Hisae nor her former lover Kanshiro Kondo knows that Heizo knows about this, and when he breaks the news to Heizo, he just laughs -- not revealing that he knew (presumably to save face) but merely saying that this fact is insignificant to him because Hisae is a wonderful woman and he's simply happy to have her.
39* Subverted hilariously in the last chapter of ''Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostClub'': The girls eagerly declare that they already knew Haruhi's "[[SweetPollyOliver secret]]" when she wears a dress and begins dancing romantically with Tamaki. It isn't until later that they actually find out that she's a girl, and it turns out that they thought her "secret" was that [[MistakenForGay "he" and Tamaki were gay]] and that "he" liked [[RecursiveCrossdressing wearing women's clothing]].
40* In an episode of ''Anime/PokemonTheOriginalSeries'', there is an OldSuperhero named Gligarman who is really the owner of a toy store. He gets shocked when everyone in town starts calling him by his real name during a climactic battle.
41* At the end of the ''Anime/PrettySammy'' TV series ''Magical Project S'', when Sasami is asked to resume her duties as Pretty Sammy in front of her class, she's shocked that this is happening before the students reveal that they knew all along and were humoring her the whole time.
42* In ''Manga/ToLoveRu'', the general reaction to finding out Lala is an alien goes along the lines of "Oh. So that's why she has the tail." All while Rito, the only one who cares about TheMasquerade, freaks out and panics.
43[[/folder]]
44
45[[folder:Comic Books]]
46* In one issue of ''Comicbook/BatmanAndTheOutsiders,'' Alfred reveals Batman's identity to the team while Batman is unconscious after being poisoned, so they won't waste crucial time by trying to contact Bruce Wayne, who they know as the team's rich patron. When Batman later reveals his identity to the team, they pretend to be surprised.
47* Both averted and played straight in ''ComicBook/BirdsOfPrey'' when Barbara Gordon revealed to her father, then-former Commissioner Jim Gordon that she has been operating as Oracle for several years after [[ComicBook/TheKillingJoke being shot in the spine and paralyzed by the Joker]]. Jim Gordon was surprised, but ultimately assured Barbara that he was proud of her. Barbara then pulled out her old Comicbook/{{Batgirl}} uniform and added, "I'm afraid there's something else I need to tell you, Daddy." Jim replied, "Oh. Well, ''that'' I knew about."
48** It's been implied numerous times that Gordon knows the identity of each and every one of the Batfamily. He simply chooses to not acknowledge it, even to himself in his thought bubbles.
49** Several stories have had ComicBook/{{Batman}} make comments where he's assumed Gordon has long known who he really was, just as he assumes Perry White (who was a very good investigative reporter) knows full well Clark Kent is Superman.
50* Right from the first issue, it's almost become a RunningGag in ''ComicBook/DemonKnights'' that '''everyone''' knows "Sir" Ystin is really a woman. [[spoiler:Until a later issue reveals that Ystin is, in fact, some sort of genderqueer/intersex/non-binary gender identity, but it's not elaborated on.]]
51* Two examples in ''ComicBook/ElfQuest'':
52** The first occurs when Leetah accidentally yells out Cutter's secret soul name in front of Cutter's best friend, Skywise. It turns out Cutter and Skywise have such a strong mental link, they've known each other's soul names since they were kids.
53** The second one occurs when BigBad Winnowill reveals Cutter's animal heritage to Leetah. Not only did both Leetah and Cutter already know, but they're also actually both ''proud'' of it.
54* Right before the ''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}'', Vicki Vale had figured out everyone in ComicBook/{{Batman}}'s inner circle's real name sans [[ComicBook/Batgirl2009 Stephanie Brown]]. She had no hard evidence so she didn't run the story. She also didn't count on Batman's [[ComicBook/TaliaAlGhul baby mama]] being the daughter of an [[ComicBook/RasAlGhul international terrorist]] who'd kill her if people figured out who they were by extension.
55* In ''ComicBook/GoldDigger'', Britanny Diggers did a brief stint as a superhero in her school days. While the villains remained oddly oblivious, the rest of the students had no trouble figuring out the superhero 'Cheets', was actually their classmate Brittany, the only member of the student body who also had fur and a tail and was the only were-cheetah on Earth.
56* ''ComicBook/IronMan'': Issue 152 sees Tony sneak into a secret Soviet installation to rescue his then-girlfriend Bethany Cabe. When the Soviet guards become aware of the intrusion, Tony is quite shocked when Bethany tells him to stop wasting time and don his Iron Man armor. She reveals she's known he's been Iron Man for some time, but played along out of respect for his secret identity. Unfortunately they have no time for such niceties at that moment.
57* One issue of ''ComicBook/MsMarvel2014'' had the heroine finally revealing her SecretIdentity to her school friends, only to be shocked when they all admit to having figured it out already. She didn't exactly do a good job of hiding it, not helped by the fact that the preceding arc revolved around Ms. Marvel and Kamala Khan going missing at the same time.
58* ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'': The Human Torch's features in ''ComicBook/StrangeTales'' involved him protecting his secret identity...despite the fact that he was a celebrity in his main title. Presumably, this was due to a lapse in Stan Lee's memory ([[https://www.cbr.com/comic-book-urban-legends-revealed-23/ which actually has some precedent]]); eventually, it was [[RetCon retconned]] that all the supporting cast were simply going along with the Torch's masquerade out of concern for his privacy...
59* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'':
60** One old (prose) story suggested that most of Clark's close friends and co-workers knew he was Superman but were secretly government agents assigned to allow him the illusion of a "normal" life.
61** One issue had an emergency that doesn't leave him time to get into costume at the Daily Planet, and everyone tells him to just go do it -- they've just been humoring him about the "secret identity" thing. [[WhamEpisode Wham issue]]? Nah, it was AllJustADream.
62** Various stories have also implied that his secret identity is widely known back in his hometown of Smallville, but the whole town keeps quiet about it out of loyalty and friendship.
63* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'' has the following exchange when Skids asks Chromedome if the latter can try restoring some of his lost memories:
64-->'''Chromedome:''' Anyway, I thought you ''liked'' having amnesia.\
65'''Skids:''' Who told you that?\
66'''Chromedome:''' You told [[MotorMouth Swerve]], right? So assume everyone on board knows. [[SerialEscalation In fact, assume everyone on Cybertron knows]]. In fact, assume that distant ''alien races'', otherwise untouched by civilization—\
67'''Skids:''' Okay, okay, point taken.
68* ''ComicBook/TheWalkingDead'' has two lesbians in the New World Order arc who reveal they're having a relationship on the way to meet Eugene's contact. Eugene and most of the others react with a mixture of "already knew", and "cool, don't care." Only Juanita reacts positively.
69* PlayedForLaughs by Creator/PeterDavid in Comicbook/{{Wolverine}}. The X-Men were currently "dead" when Logan found out that [[ComicBook/SpiderWoman Jessica Drew]] and some of his Madripoor friends recognized him in his "Patch" disguise. It turned out they'd humoured him, on the basis that he must have had his reasons. Considering that Patch is Wolverine with an eyepatch and the claws not extended, this should really not have been such a shock.
70-->'''Jessica''': When someone with claws and a temper wants to believe he's fooling people, no one wants to be the one to say "hey, Wolvie, what's with the stupid eyepatch?"
71[[/folder]]
72
73[[folder:Fan Works]]
74* This is the reaction of many characters, in the ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' AU ''Fanfic/BeyondHeroes: Of Sunshine and Red Lyrium'', to the news that the Inquisitor has gotten married. Next to no one is at all surprised that she is now married to the character whom pretty much everyone has always suspected she secretly loved. The only person who has doubts is Cassandra - who doesn't entirely trust the groom.
75* PlayedForDrama in ''Fanfic/CicadaPsalms''. At age 23, Mion tearfully confesses to her grandmother about the accidental permanent TwinSwitch she and Shion did as kids. It turns out that Oryou suspected it for years. She doesn't mind that Mion was born Shion, plus it was so long ago that it doesn't matter much anymore. The twins have long since [[BecomingTheMask become more accustomed to being each other]].
76* In the ''WesternAnimation/CelebrityDeathmatch'' fic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/21447313?view_full_work=true Final Stand of Death]]'', both the in-story spectators and [[{{Music/KISS}} Gene Simmons]] already knew Fusion Gundam was in fact [[spoiler:the Music/SpiceGirls]], long before they revealed themselves to Johnny and Nick. It was also noted that Fusion Gundam addressed each other by their birth instead of their disguised names.
77* In ''Fanfic/TheEggTeam'', despite the many missteps he makes in trying to maintain his traveling doctor facade, Eggman is still shocked to find out that Teddy figured out that he was lying about it during his meeting with the trio outside of his room.
78* ''Fanfic/JauneArcLordOfHunger'': For a couple of chapters, Jaune stays up at night to meditate next to the [[ArtifactOfAttraction Mask of Darth Nihilus]] and tries to keep this a secret by sneaking out of his dorm when his teammates are asleep. In the chapter "Leadership", Glynda reveals that she knows about Jaune's habit when she advises him to get more sleep while discussing an upcoming field trip. By the time of "Fear", it turns out that Pyrrha was the only person who didn't know about this and she is surprised to hear Nora and Ren talk so casually about it. They even lampshade how often Jaune sneaks out at night and are more surprised that Pyrrha didn't notice.
79* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/21828973?view_full_work=true Just Taken]]'' has [[Music/MelanieC Melanie]]'s fears of being buried alive and ducks were already known by her dad, Alan. Earlier, [[Music/SpiceGirls Emma]] had already known about being afraid of choking and losing control. Geri, Mel, and Victoria all understood about the duck phobia, which none of them minded as there was a justified reason behind it. Alan explained that he used a stuffed animal, a [[WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck duck]], in attempts to calm Melanie when she was a child.
80* In ''Fanfic/TheKeysStandAlone: The Soft World'', the disguised George and Ringo are quite startled to find out that the Six Step Combo knew they were outworlders from the moment the band met them. In fact, the band thought the two were lying or exaggerating when they said they were musicians, since the band had never met a competent outworlder musician before, and planned to humiliate them on stage. George finds that admittance quite funny.
81* ''Fanfic/{{Mended}}'': Professor Oak and Delia ''tried'' to keep a SecretRelationship, but it was an open secret amongst their neighbors.
82-->'''Samuel''': Mrs. Ketchum and I are going to get married.\
83'''Gary''': Well, it's about time! Don't look so surprised, Grandpa. Everyone in Pallet Town knows you and Mrs. Ketchum have had a thing going for years.\
84'''Samuel''': They do?\
85'''Gary''': Sure. It's the worst-kept secret in town.
