History Main / AwfulTruth

* ''WebAnimation/DontWalkHomeAloneAfterDark'': In ''The Worm'', the doctor eventually gets some answers to what happened to Sparrow that caused her mental break, including what "the Worm" is, but he wishes he hadn't. [[spoiler:Sparrow and her friends were told about the Worm, a malevolent entity that feeds off fear, by an old man. The Worm began to torment them and they slowly realised that the Worm is spread to new hosts via their current host telling another person about it. Because the doctor pushed Sparrow into telling him about the Worm, he’s been infected too. [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou And now he's told us as well]]]].

* The heroine of ''Manga/PhantomThiefJeanne'' is a MagicalGirl on a mission from God. About halfway through the series (or towards the end, in the anime), she finds out that [[spoiler: she's been working for Satan all along, her MentorMascot is a fallen angel who was in on the whole thing, and the two have been conspiring to [[BreakTheCutie break her]] — in Satan's case, he's been doing it since she was an infant.]]
* In the manga version of ''Manga/ChronoCrusade'', part of what inspires Aion's EvilPlan is the Awful Truth he found out about his origins [[spoiler:(that is, that the demons are aliens, and the current HiveQueen was a human woman pregnant with twins (Chrono and Aion) before she was turned into a demon)]]. He also goes to great lengths to hide the truth from Chrono, saying he "doesn't need to know"--but Chrono finds out in the end and takes it rather well.
* In ''Manga/CaseClosed'', Ai keeps insisting to Conan [[spoiler:that if Ran were to know the truth about the Black Organization and Shinichi being Conan, then she will not smile. She will be burdened by the truth.]]
* In ''Anime/CyberpunkEdgerunners'', Tanaka Sr. offers to reinstate David into Arasaka Academy not because of his previously strong academic performance, [[spoiler:but rather because he has high tolerance for cybernetics. As the director of the cyberskeleton project, Tanaka planned to use David to serve as his test subject]]. This discovery horrifies Lucy, to the point of her killing Tanaka and deliberately deleting all of the information related [[spoiler:to David and the cyberskeleton. Then, after the TimeSkip, she actively hunts down any Arasaka netrunner looking to retrieve the deleted data to protect David.]]
* In ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'':
** Dr. Marcoh refuses to tell Ed how the philosophers stones are made from using [[spoiler: [[PoweredByAForsakenChild live humans]]]].
** Along with the fact that [[spoiler:the Elrics didn't even bring back their mom]], the government's true intentions are so dark that even the [[spoiler:[[SerialEscalation president's son, the borders of the nation, and the layout of the capital have a malicious purpose.]]]]
* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
** The reason [[FirstEpisodeTwist why most of the villagers hate Naruto]] is that he's [[SealedInsideAPersonShapedCan the can]] of [[EldritchAbomination the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox]] which killed many of them and destroyed a good part of the Leaf Village.
** Sasuke was far happier thinking [[spoiler:his brother killed their family because he was bored than when he found out that he had really been acting under orders from Konoha... and that the Uchiha clan had been planning a coup against the Leaf Village, with Sasuke just about the only survivor because of his brother's intercession]]. He was a lot saner then, too.
* ''Manga/MagicKnightRayearth'' starts out as a fairly standard story about three teens who get TrappedInAnotherWorld and tasked with [[SaveThePrincess rescuing a princess]]. Just as they're getting close to their goal, they find out that their ''real'' mission is to [[spoiler: [[ICannotSelfTerminate kill the princess because she wants to die.]]]]
* In ''{{Manga/Bokurano}}'', the main characters were originally told [[AndYouThoughtItWasAGame what was going on was a game]] to ensure they would fight in and against [[HumongousMecha giant mecha]]. The prospect of defeating the enemy was a lot easier when they didn't know doing so would [[spoiler:[[ArtifactOfDeath kill them regardless of success]]]]. And when they thought the enemies were [[spoiler:aliens instead of [[AlternateUniverse alternate dimensional humans]], and that they killed 10 billion people with each win]]. They were, however, [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt told what failure meant]], though the general public was mostly out of the loop.

* ''Manga/InuYasha'': Just as [[AloofBigBrother Sesshoumaru's]] finally getting used to the idea that [[InfinityPlusOneSword Tessaiga]] was meant for [[TheHero Inuyasha]] and [[HealingShiv Tenseiga]] was meant for him, he learns the truth. The revelation shocks even Inuyasha and his companions, who think Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha's father has been [[AbusiveParent far too cruel]]. Sesshoumaru takes the news badly, concluding it's proof he was the [[TheUnfavorite outcast son]] and that his father was [[ParentalFavoritism training Inuyasha to kill him]]. [[spoiler: Tenseiga is merely a cast-off piece of Tessaiga, separated from Tessaiga so that Sesshoumaru could master the Meidou Zangetsuha technique and then transfer it back to Tessaiga, meaning that the attack form he earned due to his compassion for [[BrokenBird Kagura]]'s death isn't his to keep - it's destined for Inuyasha's use. Sesshoumaru does eventually calm down enough to realise his father's [[GoodParents true]] [[CruelToBeKind intention]] was for him to [[BigBrotherMentor guide]] Inuyasha not be killed by him. He therefore [[SinkOrSwimMentor decides]] to [[DieOrFly sacrifice his claim to both swords forever]] as part of a HiddenPurposeTest to see if Inuyasha is [[OnlyTheWorthyMayPass strong enough to handle the technique]]. Once he sacrifices his dependence on the two swords, Sesshoumaru is finally able to achieve the level of wisdom and compassion required to unlock the true power [[TheOnlyWayTheyWillLearn his father knew he possessed]] and finally obtain a sword [[ItWasWithYouAllAlong that is truly his own]].]]
* In ''Manga/TheSecretAgreement'', Kyuusai reveals to Yuuichi that he is from a powerful clan that steals other people's life force, and that neither he nor his boyfriend actually love each other, it's just an implanted delusion between predator and prey that makes it easier for Yuuichi to steal Iori's life. Yuuichi is horrified.
* In ''Anime/{{Madlax}}'', the fact that [[spoiler: a very young Margaret had to kill her BrainwashedAndCrazy father Richard when he tried to kill her after a plane crash]] is a truth so awful... that [[spoiler: she created two alternate personalities (Madlax herself and Laetitia) to escape it. And she doesn't admit it to herself until the penultimate episode of the anime.]]

* ''Manga/{{Saki}}'':
** In ''Manga/SakiAchigaHen'', Kirame overhears a conversation between her school's mahjong club president and her best friend that she wasn't chosen to be on the team for her skill, but because she never falls below 0 points, enabling her to stay in the game no matter how strong the vanguard player is, while her teammates recover the points in the following rounds. She doesn't get upset, but is instead happy that someone has a use for her talent.
** In the main series, Saki's primary goal is to reconnect with her sister; due to an only vaguely glimpsed at event that was most likely related to their parents separating, Teru is refusing to speak with Saki. Saki is quite disturbed to hear, third-hand, that Teru [[IHaveNoSon is denying that she has a sister]]. While Saki expected Teru to say something like that, she wonders if they can ever possibly reconcile.
* In ''Anime/GirlsUndPanzer'', during the prequel manga, ''Little Army'', Miho learns that her sister Maho, whom she looked up to, [[spoiler:won the tournament by firing on the enemy flag tank when it was going to rescue one of her team's tanks]]. This causes a temporary rift between Miho and Maho when Maho begins acting coldly around Miho around the time of their mother's return, when she's confronted about this, but while their relationship is mended, it causes Miho to realize just what the Nishizumi style expects of those who pursue it, and thus causes her to seek out her own way of tankery.
* In ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'', the Awful Truth of the ''Berserk'' setting is revealed in the [[MissingEpisode 83rd chapter that was never reprinted]] because the author thought it gave away too much of the plot: [[spoiler: The worst part isn't that GodIsEvil, nor is it that YouCantFightFate. The Awful Truth is that humanity wouldn't have it any other way. They ''need'' an evil "god" to dictate their lives because the alternative is worse: that their suffering is meaningless and they have no one to blame for it but themselves. They needed it so badly that they [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve subconsciously willed it into existence]].]]
** [[LonelyRichKid Theresia]], the daughter of the Count, was told that seven years ago that her mother was taken hostage by heretics and killed by them as a human sacrifice when her father refused their demands. This was when her father began to change, and started persecuting his people with no regard for guilt or innocence. The first awful truth comes when she sees her father's [[OneWingedAngel true form]] as an Apostle which he had hidden from her for all those years, which in itself might have been enough to break her. The worst is yet to come, however, as Theresia finds out the truth of what happened to her mother: [[spoiler: she betrayed her husband the Count by participating in pagan orgies, and in order to [[NeverBeHurtAgain escape from his despair]] he [[DealWithTheDevil sacrificed her to the Godhand]] in exchange for becoming a monster who would never feel pain or grief.]]
* Several for the Hero System in ''Anime/YukiYunaIsAHero'': [[spoiler:Every time a Hero uses her [[LimitBreak Mankai]], [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique she gains a physical disability]] as a sacrifice to the Shinju. Heroes are also caught in a ForeverWar against the Vertexes -- [[AfterTheEnd that have destroyed everything on Earth except Shikoku]] -- once recruited.]]
* In ''Literature/SoImASpiderSoWhat'' reaching Level 10 Taboo reveals the forbidden knowledge of the world: [[spoiler:It explains how humanity nearly destroyed the world in the past and are now reliant on the eternally suffering Goddess to survive. The skill system recycles souls and their energy to provide skills and XP, distorting the souls in the process. Due to centuries of incompetent management and MA generators continuing to damage the world, newly-born souls are on the verge of collapsing]].

