#secret identity trope

[anitalenia]

𝙎𝙀𝘾𝙍𝙀𝙏 𝙄𝘿𝙀𝙉𝙏𝙄𝙏𝙔 ⋆⭒˚｡⋆‎♡‧₊˚

꒰ঌ definition ໒꒱ ˏˋ°•*⁀➷   𝑤𝘩𝑒𝑛 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑐𝘩𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑡𝘩𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑤𝑖𝑡𝘩 𝑤𝘩𝑜 𝑡𝘩𝑒𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑟𝑒 / 𝑡𝘩𝑒𝑦'𝑟𝑒 𝘩𝑖𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡𝘩𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡𝘩𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡.

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ below you will find sub genres under this category, as well as some useful pairings for this trope. for educational writing purposes <3

note: several of these can also be used in other tropes as well, just depends on how you write it and interpret it.

₊˚⊹.* ♡ let’s start with the obvious, person A is a superhero and person B is completely oblivious

₊˚⊹.* ♡ a villain needing to hide their true self to avoid being caught

₊˚⊹.* ♡ secret admirer (can be a best friend, co-worker, etc)

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A is rich and hides that fact from person B so they’re not taken advantage of

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A is actually undercover (can be for a case, cop au possibly)

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A is in witness protection

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A started a new life because of their dark past (changed name, town, etc.)

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A is a celebrity where they come from, but moved somewhere where no one knows who they are

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A is hiding who they really are to protect person B

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A is really a higher being (angel, deity, something divine) sent to earth for various reasons (to pass on a message, complete a task, protect person B without giving themselves away)

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A is extremely powerful and mysterious and no one knows who they are (i.e. mystogan from fairy tail, black knight trope)

₊˚⊹.* ♡ a person of royalty (king, prince) has abandoned their royal duties and left on the side of the road like a common beggar (can be because they didn’t want that life, there was a mutiny, etc.) — they’re found by a group of people or a person who have no idea who they really are

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A stumbles upon a powerful object that gives them magic / powers when they wear it (i.e. the mask)

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A only looks a certain way during a specific time of day — they transform back into their original form at night / at sunrise (fiona from shrek, cinderella)

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A is incredibly poor but mistaken for someone else in a bizarre twist of luck — taken into the rich home to carry out the duties of the original person because no one is the wiser

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A is a thief / good liar and never shows their true colors until they fall in love with person B

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A is a common criminal taken under the wing of a generous prince who falls for their beauty — revealed at the end that person A was never who they thought they were (doesn’t have to end bad, they can reconcile)

₊˚⊹.* ♡ bouncing off that idea, person A is a criminal sent to kill / rob person B, a royal. person A assumes a fake persona to gain their trust but ends up falling in love with person B and can’t finish out the task

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A faked their own death before moving away

₊˚⊹.* ♡ in a dystopian kind of setting where person A belongs to a group of people not accepted by society, so they must hide that part of themselves to stay alive

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A is ashamed of what their real name is associated with (toxic family life, weird past, etc.) so they lie to person B

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A must lie to cover for someone else (seen in movies where person A’s friend, person B, doesn’t show up for a date so person A must fill in for them, then when the date shows up they think person A is person B) — can be used in other ways ofc

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A is doing intel on a certain group of dangerous people and must fit in or they’ll die

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A is the maid of the princess and has no choice but to take her place when the princess disappears — person A has to temporarily take care of royal duties and ends up falling in love with the prince the princess was set to marry

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A is under the protection (doesn’t have to be protection) of whoever, so very few people know their real identity but they end up falling in love with person B anyway — points if the people who know their real identity say it can never happen / not end well if person B knew who person A really was

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A must wear their mask at all times but person B fell for them anyway (darth vader, the mandalorian, ghost from cod)

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A is a shapeshifter and assumes multiple identities all the time anyway

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A time travels to the past or future to stop someone from doing something and must gain person B’s trust

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A is a demon in disguise to bring person B to hell / make them hold up their end of the deal — obviously ends with love periodt

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A is actually an angel meant to help person B come to terms with their own death, but ends up trying to save person B’s life

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A is the doppelgänger of person B and uses it to their advantage (katherine from tvd)

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A is using a cloaking spell to disguise themselves as person B for whatever reason

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A is the twin of person B who is much more important and has to take their place — ends up falling for person B’s love interest

₊˚⊹.* ♡ similar to that person A and person B are long lost twins with drastically different lives — they switch places to live the others life and falls in love with their respective love interest (the parent trap, the princess switch)

[theshadowrealmitself]

Harry: And why shouldn’t I blame Spiderman for your injuries?? He calls himself a hero, protecting civilians like you should be his priority! Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kick his ass for letting you get hurt!!

