History Main / InstantRunes

* ''VideoGame/Noita'': Heart pickups, spell recharges, wands and chests create a small pattern of colored glowing pixels when picked up/opened/used, which quickly dissipate as if blown apart by tiny currents of air. Purple patterns float inside the reward chambers for two particular puzzles, one of rotating spirals and another of a three-dimensional rotating octahedral shape. Earthquake generates a giant red circular effect when used, while Intense Concentrated Light first has to draw a shape before firing.

* The ''VideoGame/{{StarCraft|I}}'' Protoss's warp systems no longer look like wobbly portals in ''VideoGame/{{StarCraft II}}'', but rather have neat geometrical effects, with diagrams and strange alien symbols all around them. And the Mothership's Vortex power has mathematical graphs as well as the classic "squared" 2D representation of 3D space. It's never clear if these are holograms, or if space simply works that way. The effects could well enough be the alien equivalent of holographic "'''STOP''' signs", that are projected around warp rifts and vortices.

* The RealTimeStrategy game ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'' has certain spells manifest this in addition to the usual fireworks.

** Heroes themselves gain a Rune of Warding of their own, a temporary power gained from a storyarc that is especially effective against certain magical creatures. [[RuleOfCool And looks awesome.]]

* In the ''VideoGame/DmCDevilMayCry'' 2013 reboot, Kat plays with this. She spends weeks preparing the materials used in her magic, and then stuffs them into a spray paint can when they're finished. When her magic is needed, she pulls out the spray paint can and a stencil to create the necessary runes in seconds.

* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':

** In a rare aversion, in the second ''Naruto'' movie, one of the characters uses existing runes on the ground to summon [[spoiler:a black hole]].

* A 1975 ComicBook/DoctorFate story by Walter Simonson (from [[http://www.mycomicshop.com/search?q=%22Walt%20Simonson%22&qloc=N&TID=179751 issue #9]] of the try-out title ''1st Issue Special''), where, rather than the simple glowy effects and occasional Ditko Ribbons of previous appearances, the magics of Fate and his {{Mummy}} adversary manifest as ''glowing ankhs and hieroglyphics''. Almost every subsequent ComicBook/DoctorFate artist has used the ankh motif for his magics. Simonson is also the artist who first depicted the [[ComicBook/NewGods Anti-Life Equation]] as glowing glyphs orbiting the head of its possessor as a halo.

* InAWorld where the ComicBook/JusticeLeague are all powerful magic users (Earth-33 of the Creator/DCComics {{Multiverse}}), Superman's spells manifest as Instant Runes ... in ''Kryptonian''.

* The assorted ancient robots in Disney's ''WesternAnimation/AtlantisTheLostEmpire'', when activated, have little light-up runes and glyphs and such.

** ComicBook/{{Shazam}} is depicted with the lightning bolt on his chest and parts of his gauntlets glowing.

[[folder:Web Original]]

* Flambo from ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' uses these when he casts his flame shield spell. And when possessed by [[spoiler:Little Dude]], the Gumball Guardian gets a ring of runes around its head that a laser fires from.
* ''ComicBook/DoctorStrange'' and company does this in his Creator/MarvelComics [[WesternAnimation/DoctorStrangeTheSorcererSupreme animated movie]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'''s Season 5 finale, "The Cutie Re-Mark," ArcVillain Starlight Glimmer's new TimeTravel spell works via spherical portal surrounded by these.

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': In the episode "Mirror Gem", when Steven is trying to free [[spoiler:Lapis Lazuli]] from the mirror, a stream of water from the ocean flows up the beach and forms a magic circle around him.
* Raven of the ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'' gets these ''on her skin'' as her father's prophesied conquest of Earth draws near.

* ''Manga/SoulHunter'': the Super Paopei Taikyokuzu when unleashed forms a colossal, beautifully-detailed Taijitu set of Yin-Yang symbols, kanji and trigrams suspended in midair. When it's bestowed to Taikoubou, he can draw the symbols from the tip of his baton/whip, which he also needs to [[spoiler: unleash Fukki's space-based Paopei Bansenjin and Chusenjin.]]

Traditional HermeticMagic often required creation of [[GeometricMagic elaborate pentacles, pentagrams, magic circles, runes, etc.]] before a spell could be cast. These would typically be scratched into the ground, or made with special materials. This takes too long to be practical in a fight or immediate crisis, but it does [[RuleOfCool look really cool]].

* Played with in ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': Modern witches draw a simple circle in midair to cast basically ''any'' spell, but are actually creating a unique rune for each one that appears and disappears ''so'' quickly they can't be seen with the naked eye--[[AchievementsInIgnorance even the caster may be unaware of it]]. Humans like Luz, however, have to actually draw the runes (as witches apparently did in the past).

* An interesting [[InvertedTrope inversion]] is made with ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'': alchemy, here seen as {{Magitek}} and dependent on the energies of the earth, requires the alchemist to draw the runes beforehand before attempting any effort. However, this does not stop the alchemist from bringing permanent copies of it whenever they need to use it. Subverted in the film of the first anime, ''[[Anime/FullmetalAlchemistTheConquerorOfShamballa Conqueror of Shamballa]]'', where a certain character is able to perform alchemy via remotely cast instant runes.

* ''Literature/WordsOfRadiance'' (second book of ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive''): Kaladin speaking the Third Ideal of the Windrunners creates the sigil of the Order in Stormlight after his transformation. He gets this again when he pulls a ThreePointLanding on [[spoiler:the Assassin in White.]]

* Many of the Monk's powers in ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'' manifest runes when used.

* ''WebAnimation/{{Dreamscape}}'': They appear with pretty much every spell Drake uses. This also makes his attack patterns flashy and easily telegraphed, but he is confident enough in his own abilities that he doesn't see it as an issue.

* The magikoopas in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros'' fire a jumble of simple shapes at the player as a projectile.

* Warping in more recent ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' games cause Instant Runes to appear. Especially in ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Path of Radiance]]'', is this very visible.