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{{trope}}
[[File:
'''The Doctor:''' Everywhere we go: two words. Followin' us. Bad Wolf...
|''[[Doctor Who]]'', "Boom Town"}}
An enigmatic word or phrase that appears, unexplained and without context, here and there throughout an [[Arc]], and (with luck) is finally explained at or near the climax. A way of building up tension and mystery, as well as an indicator that anyone using the words knows more than they're telling. Can also be used as a [[
▲{{quote|'''The Doctor:''' Bad Wolf.<br />
▲'''Rose:''' But, I've heard that before; "bad wolf", I've heard that ''lots of times''.<br />
▲'''The Doctor:''' Everywhere we go: two words. Followin' us. Bad Wolf...|''[[Doctor Who (TV)|Doctor Who]]'', "Boom Town"}}
'''Arc Words''' can also be a way to hint at [[An Aesop|the Aesop]] or one of the themes of a show, often in the form of a question the characters must find an answer to. Alternately, they can be used for [[Foreshadowing]]. But they are not the same thing as a [[Running Gag]], a [[Catch Phrase]], or even just a phrase that ends up popping up a lot due to being used a lot in the plot.▼
▲An enigmatic word or phrase that appears, unexplained and without context, here and there throughout an [[Arc]], and (with luck) is finally explained at or near the climax. A way of building up tension and mystery, as well as an indicator that anyone using the words knows more than they're telling. Can also be used as a [[Me Me|memetic]] way of advertising the show. A typical element of a [[Mind Screw]].
▲Arc Words can also be a way to hint at [[An Aesop|the Aesop]] or one of the themes of a show, often in the form of a question the characters must find an answer to. Alternately, they can be used for [[Foreshadowing]]. But they are not the same thing as a [[Running Gag]], a [[Catch Phrase]], or even just a phrase that ends up popping up a lot due to being used a lot in the plot.
Note that the Arc Words often do not have [[Lampshade Hanging|attention drawn explicitly]] to them; eagle-eyed/sharp eared viewers are left to notice for themselves. In the "Bad Wolf" example below, the words appeared as, among other things, a helicopter's callsign, a reference in dialogue to "The Big Bad Wolf", a graffito, and even in other languages (the [inaccurate] German ''Schlechter Wolf'', and the Welsh ''Blaidd Drwg'', the latter tipping off the Doctor about it).
Often shows up on the [[IMDb|Internet Movie Database]] "memorable quotes" page for the show, with the label "repeated line".
The high-browed, academic
When this is a number instead of a phrase, it's [[Arc Number]], and [[Arc Symbol]] if it's an image. Compare with [[Dream Melody]]. Not to be confused with [[Iron Man|Arc Reactor Words]], which generally have to do with [[Memetic Mutation|caves and boxes of scraps.]]
'''Remember''': To be
{{examples|Examples}}▼
Not to be confused with [[A Worldwide Punomenon|God's command to Noah]].
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* ''[[Mazinger Z]]'': "When you pilot Mazinger Z, you can become a god or a devil with its power."
* ''[[Serial Experiments Lain]]'' -- "Everything is Connected" and "Close the world. Open the next."
** Or in some cases "Close the world. .txen eht nepO"
** Also, in one or two of the episodes: "Fulfill the prophecy."
* ''[[Giant Robo]]'': "The Beautiful Night" and "Can happiness be achieved without sacrifice?" from the [[OVA
** Another arguable example would be "Big Fire." For most of the series, we're led to believe that Big Fire is nothing more the name of the global criminal superorganization which opposes the Experts. Only in the next-to-last episode do we learn that {{spoiler|Big Fire is a ''person'', and all those worshipful chants the BF members were fond of shouting ("Hail Big Fire! Alliance or death!" and so forth) were in reference to him, not the eponymous organization over which he reigns.}}
* ''[[Noir (
** ''Thus spake the Hermit, the blood of the soldats shall run through the wilderness and mingle with the great sea...''
* ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]'': "Yours is the drill that will pierce the Heavens!".
** "WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM!?".
** In the last episode {{spoiler|Simon declares that his is the drill that will ''create'' the heavens, and in the [[Distant Finale]] Simon starts to say the latter but [[Catchphrase Interruptus|cuts himself off]] and decides to simply say he's no one}}.
** Arguably, the meaning of the second
** It's worth noting that the translation of ''Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann'' is "Heaven-Piercing Gurren Lagann", making the name of {{spoiler|Gurren-Lagann's final form even more meaningful}}.
* "Fooly cooly" from ''[[FLCL]]''. Despite being the basis for the show's title and appearing at least once in each episode, "fooly cooly" is never explained. In the final episode, Naota's father tries to goad him into revealing the answer to this: "C'mon, you have to know. [[Lampshade Hanging|The main character always knows stuff like this!]]"
* ''[[Mai-Otome]]'' has
* ''[[
** There are two variations of the second part. The first is "ye not" when Rosewater tries to pilot Big Fau and it just shuts down. The second is "ye guilty" when Alan Gabriel is piloting Big Duo and {{spoiler|it kills him}}.
** Also, there are the "tomatoes", introduced as a metaphor<ref>As Gordon Rosewater puts it, "These tomatoes are reproduced synthetically, with only the memories of the sweet flavor from the original. If we keep repeating the process, this fruit will eventually become the real thing."</ref> at the end of the first season and revisited through the second season as part of an [[Ontological Mystery]].
* ''[[Fafner in
* "Voodoo Child" are Himiko's personal
* "Three years ago" in the ''[[
** In the 9th novel "three years ago" becomes "four years ago" since at that point roughly a year has passed since the start of the series.
* ''[[Chaos
* In ''[[Last Exile]]'', a vaguely peanut-like shape starts to appear more and more in various places over the course of the series, in the same vein as some of the images described below. Then comes the last episode...
* In ''[[Hellsing]]'' the phrase: "The bird of the Hermes is my name, eating my wings to make me tame." appears together with the series' title as well as on Alucard's coffin. It's taken from the Ripley Scrowle, by alchemist George Ripley. (Whoever that is.)
* There is much signifigance to the word "Awakening" in ''[[Ergo Proxy]].''
** Occasionally the phrase "Can you feel the pulse of the awakening?" was used, too.
* In ''[[Madlax]]'', there's one phrase that's used over and over again: Elda Taluta. There are two others that accompany this (Sarks Sark and Arks Ark) but rarely get used. The [[Big Bad]] uses these words to {{spoiler|drive the "true nature" of humans out, which normally results in brutal murders or mind rape}}.
* In ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 00]]'', the Innovators often mention or allude to what they call "the dialogues to come", which according to Revive is a concept beyond human comprehension. However, after {{spoiler|[[And Then John Was a Zombie|Setsuna becomes an Innovator]], it's hinted that these "dialogues" may be referring to what he believes is Aeolia Schenberg's plan for human evolution.}}
** It's suggested that it means humanity's first contact with aliens, and that humanity would have to surpress it's warlike nature and internal conflicts to prevent an interstellar war.
* ''[[Princess Tutu]]'': "May those who accept their fate find happiness. May those who defy their fate find glory."
* ''[[The Girl Who Leapt Through Time]]'': "Time waits for no one."
* The "kind king" of ''[[Konjiki no Gash Bell]]'' that everyone who encounters Gash hopes to become.
* ''[[Monster (
* ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
* ''[[Ghost in
* ''[[
* Lots of [[
** To make sure it was absolutely clear, the English dub uses the term inevitability.
* ''[[X 1999]]''
* ''[[
** Also a rare case of a series where the title itself qualifies as arc words. The words "One Piece" are hardly ever spoken in the show's dialog. When it is mentioned, it's always a major event.
* ''[[Welcome to The NHK]]'' has NHK show up often, especially when the protagonist is about to have a nervous breakdown.
* ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro
** Also, "USO DA!" ("THAT'S A LIE!")
* ''[[Umineko no Naku Koro
* ''[[Chrono Crusade]]'': Mary Magdalene. Used to the point that the name is actually worked into the title logo.
* ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' has a few, but the most recognizable by far is "I mustn't run away."
Line 75 ⟶ 77:
** For a much more [[Never Trust a Trailer|ironic taste]], "[[Fan Service|Service]]."
* ''[[Pluto]]'': The main character has the recurring flashback of a man saying "500 Zeus a body." Seeing as the main character is a robot, other robots can experience his flashback as well.
* ''[[
* ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'': Variations on "[[Determinator|Always keep moving forward]]" tend to crop up in plot-important moments.
** The manga is an interesting case, in that the actual
** A straighter example would be "[[I Am Your Opponent]]", which recurs often, even in mundane fights.
* ''[[Detective Conan]]'' has "only one truth prevails" in the translated anime.
Line 84 ⟶ 86:
** The referral to the alchemists who practised human transmutation as 'sacrifices' is very thinly explained until the relevent plot point.
** Lust's character arc has the arc words "Where did I come from? Where will I go?"
* The Japanese version of [[Yu-Gi-Oh (
* Kotomi Ichinose's route in ''[[Clannad (
** Also, Nagisa's "If you like, shall I take you to the place in town where dreams come true?" Appears in the first episode, later as the first line of her play, and {{spoiler|in the [[Grand Finale]] of
* Walpurgisnacht or Walpurgis Night in ''[[
* ''[[
**
* "The Destination of Fate", "Survival Strategy", and "Never amount to anything" in ''[[
** "Survival Strategy": Revealed to be {{spoiler|some sort of terrorism plot by the [[Well
** "Never amount to anything": Initially, it was only used by the Princess of the Crystal in mocking those that she summons, but it's later revealed that this particular phrase has ties to the self-worth of several characters.
* ''[[Pandora Hearts]]'' has, "A darkness that swallows everything," which is used to describe several plot related things.
* ''[[Soul Eater]]'' has "A sound soul dwells within a sound mind and a sound body".
* ''[[Street Fighter II:
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* "Something fell" from ''[[Cerebus]]''. It is usually said a moment before a sudden, life-altering event in Cerebus' life. The first time it was said, the falling object was directly responsible; the next few times, something just happened to fall immediately before the big event, and a character remarked on it. In later instances, a character just ''thinks'' he heard something fall, but we don't see that anything actually does. One interpretation is that ''the words themselves'' have the power to cause important things to happen, but none of the characters seem aware of this.
** [[Lampshaded]] in "Rick's Story," when Rick tells Cerebus "something fell" just to freak him out. It's followed by a major event anyway.
* ''[[Watchmen (
** The full phrase "Who Watches the Watchmen" is ''never'' shown in its entirety {{spoiler|Until the very last page, after the story has ended.}} It's always either unfinished (as it mainly appears as graffiti) or cut off by the panel border. Probably a subtle suggestion that the minds of the "heroes" are not fully comprehensible.
*** It could also be a suggestion that up until then, the question was
*** There's also an interview with Alan Moore somewhere where he mentioned a possible double meaning: not who watches to see if the watchmen are criminals, but who watches them to look after them and take care of them. The question within the story is the first meaning, going unasked because {{spoiler|someone already is. Afterwards, it's Alan Moore telling the reader that ''no one'' takes care of the watchmen, hence their various psychological issues and the slaughter of Manhattan.}} Heavy.
* ''[[
** Also, "Barbelith."
* ''[[Blackest Night]]'': '''RISE.'''
* For [[
** Leading to the irony that {{spoiler|even Bruce doesn't know what the phrase means, as the last thing he ever said to his father is "what?" implying he didn't clearly hear what he said.}}
* In ''[[
* The phrase "The Crimson Hand" kept cropping up in the post-Donna ''[[
* In ''[[
* In ''[[Deadpool]]'', during Chris Priest's run. Occasionally, whenever things would get dramatic, Deadpool would say "None of this is actually happening. Somewhere, there's a guy with a typewriter..."
* There are tons of these in [[Incredible Hulk
** ''"This is the story of the Green Scar. The Eye of Anger, the Worldbreaker... Harkanon, Haarg, Holku... '''HULK.''' And how he finally came home."'' (repeated at both the beginning and end of the story)
** Sakaarson and Worldbreaker.
Line 121 ⟶ 122:
** "Fighting for friends."
** Warbound.
* [[Spider
* [[Crisis
* ''[[
* [[Hellboy (
** A minor example in ''[[BPRD]]: 1946'': "The waters here are warmer."
* The first issue of [[Hourman]] opens with Snapper Carr, Hourman's sidekick, writing down a list of arc words as they come to him. Since Hourman is a time traveler, Snapper has had a tiny vision of the future but only remembers it well enough to record about a dozen key phrases, such as "the century of solitude," "the giant nanites," and "the timepoint." Over the course of the series these terms become part of the storyline and are explained one by one. At the end of the final issue, Hourman and Snapper recite the list again, this time as a pair of friends recalling shared memories.
* [[The Punisher]] MAX series has a reboot of Frank Castle's origins, and in the comic ''The Tyger'', he reminisces on the night where he prepares to make his first kills in his war on crime. He muses that after his identity comes out, they'll blame it on the war, and they'll be right, and they'll be wrong. Most of the comic then divulges a scarring childhood event in which a close friend of his is raped and then commits suicide. As Frank prepares to take revenge himself, he sees the older brother of his friend viciously beat the perpetrator before setting him on fire. A later part of the comic has two all-black pages filled with speech bubbles, detailing the paramedics' arrival on the scene of his family's shooting and the horror of it all, and the doctors talking to him later in the hospital and telling him that none of his family survived. Returning to the present, Frank coldly snipes a group of mobsters and thinks "They'll blame it on Vietnam. And they'll be right, and they'll be wrong."
== [[Fan Works]] ==
* "I Am, I" in ''[[Once More
* "Do not ask questions you don't really want to hear the answer to" in ''[[
* "''It Was Time''" and any variation of it in ''[[
* In The ''[[
* The ''[[Ice Age]]'' fanfic ''[[
* 'Four places at once' and 'Come crashing down' are this by [[Word of God]] in ''[[
* From the ''[[
* ''[[
▲== [[Film]] - Animated ==
* ''[[Meet the Robinsons]]'': "Keep moving forward". Notable for being part of a quote from Walt Disney himself.
* In ''[[The Princess and
▲* "Rosebud." from ''[[Citizen Kane (Film)|Citizen Kane]]'' is a possible [[Ur Example]].
** {{spoiler|[[It Was His Sled]].}}
* ''[[
* ''[[Contact]]''. "If there is no one out there, it's an awful waste of space."
