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{{trope}}
[[File:BadWolf 9622.jpg|link=Doctor Who|frame|[[Weirdness Censor|Eh. Probably just a coincidence.]]]]
{{quote|'''The Doctor:''' Bad Wolf.
'''Rose:''' But, I've heard that before; "bad wolf", I've heard that ''lots of times''.
'''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 [[
'''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).
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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
Not to be confused with [[A Worldwide Punomenon|God's command to Noah]].
{{examples}}
== [[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."
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* ''[[Ghost in the Shell]]: Stand Alone Complex'' has one of these for each season so far, both integrated into an iconic Arc Symbol. For the first season, the Laughing Man logo contains the phrase "I thought what I'd do was, I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes" (a quote from J. D. Salinger's ''[[The Catcher in The Rye]]''), which eventually {{spoiler|leads Togusa and the Major to the truth behind the convoluted Laughing Man case.}} Similarly, 2nd Gig features a symbol containing kanji that are read idiosyncratically as "Individual Eleven", a phrase that has ties to almost every part of the season's [[Story Arc]].
* ''[[Chobits]]'' -- "A person just for me..."
* Lots of [[CLAMP]] works, especially ''[[
** To make sure it was absolutely clear, the English dub uses the term inevitability.
* ''[[X 1999]]''—Before Fuuma {{spoiler|awakens as Kamui's twin star,}} "Kamui, I am your..."
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** 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 [[After Story]]}}.
* Walpurgisnacht or Walpurgis Night in ''[[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]]''. As revealed in Episode 10, {{spoiler|Walpurgisnacht is a powerful witch that Madoka is supposedly fated to defeat as a [[Magical Girl]], leading to ''her'' conversion into a witch.}}
* ''[[GaoGaiGar]]'' has its villains occasionally mention two mysterious concepts: "the legacy of Cain" and "the curse left by Abel." Eventually we learn that {{spoiler|these refer to two children, Mamorou and Kaidou, who are refugees from planets ruled by leaders named Cain and Abel.}}
**
* "The Destination of Fate", "Survival Strategy", and "Never amount to anything" in ''[[Mawaru Penguindrum]]''.
** "Survival Strategy": Revealed to be {{spoiler|some sort of terrorism plot by the [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|Kiga group/Penguinforce]]}}.
** "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: The
== [[Comic Books]] ==
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* 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]] ==
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* "Do not ask questions you don't really want to hear the answer to" in ''[[The Second Try]]''
* "''It Was Time''" and any variation of it in ''[[Aeon Entelechy Evangelion]]''.
* In The ''[[Left 4 Dead 2]]'' fanfic ''[[Two Step]]''
* The ''[[Ice Age]]'' fanfic ''[[Lost in Time Series]]'' for ''Lost In Time: Origins'': "A herd will survive."
* 'Four places at once' and 'Come crashing down' are this by [[Word of God]] in ''[[Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Silver Resistance]]''.
* From the ''[[Death Note]]'' [[Cyberpunk]] [[Alternate Universe Fic|AU]] ''[[Alternative Gods]]'': "Because there cannot be two of the same thing."
* ''[[The Party Never Ended]]'' has a unique example, in that the arc words are heard by the main character, but are not actually revealed to the reader until near the end. Every time the arc words are brought up, they get their own arc words: "It said seven simple words to her..." {{spoiler|The true arc words are "I love you, Pinkie! Please wake up!"}}
▲== [[Film]] - Animated ==
* ''[[Meet the Robinsons]]'': "Keep moving forward". Notable for being part of a quote from Walt Disney himself.
* In ''[[The Princess and the Frog]],'' "You got what you wanted, but you lost what you had" may count. It first appears during the opening number, but means something more sinister [[Villain Song|the second time]].
▲* "Rosebud." from ''[[Citizen Kane]]'' is a possible [[Ur Example]].
** {{spoiler|[[It Was His Sled]].}}
* ''[[Yellow Submarine]]'': [[Mind Screw|"It's all in the mind."]]
* ''[[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.
* ''[[The Matrix]]'': The very title was an arc word throughout the marketing and right up until a third of the way through the film.
** [[Something Only They Would Say|Mr. Anderson]]
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* In the original draft of the screenplay, Dante's constant complaint that "I'm not even supposed to be here today!" in ''[[The View Askewniverse|Clerks]].'' was intended to foreshadow the tragic irony of Dante getting shot to death by a criminal at the film's conclusion. As the script was revised, this particular meaning is lost: however, Randall still references Dante's use of the phrase in his rant near the end about how Dante refuses to accept responsibility for his own actions or attempt to make change in his miserable life.
