Line #2 Main/FantasticFantasyIsMundane


1	[[quoteright:330:[[Webcomic/DorkTower https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/housesandhumans_0.jpg]] ]]
2	[[caption-width-right:330:Elf parents worry that ''[[Tabletopgame/DungeonsAndDragons Houses & Humans]]'' will lead their children to [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Melkorism]].]]
3
4	->''"Ah — I am a golem. Robots are a thing of fiction."''
5	-->-- '''Reggie''', ''Webcomic/TheSwordInterval''
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7	In the real world, people like to read fantastical stories about wizards and dwarfs and play [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons games about dragons in dungeons]]. Which raises the question: what do wizards and dwarfs and dragons do on their down time?
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9	One possible answer is that they enjoy fantastical stories, or play {{Tabletop RPG}}s, [[JustTheIntroductionToTheOpposites about people like us, who visit "shopping malls" and do things with a mystical force known as "science".]]
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11	Related tropes include FaeriesDontBelieveInHumansEither (fantastic beings consider humans to be fantastic beings) and DoubleBlindWhatIf (Science Fiction writers in alternate histories try to imagine what our history is like).
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13	----
14	!!Examples:
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16	[[foldercontrol]]
17
18	[[folder:Comic Books]]
19	* A major part of The Folk Lords by Creator/MattKindt, the Main character goes on his coming-of-age quest based on the dreams of our reality, which looks like a mythical kingdom compared to his StandardFantasySetting world.
20	* In ''ComicBook/{{Smax}}'', a group of dwarfs play ''Malls & Muggers''. One of them encounters a salesman, fails a saving throw against persuasion and is forced to buy a sandwich toaster plus a five-year extra warranty.
21	* ''ComicBook/TopTen'', set in a city where [[EveryoneIsASuper everybody has superpowers]], features the incredibly popular comic book "Businessman", with the tagline [[Film/SupermanTheMovie "You'll Believe a Man Can't Fly!"]].
22	* In ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'', because superheroes are a real thing in this world, superhero comic books never took off, and instead other genres of comic books filled the void. Pirate adventure stories are especially popular, one of which is the plot-important ''Tales of the Black Freighter''.
23	[[/folder]]
24
25	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
26	* ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot'': Jason and Marcus once played a game called "Houses and Humans", whose characters were [[WriteWhoYouKnow suspiciously similar to the Fox family]] (except the youngest son was President of the Universe).
27	* One ''ComicStrip/PhoebeAndHerUnicorn'' [[https://www.gocomics.com/phoebe-and-her-unicorn/2016/08/23 sequence]] has Marigold downloading a popular game called ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGo Pokhúmon Go]]'' to her horn, and trying to capture virtual businessmen and flight attendants.
28	-->'''Marigold''': We unicorns got the idea for ''Pokhúmon Go'' from you humans, of course. If ''you'' can enjoy pretending to catch magical creatures, we can pretend to capture you back.
29	[[/folder]]
30
31	[[folder:Literature]]
32	* ''Literature/CarpeJugulum'': Teenage vampires going through the equivalent of a goth/VampireVannabe phase do things like dressing in mundane clothes, insisting on being called "Chad" instead of "Maladict", and drinking blood in bottles but claiming it's wine.
33	* "Literature/ForbiddenBridesOfTheFacelessSlaves in the Secret House of the Night of Dread Desire" by Creator/NeilGaiman is set in a GothicHorror world where everyone lives in an OldDarkHouse and works like ''Literature/TheCastleOfOtranto'' and ''Literature/TheMysteriesOfUdolpho'' are considered realist literary fiction. The protagonist is trying -- in between feeding the MadwomanInTheAttic and defeating his EvilTwin -- to write a serious literary novel in that vein, but eventually admits that he finds the real world too boring to write about and instead starts writing a fantasy novel about a suburban housewife feeling dissatisfied with her marriage.
34	* In ''Literature/TheMagiciansOfCaprona'', the protagonist, who comes from a family of powerful magicians, likes to read fantasy novels, which is to say implausible stories about people saving the world using ''no magic at all''.
35	* ''Literature/TalesOfMU'' takes place in a magic-based world where speculative fiction is categorized into "Magic-Fiction" and "Fantasy". As a kid, Mack used to watch a TV show in the fantasy genre about bikers with chainsaws.
