History Main / NinjaProp

* ''WebAnimation/SpookyMonth'', at the ending credits of "Hollow Sorrows", we get to view a demonic picture of Father Gregor fighting out of hell. But if you notice, [[FiveSecondForeshadowing the Ooga Booga Lady is in the crowd of demonic characters. And in a few seconds, she looks to the audience,]] and [[Jump Scare crawls at the camera, giving a frightful jumpscare.]]

* ''WebAnimation/SpookyMonth'', at the ending credits of "Hollow Sorrows", we get to view a demonic picture of Father Gregor fighting out of hell. But if you notice, [[FiveSecondForeshadowing the Ooga Booga Lady is in the crowd of demonic characters. And in a few seconds, she looks to the audience,]] and [[Jumpscare crawls at the camera, giving a frightful jumpscare.]]

-->SpongeBob: [[NoTimeToExplain There's no time for that, Mr. Krabs!]]

[=SpongeBob=]: [[NoTimeToExplain There's no time for that, Mr. Krabs!]]

SpongeBob: [[NoTimeToExplain There's no time for that, Mr. Krabs!]]

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': In "Born to Be Wild", [=SpongeBob=] finds out about a bad biker gang known as "The Wild Ones", heading straight for Bikini Bottom, but he's 50 Miles away from there. So he takes a shortcut by riding on one of the Bubbles during the Bubble Transition, to the Krusty Krab, scaring Mr. Krabs.

* ''Anime/{{Gintama}}'' Episode 267: Since Odd Jobs Gin is frozen in time and any changes they make to reality [[RealityIsOutToLunch result in causality getting her ass raped by comedy]], Gin decides to deal with [[ItMakesSenseInContext Otae getting hit by a rocket arm]] by changing the SFX involved with a marker; first by making her "Ouch" into an "owie" and then by turning the SFX into a sentient being, "Ham-Chan". Naturally, this is lampshaded by Shinpachi, then Ham gets married to an amnesiac Otae (while Kyubei runs off with a crudely-drawn dick made out of the SFX spare parts from Ham attached to her crotch), then Otose shatters the nigh-indestructible rocket arm with her bare fist, and finally Ham saves the day just after the time travel batteries run out and freeze Odd Jobs Gin as well, as Ham is unaffected by the freeze.

* In the musical adaptation of the autobiographical graphic novel ''ComicBook/FunHome'', there are usually two versions of Alison Bechdel on stage at any time: the adult version who is narrating her memories, and the "actual" Alison at that point in time, whether as a child, teenager, or college student. The narrator Alison never interacts with the "memories"—until close to the very end, when her college-age self can't bring herself to have a deep conversation with her father, so narrator-Alison impulsively jumps in. She's treated as the "real" Alison by everyone in the "memory" at that point, and gets to have a duet with her father, who died a short time after the memory takes place.

%% Image and caption selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1362751600015480600
%% Please do not replace or remove either without starting a new thread.

* The French-Belgian comic ''Imbattable'' uses this ability (and having the associated MediumAwareness) as in-universe superpowers. The protagonist is a superhero able to travel and interact across the panels of the comic (other characters, lacking his MediumAwareness, view him as teleporting, time travelling, duplicating himself...). Other characters include an old man whose speech balloons can affect the physical words (to other characters, it looks like telekinesis), an aspiring superhero who can play with perspective, or a villain who can traverse book pages.

[[folder:Films — Animation]]

* ''Film/LoadedWeapon1'':
** In an early scene, Whoopi Goldberg's character glances at a subtitle onscreen to verify the current time.
** During the climax, Colt sneaks into the villain warehouse and two German, Nazi-esque guards exchange small talk, complete with subtitles. However, after they leave the scene, the subtitles remain, and Colt trips on them like they're part of the scenery.

