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* ShatteringTheIllusion: In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS3E67TheArrival The Arrival]]", [[spoiler:Grant Sheckly's theory that Flight 107, which arrived without any crew or passengers, is nothing more than an illusion is proven when he puts his arm in the spinning propeller and the plane vanishes. His fellow investigators Bengston and Paul Malloy disappear as well.]]
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* ShatteringTheIllusion: In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS3E67TheArrival "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S3E2TheArrival The Arrival]]", [[spoiler:Grant Sheckly's theory that Flight 107, which arrived without any crew or passengers, is nothing more than an illusion is proven when he puts his arm in the spinning propeller and the plane vanishes. His fellow investigators Bengston and Paul Malloy disappear as well.]]
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PinkElephants
* Used as a plot point of the {{wuxia}} film, ''Film/TheBloodyBladeOfKingLanling''. The film's main villain is an EvilVizier and TheUsurper who wants the throne for himself, pretending to be loyal to the Emperor, and managed to convince the Emperor that the Gods of Heavens are making a visit to the palace... by spiking the Emperor's wine. As the Vizier plays a tune on a flute, the Emperor then sees the Gods descending, and giving a royal decree to abdicate the throne to the minister... Lanling's timely arrival in the final scene, beating a drum to break the Vizier's flute music and [[ShatteringTheIllusion dispelling the false vision of Gods]] jams a wedge into the Vizier's plans.
Anime/DoraemonNobitasDriftsInTheUniverse
* LotusEaterMachine: After drifting in space and landing on an earth-like planet, Doraemon and friends are surprised to discover they've landed back on earth itself. Except they didn't - that planet is an illusion world inhabited by hostile tree-men, whose spores can fool any unfortunate life forms into seeing what they want to see before they're captured and digested alive by the tree-men monsters. Thankfully, the God's Tree Fruit which is still in Nobita's pockets suddenly pokes him in the butt, making him [[ShatteringTheIllusion wake up and realize he's seeing an illusion]]. Cue Nobita waking Doraemon from the illusion with a thump on the head, and Doraemon quickly using an Alarm Gadget to alert Suneo, Gian and Shizuka - moments before they're devoured by tree-men aliens.
Characters/CodexEquusShinseinaPantheon
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Post-Ascension, after becoming the Alicorn god of Truth, he gained the ability to see illusions and ''literally'' shatter them, making him an absolute nightmare for [[MasterOfIllusion illusionists]]. The reason for this is the increased sensitivity to magic he got to make up for his blindness, which allows him "see" illusions in the form of walls and other structures that only he can break down. It's mentioned in his entry that he first discovered this ability ''[[AchievementsInIgnorance by complete accident]]'' - a Hydianite sorceress trapped the BHCIT in a powerful illusion that targeted their worst memories and experiences, and Guiding Light unwittingly broke it while trying to free his friends.
Characters/FinalFantasyVIIRemakeAntagonistsAndBosses
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Killing it shatters the illusory world it creates, and kills the Sephiroth Clone that conjured it.
Characters/FriendshipIsMagicOthers
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Twilight and co. manage to break the spell, making Rarity see that the precious thing she though she was carrying truly is really just a worthless builder.
Characters/MagicTheGatheringDominaria
* ShatteringTheIllusion: [[spoiler:He realized that the Hanna Yawgmoth offered him is just an illusion]].
Characters/MarkiplierMajorCharacters
* MasterOfIllusion: Implied several times that his RealityWarping powers are almost nothing but illusions, what with his being a living OminousVisualGlitch, and how his [[ShatteringTheIllusion "reality warping" skills have managed to dissolve via outside influence, such as how Markiplier tackled Darkiplier, turning the monochromatic-area around him back to normal]].
Characters/NegimaAlaAlba
* TookALevelInBadass:
** At the start of the series she was a muggle and before going to the magic world she still wasn't as good as Negi was at the beginning of the series. Perhaps Yue's most badass moment is during the Mahora Festival Arc. The party's progress is blocked by one of their teachers, '[[ScaryShinyGlasses Death Specs]]' Takahata, who begins to attack with no mercy. Sensing something is off, Yue calls him out and ''[[HitMeDammit dares Takahata to hit her]]''. He does - ''hard''. But Yue gets up and, holding her bleeding and bruised face, concludes that the man before them could not possibly be the real Takahata, because he would never harm his students in that way. She calmly looks up a spell in her encyclopaedia for [[ShatteringTheIllusion shattering illusions]] and casts it, and sure enough it's all fake. She saves her party in one fell swoop, performs a staggering mental leap in a highly tense situation, and even though she's no fighter, she takes a beating in the process ''just to prove her theory''. Badass.
Characters/SquadronSupreme
* ShatteringTheIllusion: A shot to the chops from Arcanna is enough to drop not only Moonglow but [[spoiler: her illusory attractive appearance]].
Characters/TheOrderOfTheStickHumanPartyMembers
* ShatteringTheIllusion: [[spoiler:He's the first to realize the party was stuck in a LotusEaterMachine after descending Girard's pyramid, and subsequently assists the party in breaking out of it.]]
Characters/TheTrumanShow
* GodIsInept: His writing isn't as "magnificent" as he fools himself to believe. Forcing the increasingly-skeptical Truman to "get with the script" even as and when setbacks occur, and while ramming obligatory advertising down his throat, ultimately causes his [[ShatteringTheIllusion fake reality to fall apart.]]
Characters/ZyudenSentaiKyoryugerProtagonists
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Unlike Rika, Yuko was fooled by Kokodoko's illusion of Kenichi returning, but Nobuharu told some [[{{Pun}} old man jokes]] to show her that the Kenichi that she was seeing was an impostor (Kenichi had loved Nobuharu's old man jokes, while the impostor reacted angrily to them).
Fanfic/GameTheoryLyricalNanoha
* ShatteringTheIllusion: [[spoiler:Nanoha breaks from free of the LotusEaterMachine by recognizing it and then stripping the mana from it for a super-powerful Starlight Breaker.]]
Fanfic/TheWesterosi
* ShatteringTheIllusion: [[spoiler:When visiting the House of the Undying, Jade goes along with the hallucinations for a while, but when they apparently end and she finds someone ready to kick her out, she instantly orders her "familiar" to emit an energy field that destroys the illusion and goes after Daenerys. Unfortunately, she then sees the Warlocks as they [[HumanoidAbomination really]] are, [[FromBadToWorse then]] they start chanting ''Zhdane''. However, later they prove themselves to be strong enough to destroy the trinket and force them back into the illusion.]]
Film/TheBloodyBladeOfKingLanling
* PinkElephants: Used as a plot point. The EvilVizier and TheUsurper who wants the throne for himself, pretending to be loyal to the Emperor, and managed to convince the Emperor that the Gods of Heavens are making a visit to the Palace... by spiking the Emperor's wine. As the Vizier plays a tune on a flute, the Emperor then sees the Gods descending, and giving a royal decree to abdicate the throne to the minister... Lanling's timely arrival in the final scene, beating a drum to break the Vizier's flute music and [[ShatteringTheIllusion dispelling the vision of the Gods]] jams a wedge into the Vizier's plans.
