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| 3 | %% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks! |
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| 6 | [[index]] |
| 7 | * ''BadassBoast/ASongOfIceAndFire'' |
| 8 | [[/index]] |
| 9 | ---- |
| 10 | * In ''Literature/SixteenThirtyTwo'', from a placard left by the Americans after they dealt with a few mercenaries: |
| 11 | --> This area is now under the protection of the UMWA. If you try to harm or rob anybody we will kill you. There will be no further warning. We will not negotiate. We will not arrest you. You will simply be dead. We guarantee it. Go ahead. Try us. |
| 12 | * ''{{Literature/Abominable}}'': |
| 13 | ** [[FieryRedhead Finn]] is not happy when Timothy tries to pick a fight with him. |
| 14 | --->"If I wanted you dead, you would be," Finn said quietly, "You wouldn't even slow me down. Now get out of my sight." |
| 15 | * From ''Literature/TheActsOfCaine'': |
| 16 | ** ''Heroes Die:'' |
| 17 | --->'''Caine:''' "He who lives by the sword can die by my knife." |
| 18 | ** ''Blade of Tyshalle:'' |
| 19 | --->'''Caine:''' "RuleNumberOne: You fuck with me, you die. No questions, no exceptions, no second chances." |
| 20 | --->'''Caine:''' "THEY TOLD YOU I WOULD DIE DOWN THERE! I TOLD YOU I'D BE BACK!" |
| 21 | ** ''Caine Black Knife:'' |
| 22 | --->'''Caine:''' *to a band of Black Knife [[OurOrcsAreDifferent ogrillo]] hunters, after killing one of their number in single combat* "Did anybody not UNDERSTAND what just happened here? Does anybody need it EXPLAINED? This place is MINE. You can go anywhere you want, but you can't come HERE. For you here is DEATH. Here is PAIN. He died EASY. You will die HARD. You will die SCREAMING. Your bitches will HOWL. Your pups will STARVE. I will FEED YOU YOUR FUTURE." |
| 23 | ---> Later, "I told you I'd feed you your future. Did you think I'd make you eat it raw?" |
| 24 | * A lot of characters in Literature/AmericanGods have at least one (considering what many of the characters are -- it's right there in the title -- this shouldn't be surprising). Wednesday's got a few, notably his listing of the charms he knows (and how he got them) and the scene where he follows through on a promise to tell the protagonist his name. |
| 25 | -->"I told you I would tell you my names. This is what they call me. I'm called Glad-of-War, Grim, Raider, and Third. I am One-Eyed. I am called Highest, and True-Guesser. I am Grimnir, and I am the Hooded One. I am All-Father, and I am Gondlir Wand-Bearer. I have as many names as there are winds, as many titles as there are ways to die. My ravens are Huginn and Muninn, Thought and Memory; my wolves are Freki and Geri; my horse is the gallows." |
| 26 | ** "Horus [acknowledging his identity], I am the falcon of the morning, the hawk of the afternoon. I am the sun, as you are, and I know the True Name of Ra. My mother told me [he's gone a little crazy]" |
| 27 | * In the ''Literature/BALADASymphonyOfEternity'' series, admiral Yemen's boast deserves a special mention: |
| 28 | -->"Hear me Imperials, I am Yemen. For over five decades and a hundred wars I have faced your fleets, I have fought outmanned and outgunned, and every time I have left your fleets space dust and now that I have the numbers, the only thing you can do is make peace with your Gods and pray for an eternity in hell, for it will be nothing compared to an hour against me!" |
| 29 | * ''Literature/TheBartimaeusTrilogy'': |
| 30 | ** The title character is fond of doing this, which would probably count as a subversion, or at least a humorous use of the trope, considering that Bartimaeus [[ComedicHero isn't exactly a typical]] badass. |
| 31 | ** He's actually cut off once, I forget who by... |
| 32 | ---> '''Bartimaeus:''' ... I have spoken with Solomon-- |
| 33 | ---> '''Other demon:''' Who hasn't? I mean, he got around. |
| 34 | ** And Nathaniel... well, he ''tries'', bless him, at the end of the third book. It falls flat though, as Nouda, the demon he threatens, doesn't really hear what he's saying, and only turns when Nathaniel shoots him with Gladstone's Staff. |
| 35 | ---> "I am Nathaniel! I am your master! I am your death!" |
| 36 | * ''Literature/TheBelgariad'': |