** ''Film/HighAnxiety'' ends with the camera zooming away from the characters and out the window...or rather, ''through'' the window, which it breaks, drawing the characters' attention.
* Another ''Star Wars'' parody, ''Thumb Wars'' has the spaceships in the ActionPrologue crashing into the words of the OpeningScroll, which of course are still floating through space ahead of them.
* While [[ComicBook/ScottPilgrim the comic it was adapted from]] depicted it as a genuine plot device from the start, in ''Film/ScottPilgrimVsTheWorld'', Scott appears at first to have picked up the OneUp life as a throw-away joke before talking to Ramona. [[spoiler:But after being killed by Gideon, he uses it as a real extra life to [[DeathIsCheap come back to life]].]] Lampshaded by his sister on the phone to their parents, discussing it in a bored and entirely mundane way like it was a gallon of milk.
* In ''Film/AustinPowersInGoldmember'', when Austin Powers and Foxy Cleopatra meet with Mr. Roboto, Austin keeps misinterpreting what he's saying because his white subtitles keep getting partially obscured by white objects on his desk.
* In the 2009 live-action ''Film/{{Lucky Luke|2009}}'' movie with Creator/JeanDujardin, Luke is seen standing at the gate of a gorgeous colonial house (his friend Cooper's home) which is obviously a matte painting. Then a black servant invites Luke to follow him, and as he steps away we find out that he was already inside the house and that the painting is an in-universe artwork.
* ''Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory''. A very short way into the factory's tour, the group finds themselves at the end of a long hallway. ForcedPerspective is a common Hollywood trick to make something appear larger than it is, and one would expect that to be in play here. It is...''in-story''; the hallway is surprisingly short, and by the end of it Mr. Wonka has to crouch down to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling.
* In ''Film/{{Annihilation|2018}}'', the main character and the rest of her FiveManBand cross over the border into [[EldritchLocation the Shimmer]], and the next thing we see is an immediate JumpCut to her and the other women waking up in their campsite...only for the others to explain that the border crossing is the last thing they remember doing ''in-universe''. Examining their supplies reveals that they've used up four or five days worth of provisions, as if the characters experienced the JumpCut as skipping over four days of in-universe time in their memories.
* In ''Film/TheresNothingOutThere'', a character swings to safety on a microphone boom that appeared on screen 'by mistake'.

* In ''Film/TheManWithTwoBrains'' Dr. Hfuhruhurr is pulled over by a policeman who speaks German to him, which is subtitled in English for viewers. When the doctor replies in English, the policeman says, "Oh, you speak English?" He turns and calls offscreen, "You can stop the subtitles, now," adding, "That's better; we have more room down there, now!"

* In the teaser trailer for ''Series/CowboyBebop2021'', black bars are used to indicate SplitScreen; at one point Spike grabs one of the bars and uses it as a staff to fight some mooks with.

* In the day's of its EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' had the card [[https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=603 Chaos Orb]], and a couple of other cards like it. Normally, the cards themselves are treated as representations of what they depict. Not so with Chaos Orb, which you drop from over the table and it destroys whatever card it is physically touching.

* ''Theatre/TheMysteryOfIrmaVep'' does this with its use of ActingForTwo, as two actors portray a total of seven characters in the play. [[spoiler:There are only five characters. Two of them are other characters in disguise.]]

* In the musical adaptation of the autobiographical graphic novel ''ComicBook/FunHome'', there are usually two versions of Alison Bechdel on stage at any time: the adult version who is narrating her memories, and the "actual" Alison at that point in time, whether as a child, teenager, or college student. The narrator Alison never interacts with the "memories"—until close to the very end, when her college-age self can't bring herself to have a deep conversation with her father, so narrator-Alison impulsively jumps in. She's treated as the "real" Alison by everyone in the "memory" at that point, and gets to have a duet with her father, who died a short time after the memory takes place.

* Infamously used in ''VideoGame/IWannaBeTheGuy'' when obvious parts of the background, [[spoiler:such as the Moon and a fake Windows error message]], directly attack the Kid. As does a save point.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' has a horribly surreal moment after the characters leave reality: the first thing you see when you get back to your feet is a save point, which ''multiplies'' as you step on it. Doesn't do anything else, it's just MindScrew.

* The original ''VideoGame/{{Battletoads}}'' has Space Invader expies who don't attack your toad directly, but instead fly up to the HUD and steal blocks from their life meter.

** In ''VideoGame/LEGOMarvelSuperHeroes'', his combo finisher has him lift the ground crosshair around an enemy to trap them and kill them with the crosshair bearing his image.
** In his own game, ''VideoGame/Deadpool2013'', he crosses a gorge by using his own thought bubbles as stepping stones.

* Midway through the fight against Norton Dragon in ''VideoGame/SunsetOverdrive'', your character resorts to impaling him with the AwesomenessMeter- the one that you've more than likely filled up in the process of [[GetBackHereBoss getting to him.]]
* In ''VideoGame/SyobonAction'', some clouds come to life and kill you if you happen to jump into them.
* In ''VideoGame/{{MUGEN}}'', [[Manga/DeathNote Light Yagami]] reads his opponent's life bar to see what their name is so he can write it in his [[ArtifactOfDeath Death Note.]]
* ''VideoGame/MetalGear'':
** During the fight with Psycho Mantis in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', he uses the ''controller'' against the player, by reading your inputs to dodge your attacks. You've got to switch it to the second controller slot on the console to hit him.
** While hunting for C4 in the Big Shell early in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'', calling Pliskin for advice may have him tell you that he only found one by taking a close look in first-person view - the implication being that the third-person, top-down view you normally view the games in is how player characters in the series ''actually see the world''.
* ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'' features a ''vicious'' InterfaceScrew where the Scarecrow's Fear Gas causes the game to apparently crash and restart, complete with graphics glitches that make the player worry the game's burned out their graphics card.

* ''[[VideoGame/SilentHills P.T.]]'':
** At the game's start, YouWakeUpInARoom that's mostly dark and hear strange vaguely-philosophical rambling, and you're left to assume it was the PlayerCharacter's internal narration. Once you get a flashlight and go back to the room, shining a light on the darkened corner shows it was actually coming from an in-world source -- [[spoiler:specifically, a [[MindScrew bloody paper bag]].]]
** In a section where you are searching for pieces of a missing picture, one piece is hidden in the menu screen. You have to turn up the brightness.
* ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami2WrongNumber'' features one of these during The Son's [[MushroomSamba hallucinogenic rampage]] at the end of the game, where his portrait suddenly opens wide and ''inhales'' his own overhead sprite to take him to the next part of the level.
* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX'' allows you to [[CharacterCustomization create your own player character]] - an unusual feature for a JRPG, but certainly not unheard of. Then in Chapter 5, [[spoiler:it's revealed that your body is actually a robotic puppet you're controlling from stasis, and that it was designed according to your specifications and doesn't necessarily resemble your real body]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'': The save points are actually [[spoiler:surveillance devices that the Solaris authorities use to [[BigBrotherIsWatchingYou watch over the ground population]]]]. Because you keep saving your game, [[spoiler:TheEmpire and the BigBad can keep tabs on you and know everything about you.]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'':
** Just to drive the point home that you're in a fight to the death with no escape and no mercy, [[spoiler: Asgore]] ''destroys'' the "Mercy" button that you use to flee the battle or try to spare the enemy. [[spoiler:Fortunately, it's still possible to spare him like every other enemy in the game--in fact, when you get the option to spare him, the Mercy button looks like it's been hastily patched back together.]]
** One of the dungeons of the game contains a myriad of shapeshifting monsters, two of which disguise themselves as a emoticon bubble and a save point. [[spoiler:The very act of saving also becomes an important plot point, as it's revealed that Flowey also possessed the ability to save, before you arrived on the scene and your ability to save overrode his. Once he goes OneWingedAngel, he takes advantage of his power by crashing the game. Then, when you reopen the game, he ''smashes through'' your save file so he can make you watch him kill you over and over again, and abuses SaveScumming during the actual battle (meanwhile the "Fight" and "Act" menu buttons now become physical objects that the player has to move over and interact with to use.]]
** The already clever [[spoiler:Sans, the FinalBoss of the Genocide route,]] also takes advantage of this. [[spoiler:Since your menu icon is the same icon as the heart that represents your player's Soul (your hitbox during the BulletHell segments), he takes the opportunity to start attacking your cursor in-between rounds, which has the same effect as getting attacked normally. His "special attack" also takes advantage of the turn-based nature of the game's combat, as he simply refuses to end his turn in the hopes that the player will give up and quit. The player then has to take advantage of this trope themselves by ''dragging'' the square field their soul resides in during combat over to the Fight button and selecting it to finish him off.]]
** At one point, Mettaton traps the player in a room full of bombs disguised as all kinds of innocuous objects (such as a movie script, a glass of water, a basketball and a dog). As he lists off all the objects that are actually bombs, he ends with "EVEN MY WORDS ARE...!" before the text suddenly falls out of his text box and explodes.
* Some versions of ''VideoGame/AceOfSpades'', pre-Jagex buyout, had a CaptureTheFlag mode with "Intel" represented on the minimap by a team-coloured symbol that looked vaguely like the logo for Wi-Fi. But the minimap ''also'' accurately reflected the colours of the terrain, and since everything was BuiltWithLego it was possible to arrange a couple of dozen blocks of approximately the right colour on the ground to confuse the opposing team. This tactic was [[BrokenBase controversial]] but quite popular until [[ObviousRulePatch an update added an arrow]] that would always point towards the ''real'' intel.
* In ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'', the boss Bowyer summons replicas of the gamepad's A, X, and Y buttons, and when he shoots one it becomes disabled, preventing you from making use of the button during the fight.
* ''VideoGame/NierAutomata'': The menu tutorial turns out to be a JustifiedTutorial where [[PlayerCharacter 2B]] has come online [[spoiler:from a BodyBackupDrive]], and 9S is guiding her through the DiegeticInterface. What appears to be unvoiced text from nowhere is actually 9S speaking to 2B, who starts with vocal recognition (i.e. voice volume) set to zero. This further implies that the subtitles also appear in-universe.
* The FinalBoss of ''VideoGame/TwentyXX'' begins his boss battle by destroying his own health bar so the player can't tell how much HP he has.

* ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'':
** At one point in the final levels of ''VideoGame/KirbyTripleDeluxe'', Kirby encounters the game's first boss, Flowery Woods, a third time. However, he has Hypernova, and thus simply begins sucking Flowery Woods up, taking the boss' health bar in the process before inhaling Flowery Woods in its entirety. [[spoiler: He does this again at the end of the final boss fight. There are also the axes in the background of the Masked Dedede fight. One of them gets grabbed by his Revenge form in the second phase, and he promptly destroys the other three immediately after.]]
** While doors are usually symbolic objects in the series, there are some cases where they're treated as physical entities that Kirby needs to interact with in some way to proceed, particularly in ''Triple Deluxe'' and ''[[VideoGame/KirbyPlanetRobobot Planet Robobot]]''. For instance, in one stage of Royal Road of ''Triple Deluxe'', Kirby "sucks up" the stage exit in a forceful inhale, and spits it back out to end the stage; in another stage of Overload Ocean in ''Planet Robobot'', Kirby "builds" the exit by carving it out of rock.
** The traditional way of fighting King Dedede is to wait for him to pound the ground with either his hammer or his body, making star-shaped CirclingBirdies, and then have Kirby suck up those stars and spit them out.
** The BossSubtitles in ''VideoGame/KirbyAndTheForgottenLand'' are physical models in the environment, which cast shadows and move in 3D space accordingly, though they are never directly interacted with.
* ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice'': ''Beyond Time and Space'' reveals in its final episode that the [[SoundEffectBleep bleeping out of swear words]] that's been happening throughout the season (and a few times in ''Save the World'') is happening in-universe in Hell's [[TakeThat FCC department]]. It then plays an important role later on -- the duo need to figure out the name of one of the game's villains, but they can't hear it because it keeps getting bleeped out -- so Sam [[spoiler:replaces Hell's list of swear words with a grocery list]]. Doing so also reveals that the game's HollywoodTourettes character was speaking in [[GoshDangItToHeck much milder language]] than the game initially implied, and that their health started to improve after the constant ringing in their ear stopped.
* This is a big part of the gameplay of ''VideoGame/ThereIsNoGameWrongDimension'', with several puzzles involving messing with interface elements. This is particularly apparent in the middle sections of the game in which you end up in the world of a point-and-click adventure game, followed by an action-adventure game, in which you have no control over the game characters and instead must assist them through the game by affecting the interface.
* Minor [=NPCs=] in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiV'' have detailed clothes but [[FacelessMasses no faces]], which appears to be a stylistic choice to save on animation until a third-year high school student points out that her teachers and some classmates have indistinct faces. [[spoiler:Eighteen years ago, Tokyo was destroyed, but divine intervention restored the city and its people. The miracle is fading by the start of the game, and everyone who was recreated is fading with it]].

* ''VisualNovel/NineHoursNinePersonsNineDoors'', but only in the original Nintendo DS version of the game, as it's unable to be replicated by anything else. [[spoiler:The top screen, where character sprites and dialogue are, represents the present, and the bottom screen, where the narrative is, represents the past. The game is Akane watching the present from the past to save herself from a situation she can't handle herself, and when you get to where she's stuck at in the present, you flip the DS upside down so that you can solve the puzzle in the present so she can see the answer in the past]].
* ''VisualNovel/MuvLuvAlternative'' has only one route, unlike the other two entries in the series and it's with a character that wasn't in ''Unlimited''. There's a good reason for it, though it's not revealed until very late in.

