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main index Narrative
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"You know, if I was Iron Man, I'd have this girlfriend who knows my Secret Identity and is always worried that something bad is going to happen to me—but at the same time is so proud that I'm out there saving the world. She's conflicted and that only makes her crazier about me."
Alice and Bob are talking, and Bob has decided that it's time to come clean. He's going to tell her his dark and terrible secret. This secret could be one or more of any number of unpleasant or shocking or dumbfounding things. Maybe Bob is secretly a crime fighting vigilante, or a spy, or some kind of superbeing in disguise, or The Mole, or maybe he really likes reggae music. Whatever the secret is, it's going to be something that causes Alice to see Bob in an entirely new light, and totally reinterpret much of Bob's behavior.
Bob spills his guts. Alice is surprised, initially, but her surprise does not turn into shock, horror, fear, disbelief, or hatred. Instead, Alice... glomps Bob and commences chewing on his face. The Reveal is apparently a massive turn on for Alice.
People can react in all sorts of odd ways to unexpected news, but The Reveal Prompts Romance stands out as the most positive. Instead of feeling alienated from the person who made The Reveal, they feel closer instead. The reason for this is most likely that such a disclosure immediately creates a sense of intimacy between the two people. The person receiving the disclosure may also feel special and connected to the one disclosing for having been chosen. The more UST Alice and Bob have before The Reveal the more this makes sense, and visa versa.
Most often the set up is the male hero (who is doing the reveal) and female (who is responding with romance) lead of a story, right before or right after the climax. Who initiates the "romance" after the reveal varies, but it's never non-consensual.
Sex is not always involved, nor even necessarily a make-out session, but there's always some sort of "They Do" moment. This trope is one means by which writers may achieve red-string strangulation, or a Last Minute Hookup. A reveal that involves displaying a physiological abnormality may prompt a Freakiness Shame.
This trope may overlap with Gender Reveal, which involves revealing a character's true gender.
Compare Secret Keeper which is what Bob is trusting Alice to be with The Reveal. Contrast You Make Me Sick, My God, You Are Serious, and I'll Kill You! for less friendly reactions to The Reveal.
—Tony Stark, Iron Man
Examples:Comics
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