* PlayedForLaughs in ''Manga/MyDadsTheQueenOfAllVTubers''. Takashi has been fawning over the VirtualCelebrity Kizuke Yai, until one day he walks into his dad's room and finds out that his dad ''is'' Kizuke Yai. [[BrainBleach He wishes he can forget this ever happened]], as every time he sees Kizuke Yai now, he can only see his dad's face.
* In ''Literature/HeavyObject'', Louisiana Honeysuckle reveals to Qwenthur the truth she discovered on reaching the apex of Object design: [[spoiler:The incredible forces unleashed during Object battles have begun disrupting the Earth's axis, which may soon render the planet uninhabitable]].
* In ''Anime/BlueReflectionRay'', Niina reveals that Hiori succumbing to despair [[spoiler: and ultimately dying in the original timeline]] is what broke her sister's resolve and led her on the path to becoming a villainous Red Reflector. Hiori doesn't take this well, blaming herself for everything that happened to her sister.
* Late in ''Manga/FutureDiary'', Yukiteru decides to finally stoop to the level of the other Diary users as a WellIntentionedExtremist due to being tricked that [[spoiler:he could revive his parents once he became God]]. Needless to say, it's a false hope that [[spoiler:Yuno]] realized far too late [[spoiler:in her original timeline -- AllDeathsAreFinal]]. His denial of this fact when his friends tell him have horrible consequences.

** While the player and most of the cast learn in the second expansion that Chapter Master Azariah Kyras is actually a Chaos worshipper, Captain Apollo Diomedes refuses to consider it. Only in the third expansion, set a decade later, is he finally given irrefutable proof (witnessing a conversation between a traitor guardsman and Kyras) and undergoes something of a HeroicBSOD because of it (presumably an extra AwfulTruth being that all the purges and murders he carried out on Kyras' orders might not have been for the good of the Chapter after all).
*** This is more or less the reason for Avitus' betrayal (if he's the traitor) in the econd expansion, realizing that the chapter he serves and its ideals were subverted centuries ago with no one able to stop him.

* ''VideoGame/OuterWilds'' has some big revelations as you explore the [[{{Precursors}} Nomai]] ruins in your solar systems, none of them pleasant. [[spoiler:The reason your sun goes nova at the end of each [[GroundhogDayLoop time loop?]] That's not the Nomai's fault (despite their best efforts), your sun's at the end of its natural life cycle, and there's nothing you can do to stop it from happening. The reason why all the ''other'' stars you can see are ''also'' going nova? It's {{Just Before The|End}} NaturalEndOfTime, and the universe as a whole is at the end of ''its'' natural life cycle.]]

* The ''Film/MenInBlack'' films:
** Agent J asks Agent K why he didn't tell him that his new girlfriend was the key to stopping an interstellar war and had to leave. K's response: "Would you have let her go?"
** On a larger scale, this was part of the point of the {{Masquerade}} in the first place. Something about constant threat of TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt being a ''bit'' much for most people to handle.
** And in the original movie there was this gem from K:
--->'''K:''' There's ''always'' an alien battle cruiser, or a Corellian death ray, or an intergalactic plague [[TheWorldIsAlwaysDoomed intended to wipe out life on this miserable little planet.]] The only way these people can get on with their happy lives is that they '''do. Not. ''Know'' about it!'''

