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[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/{{Celeste}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/badelinecaption_3.png]]]]

->''"Meet the League of Misunderstood Maniacs! We're giving Orderrealm an enema. And when we're done, who knows where we'll crash next? Maybe we'll come to '''your''' house and slip live grenades under your pillow. Maybe we'll gut your favorite pet. Or maybe we'll just... '''BREAK YOUR TV RIGHT NOW!'''"''
-->-- '''[[Characters/BatmanTheJoker The Joker]]''''s Ladder Ending, ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11''

A monster is on the loose terrorizing a bunch of innocent people. As long as the monster and the victims are characters in a fictional world, one would usually be correct to assume that the boundaries of the FourthWall will be respected. But then, BreakingTheFourthWall, the monster assaults the omniscient narrator, or leaps out at the audience. Definitely ParanoiaFuel.

Much easier to pull off with visual media like film, but a few literary examples also exist.

An easy way to [[InvokedTrope invoke this trope]] is to describe a BrownNote, and say that a series of horrible events happened to anybody who experienced it before, and specify that the first symptom is a sense of foreboding. Since foreboding is a base response, even rational people who know that they cannot be negatively affected by a work of fiction will feel the visceral reaction thanks to the [[PlaceboEffect nocebo effect]]. ParanoiaFuel can then set in; mission accomplished.

This trope can be done far more effectively in {{video game}}s due to the interactivity of the medium, especially on computers where it's easy for the game to [[ParanoiaFuel directly refer to the player by account names]], [[AddressingThePlayer talk to the player]] or execute this trope in the most literal fashion by [[InterfaceScrew actually attacking]] and [[DeletionAsPunishment harming the machine]], as demonstrated by ''VideoGame/{{Imscared}}'', or preserving information beyond replays and reinstalls, most famously shown by ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}''.

See also SecondPersonAttack, RageAgainstTheAuthor, ScarilySpecificStory, and TheMostDangerousVideoGame. May involve SeanConneryIsAboutToShootYou or a TomeOfEldritchLore, or may implement FissionMailed. TheComputerIsALyingBastard is a game specific version of this, though it usually involves trickery instead of threats. If an action from the video game affects something beyond the game or its display or usual sound device, such as something in the real world, then it may be a case of ReachingThroughTheFourthWall. AbusiveAdvertising is a related trope where advertisements threaten to cause harm to the audience if they don't buy what's being advertised. A SnicketWarningLabel may overlap if a piece of media opens with a warning of dangerous content. In-universe examples may fall under DeadlineNews or SpectatorCasualty. Can be subverted in a combination of FourthWallPsych and ShockAndSwitchEnding. Frequently used in DigitalHorror.

Real life does not have a fourth wall (we hope), so no real life examples, please.
----
!!Examples:
[[index]]
* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou/AnimeAndManga
* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou/ComicBooks
* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou/FanWorks
* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou/LiveActionFilms
* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou/LiveActionTV
* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou/{{Literature}}
* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou/{{Theatre}}
* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou/ThemeParks
* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou/VideoGames
* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou/WebOriginal
* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou/WebVideos
* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou/WesternAnimation
[[/index]]
[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Advertising]]
* Pharmaceutical company [=AstraZeneca=] ran [[https://youtu.be/PCrfLZSJ9jc this series of ads]] in Japan warning of the dangers of arteriosclerosis. Set up like a comedic variety show, the presenter gives a short talk before saying "There are no outward symptoms, so even if you feel fine..." when someone on the set very non-comedically collapses from a heart attack. In the final version of the ad, it switches to a POV shot of the ''viewer at home'' collapsing and their vision dimming.
* One very ill-advised campaign for mental health awareness in the early noughties featured a video advert that would play [[ParanoiaFuel quiet whispering sounds]] while you browsed the webpage it was on. Only finding and hovering over the advert would reveal it as the source: [[GoneHorriblyRight an attempt to raise awareness about paranoia]].