| 37 | ** Torak, the insane maimed god of the Angarak race offers up his version of events in his holy book. He begins with: |
| 38 | ---> "Hear me, ye Angaraks, for I am Torak, Lord of Lords and King of Kings. Bow before my Name and worship me with prayers and with sacrifices, for I am your God and I have dominion over all the realms of the Angaraks. And great shall be my wrath if ye displease me. I was before the world was made. I shall be after the mountains crumble into sand, the seas dwindle to stagnant pools, and the world shrivels and is no more. For I was before time and shall be after." |
| 39 | ** And then after offering a heavily slanted version of historical events, in which he portrays himself as the one sane and decent guy in the universe, the god who instigated the creation of the world, who got half his face burned off to keep humans from being killed, He finishes with |
| 40 | ---> "Hear me, ye peoples, and fear me. Bow down before me and worship me. For I am Torak, forever King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and God alone to this world which I have caused to be." |
| 41 | * ''Literature/{{Beowulf}}'' (the epic poem) contains several Badass Boasts, most prominently when the title character several times announces his will to fight Grendel, a beast with the strength of 30 men that has been attacking the Danes for [[LuckySeven seven]] years. (He later fulfills his boasts when he kills Grendel by ripping his arm off with his bare hands.) Claiming that you'll be able to perform some unlikely feat in an upcoming fight was an Anglo-Saxon warrior tradition, referred to as "beot". |
| 42 | -->"When it comes to fighting, I count myself\ |
| 43 | as dangerous any day as Grendel.\ |
| 44 | So it won't be be a cutting edge I wield\ |
| 45 | to mow him down, easily as I might.\ |
| 46 | He has no idea of the arts of war.\ |
| 47 | of shield or sword-play, although he does possess\ |
| 48 | a wild strength. No weapons, therefor\ |
| 49 | for either this night: unarmed he shall face me\ |
| 50 | if face me he dares." |
| 51 | * In ''Literature/TheBlackCompany: Shadows Linger'', the Black Company is the most elite BadassArmy in the land, who the BigBad uses to root out various rebel insurgents. After a successful (and bloody) mission, when a stunned rebel sympathizer asks who they are, Croaker simply replies: |
| 52 | -->'''Croaker:''' We're the '''Black Company'''. |
| 53 | * Creator/FredSaberhagen's ''Literature/BookOfSwords'' has a "Song of Swords", in which each of the twelve divinely forged Swords has its powers either described or alluded to. Shieldbreaker, which flawlessly defends its wielder and destroys any other weapon, even the otherwise indestructible Swords, at a touch and is only rarely ever drawn without tragic consequences, has this as its verse in the Song. |
| 54 | -->"I shatter Swords and splinter spears;\ |
| 55 | None stands to Shieldbreaker.\ |
| 56 | My point's the fount of orphan's tears,\ |
| 57 | My edge the widowmaker." |
| 58 | * In ''Literature/TheCandlemassRoad'', Dacre's motto is "I am Dacre, shift me an ye can". |
| 59 | * Creator/CSLewis's ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'' novel ''Literature/PrinceCaspian'': |
| 60 | ** Peter begins his challenge to Miraz by listing his credentials: "Peter, by the gift of Aslan, by election, by prescription, and by conquest, High King over all Kings in Narnia, Emperor of the Lone Islands and Lord of Cair Paravel, Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Lion." |
| 61 | ** To drive the point home, he does the same at the end of the message when he names his brother Edmund as his messenger: "...our well-beloved and royal brother Edmund, sometime King under us in Narnia, Duke of Lantern Waste and Count of the Western March, Knight of the Noble Order of the Table." |
| 62 | ** He has also, at this point, come out on top in a fight with a werewolf whose ''own'' BadassBoast used to provide one of the trope's past page quotes. |
| 63 | ---> '''Wer-Wolf:''' "I'm hunger. I'm thirst. Where I bite, I hold till I die, and even after death they must cut out my mouthful from my enemy's body and bury it with me. I can fast a hundred years and not die. I can lie a hundred nights on the ice and not freeze. I can drink a river of blood and not burst. Show me your enemies." |
