"Because we need beer money."
Some organizations in fiction as well as Real Life like to introduce themselves with a motto that sums up their mission, philosophy, and attitude. It is often found written across their crests, logos, or emblems and can double as Arc Words.
Supertrope to Pretentious Latin Motto and Badass Creed. Not to be confused with a Battle Cry, which is something shouted in the heat of battle, while a motto is usually written down somewhere (although the two may overlap).
Examples:
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Anime & Manga
- Blue Reflection Ray: "Girls living in a world of lies, your flowers of sadness, and the despair that blooms from them, we'll take them all away, now and forever" is the motto of the Red Reflectors, representing how they aim to rip away the feelings of girls so that they won't be burdened by their negative emotions.
- In Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, the titular Corps has two prominent ones regarding their grudge against demons, "Metsu" (Destroy) and "Akimessatsu" (Destroy All Evil Demons), the former is seen engraved on the back of the member’s unforms, and the latter is seen engraved on the blades of the 9 elite and most powerful members, the Hashira.
- Moriarty the Patriot: The Moriarty family heraldry comes with the motto "Je Crois en Moi," or translated from the French, "I believe in myself." While these words are never actually said, they very much emphasize the Moriarty family's philosophy on life, especially William's, and also underscores William's attempt to emulate Robespierre.
- My-HiME: The SEARRS Foundation, with "For the Golden Millennium", which is prominently displayed on the OS of one of their android agents.
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: NERV has "God's in his heaven, all's right with the world."
- Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: The Gurren Brigade's motto is "WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM/WE ARE!?"
Fan Works
- In the To the New World series, various royals and factions have short, concise phrases encapsulating their personal philosophies.
- Gwyndolin: "Facimus lucem nostram"/"We make our own light", referring both to his determination to usher humanity through the Age of Dark and his departure from solitude.
- Miquella and Eira: "Vita exolutus"/"Life unbound", referring both to their compassion for all and their resolve to respect the free will of their subjects.
- Morgott: "Radicata firmiter"/"Firmly rooted", referring both to his own and Leyndell's resilience in the face of all they've endured.
- The Way of White: "Vereor nox"/"I fear the night", referring to their wholehearted endorsement of Gwyn's Age of Fire.
Films— Animation
- The Bad Guys (2022): The titular Caper Crew share the motto "go bad or go home."
Films — Live-Action
- James Bond: It is revealed in On Her Majesty's Secret Service that the Bond family motto is "The World is Not Enough". Naturally, this means that in The World Is Not Enough a Title Drop happens.
Literature
- Discworld has a handful of examples, most of them being in Canis Latinicus:
- "Quanti Canicvla Illa In Fenestra" (How much is that doggy in the window) for the City of Ankh-Morpork
- "Fabricati Diem, Pvnc" for the Ankh-Morpork City Watch. It's officially translated as "To protect and serve" (It's actually "Make my day, punk" in Canis Latinicus), but actually used to be "Fabricati Diem, Pvncti Agvnt Celeriter" - "Make The Day, The Moments Pass Quickly" before the rest of it fell off.
- "Non Temetis Messor" (Don't fear the Reaper) for Mort, Duke of Sto Helit, Death's apprentice.
- See more examples here.
- The ducal houses in Gleams of Aeterna have their family mottoes: the Alvas (House of the Wind) have "Against the Wind"; the Epines (House of the Lightning), "Heralds Victory"; the Pridds (House of the Waves), "From the Depths"; and the Oakdells (House of the Rocks), "Firm and Unshakable".
- Harry Potter:
- Illustrations show that the Hogwarts coat of arms has the motto "Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus" (Never tickle a sleeping dragon).
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix reveals that Sirus Black's family, The House of Black, has "Toujours pur" ("Always Pure").
- Pale Lights: Each of the elite covenants of The Watch have a motto that reflects their purpose:
- The Stripes (politicians and officers): "A Duty and Privilege".
- The Militants (warriors): "Gods Bleed".
- The Navigators (explorers and mad witches wielding eldritch darkness): "Beyond the Horizon".
- The Laurels (diplomats and historians): "Weave the Strands".
- The Tinkers (engineers and weapon-builders): "A House of Steel".
- The Masks (spies, assassins, and cult-killers): "Hunt the Night".
- In the Isaac Asimov's Robot 'verse, the unofficial motto of U.S. Robots & Mechanical Men, Inc. is "No employee makes the same mistake twice. He is fired the first time."
- A Song of Ice and Fire: Each noble house has a motto.
- Stark: "Winter Is Coming"
- Targaryen: "Fire and Blood"
- Lannister "Hear Me Roar!" (their more indicative unofficial motto is "Lannisters always pay their debts")
- Tully: "Family, Duty, Honor"
- Tyrell: "Growing Strong"
- Baratheon: "Ours Is the Fury"
- Martell "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken"
- Arryn: "As High as Honor"
- Greyjoy: "We Do Not Sow"
- In Vampire Academy, for the guardians: "They come first". "They" means the Moroi, the motto translates to putting Moroi lives and needs before their own.
Live-Action TV
- Adam-12: The precinct's patrol cars bear the slogan "to protect and serve" emblazoned on the side (which is a common motto for Real Life police, as well).
- Killjoys: The entirety of the existence of the Reclamation Apprehension Coalition (the setting's Bounty Hunter guild) is predicated on one single guiding principle: "The warrant is all".
- In The Mandalorian, the Children of the Watch frequently say "This is the way" as a means of affirming their beliefs.
- The Order (2019): The Hermetic Order of the Blue Rose has the motto "Silence. Subservience. Observance."
- Mathnet: The team's motto is "To cogitate and to solve."
- Star Trek
- The Opening Narration ("...to boldly go where no one has gone before!") is part of the in-universe Starfleet Charter.
- In Star Trek: Discovery, the slogan of House T'Kuvma is "tlhIngan maH! taHjaj!" ("Remain Klingon!" or "We are Klingons! Let it remain!")
- Star Trek: Picard:
- The Qowat Milat motto is Sem n'hak kon ("Now is the only moment" note ), which is printed repeatedly along the customary belt worn by the sisterhood and Elnor.
- The motto of the planet Freecloud (which is Space Las Vegas) is "Freecloud keeps your secrets."
Professional Wrestling
- Aces and Eights: "When you ride with the Aces & Eights, you never walk alone."
- The Authority: "This is what's best for business!"
- The Beautiful People: "Cleansing the world, one ugly person at a time."
- D-Generation X: "If you're not down with D-Generation X (or the New Age Outlaws), we've got two words for ya!" "Suck It!"
- The Four Horsemen: "You don't join The Horsemen, you're chosen."
- The Hurt Business: "We hurt people."
- The Nation of Domination: "Know your role."
- nWo: "WCW Sucks!"
- The Nexus: "You're either Nexus, or you're against us!"
- Perros Del Mal: "Dios perdona, los perros no." (Translation: "God forgives, Los Perros don't.")
- S.C.U.M.: "Honor dies."
- The Shield: "Believe in the Shield."
- All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling: "Victory Through Guts!"
- All Elite Wrestling: "Where the Best Wrestle."
- CHIKARA: "There's always an alternative."
- ECW: "It's not for everyone."
- National Wrestling Alliance: "Wrestling as It's Meant to Be."
- TNA: "Cross the Line."
- And, back when WWE was stricter about calling it "sports entertainment": "We Are Wrestling."
- World Championship Wrestling: "Where the Big Boys Play."
- WWE: "The revolutionary force in sports entertainment."
- And, more recently: "Then. Now. Forever."
Tabletop Games
- In Maharlika RPG, each of the Five-Petal Gumamela Megacorporations have one.
- SD-SK: "Reach Heaven for the Lakanate."
- KLL: "God, Light, and Majesty."
- GHW-S: "Struggle together! Don’t be afraid!"
- KOMSA: "Hear the silent cry of the No Name God."
- BA: "To Bring the Horizon."
- Shadowrun: Each of the Big Ten has a corporate motto. While mostly generic corporate-speak, they also tend to give a minor insight into their priorities. For instance, Saeder-Krupp, the traditionally biggest and most powerful of the Megas, has "One Step Ahead" and very much lives up to it on most fronts.
Video Games
- ANNO: Mutationem: The maxim of The Consortium is to "classify, isolate, and contain" any sort of supernatural anomaly that emerges from Limen for research purposes.
- Assassin's Creed: The Assassins have "Nothing is true, Everything is permitted," as well as "We work in the dark to serve the light. We are Assassins." Their rivals, The Knights Templar, have "May the Father of Understanding guide us."
- Command & Conquer: Tiberium: The Brotherhood of Nod has a couple. Tiberian Dawn had the motto "Brotherhood, Unity, Peace." This seems to have been dropped from Tiberian Sun onward in favor of "Peace Through Power."
- Dynasty Warriors 7: The Shu Kingdom's motto can be summarized as Benevolence (with emphasis, as it is often spoken with much well, benevolence), i.e. value the land's people first over efficiency or profit. seen here.
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim: The Vigilant of Stendarr are a Knight Templar organization, sponsored by the church of Stendarr (who is, ironically, the setting's god of mercy) to hunt down and destroy vampires, werewolves, daedra worshipers and anyone else deemed to be violating the teachings of the Eight Divines. Their motto is "Stendarr grant you mercy, for the Vigil has none to spare."
- Granblue Fantasy: The Holy Order of Lumiel Knights has a simple one with "Forever Pure... Forever Righteous".
- Might & Magic: Heroes VI: The five factions:
- The Haven: "Born in the sacred light of Elrath, sworn to spread it all over Ashan."
- The Sanctuary: "We strive for perfection in Shalassa's worship."
- The Stronghold: "We walk our own path, alone."
- The Necropolis: "Life is change, chaos, filth and suffering. Death is peace, order, everlasting beauty."
- The Inferno: "We will burn the world to ashes and dance upon its ruins!"
- Poppy Playtime: Playtime Co.'s motto is "What's the time? Playtime!", as it's used in almost every tape instructing the player.
- Team Fortress 2: The DeGroot family motto is "in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king", a fitting creed for a centuries-old clan of Demomen whose dangerous line of work almost always leads to them blowing their eyes out by the time they turn thirty (ironically, the playable Demoman is considered a bit of a failure by his mum for not following this tradition, having only lost one of his eyes by the time he hit adulthood — and not even to an explosion).
- Planescape: Torment: All factions have their own mottos.
- Believers of the Source: "All life springs from the same divine source, ascending and descending in form as the cosmos tests it."
- Dustmen: "Everyone is dead. Purge your passions, and in so doing, ascend toward the purity of True Death."
- Revolutionary League: "Destroy the factions; they're built on lies and greed. Break them all down and rebuild with what's left; that's the way to the real truth."
- Society of Sensation: "Know the universe by experiencing it fully. The senses form the path to truth, for the multiverse doesn't exist beyond what can be sensed."
- Mercykillers: "Justice is everything. When properly applied, punishment leads to perfection."
- Xaositects: "Truth chaos is. By randomness embracing the of the multiverse, secrets its one learns."
- The Harmonium: "The ends justify the means."
- Pokémon Gold and Silver: You can find Team Rocket's motto by reading a book in their underground base. It says: "Steal Pokemon for profit. Exploit Pokemon for profit. All Pokemon exist for the glory of Team Rocket."
- Umamusume: Pretty Derby: Tracen Academy's official motto is "Eclipse first, the rest nowhere." As with so much else in Umamusume, it's a reference to real-life horse racing history. Taken in context, it basically means "leave your rivals and naysayers in the dust and build your own legacy."
- Warframe:
- The Grineer have "Glory to the Queens," referencing the Twin Queens who rule over the Grineer Empire. They are such an important part of the empire that if a "defective" clone is born without innate love of the Queens, they are not considered Grineer.
- The Corpus Fortuna debt internment colony has "We all lift together." Fans quickly adopted it, especially when helping new players. We all lift together, Tenno.
- World of Warcraft:
- The Knights of the Ebon Blade part by saying, "Suffer well."
- The Kyrian of Bastion say goodbye by saying, "Go in service."
- Xenoblade Chronicles 1: For the Ponspectors, it's "We measure! Find treasure! Ponspectors 'til we die!"
Web Animation
- Final Fantasy VII Machinabridged: The anti-Shinra resistance group, Avalanche, states "There will an avalanche of justice!"
Web Comics
- Bitmap World: The Pixels' family motto is, "Never pass up a chance to use the washroom."
- Terra Incognita (2023): First Recon, the Space Marine Unit O'Shea is enlisted in, has the motto "Celer, Silens, Mortalis," meaning "Swift, Silent, Deadly" on their badges.
Web Original
- SCP Foundation:
- For the Foundation itself: "We secure. We contain. We protect," and " "We die in the dark so you can live in the light," are both commonly used mottos.
- The ☽☽☽ Initiative signs off nearly all communications with the creed "You are watched. You are protected. You are loved."
Western Animation
- Dallas & Robo: The Space Truckers motto is "Moonshiners Don't Lose".
- In Transformers: Prime, Wheeljack reminds Bulkhead of the Wreckers' stance on calling for reinforcements. "Wreckers don't call for backup. They call for cleanup!"
Real Life
- Warships tend to have these. For example, the Aircraft Carrier USS Harry Truman has the motto "The buck stops here" (Truman's Real Life catchphrase, and with bonus pun points since "buck" can also refer to "buckshot").
- The US of A have "In God We Trust" on their money bills since 1956. More established (though never official) is E pluribus unum, Latin for "Out of many, one".
- Semper Fi are always faithful.
- The official seal of the Federal Bureau of Investigation has Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity
- The United Kingdom has:
- "Dieu et mon droit"note or "This Green and Pleasant Land" for England (and sometimes Britain in general).
- The Order Of The Garter, which has been around since 1348 and is the highest Chivalric order and the third most prestigious honournote awarded by the Crown, has the weirdly defensive-sounding "Honi soit qui mal y pense" - roughly, "Shame on whomsoever would think badly of it." It's sometimes rendered into English as "Evil to him who Evil thinks". note
- "In my defens[sic] God me defend" or "Nemo Me Impune Lacessit"note for Scotland.
- "Cymru am byth"note for Wales.
- "Quis separabit"note for Northern Ireland.
- "Dieu et mon droit"note or "This Green and Pleasant Land" for England (and sometimes Britain in general).
- Since The French Revolution, France has "Liberté, égalité, fraternité" ("Liberty, Equality, Brotherhood").
- Nazi Germany had "Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer." (One People, one Empire, one Guide/Leader).
- There are way too many real-life heraldic mottoes to list them all here.