* This is a huge factor of why the Creator/{{Viacom}} "V of Doom" closing logo is so infamous (and [[NightmareFuel frightening)]]. Aside from having to deal with the logo's ominous soundtrack and often dodgy quality (the filmed versions are infamous for often having film scratches, visible splices and/or shifted frames, though the concurrently-used videotaped versions didn't have these problems) the large, oddly-fonted "V" itself would slowly or quickly approach the camera and advance on the viewer like an oncoming train only for the screen to [[SmashCut cut to black]] at the last moment. (Some versions avert the effect by having the "V" stop at the end, though.)
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZm5cXRShO4 The commercial for]] ''VideoGame/SuperMarioLand2SixGoldenCoins'' has Wario trying to hypnotize the viewer to become his slave and fight against Mario.
** Similarly, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oFczADqrGU the commercial for]] ''VideoGame/WarioLandSuperMarioLand3'' has Wario hypnotize the viewer into helping him steal gold so he can buy a castle bigger than Mario's.
** As detailed on its trivia page, the Website/YouTube ad for ''VideoGame/WarioLandShakeIt'' gradually breaks down the website UI as Wario keeps shaking things in the gameplay footage, leaving the page in shambles by the time the video finishes.

* In one of the Website/YouTube ads featured Dat Damned Smith watching a horror video shouting "DON'T GO IN THERE!" However, after a few seconds, a no wifi single pops up behind him. After a short while it causes Damned Smith to ear-bleedingly scream at the camera!!! And not just any scream; it was a [[HellIsThatNoise banshee-like screech that sounded like someone in front of you screaming]].

* Several Advertising/WilkinsCoffee commercials involve Wilkins directly threatening the viewer.
-->'''Wilkins:''' With this camera, I shoot pictures of people who don't drink Wilkins Coffee.
-->'''Wontkins:''' I'm ready. [[TemptingFate Shoot!]]
--> (Wilkins [[ExactWords shoots Wontkins]] with the gun hidden in the camera)
-->'''Wilkins:''' (swiveling the camera towards the viewer) Anybody else?
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Art]]
* Ancient Greek artwork of the [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Gorgons]] depicted them facing their DeadlyGaze directly at the viewer, as opposed to other characters in contemporary artwork of the time, who were always shown in profile.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comedy]]
* Creator/DenisLeary's infamous joke about Jesus's death and comparing it to Elvis's not only had Leary said "ImGoingToHellForThis," but says that everyone who heard the joke will be accompanying him.
* S. William Hinzman, the Cemetery Zombie from ''Film/NightOfTheLivingDead1968'', often joked that if he was buried instead of cremated, he'd just "come back to life to seek human victims".
* Years after playing the [[MonsterLord Grand High Witch]] in ''[[Film/TheWitches1990 The Witches]]'', Creator/AnjelicaHuston played a prank while filming ''Film/IronJawedAngels'', as related [[https://smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/theres-nothing-better-than-making-children-scream-20131125-2y4n6.html here]]:
--->Someone on cast had a friend whose daughter was dressing up with her little friends as witches for Halloween, and they were going to watch ''The Witches''. In the middle of the viewing I arrived at the house and went downstairs, where they all were, with their hats on and everything, watching the movie, and I opened the door and said [putting on her sinister, vaguely European, Grand High Witch voice], "Thank you for inviting me!" I did the hair, a little purple make-up. I got them all screaming. It was good. There's nothing better than making children scream, I have to say.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Strips]]
* In a ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'' strip, Calvin's Dad does this by his intention to read Calvin a bedtime story about a severed hand that strangles people. Calvin faints around the point Calvin's dad sticks a hand through the neck hole of his own shirt and grabs his own throat, screaming. This proves to be the most effective way of getting Calvin quiet and into bed.
* Occurs in ''ComicStrip/MadamAndEve'' by accident after Mother Anderson [[http://www.madamandeve.co.za/cartoons/me002585.gif hires some bouncers]] to keep ruffians out of the comic.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films — Animation]]
* ''[[WesternAnimation/TheMindsEye Beyond the Mind's Eye]]'' is an in-universe example, showing a man being attacked by his TV under the control of a character on the screen.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas'': The Creature Under the Bed and the Creature Under the Stairs are two ThingsThatGoBumpInTheNight featured in the opening song, "This is Halloween." Both monsters look at the camera and say that they are under ''your'' bed and stairs, respectively.
