LOTR
I thought of this ‘issue’ when I was rewatching an anime called ‘Delicious in Dungeon’. A character ends up keeping a secret from the rest of the group, which causes some trouble at a pivotal moment. They still find success and survive, but it created a brief argument and lecture afterwards. Not a shattering of the group, but reminding the character that they need to trust each other. So, it got me thinking about how authors have used the secret trope.
Minor
These are small background secrets of a character that come out as flavoring throughout the adventure. It isn’t that they are purposely keeping a secret out of shame, but these things aren’t important enough to mention. Regional knowledge can fall under this category since it wouldn’t come up outside of specific situations. Nobody is angry about the ‘secret’ here because it doesn’t do any damage before or after its revelation.
Fear/Shame-Induced
This one is fairly common and can go either way with hurting the group. The premise is that there is a dark secret the character fears others knowing, especially after they have found a place to belong. For example, the hero who comes from a family of villains might do this. It can backfire when they bring extra attention and threats to the group, who don’t know what is going on. The revelation can be met with shock, a sudden loss of trust, and confusion. Yet, this most often results in the character proving they aren’t like their family and solidifying their role in the group. So, one could see this as a predominantly positive secret situation.
Greed-Induced
Definitely a destructive secret since this is intentional and comes from a darker part of the soul. This can cover a character who takes a powerful artifact, money, or an essential item without telling anyone. Problems occur because of this action either because other people want it or there are challenges it could help with, but it wasn’t used. Many times, the character knows they shouldn’t have or keep the item to themselves, but they do it anyway. The revelation can, and usually does, break the group in a way that the secret holder is ostracized. If not kicked out right away, they are not fully trusted until they get some redemption.
Unknown Secret
This is a weird one that just came to mind. A character has a secret, but they don’t realize it’s a secret. They might have some information or an item that they feel is mundane, but is really important. So, they don’t realize they are keeping a big secret from the rest of the group. It usually stems from ignorance or innocence. Once the revelation happens, there can be some anger from the others. It has to be made clear that the character had no idea they were doing anything wrong. That way, the group isn’t shattered, but they might be more ‘parent-like’ with their friend.
Dark Secret
Feel like this is mandatory since people love using the term. It can probably be considered the same as ‘fear/shame’ though. There could be a slight alteration on some of them though. Typically, a dark secret is one where the character doesn’t want people to know because they are ashamed or afraid of the consequences. Now, I have seen some uses where the character keeps the dark secret because they know it will not be accepted by the others. They aren’t ashamed of it. They simply know it isn’t seen as a positive by society, so they keep quiet. When revealed, it can cause a big mess with the character refusing to be sorry since they have rationalized it.
Bright Secret?
Not sure what to call the opposite of a ‘dark secret’. These are harmless ones that will cause joy or help when revealed. Somebody caring a powerful, one-use weapon for an emergency is an example. They don’t say anything because they don’t want to be forced to use it for a situation they feel isn’t worth it. Might be a little annoyance at the use, but a simple ‘I cannot use it again’ explanation can fix that. I would say surprise parties, gifts, and other positives can fall into this category.