| 64 | * In the ''Literature/ChroniclesOfThomasCovenant'', almost every line of dialogue that comes out of [[BigBad Lord Foul]] the [[GodOfEvil Despiser's]] mouth is a statement of superiority or contempt for his enemies, often taking the form of EvilGloating or a BreakingSpeech. He's also fond of Badass Boasts. From ''The Power that Preserves'': |
| 65 | --> '''Lord Foul:''' "Do not prolong this unpleasantness. You know you cannot stand against me. In my own name I am wholly your superior. And I possess the [[ArtifactOfDoom Illearth Stone]]. I can blast the moon in its course, compel the oldest dead from their deep graves, spread ruin at my whim. Without effort I can tear every fiber of your being from its moor and scatter the wreck of your soul across the heavens." |
| 66 | * [[OnlyInItForTheMoney Aldrick]] of ''Literature/CodexAlera'': |
| 67 | -->"The only man to ever beat me was Araris Valerian. You're not Araris Valerian." |
| 68 | ** Subverted in the final battle of the first book, when he says it to Fade, a seemingly harmless, mentally deficient slave. It turns out that [[spoiler:Fade ''IS'' Araris Valerian.]] |
| 69 | ** "I beat Nasuag at Ludus." This followed a list of fights and wars he'd won against impossible odds. This was the one that left the biggest impression on the listener. Ludus is like chess. Tavi is just that badass. |
| 70 | ** The mass Water-Sendings of Kalarus, the Vord Queen, and lastly Tavi. Tavi's pulled double-duty as a cover for a rescue operation. |
| 71 | * A rather odd one from ''[[Literature/CouncilWars Against the Tide]]'': |
| 72 | -->'''Herzer''': what's our motto?\ |
| 73 | '''Blood Lords''': No plan survives contact with the enemy!\ |
| 74 | '''Herzer''': and who are we?\ |
| 75 | '''Blood Lords''': THE ENEMY! |
| 76 | * ''CrossAndPoppy'': |
| 77 | ** RetiredBadass the Duke of Taunton -- late Major, the Intelligence Corps -- gets several (though he's not alone in that). Notably, |
| 78 | --->"It's a curious thing, how an evil fate seems always to pursue those who attempt mischief against anyone under my protection. I could refer you to several persons in Iraq and Afghanistan who learnt that lesson, but, as it happens, they can't pass that lesson on, because, as it happens, they all ended up quite dead." |
| 79 | ** And then there's his comment to a miscreant in a BarBrawl who's supine … with the pointy end of a chair-leg on his throat, and the Duke leaning lightly on it: |
| 80 | ---> "You haven't much brain, you know. I, personally, should be happy to demonstrate –- although you'd be in no position to profit by the experience –- by smearing it all over the walls or the floor, but that should annoy Teddy and further interrupt everyone's dinner. No, don't wriggle: if I slip and put any weight at all on this chair, well, the hyoid is a delicate bone, and the throat's a sensitive thing, and I'm the only one here capable of performing a field tracheotomy … and I'd be disinclined to bother, really. Now. ''I'' am going to let you up. ''You'' are going to move very slowly. The Chief Constable, assisted as necessary by the County Police Commissioner, is going to handle you after that. You, and that disgusting little shit there, and the contemptible waste of carbon on the floor, all three." |
| 81 | ** Followed immediately, when said miscreant calls him "you", with, "You call me 'Your Grace', God damn you." |
| 82 | * ''Literature/{{Cryptonomicon}}'': |
| 83 | ** Bobby Shaftoe: |
| 84 | --->"I've killed more Nips than seismic activity." |
| 85 | ** It runs in the family. His ancestor "Half Cocked" Jack Shaftoe uttered this [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome boast]] (combined with BringNewsBack) in ''Literature/TheBaroqueCycle'': |
| 86 | --->"In fact I have let you live, but for one purpose only: so that you can make your way to Paris and tell them the following: that the deed you are about to witness was done for a woman, whose name I will not say, for she knows who she is; and that it was done by ''[[IHaveManyNames 'Half-Cocked' Jack Shaftoe, L'Emmerdeur, the King of the Vagabonds, Ali Zaybak: Quicksilver]]''!" |