* ''[[The Shining]]'': REDRUM... REDRUM...
* ''[[Zoolander
* [[Mongol|All Mongols fear thunder.]]
* ''[[Field of Dreams]]'': "If you build it, he will come."
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* ''[[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]] ==
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* 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 ''[[BioShock (series)]]'' with "Who is Atlas?"
* [[Philip K. Dick
** 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.
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* [[Tad Williams]]' ''[[Otherland]]'' features a significant and enigmatic character who keeps repeating, "An angel touched me."
* The purpose behind Thomas Pynchon's ''[[The Crying of Lot 49]]''. The words are "Trystero", "WASTE" (apparently [[Fun with Acronyms|an acronym for]] {{spoiler|"We Await Silent Trystero's Empire"}}), "DEATH" ("Don't Ever Antagonize The Horn"), and a picture of a muted postal horn (trumpet). The best part, though, is that {{spoiler|we never find out if it means anything}}.
* "Here comes a candle to light you to bed, here comes a chopper to chop off your head!" from ''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four
** The phrase is referenced in Neil Gaiman's ''[[The Graveyard Book]]''. Knowing the reference makes it even more chilling.
** 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).
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** 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.
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* In ''[[Fingerprints]]'', the name "Erika Keaton", which the heroes are puzzled by until [[The Reveal]] in book 6.
* In ''[[Fahrenheit 451]]'', "[[The Bible|Consider the lilies of the field; they toil not, neither do they spin...]]"
* ''[[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".
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** "Blue and ivory feet", also from [[Slaughterhouse-Five]].
* 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 Arc Words so much as something between [[Future Slang]] and mild [[Informed Obscenity]].
* In the 32nd instalment of [[Piers Anthony]]'s ''[[Xanth]]'' series, ''Two to the Fifth,'' the title is brought up numerous times throughout the book, and its meaning is not revealed until the last fifth or so of the book.
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** ''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."
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** 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 [[Terry Pratchett]]'s ''[[Discworld]]'', such as:
** ''[[
** ''[[
{{quote|"The truth ''has'' got its boots on. It's about to start kicking." <ref>Worthy of notice is that the [[Big Bad]] is William's father, and the aforementioned saying was a favourite of his. William never got along very well with his father, and hearing the saying spoken by one of his accomplices clues him into the fact that lord de Worde was involved.</ref>}}
** ''[[
** ''[[
** ''[[
** ''[[
** An example of Arc Words for the entire series is the phrase "all things strive." Some examples:
*** ''[[
*** ''[[
*** ''[[
* [[The Pendragon Adventure]]: "This is the way it was meant to be."
** Bobby also starts ending his later journals with "And so we go."
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* ''[[The Stormlight Archive]]'': "Find the most important words a man can say." At the end of the first novel, its insinuated to be {{spoiler|the Second Ideal of the Knights Radiant, "I will protect those who cannot protect themselves."}}
* ''[[A Clockwork Orange (novel)|A Clockwork Orange]]'' is divided to three parts, which all begin to the sentence "What's it gonna be then, eh?" It also appears several other times.
* In ''[[The Dresden Files]]'' story ''Aftermath'', Murphy's [[Survival Mantra]] crosses over with this trope: {{spoiler|"I can't believe he's dead."}}And through out the series "hells Bells" "Stars and Stones" and "Empty Night" have been used as curses and have been confirmed used as such due to what they imply {{spoiler|which will be explained in the Three apocalyptic novels which will close out the series using all three of those curses as their titles.}}
* ''[[The Subject Steve]]'' has a few; Fine fettle, Mothered by fire, Fuckeroo'd...
* In ''[[Blackout]]'', particularly Polly's sections: "[[Shout-Out/To Shakespeare|How all occasions do inform against me]]" (from [[Hamlet]]).
* The last parts of the biblical [[Book of Judges]] has "In those days Israel had no King. Everyone did as he pleased".
* 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|Warriors]]'': "Water can quench fire". Some of the prophecies count as well.
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* ''[[Dragons (novel)|Dragons/The Last Dragon Chronicles]]'' has "Sometimes", generally used as an enigmatic answer when questions are asked. [[Self-Demonstrating Article|Sometimes.]]
* [[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 the Still-living]]'': "Our Situation" and the variants thereof.
* ''[[
* In its original Hebrew, [[The Bible]] makes use of this trope, making it [[Older Than Dirt]]. Due to the nature of the Hebrew language, which can use the same root word with different suffixes and prefixes to mean any number of different things, this effect is used very flexibly and is often not picked up in translation.