Literature/HardaHorda
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Lilijas enforces it, "breaking" the ball by making a scene in the middle of a dance, throwing around instruments and yelling at the ghosts. As the whole illusion is broken, she reveals a huge pile of corpses on the dance floor, along with the real, far less glamorous state of the ballroom itself.
Literature/TheMortalInstruments
* LotusEaterMachine: ''City of Heavenly Fire'' has a demon that traps its victims by showing them an idyllic dream world centered around their heart's desire. Since [[EvilCannotComprehendGood demons cannot understand human nature,]] every dream has a flaw that allows the subject to [[ShatteringTheIllusion shatter the illusion]].
Literature/ParadoxBound
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Eli finally realizes that [[spoiler:the Dream has never left its original place. It just created an optical illusion to make everyone, including the Faceless Men, believe that it was gone. Apparently, they never bothered to feel around on the table, trusting in their feeling of certainty, which was also being fooled by the Dream]].
Literature/StarStrider
* ShatteringTheIllusion: With a FEAR tolerance high enough, you can break free from illusions projected by the Gromulans.
Manga/ShimejiSimulation
* ShatteringTheIllusion: After the revelation of West Yomogi being a simulated reality under the Gardener's watchful eyes, in part of having no accidents reported, Big Sis goes into bluntly questioning the Gardener about the town being a "calculation" and a "Papier-mâché" and boasted that "no mere Gardener" can stop her. She uses the Fish With Names from her conch-shaped device to literally destroy the illusion of the town itself. Though it's not without the drastic consequences it transpired in the future run.
Music/LindseyStirling
* ShatteringTheIllusion:
** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiyPRqP5glY Transcendence]]" shows Lindsey discovering that the projected clothes, backgrounds, places, and so on are not real. When she realises she can step outside the image of a dress to reach for her violin, she is at first hesitant because of the shadows this casts on other projections, but then dances over the scenes like nobody's business, to the anger of the man creating the illusions.
NegimaMagisterNegiMagi/TropesSToU
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Yue does this when Negi's party is trapped under Library Island en route to rescue him through the use of clever deduction.
NothingIsScarier/VideoGames
* ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' (in contrast to its predecessor ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls") utilizes atmosphere through this way throughout most of the game. For example: Anor Londo is one of the most beautiful areas in the game, but its lack of enemies keeps you on edge; this is reinforced by the silence, because among the enemies present only the Batwing Demons make any noise when they are in combat. [[spoiler: It gets worse if you end up killing a [[ShatteringTheIllusion certain fake goddess]]. The sun sets, most all enemies disappear, and all life fades from Anor Londo. Everything you fought up until this point is an illusion, and arguably wasn't really there.]]
Recap/FirstWaveS3E22TwiceBlessd
* ShatteringTheIllusion: The gang break out of the shared illusion the first time when Eddie proudly declares that he's found the Hammer... and proudly holds up an ordinary ball-peen. Cade uses it to shatter a nearby mirror, releasing them from the illusion.
Recap/LuzClawthorneHexsidesNumberOneDelinquentWitchChapter40
* BreakThemByTalking: Along with illusions, Belos applies this to force Amity to stand down telling her that only he knows what's best for Luz and that she's out of her league against him. She refuses to listen and [[ShatteringTheIllusion cancels out the illusions]].
* ShatteringTheIllusion: To disspell Belos' illusions, Amity spreads the [[PlayingWithFire fire spells]] in her hand across the room.
Recap/LuzClawthorneTwoWorldsOneFamilyChapter24
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Amity and Emily both cancel out the illusions they see by using fire spells.
Recap/MonsterRancherS1E17UndergroundAdventure
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Golem manages this first when he punches the fake fireball. Later, Joker's hold over all of the other Searchers breaks when Hare attacks him.
Recap/OnceUponATimeS3E6Ariel
* ShatteringTheIllusion: The illusion of Belle returns and proves to have been Pan's Shadow all along playing tricks on Rumpelstiltskin. Regina exposes the trick by choking the fake Belle into reverting to Pan's shadow form.
Recap/StarTrekS3E4AndTheChildrenShallLead
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Kirk breaks the control Gorgan has on the kids by showing them video of their parents to show they weren't as bad as they said. Destroying this illusion also breaks the illusions they caused the crew to have.
Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS6E19FrameOfMind
* ShatteringTheIllusion: At the climax of the story, Riker realizes his recent experiences haven't been real. This culminates with some characters and scenery literally appearing to shatter into small pieces as Riker manages to escape the dream has become trapped in.
Recap/TheTwilightZoneS3E67TheArrival
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Grant proves that the mysterious airplane that landed in the airport didn't exist, and was all an illusion. After he proves it, his fellow investigators disappear as well, revealing that they weren't real either.
TheTwilightZone1959/TropesQToZ
* ShatteringTheIllusion: In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS3E67TheArrival The Arrival]]", [[spoiler:Grant Sheckly's theory that Flight 107, which arrived without any crew or passengers, is nothing more than an illusion is proven when he puts his arm in the spinning propeller and the plane vanishes. His fellow investigators Bengston and Paul Malloy disappear as well.]]
Toys/Bionicle
* ShatteringTheIllusion: In "Time Trap", Vakama shatters the illusion by stopping to believe it after firing a Kanoka disk at "Nokama", which just phases through "her".
VideoGame/DungeonsAndDragonsOnline
* ShatteringTheIllusion: The first section of the "Partycrashers" quest takes place in the Phiarlan Illusionarium, which is packed with illusionary enemies and traps that [[YourMindMakesItReal can, and will, hurt you.]] The only way to get past them is to destroy the Dragonmarks of Shadow that created them.
VideoGame/KsiazeITchorz
* ShatteringTheIllusion: The ancient warrior's barrow is guarded by [[spoiler: illusory ghosts]]. The only way of bypassing them is [[spoiler: keeping clicking your mouse forward, not letting Galador run away until the ghosts disappear]].
VideoGame/MegidoAbyss
* ShatteringTheIllusion: After defeating [[spoiler:[[FinalBoss the Formless Entity,]] the [[{{Glamour}} illusion of "Leere"]] fades away, leaving nothing but the [[AfterTheEnd deserted ruins of Alendale.]]]]
VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Ongyo-Ki summons several illusionary copies to fight for him. One punch to a fake will destroy it, but hitting ''the real one'' will destroy them all.
VideoGame/TrialsOfGuinevere
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Optional, based on your choices. [[spoiler:In Act 3, Morgan is sent into a dream-like state, while a demon is trying to implant a shard into her soul. In the dream, she sees a happier alternate world, where she is in the Academy, reunited with Teo. Depending on your choices, Morgan will realize that this isn't the real world, and despite wanting to be with Teo again, she can't ignore her friends that need her. Morgan leaves the dream, stops her captor, and destroys the shard, saving her friends in the process.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Anti-Magic Against Illusion ( 15 / 83 = 18% )]]
MasterOfIllusion
* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'':
** This is a standard ability of blue magic. The typical mechanical representation is that the illusory creature you summon is cheaper than usual, but opponents can [[ShatteringTheIllusion Shatter The Illusion]]--if the creature is targeted by some effect, the illusion breaks and the creature dies.