* ''[[The Curious Case of Benjamin Button]]'': "You never know what's coming for you" represents one of the film's themes that deal with the unexpected ways life will change.
* ''[[
** [[Something Only They Would Say|Mr. Anderson]]
*** "Everything that has a beginning has an end."
* Every [[David Lynch]] film. Ever.
** ''[[Lost Highway]]'': Dick Laurant is dead. We've met before, haven't we?
* Not as enigmatic as many of the other examples, but the phrase "I want to fuck the whole world over" from ''Croupier'' could arguably count, along with the narrator's constant meditations on the differences between croupiers, gamblers and cheats and application of gambling terminology to real life.
* In the original draft of the screenplay, Dante's constant complaint that "I'm not even supposed to be here today!" in ''[[The View
* ''[[The Shining]]'': REDRUM... REDRUM...
* ''[[Zoolander
* [[Mongol|All Mongols fear thunder.]]
* ''[[Field of Dreams]]'': "If you build it, he will come."
** Ease his pain.
** Go the distance.
* Could, "Rise and rise again, until lambs become lions," from ''[[Robin Hood (2010 film)]]'' count?
* ''[[Inception]]'': "You're waiting for a train..."
** "An old man, filled with regret, waiting to die alone."
** "Take a leap of faith."
* "Even a man who is pure in heart..." poem in films featuring [[The
* ''[[Prince of Persia]]'': "Have I told you about the Ngbaka?"
* ''[[Strictly Ballroom]]'': "A life lived in fear is a life half-lived."
Line 175 ⟶ 171:
* ''[[Mystery Team]]'': "Someone stole that man's face"; in a weird way, the f word.
* ''[[Dark City]]'': "Do you know how to get to Shell Beach?"
* ''[[Hot Fuzz
** "The Greater Good"
** "Shut it!"
* ''[[Signs]]'': When Colleen was dying, she {{spoiler|tells Graham to tell Morgan to have fun and to be silly, for Bo to always listen to her brother because he will take care of her. She tells Graham to "see" and tells Merrill to "swing away"}}.
* [[The Ten Commandments]]: "Moses, Moses" and "So let it be written, so let it be done".
* ''[[Tenet]]'': The film's title is this trope and the name of a significant part of the plot.
* ''[[The Grey]]'': "Live and die on this day...Live and die on this day."
* ''[[Safe House]]'': "We'll take it from here."
* ''[[Vanilla Sky]]'': "Open your eyes."
== [[Literature]] ==
* ''[[Glamorama]]'': "Let's slide down the surface of things"
* ''[[Little House
{{quote|
* In [[Chuck Palahniuk]]'s works, he has his characters use arc words he refers to as "choruses." Most notably, {{spoiler|"Birds ate my face"}} in ''[[Invisible Monsters]].''
** ''[[Fight Club]]'': "I know this because Tyler knows this."
** ''[[Haunted
* The words "copper" "silver" and "gold" in that order are in every story of ''[[Godel Escher Bach|Godel Escher Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid]]'' until the big reveal that {{spoiler|you are actually reading a book written by a guy named Douglas Hofstadter, and every person you've grown to know and love in it is actually a character inhabiting stories written in the pattern of Bach's fugues.}} You could actually read the chapters, rather than just the dialogues prefacing them. [[Viewers Are Geniuses|If you can keep up]], it gives quite a good overview of modern symbolic logic.
* "Who is John Galt?" from ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]''. {{spoiler|He's the unnamed figure in ''every'' story that anyone tells to Dagny before she meets him.}} [[Memetic Mutation|He also won't shut up.]]
** Referenced in ''[[
* [[
** Also, "The Empire never ended", from several of his later works.
** One of the most elaborate and subtle examples in the works of Philip Dick is the ''Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said''. The concept of love (meaning profound attraction and dire, unconditional need for SOMEONE or even ANYONE beside) is never explicitly stated or talked about in the book. Nevertheless, the seemingly unimportant and appendix-like part where the writer tells of the character's life after the events, ends with the sentence "And loved.". Although it relates to the clay vase irrelevant to the plot, the word "loved" connects with the rest of the novel in ways unimaginable. Dick manages to sum up all the (painfully building) moral and emotional tensions throughout the WHOLE NOVEL in this sentence. Just read it.
** ''[[A Scanner Darkly]]'': "If I'd known it was harmless I'd have killed it myself."
* "In the Country of the Blind, the One-eyed Man is King," from [[
* ''[[The Black Company]]'' series had a number of these, especially near the end. They even became the names of two of the novels, ''Water Sleeps'' (which in context means "Revenge is coming") and ''Soldiers Live'' ("and wonder why", referring to survivor's guilt).
* [[Tad Williams]]' ''[[Otherland]]'' features a significant and enigmatic character who keeps repeating, "An angel touched me."
* The purpose behind Thomas Pynchon's ''[[
* "Here comes a candle to light you to bed, here comes a chopper to chop off your head!" from ''[[Nineteen Eighty
** The phrase is referenced in Neil Gaiman's ''[[
** This phrase is also referenced in ''Silent Hill: Origins''. Except that it is changed to read "Here comes a candle to light you to bed, here comes the butcher to chop off your head!" And there's the three Party slogans: "Big Brother is watching you" (verifying the accuracy of this statement is arguably the point of the narrative), ""War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Ignorance is Strength" (which is ultimately explained by Goldstein's book) and "Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past" (which is explained in detail by O'Brien in the novel's third act).
** "We shall meet in the place where there is no darkness."
** "Oranges and lemons, say the bells of St. Clements."
* Also from ''[[
* "Delial" and "House" from ''[[House of Leaves]]''.
** ''[[Only Revolutions]]'' by the same author has several of these (none of which are ever really explained), with "always sixteen" and "everyone loves the dream but I kill it" (and variants) probably cropping up most frequently.
** These are made even more obvious by being typeset differently: "House" (in better copies) appears in blue text and a slight offset and "Minotaur" in red (and is frequently, if not always, struck out).
* ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' is crawling with these; every major noble family in Westeros has its words (with House Stark's "Winter is coming" getting the spotlight). There is also ''valar morghulis'' {{spoiler|"all men must die"}} and ''valar dohaeris'' {{spoiler|"all men must serve"}}, the code-phrases-cum-mottos of the [[Murder, Inc.|Faceless Men]].
** So . . . the Stark words are Arc Words.
** The phrase "words are wind" is used often throughout ''A Feast for Crows'' and ''A Dance with Dragons''.
** The song "The Bear and the Maiden Fair" is repeated by various characters in ''A Storm of Swords'', and provides a parallel between several relationships in that book. From ''A Game of Thrones'' there's "wake the dragon" which is first said as a threat by Viserys but then comes to have a whole new meaning by the end of the book.
** Another song, "The Rains of Castamere", is employed for {{spoiler|Tywin and the Lannister's victories (and once for a Lannister defeat)}}. The song tells the tale of one of Tywin's (as a young man) earliest and greatest military victories.
** Ygritte's oft-repeated phrase "you know nothing, Jon Snow" is relayed to Jon many times as he {{spoiler|travels with Ygritte and her wildling brethren under the command of Rattleshirt throughout the second half of ''A Clash of Kings'' and first half of ''A Storm of Swords''. The phrase exemplifies the grey morality that is so prevalent throughout the series as it serves to change Jon and the reader's preconception of the nature of Wildlings from the evil savages they are described as by the Westerosi into people not much different than those south of the wall. It also works as a rebuff against Jon Snow's occasional arrogant certainty of his skills as a Night's Watch ranger and proficient outdoorsman.}}
* The initials V.F.D. and later J.S., in ''[[A Series of Unfortunate Events]],'' as well as various names and phrases that begin with them.