86* ''Fanfic/MiraculousCity'': After Kagami convinces him that he can trust Ladybug and Chat Noir to defeat Monarch, Felix reaches out to the heroes and tells them that Monarch is his uncle Gabriel Agreste... only to discover that the two already know his SecretIdentity since Kagami shared he's trying to keep a person he loved safe which lets them deduce that its his cousin Adrien, who would be in immediate danger from his father. They were also to disprove Gabriel's akuma alibis like The Collector by speaking with a butterfly-powered cop and learning he and other butterflies like [[spoiler:Chrysalis]] can [[SuperEmpowering empower themselves]].
87* In the ''Anime/YohaneTheParhelionSunshineInTheMirror'' fic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/50235028 Not All that Glitters is Gold (Some May Be Diamonds)]]'', Dia tries to surprise her girlfriend Yohane by revealing that she's a fairy [[VoluntaryShapeshifting who can change back between her human and tiny forms]] as a sign of their advancing relationship. Yohane admits she already knew when she sees Dia transform, since Dia's little sister Ruby is also a fairy [[spoiler:who can take up a human form]], though she never asked Dia about before as she correctly guessed it was a personal matter.
88* In Chapter 20 of ''Fanfic/OriginStory'', Alex confesses to Louise that she murdered Henry Peter Gyrich, and did it in order to protect Louise from further attack. Alex then begs for Louise's forgiveness. Louise's only reaction is to gently let Alex know that she figured it out days before and that she forgave Alex as soon as she figured it out.
89* Like any good orphan protagonist, Scootaloo in the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fan fiction ''Fanfic/OurTrueColors'' tries hard to keep her status a secret. But it turns out everyone except Twilight Sparkle (and maybe Fluttershy) knew she was an orphan.
90* In the ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12435618/1/ Perception]]'' Adrien and Marinette eventually start dating, and, fearing Chloe's reaction, wisely decide to keep it secret. Then one day they get too affectionate... And it turns out that not only were the only ones fooled Chloe herself and ''maybe'' Sabrina, but Alix was genuinely surprised that it was supposed to be a secret.
91* ''Fanfic/RainbowDoubleDashsLunaverse:'' In "Crisis on Two Equestrias", everyone in the regular [=Fim=] universe knows Lyra and Bon-Bon have a crush on one another, but CannotSpitItOut. (Pinkie even has a whole party prepared for if and when they manage it.)
92* ''Fanfic/RaisedByJagers'': It only takes a few years for the people of Mechanicsburg to realize that Agatha is the Heterodyne (partly due to her habit of heterodyning while thinking hard). They do a great job of keeping it a secret from outsiders, but by the time she's fifteen the various spies in town are starting to realize that something is up.
93* ''Fanfic/ARedRoseInTheBlueWind'': When Blake is outed as a Faunus, Sonic's group reveals that they all figured it out the day they met her, and are surprised that the rest of Team RWBY didn't.
94* ''Fanfic/RemnantsBizarreAdventure'': Team [=RWBY=] and Team [=JNPR=] were worried about telling [[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureDiamondIsUnbreakable Josuke, Koichi, and Okuyasu]] that Blake is a Faunus as they don't know how a frontier region like Morioh would treat Faunuses. When Team [=JOJO=] finally see Blake without her bow at the end of ''Lock and Key'', they reveal that not only is Morioh open-minded when it comes to Faunuses, but they already knew that Blake was a Cat Faunus between how her ears twitched under her bow whenever she was emotional and that she had verticle pupils. Blake's friend, who needed [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots Penny's]] help to find out Blake's secret, get a servicing of HumblePie when reminded about [[FailedASpotCheck how they didn't figure that out sooner]].
95--> "...Ow.... My pride..." Yang slapped a hand to her forehead, same as the other Four Kingdom hunters besides Blake, as they took all this in.
96* ''Series/{{Supergirl 2015}}'' fanfic ''Fanfic/MyYouthIsYours'': Once it becomes clear that everyone knows about Kara and Lena's relationship, and everyone knows that everyone else knows, Mon-El asks if they can stop pretending it's some big secret.
97* From ''Fanfic/ATasteOfTheGoodLife'':
98-->'''Sweetie Belle''': Do you think this means Scoots’ mom and dad will stop pretending they aren’t dating now?\
99'''Main''': Wait, what?\
100'''Scootaloo''': I'm not stupid, Dad.
101* ''Fanfic/TimeToDisinfect:'' PlayedForDrama. All of Mari's friends are revealed to have known about Mari's autism, to the point they didn't realize she was trying to keep it hidden. Except Mari was genuinely terrified of them knowing, and the secret comes out at a moment when she's already stressed, pushing her close to a mental breakdown.
102* ''Fanfic/ToAbsentFriends'': Yeah, Earth to Kanril Eleya, your SecretRelationship with your operations officer? Not so secret.
103-->'''[[NumberTwo Tess Phohl]]:''' Oh, for Uzaveh’s sake, Captain, just kiss him already!\
104'''[[TheMedic Warragul Wirrpanda]]:''' Yeah, we all knew you two were a thing weeks ago.
105* In ''Fanfic/VoyagesOfTheWildSeaHorse'', Miriam and Harumi start dating but decide to keep it a secret due to past bad experiences. The rest of the crew knew the moment the two hooked up and even secretly spied on their dates, but respected their desire for secrecy enough to pretend they didn't know. When the two openly declare their relationship, the crew just thanks them for feeling safe enough to be honest about their feelings.
106* In the ''Series/{{Glee}}'' fanfic ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6384367/1/We_Have_a_Problem We have a problem]],'' Kurt and Puck go to great lengths to keep their [[HoYay relationship]] a secret. When they finally decide to come out, it turns out that more or less everybody already knew.
107* ''Fanfic/WhiteSheepRWBY'': Blake tells her team (Yang, Ren, and Nora) that she has something she needs to say to them, then removes her ribbon, revealing she is a Faunus. They then wait patiently for whatever she was planning to say. Turns out that Nora saw Blake in the shower weeks ago ("[[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial Not because I was comparing our chest sizes or anything!"]]) and, not knowing it was a secret, told both her teammates and Team WJPR. Jaune somehow missed the memo but doesn't particularly care when he finds out.
108* In ''Fanfic/WhyAmICrying'', Scootaloo expresses relief that Diamond Tiara, or anypony else, never knew that her mother [[ParentalAbandonment walked (flew?) out on her family]] when she was five. Later on, however, she learns from Miss Cheerilee that everyone knew about it when it happened, but nobody spoke of it out of pity.
109* In a ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}'' fancomic by [[Webcomic/SabrinaOnline Eric Schwartz]], Clawhauser catches Nick and Judy together in a station house broom closet. When Judy begs Clawhauser to keep the secret, Clawhauser dismisses her with "Who would I tell?" Turns out, both Nick and Judy had been putting out pheromones [[SmellsSexy broadcasting their mutual interest]]. Everyone in the station with a [[TheNoseKnows sensitive enough nose]] already knew about them. Then, as if to put a bow on how much of a not-secret their relationship was, [[DaChief Chief Bogo]] makes the scene and tells Nick and Judy that if they were going to carry on their relationship, keep it out of the station.
110[[/folder]]
111
112[[folder:Films — Animated]]
113* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2'': Mr. Ping is legitimately shocked that Po already realized he was adopted. [[InterspeciesAdoption They're a goose and a panda, respectively]].
114-->'''Mr. Ping:''' Oh, who told you?\
115'''Po:''' No one! I mean, c'mon, Dad!
116* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLegoMovie'' and [[WesternAnimation/TheLegoMovie2TheSecondPart its sequel]], Batman seems to be the only person who thinks that his secret identity ([[ItWasHisSled Bruce Wayne]]) is a secret. Oddly {{Averted}} in ''WesternAnimation/TheLegoBatmanMovie,'' though, which is theoretically in the same continuity.
117-->'''Queen Whatevra:''' Listen, Bruce--\
118'''Batman:''' Who's Bruce?
119* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManAcrossTheSpiderVerse'': PlayedForDrama when, after Miguel reveals to Miles that he's [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer a blight on the Spider-Verse]] because [[spoiler: the radioactive spider that bit him wasn't from his own universe]], Miles' friends accidentally reveal that they'd known all the time and promised they wouldn't visit him over it.
120-->'''Peter B.:''' This isn't what we talked about!
121-->'''Miles:''' ...You ''talked'' about this? You ''knew?'' Y-You ''all'' knew.
122-->'''Gwen:''' I... I didn't know... how to tell you.
123-->'''Miles:''' ''(with sad realization)'' That's why you never came to see me.
124-->''(Gwen and Peter B. lower their heads in shame and regret)''
125[[/folder]]
126
127[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]
128* ''Film/AvengersEndgame'': When the Avengers go back in time to retrieve the Infinity Stones before Thanos assembles them, Thor runs into his mother Frigga[[note]]moments before she is [[Film/ThorTheDarkWorld killed by Malekith]] while getting the Reality Stone[[/note]]. He pretends to be his younger self, which quickly fails.
129-->'''Frigga:''' You're not the Thor I know at all, are you?
130-->'''Thor:''' Yes I am.
131-->'''Frigga:''' The future hasn't been kind to you, has it?
132-->'''Thor:''' I didn't say I was from the future.
133-->'''Frigga:''' I was raised by witches, boy. I see with more than eyes, you know that.[[note]]Granted, even if she only had her eyes and not additional magic senses, the fact that Thor looked vastly different than his 2013 self thanks to his BeardOfSorrow and [[HeartbreakAndIceCream drastic weight gain]] killed the ruse before it even began.[[/note]]
134* Played for laughs in ''Film/EasyA'' when Olive's little brother points out that he's adopted. He's black; the rest of the family is white. Their father jokingly pretends to be anguished: "Oh my God, who told you?!"
135* In ''Film/TheHungerGamesMockingjayPart2'', [[spoiler:Katniss admits that she was never under orders to kill Snow; Cressida points out that none of them had believed her, but chose to trust it was the right thing anyway]].
136* In ''Film/HotFuzz'', everyone besides Angel already knew that "Cousin Sissy" was an EmbarrassingNickname for [[spoiler:Simon Skinner, who practiced ballet in his youth]]. He doesn't even seem to be actually embarrassed by it.
137* ''Film/JacobsLadder'' does it almost shamelessly. For one, [[spoiler:the Bad Doctor]] actually ''spoils the entire movie'', if you take what he's saying at face value.
138-->[[spoiler:'''Jacob:''' Get me out of here.]]\
139[[spoiler:'''Evil Doctor:''' Where do you want to go?]]\
140[[spoiler:'''Jacob:''' Home.]]\
141[[spoiler:'''Evil Doctor:''' Home? This is your home. You're dead.]]\
142[[spoiler:'''Jacob:''' Dead? No. I just hurt my back, I'm not dead.]]\
143[[spoiler:'''Evil Doctor:''' What are you, then?]]\
144[[spoiler:'''Jacob:''' I'm '''''alive'''''.]]\
145[[spoiler:'''Evil Doctor:''' Then what are you doing ''here''?]]\
146[[spoiler:'''Jacob:''' I don't know. This isn't happening.]]\
147[[spoiler:'''Evil Doctor:''' What ''is'' happening?]]\
148[[spoiler:'''Jacob:''' Get me out of here.]]\
149[[spoiler:'''Evil Doctor:''' ''(sighing with frustration)'' There is no "out of here". You've been killed, don't you remember?]]
150** Earlier in the film, he gets the same thing from the woman reading his palm.
151--->'''Palmreader:''' [[spoiler:It's not funny. According to this, you're already dead! You're outta here baby!]]
152** Louis himself states, "[[spoiler:If you're frightened of dying, and you're holding on, you'll see devils tearing your life away. If you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels, freeing you from the Earth.]]"
153* The only people who ''don't'' know that nightclub owner Johnny Kelly is really mob boss ''Film/JohnnyDangerously'' are his mother and baby brother. This is explained to Johnny by ''the Pope''.
154* ''Film/KidsInTheHallBrainCandy'': Wally is the ''only'' one who doubts he's gay, despite being CampGay.
155-->'''Psychiatrist:''' Well, Wally, because you ''are'' one of them. You are gay. You are gay. You are a homosexual. The opposite of straight, you're gay. [[TransparentCloset I know it. Your family knows it. DOGS know it!]] Everyone seems to know it except ''you.''
156* Captain Shakespeare's cross-dressing in ''Film/{{Stardust}}''. Outsiders don't know, but his crew is fiercely protective of his "secret".
157-->'''Crewmember:''' But, Captain, we always knew you were a whoopsie. (''Rest of crew pulls him back to shut him up.'')
158-->'''First Mate:''' What he's trying to say, Captain, is that no matter what else you are, [[UndyingLoyalty you are our captain.]]
159[[/folder]]
160
161[[folder:Literature]]
162* ''Literature/{{Airborn}}'': In ''Starclimber'', Matt and Kate are in love but have to keep it secret because of class differences, and Kate is engaged to someone else to make her parents happy. They're both on the crew of a spaceship that's about to crash-land, and Kate throws her engagement ring to the floor and announces that she loves Matt. Then another character informs her that this was obvious to everyone already.
163* In ''Literature/{{Animorphs}},'' the team recruits disabled teenagers from the long-term ward of a local hospital. One girl, Collette, had always told everybody that she was hurt in a skiing accident but would be healed up shortly; when she finally admits that her condition is congenital (meaning that morphing [[HealingFactor won't heal it]]), her fellow patients say that they'd already gleaned that from her medical chart.
164* In ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'', after returning to his [[ExoticExtendedMarriage brides]], Jerin confesses that he might have [[spoiler:committed adultery.]] They just laugh, as they already know exactly what happened [[spoiler:because the woman who rescued him, Cira, was actually Halley, the one bride he hadn't yet met, who was operating under a cover name, so even if more than kissing had happened, it wouldn't have been a problem.]]
165* It takes several books before Tavi in the ''Literature/CodexAlera'' finds out that [[spoiler: his "aunt" Isana is [[FamilyRelationshipSwitcheroo actually his mother]], and his father was Gaius Septimus: he's the heir to the throne]]. Ambassador Varg is a WolfMan who could tell this by smell as soon as he met him. Besides, Tavi could pretend to be haughty and imperious very well.
166* ''Literature/DannyTheChampionOfTheWorld'': After Danny's father is injured during a poaching excursion, Danny wonders what story he is going to tell the doctor. It turns out that the doctor, and pretty much every other authority figure in their village (including the police officer and TheVicar), knows that people are poaching Victor Hazell's pheasants and is either turning a blind eye or having a go at it themselves.
167* In Jim Butcher's ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'':
168** Harry is afraid to reveal the demon in his head to his KnightInShiningArmor buddy Michael, whose job is pretty much to bring down said demons. When he finally does, the reaction is, of course, "I know". Harry has forgotten that, at least in theory, Michael's job is to give people possessed by those demons ''a chance to repent'' and be freed.
169** Harry also forgot that he got possessed because he metaphorically [[TakingTheBullet Took the Bullet]] to protect Michael's toddler son... on Michael's front lawn... while Michael was home...
170** ''Literature/BattleGround'': After years of hiding that she'd become the Winter Lady and angsting about how her parents will react to her loss of humanity, Michael's daughter Molly finally comes clean. Her parents have already figured it out, probably back when Michael noticed that the statues of the Royalty of Winter and Summer in Hades included his daughter in ''Literature/SkinGame'', and tell her that being a fairy princess doesn't exonerate her from doing the dishes.
171* ''Literature/ForestKingdom'': Book 4 (''Beyond the Blue Moon'') is where it's revealed that Hawk and Fisher from the spinoff series are Prince Rupert and Princess Julia from ''Blue Moon Rising''. They attempt to hide this fact from the other characters, but at the big denouement at the end, everybody is relieved that they can finally drop the pretense.
172* In ''Literature/GreatExpectations'', Pip confides in Herbert about his love for Estella, to which Herbert replies, "Exactly. Well?" When Pip asks him how he knew, Herbert exclaims, "Told me! You have never told me when you have got your hair cut, but I have had senses to perceive it. You have always adored her, ever since I have known you. You brought your adoration and your portmanteau here, together. Told me! Why, you have always told me all day long." Unlike most other examples on this page, Pip feels relieved instead of annoyed that his secret was known all along.
173* ''Literature/HonorHarrington'':
174** By the end of ''The Short Victorious War'', Honor learns to her discomfiture that ''everyone'' in her chain of command knows that [[spoiler:she's going steady with Paul Tankersley]] -- from the members of her crew on the ''Nike'' up to and including [[spoiler:Admiral Parks, who chooses her ship to transport Tankersley back to Manticore because of it.]]
175** Similarly, [[spoiler:the relationship between Honor and Hamish (White Haven)]] doesn't come as much of a surprise to anyone, though their solution to it does.
176* ''Literature/HoratioHornblower'' suffers from horrible seasickness every time he puts out to sea, something which he is mocked for earlier in his career. Once he gains command of his first ship, he takes pains to not let the crew know about his seasickness, for fear of appearing weak. It is years before he finally realizes that his men have always been aware of his seasickness, and have simply chosen not to comment on it out of respect for [[TheCaptain their captain]].
177* In ''Literature/LordOfTheRings'' Frodo is about to reveal to Merry and Pippin he must leave the Shire on the dangerous quest with the Ring; they tell him they already know, what with his sudden habit of walking around looking morosely at his favorite places and muttering about how he won't see them again anytime soon, and are going with him.
178* ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'': In the fourth book, ''Literature/HouseOfChains'', the true identity of Sergeant "Strings" is blindingly obvious to both the reader and everyone around him.[[note]]For one thing, he bears the striking bronze skin of a Bridgeburner, and the surviving 'Burners are basically living legends to the Malazan army[[/note]] Halfway through the book, people tell him to stop being ridiculous, and he--after a moment of indignation at having his cover blown--reluctantly agrees to go by the name Fiddler again.
179* In the novel ''Literature/TheMartian'', at one point the Hermes crew decide to reduce habitat space to keep from overtaxing the ship's life support. Lewis announces that Beck should bunk with Johanssen, confirming that yes, she did know that Beck and Johanssen [[RelationshipUpgrade had indeed hooked up.]]
180* ''Literature/TheQueensThief'': At the end of ''The Thief'', when it is revealed that Eugenides is really [[spoiler:the Thief of Eddis and cousin to the Queen of Eddis, not some random half-Sounisan peasant,]] he is sorely disappointed to find the magus had figured it out already... as had virtually everyone but Sophos, actually, and [[TomatoSurprise the readers.]]
181* In the young adult novel ''Say You Are My Sister'', the eldest Keddrington daughter, Georgie, is introduced as Mr. Keddrington's daughter from a previous marriage and the half-sister of narrator Ramona Louise and her baby sister. But partway through the story, Ramona inadvertently learns that this was a fabrication: Georgie's mother was newly-widowed and already pregnant (from her late husband) when she married Mr. Keddrington, who subsequently took Georgie as his own and raised her with his second wife (Ramona's mother) after Georgie's mother [[DeathByChildbirth died giving birth to her.]] Even more shockingly (for the 1940s American South setting of the story), Ramona also learns that Georgie's mother was half-African American. The family friend who reveals this to Ramona tells her that she must never tell Georgie, who was raised as white, because it could devastate her. Ramona spends several chapters agonizing over her secret before she can no longer bear it and blurts it out to Georgie anyway. But instead of being shocked as Ramona expected, Georgie tells Ramona that she already knew, and has for most of her life. Their parents told her the truth as soon as she was old enough to understand.
182* In ''Literature/ShadowOfTheHegemon'', Peter finally reveals to his parents that he's Locke and that he's been manipulating events via his articles. His parents tell him that they've known all along, they didn't want to interfere at all, and that they're proud of him (Mrs. Wiggin revealed to Bean earlier that she's known all along, so this isn't a shock to the audience by that point).
183** It also shouldn't be a surprise that the parents who produced three brilliant children are themselves pretty smart.
184* ''Literature/Spellbinder1996'': After Thea tries casting a love spell on Eric to make him fall for a different girl (as it's forbidden for humans and witches to be together), he confronts her about it. Thea initially denies it and then tries to explain it's too dangerous for them to be together for reasons he doesn't understand, but Eric says he isn't stupid and has already figured out she's a witch; he proceeds to list off every piece of evidence pointing to that conclusion (she and her family are into the occult, Thea appears capable of reading minds and communicating with animals, Thea compared her cousin and her love games to Aphrodite, Thea got extremely upset by the school's insensitive witch decorations for Halloween, and she mentioned being a descendant of Hecate). Thea realizes she can't lie her way out of it this time and decides to just tell Eric everything.
185* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'': In ''[[Literature/XWingSeries Wraith Squadron]]'', the younger members of the Wraiths are attempting to keep the [[AngstComa condition]] of Myn Donos a secret from their immediate superiors, so that they won't kick him out of the service. However, one of those Wraiths, Kell Tainer, overhears a conversation between those superiors (Wedge Antilles and Wes Janson) revealing that they're fully aware of what's going on, but they're [[SelectiveObliviousness pretending not to notice]] as long as possible to give Myn time to recover. If they "officially" found out, they'd be legally obligated to report it to ''their'' superiors, who'd be much less sympathetic. Played with in that the secret was unsuccessfully kept from Wedge and Wes, but it ''was'' successfully kept from anyone higher up in the chain of command.
186* In ''Literature/{{Superfudge}}'' by Creator/JudyBlume, Peter is asked by his parents to humor Fudge's belief in Santa, despite never having believed himself. After receiving his coveted red bicycle, Fudge confides to him that he's never believed, either, and pretends for their parents' sake.
187[[/folder]]
188
189[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
190* On ''Series/TheAmazingRace'' 19, Ethan & Jenna wanted to keep it a secret that they had both won ''Series/{{Survivor}}'' in order to keep the other teams from targeting them. However, at the same time they were telling this to the camera, the other teams were talking about it while waiting for their flight.
191* In the ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' episode "Present Tense", the BadFuture adult version of William tells Oliver that he's gay. Oliver replies that he and Felicity figured that out from their time with present-day William, who is 12 or 13 years old.
192* ''Series/{{Being Human|UK}}'', first episode: New vampire Lauren corners George and does her big scary build-up reveal about the stuff of nightmares being real and herself being a vampire about to kill him. Then she is perplexed when he doesn't react scared. Too bad George is a werewolf and has been sharing a house with another vampire for some time.
193* The ''Series/{{Blackadder}}'' episode "[[Recap/BlackadderS2E4Money Money]]" had Percy preparing to lend Edmund the savings he has hidden, only to be told that not only do Blackadder and Baldrick know about it, but Blackadder has also already taken it.
194-->'''Percy:''' You've seen it then?\
195'''Blackadder:''' Seen it, pinched it, spent it. And the same goes for the two farthings Baldrick thinks he's got hidden inside that mouldy potato.\
196'''Baldrick:''' Oh bloody hell!
197* From ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
198** In [[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E20TheProm "The Prom"]], during class awards towards the end of prom in her senior year, Buffy is awarded the "Class Protector" award. Jonathan makes a speech admitting that everyone knows that Buffy has been acting as their protector. She's the reason their year had [[BlackComedy the lowest mortality rate ever at Sunnydale High.]]
199** In [[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS5E15IWasMadeToLoveYou "I Was Made To Love You",]] Warren makes a dramatic, unbelievable revelation: his girlfriend is actually a robot! Which would have had more impact if everyone else hadn't (easily) figured that out several scenes earlier. She talked like, acted like, and had the disproportionate strength of a robot. It wasn't hard.
200* ''Series/{{Castle|2009}}'':
201** Lanie and Esposito are trying to keep their relationship a secret from their co-workers, and several times just barely manage to cover up verbal slips or dodge questions about their weekend plans. At the end of the episode, Castle, Beckett, and Ryan talk about how cute it is that they think nobody knows.
202** Castle, Beckett, and Esposito are torn up about telling Ryan that his fiancée slept with a pick-up artist a month after they started dating. When they're finally about to break the news, Ryan nonchalantly announces that he already knows and doesn't care because they weren't exclusive at the time.
203** Castle and Beckett are finally on the receiving end, multiple times.
204*** Martha reveals she knew they finally had sex even though they thought they'd fooled her by Beckett hiding in a closet and then sneaking out of the apartment.
205*** After just about everyone else knows, they still keep it secret from Captain Gates, assuming she'd use their relationship as an excuse to break them up. When Castle saves Beckett from a bomb, Gates tells her that this would be a good time for Beckett to kiss him as a thank you. She's offended that they didn't think she was a good enough detective to realize what was going on.
206* An episode of ''Series/CriminalMinds'' had J.J. trying to keep her relationship with a detective she'd met the year before a secret to keep her personal life personal, causing problems when the team encountered him again and she didn't want to acknowledge it. When she finally gave in and kissed him in public, the response from her co-workers who saw it was amusement that she was finally admitting it.
207* ''Series/{{ER}}''[='s=] fourth season started with ex-lovers Dr. Doug Ross and Nurse Carol Hathaway (George Clooney and Juliana Margulies) reconciling and having a "secret romance" (due to past experiences, she was a bit shy to commit at first). During the season's ChristmasEpisode, Carol announced at the hospital's Christmas party that she and Doug were together again. After an awkward silence, a nurse's aide (who had apparently won the office pool) held out her hand and said, "Pay up!"
208* ''Series/{{Frasier}}'': Niles's crush on Daphne, through most of the series. Daphne finally does find out and confides in Roz, who breaks the news that everyone else already knew. They all figured that if Niles wasn't ready to say anything yet, it wasn't their place to either.
209* ''Series/GameOfThrones''
210** The relationship between Renly and Loras (TransparentCloset) is the worst-kept secret. ''Everyone'' seemed to know.
211--->'''Jaime''': It's all true about Renly. His proclivities were the worst-kept secret at court.
212** As the seasons go on, the fact that [[spoiler: Cersei's three children were fathered by Jamie, [[{{twincest}} her twin brother,]]]] may have eclipsed it, if it weren't already the worst-kept secret.
213* ''Series/GhostsUK'': Having led everyone believe she jumped out of the window, Lady Button finally reveals to the other ghosts that she was in fact pushed by her husband after she caught him with the groundskeeper and the butler. The older ghosts then admit that they already knew because they watched the whole event.
214* On ''Series/{{Glee}}'', Kurt believes that his father doesn't know he's gay (TransparentCloset). In the episode "Preggers", he comes out to his father, who says that he's known since Kurt was three and he asked for a "sensible pair of heels" for his birthday.
215* From ''Series/HowIMetYourMother''
216** Barney reveals his season-long crush on Robin to Ted, who (like everyone else in the series) had figured this one out episodes ago.
217--->'''Ted:''' ''[knowingly]'' I'm right with you, buddy.\
218'''Barney:''' ''[nodding]'' You are now. Because I explained it to you.
219** Ted's insistence on hiding the fact that he was "edgy" radio show host Dr. X in college. Not only does everyone know it (including Barney and Robin, who didn't even go to Wesleyan), but they all tell him time and again that they know it. Finally, in season 8's "The Stamp Tramp", Ted admits that he was Dr. X, with Lily leading everyone else into a coordinated SpitTake to show their "surprise".
220* On ''Series/TheInvisibleMan'', Darien prevents a priest in a chemical-induced psychosis from bludgeoning a man while he is invisible. Later he goes to the confession box after the priest has been administered the anti-psycho serum. To his surprise, the priest knew about him and the project that made him {{invisible}}.
221-->'''Father Tom''': You stopped me from killing a man.\
222'''Darien''': What're you talking about? I got there right after you dropped that poker. Surely that must've been God that saved you.\
223'''Father Tom''': I don't think God sneaks up on a man and puts him in a half-nelson. It was you. Invisible you.
224* ''Series/LawAndOrderCriminalIntent'': When Megan Wheeler finally tells Ross she's pregnant, he's less than shocked. She only replies that if they'd been female, they would have figured it out weeks ago. For his part, Nichols ''had'' pretty well figured it out a while ago, but Ross convinced him not to bring it up with Wheeler because of the potential implications of asking a woman if she's pregnant. (He does eventually do it anyway, but only after she serves up an opening so blatantly that she's pretty much just telling him to ask.)
225* ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'': In season 23, Olivia doesn't even ''pretend'' to be surprised when Rollins discloses that she and Carisi are together. Amanda later tells Sonny she suspects Olivia has always known about the SecretRelationship they've been in for the last nine months.
226* On ''Series/LoisAndClark'', Clark missed several opportunities to reveal his secret identity to Lois. At the beginning of the season two finale, he finally musters the courage to tell her, only to cop out with a LastSecondWordSwap. And at the beginning of the next episode, immediately after the cliffhanger... it turns out that she figured it out already in the interim.
227-->'''Clark''': Will you marry me?\
228'''Lois''': Who's asking -- Clark or Superman?
229* On ''Series/{{MASH}}'', Frank Burns and Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan had a secret relationship for the first few seasons. Although as Hawkeye once observed, "The only person in Korea who doesn't know about them is [=MacArthur=]'s pipe stuffer."
230* On ''Series/TheMentalist'', when Wayne Rigsby and Grace Van Pelt revealed that they were in a relationship, Cho comments that "Half the building knew. The only person who didn't know is the one glaring at you." As Lisbon glares at them.
231* Downplayed example in ''Series/MsMarvel2022'': by the time Kamala tells her family about her new powers, everyone has already heard, due to Muneeba telling Jusef.
232-->'''Kamala''': You told them already?\
233'''Muneeba''': I only told Abbu, really.\
234'''Jusef''': What are you implying?\
235'''Aamir''': In classic Khan gossip train, you tell Ammi, she tells Abbu, and we overhear because he always has his phone on speaker.
236* From ''Series/TheNanny'':
237** In one episode, Niles admits that he was once secretly in love with the housekeeper, Catherine. Maxwell replies, "The whole house knew! We were taking bets on when you two would get together!"
238** In the episode "Whine Cellar", Fran and C.C. are [[LockedInARoom locked inside the Sheffield wine cellar]] and to pass the time, try to have a conversation. When asked if she has a crush on anyone, C.C., [[StalkerWithACrush whom everybody knows is obsessed with Maxwell]], "confesses" that she has a crush on him, adding that "My therapist says I'm obsessed with him!", to which Fran responds, "How much did you pay to figure that out?"
239* On ''Series/NorthernExposure'', this is the townsfolk's reaction when Joel and Maggie announce that they are now having sex: "I assumed you'd been doing it for months."
240* On ''Series/OnceUponATime'', Mary Margaret (a.k.a. Literature/SnowWhite) admits to her roommate Emma that she's been having an affair with David (PrinceCharming). Emma says she knows, and Mary Margaret demands to know how she found out:
241-->'''Emma''': I'm the sheriff. You're a lovesick school teacher. It wasn't hard.
242* On ''Series/TheOrville'', Claire and Isaac reveal to Claire's children Ty and Marcus that they're dating, to a complete non-reaction. On a ship as small as the ''Orville'', a secret like that doesn't stay a secret for very long. They note that the only thing they were wondering was when they were going to actually tell them.
243* In an episode of ''Series/{{Psych}}'', while drunk, Lassiter admits that none of the higher-ups at the police department actually believe that Shawn is a psychic and are only playing along due to his impressive track record. It is also clear that a good number of officers do buy into the psychic act, though.
244* ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'':
245** In a ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' parody of ''Series/UndercoverBoss'', [[KingIncognito Kylo Ren goes undercover at Starkiller Base as "Matt, the radar technician."]] He spends so much time [[ButHeSoundsHandsome playing up how awesome Kylo is]] -- and [[PsychicStrangle Force-chokes one guy who pisses him off]] -- that when he announces who he really is, nobody is surprised.
246** In a ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' sketch, Lois, Perry White, and Jimmy all clearly know that [[ClarkKenting Clark is Superman]], and he's doing a very sloppy job at trying to keep it a secret (you could even see his tights peaking out underneath the sleeves of his shirt). They spend the entire sketch having fun and trolling him.
