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Fictional Greetings and Farewells

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Sometimes a simple "hello" and "goodbye" is not interesting enough for a work. Characters in this work will use a different type of greeting or farewell than is used in real life languages. This is often used for works set in fictional cultures, such as fantasy works.

Compare to Fantastic Honorifics and Strange Salute. Often overlaps with Hold Your Hippogriffs. See also the Extended Greetings trope.


Examples:

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    Anime and Manga 
  • Dr. Slump: Arale uses "n'cha" for hello and "bye'cha" for goodbye.

    Film — Live Action 
  • Avatar: The Na'vi greeting roughly translates as "I see you"; the subtext is more akin to 'my soul recognizes your soul', looking past the readily apparent into a deeper truth.
  • Demolition Man: "Be well", instead of "Hello". John Spartan, utterly fed up with the shiny, fake new world he found himself in, once responded to such a greeting with, "Be Fucked".
  • In Scary Movie 3, the aliens that descend on the Logan's farm grab Simon, President Harris and his bodyguard using a choke hold from behind. They reveal that on their planet, it's the traditional way to say hello. When Simon asks how they say goodbye, one of the aliens delivers a kick to the crotch — "I had to ask," groans Simon. At the end, when the girl from the cursed tape gets sealed in a well, the aliens thank Simon and Cindy for defeating her. Simon says goodbye, and before he has time to realize why he'll regret that, he gets another kick to the crotch.

    Franchises 
  • In The Dark Tower, a common greeting in Mid-World is "Long days and pleasant nights". The customary reply to this greeting is "And may you have twice the number."
  • Star Wars has the iconic "May the Force be with you". The Force is the series' resident representation of energy and where the Jedi draw their powers from. As of The Mandalorian, it's now established in canon that the traditional response to this is the fanon-originating "And also with you."note 
  • The Transformers franchise has the Universal Greeting, "Bah-weep-Graaaaagnah wheep ni ni bong", which is understood by nearly every sentient species and intended for overcoming language barriers. It can be roughly translated in a number of ways, including "Hello, we come in peace", "Take me to your leader", "Care to dance?" or "Do you hate dirtwad Decepticons as much as we do?"

    Literature 
  • Dinotopia: "Breathe deep, seek peace" and the Skybax rider version. "Fly high, seek peace".
  • In Divergent, some of the factions have their own greetings according to their values:
    • Amity members say "Go with happiness" during food distribution times, since their faction embodies peace, harmony and love.
    • Candor members are shown wishing "May the truth set you free", to people in a trial, who take a serum that makes them admit the truth against their will. Once the trial is done, the customary valediction is "Thank you for your candor", since the accused ends up very distraught.
  • Bogeys from Fungus the Bogeyman say "Boibye" instead of goodbye, which is short for "boils be with you".
  • The Handmaid's Tale has women greet each other with a fertility blessing: one saying "Blessed be the fruit", and the other replying "May the Lord open".
  • The Hunger Games: The eponymous Hunger Games typically open with "May the odds be ever in your favor." This is a wish for luck to the child contestants who will be attempting to kill each other soon. It is also rather ironic, since the games have a lot of staged elements and the odds are often...manipulated.
  • The Lord of the Rings: In Black Speech, the usual orc greeting goes something like "Someday I will kill you." "But not today."
  • In Tailchaser's Song, cats say "Good dancing" (or "Nre'fa-o" in Conlang) for both "hello" and "goodbye".
  • The Underland Chronicles, a series that Suzanne Collins wrote before The Hunger Games, has its own such farewells among Underland's creatures. Humans and bats say "fly you high", while rats say "run like the river".
  • In Warrior Cats, an occasional Clan greeting - the equivalent of "How's it going?" - is "How's the prey running?". The usual farewell is "May StarClan light your path."
  • Young Wizards:
    • If a wizard is on a mission and operating in a place with where the Masquerade can be ignored then he or she will greet others with "I am on errantry, and I greet you!".
    • If a wizard is unlucky enough to meet the Big Bad in person, the greeting goes "Fairest and fallen, greetings and defiance!"

    Live-Action TV 
  • In Babylon 5, the Psi Corps use the same phrase and "OK" gesture as in The Prisoner (1967).
  • In the Blackadder special "Blackadder's Christmas Carol", a series of fictional greetings are exchanged between Grand Admiral Blackadder and Queen Asphyxia's triple-husbandoid:
    Frondo: To you, Blackadder — thrice-endowed Supreme Donkey of the Trouserpod — this much greeting. [he raises a hand up to his forehead and lowers it with two and a half vertical waves]
    Pigmot: I, too, bold navigator [he gives four vertical waves], cringe my dribblies at your resplendent pofflesnu!
    Blackadder: Yes, well, that won't be necessary, thank you.
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Elrond teaches Prince Durin and Disa that Elves do not say "Goodbye" when they part with someone, but "Namárië", which he translates as "go towards goodness". Many fans pointed out that this is an erroneous translation for "Namárië", as it means simply "be well" or "farewell". Possibly the writers confused "Namárië" with "Márienna", which does mean "towards happiness/goodness".
  • In Mork & Mindy, Mork belongs to an alien species called Orkans, who say, "Nanu nanu" instead of "hello" or "goodbye".
  • The Prisoner (1967): The Village inhabitants use "Be seeing you" (accompanied by a characteristic hand gesture) rather than "goodbye". In one episode, two of the bad guys say goodbye to each other with "Au Revior" and "Auf Weidersehen", French and German approximate translations of "Be Seeing You".
  • Stargate SG-1: Tek'ma'te is a greeting used by the Jaffa, said upon meeting each other.
  • Star Trek:
    • The Vulcans give the Vulcan hand gesture along with saying "Live long and prosper" and "Peace and long life", derived from Jewish religious tradition.
    • The Klingons may say "Qapla'," which translates to 'success' or 'victory'. (According to The Klingon Dictionary, a more informal greeting is "nuqneH", which literally translates to 'What do you want?')
    • The Romulan equivalent is "jolan tru" — an exact translation hasn't been given, but it's used for both "hello" and "goodbye."
    • Zigzagged for the phrases "Walk with the prophets" and "May the prophets guide you" said by the Bajorans, which are sometimes said to say goodbye, but other times have a different meaning.