* In Disney's animated ''WesternAnimation/RobinHood1973'', InteractiveNarrator Alan-a-Dale is seen in prison. Like the rest of Nottingham's residents, he's been arrested for being unable to pay his taxes. "Yep, I'm in here too."
* In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', at the end of Mei's nightmare, a couple of evil-looking red panda spirits pounce at the screen.
* In ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'', when [[spoiler: King Candy reveals himself to be Turbo]], his appearance flickers [[spoiler: between his disguise and his true form]]. Watch closely as he says "[[spoiler: I am Turbo, the greatest racer ever!]]": as soon as he finishes saying [[spoiler: "Turbo"]], the aforementioned flickering provides a FreezeFrameBonus, with his [[AttentionWhore thumbs-up pose]] [[spoiler: lifted from his [=TurboTime=] sprite]] rendered in full CGI, SlasherSmile included. He's looking at the audience while doing that.
* At the end of ''WesternAnimation/YellowSubmarine,'' Music/TheBeatles appear in live-action photography. Music/JohnLennon looks through a spyglass pointed outward toward the audience and announces, "Newer and [[CardCarryingVillain bluer Meanies]] have been sighted within the vicinity of this theatre." (Fortunately, there's a way to defeat them: by SINGING!)
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]
* ''Music/{{Songdrops}}'' has a song "Tarantulas", which tells the audience that tarantulas could be anywhere, even on their ceiling or ''head'' (but they only do bad stuff if you're afraid) and they might eat your hamster (or your dinner, depending on what version you're listening to).
* "Future Shock", from Music/{{Stratovarius}}' 1989 independent debut ''Fright Night''[[note]]and in re-recorded form as a b-side to their 1996 single "Father Time"[[/note]], contains such a line at the end of the second verse:
-->''I saw it on the screen\\
The day that changed our lives and history\\
There goes our dream\\
Nuked into the sky don't know why\\
In the heat of the blast\\
Watch the beauty of the mushroom cast\\
It won't take long\\
[[SelfDemonstratingArticle You won't live till the end of this song]]''
* At the end of [[Music/ImmortalTechnique Immortal Technique's]] "Dance With The Devil", the singer reveals that he was one of the gangsters in the story and says this:
-->''And listen cause the story that I'm telling is true\\
Cuz I was there with Billy Jacobs and I [[spoiler:raped his mom]] too\\
And now the Devil follows me everywhere that I go\\
In fact, I'm sure he's standing among one of you at my shows''
* Music/{{Eminem}}
** "Who Knew" has this lyric, accompanied by a tape sound effect:
--->''Shit, you probably think I'm in your tape deck now\\
I'm in the back seat of your truck with duct tape stretched out''
** "The Real Slim Shady":
--->''And every single person is a Slim Shady lurking\\
He could be working at Burger King, spitting on your onion rings\\
Or in the parking lot, circling\\
Screaming, "I don't give a fuck!"\\
With his windows down and his system up''
** Ultimately subverted in "Criminal":
--->''A lot of people think that what I say on a record, or what I talk about on a record, that I actually do in real life or that I believe in it. Or if I say that I wanna kill somebody, that I'm actually gonna do it or that I believe in it. Well, shit. If you believe that... then I'll kill you.''
* Music/DavidBowie came to feel this way about his stage personas, ultimately giving up on AlterEgoActing (not to mention cocaine) out of fear that he was getting too deeply LostInCharacter. This was especially troubling with the sinister [[NaziNobleman Thin White Duke]] from his album ''Music/StationToStation'', who became something of an EnemyWithin once Bowie began drawing controversy for emulating the character's fascist persona a bit too keenly.
* "The Number One Song in Heaven", by Music/{{Sparks}}, implies that the listener can only hear the song because they're close to heaven (read: death).