Characters/ACertainMagicalIndexToumaKamijou
* ShatteringTheIllusion: His Imagine Breaker is more than capable of doing this, both literally and metaphorically.
Characters/BewareOfChicken
* A stereotypical cultivator sect, whose members [[ConspicuousConsumption live extravagantly]] and for whom [[MightMakesRight the only virtue is strength]]. They have a centuries-old grudge against fox spirits. Their cultivation is based around [[ShatteringTheIllusion dispelling illusions]] and the use of lightning both [[ShockAndAwe as a weapon]] and [[SuperSpeed for rapid movement]].
Characters/CodexEquusAmaredae
* RageAgainstTheReflection
** In one incident, at the behest of her father, Amareros, Amour-De-Soi used ''True Image'' on several Changeling Kings of the Summer Court, who (in her words) weren't very happy with what they saw. Her entry notes that ''True Image'' also has the power to [[ShatteringTheIllusion pierce through magical illusions and mind-control spells]], something that she also possesses as an innate power.
Characters/CodexEquusManeSix
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Given her domains of Honesty and Truth, as well as her [[spoiler:former]] position as Bearer of the Element of Honesty, she has the power of breaking through lies, illusions and other forms of obfuscation. This makes her especially dangerous to enemies who uses or are extensively empowered by lies and dishonesty, such as the Summer Court Changelings.
Characters/CodexEquusWrittenWord
* ImmuneToMindControl: His divine domain of Truth allows him to resist various types of mind manipulation magics, such as Geass magic, as well as glamours and illusions, making them almost completely useless against him. In the case of the latter two, he can also detect and [[ShatteringTheIllusion destroy them]].
Characters/HalcyonDaysShinigamiPlayerCharacters
* ShatteringtheIllusion: Ilsa's shikai- theoretically. Subverted in that it has yet to work on a truly powerful enemy, which frustrates both Ilsa and Hinometori.
Characters/MyWifeIsADemonQueenHumanTribe
* ShatteringTheIllusion: He breaks Giro Emery's illusions with his aura.
Characters/TheLegendOfDragoon
* FightingAShadow: [[spoiler:Not only has his magic progressed to the point he can create an illusory doppelganger, he can even cast magic through his illusion, and it proves to be completely immune to damage, forcing the party to flee if they try to fight it. However, finishing the Stardust sidequest lets you acquire the Vanishing Stone [[ShatteringTheIllusion that breaks said shadow,]] and continue on downward to confront the real Faust.]]
Characters/TokyoAfterschoolSummonersSmallerGuilds
* ShatteringTheIllusion: This appears to be part of Sanat Kumara's power set. After the events of Halloween Night, Sanat Kumara confronts Christine and the Entertainers responsible for that night's chaos. At that point [[spoiler:Sanat attacks a copy of himself that had been following the Entertainers. He reveals that to be a shadow of himself, created most likely by someone in the Invaders. This copy of himself is the person who had contacted the Entertainers and commissioned them to cause chaos in Umamichi.]]
Literature/LabyrinthsOfEcho
* ShatteringTheIllusion:
** Repeating the procedure someone's mother used to wake them up breaks sleep spells.
** At least one of Shurf Lonli-Lokli's breathing techniques allows to ignore illusions, bordering on temporary TrueSight.
** Melifaro's gift as a [[spoiler: Dark Side Guardian]] renders him immune to most illusionary effects.
** The Well of Pain at the walls of Cherhavla has this effect by proxy: put a limb into the well, then touch (or actually punch or kick) somebody with the limb to snap them out of their reveries.
** Max is among other royal rewards given a Child of the Purple Pearl. During the hunt for a fätan, Juffin figures out that the Children of the Purple Pearl are artifacts which protect the owner's mind and memory from manipulation.
** The Sword of King Mönin, [[spoiler: embedded in Max and incorporeal]], will break the wielder out of illusions.
Literature/StealerOfSouls
* ShatteringTheIllusion: You can learn a Dispel Illusion spell to use in case Mordraneth use his illusions to trick you.
Literature/TheGirlFromTheMiraclesDistrict
* ShatteringTheIllusion: The Sight rune can dispel illusions, though only for the person wearing it.
MagicTheGathering/GameplayTropesJToQ
* MasterOfIllusion: A specialty of Blue magic. Illusory creatures are typically cheaper to summon than comparible creatures, but the [[ShatteringTheIllusion illusion is shattered]] if the creature is targeted by some effect. [[https://gatherer.wizards.com/pages/card/details.aspx?name=Lord%20of%20the%20Unreal Lord of the Unreal]] gives a significant boost to Illusion creatures and makes them hexproof, so they're harder to shatter.
MagicTheGathering/GameplayTropesRToZ
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Illusion type creatures tend to have relatively higher power and toughness for their mana cost, but are destroyed if they are targeted ''any'' spell, even beneficial ones. [[https://gatherer.wizards.com/pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=189897 Illusionary Servant]] and [[https://gatherer.wizards.com/pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=205017 Phantom Beast]] are prime examples.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:No Longer Fooled ( 16 / 83 = 20% )]]
Some may be PCE's that fail to mention the illusion-dispelling scene that follows.
Characters/GoblinSlayerPriestess
* LotusEaterMachine: From Vol. 9, [[spoiler: Ice Witch casts an illusion on Priestess to sway the girl into handing over a silver arrow that could kill the enchantress. Priestess finds herself naked and in front of Goblin Slayer, who proceeds to give her an AffectionateGestureToTheHead while showering her with praise and concern. [[ShatteringTheIllusion She comes to her senses almost immediately]] because the real Goblin Slayer would be too inept at expressing himself to behave in the manner she desires most.]]
Characters/RuPaulsDragRace
* ShatteringTheIllusion: One of her biggest pet peeves is when queens use their own hair in drag, especially when they have a masculine buzzcut/hairline.
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Has a pet peeve against queens who constantly use a breast plate as a major aspect of their runway look. She once even whipped out her own breasts during a rant on how the plates just don't look like the real thing (the breastplate in this case could be spotted as fake by any random on the street!). Which is ironic considering she's freely admitted to having implants herself, but also occasionally receives a HypocrisyNod.
Characters/RuPaulsDragRaceSeason1
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Does not like to tuck because she says it hurts, which has led to the judges calling her out more than a few times for her lack of female illusion due to her noticeable bulge (this even led to her elimination).
Characters/RuPaulsDragRaceSeason4
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Along with her wig ripping antics, she for some reason also liked to strip down during a lip sync. In the episode she got eliminated she wasn't wearing any breasts so pretty much just looked like a man in makeup sans wig and dress, completely shattering the feminine illusion.
-->'''Phi Phi:''' Milan... girl... That's ''clearly'' a dude.
Characters/SonicForHire
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Their lack of existence is quickly outed by Tails the second he brings up that Sonic murdered multiple people under the allusion that they were paying him to do it.