Peter: Because-

Newscaster on the tv next to Harry: In this footage you can see Peter Parker, known freelance photographer for the Daily Bugle, actually shove Dr. Doom out of his way while yelling “move it or lose it,” as he runs with his camera, presumably to capture more pictures of the vigilante known as “Spiderman”

Harry:

Peter: -I’m a dumbass.

[bangtanbapple]

Untitled Yoonmin AU (Found your number)  By hqkatsu (twitter)

Author description: au where yoongis best friend namjoon writes his number on a bathroom wall for kicks and agust d fanboy jimin finds it, not knowing whose it is

Group: BTS Main ship: Yoonmin Other ships: Taekook Chapters: 125 (Complete) 

Page2 - page 3 - page 4

[13ag21k]

Ah yes the good old "I can't remove my boyfriend's mask" trope.

[welcometogrouchland]

I love Steph's origin as told in the Secret Origins 80 page giant- I just overall think it strengthens her character by giving her a lot of pathos and adding to her heroism (which isn't something writers were focused on in her actual intro in detective comics #647 since she was just meant to act as a plot device back then) BUT there is one tiny detail in it i will begrudge, and that is the portrayal of her having a minor love at first sight moment for tim

Secret origins 80 page giant, ID in alt

(or well, technically this was their second meeting in that story (the brick was the first) so...love at second sight?)

Mostly because Stephanie showed no interest in her introduction and only showed romantic feelings towards Tim AFTER this moment here:

Robin (1993) #4, ID in alt

Straight up the progression here goes:

The adventure in 'tec where they first meet -> Tim investigating the same crime scene as Steph -> she beats him up not knowing it's him at first, apologizes but says he shouldn't have scared her -> he remembers her/the moniker she goes by -> they talk about plot for a few pages -> Stephanie starts flirting

Robin (1993) #4, ID in alt

Which...is so fascinating to me and says so much about Stephanie. She highlights the fact that Tim "remembered" her. Like. Steph. Girl. This is our bar? It's sweet but kind of speaks to how much Stephanie is ignored at home/how little and sporadically she's shown interacting with her peers (and rarely ever the same kids twice). Her idea of peak romance is just...being on someone's mind even when you're not there.

Kind of also adds layers to Steph's proclivity towards jealousy later on, a manifestation of her insecurity and loneliness (though don't get it twisted, she's not written this way bc Dixon and co think it's an interesting character flaw, they wrote it bc they think it's an inherent character flaw of (particularly young) women/girls, which is very apparent in how he approaches Ariana's character as well from what I've read)

Also the fact that Steph becomes so smitten for Tim almost immediately after this is (a few issues later she aggressively flirts with him during AN ACTIVE HOSTAGE SITUATION. WHERE SHE'S THE HOSTAGE) again is kind of a mixture of kind of funny and sad. One boy is nice to her once and she's fully ready to wife him. Girl you are deranged (affectionate) (concerned)

[nana-mizu-shiki]

Him with his blue orbs and messy dark hair and all?

[allgremlinart]

Bruce himself keeps ruining my bi Bruce agenda by acting like the biggest closeted homosexual in the history of fucking ever....