-->''This is the number one song in heaven''\\
''Why are you hearing it now, you ask''\\
''Maybe you're closer to here than you imagined''\\
''Maybe you're closer to here than you care to be''
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music Videos]]
* The music video for Creator/WillSmith's "Film/MenInBlack" has him using their neuralizer (which causes people to forget things) on the audience. A commercial for the film also did this:
-->'''Announcer:''' For those who have already seen ''Men In Black''...\\
'''Will Smith:''' Sorry! ''[activates neuralizer]''
:: The idea for the ads was so that you could [[ResetButton see the movie "again, for the first time]]." The ''Ride/MenInBlackAlienAttack'' ride at Universal ends similarly.
* Music/WeirdAlYankovic:
** Played for laughs in the music video for Weird Al's song "I'll Sue Ya", where he points at the screen at one point and shouts "I might even sue YOU!"
** Also in "[[DigitalPiracyIsEvil Don't Download This Song]]", which is TheLongList of Very Bad Things that will happen to you if you pirated the song off the Internet. Of course, part of the joke was that this was a preview track for the album it was on that was available as a free download.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Other]]
* In the DVD game based on the kids' game show ''Series/{{Raven}}'', the titular character tells the player(s) that they may be going on one of his quests from within their own walls "but do not think that you are are safe from the evil that abounds in these parts".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Podcasts]]
* ''Podcast/WelcomeToNightVale'' has The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives In Your Home. While since her initial introduction she has been shown living in several in-universe characters' homes, it's still implied she lives in the listener's home, hiding just out of sight somewhere and occasionally messing with your stuff. Maybe she lives in EVERYONE's home.
** The live shows invoke this, starting with ''The Librarian.'' WordOfGod confirms that this is a tribute to Creator/WilliamCastle.
* ''Podcast/TheMessage'' has [[spoiler:the titular Message. The creator broadcasts it before anyone finds out that it's a delayed-action BrownNote.]]
* ''Podcast/KakosIndustries'' has its own listenership be immediately deemed a Shareholder to the company prior to accessing the announcements. You can never not be a Shareholder, no matter how good you think you are. This is taken to be pretty frightening extremes during the sixth episode in which the executive prompts the idea that he is holding a gun to your head and if you think to turn around, he will shoot you.
* Spooky Hal, the narrator who opens and closes the "Beyond Belief" episodes of ''Podcast/TheThrillingAdventureHour'' is a WillOTheWisp, a creature who feeds off human energy. To do this, he lulls them off their guard by telling them stories.
* ''Podcast/TheMagnusArchives'':
** In episode 119, the usual, beautifully creepy theme music is now replaced with music from an ostentatious calliope organ... That means ''you're'' in [[EldritchAbomination the Unknowing]]'s audience, too.
** The ending implies that [[spoiler:[[EldritchAbomination the Fears]] were sent into our universe, as the means by which they travel is the story of ''The Magnus Archives'' itself]].
* ''Podcast/TheAdventureZoneBalance'': When Lucas shows the Tres Horny Boys the windows he's managed to open to the various planes of existence, it's revealed that the Plane of Thought is just our modern-day Earth, since it's where all ideas in the universe originate from. [[spoiler:It does not, however, have PlotArmor, and gets invaded by [[SpacetimeEater the Hunger]] just like all the other planes]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Radio]]
* In one of Creator/BillCosby's comedy routines, the "Chicken Heart" story of the radio program ''Lights Out'' ends with the eponymous monster paying the audience a visit. "It's in your home state!" ''*bump-bump* *bump-bump* '' "It's outside of your door!" ''*bump-bump* *bump-bump* '' "And it's going to eat YOU up!" It scares Little Cos badly enough to both smear Jello all over the floor ''and'' set the sofa on fire.
* Franchise/{{Superman}} once fought the UsefulNotes/KuKluxKlan. The ''[[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome real]]'' Ku Klux Klan. The [[Radio/TheAdventuresOfSuperman radio program]] contained advice on how to help catch them in a 1946 serial titled "Clan of the Fiery Cross," provided by an informant named [[http://mentalfloss.com/article/23157/how-superman-defeated-ku-klux-klan Stetson Kennedy]] who infiltrated the Klan and leaked this information to the writers of the radio show. And Superman ''won''. Exposing the Klan and its rather silly rituals on the radio program is credited as one of the reasons it (the Klan, not the radio program) didn't experience a renaissance and become as publicly acceptable as it was in the early 20th century, even at the height of the UsefulNotes/CivilRightsMovement and the ensuing segregationist backlash: fewer people wanted to be associated with such a bunch of clowns.
* Years after playing the [[MonsterLord Grand High Witch]] in ''[[Film/TheWitches1990 The Witches]]'', Creator/AnjelicaHuston played a prank while filming ''Film/IronJawedAngels'', as related [[https://smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/theres-nothing-better-than-making-children-scream-20131125-2y4n6.html here]]:
--->Someone on cast had a friend whose daughter was dressing up with her little friends as witches for Halloween, and they were going to watch ''The Witches''. In the middle of the viewing I arrived at the house and went downstairs, where they all were, with their hats on and everything, watching the movie, and I opened the door and said [putting on her sinister, vaguely European, Grand High Witch voice], "Thank you for inviting me!" I did the hair, a little purple make-up. I got them all screaming. It was good. There's nothing better than making children scream, I have to say.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* Inverted in the ''[[TabletopGame/CerberusEngineGames Cartoon Network Crisis Crossover Deck-Building Game]]'': Events and some Attacks involve the player directly. If you succeed, ''you'' protect your Character!
* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'': The flavor text for [[https://scryfall.com/card/dvd/30 Lord of the Pit]] reads ''"My summoning begins your debt, Planeswalker."'' Who is a Planeswalker in ''Magic: The Gathering''? ''You'' are. Lord of the Pit is thus far the only creature in the game who literally addresses the player.
** PlayedForLaughs, like every card in the "Un" sets: [[https://scryfall.com/card/ust/127 Baron Von Count]] has the effect "destroy target player".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* In ''Abaddon Princess of the Decay'', after completing the truly "True" route and saving the game, the main screen can seemingly glitch out with a message popping up in Kanji before crashing to the desktop. On reopening the game, you will find all your files are corrupt with the phrase "Endless Sleep" on top of the picture of your team--who all have their faces melted off in a gory mess. Exiting and reopening the screen following this will bring your files back to normal and revert the main screen to how it was before beating the truly "True" route...as if it never happened. Fitting with the MindScrew nature of the game.
* The final chapter of ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'' reveals that the killing game is [[NoInnerFourthWall the latest entry of a wildly successful media franchise]], and the final opponent the characters have to argue against is the audience of ''Danganronpa'' fans.
* ''VisualNovel/DokiDokiLiteratureClub'' is much like the ''You and Me and Her'' example below. [[spoiler: The Literature Club president Monika -- the only character the player is unable to romance -- gains MediumAwareness and the ability to rewrite and delete files within the game itself, and becomes a {{Yandere}}, deciding that she loves the player directly (instead of the PlayerCharacter) and will do anything to get them to love her back. Ultimately, she ends up deleting all the other characters (after driving two of them to shocking in-universe deaths that can't be undone by loading or restarting the game - when the first one of them dies, the game crashes and resets to the first day with that character [[RetGone no longer existing]]), forcing the player to choose her by virtue of being literally the only character left in the game. The player can defeat her by going into the game files and deleting her character file, which is an {{inversion}} of this trope (the Fourth Wall doesn't protect the other way either). Monika is a more sympathetic example than Miyuki; much of the poetry she produces (poetry being a huge part of the game) is about her existential dilemma about being a fictional character, and when the player is actually given an option to spend time with her in the first cycle, the game railroads them away from her in favor of one of the love interests. When her character data is deleted she finally accepts defeat and tries to put everything back to normal (minus herself), only to realize that anyone who becomes the Literature Club president in her stead will gain the same self-awareness that she has and become as obsessive and dangerous as she is, and finally deletes all the game's assets to protect you.]]
* ''[[https://lizengland.itch.io/everyday-misanthrope Everyday Misanthrope]]'', as the name implies, stars a MisanthropeSupreme and scores your performance by how many lives you ruined that day. [[spoiler:At the very end of the day, if your resources have gone into the negative (to absolutely no effect), the game will ask very pointedly if this bothers you, and then increment the "lives ruined" counter by one.]]