247* From ''Series/{{Scrubs}}''
248-->'''Dr. Cox:''' Heaven help me, I love newbie theater. Honest, I do. It's... the way you both play your parts with such wonderful commitment that almost had me believing that you aren't having whiny, neurotic, extremely pale sex with each other.\
249'''J.D.:''' What are you talking about?\
250'''Dr. Cox:''' Please stop. The whole floor knows. We do. Watch this. [''turns around''] Laverne, did you know?\
251'''Laverne:''' Was it supposed to be a secret?\
252'''Dr. Cox:''' And Carla?\
253'''Carla:''' Please. I knew before they did.\
254'''Dr. Cox:''' So, there it is. And if you go ahead and listen very carefully, you'll hear the familiar sound of no one caring.
255* On ''Series/TheShield'', Shane tries to break Ronnie's loyalty to Vic by revealing how he and Vic killed Det. Crowley in the pilot episode. Ronnie is neither moved nor surprised.
256* In one episode of ''Series/SimonAndSimon'', the B-plot revolved around the partners trying to dispose of their recently deceased father's possessions without letting his widow learn about his truly impressive [[PornStash magazine collection]]. At the end of the episode, she quite calmly and casually asks over dinner, "Have you decided what to do with your father's dirty magazines?"
257* Similar to the above instance, in the ninth season finale of ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', Lois finally realizes that Clark is the Red-Blue Blur, the mysterious savior of Metropolis. She spends the first couple of episodes in Season Ten dealing with this revelation, briefly visiting [[Comicbook/{{Hawkman}} Carter Hall's]] archeology team in Egypt before returning to Metropolis. When Clark finally admits to Lois that he's the Blur, she [[TheGlomp rushes into his arms hard enough to knock him off his feet,]] kisses him and asks, "What took you so long?"
258** Earlier in the series, Clark likewise came out to Chloe as having powers several episodes after she discovered this for herself (with some help from a teleporting guest star who wanted her to know). What she ''didn't'' know was that he's not a [[MonsterOfTheWeek Meteor Freak]] -- he's a freaking ''alien''.
259* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''. Security officer Tuvok catches fellow officers Tom Paris and B'Elanna Torres [[MakingLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces making out on an Engineering console while on duty]]. Tom asks Tuvok not to report this to Captain Janeway, but Tuvok coldly rejects the suggestion that he might lie to his captain. It turns out Tuvok ''didn't'' tell Janeway, but she knows anyway as half the ship is gossiping about their affair.
260* Eric on ''Series/That70sShow'' hid his money in a Candyland box, only to discover just about everyone already knew about it (and had been dipping into it).
261* On the ''Series/TrueLife'' episode "I'm Coming Out", they profiled three (closeted) gay teens. Towards the end of the piece, one young man worked up the courage to come out to his best friend. He sits her down, lets her know how much their friendship means to him, and that he has something to tell him that he's never told anyone else. He tells her that he's gay. Without blinking, she looks at him and replies, in a slightly confused tone, "Yes. What was the secret you wanted to tell me?" In fact, the girl's first words on the ConfessionCam were "From the moment I met [him], I knew he was gay."
262* On ''Series/WhosTheBoss'', when Angela reveals her feelings to Tony, no one is surprised, not even someone who met them both that night.
263-->'''Tony:''' Who could've known she felt this way?\
264'''Mona:''' I knew.\
265'''Sam:''' I knew.\
266'''Jonathan:''' I knew.\
267'''Mrs. Rossini:''' I knew.\
268'''Sam's date:''' I had a hunch.
269* This is part of the premise of the very first season of ''Series/TheWire''. Officially, [[BigBad Avon Barksdale]] is just an unassuming Baltimorean from the West Side projects with no criminal record whatsoever, and almost no one in the Baltimore Police Department has any reason to have ever heard his name. Except, anyone who lives anywhere near the projects knows that he's actually the biggest drug dealer in the city and that he's had countless people murdered. The Police Department's embarrassment from having to admit that they're some of the few people who ''don't'' know this is part of what spurs the criminal investigation in the first season.
270* On ''Series/TheXFiles'', there are a lot of secrets. The paternity of Scully's baby is not one of them. Even though it's played up as WhosYourDaddy and Scully doesn't volunteer any information about her pregnancy at all, everybody knows who William's father is. Skinner and the Gunmen admit as much at various points that they know it's Mulder.
271* ''Series/ZyudenSentaiKyoryuger'': When Nossan ''finally'' finds out about his sister being his SecretSecretKeeper, he's additionally shocked to find out that the rest of the Kyoryugers knew that she knew, as well, and are all laughing at his most recent useless attempt to try and keep his secret from her.
272[[/folder]]
273
274[[folder:Manhua]]
275* ''Manhua/RetiredHeroes'': Some {{Fake Ultimate Hero}}es expose a couple of adventurers as demons. Not only did the entire village already know they were demons, but they're actually the people who the fakes are impersonating.
276[[/folder]]
277
278[[folder:Music]]
279* Much to his surprise, this was pretty much the reaction of Music/BarryManilow's hardcore fandom when he came out as gay.
280* Meanwhile when [[Series/AmericanIdol Clay Aiken]] came out, a group of fans reportedly sued his label for misrepresenting him as implicitly heterosexual.
281* It was treated as a big deal when Music/InsaneClownPosse revealed themselves as being evangelical Christians in a 2010 interview. Which is odd, since their music had always been full of Christian ideas and symbolism and they had already spelled it out in the track ''Thy Unveiling'' back in 2002.
282* There were a lot of jokes along these lines on late-night TV when Music/RickyMartin [[TransparentCloset came out as gay]].
283[[/folder]]
284
285[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
286* To quote an in-character passage from ''Glantri: Kingdom of Magic'', about one of this TabletopGame/{{Mystara}}-setting nation's several wizard-princes: "He hides the fact that he's a werewolf? How droll! We've all known that for years."
287[[/folder]]
288
289[[folder:Theatre]]
290* In another example of the TransparentCloset, in ''Theatre/AvenueQ'', there is a straitlaced Republican stockbroker who is *gasp* in the closet. Of course, the response to his coming out is underwhelming.
291* ''Theatre/TheBookOfMormon'': [[spoiler:All of the Ugandans besides Nabulungi knew Elder Cunningham was mostly making stuff up when he taught them Mormon doctrine. They went along with it because they appreciated the optimistic message of building a better home for themselves.]]
292[[/folder]]
293
294[[folder:Video Games]]
295* It was a somewhat shocking twist at the end of ''VideoGame/ArtOfFighting'' that the mysterious Mr. Karate was actually Takuma Sakazaki, Ryo and Yuri's father and teacher of the Kyokugen style. Unfortunately, Takuma must be senile, because he pulls the grand reveal a few more times, including ''Franchise/TheKingOfFighters'' ''[[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters96 '96]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters97 '97]]'', well after everyone else already knows.
296* In ''VideoGame/{{Avernum}} 3'', the player characters are spies from Avernum (BeneathTheEarth) exploring the surface in secret. Anyone with a brain knows or suspects you're Avernite spies immediately, due to your pale skin and conspicuous behavior. No one really cares enough to report you, since the Empire has much more important things to worry about.
297* ''VideoGame/BioShock2'': Stanley Poole desperately tells Delta not to let Lamb know he was the one who drowned everyone in Dionysus Park to hide the fact he was spending her money on women, booze, and plasmids. When Delta confronts him, Lamb laughs over the loudspeaker and tells him she knew already, and Delta can do whatever he wants to Poole.
298* In ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'', the existence of [[TimePolice Oroborous]] and TimeTravel, in general, is supposed to be a secret. (The badge that you get when you gain access to their headquarters outside of time is even called "Entrusted With The Secret".) In practice, however, its utility as a teleport nexus for getting around the city quickly means that heroes frequently open glowy/whooshy time portals in plain sight, right in the middle of Atlas Plaza, and most characters arrange to gain access as soon as possible rather than waiting to learn the "secret" by doing one of the mission arcs that are intended to award it.
299* From ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'': [[spoiler:Adamantine]], too. Also called 'cotton candy', the name coming from an extended metaphor of [[spoiler: Hell]] being a 'circus', because of all the [[DeadlyEuphemism Fun]] that's there. Heck, the words 'cotton candy' are often coloured cyan on the forums, further playing up the OpenSecret status of it. Furthermore, it's not even much of a secret in-game, since it can be found in the status screen's 'stone' tab.
300* Played with in ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas: Dead Money'' when Vera Keyes confesses to Sinclair that she has been scamming him all along in an attempt to get at his money. Sinclair already knew, and had been playing along and biding his time until he could deliver an act of truly brutal revenge... but Vera [[WhatYouAreInTheDark ultimately having a change of heart and admitting the truth]] on her own [[LoveRedeems convinces him]] to forgive her.
301* In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'', Woozie's blindness. He's convinced that he acts normally enough to be indistinguishable from someone sighted, but he feels his way around everywhere and fires a [=MP5=] like... well, someone who can't see. Everyone humours him.
302-->'''Woozie:''' I have a confession to make. I... I'm blind.\
303'''CJ:''' [[SarcasmMode No shit]].
304* ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrange'': The game wastes no time establishing the fact that Warren's crush on Max is common knowledge at Blackwell. Several of her friends (Dana, Kate, and Juliet) actively [[ShipperOnDeck encourage her to hook up]] [[PairTheSmartOnes with him]], whereas Brooke plainly admits to being jealous of Max, due to her unrequited crush on Warren.
305* In ''VideoGame/{{Magicka}}'', you discover to your shock and horror halfway through the game that your mentor Vlad, [[MostDefinitelyNotAVillain who repeatedly assures you he's not a vampire]], [[ClassicalMovieVampire wears evening-wear all the time, has a Romanian accent, slick hair, opera cape]] and is seen sucking blood fro-, I mean, 'having a conversation' with some poor villager that happens to get tossed off a cliff the moment he notices you've been observing him... Is actually a werewolf! No, wait. Not a werewolf. The other 'v' monster. 'Vampire', that's it. He's secretly a vampire. Shocking, we know. We apologize for the lack of spoiler tags.
306* A variation occurs in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' with Barla Von, the volus agent of the Shadow Broker on the Citadel. He makes a big deal of impressing Commander Shepard with some of the Shadow Broker's secret plans, since, of course, he is one of the few in regular contact with the super-secretive galactic information broker... otherwise known as Liara T'Soni, who became the latest person to assume that identity with Shepard's help; who is running the operation out of Shepard's ship; who is currently sitting in a cafe less than 100 yards away from Barla Von's office; and -- [[RomanceSidequest if you so choose]] -- whom Shepard ''is sleeping with''. Shepard is too polite to tell him, or possibly too amused by the squirt's delusions of grandeur. The best part: Barla Von doesn't know who the Shadow Broker really is, but at that point in the series, he's about the ''only'' one. Liara's identity is not only known to Shepard but it's also known to the Normandy crew, Cerberus, Admiral Hackett (and presumably Alliance command and their Council allies, if nothing else Aethyta and the asari governments know), the geth, the krogan, the quarians, the ''Reapers''...