** Also, "The world is quiet here" and "I didn't realize this was a sad occasion" count as well.
* Madame Zeroni's lullaby in ''[[Holes]]''.
* In ''[[Fingerprints]]'', the name "Erika Keaton", which the heroes are puzzled by until [[The Reveal]] in book 6.
* In ''[[Fahrenheit 451]]'', "[[The Bible
* ''[[Snow Crash]]'' has, well "Snow Crash
* In the novel ''Some Other Place. The Right Place'' by Donald Harington, the phrase "some other place" appears repeatedly throughout, followed by "the right place", usually on the opposite page.
* In several of [[Kurt Vonnegut]]'s works, "So it goes." and "Tralfamadorians".
** There's virtually one per book. I can't even recall all of them, but they include the Trout's sermon ("You were sick, but now you're well again, and there's work to do") in ''Timequake'', "And so on" in ''Breakfast of Champions'' (as well as the title itself and recounting penis lengths of every male character), "chronosynchastic infindibulum" in ''[[The Sirens of Titan|Sirens of Titan]]'', and the various Bokoninist lines in ''[[
** "Blue and ivory feet", also from [[Slaughterhouse
* In [[Larry Niven]] and Jerry Pournelle's novel ''[[The Deed of Paksenarrion|Oath of Fealty]]'', "Think of it as evolution in action" is explicitly developed as this.
* Throughout Larry Niven's entire ''[[Known Space]]''
** Those aren't
* In the 32nd instalment of [[Piers Anthony]]'s ''[[
** In the fourth book, ''Centaur Aisle'', the title is a repeated spoken hint to the main
** ''Heaven Cent'' -- "Skeleton Key to Heaven Cent."
* In [[Stephen King]]'s ''[[The Shining]]'', Danny kept seeing the word "REDRUM" before he realized it was "MURDER" spelled backwards.
** Also from Stephen King: The ''[[Dark Tower]]'' series has ''multitudes'', including constant mention of towers, roses, keys, and ka. These words and images start popping up in many of his other books, too.
** [[Arc Number|The number 19 is very important, too.]]
** [[IT|He thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts.]] This is a tip of the hat by Stephen King to Curt Siodmak's story "Donovan's Brain."
** ''[[Misery]]'': "Rinse."
** In ''[[The Langoliers]]'': "SHOOTING STARS ONLY."
* In ''[[Catch
** Also, any time Snowden is mentioned, with more and more context being revealed about him each time..
* In Garth Nix's ''[[Old Kingdom]]'' series, the saying "Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker?" is frequently repeated. The words come from The Book of the Dead, a very dark volume about necromancy that happens to be required reading for every Abhorsen, so it makes sense that a necromancer, an extremely powerful Charter Mage, or some other person of importance would know them.
* In the ''[[Dune]]'' series, there are stylized speeches and oft-repeated phrases, such as the [[Survival Mantra|Litany Against Fear]]. However, the phrase "The Golden Path" is an example of
** "The sleeper must awaken".
* "''[[
** Also "The Wheel weaves as The Wheel wills."
** The various prophecies told to {{spoiler|Mat by the Snakes}} may also qualify. {{spoiler|"To marry the Daughter of the Nine Moons." in particular.}}
* Several from [[
** ''[[
** ''[[
{{quote|
** ''[[
** ''[[
** ''[[
** ''[[
** An example of
*** ''[[
*** ''[[
*** ''[[
* [[The Pendragon Adventure]]: "This is the way it was meant to be."
** Bobby also starts ending his later journals with "And so we go."
* ''[[The Golden Oecumene
* ''Bartleby the Scrivener'' by Herman Melville: "[[Catch Phrase|I'd]] [[Most Annoying Sound|prefer]] [[Verbal Tic|not to.]]"
* ''Creatures of Light and Darkness'' by [[Roger Zelazny]]: "Skagganauk Abyss" and variations occur several times throughout the book before its nature and ultimate purpose is revealed.
* Stephen Marley's ''[[Spirit Mirror]]'' has Chia, Black Dragon Sorceress, the amnesiac [[Action Girl]] heroine, asking herself: "What happened in Egypt?" {{spoiler|We never really find out what happened in Egypt until the next book, though.}} Similarly, the sequel, ''Mortal Mask'', has Chia pondering her long-lost Egyptian lover's enigmatic plea of "Forgive me".
* ''[[The Midnight Mayor]]'' by Kate Griffin has "Give me back my hat."
* In the ''[[Halo]]'' [[Expanded Universe]], the phrase ''Oly Oly Oxen Free'' is a secret code used by [[SPARTA Ns]] as an "all-clear" message.
* ''[[
* ''[[The Bell Jar]]'': "I am, I am, I am."
* ''[[Everything Is Illuminated]]'' by Jonathan Safran Foer: "I will... I will..."
* ''[[Never Let Me Go]]'' has a song ([[Exactly What It Says
* ''[[
* ''[[A Clockwork Orange (
* In ''[[
* ''[[The Subject Steve]]'' has a few; Fine fettle, Mothered by fire, Fuckeroo'd...
* In ''[[Blackout]]'', particularly Polly's sections: "[[Shout
* The last parts of the biblical [[
* In ''[[The Full Matilda]]'', the various Housewright Maxims are this. Usually this is used to show how the family serves others instead of themselves.
* ''[[Bridge of Birds]]'' has "Jade plate, Six, eight. Fire that burns hot, Night that is not. Fire that burns cold, First silver, then gold."
* [[Stephen King]]'s ''[[The Dark Half]]'': "The sparrows are flying again."
* ''[[Warrior Cats
** ''[[Warrior Cats the Original Series|Original Series]]'': "Fire alone can save our Clan." It wasn't a prophecy, but "''Pack, Pack, Kill, Kill''" in ''A Dangerous Path''.
** ''[[Warrior Cats the New Prophecy|The New Prophecy]]'': "Before there is peace, blood will spill blood, and the lake will run red."
** ''[[Warrior Cats Power of Three|Power of Three]]'': "There will be three, kin of your kin, who hold the power of the stars in their paws." (First appeared chronologically in ''Firestar's Quest'' and continues through to ''[[Omen of the Stars]]'')
** ''Omen of the Stars'': "The end of the stars draws near. Three must become four, to battle the darkness that lasts forever."
* ''[[Dragons (
* [[Robert Heinlein]] had a few:
** '[[Stranger in
** '[[The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress]]': "TANSTAAFL!" (An acronym for "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.")
* [[Wicked Lovely]]: "There are always choices".