* ''VideoGame/SuperSurpriseParty'': During the game, you're asked to "share your location" with the narrator. At the end, they boast that you've only given them time to track you down in real life. Of course, the game itself doesn't ''actually'' track location- but the horror is still there all the same.
* For a brief moment at the cemetery in ''VisualNovel/TyrionCuthbertAttorneyOfTheArcane'', [[spoiler:Eris will read off the player's PC account name and ask if you find the deductions exciting before glitching the screen and replacing the dialogue with Tyrion's name]].
* In ''VisualNovel/YouAndMeAndHer'', a visual novel by Nitro+, the end of [[spoiler: Aoi's route]] has this apply in full force. You can only play [[spoiler: Aoi's route]] [[ButThouMust after you finish Miyuki's]] and then replaying from the beginning. At the end of the route, [[spoiler: Miyuki walks in and starts [[AxCrazy killing everyone]], saying that Shinichi "broke their promise of love." Even though that happened in a different game entirely. [[BreakingTheFourthWall "I'm talking to YOU, who promised me eternal love in the first route."]]]] What's worse, [[spoiler: after she finishes killing you, she calls ''God'' and asks him for a patch, at which point the game will close and ''run an autoupdate from DOS.'' On opening the game, Miyuki will tell you that your ability to save, load, or restart the game are now gone, and closing the game causes your screen to [[NightmareFuel cut to static for with a distorted voice speaking to you before shutting down.]]]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* On the ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'' website, there is a WebAnimation/StrongBadEmail where Strong Bad gets [[http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail118.html a computer virus]] that quickly takes over and messes up the entire website. At one point, a bunch of [[AnnoyingPopUpAd popup windows]] with Homestar's face in it appear, including [[note]]in the original [[UsefulNotes/AdobeFlash Flash]] version, if pop-ups aren't blocked[[/note]] one actual popup window outside the toon!
* ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'':
** "Goku vs Superman 2" first aired live at a SGC convention. At one point, Goku and Superman crashed into the SGC building. Suddenly, the video stopped, and then two actors dressed as Goku and Superman appeared and started fighting each other in front of the crowd. Eventually, they got knocked out of the building and the video resumed.
** ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} vs. [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Pinkie Pie]] technically ended with neither killing the other, but realizing both can break the fourth wall and going around annoying people in past videos, until Wade decided to pay a visit to the staff of Website/ScrewAttack for the whole thing, with Pinkie whisking Deadpool off to throw him a birthday party after he mentions it's his birthday before he could hurt the staff. The whole thing leaves Wiz and Boomstick, the fictional hosts, completely and utterly confused. Apparently this episode was supposed to be aired on Deadpool's actual canonical birthday by real-life calendar for added wall-breaking, but missed it by one day for some reason or other.
** [[WesternAnimation/GravityFalls Bill Cipher]] vs. [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Discord]] is naturally full of this. During both of their analyses both Bill and Discord have their fun messing with the hosts in their own unique ways. Bill begins by possessing Wiz's body and Discord invades the booth, snapping his fingers and warping the hosts into their voice actors doing their lines in the recording studio, to which they are both horrified. Lastly, after Bill is [[spoiler: trapped in the Nightmare Realm after killing Discord]], he turns to the audience and extends his hand out to us for '''[[DealWithTheDevil one more deal]]'''. [[SubvertedTrope Although his appearance at the end of Wiz and Boomstick's post-analysis, where he's still trapped in the Nightmare Realm, suggests he has been unable to find anyone willing to make a deal with him]].
* While the ''WebAnimation/InanimateInsanity'' Kickstarter was running; the crew would put up quiz games. However, when the last fact was released, it turns out that [[spoiler:Taco]] was telling the crew what questions to ask the audience, in order to gain information.
* In-universe in ''[[WebAnimation/AwesomeSeries Awesome Gaiden]]''. The ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden'' game is so [[NintendoHard relentlessly difficult]] that it manifests in the real world to trash the player's house.