[aliferous-ly]

i wanna write a team rancher fic where one of them is a secret agent and the other is just ur average joe except I'm not sure which to put in which role because they're both so . wet pathetic cats. they are so painfully incompetent energy. trips over own feet. impossible to look or be cool ,

[lexxwithbooks]

📚: 𝑴𝒓. 𝑾𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝑵𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 (𝑀𝑟. 𝑊𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 #1)📱💬

✍🏽: 𝐋𝐲𝐧𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫

[zlobonessa]

what i do lack honestly is re zero university au. maybe even with all the magic stuff kept there. like. most of the characters are just old enough for that. subaru is at the perfect age to go to university in another city where depression hits him like an isekai truck. his ability could be Return After Failing An Exam And Thinking You Are Gonna Die In The Ditch. reinhard and julius' shenaningans in the cruel and unforgiving academic setting could be just as gay and insane. royal election could be transformed into some stupid academic rivalry now much more full of desire to tear each other troats. in between all the witchculting archbishops could've had just as evil alter egos as the worst uni professors known to humankind who pick on the every little error and do speeches about the failng morals of the youth in the middle of the lecture and do not know how to switch to the next slide in powerpoint because they're hundreds years old. do you get my vision.

[seafoam-icecream]

“Finally! After all this time, I’ll know who you really are under the mask, my dear nemesis.”

“You can’t.”

“That’s the thing: I can, and you can’t stop me.” *rips mask off* “Oh my.”

“Oh my, what? Is there something on my face?”

“No, but I have to admit, I’m a bit underwhelmed. I always thought you were either really ugly or deformed in some way, or that you were incredibly attractive. But turns out you’re really just average, no offense.”

“I’ve…been called worse.”

[shipverse]

Deadpool doesn’t like ‘paparazzis’

(...or are there exceptions?)

Poor Peter just trying to make ends meet, especially with Jameson demanding photos of the newest public "menace" in action. Deadpool isn’t entirely an unfamiliar face though, he just doesn’t know him as "Peter"… which might make this risky …or so it seems for a moment. (peter’s one sole main worry though: will he be able to make rent this month-)

デッドプラールはパパラッチが嫌い… なのか？

特にジェイムソンは、最新の "公害 "の活動中の写真を要求している。デッドプールは全く知らない顔ではないが、デップはウェブズを「ピーター」と知らないだけで、これは危険かもしれない...いや、一瞬そうにも見えるが。(ピーターの唯一の心配事は、今月の家賃を払えるかどうかだが......）

twitter

[sofyreneko]

is there a name for the trope character has a secret and it gets revealed? because it is my absolute favorite.

the character could be a werewolf, or a mermaid, or a time traveler. or maybe in a crossover world: a wizard, a demigod. or just really good at something, a polyglot that could actually understand what you were saying. or maybe they’re jealous, or lgbt+, or an alien, or a gymnast.

i don’t care what they are hiding, but they are hiding something and they don’t really want anyone to find out and will go at great lengths to keep it secret. however, at some point, the secret gets revealed. i love it. does it have a name or am i just making up patterns where there are none?

[2nd-mushroom-circle]

can I just say Surena’s done an impeccable job hiding the secret identity. I have no doubt gwyn was making some moves in those conversations with rue and hobbs (even if just collecting information), but she played the sweet innocent fairy so well that even though we knew she was hiding something those interactions still read so easily as genuine. i really thought that her secret was the dissatisfaction of a minor noble who sees so many people without access to the power of the high fey and thus resents the people at the bloom. this grift has LAYERS and I am EATING IT UP

[besttropeveershowdown]

The Best Trope Ever Showdown: Round 1, Side B

Secret Identity

Propaganda:

THE POTENTIAL!!! angst potential. funny potential. just very flexible even outside the superhero genre. esp with the other trope of identity reveal (The Unmasking in TV Tropes), it can be amazing.

Terror Hero

No propaganda was submitted.

[inhale-and-out]

Ok I have to just air out my mind before it spills out in frustration. I really dislike when any media with a secret identity reveal treats the one keeping the secret as the bad guy.

I understand if you were married for years and discover that they had a whole other side to their life, but if I met you 5 months ago and maybe we flirted a bit; I don't have to tell you anything. If we've been the closest friends for years then only maybe. It's my secret to tell, not you're right to know.

And all those stories where it's revealed that the person was upset not because you didn't tell them, but because you didn't trust them. That's always treated like the perfect answer and makes the secret keeper realize that they were wrong. No? They're not wrong, it's not about trust, usually it's about keeping people alive and safe.

Just FYI. If I ever have a secret identity, I'm telling absolutely no one, and if they find out; I'm not apologizing. If you can't be my friend without knowing absolutely everything about me, then you weren't my friend to begin with.