History Main / LikeRealityUnlessNoted

* Although most of the ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' series occurs on the inside of the [[PocketDimension Great Hakurei Border]], there is a very obvious [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Outside World]] that is believed to be a parallel of our own time line alongside the AllMythsAreTrue wonderland, consistent chronologically until at least the moon landing. Of note: the strange college majors of the two popular outsiders are Maribel Han, Relative Psychology, and Renko Usami, Super Unified Physics. Bonus "alternate reality" points if its sister series ''VideoGame/{{Seihou}}'' is the same Outside World.
** ULIL implies that the stories Renko and Maribel are part of take place TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture. Besides anything related to Great Hakurei Border and the Moon, the Outside World currently IS reality, or at least that's how it seems.

* ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' as a whole is historical fiction with some science-fiction elements, mainly that there was a [[{{Precursors}} First Civilization]] which engineered humanity and, in the wake of their extinction, the Assassins and Templars emerged and have been at war ever since. That said, the general history of this world is virtually identical to the real-world with a few exceptions, such as the assassination targets in the first game--most of whom are real historical figures--dying in 1191 instead of when they actually did. Internally, this is reasoned by the Templars meddling with historical records to hide their actions (and the Assassins probably did the same) and by using a FramingDevice: you don't actually see history ''exactly'' as it happened for the most part, you're seeing the memories of an ancestor rendered as a computer simulation, which could mean some level of UnreliableNarrator is in effect. That said, outside of the assassinations, there are only a few major discrepancies such as the Boston Tea Party in [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII the third game]] being a massive riot rather than being conducted in complete silence. As the series progresses, more and more historical characters really ''do'' die when they did in real-life, just under different circumstances (from ''Assassin's Creed III'' again, [[spoiler: Charles Lee is killed by player character Connor Kenway in Monmouth at the very end rather than dying of a fever in Philadelphia]], which can still be attributed to the altered historical records established by the FramingDevice). [[LampshadeHanging Most of the inaccuracies are]] [[SelfDeprecation addressed by the in-game encyclopedia]].

* ''{{Film/Bright}}'' is set in an alternate universe where magic is real and fantastic creatures like Orcs and Elves exist alongside humans in the modern day. There's also mention of [[GreatOffscreenWar a great war 2,000 years ago]] against a Dark Lord who tried to take over the world. But despite all that, its world seems to be fairly similar to own own -- Los Angeles is the setting, and there are passing mentions of the Battle of the Alamo and ''{{WesternAnimation/Shrek}}''.

Many movies deal with, for instance, an attack on the United States government as if it happened in the present day. We can't really have a movie where the [[UsefulNotes/ThePresidents actual current elected president]] is killed or kidnapped (the majority of citizens on both sides would likely consider it TooSoon while they are in office), so a NoCelebritiesWereHarmed substitute or an [[OurPresidentsAreDifferent outright fictional one]] will be in place so the story can take place in RealLife with the rest of our current culture intact.

** However while both Buffy and Angel are said to exist in our world were everything supernatural is hidden from the public whether by evil forces or the authorities or even the good guys themselves, or as explained by Giles rationalized by the mind of common people, this ends when TheUnmasquedWorld happens in later (and comic-format) seasons happen and the existence of demons, vampires and magic is made public knowledge. Harmony (a vampire) even stars in her own reality show.

** ''Literature/{{Frankenstein}}'' is not a work of fiction but an actual historical event that is common knowledge. The Frankenstein Monster turns up in Japan in the 1960s alive and well.

* ''{{Film/Bright}}'' is set in an alternate universe where magic is real and fantastic creatures like Orcs and Elves exist alongside humans in the modern day. There's also mention of a great war 2,000 years ago against a Dark Lord who tried to take over the world. But despite all that, its world seems to be fairly similar to own own -- Los Angeles is the setting, and there are passing mentions of the Battle of the Alamo and ''{{WesternAnimation/Shrek}}''.

* ''VideoGame/AceCombat'' does a variation. The series is set on an alternate Earth, the proper name for which is Strangereal, where the continents and countries are, to say the least, [[http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/acecombat/images/4/43/Strangereal_world_old.jpg different.]] History is similar, but often times, events anywhere from Strangreal's 1995 to 2015 have [[FauxSymbolism obvious parallels]] to real history; Belka is blatantly UsefulNotes/WorldWarI and then UsefulNotes/WorldWarII style Germany, for example. Other nations have clearly visible similarities to the cultures and geography they are based on, e.g. characters from Estovakia or Yuktobania are easily mistaken for Russians[=/=]Eastern European nationalities. Many fighter planes featured in the series are real planes (licensed from their real-world manufacturers by the game developers, no less) but with twists; the SU-47 Berkut was built as a proof-of-concept machine. On Strangereal, the Berkut went to mass production and became a high-end fighter jet for several militaries before 1995.

* ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' as a whole is historical fiction with some science-fiction elements, mainly that there was a [[Main/ThePrecursors First Civilization]] which engineered humanity and, in the wake of their extinction, the Assassins and Templars emerged and have been at war ever since. That said, the general history of this world is virtually identical to the real-world with a few exceptions, such as the assassination targets in the first game--most of whom are real historical figures--dying in 1191 instead of when they actually did. Internally, this is reasoned by the Templars meddling with historical records to hide their actions (and the Assassins probably did the same) and by using a FramingDevice: you don't actually see history ''exactly'' as it happened for the most part, you're seeing the memories of an ancestor rendered as a computer simulation, which could mean some level of UnreliableNarrator is in effect. That said, outside of the assassinations, there are only a few major discrepancies such as the Boston Tea Party in [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII the third game]] being a massive riot rather than being conducted in complete silence. As the series progresses, more and more historical characters really ''do'' die when they did in real-life, just under different circumstances (from ''Assassin's Creed III'' again, [[spoiler: Charles Lee is killed by player character Connor Kenway in Monmouth at the very end rather than dying of a fever in Philadelphia]], which can still be attributed to the altered historical records established by the FramingDevice). [[LampshadeHanging Most of the inaccuracies are]] [[SelfDeprecation addressed by the in-game encyclopedia]].

** In VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}, you can meet an American History fanboy who '''honestly''' believes that the Declaration of Independence was created by the [[FutureImperfect Second Judgemental Congress and sent to King George by airplane.]]

** ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'' continues the trend with references to TheWarOnTerror [[spoiler: TheManBehindTheMan's plan is to restart it, this time pulling Pakistan in]], the Occupy movement[[note]]mentioned in a Codec conversation sometime during the FinalBoss fight[[/note]] and the Tea Party[[note]]in one of the promotional materials[[/note]].

* In the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' universe, ''Franchise/StarWars'', ''Film/FullMetalJacket'', and ''Film/KingKong'' are remembered 500 years in the future, and it seems that human history between 100,000 BCE and 2000 AD largely stayed the same, except that {{Creator/Bungie}} apparently never made games (so no ''VideoGame/{{Marathon}}'' or ''Halo'' itself). Also, some other pieces of pop culture might not have existed since no one notes that, say, the ODST drop pods are a lot like the Mobile Infantry deployments in ''Literature/StarshipTroopers''. Apparently there was no pop culture of note in 500 years, either, since none gets brought up. However, ''before'' 100,000 BCE, there was a huge ancient human space empire that spanned most of the known universe before being destroyed, which did not seem to have any effect on the aforementioned time period compared to real life.

* ''VideoGame/ContagionMonochrome'' takes place in the Roanoke town and the surroundings, derived from [[AlternateHistory a Roanoke colony that grew and flourished as opposed to simply disappearing like it did]] in RealLife. Aside from that, the setting pre-zombies is identical to our world.

* Inverted and lampshaded in ''WebVideo/DragonballZAbridged''. The dialogue includes references to Twitter, M. Night Shyamalan, and other things meaningful to the viewers. However, the weirder elements of the ''DBZ'' world are still present, and the characters appear to be aware that something is “off” about the whole thing. So it’s more like “Like ''Dragon Ball'' unless RuleOfFunny Notes It to be Like Reality.”

* The ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' series can be quite confusing with this. About half of the past events that is referred to in the games actually happened and the other half is made up.

->''"Robert Heinlein once wrote that the best way to give the flavor of the future is to drop in, without warning, some strange detail. He gives as an example, 'The door dilated open.' Mention it once, and never mention it again, except to satisfy the needs of continuity. And your readers know, from these subtle details, that they aren't exactly dealing with the real world anymore.''

