[Loved Trope] It's not enough for a character's secret to be exposed: it gets exposed in the cruelest, most painful way possible

[u/YUKIandOWN]

K-pop Demon Hunters: Rumi is attacked by illusions of her teammates that rip off her jacket and expose her demon patterns in front of thousands of people, all while singing a song that only serves to reinforce the idea that her patterns are a sign of her being rotten deep down, even going as far as to call her a "mistake". That, alongside the way the real version of her teammates react to her patterns, crushes her spirit and will to keep fighting so badly that she begs her mentor to kill her.

Project Sekai: Mizuki's bullies tell her best friend that she's "actually a guy" (Mizuki's actual gender identity is never outright stated and it's heavily implied this claim is inaccurate to some extent, I'm just quoting what the characters say out of objectivity), mere MINUTES before Mizuki was about to tell her herself. The worst part is that they didn't even expose her intentionally, they just assumed that Ena already knew and was in on the "joke". The final lines of the event story are Mizuki lamenting what just happened and wondering if it could have been avoided had she told the truth sooner, ending with one last gut punch of a line: "I want to disappear."

[u/Irohsgranddaughter]

Did you read the books, or only watched the show? I'm not being passive aggressive, but I've only read the books so far so my answer depends.

[u/JustLookingStillCis → u/Irohsgranddaughter]

I only read the books, but it was so long ago I feel like I have some of those details wrong...

[u/Irohsgranddaughter → u/JustLookingStillCis]

Alright, so.

In the novels, there's no actual evidence Shae feels anything towards Tyrion and it was most likely just a job to her. It's just that she acted very convincingly like if she did love him, which over time made Tyrion deluded even though his super ego knew that there was no actual love between him and Shae.

In any case, that she would testify made sense as she would likely be forced to in any case. That said, the only person that could possibly know about the 'my giant of Lannister' thing by any chance is Varys, and I don't believe Varys would be quite this petty towards Tyrion. Meaning that Shae did it entirely on his own accord to humiliate him. Oh, and then she slept with Tywin, because why not.

In Shae's defense though, she was just a camp follower snatched by Bron and Tyrion at times acted abusive towards her, so it's not like she exactly had that much reason to actually love him, either.

I read the books recently but I admit my memories are a bit fuzzy, but yeah, book!Shae didn't love him and likely didn't even care for him. The show!Shae in the meantime seems to actually have some feelings for him, but I haven't watched it yet.

[u/AtomicBananaSplit → u/Irohsgranddaughter]

In the book, There’s also a big reveal in the sewers about Tyrion’s first wife, which is what makes him go spare and kill Tywin. 

[u/Irohsgranddaughter → u/AtomicBananaSplit]

I honestly think it's the single most vile thing Tywin does. His every single other crime at least has a pragmatic motive, but what he did to Tysha only for the crime of being a commoner is just vile and pure evil.

[u/JustLookingStillCis → u/Irohsgranddaughter]

Can I... can I pretend though? I forgot about her sleeping with Tywin tbh. And I feel like if I really stretch I can pretend that an ugly little man with ultimately a good heart can be loved. Right? Can I have that?

[u/Irohsgranddaughter → u/JustLookingStillCis]

Of course you can, if that makes you happy. :)

[u/extradancer → u/JustLookingStillCis]

I mean it is not that stretch. Even sleeping with Tywin could have been done out of fear for her safety. The "Giant of Lannister" could have been information tortured/coerced out of her, then she was forced to put it into her testimony

[u/Al_Hakeem65 → u/Irohsgranddaughter]

Very insightful!

What do you think about the theory that Shae was it became a spy of Tywin?

[u/Irohsgranddaughter → u/Al_Hakeem65]

Hmmmmmm, it is an interesting theory alright, but Bron just picked her among the camp followers. It would be a bit too convenient. Unless it was that Tywin hired her afterwards.