* Every episode of ''Series/AdamRuinsEverything'' starts with either [[AudienceSurrogate a recurring character, or a one-shot character]] going about their business, and reciting known "truths." Suddenly Adam Connover uses his RealityWarper powers to pop into the scene and essentially explaining to this victim [[BasedOnAGreatBigLie why "everything you think you know about tonight's subject is completely wrong."]]

** Captain Sheridan believes his wife [[DeathByOriginStory Anna]] died on an expedition to Z'Ha'Dum. [[spoiler: She didn't, [[AFateWorseThanDeath but it probably would have been better if she had.]]]]
** Londo Mollari believes that his lover was poisoned by [[TheRival Lord Refa]]. [[spoiler: Mr. Morden arranged Adira's murder to drive Londo back into the Shadows' employ]]
** G'Kar believes that the Security Council was practicing HeadInTheSandManagement when they refused to believe his claims that the Shadows had returned. [[spoiler: He was actually the last to know, and they all had their own reasons to feign ignorance. His homeworld was conquered because nobody would help fight off the Shadow-backed Centauri invasion.]]
* ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' plays this straight when Kara attempts to figure out [[spoiler: how she came back from the dead]] and when, in the Season 3 finale, Colonel Tigh keeps trying to figure out what the TerribleTicking that he, Sam Anders, Chief Tyrol and Tory Foster keep hearing is all about. Turns out, [[TomatoInTheMirror they did not want to know]]. They got better. Averted when Kara finally discovers [[ProphecyTwist the meaning of the prophecy]] that she will "lead them all to their end", [[spoiler:as she is the one to take the Fleet to Earth]].

* ''Anime/{{Daltanious}}'': [[spoiler: Kloppen is Prince Harlin's clone. When he was a child, Dr. Namil brought him to Dolmen so that he could groom the boy into being his successor. Because he wanted the Emperor to accept him into his services, Namil helped Dolmen groom him and reinforced the lie that he was the actual Prince by telling him the Imperial Cross on his arm was proof of his heritage. He raised the boy into following Dolmen's footsteps and being a warrior for the Zaal Empire. After he had grown into an adult, Namil had a change of heart and exposed the truth to everyone. In his pre-recorded video, he admitted there was a way to differentiate clones from their prototypes - clones, when exposed to UV radiation, will experience detoriation in their skins. Kloppen is hit with a UV ray and his skin detoriates - and then he realizes that his entire life has been a lie.]]

[[folder:Light Novel]]
* ''Literature/TsuyokuteNewSaga'': Many of Kail's friends from his previous timeline turn out to have had problems in their pasts that he was never aware of that painfully clash with his memories of them. [[spoiler:Zentos was responsible for assassinating the princess, Maizar is plotting to use him for his own purposes, Minagi can't handle her money and went off on her own with little experience as an assassin (which to be fair in the original timeline worked out but only due to her natural talent and a TON of luck which is lampshaded in story as irresponsible), Luctera was deathly ill for a long time with a complicated love life involving a dark elf that resulted in a child to boot, and Kail's master and Seren's mother Lelia worships the universe's Goddess of Darkness. Outside of his circle of friends King Remonas, who Kail though was an good ruler, is revealed to have caused most of the problems the human race faced diplomatically, leading up to the demon invasion.]]
[[/folder]]

* ''Franchise/TheDarkTower''
** In ''Literature/TheGunslinger'', the first novel of ''Franchise/TheDarkTower'', when Walter makes the town drunk return from the dead, Walter says "If you tell him the number 19, he will tell you what lies beyond death." When one woman does this, despite Roland's urging, she GoesMadFromTheRevelation and begs Roland to kill her.
** In the final book, Roland learns one about himself: [[spoiler:He's already tried and failed in his quest countless times, and is doomed to start it all over again. There's some hope that the next time, he might actually succeed]].

* In the ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' book ''Literature/GreyKnights'', renegade inquisitor Valinov seems to refer to Chaos as the Awful Truth:
-->'There is not enough room in your head to under­stand what I could tell you. I have seen the forces that really hold this universe together, and it isn't your Emperor. All you Imperial vermin devote your lives to crushing the spirits of mankind until not one man or woman could survive knowing the truth.'
** The Grey Knights themselves are an example. Any average Imperial citizen who learns of their existence is killed out of hand. Even [[SuperSoldier Space Marines]] who learn about the Knights without authorization are [[MindRape mind-scrubbed]] to remove the truth.