* ''The Red Room'', a Japanese horror flash animation, is about an internet popup that behaves strangely and causes anyone who tries to close it to die. The twist ending is that once the animation ends, the exact same popup will appear on your own screen. [[NightmareRetardant Unless you, like pretty much everybody nowadays, have a pop-up blocker.]]
* At the end of almost every ''WebAnimation/CaillouTheGrownUp'' short, Caillou will threaten the viewer into subscribing to the channel.
* ''WebAnimation/HazbinHotel'': When Alastor pulls his NightmareFace, the picture starts glitching uncontrollably until he stops. WordOfGod hints that if any character in the show could mess with the fourth wall, it would be Alastor, and one of the animators even imagines him as a fourth-wall-breaking RealityWarper.
* ''WebAnimation/LumpyTouch'': After violently sweating jet streams, [[VideoGame/HotelMario Luigi]] becomes extremely dehydrated. Since the only nearby source of hydration is Mario's blood, Luigi [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes instead]] looks further away and senses your presence behind the screen. Luigi rushes towards you, giving you 15 seconds to [[MundaneSolution turn the game off]]. If you fail, you will be [[JumpScare sucked to death]].
* In the ''WebAnimation/PuffinForest'' episode "Last Orders at the Yawning Portal Tavern" one of Ben's players makes an incredibly lame kraken pun. Ben then narrates how the beast in question kills the ''player'' while sparing his in-game character.
* Videos featuring Monika from DDLC tend to do this, like in [[https://youtu.be/fJP7ZZK_-XU?si=n3t0D_PQeu8Esn_E Monika vs Harley Quinn]] where she pops out of the computer while rapping while the animator is working on the animation.
* The original UsefulNotes/AdobeFlash version of WebAnimation/WeeblAndBob episode "diet" shakes the browser window whenever [[TheFatEpisode Bob lands on the ground after having grown ridiculously fat due to overeating massive amounts during a Christmas feast.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* ''Webcomic/TheBongcheonDongGhost'' [[spoiler:controls your computer]].
* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'':
** [[spoiler:Lord English not only somehow enters author Creator/AndrewHussie's house but ''[[RageAgainstTheAuthor kills him as well]]''.]]
** A character encounters a tower broadcasting the story and beats it with a time crowbar, ''breaking the website''. Said character also interrupts the narrative, and [[spoiler: is in fact a younger version of the aforementioned Lord English.]]
** A subtle example in the massive fan project "Let's Read Homestuck": [[SatanicArchetype Doc Scratch]] is aware of the change between comic and video format. This implies that he's aware of the fourth wall. Which in turn implies ''that he's aware of us''. Just a reminder, this guy is a malevolent, omniscient, reality bending HumanoidAbomination.
** [[MonsterClown Kurloz]] is the only character in walkarounds whose talk sprites are directly facing the reader, while everyone else is drawn at a 45 degree angle to show that they are talking to other characters. [[spoiler:When the control switches to him and the player tries to make him go near Meenah, Kurloz will ''directly'' tell the reader that there's no reason to talk to her. It is not likely a coincidence that he is a servant of Lord English.]]
* [[http://i.imgur.com/Tlxzc.jpg The Abimor.]] Before each of his murders, he forces someone to tell the victim his story, from a scribe in Ancient Egypt to a news broadcaster in the modern day [[spoiler:to the creators of the comic you yourself are reading. We're sorry. We had to list this example. He's coming. RUN.]]
* But Crowley from ''{{Webcomic/Roommates}}'' is the most terrifying of them all! [[FelonyMisdemeanor He drinks the author's (and readership's)]] '''[[Webcomic/ScandinaviaAndTheWorld beer]]'''!
* Remarkably, ''Webcomic/{{Drowtales}}'' actually features an ''[[InvertedTrope inversion]]'' of this trope: the fourth wall will not protect the ''characters''. CloudCuckooLander Kiel's PowerBornOfMadness makes her aware of the audience, allowing her to address them directly. (To the rest, she's just talking into thin air.) After the TimeSkip, she gains the ability to actually summon her fans as LivingShadow minions.
