History Main / UpTheRealRabbitHole

* The the BadFuture that Future Trunks comes from in ''Manga/DragonBall'', where two Androids have single-handedly created a CrapsackWorld apocalypse, is commonly referred to as an Alternate Timeline. Technically speaking, Future Trunks's timeline existed before the main one: the more familiar timeline depicted on-page in the manga is there as a result of Cell traveling there from a different BadFuture timeline that existed before both, with Trunks shortly after arriving there [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong to inform the heroes of the Androids to help them prepare for their arrival]].

* Invoked by ''Manga/DragonBall'' fans who refer to the BadFuture that Future Trunks comes from, where two Androids have single-handedly created a CrapsackWorld apocalypse, as an Alternate Timeline. Technically speaking Future Trunks' timeline is the original one: the more familiar timeline depicted on-page in the manga is specifically there as a result of Trunks [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong going back in time and informing the heroes of the Androids and helping them prepare for their arrival]], creating a branching timeline where his Bad Future never happens.

* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureSteelBallRun'': The BigBad's Stand has the power to visit parallel worlds and bring people from said parallel worlds to his world. He constantly refers to his initial world (the world where the plot takes place) as the "root world", he doesn't have any problems with killing people from the other worlds and every time he's killed he has one of his alternate selves take his place, abducting him from his original world and overriding his memories with the villain's (apparently, his alternate selves don't have any problem with this and if they do [[ExpendableAlternateUniverse it doesn't matter]]). He has a reason to think like that, since [[spoiler:the [[MacGuffin Holy Corpse]] only exists in the so-called "root world".]]

* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' Part 7, the BigBad's stand has the power to visit parallel worlds and bring people from said parallel worlds to his world. He constantly refers to his initial world (the world where the plot takes place) as the ''root world'', he doesn't have any problems with killing people from the other worlds and every time he's killed he has one of his alternate selves take his place, abducting him from his original world and overriding his memories with the villain's (apparently, his alternate selves don't have any problem with this and if they do [[ExpendableAlternateUniverse it doesn't matter]]). He has a reason to think like that, since [[spoiler:the [[MacGuffin Holy Corpse]] only exists in the so called ''root world'']]

* ''Manga/MagicKnightRayearth'' has the Magic Knights having a curious discussion about this. They concluded that MagicalLand Cephiro was "real enough" and the clincher was that if they died there, they would "[[YourMindMakesItReal die in the real world too]]".

* Subverted in ''Manga/FushigiYuugi''; when BigBad Nakago [[WelcomeToTheRealWorld escapes the book-reality most of the series has taken place in]] and starts trying to conquer the real world, the heroes protest that he cannot do this because he is just a character from a book. Nakago responds that this only makes it more amusing for him to rule this "world of the gods".

* ''Zegapain'' subverts this with the "real" world of Maihama Kyo comes from and the ''AfterTheEnd'' world on board the Oceanus. [[spoiler: The "real" world is a Matrix-like construct containing the remains of humanity's minds while the "other" world is the real world.]]
* In ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemistTheConquerorOfShamballa'', Edward feels this way about [[spoiler:being trapped in our world. In fact, the Alphonse of our world calls him out on this and makes him realize that both worlds are real]], subverting the trope.
* Many characters in ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' call Ichigo's world "The World of the Living." Granted, people from Ichigo's world have to die to go to Soul Society, but considering that there was a conspiracy revolving around who '''killed''' Captain Aizen, that in the same conspiracy they were going to '''execute''' Rukia, Yumichika ordered for preparations to be made for Ikkaku's '''funeral''' procession, etc.
** There's a bit of LostInTranslation in this one. The Japanese word used for this, "gense" (現世) is commonly translated as this for commodity when dealing with the world of the dead as opposed to that of the living, but "gense" has a more fundamental meaning as "present/real/material world", the last of which would make far more sense given shinigami are spiritual beings, as opposed to the material beings that living humans are.
* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' Part 7, the BigBad's stand has the power to visit parallel worlds and bring people from said parallel worlds to his world. He constantly refers to his initial world (the world where the plot takes place) as the ''root world'', he doesn't have any problems with killing people from the other worlds and every time he's killed he has one of his alternate selves take his place, abducting him from his original world and overriding his memories with the villain's (apparently, his alternate selves don't have any problem with this and if they do [[ExpendableAlternateUniverse it doesn't matter]]). He has a reason to think like that, since [[spoiler:the [[MacGuffin Holy Corpse]] only exists in the so called ''root world'']]
* Invoked by ''Manga/DragonBall'' fans who refer to the BadFuture that Future Trunks comes from, where two Androids have single-handedly created a CrapsackWorld apocalypse, as an Alternate Timeline. Technically speaking Future Trunks' timeline is the original one: the more familiar timeline depicted on-page in the manga is specifically there as a result of Trunks [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong going back in time and informing the heroes of the Androids and helping them prepare for their arrival]], creating a branching timeline where his Bad Future never happens.