* Poor, poor Phillip of ''Series/KamenRiderDouble''. First he found out that his family is really the mafia providing people the {{Transformation Trinket}}s needed to transform into the [[MonsterOfTheWeek Monsters of the Week]], then he found out that he's DeadAllAlong.

* ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}'':
** King Uther's refusal to tell Arthur the truth about his magical birth and the death of his mother. Arthur seemed to find out in the episode "Sins of the Father", and promptly tried to kill Uther - partly for being indirectly responsible for his mother's death, but mostly for starting the Purge and painting magic as evil not out of genuine conviction but hypocritical revenge. The only reason he didn't kill Uther is because he came to believe Merlin's statement that Morgause lied to him completely instead of only partially.

* ''Series/ThePower2023'': Roxy slowly learns her mom was not really murdered by random burglars. Rather, that her dad whom she loves and wants to impress ordered it done.

* The 80s revival of ''Series/{{The Twilight Zone|1985}}'' did an episode titled "The Need To Know", in which this trope is deployed; a man returns to his small town bearing the Truth of Existence, a short phrase which [[GoMadFromTheRevelation drives anyone who hears it instantly insane]].
* This is a major plot point of ''Series/TheXFiles''. The tagline for the show is "the truth is out there", and Mulder spends nearly a decade trying to uncover it. When he does, he finds out ''why'' it's been kept hidden from society for sixty years. He was reluctant to even tell Scully, as the Truth is [[spoiler: aliens are invading the world in 2012 to colonize it, and there is nothing that can be done to stop it.]]

* In ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003'' ForWantOfANail fanfic ''FanFic/BuildYourWingsOnTheWayDown'', the price Edward paid for Al's soul was his arm and his ignorance. Ed has to live with the fact that alchemy is powered by death, alchemy's darkest abuses and the [[HumanResources resources needed]] to make a Philosopher's Stone. Ed is absolutely horrified by this and is ''burdened'' by the truth. He would have kept it a secret if it wasn't for Al pushing the subject.

-->'''Naruto:''' "THAT'S THE PROBLEM! YOU DIDN'T THINK! Too busy caught up in your FANTASIES chasing after a teme who doesn't barely give you the time of day, to stop to consider how OTHER PEOPLE will feel when you decide to find some way of IMPRESSING that teme! I'm glad you never went on a date with me! Now I realize that you never were the type of girl I'd have wanted to have a relationship with!"

* In ''Literature/WorldEndWhatDoYouDoAtTheEndOfTheWorldAreYouBusyWillYouSaveUs'' it’s eventually revealed that the [[EldritchAbomination 17 Beasts]] [[spoiler: were originally human.]] Or so we were led to believe. [[spoiler: It turns out that the Beasts were the original inhabitants of the world who were unwillingly transformed into humans and other races by the extraterrestrial Visitors. The “curse” keeping humans from reverting to their original form simply failed over time, resulting in the Beasts re emerging 500 years prior to the main story. Their anger at what the Visitors had done to their home twisted them into violent monsters with an insatiable urge to destroy all non Beast life, which they viewed as a blight on their once beautiful world.]]

* YouDoNOTWantToKnow: It's preferable to not be given this knowledge for private/personal/disgusting reasons.

* ''Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}'':
** ''Comicbook/DemonSpawn'' Nightflame steals the titular heroine's soul and carries it to a hellish place inhabited by legions of horrible demons called the Innerverse. Then Nightflame reveals that world and its demons are a manifestation of Kara's own evil. As Kara faces a cyclopean, wrinkled demon, she doesn't want to believe it.

** In a ''[[Comicbook/{{Supergirl 1982}} classic Supergirl story]]'', the titular heroine tells an amnesiac doppelganger of hers that she is a clone.
* ''Comicbook/SwampThing'': In Creator/AlanMoore's run, Abby goes into a HeroicBSOD after realizing that [[spoiler: her husband has been possessed by her uncle Anton Arcane.]] This is ''exactly'' as [[{{Squick}} squicky]] as it sounds.

* ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}'': During the conclusion, it is revealed that [[spoiler:Ozymandias schemed a gigantic plot to have a fake 'alien' kill millions in New York in order to unite humanity against a perceived common enemy and stop nuclear escalation. And after all that, the ''ComicBook/DoomsdayClock'' confirms that it only worked ''temporarily.'']]

* In ''Fanfic/APrizeForThreeEmpires'', ComicBook/CarolDanvers is told that a Guardsman whom she killed during the [[Franchise/XMen Shi'ar Civil War]] was her friend Raza's brother. She takes that reveal as well as you'd expect.

* Played for laughs in [[VideoGame/GuiltyGear Guilty Gear -REVELATOR-]] when Ky finally realizes that Sol [[spoiler: is the father Dizzy. Since Ky is now married to Dizzy, that makes Sol his ''father-in-law''.]]
--> '''Ky & Sol:''' [[GoMadFromTheRevelation WAAAAAH!/AAAARGH!]]

* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4'' pulls a complicated Awful Truth on the protagonist. Solid Snake has started to show indications of accelerated aging; by the time the game starts, he's going on his early 40's, and looks older than his parents (who should be over 80 by then). Otacon explains that it seems like a classic case of Werner's Syndrome, except the tests for the condition say that Snake doesn't have it. They speculate that it's because Snake isn't "normal," meaning that there must have been some fluke in the cloning process that created him, possibly exacerbated by the nanomachine-based artificial virus he was injected with to assassinate certain people by coming into contact with them. In fact, his brother Liquid even suggested as much, saying that the problem arises from the genetic sample that created them being taken when Big Boss was old himself, in his 50s. When Snake finally finds someone who can figure out what's going on, the truth is ''much worse'' than any of the speculation: [[spoiler:the premature aging is ''natural,'' it's an intentional alteration made during the cloning process to ''give him an expiration date,'' which means there is ''no way to fix it'' and he will die of old age within six months, probably before turning 42. Worse, the nano-virus in his blood is ''being damaged'' by Snake's aging, and unless he kills himself long before he dies "naturally," the virus will lose its ability to differentiate between the people it was coded to kill and the people it was not, meaning Snake will cause an ''epidemic.'']] The second problem is solved [[spoiler: so Snake doesn't have to kill himself to stop the epidemic,]] but the first problem is most assuredly not, and the only reason we don't watch [[spoiler: Snake die on-screen]] is because the ending fades to black instead of fast-forwarding six months.
** In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3'', Naked Snake's mission is to kill The Boss, his EvilMentor who [[TurnCoat defected to Soviet Russia]] and instigated a nuclear incident in Russia (a good part of it, no less). [[spoiler:Then it's revealed by EVA that [[FakeDefector The Boss only defected to gain Volgin's trust]], steal [[MacGuffin the Philosopher's legacy]], and bring the whole can of bank worms back to America. The nukes were a bargaining chip to gain Volgin's trust, but [[DidntSeeThatComing "nobody could have predicted"]] [[AxCrazy that Volgin would fire a Davy Crockett on his own base.]] Because she was the main suspect of Volgin's insanity, to prevent World War III, [[TheScapegoat The Boss had to die]] - [[KlingonPromotion by the hand of her best student]]. [[SilentScapegoat She knew it,]] [[HeroicSacrifice and willingly went along with it.]]]] Then, in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'', it's revealed that [[spoiler:Operation Snake Eater was just one of ''many'' ploys to get [[TheParagon The Boss]] [[UnusualEuphemism out of the equation]], since [[UngratefulBastard they (The CIA)]] feared [[TheParagonAlwaysRebels her charisma]] and [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections the powerful connections/fame she made across all nations]]. Said ploys include denying her support while spying on Russian space-faring development, sending her into space with faulty equipment (and losing the space race in the process), denying her support during the Pig Bay mission, [[LetsYouAndHimFight forcing her and The Sorrow (her husband) to fight each other to the death...]] Did we mention this is all narrated by a psychotic jailbait who threatens to nuke the east coast of the United States just so Big Boss will always be the slave of the Patriots?]] No wonder [[FutureBadass Big Boss]] goes off the deep end.
* In the final chapter of ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}'', [[spoiler:Leder's final role is to tell Lucas the truth about his beloved, idyllic hometown of Tazmily. It was always just a fabrication. A final outpost for humanity, perched on the edge of nothing, populated with the last remnants of humankind, who had been willingly mind-wiped and built a false {{Arcadia}} in order to prevent a ''second'' Armageddon]].