ComicBook/SupermansGirlFriendLoisLane
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Lois hits her head while diving. While Superman rescues her before she can drown, he ultimately finds out that the concussion knocked her unconscious and that she's having a very pleasant dream, [[PrefersTheIllusion one she has no reason to wake up from]]: she and Superman are finally married. Supes tries to wake her by spoiling the idealness of the dream world, first by [[LovesMyAlterEgo revealing his secret identity]] and then by turning their dream children into handfuls. Lois still manages to find some way to bend the dream back on its ideal course until Superman introduces a new character, Lulu, her replacement at the ''Daily Planet'' and implies his dream self is in love with her now. Heartbroken, Lois wakes up.
Fanfic/LostInTheStorm
* BaitAndSwitch: Salem offers May a way to draw out her deepest anger and hatred, to make her magic stronger. Most readers will expect it to be a NightmareSequence with all of May's worst fears. [[spoiler:It is actually a DreamSequence of May's ideal life, one where she's living as a woman, in a relationship with Winter, and has the support of her family. The anger and hatred comes from her [[ShatteringTheIllusion waking up]]]].
* ShatteringTheIllusion: [[spoiler:The perfect world dream sequence Salem puts May in shatters just as Ladon Marigold was about to call May his daughter. Salem stands ready to call give her maternal love and gender affirmation instead, driving May further under Salem's sway]].
Film/Blindspotting
* ShatteringTheIllusion: The characters all struggle to see beyond their various biases, with their success, and even the existence of an objective reality outside their differing perspectives, left ambiguous. Optical illusions, in particular the Rubin's Vase illusion, form a recurring motif.
Music/LindseyStirling
* ShatteringTheIllusion:
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49tpIMDy9BE "Shatter Me"]], the title track from her second album, portrays a porcelain ballerina trapped in a music box, hoping that someone will come along and free her from the glass, but comes to realize that the only way to escape is to break the glass herself.
Podcast/TheLastPodcastOnTheLeft
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Henry frequently reminds the listener that reality is a hologram.
Recap/AgathaChristie
** "The Stymphalean Birds," also known as "The Vulture Women." First published in September, 1939. Harold Waring, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, spends his vacation in [[{{Ruritania}} Herzoslovakia]]. There he meets the charming Mrs. Elsie Clayton and her mother Mrs. Rice. He is romantically interested in Elsie, and is horrified to learn that she is married to a CrazyJealousGuy. He tries to comfort her, though he has the impression that two Polish twins are spying on them. Not long after he briefly meets the jealous Philip Clayton, supposedly notified by the Polish women, he witnesses Elsie striking Philip on the head. Half an hour later he learns that Philip is dead, with Elsie and himself suspected of murder. Mrs. Rice convinces him that their only escape would be to bribe the hotel staff, the local police, and the Polish sisters. Since Harold doesn't speak the local language, all negotiations are handled by the two women. A vacationing Poirot approaches him at this point to offer help. [[spoiler:He points out that Elsie and her mother are professional con-women, who have fooled Harold. There never was a Philip Clayton, just Mrs. Rice in disguise. Nobody has died, the Polish women were innocent bystanders, and all the "bribe money" went directly to the con-women's pockets. The police had never been notified of any case. Elsie and her mother were simply using Harold's own prejudice against foreigners and their authorities.]] One of Christie's best uses of ConMan tropes and ShatteringTheIllusion.
Recap/TheSimpsonsS3E2MrLisaGoesToWashington
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Lisa arrives in Washington to show off her patriotic pride with an essay, but loses faith in the American way when she witnesses a senator taking a bribe. [[TheWoobie Poor girl]].
Recap/YoungJusticeS4E18BeyondTheGripOfTheGods
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Zod starts to bring Conner out of his fugue state by pointing out that since Conner's never met him before, he can't have hallucinated Zod like he hallucinated the rest.
VisualNovel/FarBeyondTheWorld
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Caelan at first thinks that he has been comatose all along and that his adventures in Avalan were just a delusion, but then comes to realize that the "real" world is an illusion based on the fact that everything is out of place, such as an old computer being in his room despite him having knowledge of cell phones being ubiquitous, and a "keep out" sign being placed on the wrong side of "his" door.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:ZCE/Other/Unsure ( 13 / 83 = 16% )]]
WhoWritesThisCrap
* HOLY agent [[GratuitousEnglish Mad Script]] from ''Anime/SCryEd'' had the ability to [[RewritingReality forcibly rewrite]] [[MoreThanMindControl someone's perception]], so long as everyone around them follows his script. Unfortunately, he's a little too in love with his own maudlin "genius", so when he tries to rewrite rogue Alter [[AntiHero Kazuma]] into joining HOLY, his "players" are often shown complaining to him about their parts... [[ShatteringTheIllusion including, inevitably, Kazuma]].
Characters/Coraline
* SoulPower: After buttons [[DealWithTheDevil were sewn into their eyes]], the Other Mother [[LifeDrinker ate up their lives]] and bound their spirits [[DomainHolder to her domain]]. Their eyes are now hidden in plain sight and serve as power sources to [[MasterOfIllusion amplify her realm and make it even more enticing]]. When Coraline recovers them, the Other World [[ShatteringTheIllusion starts to crumble]].
Characters/LabyrinthsOfEcho
* ShatteringTheIllusion with a fair helping of EpiphanicPrison: This is Juffin's preferred teaching and motivation method - he does the shattering and watches those affected struggle towards their epiphany of the day.
Characters/SquadronSupreme
* ShatteringTheIllusion: A subversion. Arcanna drops the illusion and reveals her pregnancy after her water breaks in the middle of the battle between the Squadron and Nighthawk's allies.
Characters/WerewolfTheApocalypse
* ShatteringTheIllusion: In the umbra, Mitanu's realm looks like a barren, brown and gray wasteland... at first. When visitors reach the surface, they discover both beautiful and hellish landscapes, such as emerald forests and meadows, azure lakes, and blasted deserts.
Literature/Moon1985
* ShatteringTheIllusion: When [[spoiler: Heckatty]] [[YourMindMakesItReal psychically simulates]] in Childes a burning of his internal organs, the pain distracts from fear, which breaks the spell.
Literature/VirtuallyReality
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Whiteflower believes that she's seeing flowers. [[spoiler:What she's actually seeing are the hearts torn out of non-playable characters, and she's shaken when the illusion breaks after they murder a baby.]]
Manga/PandoraHearts
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Break to Rufus.
Music/GFRIEND
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Implied in the break scene of "Fingertip".
Podcast/DrunksAndDragons
* ShatteringTheIllusion: When the group finally discovers Teddy Dozar in Tarry Hollow, [[spoiler: this happens to the entire town. Tarry Hollow and all the people in it are revealed to be an illusion created by Sinu the Red - the town itself is nothing but a ruin in the present day. What exactly the group was eating during their few days there is never revealed.]]
VideoGame/BerserkMillenniumFalconHenSeimaSenkiNoSho
* ShatteringTheIllusion
VisualNovel/Echo
* ShatteringTheIllusion: [[spoiler: Chase does this with a little help from Carl during the good end, after the latter had [[CharacterDevelopment already done it for himself on his own]]]].