36	* Implied in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets''. Ron is revealed to own a comic book titled "The Adventures of Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle". It's an unusual example, since wizards in the ''Harry Potter'' universe actually live in the "real" world (as opposed to the series being set in a parallel dimension) and would thus be expected to have some knowledge of Muggle popular culture.
37	* In ''Literature/AnnoDracula'', ''Literature/ADanceToTheMusicOfTime'' is considered a work of AU fantasy, set as it is in a world ''without any vampires''.
38	* In ''Literature/TheVoyageOfTheDawnTreader'', Prince Caspian says he used to read stories about worlds that were round like a ball, and is taken aback to learn that they really exist.
39	* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': TheFairFolk tell stories about humans among themselves, and are especially fond of the ones where plucky underdog humans manage to get one over on their rivals. The tale about how the titular wizard defeated one of Titania's elite assassins with some quick wordplay and [[ItMakesSenseInContext a donut]] apparently had both the courts and a significant number of Wyldfae in stitches for ''months''.
40	* In ''Literature/BarryTrotter and The Unnecessary Sequel'', Barry's son, Nigel plays a game called ''Accountants & Attorneys''.
41	* In ''Literature/HomeroomsAndHallPasses'', the [[StandardFantasySetting Bríandalörian]] main characters play a role-playing game set in what resembles a twenty-first century middle school.
42	* In ''[[https://www.chrisroberson.net/edisons-frankenstein/ Edison’s Frankenstein]]'', the inhabitants of a [[TwoFistedTales two fisted tale]] world read a pulp magazine about [[DoubleBlindWhatIf a world where the]] [[AdvancedAncientHumans antediluvian ruins]] had never been rediscovered and [[PhlebotinumInducedSteampunk reverse-engineered]].
43	[[/folder]]
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45	[[folder:Podcasts]]
46	* In some of the premium episodes of ''Podcast/HelloFromTheMagicTavern'' the cast play an RPG called "Offices and Bosses". Arnie, being a human from Earth who fell through a portal into the magical land of Foon, plays an elf.
47	[[/folder]]
48
49	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
50	* A cartoon in the first edition ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons Dungeon Master's Guide'' showed a fantasy adventuring party playing "Papers & Paychecks", "a great new fantasy role-playing game [in which the players] pretend we're workers and students in an industrialized and technological society."
51	[[/folder]]
52
53	[[folder:Video Games]]
54	* ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'': The "Get Real" encounter revolves around a group of nerds in a tavern playing ''Cubicles & Conference Calls'' (or ''C&CC'' for short).
55	-->"It takes place in a fantastic world where there's no magic, no monsters, and you're not allowed to beat people up and take their stuff. It's really, really cool."\
56	"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard," you say. "You guys should really get out into the real world instead of spending all your time on this ridiculous fantasy crap."
57	* At one point in ''Videogame/SimonTheSorcerer 3D'', Simon happens upon a group of people playing a Tabletop RPG called "''Apartments & Accountants''".
58	* In ''[[VideoGame/TheSpellcastingSeries Spellcasting 101: Sorcerers Get All the Girls]]'', one area of the dormitory at Sorcerer University is occupied by a group of gamers playing "''Malls & Muggers''".
59	* ''VideoGame/{{Temtem}}'':
60	** Vumbi's Prancing Gnu bar is named after a mythical creature that looks like a Kauren, but with its horns pointing the other way. In the real world, a gnu is a kind of antelope.
61	** One of the Crema developers in Neoedo says they're developing a game set on a round planet in a universe where gravity works differently. ''Temtem'' is set in a WorldInTheSky of islands that orbit a miniature star within the atmosphere.
62	[[/folder]]
63
64	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
65	* ''VisualNovel/SweetEnchantments'': In Emeril's route, a visit to a bookstore in the magician world turns up a "mundane" section, which is about reimagining society without magic.
66	[[/folder]]
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68	[[folder:Webcomics]]
69	* ''[[https://offices-and-humans.tumblr.com/ Advanced Offices & Humans]]'' is about a group of young dragons playing a roleplaying game in which they pretend to be humans working in an office.