* ''[[An Elegy for
* ''[[
* In its original Hebrew, [[
* Probably the only memorable thing about Ira Levin's execrable sequel to his excellent ''[[
* ''[[Dark Future (
** ''Comeback Tour'' is subtitled ''The Sky Belongs To The Stars''. During the Prologue we meet NASA Officer Lawrence Fonvielle who expresses his belief about The Dream of the Space Programme being to ''"reach up into the sky, make a fist and hold on tight;"'' taking ownership of some part of space. As the novel progresses, it's revealed that Elder Seth plans {{spoiler|to reactivate a [[Kill Sat|dormant satellite weapons system]] and use it to eliminate everyone who could stop his plans for the Apocalypse.}} Fonvielle comes to see {{spoiler|[[Heel Realization|that his belief in The Dream was wrong and that space can't belong to anyone]] and says exactly this to [[The Dragon|Roger Duroc.]] [[Rewarded
{{quote|''"Krokodil, what's this about?"''
''"Using black magic and blacker science...they're trying to take over the sky."''
''"The sky? That can't be...like the man said...the sky belongs to the stars!"''|'''Elvis and Krokodil''' ''Comeback Tour''}}
* ''[[The Go
* The ''[[Illuminatus]]! Trilogy'' and ''Masks of the Illuminati'' have an odd tendency to latch on to random, irrelevant words, phrases, names, and images that appear early on and turn them into
== [[Live
* The [[Jim Henson]] teleplay [[The Cube (
* The new ''[[
** "Bad Wolf" from Series One.
*** Which Russell T. Davies admitted he didn't think that fans would [[Viewers
*** "Bad Wolf" is also something of a subversion in that the words kept appearing (although less often) after the "arc" was concluded, because the words were across all of time and space, so they wouldn't be expected to only appear where they were actually needed.
*** The phrase also appears in the DVD release of "The Invasion" (with animation replacing the [[Missing Episode
*** Since ''[[
** "Torchwood" from Series Two.
** "Mister Saxon" and "Vote Saxon" from Series Three.
** Also the significance of "You. Are. Not. Alone." that clues the Doctor into realising the true identity of Professor [[Fun
** Series Four has apparently expanded the concept and instead of
*** Right before the finale, how bad things truly are is established when the Doctor learns that Rose Tyler has broken through the dimensional barriers. To herald her presence, the words "Bad Wolf" appear ''everywhere'', including on the TARDIS itself.
*** The Ood in "Planet of the Ood" seemingly refer to the Doctor and Donna as the collective {{spoiler|Doctor Donna -- of course, they hear, "Doctor, Donna."}}
** The 2009 specials had their own arc words in "He will knock four times."
** The Arc words for Series 5 are "The Pandorica will open." and "Silence will fall." The latter is carrying over into series 6.
*** These two arcwords were often seen together and therefore assumed to refer to the same thing, much like {{spoiler|Doctor Donna}} was assumed to refer to separate things.
** Series 5 also had the hilarious arc words of "Hello Sweetie," River's graffiti on various historical artifacts to get the Doctor's attention.
{{quote|
'''River Song:'''' ''You'' weren't answering your ''phone!'' }}
*** It's also a [[Something Only They Would Say]]
Line 330 ⟶ 327:
** "Fish fingers and custard" is a minor example, acting as a [[Trust Password]] between Amy and the Doctor.
** The question itself becomes the Series 7 Arc Words, as well as {{spoiler|the greatest [[Title Drop]] in history: "Doctor who?"}}
* The latter part of ''[[
* "Save The Cheerleader, Save The World" from Season One of ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]''.
** The second half of Season One: "Are you on the list?"
** It's later parodied in a commercial about some tax program: "Save the Taxpayers, Save the World!" It's [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]].
** Also "Be the one we need."
* "From beneath you, it devours" from Season Seven of ''[[
** Or, as one pair of characters translated it, "It eats you starting with your bottom."
** In season 5: "Death is your gift."
** In seasons 4
** "Ascension" from seasons 1 to 3 -- referring to the Master rising to the surface, {{spoiler|Angelus}} summoning Acathla, and the Mayor completing his transformation.
* On ''[[
* "Fire, walk with me" from ''[[Twin Peaks]]'' (it was even the name of [[The Movie]] that was made after its cancellation).
** Found under the fingernails of various murder victims were what we might call Arc Letters.
** Another example is the phrase "j'ai une âme solitaire", meaning "I have a lonely soul" in French.
* Before you know just ''what'' Dharma is in ''[[
** Lostpedia has a [http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/Regularly_spoken_phrases whole list] of commonly used phrases on the show, some of which may be arc words.
** And the famous [[Arc Number
** "What lies in the shadow of the statue?" appears to be the straightest use of this trope in the series thus far.
** Some ''characters'' get their own
*** The word "special" actually comes up a lot with regard to various characters. Also "Don't tell me what I can't do!"
** "Live together, die alone" shows up fairly often too.
** And then in season 5 we get a whole "dead is dead," "whatever happened happened," and "what's done is done." All variants on an arc theme.
** "I'll see you in another life, brother!" is a phrase constantly used by Desmond as a farewell, to the point that other characters start using it when addressing Desmond at later points. {{spoiler|This comes full circle when we discover in the sixth season that Desmond in the "Sideways World" is awakening the castaways and reminding them of their past lives, so they can move on to the afterlife. See them in another life indeed.}}
* The logos and name of the Blue Sun Corporation from ''[[
* ''[[Battlestar Galactica
** "All Along The Watchtower" is a set of Arc Words: {{spoiler|because it foreshadows the identities of the final five Cylons}}.
*** Lyrics from the song were later integrated into the series finale as a sort of reveal. For example, {{spoiler|Starbuck says the phrase "There must be some kind of way out of here" before inputting the coordinates to the new Earth and their new home}}.
** The Mandala from the Temple of Five pops up in seasons two and three, and it's starting to look like it might be hinting at a deeper connection between {{spoiler|Starbuck}} and {{spoiler|the Final Five}}.
** "The shape of things to come" may or may not be, as it is not yet established exactly why the {{spoiler|half-cylons are so important, barring medicinal use}}.
*** Eventually revealed: {{spoiler|Hera, Athena's daughter, was Mitochondrial Eve. In other words, the mother of all modern-day humanity.}}
** "All this has happened before, and will happen again" is another possible example, having been spoken repeatedly without proper explanation so far.
*** Season 4 has a bit of that: {{spoiler|Some Cylon Centurions are briefly allowed to "rebel" against some of their humanoid cylon masters, in response to what they see is being done to the raider. This echoes the original cylons' uprising against humanity}}.
Line 365 ⟶ 362:
*** "Sometimes a Great Notion" reveals more: {{spoiler|Earth was nuked to a barren wasteland 2000 years before The Colonies were at the start of the series.}}
*** And the finale has {{spoiler|Head!Six and Head!Baltar}} saying a slightly different version: "All of this has happened before... but does all of it have to happen again?" Possibly in reaction to {{spoiler|modern-day humanity progressing the same way their ancestors did}}.
*** ''The Plan'' has "Love outlasts Death": {{spoiler|spoken by the Cylon Hybrids before destroying the Colonies, and written on the suicide note of the Simon who killed himself rather than harm his human family. Also, Sam's [[Shut UP, Hannibal]] paraphrase of the concept turns out to be the [[Epiphany Therapy]] that separates the Caprican Cavil from the one on Galactica.}}
** "Nothing but the rain", on the other hand, is not Arc Words, just an inside joke between Adama and Starbuck.
* ''[[Millennium (TV series)|Millennium]]'' season two: "This is who we are."
* The 1967 series
* ''[[The Prisoner]]'' had a creepy set of
** More
* ''[[The Pretender]]'' contained a nursery rhyme sung by Young Jarod at the very beginning of the show, which continued to appear throughout the remainder of the show, and was even sung by characters other than Jarod. Its significance was never explained.