307* ''VideoGame/Persona5'':
308** Early on, Joker and Ryuji are trying to reveal Kamoshida's [[SadistTeacher true]] [[SexualExtortion nature]] to everyone. Unfortunately, it turns out that while not ''everyone'' is aware, it's definitely no secret to the principal, teachers, or even parents. The volleyball team feels that ItCantBeHelped because Kamoshida could ruin their volleyball careers, while female students quietly hint to each other that you probably don't want to be alone with the guy. What makes it worse is that all the people in the know are either too scared to speak up or doing so is against their own interests. After less than a week, Kamoshida even starts making moves to have the boys expelled, putting the newly minted Phantom Thieves on a tight deadline to force him to confess with the Metaverse, or it's game over. Once they succeed, those who were aware ([[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and aren't]] [[DirtyCoward the principal]]) are now able to more openly express their thoughts.
309** [[spoiler: The ''true'' reveal about Goro Akechi isn't that he's TheMole; that was obvious ever since he slipped up and inadvertently revealed he'd been to the Metaverse early on. The twist is that the protagonist ''remembered'' that slipup and told the others, who in turn helped him set his own trap. What looked like Akechi successfully betraying and killing him was in fact Akechi being baited into killing a cognition double while the real Joker is fine.]]
310* ''VideoGame/SeaOfStars:'' The assassin Seraï and [[spoiler:the pirate Captain Klee'shaë]] are heavily hinted to be the same person. When Seraï reveals this to the party, Zale says "We kinda knew," and the player gets an achievement called "Who would have thought?"
311* In ''VideoGame/SilverFallsGaidenDeathlyDelusionDestroyersAndRubyRiver,'' Gus Ironcock is desperately searching for his husband Cooper, who has disappeared in the nearby LovecraftCountry forest. Early on, Gus is reluctant to ask for help from the locals in Silver Falls, because he's not sure how people from a remote mountain town would react to a gay couple. But he's lived there for a long time, and word travels fast. Not only do they all know or have at least heard about them getting married, but nearly ''everyone'' shows up to help with the search.
312* Similarly, though much more tragically, in ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss,'' Luke thinks he's hidden his [[spoiler:impending disintegration ([[ItMakesSenseInContext yeah, literally]])]] from everyone except Jade, who, of course, figured it out right away. Tear finds out not much later from Mieu, who had overheard Jade and Luke, and in the ending, Guy and Anise reveal that they, too, knew all along.
313* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'', Estelle thinks she's managed to hide her status as an [[KingIncognito Imperial Princess]] from the rest of the party, but by the time it's officially revealed, both [[TheHero Yuri]] and [[TheSmartGuy Rita]] have figured it out. Only [[TagalongKid Karol]] is surprised.
314* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'':
315** One of the Spy's taunts upon dominating an enemy Spy: [[http://wiki.teamfortress.com/w/images/7/77/Spy_DominationSpy02.wav "We all knew you were a spy!"]]
316** Not to mention the map Double Cross. From the map description:
317--->''"Secret bases concealed behind the unassuming facades of a factory and a farm built next door to each other fool absolutely no one in the area, who sometimes gather around to 'watch all them mercenaries fight over that Spy base'."''
318* In ''VideoGame/UnleashTheLight'', Hessonite's minimal disguise fools absolutely nobody and nobody is shocked when she "reveals" herself [[spoiler:just before the final battle]]. Well, almost nobody. [[BigBad Pyrope]] is the only one fooled.
319* Lee can actually {{invoke|dTrope}} this in Episode 3 of ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadTelltale'', in which he can tell anyone in the group that he was a convicted murderer. If Lee tells Kenny but not Lily, then she is shocked to find out that he knows this later in the Episode.
320[[/folder]]
321
322[[folder:Visual Novels]]
323* Near the start of ''VisualNovel/DontTakeItPersonallyBabeItJustAintYourStory'', [[TransparentCloset Akira]] realizes he's gay and works up the courage to come out. Turns out everyone, up to and including his mothers, was perfectly aware of it, and they're just surprised at how long it took him.
324* During the Prologue of Grisaia in ''VisualNovel/TheEdenOfGrisaia'' Yumiko was apparently under the impression that nobody knew she was the rich daughter of the Sakaki family. They did, but they just didn't care. If nothing else, Makina and Michiru are from decently wealthy families themselves.
325* ''VisualNovel/LittleBusters'': If Riki manages to beat him, the mysterious Mask The Saito will finally reveal himself to be... Kyousuke! Riki's reaction is basically 'yeah, I know', given that that'd been pretty obvious since at least the moment he opened his mouth. [[LargeHam Kyousuke]] is quite disappointed by the lackluster reaction, so Riki makes an attempt to humour him and pretend he really didn't know, but Kyousuke just advises him not to bother.
326[[/folder]]
327
328[[folder:Webcomics]]
329* After five years of being in a TransparentCloset, Marluxia of ''Webcomic/AnsemRetort'' comes out. As Namine put it, it was anti-climatic. Zex even asked why this was more important than ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' reruns.
330* ''Webcomic/CheckPlease'': [[spoiler:When Bitty and Jack finally come out to the team as a couple, not only was nobody surprised, they actually had {{side bet}}s over when they would come out to them. Dex and Nursey don't seem surprised either, with Chowder being the only one surprised by it]].
331* ''Webcomic/DailyJoJo'': After Eunjo and Wan get together, they try to keep their relationship secret, but Wan decides to subtly clue in his teammates. It turns out that the whole dev team already knows, as does the CEO. The only ones who got it wrong are Hi and Anna, who think Eunjo is dating Josh instead.
332* In ''Webcomic/DragonTails'', when Lemuel reveals his crush on Firewing, Goldy responds with this gem:
333-->'''Goldy:''' You know, for a dragon that's normally unwilling to speak up when his tail's on fire, you've sure been broadcasting that you like this girl. Everyone in the forest thinks your crush on Firewing is very cute.
334* In ''Webcomic/{{Drowtales}}'', it's implied after a 15-year TimeSkip that most of the city of Chel'el'sussoloth heavily suspects that The Empress Diva'ratrika [[spoiler:has been dead for close to 30 years]] but just haven't been able to ''prove'' it until [[spoiler:Kiel'ndia very publicly assassinates the BodyDouble they were using as a stand in]] which finally gives an allied clan an excuse to pull out of the conflict. Likewise, it's implied that most of the Sarghress already know that [[spoiler:Ariel's]] biological mother is actually [[spoiler:Mel'arnach and not Quain'tana]] despite the official story to the contrary.
335* ''Webcomic/FriendlyHostility'': Collin realizes he's gay and tells this to his boyfriend Fox. Fox's reaction is less than surprised, to say the least. It's more understandable if you know that Collin has been insisting that he's asexual, and probably views [[SingleTargetSexuality being attracted to only one man]] as less shameful than being attracted to men in general. Still, considering that Fox has been Collin's boyfriend and only romantic partner for years, come ''on'' now...
336-->'''Collin:''' Act surprised, or I'll strangle you with your intestines.\
337'''Fox:''' Sorry, but this is like that "Pope is secretly Catholic" shocker.
338* ''Webcomic/FoxesInLove'': In [[https://foxes-in-love.tumblr.com/post/635374807295344640 this]] strip, Blue comes out of the closet, announcing to his family that he has a boyfriend. Absolutely no one is surprised.
339* Gilgamesh Wulfenbach of ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' has saved Punch and Judy and still thinks his father doesn't know about it. Granted, they both have huge spy rings, so he probably won't be ''terribly'' surprised when he finds out...
340* In ''Webcomic/GirlsWithSlingshots'', Jamie thinks she's obtained "proof" that Thea and Angel weren't actually [[UnusualEuphemism "playing board games"]] in the back. Hazel tries to tell her that everybody knew about them. Subverted when Jamie's "evidence" is revealed to show Angel with someone who isn't Thea.
341* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'':
342** When Nanase came out of the closet, only Tedd didn't know. Most everyone found out independently one way or another, with several (including her crush) learning minutes after Nanase herself realized it. Everyone conspired to keep quiet and let Nanase come out when she was ready, something [[{{Gayngst}} Justin]] wished he could've done.
343** On the other hand, when Rhoda learns that Diane and Lucy knew she was in a relationship with Catalina and that she's been living a lie for ''basically no reason'', she is...[[PrecisionFStrike less than pleased]].
344--->'''Rhoda''': Do you have ''any idea'' how long I've been keeping it a secret because I was ''afraid'' of telling you?!
345* In ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'', [[DatingCatwoman Terezi and Gamzee]] begin a kismesis in secret and constantly sneak around the asteroid to see each other. Within a year, however, everyone else has already found out, [[IKnowYouKnowIKnow although Dave and Karkat don't know that the other knows and try to keep it a secret from each other.]]
346** Karkat lives in a caste system that determines everyone's place in society by their blood color. Karkat's is bright red, a mutant color which would get him killed if it were public knowledge; he's spent his whole life fearing discovery. All of the other players know his blood color by now, and nobody cares...they have much more pressing concerns and they're all pretty much friends by that point. Unfortunately, Karkat himself doesn't know this.
347%%* ''Webcomic/{{Ice|2003}}'' by Faith Hicks: [[spoiler:Cirr's [[http://www.faitherinhicks.com/ice/page158.html parentage.]]]]
348* ''Webcomic/NineteenNinetySomething'': When Kendra confesses to Jocelyn and Michelle that there was a boy she liked, they already knew she was talking about Aaron.
349-->'''Jocelyn''': You only talk to our boyfriends and one other guy. Who the fuck else would it be?\
350'''Michelle''': Also, all these drawings of naked guys with long hair.[[note]]The aforementioned boyfriends, Steve and Joel, both have much shorter hair than Aaron's shoulder-length locks.[[/note]]
351* In ''Webcomic/{{PvP}}'', Max comes out to the office. The response: "And...?" [[note]]He thought Jade was the only one who actually knew[[/note]] Francis was the only one who hadn't figured it out already.
352* Lavali of ''Webcomic/SandraOnTheRocks'' genuinely believed that she managed to keep her homosexuality a secret from [[http://www.sandraontherocks.com/strips-sotr/kept_things_so_professional her brother]] and [[http://www.sandraontherocks.com/strips-sotr/i_always_covered_them_up their parents]], up until she "came out" to said brother after he witnessed her and her girlfriend breaking up. However, it does seem like she managed to successfully keep it a secret from everyone who has never lived in the same house/apartment as her.