70	* ''Big Bun Burgers'' takes place in a world of anthro rabbits, so its equivalents to anthro art and characters often use humans in place of the typical animals:
71	** One strip is set just before the staff deals with customers from the nearby human convention. One particular customer shows up in a human suit that resembles an office worker and asks for a conspicuous amount of mayonnaise, along with [[NoodleImplements how many people can legally fit into their bathroom]].
72	** Sprangbo the Christmas Human was a formerly popular Christmas character. Dolls of him, however, were noted to be unsettling to look at.
73	* ''Webcomic/{{Chainsawsuit}}'': Cthulhu and friends [[http://chainsawsuit.com/comic/2011/08/15/humans-and-habitats/ play a tabletop RPG]] called "Humans and Habitats". After his businessman PC suffers a heart attack on a bad roll, Cthulhu is both puzzled and miffed when he learns that the guy will remain dead ''permanently''.
74	* ''Webcomic/DarkLegacyComics'': In "[[http://www.darklegacycomics.com/176 Crush]]", the gang play ''Cubicles & Condos''. One of the players has to be reminded that real-world solutions like smiting your enemies with a greataxe don't work so well in the world of the game.
75	* In ''Webcomic/DungeonDamage'', a group of dragons play "''Humans & Houses''".
76	* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'': Caliborn, an alien from a species where mates violently attack each other for eons, requests of Dirk filthy, deviant alien porn to draw -- by which he means human courtship and fluffy romance.
77	* ''Webcomic/MoringMarkTOHComics'' shows that witches and demons have their own Tabletop [=RPGs=] centering around life in the Human Realm. The Human Appreciation Society [[https://www.reddit.com/r/TheOwlHouse/comments/s304rd/moringmark_journey_through_the_human_realm_a/ is shown playing at one point]] (with [[TokenHuman Luz]] sitting in as the lore expert) and features such dangerous encounters like asking to speak to the manager at a coffee shop when their membership card is expired.
78	-->'''Gus:''' ''[After Matt rolls a 1]'' Oh no, before you can even finish that sentence, he smiles and says "I am the Manager!"
79	* One chapter of ''Webcomic/ScenesFromAMultiverse'' has a group of teenagers from the Eternal Fearzones playing an RPG in which they're mundane office workers. One player, because there's always one, responds to every problem by hitting it, which turns out to be [[PercussiveMaintenance the right approach for fixing the malfunctioning Xerox machine]].
80	* A recurring joke across the internet regarding the UsefulNotes/FurryFandom is that the world their [=OCs=] live in has "made up" the concept of humans. ''Webcomic/{{XKCD}}'', for example, imagines an entire convention just for furries [[https://xkcd.com/629/ whose fursonas like pretending to be humans]].
81	[[/folder]]
82
83	[[folder:Web Videos]]
84	* ''WebVideo/TheGamersHumansAndHouseholds'' is about a group of adventurers in a fantasy realm playing an RPG about living in suburbia.
85	* ''WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation'' has a semi-running gag where orcs play a tabletop game about an accounting firm. The ''Shadow of Mordor'' episode has an Orc come out as human-kin, and asks to be called "Allan" from now on.
86	* The ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YS5-ayYTMiQ Cubicles & Careers]]'' series features a group of fantasy creatures playing a RPG where they're all office workers.
87	[[/folder]]
88
89	[[folder:Western Animation]]
90	* The first episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Disenchantment}}'' features this as a quick joke. Bean is miserable and wishes she could find a magical place where everyone was always happy. Meanwhile, in the magical Elfwood, Elfo is sick of always being happy and wishes he could find a non-magical place where everyone was always miserable.
91	* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/PotsworthAndCompany'' had the heroes visit Supertown, the part of the [[DreamLand Dream Zone]] where all the superhero themed dreams happen. Nick, the kid who is a superhero in the dreamworld meets a bratty [[DreamPeople local child]] named Wonderkid who collects SliceOfLife and BadassNormal themed media, while Wonderkids love for mundane people is genuine he tries to use it as part of a scheme to make Nick take his place.
92	* A ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' sketch had a group of fantasy races playing an RPG about working in an accounting firm.
93	* In ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'', one popular game in an intergalactic arcade is ''Roy: A Life Well-Lived'', a BrainUploading VR experience where you play the mundane life of a human man from birth to death.
94	[[/folder]]

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