* Probably the only memorable thing about Ira Levin's execrable sequel to his excellent ''[[Rosemary's Baby]]'', ''[[Son Of Rosemary]]''. Throughout the book, various characters josh around about how long it takes to solve the riddle "ROAST MULES" with the clue "Any five- or six-year-old might do this every day." {{spoiler|The answer is ''somersaults''. Rosemary seemingly awakens from sleep thinking it was [[All Just a Dream]] -- that's the ''entire story, first book and sequel''. This is where most people toss the book down in disgust. In the final paragraphs, though, it turns into [[Or Was It a Dream?]]?
* ''[[Dark Future (novel)|Dark Future]]'': Has meta-arc words, ''"Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock."'' Jessamyn Bonney is {{spoiler|possessed by the Ancient Adversary, a spirit being dedicated to opposing the coming of the Dark Ones and [[The End of the World as We Know It]] this will cause, that [[Big Bad]] Elder Seth is actively seeking.}} When the two establish a [[Psychic Link]] by accident, Jessamyn manifests in Seth's mind as these words. The form the Ancient Adversary most commonly takes in the spirit world? A giant crocodile. Also represents the ticking away of time until the end of the world.
** ''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 as a Traitor Deserves|Who promptly shoots him.]]}}
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* 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 Arc Words, and in fact, accumulate Arc Words over time. In the end, some of them are [[Justified]] as being connected, in some round about way, to Illuminati, Discordian, Rosicrucian, or Kabbalistic symbolism, although most turn out to really just be random and irrelevant. Given how [[Mind Screw|mindscrewy]] and [[Post Modernism|postmodern]] the novel is, this is only to be expected.
== [[Live
* The [[Jim Henson]] teleplay [[The Cube (film)|The Cube]] - "Strawberry jam".
* The new ''[[Doctor Who]]'' has had one each series/season.
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** 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 ''[[Angel]]'', "The Father Will Kill the Son" was an important part of the Holtz/Sahjahn arc. Characters find out what they think it means, try to stop it from happening, leading to events that later [[From a Certain Point of View|(sort of)]] cause it to happen...
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** "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 ''[[Firefly]]'' may have been intended as Arc Words, but the series got canceled before anything came of them. River's repeated "two by two, hands of blue" is definitely an example, though.
* ''[[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}}.
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** "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 Arc Words: every time someone would say goodbye to anyone in the Village, they would form a circle over their right eye with a thumb and forefinger, tip it forward in a salute, and say "Be seeing you."
** More Arc Words: POP, which either stood for Protect Other People, or the song "Pop Goes the Weasel," and the penny farthing bicycle that was the Village's logo. What's more, ''none'' of these were ever explained.
* ''[[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.
* ''[[Babylon 5]]'' had a question associated with each of the two most prominent races of First Ones in the show: "Who are you?" commonly asked by the Vorlons, and "What do you want?" from the Shadows. (When Sheridan asks Kosh "What do you want?" in an early episode, not realizing its significance, the Vorlon angrily tells him, "Never ask that question!") During his [[Near-Death Experience]] he meets Lorien (''the'' First One) who has his own questions: "Why are you here?" and "Do you have anything [[Worth Living For]]?". In "Into the Fire
** 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".
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'''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
* ''[[Bored to Death]]'': "I believe I can help people."
* [[V-2009|''V'' (2009)]]: "John May lives
* In ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'', a [[Ice Cream Koan|saying that pops up]] a lot of the times Ascension is discussed goes, "If you immediately know the candlelight is fire, the meal was cooked a long time ago." None of the Ascended Ancients ever elaborates on what that means, and by the end of the series none of the main cast get it either. It turns into something of a [[Running Gag]].
* ''[[The Wire]]'': Several, but most memorably, "All in the game".
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** ...and of its counterpoint: "You have to trust somebody."
== [[Music]] ==▼
▲== 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."
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* Variations of "What did I do to deserve...?" appear on all albums of [[Coheed and Cambria]].
** 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 [[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWE]] in 2007 had the commentators and the wrestlers on-screen puzzling over mysterious interruptions to WWE's programs that prominently featured the phrases SAVE_US.222, SAVE_US.X29, and 8.2.11/SAVIOR_SELF. Most of the puzzlement happened on-screen; the fans largely figured it out fairly quickly (though there were a few alternate theories that stuck around until [[The Reveal]], chief among them a new Hart Foundation stable led by Bret Hart's nephew Teddy), which reportedly drove the WWE's creative team nuts.
== [[Radio]] ==▼
▲== 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.}}
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* ''[[Unknown Armies]]'': ''You did it''.