* Invoked by ''Manga/DragonBall'' fans who refer to the BadFuture that Future Trunks comes from, where two Androids have single-handedly created a CrapsackWorld apocalypse, as an Alternate Timeline. Technically speaking Future Trunks' timeline is the original one: the more familiar timeline depicted on-page in the manga is specifically there as a result of Trunks [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong going back in time and informing the heroes of the Androids and helping them prepare for their arrival]], preventing his Bad Future from ever happening.

* Averted in the ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' novels. In later books, Kyon [[spoiler: ends up in a timeline without time travellers, aliens or espers. He considers how selfish it is to want to change things back, that [[TheTimeTravellersDilemma the people in the new timeline have just as much right to exist.]] He does it anyways, but often "wakes up late at night, with their faces in his mind."]]

** Interestingly, DC's GoldenAge comics were [[{{Revision}} Revised]] as taking place on Earth 2, meaning that it came "first" chronologically.

* ''VideoGame/EternalSonata'': The premise is that the fantasy world in which the game takes place is a figment of Chopin's imagination created on his deathbed, and that the characters and events of the game are allegories for his own life experiences and personality traits. Chopin himself, being a smart guy, quickly figures all this out. But suddenly, [[spoiler:in as big a GainaxEnding as there ever was, Chopin suddenly realizes -- after attempting to ''[[KillEmAll murder]]'' [[KillEmAll all of the party members]] -- that "it's not a dream!"]] Don't get it? Well, this is a game that ends with a tête-à-tête between a caterpillar and a snail after all.

Interestingly, with AlternateUniverse works this trope will come in play much less and protagonists will rarely, if ever, call their own universe "the real world". Perhaps it's because the AlternateUniverse they visit bears plenty similarity to their own, so the issue is that the protagonists/writers are subconsciously thinking [[WhatMeasureisANonHuman world that runs on magic / has different laws of science]] = [[RealityIsUnrealistic not a real world]]. Or perhaps it's because instead of calling their world "the real world" it's more common to call the world they're from "[[TheEarthPrimeTheory Earth Prime]]". Again, this can be justified if TheMultiverse actually works as such, with every other universe ultimately able to be traced back to the one the protagonists live in, but quite often "Earth Prime" is used simply because from their point of view, their universe's timeline is the "right" one and every other universe is just a deviation. So, expect the protagonists to go "''In this world, [[ElvisLives Elvis is still alive]]''" when you could easily flip it around and say "''In this world, Elvis has died instead of living to a ripe old age as he's supposed to''".

A type of CreatorProvincialism, one step above EarthIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse. Compare ExpendableAlternateUniverse, ExpendableClone, WelcomeToTheRealWorld, TheTimeTravellersDilemma, ThisIsReality. Contrast DownTheRabbitHole.

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* In the first ''Literature/ChroniclesOfThomasCovenant'', Thomas persistently denies that The Land is real (giving him the title of "The Unbeliever", which somehow helps him defeat the BigBad. [[spoiler:Who is his EnemyWithout. God of The Land is a part of him too, so it's possible he's ''right'' -- never mind that the second series sucks someone else in too.]]