    Tabletop Games 
  • Forgotten Realms:
    • In the 1st Edition AD&D boxed set:
      • People meeting each other for the first time often say "Well met". People who already know each other may say "Well again", or just "Again" if they want to be rude/sarcastic/curt (i.e. "You again!").
      • People of the Inner Sea lands will greet others with the term "Olore'".
    • In the 2nd Edition AD&D Polyhedron magazine #74 article "The Everwinking Eye":
      • Alae: A greeting used by "travelers in the southern and eastern coastlands around The Sea of Fallen Stars."
      • Durgos: A word of greeting and parting used "by mongrelmen and some human slavers."
      • Durgreos: A word of greeting and farewell used by orcs in the North.
      • Hykyath: A word of parting spoken by satyrs.
      • Lammath Drios: A word of farewell used in and near the country of Essembra.
      • Rhambukkya: A word of greeting and farewell used by the nomads of Shaar.
      • Sabbas: A word of farewell used by centaurs.
      • Stettar Voh: A word of greeting and parting used by Shining South merchants.
      • Tantam: Merchants in the North use this as a greeting.
      • Uluvathae: A friendly, informal greeting used by elves and half-elves.
      • Vlandranna: A word of greeting and parting used by all trading races around the Sea of Fallen Stars.

    Video Games 
  • Beneath a Steel Sky likes the phrase "Stay vigilant".
  • The Elder Scrolls:
    • The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion:
      • Members of the Thieves' Guild will always wave goodbye by whispering "Shadow hide you". This is a reference to their protector, Nocturnal, Daedric Prince of darkness and shadows.
      • "Sithis be with you" or "May the Night Mother wrap you in her cold, loving embrace" are customary farewells in the Dark Brotherhood. Unlike Nocturnal (who, as a Daedric Prince, has believers outside the Thieves' Guild) Sithis and the Night Mother are names you will find worshipped only within the guild of assassins.
    • The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim:
      • Dragons greet each other by shouting "Yol", which means 'fire'. Since Shouts are magic, this means they're literally breathing fire at each other every time they say hello.
      • They also say "drem yol lok", literally meaing "peace fire sky" — used as a more formal greeting, and also one that explicitly conveys the dragon does not want to fight. "Hello, I come in peace." Simply saying "yol" meanwhile may indicate the exact opposite, reflected in how it produces fire.
  • In Ensemble Stars!, Leo has a personal greeting that only he uses: 'uchuu'. It literally means 'space', but also sounds similar to the Japanese onomatopoeia for kissing, 'chu'.
  • Kirby Star Allies: The Jambastion Mages, who come from another planet, has a whole language form that they use, including "Bonjam" for meetings and "Jam-buhbye" for farewells.
  • The main cast of Paradise Killer bid each other farewell in a way that references their birthsigns, which are connected to their otherworldly gods. For example, protagonist Lady Love Dies was born under "Kiss Me To The Moon", and everyone always ends conversations with her by saying "And may you reach the moon."
  • Pokémon Sun and Moon, taking place in the Hawaii-inspired Alola region, has the locals greeting with "Alola", inspired by the "aloha" greeting of the actual Hawaii. Sometimes the greeting is accompanied by a half-oval gesture with the hands and arms that evokes a rainbow.
  • The Sims and the Simlish language has "sul sul" and "dag dag" as greetings.
  • Tales of Innocence: The leaders of Arca always conclude their nefarious meetings with "Seek utopia". This is a reminder of the crux of their goal, since they're trying to restore the church's power by using The Power of Creation to their own ends.

    Western Animation 
  • In Doug, the traditional greeting from Yakistonia is to say "zwooba" three times while simultaneously making a farting noise with your armpit.
  • The Simpsons: In "Bart to the Future", the phrase "Smell you later" has replaced "Goodbye" in the future, to the point that a sentence like "Smell you later forever" actually makes sense.

    Other 
  • In the Ocean Empire of Empires SMP Season 1, "Ocean's blessings" is used as both a greeting and a farewell.
  • At Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, the local greetings on Batuu are "Bright suns" in the morning and "Rising moons" in the evening.

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