WebOriginal/SpaghettiIce
* ShatteringTheIllusion: [[spoiler:Armin's appearance]] turns out to be one of these. In a twist on this trope, the character shattering the illusion is the same one the illusion is placed on.[[/folder]]
PinkElephants
* Used as a plot point of the {{wuxia}} film, ''Film/TheBloodyBladeOfKingLanling''. The film's main villain is an EvilVizier and TheUsurper who wants the throne for himself, pretending to be loyal to the Emperor, and managed to convince the Emperor that the Gods of Heavens are making a visit to the palace... by spiking the Emperor's wine. As the Vizier plays a tune on a flute, the Emperor then sees the Gods descending, and giving a royal decree to abdicate the throne to the minister... Lanling's timely arrival in the final scene, beating a drum to break the Vizier's flute music and [[ShatteringTheIllusion dispelling the false vision of Gods]] jams a wedge into the Vizier's plans.
Anime/DoraemonNobitasDriftsInTheUniverse
* LotusEaterMachine: After drifting in space and landing on an earth-like planet, Doraemon and friends are surprised to discover they've landed back on earth itself. Except they didn't - that planet is an illusion world inhabited by hostile tree-men, whose spores can fool any unfortunate life forms into seeing what they want to see before they're captured and digested alive by the tree-men monsters. Thankfully, the God's Tree Fruit which is still in Nobita's pockets suddenly pokes him in the butt, making him [[ShatteringTheIllusion wake up and realize he's seeing an illusion]]. Cue Nobita waking Doraemon from the illusion with a thump on the head, and Doraemon quickly using an Alarm Gadget to alert Suneo, Gian and Shizuka - moments before they're devoured by tree-men aliens.
Characters/CodexEquusShinseinaPantheon
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Post-Ascension, after becoming the Alicorn god of Truth, he gained the ability to see illusions and ''literally'' shatter them, making him an absolute nightmare for [[MasterOfIllusion illusionists]]. The reason for this is the increased sensitivity to magic he got to make up for his blindness, which allows him "see" illusions in the form of walls and other structures that only he can break down. It's mentioned in his entry that he first discovered this ability ''[[AchievementsInIgnorance by complete accident]]'' - a Hydianite sorceress trapped the BHCIT in a powerful illusion that targeted their worst memories and experiences, and Guiding Light unwittingly broke it while trying to free his friends.
Characters/FinalFantasyVIIRemakeAntagonistsAndBosses
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Killing it shatters the illusory world it creates, and kills the Sephiroth Clone that conjured it.
Characters/FriendshipIsMagicOthers
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Twilight and co. manage to break the spell, making Rarity see that the precious thing she though she was carrying truly is really just a worthless builder.
Characters/MagicTheGatheringDominaria
* ShatteringTheIllusion: [[spoiler:He realized that the Hanna Yawgmoth offered him is just an illusion]].
Characters/MarkiplierMajorCharacters
* MasterOfIllusion: Implied several times that his RealityWarping powers are almost nothing but illusions, what with his being a living OminousVisualGlitch, and how his [[ShatteringTheIllusion "reality warping" skills have managed to dissolve via outside influence, such as how Markiplier tackled Darkiplier, turning the monochromatic-area around him back to normal]].
Characters/NegimaAlaAlba
* TookALevelInBadass:
** At the start of the series she was a muggle and before going to the magic world she still wasn't as good as Negi was at the beginning of the series. Perhaps Yue's most badass moment is during the Mahora Festival Arc. The party's progress is blocked by one of their teachers, '[[ScaryShinyGlasses Death Specs]]' Takahata, who begins to attack with no mercy. Sensing something is off, Yue calls him out and ''[[HitMeDammit dares Takahata to hit her]]''. He does - ''hard''. But Yue gets up and, holding her bleeding and bruised face, concludes that the man before them could not possibly be the real Takahata, because he would never harm his students in that way. She calmly looks up a spell in her encyclopaedia for [[ShatteringTheIllusion shattering illusions]] and casts it, and sure enough it's all fake. She saves her party in one fell swoop, performs a staggering mental leap in a highly tense situation, and even though she's no fighter, she takes a beating in the process ''just to prove her theory''. Badass.
Characters/SquadronSupreme
* ShatteringTheIllusion: A shot to the chops from Arcanna is enough to drop not only Moonglow but [[spoiler: her illusory attractive appearance]].
Characters/TheOrderOfTheStickHumanPartyMembers
* ShatteringTheIllusion: [[spoiler:He's the first to realize the party was stuck in a LotusEaterMachine after descending Girard's pyramid, and subsequently assists the party in breaking out of it.]]
Characters/TheTrumanShow
* GodIsInept: His writing isn't as "magnificent" as he fools himself to believe. Forcing the increasingly-skeptical Truman to "get with the script" even as and when setbacks occur, and while ramming obligatory advertising down his throat, ultimately causes his [[ShatteringTheIllusion fake reality to fall apart.]]
Characters/ZyudenSentaiKyoryugerProtagonists
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Unlike Rika, Yuko was fooled by Kokodoko's illusion of Kenichi returning, but Nobuharu told some [[{{Pun}} old man jokes]] to show her that the Kenichi that she was seeing was an impostor (Kenichi had loved Nobuharu's old man jokes, while the impostor reacted angrily to them).
Fanfic/GameTheoryLyricalNanoha
* ShatteringTheIllusion: [[spoiler:Nanoha breaks from free of the LotusEaterMachine by recognizing it and then stripping the mana from it for a super-powerful Starlight Breaker.]]
Fanfic/TheWesterosi
* ShatteringTheIllusion: [[spoiler:When visiting the House of the Undying, Jade goes along with the hallucinations for a while, but when they apparently end and she finds someone ready to kick her out, she instantly orders her "familiar" to emit an energy field that destroys the illusion and goes after Daenerys. Unfortunately, she then sees the Warlocks as they [[HumanoidAbomination really]] are, [[FromBadToWorse then]] they start chanting ''Zhdane''. However, later they prove themselves to be strong enough to destroy the trinket and force them back into the illusion.]]
Film/TheBloodyBladeOfKingLanling
* PinkElephants: Used as a plot point. The EvilVizier and TheUsurper who wants the throne for himself, pretending to be loyal to the Emperor, and managed to convince the Emperor that the Gods of Heavens are making a visit to the Palace... by spiking the Emperor's wine. As the Vizier plays a tune on a flute, the Emperor then sees the Gods descending, and giving a royal decree to abdicate the throne to the minister... Lanling's timely arrival in the final scene, beating a drum to break the Vizier's flute music and [[ShatteringTheIllusion dispelling the vision of the Gods]] jams a wedge into the Vizier's plans.
Literature/HardaHorda
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Lilijas enforces it, "breaking" the ball by making a scene in the middle of a dance, throwing around instruments and yelling at the ghosts. As the whole illusion is broken, she reveals a huge pile of corpses on the dance floor, along with the real, far less glamorous state of the ballroom itself.