Truth is not always a good thing. Some truths are so awful that they must be kept from the players/characters, as they are deemed a serious threat to their mental stability. That, or this is a mocking cry by the jaded AntiHero to illustrate his belief that the main hero is [[SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids too naive]] to be trusted with the truth.

Compare YouAreNotReady and ForbiddenFruit. Contrast YouDidntAsk and HonestyAesop. If they're being obnoxious about it, it's FigureItOutYourself. See also TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow for when you really shouldn't know. Can also be a case of YouDoNOTWantToKnow. May lead to a case of LyingToProtectYourFeelings. Compare HeelRealization, which is an awful truth, but not one anyone else kept from you. Often invokes SchmuckBait. If the truth is about the character's nature (and doesn't involve EasyAmnesia) they may be a TomatoInTheMirror. If it's not so much hidden as an unyielding fact of life, see tropes such as HumansAreBastards, CrapsackWorld or its real life counterparts HobbesWasRight and {{Realpolitik}}, video games with branching plots whose best and/or canon ending is {{bittersweet|Ending}} or some types of YouAreTooLate or DownerEnding.

In short, when something seems TooGoodToBeTrue, this is what the actual truth will probably turn out to be.

* ''ComicBook/CaptainAmericaIn ''ComicBook/CaptainAmericaWinterSoldier'', there's the classic, horrible reveal that the infamous Winter Soldier is [[spoiler:Bucky Barnes]].

* ''ComicBook/AgeOfTheSentry'': Referenced by [[ArchEnemy Cranio]] when he begins narrating to Sentry about the true nature of their universe: "As he divulged his secrets, I began the journey that would undo us all. Listen closely, Robert Reynolds, for this is how the man with the tri-level mind became [[ThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow the man who learned too much]]."

* In ''ComicBook/CaptainAmericaWinterSoldier'', there's the classic, horrible reveal that the infamous Winter Soldier is [[spoiler:Bucky Barnes]].
* Leander from ''ComicBook/{{Democracy}}'' finds out that the reason why Harmodius and Aristogeiton killed Hipparchus was not because they were sick of the tyranny (as he originally thought), but because they were lovers and he tried to separate them. Needless to say, he didn't take it well.
* ''{{ComicBook/Enigma}}'' features a villain called The Truth who has the power to look someone in the eye and strip away every single comforting lie they tell themselves. Most of them either commit suicide immediately after, or else go on a killing spree.
* In the 2021 ''ComicBook/{{Eternals}}'' series, the core cast discover that the ResurrectiveImmortality the 1,000,000 year old Eternals treat so casually is [[spoiler:fuelled by HumanResources, with someone dying to power each Eternal revival]]. And they’ve been caught in an AmnesiaLoop when they previously uncovered this.
* In ''ComicBook/GothamCityGarage'', [[ComicBook/{{Batgirl}} Barbara Gordon]] is told her sister [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} Kara]] murdered her father. Upon interrogating a rebel, though, she learns Kara didn't kill anybody and their father actually helped her escape from their hellhole of a city. Barbara sets out to ascertain the truth and discovers her mentor murdered James Gordon and framed her sister. And her father had taken very drastic measures in order to protect his new daughter:

* In ''ComicBook/KickAss'', [[spoiler:Big Daddy is not an ex-cop whose wife got killed. In fact, he was an accountant whose wife hated him so much that he decided to run off with his baby daughter and start a new life as a superhero]].
* Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}:

* In Creator/AlanMoore's run on ''Comicbook/SwampThing'', Abby goes into a HeroicBSOD after realizing that [[spoiler: her husband has been possessed by her uncle Anton Arcane.]] This is ''exactly'' as [[{{Squick}} squicky]] as it sounds.