* ''[[Threshold]]'' has a fractal triskelion pattern that appears throughout the series. Though it is explained in the first episode as a representation of a triple helix, and the characters consider its mere presence to be evidence of an infectee, its true nature is never explained.
* ''[[
** Which are, altogether, a slight recasting of the key questions from Alfred Bester's (no, the writer) ''The Stars My Destination'': "Who are you?" "Where are you from?" "Where do you live?" and "Where are you going?"
** ''Babylon 5'' also referenced the arc words from ''The Prisoner''; when the more sinister members of the Psi Corps say goodbye they do the same salute, complete with "be seeing you".
Line 383 ⟶ 380:
* ''[[The Sarah Connor Chronicles]]'' gets one in late season two: ''Will You Join Us?''
* ''[[Carnivale]]'': "Every prophet in his/her house."
* The ''[[
** That whole "Did I fall asleep" conversation seems to apply.
** "I want to be my best", anyone?
* ''[[
** They seemed to have moved onto "First People," after the ominous phrase cropped up as an [[Easter Egg]] late in Season 2's opening credits.
* "Someone's at the door" from ''[[American Gothic]]''.
* ''[[Jeeves and Wooster (TV series)|Jeeves and Wooster]]'' gets a couple, used to blackmail Spode, although they're more like Episode Words: "Eulalie" in the first couple episodes of season 2, and "Celia" in the series finale.
* ''[[Taken (TV series)|Taken]]'' has a couple, reinforcing that ideas will get passed down form generation to generation. The Clark family has one phrase about Love, the Crawfords have one that revolves around fear, and the aliens have one that's just plain threatening.
{{quote|
'''Clark''': ''I love you. Every day and twice on Sundays.''
'''Alien/Half Alien''': ''Look at me.'' {{spoiler|IMMINENT [[Mind Rape]]}} }}
* ''[[Warehouse 13]]'': "Knock Knock".
* ''[[Kamen Rider Den-O]]'' had "''The past should give us hope.''"
* ''[[Kamen Rider Decade]]'' has "''Destroy everything. Connect everything''" and "''Decade, the Destroyer of Worlds''".
* ''[[Vintergatan]]'' had "...And remember, anything can happen in space." Plain enough on paper, but it always sounded like foreshadowing.
* ''[[Star Trek
* ''[[
* [[V-2009|''V'' (2009)]]: "John May lives
* In ''[[
* ''[[The Wire]]'': Several, but most memorably, "All in the game".
* ''[[True Blood]]'': Various supernatural creatures [[
* ''[[Gossip Girl]]'': "Three words, eight letters. [[Super Couple|Say it and I'm yours.]]"
* "What's next?" from ''[[The West Wing]]'', a phrase that may have originated with President Bartlet himself.
Line 410 ⟶ 407:
* ''[[Chuck]]'': "Don't freak out."
** "Chuck vs. The Beefcake" had "Everyone talks".
* ''[[
* ''[[Star Trek:
* ''[[The River]]:'' "There's magic out there." [[All Myths Are True|And there is.]]
* ''[[Person of Interest]]'' has two:
** Various permutations of Reese's comment to Jessica in "Mission Creep": "In the end, we're all alone and no one is coming to save you."...
** ...and of its counterpoint: "You have to trust somebody."
== [[Music]] ==▼
* The ''[[Mega Man (
▲== Music ==
▲* The ''[[Mega Man (Video Game)|Mega Man]]'' rock opera from the self-titled CD by The Protomen has two: "Hope rides alone" and "we are the dead". Both get darker meanings by the end.
** And in the prequel, The Father of Death, the arc words are "Don't turn your back on the City."
** Emily... A crowd has gathered here...
Line 429 ⟶ 425:
* [[Nine Inch Nails]]: "Nothing can stop me now / Broken (machine)."
* "Dragonforce" : Steel, Fire, Flames, Soul/Spirit/Heart, and the phrase [[Running Gag|So Far Away]]
* [[
* On [[
* [[The Paper Chase
* [[Christian Rock|Christian Hard Rock]] band Resurrection Band's final album has two sets of arc words. "It is my right, I am free" and "I'm satisfied, here I'm alive". fitting because its a [[Concept Album]]
* [[Vocaloid]] producer [[Mothy]] loves to link some of the songs in his "Evillious Chronicles" with the mysterious mini song, "Lu, Li, La". It's almost always sung by [[Animated Actors|characters played by]] Rin and Len, except one instance where it was sung by Hatsune Miku and another time by Megurine Luka. It appears to link the "Clockwork Lullaby" series but appears in other songs, furthering the [[Mind Screw|confusion]]. It actually has yet to be explained, but most likely will be at the end.
Line 438 ⟶ 434:
* [[Frank Zappa]]; Joe's Garage: "The white zone is for loading and unloading only, if you gotta load or unload, go to the white zone."
* On [[The Wall]], by Pink Floyd, a number of arc words are repeated through and through. Among the many are "oh, baby", in a melancholic voice, "mother/mom", and one of the most famous, "bricks/brick in the wall".
* Variations of "What did I do to deserve...?" appear on all albums of [[
** The phrases "One last kiss" and "Believer" surface in multiple songs in ''Good Apollo Vol. 1.''
* [[Sound Horizon]]'s ''[[Rock Opera|Märchen]]'' wrings more meaning out of "イド" ([[Alternate Character Reading|which is pronounced "ido" and can mean well or the Freudian id, among other things]]) than should be possible - so much meaning, in fact, that a character can waltz in and deliver two entirely non-sequitur lines, and somehow ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20160914180418/http://sh-whitecrow.com/wiki/index.php?title=Idolfried_Ehrenberg tie the entire backstory together]''<ref>Well, [[Shrug of God|probably]]</ref> simply because he is an impulsive sailor named '''Ido'''lfried.
* A slip of paper bearing the words "to whom it may concern" appeared in several [[Iamamiwhoami]] videos, and on the album art for each of their singles relating to the "bounty" arc. Their song "u-1" contains the phrase in Spanish, "A quien le corresponda," in its lyrics.
== [[Professional Wrestling]] ==
* The run-up to Chris Jericho's return to [[
== Radio ==▼
* The [[Big Finish Doctor Who]] audios used [[Arc Words]] for one season of their Eighth Doctor Adventures. The phrase itself was a [[Ironic Nursery Rhyme|nursery rhyme]]:▼
{{quote| Zagreus sits inside your head, Zagreus lives among the dead, Zagreus sees you in your bed and eats you when you're sleeping.}}▼
▲== [[Radio]] ==
▲* The [[Big Finish Doctor Who]] audios used
▲{{quote|
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* ''[[
* ''[[Hunter: The Reckoning]]'': '''INHERIT THE EARTH.'''
* ''[[Exalted]]'': "Once, there was a maiden..."
** "
* ''[[Legend of the Five Rings]]'' has at least two: "A man will kill his lord, the other will save him" for the Hidden Emperor [[Arc]] and "Four Winds and Void between them" for the Four Winds [[Arc]]
* ''[[Continuum]]'': "Further information is not available here."
==
* ''[[Tanz
* Eric Overmyer's ''[[On the Verge]]'': "Vaya con dios!"