Literature/TheMortalInstruments
* LotusEaterMachine: ''City of Heavenly Fire'' has a demon that traps its victims by showing them an idyllic dream world centered around their heart's desire. Since [[EvilCannotComprehendGood demons cannot understand human nature,]] every dream has a flaw that allows the subject to [[ShatteringTheIllusion shatter the illusion]].
Literature/ParadoxBound
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Eli finally realizes that [[spoiler:the Dream has never left its original place. It just created an optical illusion to make everyone, including the Faceless Men, believe that it was gone. Apparently, they never bothered to feel around on the table, trusting in their feeling of certainty, which was also being fooled by the Dream]].
Literature/StarStrider
* ShatteringTheIllusion: With a FEAR tolerance high enough, you can break free from illusions projected by the Gromulans.
Manga/ShimejiSimulation
* ShatteringTheIllusion: After the revelation of West Yomogi being a simulated reality under the Gardener's watchful eyes, in part of having no accidents reported, Big Sis goes into bluntly questioning the Gardener about the town being a "calculation" and a "Papier-mâché" and boasted that "no mere Gardener" can stop her. She uses the Fish With Names from her conch-shaped device to literally destroy the illusion of the town itself. Though it's not without the drastic consequences it transpired in the future run.
Music/LindseyStirling
* ShatteringTheIllusion:
** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiyPRqP5glY Transcendence]]" shows Lindsey discovering that the projected clothes, backgrounds, places, and so on are not real. When she realises she can step outside the image of a dress to reach for her violin, she is at first hesitant because of the shadows this casts on other projections, but then dances over the scenes like nobody's business, to the anger of the man creating the illusions.
NegimaMagisterNegiMagi/TropesSToU
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Yue does this when Negi's party is trapped under Library Island en route to rescue him through the use of clever deduction.
NothingIsScarier/VideoGames
* ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' (in contrast to its predecessor ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls") utilizes atmosphere through this way throughout most of the game. For example: Anor Londo is one of the most beautiful areas in the game, but its lack of enemies keeps you on edge; this is reinforced by the silence, because among the enemies present only the Batwing Demons make any noise when they are in combat. [[spoiler: It gets worse if you end up killing a [[ShatteringTheIllusion certain fake goddess]]. The sun sets, most all enemies disappear, and all life fades from Anor Londo. Everything you fought up until this point is an illusion, and arguably wasn't really there.]]
Recap/FirstWaveS3E22TwiceBlessd
* ShatteringTheIllusion: The gang break out of the shared illusion the first time when Eddie proudly declares that he's found the Hammer... and proudly holds up an ordinary ball-peen. Cade uses it to shatter a nearby mirror, releasing them from the illusion.
Recap/LuzClawthorneHexsidesNumberOneDelinquentWitchChapter40
* BreakThemByTalking: Along with illusions, Belos applies this to force Amity to stand down telling her that only he knows what's best for Luz and that she's out of her league against him. She refuses to listen and [[ShatteringTheIllusion cancels out the illusions]].
* ShatteringTheIllusion: To disspell Belos' illusions, Amity spreads the [[PlayingWithFire fire spells]] in her hand across the room.
Recap/LuzClawthorneTwoWorldsOneFamilyChapter24
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Amity and Emily both cancel out the illusions they see by using fire spells.
Recap/MonsterRancherS1E17UndergroundAdventure
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Golem manages this first when he punches the fake fireball. Later, Joker's hold over all of the other Searchers breaks when Hare attacks him.
Recap/OnceUponATimeS3E6Ariel
* ShatteringTheIllusion: The illusion of Belle returns and proves to have been Pan's Shadow all along playing tricks on Rumpelstiltskin. Regina exposes the trick by choking the fake Belle into reverting to Pan's shadow form.
Recap/StarTrekS3E4AndTheChildrenShallLead
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Kirk breaks the control Gorgan has on the kids by showing them video of their parents to show they weren't as bad as they said. Destroying this illusion also breaks the illusions they caused the crew to have.
Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS6E19FrameOfMind
* ShatteringTheIllusion: At the climax of the story, Riker realizes his recent experiences haven't been real. This culminates with some characters and scenery literally appearing to shatter into small pieces as Riker manages to escape the dream has become trapped in.
Recap/TheTwilightZoneS3E67TheArrival
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Grant proves that the mysterious airplane that landed in the airport didn't exist, and was all an illusion. After he proves it, his fellow investigators disappear as well, revealing that they weren't real either.
TheTwilightZone1959/TropesQToZ
* ShatteringTheIllusion: In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS3E67TheArrival The Arrival]]", [[spoiler:Grant Sheckly's theory that Flight 107, which arrived without any crew or passengers, is nothing more than an illusion is proven when he puts his arm in the spinning propeller and the plane vanishes. His fellow investigators Bengston and Paul Malloy disappear as well.]]
Toys/Bionicle
* ShatteringTheIllusion: In "Time Trap", Vakama shatters the illusion by stopping to believe it after firing a Kanoka disk at "Nokama", which just phases through "her".
VideoGame/DungeonsAndDragonsOnline
* ShatteringTheIllusion: The first section of the "Partycrashers" quest takes place in the Phiarlan Illusionarium, which is packed with illusionary enemies and traps that [[YourMindMakesItReal can, and will, hurt you.]] The only way to get past them is to destroy the Dragonmarks of Shadow that created them.
VideoGame/KsiazeITchorz
* ShatteringTheIllusion: The ancient warrior's barrow is guarded by [[spoiler: illusory ghosts]]. The only way of bypassing them is [[spoiler: keeping clicking your mouse forward, not letting Galador run away until the ghosts disappear]].
VideoGame/MegidoAbyss
* ShatteringTheIllusion: After defeating [[spoiler:[[FinalBoss the Formless Entity,]] the [[{{Glamour}} illusion of "Leere"]] fades away, leaving nothing but the [[AfterTheEnd deserted ruins of Alendale.]]]]
VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Ongyo-Ki summons several illusionary copies to fight for him. One punch to a fake will destroy it, but hitting ''the real one'' will destroy them all.
VideoGame/TrialsOfGuinevere
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Optional, based on your choices. [[spoiler:In Act 3, Morgan is sent into a dream-like state, while a demon is trying to implant a shard into her soul. In the dream, she sees a happier alternate world, where she is in the Academy, reunited with Teo. Depending on your choices, Morgan will realize that this isn't the real world, and despite wanting to be with Teo again, she can't ignore her friends that need her. Morgan leaves the dream, stops her captor, and destroys the shard, saving her friends in the process.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Anti-Magic Against Illusion ( 15 / 83 = 18% )]]
MasterOfIllusion
* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'':
** This is a standard ability of blue magic. The typical mechanical representation is that the illusory creature you summon is cheaper than usual, but opponents can [[ShatteringTheIllusion Shatter The Illusion]]--if the creature is targeted by some effect, the illusion breaks and the creature dies.
Characters/ACertainMagicalIndexToumaKamijou
* ShatteringTheIllusion: His Imagine Breaker is more than capable of doing this, both literally and metaphorically.