353* Olga from ''Webcomic/SisterClaire'' believed her relationship with fellow nun Jackson was a well-guarded secret. That delusion lasted up until she met Azi, who put it together in literal minutes of showing up. And to her further annoyance, [[EveryoneCanSeeIt every other Sister already knew as well.]]
354-->'''Jackson:''' That cat has been out of the bag a '''''long''''' time.
355* In ''Webcomic/{{Spinnerette}}'', Mecha Maid - under the influence of a HatePlague - accuses Spinny of being ashamed of her, inadvertently outing them both in front of the Canadian superheroes. Green Gable's stunned response to this revelation is "That was a ''secret?''"
356[[/folder]]
357
358[[folder:Web Original]]
359* It was in {{defi|edTrope}}ance of this trope that Linkara of ''WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall'' specifically excluded ''ComicBook/HolyTerror'' from his "15 Worst Comics I've Ever Reviewed" -- anyone who saw his 300th episode would see its place at the top of the list coming from a mile away and he wanted to have some surprise in his selection of comics.
360* In ''WebVideo/DeathNoteTheAbridgedSeriesKpts4tv'' A random receptionist at the police station knows that Light is Kira [[RecursiveReality because he watched]] ''[[ShowWithinAShow Death Note]]''.
361* ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'' takes this approach when it comes to [[OneWingedAngel Freeza's transformations]]. This version of Vegeta knew long before he fought Freeza that Freeza could transform, having been told about it by another of Freeza's minions. Although knowing that Freeza ''can'' transform didn't prepare Vegeta for [[IAmNotLeftHanded how much it multiplies Freeza's power]], or that Freeza has ''multiple'' transformations, and each of his forms dwarfs the previous one in strength.
362-->'''Freeza:''' You have no idea what true power I possess...\
363'''Vegeta:''' It's that you can transform, right?\
364'''Freeza:''' I can transform-okay, when and how?\
365'''Vegeta:''' Guldo told me.\
366''(Flashback)''\
367'''Guldo:''' So...did you know that Freeza can transform?\
368'''Vegeta:''' ''[mostly uninterested]'' Huh. That right?\
369'''Guldo:''' Yeah. And Burter's gay.\
370'''Vegeta:''' ''[legitimately surprised]'' Really?
371* In ''WebVideo/Dimension20's'' Neverafter season when they learn someone in the party knows more than they're letting on Prince Gerard demands whoever it is reveal it, causing Ylfa to panic that it might be her and reveal what she knows, which consists of obvious observations on things everyone was there for, and her own extremely poorly hidden secret.
372--> '''Ylfa:''' Putting my cards on the table I'm a werewolf, the book is special, the princess is special, I'm sorry!
373--> '''Gerard:''' You're very obviously a werewolf it's fine.
374* ''WebVideo/MarbleHornets'':
375** Not even Jay is particularly surprised to find that [[spoiler:Tim is actually Masky]]. It's those sideburns, man.
376** Same goes for the general fandom when the Hooded Man/totheark was revealed to be [[spoiler:Brian.]] It was literally the only option aside from the Groundskeeper. And he was ''[[KilledOffForReal dead.]]''
377* Missy Kix from ''VideoGame/MoshiMonsters'' is supposed to be a secret agent, but she released a song about it.
378* In ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'', due to a complicated chain of events, Simmons is pretending to be a Blue. Church knows it's really Simmons the entire time but doesn't say anything, instead using it to needle him mercilessly.
379** In Recreation, when the other fill Tucker in on what happened in Reconstruction, his response to the revelation that [[spoiler: Church is the Alpha AI]] is that he'd figured that out a long time ago, and was surprised no one else had noticed.
380* The ''Website/SCPFoundation'' tale ''[[http://www.scp-wiki.net/everyone-knows Everyone Knows,]]'' where everyone in the world (except for one person) has known about anomalies for years but kept them secret. The SCP Foundation alone employs almost 3.5 billion people.
381[[/folder]]
382
383[[folder:Western Animation]]
384* In ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'', Steve discovers that his dad Stan is bald, and they promise to share with the world their secrets and live with them, which Stan doesn't. From halfway on, it's a race between Steve wanting to reveal Stan's secret and Stan wanting to avoid this -- but in the end, after Stan willingly reveals that he's bald, the rest of the family (Francine, Hayley, and Roger) reveal that they already knew Stan was bald, but simply chose not to say anything. In fact, Steve was apparently the only one who didn't know that Stan was bald.
385** In the episode ''[=LGBSteve=]'' a roller derby team Hayley want's to join agrees to let her in as long as she convinces her "sister" to also join, Hayley assumes they mistook [[DudeLooksLikeALady Steve]] for a ButchLesbian like themselves. Then when Steve gets close to another member of the group Hayley objects to him lying about his gender in order to date her and ends up pulling his pants down, exposing his genitals to the whole team. As it turns out they all knew Steve had a penis, but due to him being InTouchWithHisFeminineSide assumed he was a trans woman.
386* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'' had a slight variant on this. In "I Wanna Hold Your Hand", Binky spends most of the episode trying to keep a secret from the Tough Customers that he sometimes still holds his Mom's hand. When he does get caught out, it's not that they already knew, but the reaction is complete disappointment... that Binky's secret wasn't something more interesting. The Tough Customers don't think any less of him for holding his mom's hand but chide him that next time he has some big secret, it had better be something really juicy.
387* In the episode "[[Recap/TheNewBatmanAdventuresE12OverTheEdge Over the Edge]]" of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', Jim Gordon learns that Barbara is Batgirl after she's killed while in costume, and everything goes to complete crap: [[spoiler:In his grief, Jim swears vengeance against Batman, and even recruits Bane to help bring him in. Batman's identity is exposed, Bruce Wayne is a wanted criminal forced to flee Wayne Manor forever, and all the villains he's ever beaten up want to sue him.]] Of course, that was AllJustADream caused by Scarecrow's fear toxin. Barbara then tries to confess her identity to her father for real to prevent him from finding out the same way he did in the dream, only for Jim to cut her off and imply that he knew all along and is proud of her, but he [[PlausibleDeniability doesn't want to "officially" know.]]
388* When we first meet Matthew's family in ''WesternAnimation/BigMouth'', he tells Jessie they don't know he's gay to spite him having figured it out early and being CampGay. His family are southern and very traditional so he finds it easier to just not talk about it with them. In season four his mother finds out and it [[IHaveNoSon destroys their relationship]] but they still pretend everything's normal around the rest of the family. In the end, he decides he needs to tell his dad in spite of his mother insisting he'll never be able to handle it. When he does tell him, he calmly tells him he was aware both of his sexuality, which he knew about from the start because he was never really trying to hide it and of the difficulties he'd been having with his mother, to which he assures him she'll eventually come around.
389* ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'':
390** [[LovableAlphaBitch Quinn]] spent four and a half seasons pretending that [[TheSnarkKnight Daria]] was a cousin, a maid, and anything but [[TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry her sister]], especially to her friends in the Fashion Club. When she finally admits that she and Daria are sisters, [[WithFriendsLikeThese Sandi]] tries making a big deal about it, but [[TokenGoodTeammate Stacy]] and [[AsianAirhead Tiffany]] shut that down by explaining that they had only been playing along with Quinn. Their awareness makes sense [[CallBack since Daria had already revealed to the entire school]] in the first episode of the series that she and Quinn are sisters.
391--->'''Quinn''': Why shouldn't I act sisterly towards her? After all, she's my sister.\
392'''Sandi''': Oh my God, did you hear that? Quinn just admitted that weird girl is her sister!\
393'''Stacy''': Um, of course she is, Sandi. We knew that.\
394'''Tiffany''': We were just being polite about it.
395** [[PitbullDatesPuppy Ms. Barch and Mr. O'Neill]] aren't open about [[SecretRelationship their relationship,]] as [[BadBoss Ms. Li]] apparently forbids faculty fraternization, but they're not particularly good at hiding it, nor does anyone else seem surprised when they see evidence of it. O'Neill didn't realize that Mr. [=DeMartino=] knew they were dating until [[GrandFinale "Is It College Yet?"]]
396* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Doug}}'' episode "Doug Says Goodbye", [[http://dougfunniesjournal.tumblr.com/post/647604908/episode-13-part-2-doug-says-goodbye everyone was able to recognize Skeeter]] due to his PaperThinDisguise.
397* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/DrawnTogether'' deals with the housemates doing a role-playing exercise to help Xandir tell his parents he is gay. They (pretending to be his parents) initially simply exclaim "Duh!" when he tells them, but he accuses them of not taking it seriously. Thus, the rest of the episode is an extended fantasy in which the characters all take on roles and act out an elaborate story of what might happen when he really tells them, involving running away, prostitution, and eventual murder. At the end of the episode, he finally comes out to his ''real'' parents... who simply exclaim, "Duh!"
398* A running gag in the ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'' episode "The Missing Links of Moorshire!" is that the two kelpies haunting the mystical golf course the characters have become trapped in keep showing up to gloatingly explain various dangers of the situation to the ducks... seconds after the ducks have worked it out for themselves.
399* In ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'', Timmy travels back to the time of Dimmsdale's founding to meet its founder, Dale Dimm. Alden Bitterroot, the witch hunter, is unmasked as a witch himself when Timmy points out that his feet don't touch the ground. The Mayor says that "many of [them] were quite perplexed about that".
400* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "Crimes of the Hot" features a condensed variant after Bender receives an invite to an all-robot party from President Nixon.
401-->'''Zoidberg''': Strange. Why would Nixon, an awkward, uncomfortable man, suddenly throw a party, one of the most social events imaginable? (''clicks claw'') It's a trap is why! They're going to deactivate all the robots! (''beat'') I don't hear any gasping.\
402'''Leela''': We all figured that out.\
403'''Zoidberg''': (''disappointed'') Awww.
404* Throughout the first season of ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'', Dipper tries his hardest to keep his crush on Wendy a secret. Mabel finds out almost immediately and Soos [[SmarterThanYouLook offhandedly mentions knowing it]] during the first season finale. [[spoiler:When he finally admits it to her in season two, Wendy tells him it was obvious and she could hear him [[StageWhisper repeatedly]] [[LampshadeHanging admitting it]], making him feel more embarrassed.]]
405* ''WesternAnimation/TheGreatNorth:''
406** After his wife abandoned him to be with her lover in Pennsylvania, Beef goes in full denial about this and tells his children that their mom got eaten by a bear. However, they all know the truth and pretend to believe him so he doesn't have another meltdown over it. By the end of the first episode, he finally comes to terms with his wife leaving him and moves on.
