History Main / NarratingThePresent

->'''Judith:''' ''(To the recording phone)'' For the record; Jase is opening a window.\\
''*sound of glass breaking*''\\
'''Judith:''' For the record; one of the panes just -\\
'''Jase:''' Yeah, I think - can we cool it on the record, for a sec?

* This is the VerbalTic of the Sisters clones in ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex.'' They will say a sentence then go on to describe what they're doing or feeling at the time as if reading it from a book.

* In an episode of ''TheBoysDiabolical'' a resident of a home for super powered kids has this as his power. Naturally, he is the narrator for the episode.

* In an episode of ''TheBoysPresentsDiabolical'' a resident of a home for super powered kids has this as his power. Naturally, he is the narrator for the episode.

-->'''Judith:''' ''(To the recording phone)'' For the record; Jase is opening a window.\\

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-->-- ''AudioPlay/ThirtySixQuestions'

* In ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' the books in Death's library write someone's life as a narrative as it happens. The last scene of ''Discworld/{{Mort}}'' is actually Mort reading that scene from his own book.

* ''Alan Mendelsohn, the Boy from Mars'' by Creator/DanielPinkwater: Leonard & Alan buy a manuscript on Hyperstellar Archeology and read it, in which it mentions them by name buying the manuscript and reading it.

This is where someone InUniverse narrates the present (or the possibly the future), and when that future eventually becomes the present, the narration in question will be revealed. It's usually stated in past tense, but not always. A FourthWallObserver or ThirdPersonPerson might do this; expect them to be called on it by another character. Can overlap with PosthumousNarration.

* This is revealed to be the origin of the narration in the last episode of ''Series/{{BurnNotice "Burn Notice"}}''.

* This is revealed to be the origin of the narration in the last episode of ''Series/{{BurnNotice}}''.

* Omnipresent in the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' [[TheVerse franchise]], where {{Captains Log}}s are recited even when there is no recording device anywhere near and the Logs tend to narrate what's going on at that precise moment. No matter how urgent the matter, there's [[TalkingIsAFreeAction always time to make a log about it]] - and no matter how dire the situation, it will be logged in a deadpan tone. In the ''TOS'' episode "The Naked Time" Kirk says that something is unknowningly brought aboard - [[FridgeLogic how would he know that]]?
-->Captain's Log, supplemental. Our orbit tightening. Our need for efficiency, critical. But unknown to us, a totally new and unusual disease has been brought aboard.
** Most fans go with the assumption that the Captain makes the logs afterwards, essentially telling Starfleet Command "Here's what was happening at this time during our mission"

* ''Manga/{{Bokurano}}'' starts with narration that seems to look back from sometime after the events in the story. [[spoiler: then the narrator dies and the narration stops.]]

* DependingOnTheWriter, {{Deadpool}}'s [[MetafictionalDevice Little Yellow Boxes]] (that is, narration boxes) are actually him speaking the narration out loud without realizing, and other characters can hear it.

!Examples:

This is where someone InUniverse narrates the present, or the possibly future - and when that future eventually becomes the present, the narration in question will be revealed. It's usually stated in past tense, but not always. A FourthWallObserver or ThirdPersonPerson might do this; expect them to be called on it by another character. Can overlap with PosthumousNarration.

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* ''QuantumLeap'' sometimes has Sam giving a past-tense narration in voiceover, although it's unclear when he would have found time to go back and write any of these events down. There's one particularly odd moment in the episode "Play It Again, Seymour:" Sam [[GotMeDoingIt catches himself using hard-boiled detective slang]] in the narration, and Sam-on-screen reacts to this, leading to the FridgeLogic conclusion that Sam just walks around mentally narrating his own life in the past tense.

* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', in a ManateeGag where Peter spent two weeks narrating his life. We see him walk into the kitchen and say aloud: