Words Can Break My Bones: Difference between revisions
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== Anime ==
* The Lotis and Maram Words from Yuu Watase's manga ''[[Alice 19th]]''.
* A more literal version of this is in ''[[
* In the 12th movie of ''[[
* In the 4th arc of ''[[Jo Jo's Bizarre Adventure
* In the anime (and original manga) ''[[Loveless]]'', characters participate in Spell Battles where words do exactly what they say, restraining, cutting, burning, or banishing opponents. The effectiveness of an attack seems to be directly related to the floweriness or complexity of the spoken "spell".
* In ''[[Yu Yu Hakusho]]'', one psychic has the ability to create a territory in which no one can say a taboo word. Anyone who does has their soul ripped out.
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** [[Elite Mook]] Yomazu can to this as well, only he writes his in Japanese with his sword. As a result he can abruptly change the effect without rewriting simply by declaring a different meaning of the Kanji.
* The Words of Awakening in ''[[Madlax]]'', which induce homicidal insanity.
* Skuld from ''[[Ah!
* This appears several times in [[To Aru Majutsu no Index
* An interesting variation in [[
* ''[[Aphorism]]'' is about a [[Extranormal Institute|supernatural high school]] where each student must choose a kanji character whose meaning, [[Your Mind Makes It Real|combined with the power of the student's imagination]], will later be used as the student's weapon in various battles and trials.
* {{spoiler|Yuu}} from ''[[Kore wa Zombie Desu
* Arias can kill lesser demons in ''[[
* Kotoha from ''[[Yozakura Quartet]]'' can create any object, as long as she knows what it's made of, with her words. And she is a MASSIVE fan of WWII Weaponry.
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* In ''[[Ex Machina]]'', Mitchell's powers work like this, {{spoiler|as do Pherson's and Suzanne's}}.
* [[Zatanna]] can do just about anything by reciting words and sentences backwards. Her cousin Zatarra can also do this although he can't directly affect living things.
* Nico from ''[[
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** And are themselves hurt by the word "it".
** You said it! And now I said it! I said it again! I said it again! [[Tethercat Principle|I SAID IT AGAIN!]]
* Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo - the magic words of the Fairy Godmother in Disney's ''[[Cinderella (Disney film)|Cinderella]]''.
* ''[[Bedknobs and Broomsticks]]'' give us the spell of Substitutiary Locomotion ("giving life to things without"): '''Treguna Mekoides Trecorum Satis Dee'''. Which sounds ''really' creepy when the things the spell animates (like empty suits of armor) start repeating it...
* In the silent movie ''[[
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* Miranda Windwood Rose, from the short story of the same name by Janni Lee Simner, is a magic name, letting the owner hear and see magic. This leads to the main character being an outcast.
* In [[Chronicles of Thomas Covenant]], those who study Earthpower learn various words of power that the cause pain to anything "wrong."
* Variation in ''[[
* [[Kate Daniels]] knows a few.
* In the ''[[Myst]]'' novels, the backstory of the "magical books" is fleshed out; we learn about "mighty words," which if used in the proper context (that is, with the right ink and on the right paper) can modify the linked world. And Earth was originally reached by the D'ni through such a Book.
** Though the linking process works more akin to a magical search engine, the book seeking out the world that best fits the description given, the words used can also change a world once the link is made, and are described in terms of this trope. In ''The Book of Atrus'', Anna explains about 'levels' of words, the simplest being a description of a thing, the next being a modifier of such a description, i.e. a meta-word. She never says what the third level is, but it's implied to be the performative word, one which alters what it describes.
* Quantum linguistics in the ''[[
* in [[The Bookof All Hours]] by Hal Duncan - the Cant, the metaphysical language of the Vellum. humans transform into Unkin when an event in their lives causes them to hear the Cant from underneath reality, echoing from the Vellum. Unkin can then use it to reshape reality, warp and change spacetime itself as well as the Vellum.