| 87 | * In ''The Dagger and the Coin'' series, Marcus Wester is prone to boasting "I've killed kings." In the second book, he qualifies this by saying "Well, just the one, but you take the point." |
| 88 | * "Literature/TheDeathOfKoscheiTheDeathless": Koschei's talking horse isn't shy about its running speed: |
| 89 | -->Koschei was out hunting; as he returned home late in the afternoon his good horse stumbled under him. ''What is the matter with you, you old nag?'' he demanded. ''What made you stumble? Have you scented some misfortune?'' The horse answered: ''Prince Ivan has come and carried off Maria Morevna.''\ |
| 90 | ''But can we overtake them?'' Koschei asked.\ |
| 91 | ''You could sow your wheat, wait for it to grow, you could harvest it and thresh it, grind it into flour, bake bread from it in five ovens, and eat the bread, and only then set out in pursuit. And even so we would overtake them,'' said the horse. |
| 92 | * In ''Literature/ADirtyJob'', a [[NeverMessWithGranny little old Chinese lady]] gives the main character a ''look'' when he snatches an eggplant away from her. Gods alone know what she was really thinking, but here's what our hero got from that look: |
| 93 | --> "O White Devil, you do not want to purloin that purple fruit, for I have four thousand years of ancestors and civilization on you; my grandparents built the railroads and dug the silver mines, and my parents survived the earthquake, the fire, and a society that outlawed even being Chinese; I am mother to a dozen, grandmother to a hundred, and great-grandmother to a legion; I have birthed babies and washed the dead; I am history and suffering and wisdom; I am a Buddha and a dragon; so get your [[PrecisionFStrike fucking]] hand off my eggplant before you lose it." |
| 94 | * ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': |
| 95 | ** From ''Hogfather'', when Susan meets the first Bogey Man: "I was the dark in the cave! I was the shadow in the trees! You've heard about the primal scream? That was... ''at me!''" |
| 96 | ** Also from ''Literature/{{Hogfather}}'': |
| 97 | --->'''Teatime''': I am no thief. But if I were, I'd be the kind that steals fire from the gods!\ |
| 98 | '''Susan''': We already have fire.\ |
| 99 | '''Teatime''': There must be an upgrade by now. |
| 100 | ** ''I can see your house from up here.'' -- Callus Tacticus |
| 101 | ** His Grace Sir Samuel Vimes, Commander of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch is MADE of this trope, but very laconic about it. From ''Literature/{{Jingo}}'': |
| 102 | ---> '''Sam Vimes''': Think of it (shipwreck) as the lesser of two evils.\ |
| 103 | '''Captain Jenkins''': What's the other one?\ |
| 104 | '''Sam Vimes''': Me. |
| 105 | ** And again, Vimes, from ''Literature/MenAtArms'': |
| 106 | ---> '''Assassin:''' Who the hell are you? |
| 107 | ---> '''Vimes:''' THE LAW, YOU SONS OF BITCHES. |
| 108 | ** From ''Literature/{{Thud}}'' |
| 109 | ---> As far as they are concerned I AM far reaching consequences! |
| 110 | ** Vimes' inner watchman also gets a couple in ''Literature/{{Thud}}'': |
| 111 | ---> "''Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?'' Who watches the watchmen? Me. I watch him. Always." |
| 112 | ---> "I am not here to keep to darkness out. I'm here to keep it in. Call me... the Guarding Dark. Imagine how powerful I must be." -- the Watchman. |
| 113 | ** He then backs it up by throwing the 10,000 year old quasi-demonic pan-dimensional ''thing'' of vengeance that's been trying to possess him out of his head, becoming the first person to survive it. |
| 114 | ** Vetinari has a subdued, but effective, one in ''Literature/UnseenAcademicals''. |
| 115 | --->'''Ridcully''': I notice you don't allow many challenges to ''your'' position, Havelock. |
| 116 | --->'''Vetinari''': Ah, but I am challenged all the time, Mustrum. It is just that they do not win. |
| 117 | ** From the national anthem of the city that gave us both Vimes and Vetinari |
| 118 | ---> [[EveryManHasHisPrice We own all your generals, touch us and you'll lose!]] |
| 119 | ** One of the gods gets one in ''Literature/TheLastHero'': |
| 120 | ---> '''The Lady''': I am the one in a million chance. |
| 121 | ---> '''Cohen''': Oh yeah? Who're the others? |
| 122 | ---> '''The Lady''': I am those also. |