* ''Webcomic/MSPaintAdventures'' has had a lot of fun with this:
** ''Webcomic/ProblemSleuth'': Ace Dick beating an NPC to death with part of the user interface and Problem Sleuth attacking the final boss' healthbars directly both come to mind.
** ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'':
*** Every character has a different strange InventoryManagementPuzzle called a sylladex; many shenanigans are had early on by people trying to get things out of their sylladex that they accidentally buried. But then we get to [[InexplicablyAwesome Gamzee]], who, rather than bothering with doing things the hard way, reaches up into the corner of the screen where the sylladex cards are displayed and just grabs it.
*** Caliborn also annoyed everyone (readers included) when he began [[http://www.mspaintadventures.com/007395/ beating the MSPA website with a crowbar]], causing it to fall apart. For bonus meta points, this particular crowbar had been much earlier identified in-story as an artifact which cancelled out temporal shenanigans, which the webcomic makes heavy use of.
*** Early on, Dave once cut his naming bar in half.
*** The "Prospit" and "Derse" text introducing those planets in act 6 are shot in two angles: one like the original front on angle that was used for the Beta Kids and Trolls; and another from the side that gives the letters depth, as if they are actually hovering next to their respective planet.
%%* ''Webcomic/CyanideAndHappiness'' uses this frequently.
* One of the competitors in the [[OriginalCharacterTournament Coliseum Original Character Battle Tournament]] had this as his gimmick; he could hop between panels to make quick escapes, and use speech bubbles as shields or weapons. Unfortunately, none of his opponents were [[MediumAwareness Medium Aware]] enough to twig to what he was actually doing or take him on using his own tricks.
* ''Webcomic/ALoonaticsTale'': Flint is somewhat [[MediumAwareness medium-aware]] and likes to panel-hop in order to get an edge, especially when hunting; [[WordOfGod in metanarratives outside the comic proper]] Flint is full-on medium-aware, genre-savvy, and [[RuleOfThree wash-and-wax]].
* At the beginning of ''Webcomic/TriggerStar'', a jumping mook gets (gruesomely) impaled ''[[http://www.interrobangstudios.com/comics-display.php?strip_id=64 on his own speed-lines.]]''
* ''Webcomic/TheDailyDerp'': Derpy [[http://dailyderp.tumblr.com/image/38575592925 using the chapter number to fuel a bonfire.]]

* A RunningGag in the ''Series/{{Fringe}}'' strips of ''Webcomic/TheHeroOfThreeFaces'' is that Walter invented those floating-letter signs you get everywhere.
* ''ComicStrip/ThePerryBibleFellowship'': [[http://pbfcomics.com/145/ Nunez]] starts on a view of what seems to be [[ThirstyDesert two men dying of thirst on a sand dune]], with one saying they need to escape "this dessert". The last panel zooms out to show that wasn't a typo, they're actually on a giant lemon cake.
* ''Webcomic/RealLife'' has a few "cheat" comics where Greg violates the rules to prove a point. He's the first character in the comic to jump to color, and he climbs up out of the panel on another occasion to ''change the strip's title'' because it's become too unrealistic to qualify as "real life."
* ''Webcomic/LeastICouldDo'': In addition to [[NoFourthWall talking to the creator through the comic's "camera,"]] Rayne Summers [[MediumAwareness can see the title]] of his comic -- and is aware of the rather severe punishment afforded to anyone who performs an accidental TitleDrop.
* In ''Webcomic/OwMySanity'', when [[HumanoidAbomination Shubby]] [[http://owmysanity.comicgenesis.com/d/20101203.html introduces Dave to the Shoggoth prod]] (like a cattle prod only more mystical and for [[EldritchAbomination much deadlier creatures]]) she points to the reverse sealing equation on the end of it, which is highlighted in a close-up connected to the end of the prod by a big arrow. After an angle change showing the close-up, the arrow ''and'' the disembodied pointing hand (which wasn't Shubby's after all) hovering in the air beside her, Dave picks up the close-up to get a better look at it. Yeah, it's a pretty weird comic sometimes.
* ''Webcomic/KeychainOfCreation'': The space, time, and fate-bending abilities of the Sidereal Exalted are represented by having them actively use the comic format against their enemies. In particular, Nemen Yi leaps between comic panels, abuses perspective to hit people at range with a melee attack (think "I crush your head", except it ''works''), and breaks off a piece of the gutter (the border between panels) to use it as a throwing weapon.
* ''Webcomic/DaughterOfTheLilies'': A [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Drath]] Echo infects someone's mind as an EnemyWithin and starts amplifying their insecurities. Thistle [[http://www.daughterofthelilies.com/dotl/507 destroys it]] by ripping the errant thoughts out of their speech bubble and stomping on them. Later, Master Wu deal with another Echo by cutting though its speech bubble's tail with his hand.

