History Main / LeaningOnTheFourthWall

** Many had suspected that in ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' that [[spoiler:ComicBook/CaptainAmerica could actually pick up [[OnlyTheChosenMayWield Mjolnir]] but chose not to as to not ruin a fun game and/or upstage [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]]]]. Come the FinalBattle of ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', [[spoiler:Cap calls it and wields it. Thor's reaction is a boisterious]] IKnewIt, echoing many moviegoers' reactions.

** Taken to the absolute limit in the [[Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures New Adventures]] story ''Conundrum'', after the Doctor works out that the entire story is taking place in the Land of Fiction. At one point the Doctor plays Scrabble with one of the villains, Mel, then points out that there literally is not room on the board for the word that the narration has just described as being played.

* ''Anime/SpacePatrolLuluco'' has a rather spoilerish example. [[spoiler: While in hell, [[WebAnimation/InfernoCop Inferno Cop]] tells that he was in Space Patrol with Luluco replying that makes Inferno Cop her predecessor. This is true both figuratively and literally as Inferno Cop was the first of Trigger's works and Luluco's show is the one that takes the most after his from the three that came afterward (''Anime/KillLaKill'', ''Anime/NinjaSlayer'', and this show).]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/Incredibles2'', Tony Rydinger tells Dicker how much Violet [[AdrenalineMakeover had]] [[SheCleansUpNicely "changed"]]. The scene cuts to the recreation of the last scene of her and Tony from the [[WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles first film]] with the new higher definition rendering of the characters. This results in showing very clearly that Violet really has changed.

* ''Anime/SpacePatrolLuluco'' has a rather spoilerish example. [[spoiler: While in hell, [[WebAnimation/InfernoCop Inferno Cop]] tells that he was in Space Patrol with Luluco replying that makes Inferno Cop her predecessor. This is true both figuratively and literally as Inferno Cop was the first of Trigger's works and Luluco's show is the one that takes the most after his from the three that came afterward (''Anime/KillLaKill'', ''LightNovel/NinjaSlayer'', and this show).]]

* In ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero''/''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'' crossover ''Fanfic/ZuluSquadNoTsukaima'', the OC Sgt. Crosby does a lot of this, since he is an {{elite mook|s}} from a military FirstPersonShooter in a magical world of {{tsundere}} and {{yandere}}.

-->'''Byleth:''' (Well, Here we are. It all begins here.)
-->'''Sothis:''' ''I thought it began when you traveled back in time.''
-->'''Byleth:'''(That was more like a prologue. This is the real beginning.)
-->'''Sothis:''' ''If you say so.''

** In the fourteenth overall chapter, “The Council of Elrond,” after Frodo finishes bringing the Council up to speed with everything that’s happened since he left home:
---->’Not bad,’ Bilbo said to him. ‘You would have made a good story of it, if they haven’t kept on interrupting. I tried to make a few notes, but we shall have to go over it all again together sometime, if I am to write it up. There are a whole chapters of stuff before you ever got here!’

-->"The best thing about a book is that you can always tell when you're getting to the end. No matter how tricky the situation the hero's in, you hold the book in your hand and say 'Hang on, I'm two hundred and twenty-nine pages in, with only another fifty-one to go. It started slow, but it's building to a climax.'"

-->Mel was somewhat taken aback. "But... but it's there!" he protested.\\

-->“I am not aware that it is any of your business what goes on in my house –”\\
“I expect what you’re not aware of would fill several books, Dursley,” growled Moody.

* ''Anime/PokemonHorizonsTheSeries'': In the second episode, Liko muses (to her dismay) that the bizarre turn her day has taken -- suddenly being hunted down for a family heirloom by a mysterious organization and being protected on a airship by yet ''another'' mysterious organization who ''also'' want it -- might mean she's the heroine of some story.

* In the ''Anime/ToLoveRu'' fanfic [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11591414/1/To-Love-CARNAGE To-Love-Carnage]] Rito and Yui have a conversation about Fan Fiction that heavily implies they know they're in a fan fiction. Citing Fan Fiction tropes and hoping "God" won't [[RageAgainstTheAuthor write them out of the story]].

-->'''Tamaki:''' What the hell is this?! Some kind of [[Anime/TransformersRobotsinDisguise kids' Saturday]] [[WesternAnimation/TransformersRobotsinDisguise2015 morning cartoon?!]]

* ''Film/{{Austin Powers}}'': "You know what's remarkable is how much England looks in no way like [[CaliforniaDoubling Southern California]]."

* ''Radio/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'' had a scene with Zaphod dramatically speaking while "''Music/AlsoSprachZarathustra''" grew in volume under him, until Zaphod tells Marvin to cut it out, whereupon the final two notes barely make it out.

* ''Radio/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy Radio Show Live'' underwent heavy cuts to get five seasons into a two hour show. Near the end, Slartibartfast brings up a number of the missing scenes and mentions that the eddies in the space-time continuum have lead to Arthur missing whole chapters of his life.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* The English dub of ''Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya'' has a very clever one in episode six: While Kyon is narrating, the beginning credits are shown. Just as he asks "[[WhoWritesThisCrap Who wrote this scenario, anyway?]]" the current credit is "Series Composition: Haruhi and her friends".
** In the second novel, when Kyon asks Koizumi that isn’t it weird that he treats aliens, time travelers and espers as facts of life, but thinks the other paranormal phenomena [[RealityWarper Haruhi has made]] are a step too far, Koizumi says that’s different because the former already existed, and asks Kyon to imagine what someone observing their world from the vantage point of one that lacks any supernatural things would think of the situation. He then discusses [[MagicAIsMagicA what kind of magic can exist in a story without destroying the worldbuilding’s consistency]], though specifically in the context of the changes Haruhi has made to their own lives.
* ''Literature/{{Katanagatari}}'': Togame tends to make comments that'd break the fourth wall if it weren't for the fact that she's writing everything down for publication.
* The first half of ''Literature/{{Baccano}}'''s first episode is what seems like two {{Meta Guy}}s arguing over [[AnachronicOrder when this whole thing is supposed to start]], who the "main character" is and whether or not any of it actually had a point. Technically they're an eccentric KnowledgeBroker and his assistant trying to sort out the data they have on immortal-related occurrences over the last couple of years, but it sure ''seems'' like they're picking apart the show you're just about to watch.