* The big thing Skids blocked out in his memory from ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'': [[spoiler:When he was imprisoned in [[HellholePrison Grindcore]], Skids accepted a deal with the warden to repair the teleport systems in exchange for the lives of 50 prisoners, himself included. Except there were no teleporters, Skids had actually been tricked into repairing a giant incinerator, and was ForcedToWatch all of the imprisoned bots burn to death. To really twist the knife, one of those bots was his cellmate Quark, whom he gave up his spot for.]]
* The conclusion of ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}'': [[spoiler:Ozymandias schemed a gigantic plot to have a fake 'alien' kill millions in New York in order to unite humanity against a perceived common enemy and stop nuclear escalation. And after all that, the ''ComicBook/DoomsdayClock'' confirms that it only worked ''temporarily.'']]
* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'':

* ''Fanfic/CodePrime'': Like in [[CodeGeass the source]], the truth about [[spoiler: Marianne vi Britannia, Lelouch and Nunnally's biological mother also being an architect of Ragnarok]] is something Cera carries through much of the story. It's only uncovered and admitted to right before their planned FinalBattle against the decepticons. What makes it so awful is that thanks to Optimus using [[spoiler: a geass of absolute hope on her, Marianne]] actually was starting to grow and become a good person. But in revealing the truth, all her old friends, family, children and even [[spoiler: her former most loyal bodyguard]] turn on her and give her the cold shoulder for the remainder of R2's story.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}''. Hoo boy... let's just say that the Imperium has a good reason for its proverb "Ignorance is a virtue."

* ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' centers the development and {{deconstruction}} of Noel Vermillion around this trope during ''Continuum Shift''. During her encounter with [[BigBad Terumi]] in ''Desperation'', Noel goes berserk after realizing he used and tormented Tsubaki, voluntarily lifting the seal on Bolverk with the intention of obliterating him. [[spoiler:After feeding off her hatred and pushing her to her limit, Terumi feeds her the history of the Prime Field Devices in graphic detail - up to and including that [[TomatoInTheMirror she is one of them]]. The relentless input is too much for her to bear, and she promptly breaks down, left prone for tempering into Mu-12.]]
** In a surprising use of this trope in a {{reconstruction}}, ''Slight Hope'' ends with a double serving of it. [[spoiler:In addition to learning that Noel is a Prime Field Device amidst a graveyard of her 'predecessors', Makoto learns from Rachel in the very next sentence that beastkin like her were also made by human hands. Unlike Noel, however, Makoto does not break, and in fact uses the experience to strengthen her resolve to save her friends.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' has this as the main reason for the existence of The Society Of the Blind Eye, a secret group ([[spoiler:founded by Old Man [=McGucket=] before he went insane]]) that erases the memories of the town residents so they can remain oblivious to supernatural events surrounding them, meaning they're the ones maintaining TheMasquerade surrounding the town. Problem is, repeated use of the Memory Eraser Gun leads to long-term mental issues, explaining the odd behavior of the citizens.
* PlayedForDrama in Season 5 of ''WesternAnimation/BoJackHorseman'' with "The Showstopper". [[spoiler: [=BoJack=] has absolutely no memory of having strangled Gina, and everyone involved tries their best to keep the truth from him so he won't crack under the stress]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'', the season 2 finale reveals that [[spoiler:Marcy Wu, one of the three girls TrappedInAnotherWorld, was not trapped at all. She knew what the music box would do and got both herself and her two best friends trapped in Amphibia on purpose]].

* Played for laughs and subverted in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "Brother's Little Helper". When SpecialGuest Mark [=McGwire=] admits that Bart was right and Major League Baseball ''is'' behind a conspiracy that is watching everyone, and they ask him why, he replies, "Do you want to know the terrifying truth, or do you want to see me sock a few dingers?" They choose the latter option.

* In ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'', Gem history seems to be about 60% things Pearl doesn't think Steven is ready to hear; naturally, as the viewpoint character, he ends up learning about them anyway. Most notably: [[spoiler:the monsters they're fighting are corrupted Gems, the other Gems they're likely to encounter are generally going to be villains, and the reason the Crystal Gems are on Earth is because they led a rebellion against the Homeworld Gems in order to prevent them from destroying the Earth to make more of their kind.]]
** The Crystal Gems get their own Awful Truth in Season 3: [[spoiler:their fellow Gem Bismuth had been bubbled by Rose Quartz for advocating shattering Gems to the point that she built a weapon for it]]. Which eventually leads to the Awful Truth that breaks Steven: [[spoiler:Rose Quartz ''had'' shattered a Gem- Pink Diamond.]]

** The [[WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseTheMovie movie]] and [[WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseFuture epilogue series]] go on to explain that Pink Diamond was ''not'' immune to PrivilegeMakesYouEvil, and had her own occasional psychotic breaks, which she inflicted on the villain of the movie and [[spoiler:her original Pearl]].