History Main / PlayAlongMeme

* If a character is [[RetGone erased from ever having existed]], the audience cannot recognize them.

* If a character is erased from ever having existed, the audience cannot recognize them.

This can take a few forms:

This can take a few forms. Probably the most common is when a character uses a PaperThinDisguise, and fans pretend to not be aware that they're the same person -- or will guess any identity besides the real one. If a character claims to be invisible, the audience can no longer see them. If a fictional product promotes itself as real, people will talk about the work as if it is. These forms and many more exist because the audience jokingly takes the work's word at face value. A Play-Along Meme thus makes heavy use of {{Kayfabe}}-- it's obvious that the meme is a joke, but everyone goes along with it for the sake of furthering the joke's humor and/or the meme's spread. Fans who don't play along are thus often jokingly "corrected" by the people spreading the meme.

* ''VideoGame/MetalGear'':
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'' has fans playing along with Solid Snake's PaperThinDisguise as "Iroquois Pliskin", joking about him being a new character who couldn't possibly be Snake, since Snake [[NoOneCouldSurviveThat "died"]] in the Tanker incident in the prologue.
** Cross-franchise example: Quoting Snake's "war has changed" monologue from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' on an internet forum usually nets someone responding with ''Franchise/{{Fallout}}''[='=]s "war never changes" monologue, and vice versa.

->"''[[Film/{{Nope}} Gordy’s Home!]]'' was one of my favorite shows growing up in the 90s; every time I hear this song it’s such a nostalgia trip. Still such an absolute tragedy what happened."

** In Season 1, after hearing claims that the Eyrie is supposedly impregnible, Bronn wryly comments "Give me ten good men and some climbing spikes, and I'll impregnate the bitch." Fans like to pretend that "Ser Ten of House Goodmen" is an individual. Similarly, later on, when Ramsay Bolton mentions needing "twenty good men", they latched on and pretend that Sers Ten and Twenty of House Goodmen are Westeros' two greatest knights.

* Joshua Norton was a failed businessman who lived in San Francisco in the 1800s, who at some point went through some kind of break mental and [[AuthorityInNameOnly declared himself to be the Emperor of the United States]]. He began walking around the streets in an old dress uniform, issuing "Norton scrip" currency, and making proclamations and political demands. In what might be one of the earliest examples of this trope, most of the people who met him decided to play along: his currency was widely accepted, the local media often reported on his latest requests, and he received frequent donations that kept him out of homelessness--even Kamehameha V, king of Hawaii, referred to Norton as the United States's true leader. By most accounts he was, despite his pompousness and eccentricities, [[LoonWithAHeartOfGold a goodhearted and likeable man]] who tried to use his "position" to the benefit of others (indeed, he seems to have been a fairly progressive man for his time, supporting abolition of slavery and women's suffrage), which contributed to the rest of the city being willing to entertain his attitude. Even his gravestone describes him with his full titles.

** The fight between [[ComicBook/TheFlash Wally West]] and [[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics Archie Comics' Sonic the Hedgehog]] ends with [[spoiler:the latter being hit with enough intensity to [[RetGone erase him from existence]]]]. Afterwards, it became a common joke for fans to not recognize characters from, mentions of, and allusions to [[spoiler:''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'']], as well as "complain" that [[spoiler:the title was just "Wally West VS (DC VS)", the thumbnail just had him with the right side blank, and the animation was just him running around]].

* ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'': [[InformedAttribute Despite not looking any thinner or wider than any other imp on the show]], Loona likes to get under Moxxie's skin by constantly calling him fat. At one point, even Blitz gets in on the action. The fandom will, of course, comment about Moxxie's weight as if he's been putting on the pounds.

* WebVideo/{{Alpharad}} has a second channel called "Not Alpharad", originally for uploading short, random videos before later being repurposed as a highlights channel. Thanks to the name, commenters love to jokingly talk the channel up as a smaller creator they're proud to support in place of egotistical big [=YouTubers=] like Alpharad.

** The fight between [[ComicBook/TheFlash Wally West]] and [[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics Archie Comics' Sonic the Hedgehog]] ends with [[spoiler:the latter being hit with enough intensity to [[RetGone erase him from existence]]]]. Afterwards, it became a common joke for fans to not recognize characters from, mentions of and allusions to [[spoiler:''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'']], as well as "complain" that [[spoiler:the title was just "Wally West VS (DC VS)", the thumbnail just had him with the right side blank, and the animation was just him running around]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Deltarune}}'': In the first chapter, Lancer disguises himself by [[PaperThinDisguise putting on a mustache]]. In the second chapter, this mustachioed Lancer, now titled Chef Lancer, appears in the Castle Town's bakery, with Lancer acting like they're two separate people. Fans often pretend that they are separate characters as well, and a common joke "theory" is speculating that the two are related somehow.

** In Season 1, after hearing claims that the Eyrie is supposedly impregnible, Bronn wryly comments "Give me ten good men and some climbing spikes, and I'll impregnate the bitch." Fans like to pretend that "Ser Ten of House Goodmen" is an individual. Similarly, later on, when RAmsay Bolton mentions needing "twenty good men", they latched on and pretend that Sers Ten and Twenty of House Goodmen are Westeros' two greatest knights.

** To hide the [[SamusIsAGirl true identity]] of its protagonist, the original ''VideoGame/Metroid1'' manual described Samus Aran as a cyborg man. Therefore, the ''Metroid'' fandom continues to subscribe to her in-universe ShroudedInMyth status by jokingly referring to Samus as a robot dude in various memes. This may often be combined with [[IAmNotShazam referring to Samus as "Metroid."]]

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': In Season 6, after murdering his own father to seize power for himself, Ramsay Bolton covers this up with the [[BlatantLies extremely flimsy]] cover story that Roose was "poisoned by his enemies", which isn't believed by anyone. Fans took to playing along by commiserating with Ramsay over his father's death and hoping he gets the chance to avenge his poisoning.