* ''[[Hunter: The Reckoning]]'': '''INHERIT THE EARTH.'''
* ''[[Exalted]]'': "Once, there was a maiden..."
** "[[Koan]]", she said.
* ''[[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 der Vampire]]'': "Sei bereit!" ("Be prepared!")
* Eric Overmyer's ''[[On the Verge]]'': "Vaya con dios!"
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'''Didi''': Yes, let's go.
'''They do not move.''' }}
* ''[[Wicked (theatre)|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]] ==
* ''[[BioShock (series)|BioShock]]'': {{spoiler|Everything you're asked to do to continue the game is prefaced with "Would You Kindly". While at first it seems like Atlas is just being polite, he later reveals that not only is he not who he claims to be, "Would You Kindly" is in fact a genetically coded key phrase that compels you to unquestioningly obey the "suggestion." This is a particularly cunning reveal since up until this point, chances are good you have (dun dun duuunnnn!) followed Atlas' advice without wondering where all this might be coming from.}}
* ''[[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.
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* ''[[Final Fantasy XI]]'': An ancient song, prophecy, and/or history, the "Memoria de la S^tona" is critical to the first three story arcs, most of the various Home Nation story arcs, and is likely a part of the as-yet unfinished storyline to "Wings of the Goddess". The first verse is the spoken-word intro to the first cutscene in the game. After completing the first storyline, the "true" meaning of the first verse is revealed: upon beginning the second, it is immediately and forcefully reinterpreted. Throughout the Chains of Promathia storyline, many major [[NPC]]s are in possession of one verse, which they have usually misinterpreted {{spoiler|In Bahamut's case, so badly that he wishes to destroy all sentient life on the planet; in Tenzen's, he merely wishes to kill the player}}.
* While not recurring, the very first spoken lines in ''[[Final Fantasy XIII]]'' ("The thirteen days after we awoke were the beginning of the end") definitely qualify for the "meaning unveiled slowly as the story progresses" part. That includes questions like who is the speaker, in which sense did she awake, why did she awake, whom does she mean with "we", why is it "[[Arc Number|thirteen]]" days, what end is she referring to, why is it the beginning, etc..
** In ''[[Final Fantasy
* "What can change the nature of a man?" from ''[[Planescape: Torment]]''. Also an [[Armor-Piercing Question]].
** Also "torment" itself, along with the symbol that represents it that looks like an oddly bent shuriken.
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* 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 Arc Words. The thing is ''filled'' with quotes and random concepts that are subtly included in Kingdom Hearts II (non-existent ones and "You are the source of all Heartless," anyone?), excepting the final quote ("We'll go together"), that itself being a [[Meaningful Echo|line from early in the first game]], changed to a different line in the English version before the translators had a chance to cotton on to its Arc Words status. It can make chills run up and down the savvy fan's spine.
* ''[[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.}}
* ''[[Killer7]]'' has the phrases "Don't gain the world and lose your soul," "How soon is now," and "[[Number of the Beast|666]]" scrawled in various places.
** "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-Out]].
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* ''[[Adventure Quest]]'s'' arc numbers, 755, appeared more so on the forum and on various websites by [[Word of God|the game's staff]], rather than in game, and several arc phrases were never seen in game.
* ''[[Max Payne (series)|Max Payne]]'' features a number of instances of the phrase "the flesh of fallen angels." Those are just utterances from addled junkies and it doesn't really mean anything, just that Valkyr users are off their rocks. Something with more sense is Vlad's "[insert name here], dearest of all my friends." which he says to a lot of people, not just Max, {{spoiler|and it usually means that he intends to kill them later.}}
* The ''[[Command & Conquer: Tiberium]]'' series has the ''"[[Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence|Ascension]]"'' that Kane promises his followers. In the end... {{spoiler|he wasn't lying}}.
* In ''[[Dead Space (video game)|Dead Space]]'', you'll hear "Make us whole again," first from a transmission from Nicole. As the game goes on, it gets creepier, as transmissions come from broken computers saying it over and over, then you'll hear it from Doctor Kyne and from Nicole herself. {{spoiler|It's all from [[Artifact of Doom|the Marker]]}}.
** "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 ''[[Dead Space 2]]'', although the first one is the only one that goes through the entire thing. The second starts in the latter half and keeps up with you until you find out what it means.
* ''[[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.
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** The ''[[Fallout: New Vegas|New Vegas]]'' DLC (particularly Dead Money and Lonesome Road) uses the words "Let go" and "Begin again".