* In ''Manga/MurasakiiroNoQualia'' Hatou's [[ArcWords considerations on storytelling]] count as this.

* ''Literature/DirtyPair'':
** In the original TV series, Kei and Yuri occasionally compare their [[WalkingDisasterArea incredible misfortune]] to the idealized TV world...
--->'''Yuri:''' If this were a TV show, a charming hunk would appear and say, "Are you in trouble, ladies?"\\
'''[[LaserGuidedKarma Old man:]]''' Are you in trouble, ladies?
** Also, the ''Literature/CrusherJoe'' movie shows the Dirty Pair as a fictional [[ShowWithinAShow TV show]] and [[MythologyGag vice]] [[MindScrew versa]].

* The main character of Creator/PeterDavid's ''Literature/SirAproposOfNothing'' has the epiphany early on that he's a supporting character in the storybook world around him. He's not pleased and sets out to change this.

* Creator/HarryTurtledove has a tendency in his alternate history novels to have characters talk about the absurdity of things like the US winning the Civil War (in his Southern Victory series) or an explosive-metal bomb bursting over Nagasaki (in ''Literature/WorldWar'').
** The ''Literature/LordDarcy'' stories contain some similar references, usually about how terribly messed-up the world would be if Richard the Lion-Hearted hadn't survived his crossbow wound. In one story, Darcy speaks dismissively of detective-fiction fans, who treat the SeriousBusiness of criminal investigation like it's some kind of entertainment.
* Creator/JRRTolkien's ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'':
** "You and I, Sam, are still stuck in the worst places of the story, and it is all too likely that some will say at this point: 'Shut the book now, dad; we don't want to read any more.'"
** A couple of examples stem from the fact that the hobbits [[MediumAwareness all know that Bilbo is writing a book]] (and that the the novel itself is [[DirectLineToTheAuthor purported to be that book]]).
*** In the fourteenth overall chapter, “The Council of Elrond,” after Frodo finishes bringing the Council up to speed with everything that’s happened since he left home:
---->’Not bad,’ Bilbo said to him. ‘You would have made a good story of it, if they haven’t kept on interrupting. I tried to make a few notes, but we shall have to go over it all again together sometime, if I am to write it up. There are a whole chapters of stuff before you ever got here!’

*** Similarly, a chapter focused on Pippin ends with Merry telling him that his recent exploits are impressive enough that they'll probably get their own chapter in Frodo's book.

* About halfway through the first book of ''Literature/BlackLegion'' the narrator notes that the Inquisitors would like him to skip the Legion's beginnings and get to the "interesting" parts - the sword ''Drach'nyen'', the Black Crusades and the Crimson Path. Replace "Inquisitors" with "readers" and there you go.
* Creator/JaneAusten:
** Darcy and Elizabeth warp the Aesop at the ending of ''Literature/PrideAndPrejudice''.
** ''Literature/NorthangerAbbey'' is full of this, thanks to the main trio being {{Bookworm}}s.

* In ''Literature/{{Cryptonomicon}}'', Rudy von Hacklheber mentions that "there are certain old family connections" between him and Enoch Root, but that "the connections make a very long story. I would have to write a whole fucking book." That book would be ''Literature/TheBaroqueCycle''--which is in fact three volumes and can be described as "a fucking book" if anything can.

* The English dub of ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' has a very clever one in episode six: While Kyon is narrating, the beginning credits are shown. Just as he asks "[[WhoWritesThisCrap Who wrote this scenario, anyway?]]" the current credit is "Series Composition: Haruhi and her friends".

* ''LightNovel/{{Katanagatari}}''. Togame tends to make comments that'd break the fourth wall if it weren't for the fact that she's writing everything down for publication.
* The first half of ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'''s first episode is what seems like two {{Meta Guy}}s arguing over [[AnachronicOrder when this whole thing is supposed to start]], who the "main character" is and whether or not any of it actually had a point. Technically they're an eccentric KnowledgeBroker and his assistant trying to sort out the data they have on immortal-related occurrences over the last couple of years, but it sure ''seems'' like they're picking apart the show you're just about to watch.

* ''LightNovel/DirtyPair'':

** Also, the ''LightNovel/CrusherJoe'' movie shows the Dirty Pair as a fictional [[ShowWithinAShow TV show]] and [[MythologyGag vice]] [[MindScrew versa]].

** ''Legend of the Cybermen'' has the Doctor and his companions Jamie and Zoe trapped in the Land of Fiction, where they are constantly being tricked into narrating their actions, with a segment where Jamie finds himself in a sound-studio, reading his dialogues from a script while a director ([[TheCameo voiced by]] [[AsHimself director Nicholas Briggs himself]]) tells him to emote more. Also from that adventure:

** There's a moment in "Family" where Dr. Oobleck tells Yang that ''a lot'' of people want to see her get back on her feet. Yang is a bona-fide [[TheWoobie Woobie]] at this point for [[HeroWithBadPublicity many]], [[AnArmAndALeg many]], [[ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies many]], ''[[BreakTheCutie many]]'' reasons.

* WebOriginal/{{Ultimate}}: Ultimate considers himself to live in a story, where he's the main character.