* In the [[Absurdism|absurdist play]] ''[[Waiting for Godot]]'', by Samuel Beckett, the following snippet of dialogue recurs, almost as a refrain (and to punctuate the various ways the two find to pass the time):
{{quote|
'''Didi''': We can't.
'''Gogo''': Why not?
'''Didi''': We're waiting for Godot. }}
** Or:
{{quote|
'''Didi''': Yes, let's go.
'''They do not move.''' }}
* ''[[Wicked (
** Replete with them. "I'm/We're/You're unlimited" stands out. "You deserve each other" is also used quite frequently. Also, "a celebration throughout Oz / That's all to do with (me/you)".
** The words "wicked" and "good" themselves.
* ''[[Julius Caesar (theatre)|Julius Caesar]]'': "Beware the Ides of March..." ( {{spoiler|guess what [[Killed Off for Real|happens to Caesar on that very same day]]...}})
== [[Video Games]] ==
* ''[[
* ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'': "Who are the Patriots?"/"La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo". The first time you hear it, [[Narm|it just sounds silly]], then you find out [[Paranoia Fuel|why people say that]]. {{spoiler|Its origin is comparatively mundane, as they're just used for the challenge-response ally confirmation procedure.}}
** If a [[The Last Days of Foxhound|certain other source is to be believed]], its meaning is much deeper, and much more menacing.
Line 488 ⟶ 479:
** {{spoiler|The tie-in story, The Expedition, explains that these words are the only/last thing that is going through the mind of Chzo and his servants's victims.}}
* ''[[Dirge of Cerberus]]: [[Final Fantasy VII]]'': "I'm so sorry."
* ''[[
* "This is my story." from ''[[
** Referenced by Auron in ''[[
* ''[[
* While not recurring, the very first spoken lines in ''[[
** In ''[[Final Fantasy
* "What can change the nature of a man?" from ''[[
** Also "torment" itself, along with the symbol that represents it that looks like an oddly bent shuriken.
* The original ''[[
** {{spoiler|That wasn't Gorion's spirit talking, it ''was'' your Bhaal heritage. The learning presumably referred to learning to obey your "nature" in said heritage, which you never acquiesce to -- whether you got the good ''or'' the evil dreams.}}
* According to the [[Word of God]], the title ''[[Kingdom Hearts|358/2 Days]]'' won't make sense to players until the game's end.
** The concept trailer "Another Side, Another Story [deep dive]" from Kingdom Hearts Final Mix is entirely ''composed'' of
* ''[[Urban Chaos: Riot Response]]'' has one. While not a sentence, or a phrase the {{spoiler|Company, Shift It}} appears everywhere! If you look for it. The reason it's so important is that {{spoiler|Shift it are actually the Burners. The CEO is the leader of the gang, and forceably brainwashed all of his employes into the animals that are the burners.}}
* ''[[
** "How Soon is Now" is the name of a song. While it's been covered many times, the original version was by a band called the Smiths. (As it happens, all the courier memos are also named after songs by the Smiths.) While the other two may qualify as Arc Words, this one's probably more of a [[Shout
** [[Suda 51]]'s next game, ''[[No More Heroes]]'', repeatedly had various female characters, especially Sylvia, instruct Travis to "Head for the Garden of Madness!"
** There's also the advent of the disappearance of smiles that runs throughout the game, before and after missions (with cheerful phrases such as "The day he stops smiling is the day we remember his smile".)
** "In the name of Harman..."
* ''[[
** "Remember, Neku...[[Title Drop|the world ends with you.]]"
* ''[[Limbo of the Lost]]'' has two: "Forget reality, surrender to your darkest dreams" and "Join us, join us now!" The latter is repeated by a disembodied voice throughout the game who is trying to be creepy but ending up annoying.
* Any variation on "seven years ago" in ''[[Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney]]''.
** Lampshaded in game: "Seven years"... That phrase sure likes to pop up, doesn't it...
** Likewise, DL-6 or "fifteen years ago" in the original, or any mention of {{spoiler|Edgeworth}} in Justice for All.
** SL-9 takes this role in the first game's DS bonus case, Rise from the Ashes.
** "The only time a lawyer can cry is when it's all over" from the third game.
* ''[[
* ''[[Max Payne (
* The ''[[Command
* In ''[[Dead Space (
** "Make us whole again" and the four steps ("Step 1: Into the dark machine. Step 2: The screws go tight, all around. Step 3: Cross my heart and hope to die. Stick a needle in my eye. Step 4: She'll be waiting.") take turns following you around in ''[[
* ''[[Saints Row]]'' has "The Pyramid", and to a lesser extent, the Ultor Corporation.
** The Ultor Corporation is also a shout out to the first [[Red Faction]] game.
** In the sequel it turns from a shout out to a full blown origin story.
* ''[[
* ''[[
* ''[[Tales of the Abyss]]'' {{spoiler|REPLICA!!!!!}}.
* The ''[[
** The story of ''[[Fallout 3]]'' can be described with, [[The Bible
** Depending on how you explore [[Fallout: New Vegas
** Also from New Vegas, "The Divide."
** The ''[[Fallout: New Vegas
* In ''[[
* Although it is only said twice, "No king rules forever" serve as
** Also, from the same expansion, "The Light of Dawn."
** In ''World of Warcraft: Cataclysm'', several of the villans including Deathwing make mention of something called "The Hour of Twilight". In the novel ''[[Thrall
* From ''[[
* ''[[Half Life]]'' has "Unforeseen consequences" show up when ''nobody'' expected it.
** "Free Man" and many variations of it also appears very often. The protagonist's name is Freeman, and he is known in ''Half-Life 2'' as "The One Free Man", since he was never subjugated by [[The Empire|The Combine]]. Irony kicks in when you realize that [[But Thou Must!|he's not]] [[The Man Behind the Man|at all free]].
** The ''Half-Life'' Modification ''[[Afraid of Monsters]]'' has two words: ''FORGIVE ME''. The main character is a drug addict, who is on an overdose throughout the whole game. Does he survive his sins? No and yes, depending on the ending.
* Though you're given much more information about it, and it is much more direct than in most cases, "fourteen years ago" arguably counts in ''[[
* You know your main mission throughout ''[[STALKER]]'' is to "Kill Strelok." Unfortunately, those words are the ''only'' thing that you know, due to a case of [[Easy Amnesia]].
* "The Wheel Of Fate Is Turning" is just a cool throwaway phrase to start your ''[[
** The "Rebel 1: Action!" that follows it also [[Screw Destiny|has meaning]].
* ''[[Dreamfall]]'': "Find her. Save her." It actually refers to {{spoiler|April Ryan, the heroine of the original game, ''[[The Longest Journey]]'', who Zoe does eventually meet. ''Why'' she needed to be found, however, remains unclear.}}
* '''Remember the Citadel''' and '''Resist''' written in blood on walls in ''[[System Shock]] 2''.
* [[Badass Creed|"Nothing is true, everything is permitted."]] Al-Mualim and Altair discuss it in the first ''[[
* [[Sands of Destruction]]'': "Acta est fabula."
* The ''[[MOTHER 1
* Masks pop up quite a lot, in conversation and on various characters, in [[Neverwinter Nights 2]] Mask of the Betrayer.