* In ''[[Anachronox]]'', the words "Eddie knows" is grafittied all over the area, and a lot of NPCs talk about this "Eddie". However, once you ''meet'' Eddie (fairly early in the game) and gets his aid, he's removed from the plot.
* Although it is only said twice, "No king rules forever" serve as Arc Words for the entirety of [[World of Warcraft]]: Wrath of the Lich king. The two times it is said happen to be when fighting the games two most powerful/main villains, Yogg-Saron and [[Big Bad|Arthas]]. {{spoiler|Yogg is referring to Arthas and it is the last thing Arthas's father's ghost says to his son before he dies}}. This quote not only summarizes the fall of the Lich King but many of the other events that occurred during the expansion and things that will happen shortly after such as: 2 kings (Yirmon and Anub'Arak) die, Malygos, the dragon aspect of magic/leader of the Blue Dragonflight, was killed, the Alliance found a new leader in King Varian, Bolvar Fordragon (the guy who was ruling Stormwind while [[World of Warcraft (comics)
** 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 Twilight of the Aspects]]'', we finally learn what it means: {{spoiler|It's the event in which the [[Eldritch Abomination|Old Gods]] will claim their final victory and [[The End of the World as We Know It|extinguish all life on Azeroth]], [[You Have Outlived Your Usefulness|including Deathwing]].}}
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* '''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 ''[[Assassin's Creed]]'', but what it means is better explained to the player in the sequel after Ezio meets Niccolo Machiavelli.
* [[Sands of Destruction]]'': "Acta est fabula."
* The ''[[MOTHER 1|Earthbound]]/[[EarthBound|Mother]]'' [[Mother 3|trilogy]]: "No Crying Until The End."
* Masks pop up quite a lot, in conversation and on various characters, in [[Neverwinter Nights 2]] Mask of the Betrayer.
* ''[[Portal (series)|Portal]]'': '''The cake is a lie...'''
* 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-Intentioned Extremist|Anders]] gets crazier, he starts spouting [[With Us or Against Us|"Everyone in Kirkwall must choose a side!"]]. {{spoiler|He forces the issue at the end.}}
* ''[[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 video game)
** ''[[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 (video game)|Wing Commander]] IV: The Price Of Freedom'', the arc words are conspicuous only because they're also a [[Title Drop]]: "The price is freedom is eternal vigilance." The phrase becomes key to understanding the motivations of several characters, and in true science fiction fashion, invites the player to decide if those actions are justified.
* ''[[Deadly Premonition]]'': "At times we must purge things from this world because they should not exist, even if it means [[Shoot the Dog|losing someone that you love.]]"
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** Also, expect to hear ''"family and clan"'' when there's anything concerning Scorpion or/and Sub-Zero.
* "Scope" in ''[[The Reconstruction]]''. Fitting, since it's the game's [[Central Theme]].
* ''[[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]] ==
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* In ''[[Shikkoku no Sharnoth]]'' several phrases and questions are repeated, including the most common 'Have you given up yet?' and 'And thus I deny tomorrow.'
* ''[[Ever 17]]'': "This story is not an end yet. Because only you are in the infinity loop."
* ''[[Fate/stay night]]'': "I ask of you: Are you my master?"
== [[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]] ==
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* "Beware the night of the five lights." in ''[[L's Empire|Ls Empire]]''. [[One of Us|The authors]] flat out state so in the [[Alt Text]].
* ''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...
* ''[[Atop the Fourth Wall]]'' had this for its major villains: "He's coming for you!" for {{spoiler|Mechakara}}, "All he sees, he conquers" for {{spoiler|Lord Vyce}}, and "A piece of the world is missing" for {{spoiler|1=The Entity/[[Missing No]]}}.
▲* ''[[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.
{{quote|''From the start, this was a game for us. Not anymore. I'm coming for you. And you will lead me... to the ark.''}}
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* [[Ben Drowned|"You shouldn't have done that."]]
* From ''[[Wormtooth Nation]]'': "The sky is infinite."
* From [[The Nostalgia Chick]]'s ''Dark Nella Saga'': "Embrace your inner fangirl". [[Squee]] over pretty boys and musicals is what manages to bring the old Nella back.
* 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]]
** 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 ''[[12 oz.
* "[[Acme Products|Acme]]" stands in for "Rosebud" in the ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures]]'' episode that parodies ''[[Citizen Kane]]''. Subverted when it turns out Montana Max actually said "acne".
* In the Jerry Reed episode of ''[[Scooby-Doo|The New
== [[Real Life]] ==▼
▲== Real Life ==
* "The King is dead."
** "Long live the King."
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]▼
[[Category:Drama Tropes]]
[[Category:Motifs]]
▲[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
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