* In ''[[
* A form of this in [[
== Live Action TV ==
* ''[[
* An episode of ''[[Samurai Sentai Shinkenger]]''/''[[Power Rangers Samurai]]'' has a monster that can read a person's mind, find the most derogatory and damaging insult that person has ever been called, and repeat it to them, converting the emotional pain they suffer from the insult into physical pain. He's only defeated when it's revealed one of our heroes has gotten so used to being insulted in her life that the monster's power can't affect her. Interestingly, the monster is based on a Japanese [[Obake]] that, itself, suffers from [[Words Can Break My Bones]]...in reverse: it "feeds" off of a person's inner thoughts, repeating them in the open when they latch onto someone, and only by emptying your mind of all thoughts can you drive away (or even ''kill'') the creature.
** Of course, the Shinkengers ''themselves'' indulge in this trope with their "Mojikara", or "word magic"; essentially, they use traditional Japanese calligraphy ([[Magic
* A variation on ''[[Babylon 5]]'': Telepaths, in addition to scanning minds and planting thoughts or visions, can also effectively hit the target's "pain button", making every nerve in their body burst with blinding pain for a few moments. This is typically accompanied by them simply glaring at the other person and hissing ''"Pain!"'' It is only allowed to be used in self defense, and it is only used when more effective means, such as [[Muggles Do It Better|guns]], are unavailable.
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== Religion ==
* In Jewish lore there are ramifications for speaking the [[True Name]] of God or erasing the written version. There is also the folklore of the Golem of Prague where the word ''emet'' was used to bring life to a piece of earth.
* The [[The Bible
** In Greek it's "Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος." Granted, "word" is one possible translation of "λόγος", but so are "argument" and "study" (hence any English word that ends in "-logy") and probably a few other meanings besides.
*** The medieval theologian Erasmus translated it as "sermon," which may be seen as a sign of how important Scholastic works on religion were getting to be at the time.
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* The game ''[[Mischief Makers]]'' also takes the literal approach: you shake negative words to turn them positive and attack with them.
* The game ''[[Scribblenauts]]'' and ''[[Super Scribblenauts]]'' allow you to create any object or objects by writing its words. Some of the words create harmful things (dragon, sword, fire, atomic bomb).
* Ditto ''[[
** And all this happens after Raz remarks that "sticks and stones might break my bones, [[Tempting Fate|but words will never hurt... me...]]"
* Similarly, in the RPG ''[[Rudra no Hihou]]'', magic is based on entered words... and possible effects for entries that don't have a specific precoded effect involve the word simply attacking enemies, such as flying at them from offscreen or being dropped on them by an eagle.
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** In addition, ''Ultima V'' had magic words ''called'' [[Words of Power]], magical triggers that undid the sealing spells on the dungeons.
* [[World of Warcraft]] - many of the spells priests learn are like this. Shadow Word: Pain, Power Word: Shield, and Shadow Word: Death, for some examples.
* ''[[
* Towards the end of ''[[Alan Wake]]'' you go into a weird abstract world with a bunch of typewritten words that hover in mid-air. Shining your light on them cause them to manifest the things they represent. For instance, "Exit" will create a way out of the area, or "Red Box" will spawn a supply chest. In the DLC they introduce considerably more dangerous ones, like "[[Mooks|Taken]]", "[[Goddamned Bats|Birds]]", and "[[Exactly What It Says
* The scrolls in the [[Diablo]] series work this way, with the written words becoming the spell as they're spoken (and consequently, disappearing). The magic books from the first installment may be similar, as they too disappear when used.
* In ''[[
{{quote| Abjuration: ''"Manus, Potentis, Paro"'' {{=}} "A hand, powerful, I prepare"<br />
Alteration: ''"Praeses, Alia, Fero"'' {{=}} "Protecting, another, I bring this forth"<br />
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== Western Animation ==
* "Sim Sim Sala Bim" - the magic words Hadji used all the time on ''[[
* ''[[
* ''[[
* Played with and subverted in ''[[
* Raven's magical exclmation on ''[[Teen Titans (
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