* The ''Literature/EarthsChildren'' series, which purports to be about Cro-Magnon and Neanderthals just before the last ice age. Nevertheless, it has Ayla display intermittent clairvoyance and precognition, and Creb is so revered because ''he's'' got psychic powers as well; in one scene, he gives other Neanderthals a sacred drink, then guides their thoughts back to the earliest Neanderthal ancestor and then forward in time until they're mentally tracing their own family trees and finally has them finish when they get to themselves. Mamut is also capable of limited clairvoyance, and it seems to be a common trait among shamans (for he mentions them displaying different powers). The point is that we have no information about what Ice Age people believed about psychic abilities, so Auel is really winging it here, especially on the ceremony of telepathic union. Some of the rest of it is based on what is known of the beliefs of traditional societies concerning ESP. It's left [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane unclear]] as to just how much is real though.

* Andrzej Sapkowski (of ''Franchise/TheWitcher'' fame) wrote in his essay ''Pirog'' that critics once attacked him for the "anachronism" of placing batiste panties on an ex-[[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses princess]] he mentioned in [[Literature/TheLastWish one of his novels]]. And added that once that tempest in a teacup subsided, one young author still reacted with cold haughtiness, [[ShownTheirWork showing his research on such a subject]] in his heroine's disrobement scene -- but the effect was "hopelessly spoiled by the [[IKEAErotica description of intercourse that followed, ludicrous beyond any measure and imagination]]".

* The ''Literature/EarthsChildren'' series, which purports to be about humanity and Neanderthals just before the last ice age. Nevertheless, it has Ayla display intermittent clairvoyance and precognition, and Creb is so revered because ''he's'' got psychic powers as well; in one scene, he gives other Neanderthals a sacred drink, then guides their thoughts back to the earliest Neanderthal ancestor and then forward in time until they're mentally tracing their own family trees and finally has them finish when they get to themselves. Mamut is also capable of limited clairvoyance, and it seems to be a common trait among shamans (for he mentions them displaying different powers).

* Film/{{John Wick}} lives in a world where assassins have enough of a professional subculture that there's a global chain of four-star hotels catering to them. And John's career is well-known to authorities who tolerate it implicitly. We aren't told how long this has gone on, but it's clearly several generations. Yet for the general populace, life goes on just like in real life.

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' for the most part is just an earth with ugly light-elemental aliens living in it. [[AllThereInTheManual Several behind the series materials]] describe differences caused by their presence such as the absence of Abrahamic religions, holidays and the Holocaust and in-universe maps show vast continental differences, but in practise the socio-political climate, geopolitical barriers ([[IstanbulNotConstantinople aside from a few name changes]]) and pop culture are nigh-identical to the point that it took clarification from the staff in various occasions.

* In the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' universe, ''Franchise/StarWars'', ''Film/FullMetalJacket'', and ''Film/KingKong'' are remembered 500 years in the future, and it seems that human history between 100,000 BCE and 2000 AD largely stayed the same, except that {{Creator/Bungie}} apparently never made games (so no ''VideoGame/{{Marathon}}'' or ''Halo'' itself).

* Lampshaded in ''WebVideo/DragonballZAbridged''. The dialogue includes references to Twitter, M. Night Shyamalan, and other things meaningful to the viewers. However, the weirder elements of the DBZ world are still present, and the characters appear to be aware that something is "off" about the whole thing.
--> '''Tien''': Yeah, right? Dinosaurs are still a thing. It's odd how we never talk about it... And the king of the world is a blue cairn terrier.

* Toyed with briefly in Robert Harris' ''{{Literature/Fatherland}}'', set in an alternate 60s in a Nazi-ruled Europe. There are a couple of mentions of a President Kennedy (who one naturally assumes to be UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy), but his unlikely characterisation and issues with the timeline are allowed to build up before a minor [[TheReveal Reveal]] that it's actually ''Joseph'' Kennedy, his father.

* At first, VideoGame/TheSims looks very similar to real life.... until you find out that over the various installments of the series and their expansion packs, the games have featured vampires, robots, time travel, magic, alien abduction, werewolves and the Grim Reaper. Why? RuleOfCool, that's why.

* The [[Series/BattlestarGalactica2003 remake]] of ''Franchise/BattlestarGalactica'' runs on this trope despite being set ''in an extrasolar system partway across the galaxy''.

* The ''Literature/EarthsChildren'' series, which purports to be about humanity and Neanderthals just before the last ice age. Nevertheless, it has Ayla display intermittent psychic powers and precognition, and Creb is so revered because ''he's'' got psychic powers as well; in one scene, he gives other Neanderthals a sacred drink, then guides their thoughts back to the earliest Neanderthal ancestor and then forward in time until they're mentally tracing their own family trees and finally has them finish when they get to themselves.