| 123 | ** Possibly the greatest was forgotten by many due to it being a subversion[[note]](it was a job interview)[[/note]], but -- |
| 124 | ---> '''Death:''' '''I USHERED SOULS INTO THE NEXT WORLD. I WAS THE GRAVE OF ALL HOPE. I WAS THE ULTIMATE REALITY. I WAS THE ASSASSIN AGAINST WHOM NO LOCK WOULD HOLD.''' |
| 125 | ** Granny Weatherwax is Badass (since she bears more than a passing resemblance to Vimes, this is not surprising) and comes up with one of these. |
| 126 | --->"No." ''(steady tapping noise)'' Salzella looked around. |
| 127 | --->"No one would believe Walter Plinge. Even Walter Plinge gets confused about the things Walter Plinge sees. Even his mother was afraid he might have murdered people. People could accept just about anything of a Walter Plinge." ''(trapdoor opens beside Salzella.)'' |
| 128 | --->A pointy hat appeared slowly, followed by the rest of Granny Weatherwax, with her arms folded. She glared at Salzella as the floor clicked into place. Her foot stopped tapping on the boards. |
| 129 | --->'''Salzella''': "Well, well, Lady Esmerelda, eh?" |
| 130 | --->'''Granny''': "I'm stoppin' bein' a lady, Mr Salzella." |
| 131 | --->''(glances up at the pointy hat)'' |
| 132 | --->'''Salzella''': "So you are a witch instead?" |
| 133 | --->'''Granny''': "Yes, indeed." |
| 134 | --->'''Salzella''': "A bad witch, no doubt?" |
| 135 | --->'''Granny''': "Worse." |
| 136 | ** Granny again, in ''Literature/LordsAndLadies''. After being charged by an angry unicorn, she catches it in a snare made out of a single hair from her own head. |
| 137 | --->'''Nanny Ogg:''' "That'll never hold it."\ |
| 138 | '''Granny:''' "I could hold it with a cobweb, Gytha Ogg. With a cobweb. Now go about your business." |
| 139 | ** ''Literature/InterestingTimes'' averts this, where the tomb of the founder of the Agatean Empire says nothing about his accomplishments, but simply his name, One Sun Mirror. The reason being that it was unthinkable that anyone could be standing in that place and not know who he was. And if you ''could'' be standing in that place and not know who he was...then no boast could be worth making, because everything he had accomplished would have had to be gone. |
| 140 | * In AscendedFanfic [[Literature/DivineBloodNovels Divine Blood's]] first novel, there is this exchange: |
| 141 | --> Villain: ''"Trust me mortal, I have no weaknesses."'' |
| 142 | --> Hero: ''"I can give you some, if you want."'' |
| 143 | * Nyarlathotep's parting words to Randolph Carter in Creator/HPLovecraft's ''Literature/TheDreamQuestOfUnknownKadath'': "Hei! Aa-shanta 'nygh! You are off! Send back earth's gods to their haunts on unknown Kadath, and pray to all space that you may never meet me in my thousand other forms. Farewell, Randolph Carter, and beware; for I am Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos." |
| 144 | * Orson Gregory from ''Literature/TheDreamsideRoad'' is fond of these. |
| 145 | ** While fighting Master Nine -- an adversary with ExtraOreDinary abilities and can summon fifteen-foot-tall suits of armor -- Orson is not impressed. |
| 146 | ** Orson: “…I get into situations like this at least six times a year. There’s always a folk monster invasion or some conspiracy cult after a whatsit or some bizarre sorcerer on a rampage. This situation is tiring, but it’s nothing new. I show up. I figure it out. I stop it. And I’ve done this every other month or so for five years... [[spoiler:Tucker,]] your blob monster move is terrifying to the tourists, but to me, you’re just my January-February Bi-monthly Wacko. And I know exactly how I’m about to end this fight.” |
| 147 | * From Creator/DavidGemmell's ''Literature/{{Drenai}}'' saga: |
| 148 | ** In ''Literature/{{Legend|1984}}'', Druss announces himself to the poorly disciplined officers of the hopelessly overmatched garrison by flipping over the bar, punching a man clear across the room, and then introducing himself: |
| 149 | --->"I am Druss. Sometimes called Captain of the Axe. In Ventria they call me Druss the Sender. In Vagria I am merely the Axeman. To the Nadir I am Deathwalker. In Lentria I am the Silver Slayer. But who are you? You dung-eating lumps of offal! Who the hell are ''you''? I have a mind to set an example today. I have a mind to cut the fat from this ill-fated fortress." |
