This is the thought version of Speak in Unison- when multiple characters are thinking the exact thing at the same time. This generally happens when the thought they have in common is the first thought that would naturally come to mind in that situation; for example, when a character makes a Captain Obvious remark, all the listeners will think that they knew that already.
It's usually played for comedy to show that two or more characters think the same thing, whether because they're on the same page or the thought is that obvious.
Compare Strange Minds Think Alike, in which two(or more) characters come to the same improbable conclusion. Also compare Finishing Each Other's Sentences, Shared Dream (in which two people literally have the same thoughts when they sleep) Twin Banter (the tendency for twins to speak in unison and finish each other's sentences), and Twin Telepathy (the Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane tendency for twins to know what the other is thinking).
Not related to Are You Pondering What I'm Pondering?.
Examples:
- The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You: After learning that Rentarou has never kissed a girl before, Hakari and Karane both think the same vow to themselves to get Rentarou's First Kiss.
- My Hero Academia has many of Class 1-A having the same thoughts in response to their attempts at choosing hero names, such as multiple characters noting how lame Mina Ashido's first choice of "Alien Queen" was.
- At the start of Shi ni Aruki, Miyuki Kurosu, the eldest of the Kurosu siblings, tells investigators that while her adopted sister Tokiko is acting unnaturally calm about their father's death, she's always been that way, and shouldn't be suspected. Her two younger brothers and younger sister think, "Nee-san's scary as usual."
- In a MAD parody of Batman Returns, both Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle decide not to get undressed in front of each other, both realizing that if the other sees their injuries from the Batman vs. Catwoman fight, their secret identities will be revealed. Alfred mentally remarks on how they're sharing thought bubbles.
- There is a Life in Hell comic where Binky and Sheba are on a date and constantly thinking the same thing including "This would be much easier if I just knew what you were thinking."
- In Through the Looking Glass, a chorus of voices in the railway carriage interject several times saying something is worth a thousand pounds. After Alice decides not to speak, they think in chorus, "Better say nothing at all. Language is worth a thousand pounds a word!" Not even the narrator knows how that works.
- Used for Hypocritical Humor in Guards! Guards!: When Wonse is explaining to the Guild leaders about the dragon king's preferred diet, every one of them thinks that one of the others is going to say something in protest, at which point they will make a vague noise of possible agreement. This is shortly followed by them all thinking that all the others are cowards.
- Married... with Children: The Bundys and the Darcys watch a movie together, and they all sing "Memories" in their heads in perfect sync.
- In Kevin & Kell:
- Coach Pardus tells his team about a hunting event at night, in which they hunt in almost total darkness and must rely on their other senses. He then asks if they have any questions, and everyone thinks, "Why's Rudy wearing sunglasses?"
- One Sunday strip
has Kell and her brother Ralph angsting about how they're working for the people they hate most- Kell's husband's ex-wife Angelique and Ralph's brother-in-law Kevin, and fear that the other sees them as an embarrassment to the family(although Kell was the one who asked Kevin to hire Ralph). They then become determined to do something about their present situation, only to fail miserably.
- xkcd: Sheeple features five people in a subway thinking the exact same thing as the other four, namely that they're the only person who thinks differently than everyone else around them.
- In the As Told By Emoji video for Frozen (2013), when Olaf the sentient snowman explains that he wants to see summer, Anna, Sven, and Kristoff all have a thought bubble that depicts him having melted.
- Played for laughs in an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants. When Patrick starts copying everything SpongeBob does, he has a thought that Patrick can't copy what he is thinking only for Patrick to think exactly what he is word for word, which SpongeBob somehow manages to hear.
SpongeBob: (thinking) At least I'm safe inside my mind.Patrick: (also thinking) At least I'm safe inside my mind.