* The main cast of ''Webcomic/TheDragonDoctors'' all seem to die, with the leader Mori last, having been sucked into a black void. A demon devours Mori's life story (taking on her appearance in the process) and watches her sink into oblivion. [[http://dragondoctors.dhscomix.com/archives/comic/the-end-page-11 Then it turns to the reader and starts addressing them]], saying that by doing this it's attacking everyone who ever had the idea of "Mori" in every universe, including the readers of this very webcomic.
* This trope actually provides the karmic punishment for a denizen of hell in the webcomic ''Webcomic/{{Jack|DavidHopkins}}''. A soldier in life who had been ordered to massacre women and children, the central character of a story arc spent the entire storyline narrating what it was like in hell, as well as repeatedly insisting to other characters that he wasn't responsible, that it was all fate and he couldn't be blamed for his own actions. At the end of the story arc the Devil finally has the damned soul collected from his misadventures and brought in for a personal interview -- and to show off the lovely comic the Devil has been drawing. The very last few panels are of the fool asking, "but if this is just a comic, who's been reading...?" And then slowly, with horror suffused features, turning to look over his shoulder...
* [[spoiler: Dark Star]] from ''Webcomic/LsEmpire'' started to insult the readers in the comment section after becoming an author. Then he got into ''multiple'' flame wars with one of the other authors. After being defeated, he would occasionally comment on the stupidity of the story or (rudely) respond to the reader's posts.
* ''Webcomic/AwfulHospital'':
** The [[spoiler:X-ray skeleton]] looks directly at the audience and makes a "sshh" motion before attacking Fern.
** The Double Doors vandalize actual reader comments. [[spoiler:a hidden link in the next update reveals that the commenters trolled him right back, successfully enough to release Fern from his influence.]]
** According to WordOfGod, [[spoiler:the in-universe beings who the readers and commentators represent influence humans in our world, as in ''us'', as well, it's just a lot less noticeable here.]]
** At one point, Crash [[spoiler:goes and ''"debugs" a bunch of the commentators''. Canonically, there were once a bunch more commentators, who were [[RetGone deleted from reality itself]]. The next page, the viewpoint character even mentions that the comment-buzz seems quieter.]]
* ''Webcomic/SleeplessDomain'' usually has AltText giving sassy comments on the events of the page, but it's afraid of [[BigBad The Purple One]] and won't show up when she's on-panel. [[spoiler:Cassidy's DyingMomentOfAwesome marks the one exception.]]
* The ''Webcomic/MonsterOfTheWeek'' strip based on "War of the Copraphages" homages the above ''Series/TheXFiles'' example under Live-Action TV by [[spoiler: making the comic secretly an animated gif where the same thing happens]].
* On [[https://www.dragonball-multiverse.com/en/page-1983.html the page]] of ''Webcomic/DragonBallMultiverse'' where XXI's true form is revealed, the black smoke coming out of him slowly covers the webpage.
* ''Webcomic/TheSecretKnots'': In "The Silentii", the titular creatures are ominous, sometimes antagonistic [=NPCs=] in a video game that was shut down. Years later, it's heavily implied that they're somehow becoming able to break into reality, with their names appearing scrawled on walls around the world and former players all dreaming of speaking with them every night for a week.
* "The Sluggite Koan" GuestStrip story in ''WebComic/SluggyFreelance'' combines this with RageAgainstTheAuthor in a multi-layered way. Near the beginning, Bun-bun is ejected into the real world where ''Sluggy Freelance'' is just a webcomic -- emerging from a hapless ''Sluggy'' reader's computer. This doesn't phase him because he has MediumAwareness in this story. He sees some of the latest comics where [[NotWhatItLooksLike it looks like]] one of his friends (if he has any friends) is killed. After shoving the ''Sluggy'' fan into the comic in his stead, he sets off to get revenge on comic creator Pete Abrams. However, on his way there, he discovers that his motive really is because he cared about his supposedly dead supposedly not-friend after all -- whereupon he successfully threatens the guest writer into writing him a different motive. When he finally gets to Pete, Pete manages to make a deal for his life, but Bun-bun breaks his arm anyway. The best part of which is that Pete really broke his arm in real life at the time at which this comic's events happened (which was earlier than the time the comic appeared).
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