| 150 | ** From ''White Wolf'', said to a young Skilgannon by his father: |
| 151 | --->"We are what we are, my boy, and wolves is what we are." |
| 152 | * ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': |
| 153 | --> "My name is Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden. Conjure by it at your own risk." |
| 154 | ** From ''Literature/DeadBeat'': "I've got a FallenAngel tripping all over herself to give me more power. Queen Mab has asked me to take the mantle of Winter Knight twice now. I've read Kemmler's book. I know how the Darkhallow works. And I know how to turn necromancy against the Black Court. So once again, let me be perfectly clear. If anything happens to Murphy and I even ''think'' you had a hand in it, fuck right and wrong. If you touch her, I'm declaring war on you. Personally. I'm picking up every weapon I can get. And I'm using them to kill you. Horribly." He then makes the enemy he's talking to say "I understand", and then orders her to get out of his town. The best part of this boast? [[spoiler:It is taken completely seriously; the enemy in question didn't reappear until Literature/BattleGround]]. |
| 155 | ** ''Literature/SummerKnight'': Harry enters the battlefield where the entirety of the Winter and Summer Courts of the Fae are fighting, and has to charge the sections where the most magic is being thrown around. Around him, his allies and enemies let out choruses of really kickass warcries. His? "I don't believe in Faeries!" The best part? Not believing in (or knowing about) the Fae reduces their strength in the material world - meaning that Harry gave a BadassBoast that ''metaphysically weakened his enemies''. Like. A. BOSS. |
| 156 | ** Listens-To-Wind gets a nice one in ''Literature/TurnCoat'', when he tells the {{Skinwalker}} exactly what he's going to do with him. And then proves it, in spectacularly awesome fashion. |
| 157 | ---> "Don't plan to bind or banish you, [[{{Skinwalker}} old ghost.]] Just gonna kick your ass up between your ears. [[BringIt Let's go.]] |
| 158 | ** Harry may not have said it, but he realized what other people were thinking: "They were dealing with something far more dangerous than me, Harry Dresden, who's battered old Volkswagon was currently in the city impound. They were dealing with the potential dark lord nightmare warlock they'd been busy fearing since I turned sixteen. They were dealing with the wizard who had faced the Heirs of Kemmler riding a zombie dinosaur, and emerged victorious from a fight that had flattened Morgan and Captain Luccio before they had even reached it. They were dealing with the man who had dropped a challenge to the ''entire'' Senior Council, and who had then actually ''showed'', apparently willing to fight -- on the shores of an entirely too creepy island in the middle of a freshwater sea." |
| 159 | ** In ''Literature/{{Changes}}'' Harry makes a simple boast to Mab: that she is the ''least'' of the evils that are offering him the power he needs to battle the Red Court, and she needs to decide quickly whether she wants him on her team. This is ''Mab'', ''[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Queen of Air and Darkness]]'' herself. |
| 160 | *** A few chapters later, we have Murphy ([[spoiler:who has temporarily taken up the holy katana ''Fidelacchius'']]) stare down no less than fourteen PhysicalGods. What comes next was not exactly her BadassBoast, but rather [[spoiler:the Almighty {{God}} Himself or one of the Archangels]] speaking through her. Does not at all detract from the badassery. |
| 161 | ---->"False gods! Pretenders! Usurpers of truth! Destroyers of faith, of families, of lives, of children! For your crimes against the Mayans, against the peoples of the world, now will you answer! Your time has come! Face judgment Almighty!" |
| 162 | ** The entire epilogue of ''Literature/GhostStory'' involves Harry [[spoiler:discovering Mab kept him alive to serve as her Knight]], and is summed up as him telling her "Yeah, I'll work for you, but on my terms. ''Deal with it.''" |