* In the Sapphire Dragon episode of ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown'', Dojo manages to temporarily hide from the Dragon by ducking underneath the widescreen bars, which is especially humorous in a show whose native AspectRatio is 4:3.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** In the episode "Marge Be Not Proud", Homer is looking at a family portrait where Bart holds up an "I Stink" dialogue balloon behind him:
--->'''Homer:''' Hey, I don't remember saying that.
** "Treehouse of Horror VIII" opens with a FOX censor being stabbed by the TV rating graphic.
** Another Treehouse of Horror opening has Marge kill all the FOX advertisement bugs that keep popping up on the screen exclaiming "Can't people just watch the show they're watching?".
** A scene where Marge wakes up with a hangover seemingly has the sound of Homer's footsteps magnified to represent Marge's HangoverSensitivity. Then the camera moves down to show his footsteps are actually that loud, because he's wearing ski shoes.
** This trope is also discussed; In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS18E17MargeGamer Marge Gamer]]", [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Marge joins an MMORPG popular among the townsfolk]], and is made aware of [[{{Griefer}} a certain high-powered player who kills all the others with ease]]. How deadly is he? He once ''beat Moe's character to death with a health bar''.
* In the Creator/TexAvery [[WesternAnimation/TexAveryMGMCartoons MGM cartoon]] "WesternAnimation/MagicalMaestro", a stray hair is seen shaking around at the bottom of the screen -- a common problem with films at the time. That is, until the on-screen cartoon singer actually plucks the annoying hair out. (This gag is rumored to have turned a few projectionists bonkers as they tried to remove the way-too-realistic hair.)
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' has a loose connection with the fourth wall thanks to [[RealityWarper Bat-Mite]], but in "Emperor Joker!" when the clown prince of crime gets Bat-Mite's powers by mistake, reality loses its mind. Later in the episode when the omnipotent Joker leaps into Batman's brain to make him go insane, leaving the powerless Bat-Mite and the rebelling Harley Quinn to deal with his goons. This particular Harley is themed after 1920s Flappers, and The Joker has made her mute, her dialogue appearing in intertitles. Then Bat-Mite rips the intertitles off the TV screen, and he and Harley start using Harley's dialogue like 2 by 4s.
* ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'', in “Born to Be Wild”, [=SpongeBob=] finds out about a bad biker gang known as “The Wild Ones”, heading straight for Bikini Bottom, but he’s 50 Miles away from there. So he takes a shortcut by riding on one of the Bubbles during the Bubble Transition, to the Krusty Krab, scaring Mr. Krabs.

* ''WesternAnimation/ZigAndSharko'': In an episode, an attempt at cleaning up the very dirty sandcastle turns into an all-out fight between Zig and Sharko, using cleaning implements. This results in the castle getting squeaky clean, with plenty of sparkles. Then they ''grab the sparkles'' and start using them like shurikens.
* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'': In an episode where Candace gets sucked into a video game, she is attacked and her health bar appears to show her declining health. She then uses the health bar as a club.

* On ''WesternAnimation/HamsterAndGretel'', whenever Gretel [[CallingYourAttacks calls her attacks]] the words appear as physical objects the characters can see and interact with. Gretel has no idea where they come from.

* In the 2009 live-action ''ComicBook/LuckyLuke'' movie with Creator/JeanDujardin, Luke is seen standing at the gate of a gorgeous colonial house (his friend Cooper's home) which is obviously a matte painting. Then a black servant invites Luke to follow him, and as he steps away we find out that he was already inside the house and that the painting is an in-universe artwork.

* In [[https://vimeo.com/67872298 this DVLA PIF]] about road taxes, [[Series/{{Thunderbirds}} Lady Penelope]] discovers that Parker got FAB 1 clamped due to forgetting to pay the roadcheck. She responds by ''cutting his strings''.

There are certain things we're used to seeing in certain media, but accept as artefacts of the medium: {{speech bubble}}s, [[ThoughtCaption captions]], and frames in comics, [[WireFu wires that make people "fly"]] in shows, status bars and inventories in video games, and stage hands that move {{Prop}}s and sets around in theater.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'', in “Born to Be Wild”, SpongeBob finds out about a bad biker gang known as “The Wild Ones”, heading straight for Bikini Bottom, but he’s 50 Miles away from there. So he takes a shortcut by riding on one of the Bubbles during the Bubble Transition, to the Krusty Krab, scaring Mr. Krabs.