Comment on A Secret I Never Wanted to Tell

  1. Apate on Chapter 2 Tue 10 Jun 2025 07:17AM UTC

    Wow! I loved Vanessa’s Bright Sides episode and always wanted more information on what she did to keep Chloe safe and this is so good. Her being forced into a corner to make sure Chloe doesn’t end up hurt, and making a desperate choice, but never coming clean?

    Everyone’s different reactions were so good. Chloe needing to find out, then telling Joan because she deserves to know, and the way it just wrecks Joan! Mark forgiving Vanessa because he understands making desperate choice because of the AM (didn’t he use his powers for them? When they pushed the right buttons?) but also because he’s sick of being mad at people he cares about. Sam being unable to forgive or forget because she can’t stand it when people she loves are hurt! And she views it as Vanessa breaking solidarity!!!

    And Joan!!! Love her flashbacks to hanging out with Vanessa and them becoming better and better friends, her fretting over Mark, and how she still doesn’t know where she stands at the end, if she can forgive it. Her spending years blaming herself because Green made a mean comment, and she never played a role to begin with. And the way Vanessa couldn’t face her and that meant she couldn’t support Joan??? Beautiful. Love the ending line too, the way things won’t ever be the same again because Joan thought they were family and Vanessa didn’t even say anything.

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    1. rebeccade on Chapter 2 Wed 11 Jun 2025 05:51PM UTC

      Thank you so much! I really enjoyed exploring how each of the characters might react to a revelation like this. I also spent a lot of time thinking how to weave the flashback scenes in and out of the story of them processing this news, and I hope it helps the emotion of that ending line land! Poor Joan, always looking for people to support her and having that trust broken so many times. And at the same time I wanted to show that Joan is going to be alright, she has community now, and even though this news is hard for her and its unclear where she and Vanessa will end up, Joan does have the tools to move on with or without Vanessa.

      Thank you for reading and sharing your comments, it means so much to me to know that you read it and were thinking about it! <3

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