Characters/BewareOfChicken
* A stereotypical cultivator sect, whose members [[ConspicuousConsumption live extravagantly]] and for whom [[MightMakesRight the only virtue is strength]]. They have a centuries-old grudge against fox spirits. Their cultivation is based around [[ShatteringTheIllusion dispelling illusions]] and the use of lightning both [[ShockAndAwe as a weapon]] and [[SuperSpeed for rapid movement]].
Characters/CodexEquusAmaredae
* RageAgainstTheReflection
** In one incident, at the behest of her father, Amareros, Amour-De-Soi used ''True Image'' on several Changeling Kings of the Summer Court, who (in her words) weren't very happy with what they saw. Her entry notes that ''True Image'' also has the power to [[ShatteringTheIllusion pierce through magical illusions and mind-control spells]], something that she also possesses as an innate power.
Characters/CodexEquusManeSix
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Given her domains of Honesty and Truth, as well as her [[spoiler:former]] position as Bearer of the Element of Honesty, she has the power of breaking through lies, illusions and other forms of obfuscation. This makes her especially dangerous to enemies who uses or are extensively empowered by lies and dishonesty, such as the Summer Court Changelings.
Characters/CodexEquusWrittenWord
* ImmuneToMindControl: His divine domain of Truth allows him to resist various types of mind manipulation magics, such as Geass magic, as well as glamours and illusions, making them almost completely useless against him. In the case of the latter two, he can also detect and [[ShatteringTheIllusion destroy them]].
Characters/HalcyonDaysShinigamiPlayerCharacters
* ShatteringtheIllusion: Ilsa's shikai- theoretically. Subverted in that it has yet to work on a truly powerful enemy, which frustrates both Ilsa and Hinometori.
Characters/MyWifeIsADemonQueenHumanTribe
* ShatteringTheIllusion: He breaks Giro Emery's illusions with his aura.
Characters/TheLegendOfDragoon
* FightingAShadow: [[spoiler:Not only has his magic progressed to the point he can create an illusory doppelganger, he can even cast magic through his illusion, and it proves to be completely immune to damage, forcing the party to flee if they try to fight it. However, finishing the Stardust sidequest lets you acquire the Vanishing Stone [[ShatteringTheIllusion that breaks said shadow,]] and continue on downward to confront the real Faust.]]
Characters/TokyoAfterschoolSummonersSmallerGuilds
* ShatteringTheIllusion: This appears to be part of Sanat Kumara's power set. After the events of Halloween Night, Sanat Kumara confronts Christine and the Entertainers responsible for that night's chaos. At that point [[spoiler:Sanat attacks a copy of himself that had been following the Entertainers. He reveals that to be a shadow of himself, created most likely by someone in the Invaders. This copy of himself is the person who had contacted the Entertainers and commissioned them to cause chaos in Umamichi.]]
Literature/LabyrinthsOfEcho
* ShatteringTheIllusion:
** Repeating the procedure someone's mother used to wake them up breaks sleep spells.
** At least one of Shurf Lonli-Lokli's breathing techniques allows to ignore illusions, bordering on temporary TrueSight.
** Melifaro's gift as a [[spoiler: Dark Side Guardian]] renders him immune to most illusionary effects.
** The Well of Pain at the walls of Cherhavla has this effect by proxy: put a limb into the well, then touch (or actually punch or kick) somebody with the limb to snap them out of their reveries.
** Max is among other royal rewards given a Child of the Purple Pearl. During the hunt for a fätan, Juffin figures out that the Children of the Purple Pearl are artifacts which protect the owner's mind and memory from manipulation.
** The Sword of King Mönin, [[spoiler: embedded in Max and incorporeal]], will break the wielder out of illusions.
Literature/StealerOfSouls
* ShatteringTheIllusion: You can learn a Dispel Illusion spell to use in case Mordraneth use his illusions to trick you.
Literature/TheGirlFromTheMiraclesDistrict
* ShatteringTheIllusion: The Sight rune can dispel illusions, though only for the person wearing it.
MagicTheGathering/GameplayTropesJToQ
* MasterOfIllusion: A specialty of Blue magic. Illusory creatures are typically cheaper to summon than comparible creatures, but the [[ShatteringTheIllusion illusion is shattered]] if the creature is targeted by some effect. [[https://gatherer.wizards.com/pages/card/details.aspx?name=Lord%20of%20the%20Unreal Lord of the Unreal]] gives a significant boost to Illusion creatures and makes them hexproof, so they're harder to shatter.
MagicTheGathering/GameplayTropesRToZ
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Illusion type creatures tend to have relatively higher power and toughness for their mana cost, but are destroyed if they are targeted ''any'' spell, even beneficial ones. [[https://gatherer.wizards.com/pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=189897 Illusionary Servant]] and [[https://gatherer.wizards.com/pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=205017 Phantom Beast]] are prime examples.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:No Longer Fooled ( 16 / 83 = 20% )]]
Some may be PCE's that fail to mention the illusion-dispelling scene that follows.
Characters/GoblinSlayerPriestess
* LotusEaterMachine: From Vol. 9, [[spoiler: Ice Witch casts an illusion on Priestess to sway the girl into handing over a silver arrow that could kill the enchantress. Priestess finds herself naked and in front of Goblin Slayer, who proceeds to give her an AffectionateGestureToTheHead while showering her with praise and concern. [[ShatteringTheIllusion She comes to her senses almost immediately]] because the real Goblin Slayer would be too inept at expressing himself to behave in the manner she desires most.]]
Characters/RuPaulsDragRace
* ShatteringTheIllusion: One of her biggest pet peeves is when queens use their own hair in drag, especially when they have a masculine buzzcut/hairline.
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Has a pet peeve against queens who constantly use a breast plate as a major aspect of their runway look. She once even whipped out her own breasts during a rant on how the plates just don't look like the real thing (the breastplate in this case could be spotted as fake by any random on the street!). Which is ironic considering she's freely admitted to having implants herself, but also occasionally receives a HypocrisyNod.
Characters/RuPaulsDragRaceSeason1
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Does not like to tuck because she says it hurts, which has led to the judges calling her out more than a few times for her lack of female illusion due to her noticeable bulge (this even led to her elimination).
Characters/RuPaulsDragRaceSeason4
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Along with her wig ripping antics, she for some reason also liked to strip down during a lip sync. In the episode she got eliminated she wasn't wearing any breasts so pretty much just looked like a man in makeup sans wig and dress, completely shattering the feminine illusion.
-->'''Phi Phi:''' Milan... girl... That's ''clearly'' a dude.
Characters/SonicForHire
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Their lack of existence is quickly outed by Tails the second he brings up that Sonic murdered multiple people under the allusion that they were paying him to do it.
ComicBook/SupermansGirlFriendLoisLane
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Lois hits her head while diving. While Superman rescues her before she can drown, he ultimately finds out that the concussion knocked her unconscious and that she's having a very pleasant dream, [[PrefersTheIllusion one she has no reason to wake up from]]: she and Superman are finally married. Supes tries to wake her by spoiling the idealness of the dream world, first by [[LovesMyAlterEgo revealing his secret identity]] and then by turning their dream children into handfuls. Lois still manages to find some way to bend the dream back on its ideal course until Superman introduces a new character, Lulu, her replacement at the ''Daily Planet'' and implies his dream self is in love with her now. Heartbroken, Lois wakes up.