407---> '''[[TheWatson Honeybee]]:''' So your dad pretends your mom's dead, and you pretend to believe him?\
408'''Ham:''' And we never talk about it, and we never will.\
409'''Moon:''' Perfect system.
410** In the pilot episode, [[TheDitz Ham]] comes out as gay to his family, only for Moon to remind him that he's already come out to the Tobins multiple times beforehand.
411--->'''Ham:''' I have?\
412'''Beef:''' Yes, and we love you just the way you are, dammit!\
413'''Ham:''' Well, thank you for being an ally! Why are we yelling?!\
414'''Beef:''' Because I’m upset about other stuff!
415* ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' creator [[WordOfGod Craig Bartlett]] has mentioned that he wanted to do a scene where [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Helga]] hides from everyone else and recites her love poems to [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan Arnold]] in secret, only to have everyone suddenly yell that they already know she's in love with him. In the actual show, the only people who are confirmed to know about Helga's crush on Arnold are Phoebe (Helga's best friend), Lila Sawyer (Helga's love rival), Dr. Bliss (Helga's psychologist), and [[WordOfGod Brainy]] (Helga's StalkerWithACrush).
416* In ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'', when Peggy finds out about Nancy's years-long affair with John Redcorn, she confesses this discovery to Hank. Hank's more distressed that this is news to Peggy than over the revelation itself. Peggy, in turn, is horrified that everybody else knew about the affair except for her--in fact, outside of Peggy, the only other people who don't know about John and Nancy's affair are Nancy's husband, Dale (who thinks John is gay), and Dale and Nancy's [[ChocolateBaby suspiciously dark-skinned son]], Joseph.
417* In "I Want to Play Hide and Seek" on ''Literature/LittlePrincess'', Princess is highly impressed at herself for finding a dusty, cobwebby storage closet and nobody thought to look in there to find her. She's so impressed that she decides she's going to make it into her special "secret room". It later turns out that pretty much everyone in the castle already ''did'' know about the room, it's just that they didn't think to look for her there the first time because they didn't think she would want to hide in such a dismal, dusty room.
418* In the series finale to ''WesternAnimation/LittlestPetShop2012,'' Blythe finally reveals to her dad that she can talk to pets only for him to admit that he knew all along.
419* In the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' short ''[[WartimeCartoon Plane Daffy,]]'' Nazi spy [[UsefulNotes/MataHari Hata Mari]] uses an X-ray to reveal a military secret Daffy swallowed to Hitler. The message turns out to be "Hitler is a stinker", to which Goering and Goebbels say that everybody knows that. When Hitler gives them a DeathGlare over it, they shoot themselves.
420-->'''Daffy:''' I lose more darn Nutzis that way.
421* ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'':
422** The season two episode "Gigantitan" opens with Alya and Marinette announcing to Alix, Mylene, Rose, and Juleka that they have a major reveal: Marinette has a crush. Alix immediately replies that they already know she's enamoured with Adrien and that she didn't do much to hide it. Marinette is mortified, but Rose assures her that [[ObliviousToLove Adrien himself doesn't know]].
423** In season 4, an akumatized Luka (Marinette's ''boyfriend'' at the time), convinced that Marinette is hiding something, gains the power to force people to answer questions truthfully. He asks multiple people what Marinette's big secret is. Every single one says that "she's in love with Adrien Agreste." Luka is unimpressed, even stating that's not a secret.
424** In ''Deflagation'', Chloé tries to humiliate Marinette by revealing that she is in love with Adrien. Obviously, this isn't new to everyone since they already knew that and everyone (mostly Adrien and Zoe) tells Chloé to leave Marinette and Adrien alone.
425* ''WesternAnimation/MoralOrel''
426** It's revealed in the second to last episode that Orel's father Clay is actually the mayor of Moralton... and everyone but Orel and the audience knew it already.
427** Clay and Bloberta don't love each other and didn't want to go get a divorce because they are afraid what everyone in Moralton think if they get a divorce and see their marriage is a failure; however, everyone in Moralton are already aware that their marriage is a failure due to their behavior in town. Clay and Bloberta continue this lie out of deinal.
428* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
429** "Green Isn't Your Color": Spike confesses his crush on Rarity to Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle. While [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Pinkie]] is surprised, Twilight isn't, and claims that nearly everyone in Ponyville can tell. The joke is pushed further by having him wear a shirt decorated with Rarity's face and heart throughout the episode. But for Spike's sake, Pinkie tells Twilight she should keep it a secret anyway. Though she ends up accidentally blurting it out to somepony, as a result of the stress for [[KeepingSecretsSucks keeping both Rarity and Fluttershy's secret]] of each other from each other.
430--->'''Pinkie Pie:''' (''sighs'') You were doing so well.
431*** This is later referenced in "Secret of my Excess", when Spike tries to confess his crush on Rarity at the end, only to be interrupted by Rarity's hoof on his mouth, as Rarity knew all along.
432** In "Brotherhooves Social", Big Macintosh fools absolutely no one (except maybe the love-struck stallion judge) when he [[DisguisedInDrag disguises himself as a mare]] to compete in the Sisterhooves Social with Apple Bloom, but manages to enter anyway after talking with the judges. He later gets in big trouble after his disguise falls off, but only circumstantially as the judges could already tell he was a stallion, clarifying the term "sister" is incredibly loose in definition. He got disqualified for roughhousing.
433* Enid once spent an entire episode of ''WesternAnimation/OKKOLetsBeHeroes'' trying to keep her childhood friends from finding out she's a ninja and not a witch. In the end, they admit they knew already.
434* In "The Tale of the Dash in the Dark" on ''WesternAnimation/PeterRabbit'', Benjamin spends most of the story trying to hide the fact that he's afraid of the dark from Peter and Lily, only for him to finally say that he has something to tell them and them to say "You're afraid of the dark?"
435* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'' Rick and Beth enter a world he created for her as a child, where the cute, harmless creatures that once inhabited it had become grotesque, deadly monsters. Analyzing the corpse of one, Rick realized its DNA was half his creation and [[HalfHumanHybrid half human]] and he and Beth concluded that Tommy, the missing boy they were looking for, had survived all these years by [[BestialityIsDepraved raping the creatures]] and eating the ensuing children. [[GenreSavvy They further surmised]] that he'd have kept some of them alive for further breeding and those survivors would have formed a medieval-like society that worships him like a God. At this moment warriors from said society show up to capture them and Rick shuts them down with "We're way ahead of the reveal here". Unfortunately they're still taken to Tommy who gives them a very graphic and unnecessary demonstration.
436* The nature of the Horde in ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower''. Adora is portrayed as the only character who fully bought into the Horde's propaganda and believed that they were a force for good. The first instance of her learning this is played for laughs, while the second coincides with her HeelFaceTurn after seeing a Horde battalion destroy a civilian village first-hand.
437-->'''Bow:''' Your army is called the ''[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Evil Horde.]]''\
438'''Adora:''' Who calls us that?!\
439'''Bow:''' ''[{{beat}}]'' ''EVERYBODY!''\
440''[later]''\
441'''Adora:''' This is wrong. They've been lying to us. Manipulating us. Hordak, Shadow Weaver, all of them.\
442'''Catra:''' ''[{{beat}}]'' ''DUH!'' Did you just figure that out?
443* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
444** When Patty Bouvier came out of the closet in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS16E10TheresSomethingAboutMarrying There's Something About Marrying]]", Homer treated it as though she'd done something as simple as waxing her car that morning. Marge, on the other hand, was completely shocked by it, despite the fact that she once saw Patty making out with another woman just a few feet away from her.
445--->'''Homer:''' Hey, Marge, here's another bombshell: ''[[SarcasmMode I like beer!]]''
446** From "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E6AMilhouseDivided A Milhouse Divided]]":
447--->'''Homer:''' As you know, there’s been a lot of talk about divorce lately, and I think your mom might not be happy with me.\
448'''Lisa:''' You’ve done a lot of crazy stuff over the years, and she stood by you. Why would she leave you now?\
449'''Homer:''' Cause there's lots of stuff she doesn’t know about!\
450'''Lisa:''' You mean like your poker shack out in the swamp?\
451'''Homer:''' Mmm-Hmm.\
452'''Lisa:''' ''She knows.''
453* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark''
454** Meta-example: We are introduced to the mysterious KidHero [[TheCowl Mysterion,]] and the audience never finds out who, exactly, he ([[SamusIsAGirl or she?]]) is. Then Mysterion reappears as part of the Coon and Friends Trilogy. The whole first episode passes, still without revealing Mysterion's identity...only for [[TheEveryman Stan]] to casually address him by name ten minutes into the second episode. [[spoiler:It's Kenny.]]
455** Stan is surprised to find out that not only is his classmate "Token" actually named "Tolkien" (as in, the author of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''), but everyone else at school already knew that. It's handwaved that previous examples of characters spelling it as "Token" were because they were idiots who didn't know how to spell it correctly, and Tolkien himself admits to not liking the name which may explain why he uses it too.
456* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' ultimately makes it clear that seemingly the ''only'' person who knows both Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala and works with at least one of them on a regular basis who does not either [[SecretKeeper explicitly know about]] or [[SecretSecretKeeper suspect]] the existence of their SecretRelationship is Jar-Jar Binks. In fact, the list of characters who know or suspect that they're married that haven't explicitly been told is as long or longer than the people who ''have'' outright been told.
457* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseFuture'': in the episode "Bluebird", a Gem named "Bluebird Azurite" arrives in Beach City, wishing to join Little Homeschool. ''Everyone'' immediately knows Bluebird is [[spoiler:a fusion of Aquamarine and Eyeball Ruby]], but while Steven suspects she's there for revenge and immediately wants to get rid of her, the other Crystal Gems want to give Bluebird the benefit of the doubt. [[spoiler:Steven is right and is unimpressed by their dramatic reveal.]]
458-->'''[[spoiler:Eyeball]]''': It's always been us, and you never knew!\
459'''Steven:''' I always knew. Everyone knew.
460* The Sovereign of ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros'' is rather dismayed to find out that everyone already knows he's really Music/DavidBowie. [[spoiler:Or rather a shapeshifter who took Bowie as his favorite disguise.]]
461-->'''Watch''': Everybody knows who you are, my Master.
462-->'''Sovereign''': Really? You're sure? ''Everybody''?
463-->'''Ward''': Pretty much.
464* Midway into the first season of ''WesternAnimation/VoltronLegendaryDefender'', Pidge reveals to the whole crew that [[spoiler:[[SweetPollyOliver she is actually a girl]]]]. Lance is the ''only'' one surprised by this; Shiro and Allura figured it out earlier that same episode, Keith and Hunk had their suspicions, and Coran knew immediately and just never said anything.
465[[/folder]]
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