* ''[[Portal (
* In conversations with the [[Scary Dogmatic Aliens|Qunari]] over the course of [[Dragon Age 2]] the 'certainty' of the Qun is contrasted with the chaos of free will, foreshadowing the primary conflict of the second chapter.
** As [[Well
* ''[[Bayonetta]]'': "The Left Eye, our treasured Left Eye, will never fall into the hands of another!"
** "May Jubileus, the Creator, grace you!"
* ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (2006
** ''[[Shadow the Hedgehog]]'' has the phrase "This is who I am!" or some variation of it so consistently that it is featured in every single ending, several cutscenes, and the [[Crowning Music of Awesome|game's theme song.]]
* In ''[[Wing Commander (
* ''[[
* ''[[
** Another example is the {{spoiler|red flowers}}. They are mentioned often in the opening sections of the game but the player never really understands the significance until they see the power firsthand during the battle with {{spoiler|rabid Toroko}}.
* In Chapter 1 of ''[[Tales of Monkey Island]]'':
{{quote|
'''LeChuck:''' Till death do you part, eh? We'll have to do something about that. }}
** And in Chapter 5:
{{quote|
{{spoiler|1='''LeChuck:''' "Till DEATH do you part," Threepwood! And that part has already been taken care of!}} }}
* Gathered through three chapters of ''[[Rule of Rose]]'': ''Everlasting / True Love / I Am Yours''.
* ''[[Ghost Trick]]'': "And it's almost Dawn."
* ''[[Knights of the Old Republic]] 2'' has many characters using the word 'echo' to describe events or feelings without entirely knowing why, except for Kreia, who uses the word repeatedly while knowing exactly what she's talking about. The significance is gradually explained throughout the game.
* At the beginning of ''[[
** Also, expect to hear ''"family and clan"'' when there's anything concerning Scorpion or/and Sub-Zero.
* "Scope" in ''[[
* ''[[Alice: Madness Returns]]'' has "What have you done?". Oddly enough the answer seems to be {{spoiler|nothing}}.
* The first game of ''[[Digital Devil Saga]]'' has the following sentence: "I am Colonel Beck." {{spoiler|That sentence ''explains'' what's wrong with the world they're living in.}}
* ''[[Driver San Francisco]]'' has the seemingly innocent phrase "eyes on the city" that Tanner keeps hearing people say to him, sometimes more directly than others. {{spoiler|It's the name of the news program that Tanner keeps hearing from the TV in his hospital room while in a coma.}}
== [[Visual Novels]] ==
* ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro
** ''[[Umineko no Naku Koro
* ''[[
* In ''[[
* ''[[
* ''[[Fate/stay
== [[Web Animation]] ==▼
* ''[[Broken Saints]]'' has a great many, most notably [[Tagline|"What would you give to know the truth?"]] "This was not meant for me!" the LEAR/SPEC/SILO [[Significant Anagram|anagram]], and anything printed on the Vagrant's board.▼
* Several Strong Bad Emails in a row in ''[[Homestar Runner]]'' featured the words "DNA evidence," which later turned out to lead to a cartoon of the same name, where the seemingly out-of-context utterances were explained. (The last email to feature these words only did this in an [[Easter Egg]], which involved Homestar wearily saying these words after a long silence, as if he was obliged to continue the gag.)▼
== [[Web Comics]] ==
Line 602 ⟶ 583:
** In 2010, the phrase "Greatness is often linked with insanity" keeps popping up.
* ''[[Darken]]'': '''''The Worm Lord is Rising!'''''
* The robots in ''[[
{{quote|
** Ironically {{spoiler|it wasn't even ''her'' who they killed. It was the forest-dweller (the "traitor") who she'd fallen madly in love with. She simply remained there, [[I Will Wait for You|slowly turning]] into a murderous ghost}}.
*** Yeah, but that makes it all rather worse. The narration implies that {{spoiler|the magic rooted her to the spot and she stood there, unable to move. Diego went about his life in the castle for days as she [[Fridge Horror|starved to death]]}}.
* ''[[
** "[[You Can't Fight Fate|He is already here.]]"
** "[[Con Air|Put the bunny back in the box!"]]
** "The Ultimate Riddle" shows up quite a bit as well.
** Throughout the fifth act, the word "scratch" has been showing up quite a bit.
** "Luck doesn't actually matter." is another minor example, as it is central to Vriska and Terezi's arc in Act 5 Act 2.
** "Years in the future....but not many."
* "Beware the night of the five lights." in ''[[
* ''This is all happening for a reason'', along with slightly different phrasings in the [[Nuzlocke Comics|Nuzlocke]] comic strip.
== Web Original ==
* ''[[Ilivais X]]'': "Why do you fight? Why do you exist?" More prevalent but not as unanswered is "Where are we going?"
* ''[[I'm a Marvel...
* ''[[
▲* ''[[Broken Saints]]'' has a great many, most notably [[Tagline|"What would you give to know the truth?"]] "This was not meant for me!" the LEAR/SPEC/SILO [[Significant Anagram|anagram]], and anything printed on the Vagrant's board.
▲* Several Strong Bad Emails in a row in ''[[Homestar Runner]]'' featured the words "DNA evidence," which later turned out to lead to a cartoon of the same name, where the seemingly out-of-context utterances were explained. (The last email to feature these words only did this in an [[Easter Egg]], which involved Homestar wearily saying these words after a long silence, as if he was obliged to continue the gag.)
* ''[[Marble Hornets]]'' has "The Ark", the importance of which still remains unknown.
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* And in ''[[Everyman HYBRID]]'', we have HABIT.
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* [[Ben Drowned
* From ''[[
* From [[
* In an odd case ''[[RWBY]]'' has arc words not in its dialogue, but in its soundtrack and ''songs''. For instance, the phrase "bloody evolution" appears in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wwohhs3LvRQ "This Will Be The Day"], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzYAKDUaR18 "All Things Must Die"] and several other songs. Some songs act like a [[Leitmotif]], and keep reappearing in different forms, like Weiss's [[Image Song]] from the "White" Trailer, "Mirror, Mirror". See the [[RWBY/Analysis|Analysis page for the show]] for more information.
* In ''[[Xavier: Renegade Angel]]'', "Taste The Pain" seems to be this, or it could just be a strange sort of [[Running Gag]]. It seems to be spoken at least [[Once Per Episode]]▼
▲* In ''[[Xavier Renegade Angel]]'', "Taste The Pain" seems to be this, or it could just be a strange sort of [[Running Gag]]. It seems to be spoken at least [[Once Per Episode]]
** The phrase is usually "Take that! Taste the pain!"
* One episode of ''[[Home Movies]]'' reveals that Brendan ends each of his movies with the same line -- "It's time to pay the price." He doesn't even realize this until Paula points it out.
* Numerous in ''[[
* "[[Acme Products|Acme]]" stands in for "Rosebud" in the ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures]]'' episode that parodies ''[[
* In the Jerry Reed episode of ''[[Scooby-Doo|The New
== [[Real Life]] ==
* "The King is dead."
** "Long live the King."
* Some advertising campaigns tend to do this.
* [[This Very Wiki]].
* [
* ''We are the 99%'' in the [[Occupy Movement]]. This is from various papers and articles that suggest 1% (or occasionally 2%) of the people in the United States control anywhere from 80-90% of the nation's wealth.<ref>
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[[Category:
[[Category:Drama Tropes]]
[[Category:Motifs]]
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