Fanfic/LostInTheStorm
* BaitAndSwitch: Salem offers May a way to draw out her deepest anger and hatred, to make her magic stronger. Most readers will expect it to be a NightmareSequence with all of May's worst fears. [[spoiler:It is actually a DreamSequence of May's ideal life, one where she's living as a woman, in a relationship with Winter, and has the support of her family. The anger and hatred comes from her [[ShatteringTheIllusion waking up]]]].
* ShatteringTheIllusion: [[spoiler:The perfect world dream sequence Salem puts May in shatters just as Ladon Marigold was about to call May his daughter. Salem stands ready to call give her maternal love and gender affirmation instead, driving May further under Salem's sway]].
Film/Blindspotting
* ShatteringTheIllusion: The characters all struggle to see beyond their various biases, with their success, and even the existence of an objective reality outside their differing perspectives, left ambiguous. Optical illusions, in particular the Rubin's Vase illusion, form a recurring motif.
Music/LindseyStirling
* ShatteringTheIllusion:
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49tpIMDy9BE "Shatter Me"]], the title track from her second album, portrays a porcelain ballerina trapped in a music box, hoping that someone will come along and free her from the glass, but comes to realize that the only way to escape is to break the glass herself.
Podcast/TheLastPodcastOnTheLeft
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Henry frequently reminds the listener that reality is a hologram.
Recap/AgathaChristie
** "The Stymphalean Birds," also known as "The Vulture Women." First published in September, 1939. Harold Waring, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, spends his vacation in [[{{Ruritania}} Herzoslovakia]]. There he meets the charming Mrs. Elsie Clayton and her mother Mrs. Rice. He is romantically interested in Elsie, and is horrified to learn that she is married to a CrazyJealousGuy. He tries to comfort her, though he has the impression that two Polish twins are spying on them. Not long after he briefly meets the jealous Philip Clayton, supposedly notified by the Polish women, he witnesses Elsie striking Philip on the head. Half an hour later he learns that Philip is dead, with Elsie and himself suspected of murder. Mrs. Rice convinces him that their only escape would be to bribe the hotel staff, the local police, and the Polish sisters. Since Harold doesn't speak the local language, all negotiations are handled by the two women. A vacationing Poirot approaches him at this point to offer help. [[spoiler:He points out that Elsie and her mother are professional con-women, who have fooled Harold. There never was a Philip Clayton, just Mrs. Rice in disguise. Nobody has died, the Polish women were innocent bystanders, and all the "bribe money" went directly to the con-women's pockets. The police had never been notified of any case. Elsie and her mother were simply using Harold's own prejudice against foreigners and their authorities.]] One of Christie's best uses of ConMan tropes and ShatteringTheIllusion.
Recap/TheSimpsonsS3E2MrLisaGoesToWashington
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Lisa arrives in Washington to show off her patriotic pride with an essay, but loses faith in the American way when she witnesses a senator taking a bribe. [[TheWoobie Poor girl]].
Recap/YoungJusticeS4E18BeyondTheGripOfTheGods
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Zod starts to bring Conner out of his fugue state by pointing out that since Conner's never met him before, he can't have hallucinated Zod like he hallucinated the rest.
VisualNovel/FarBeyondTheWorld
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Caelan at first thinks that he has been comatose all along and that his adventures in Avalan were just a delusion, but then comes to realize that the "real" world is an illusion based on the fact that everything is out of place, such as an old computer being in his room despite him having knowledge of cell phones being ubiquitous, and a "keep out" sign being placed on the wrong side of "his" door.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:ZCE/Other/Unsure ( 13 / 83 = 16% )]]
WhoWritesThisCrap
* HOLY agent [[GratuitousEnglish Mad Script]] from ''Anime/SCryEd'' had the ability to [[RewritingReality forcibly rewrite]] [[MoreThanMindControl someone's perception]], so long as everyone around them follows his script. Unfortunately, he's a little too in love with his own maudlin "genius", so when he tries to rewrite rogue Alter [[AntiHero Kazuma]] into joining HOLY, his "players" are often shown complaining to him about their parts... [[ShatteringTheIllusion including, inevitably, Kazuma]].
Characters/Coraline
* SoulPower: After buttons [[DealWithTheDevil were sewn into their eyes]], the Other Mother [[LifeDrinker ate up their lives]] and bound their spirits [[DomainHolder to her domain]]. Their eyes are now hidden in plain sight and serve as power sources to [[MasterOfIllusion amplify her realm and make it even more enticing]]. When Coraline recovers them, the Other World [[ShatteringTheIllusion starts to crumble]].
Characters/LabyrinthsOfEcho
* ShatteringTheIllusion with a fair helping of EpiphanicPrison: This is Juffin's preferred teaching and motivation method - he does the shattering and watches those affected struggle towards their epiphany of the day.
Characters/SquadronSupreme
* ShatteringTheIllusion: A subversion. Arcanna drops the illusion and reveals her pregnancy after her water breaks in the middle of the battle between the Squadron and Nighthawk's allies.
Characters/WerewolfTheApocalypse
* ShatteringTheIllusion: In the umbra, Mitanu's realm looks like a barren, brown and gray wasteland... at first. When visitors reach the surface, they discover both beautiful and hellish landscapes, such as emerald forests and meadows, azure lakes, and blasted deserts.
Literature/Moon1985
* ShatteringTheIllusion: When [[spoiler: Heckatty]] [[YourMindMakesItReal psychically simulates]] in Childes a burning of his internal organs, the pain distracts from fear, which breaks the spell.
Literature/VirtuallyReality
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Whiteflower believes that she's seeing flowers. [[spoiler:What she's actually seeing are the hearts torn out of non-playable characters, and she's shaken when the illusion breaks after they murder a baby.]]
Manga/PandoraHearts
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Break to Rufus.
Music/GFRIEND
* ShatteringTheIllusion: Implied in the break scene of "Fingertip".
Podcast/DrunksAndDragons
* ShatteringTheIllusion: When the group finally discovers Teddy Dozar in Tarry Hollow, [[spoiler: this happens to the entire town. Tarry Hollow and all the people in it are revealed to be an illusion created by Sinu the Red - the town itself is nothing but a ruin in the present day. What exactly the group was eating during their few days there is never revealed.]]
VideoGame/BerserkMillenniumFalconHenSeimaSenkiNoSho
* ShatteringTheIllusion
VisualNovel/Echo
* ShatteringTheIllusion: [[spoiler: Chase does this with a little help from Carl during the good end, after the latter had [[CharacterDevelopment already done it for himself on his own]]]].
WebOriginal/SpaghettiIce
* ShatteringTheIllusion: [[spoiler:Armin's appearance]] turns out to be one of these. In a twist on this trope, the character shattering the illusion is the same one the illusion is placed on.[[/folder]]