| 163 | ** At the end of ''Literature/ColdDays'', Harry (now [[spoiler:Winter Knight]]) has threatened to kill the immortal Winter Queen Mab with a gun (ItMakesSenseInContext). She pulls the gun from him and points it his head. His response? He turns to Demonreach (a GeniusLoci of tremendous power) and tells him "If she tries anything, lock her up below." Her response (after she backs down)? "Finally! A [[spoiler:Winter Knight]] worth the trouble." |
| 164 | ** After fighting the Ghouls in the flashback in ''Literature/WhiteNight,'' he leaves one alive so it can carry his warning back to the rest of the Ghouls, that there would be no mercy for their kind from Harry. He tells it that if they ever try their gambit again, he'll kill every single ghoul that exists. |
| 165 | ** "Lasciel doesn't live here anymore." Boy was Nicodemus surprised. |
| 166 | ** "The Fallen have no power over me." This is after four consecutive books in which at least one of the Fallen, Lasciel, has been doing her best to corrupt him. |
| 167 | ** Ebenezer threatening Lara in ''Literature/TurnCoat.'' |
| 168 | ---> "Lady Raith," Ebenezar said, [[TranquilFury calmly]]. "[[PapaWolf Touch that boy again and the only things left for your kin to bury will be your five-hundred-dollar shoes]]." |
| 169 | ** Later, when he thinks that she's trying to set herself up to be with Harry alone (to kill him, as Ebenezer believes), he only needs to extend and clench a fist to lift her into the air and paralyze her. This is a man who ''dropped a Soviet satellite'' on a Red Court vampire who had threatened Harry. Harry even observes that Lara is embarrassed and enraged that not only did Ebenezer make her appear weak, but did so while proving that he could follow through on his boast in a heartbeat should he so desire. |
| 170 | ** "The end is nigh!" [[spoiler:Wizard Peabody]] |
| 171 | ** Harry thought that Lara was boasting about her seduction skills, but after getting a kiss to fuel one of his spells in a pinch, he had to admit that it wasn't boasting. Minutes later, he threatened her to destroy her if she ever tried a gambit like the one they'd just survived. He also asked for some Listerine. |
| 172 | ** A wordless one from the [[spoiler:Eldest Gruff]]: he's 5'2", stooped, and walks with the support of a staff. And yet, he has [[HeroKiller the stoles of]] ''[[HeroKiller three]]'' [[HeroKiller Senior Council members hanging from his belt]], and [[CurbStompBattle he offhandedly annihilates one of the most physically imposing Denarians]] before he even makes his actual appearance. A more fitting boast from him would be his words to said Denarian before their "battle", in which he says [[BewareTheNiceOnes "Do not mistake peaceable intention for weakness. I do not fear thee. Begone, or I will smite thee down."]] |
| 173 | ** When Harry is challenged by the Red Cap, he basically tells him to "Ask the Red Court how that turns out. Oh, wait..." |
| 174 | ** Harry's "Go ahead and eat me! And then we'll see if you've got the stomach to keep me down!" against [[spoiler:Sharkface the Outsider]] when the latter tried to prey him in his own mind. |
| 175 | ** ''Literature/SkinGame'': Possibly the most awesome in the entire series: Butters, [[spoiler:wielding ''Fidelacchius'', formerly a katana, now a Lightsaber of the Lord]] says, "Mister, where I come from, there is no try!" And, for added awesomeness, he says it to the face of Nicodemus Archleone, described by Harry himself as the most personally dangerous opponent he's ever faced. And Harry isn't a powerless 5'3'' nerdy Jewish Morgue Technician in his mid 40's. |
| 176 | ** ''Literature/BattleGround'': |
| 177 | *** Harry and Svengar the ''muspeljotun'' exchange boasts as part of a formalized duel. Harry's is quite long and impressive but Svengar's is, even according to Harry, a humblebrag that takes some beating. |
| 178 | ---->I fought the Odinson and lived. |
| 179 | *** Mab delivers a laconic but really sweet one before heading to battle in earnest. |
| 180 | ---->'''Harry:''' I know the Sidhe are dangerous, but there's not enough of them. Not for what is coming at us.\ |
| 181 | '''Mab:''' The numbers stand at one Mab to none. That advantage shall be sufficient. |
| 182 | * In ''Literature/TheFirstLaw trilogy'', both Logen and Fenris the Feared boast before fighting in a duel to death. |
| 183 | ** And then there's Whirrun of Bligh: "My fight ain't with you either, Brodd Tenways, but I'll still kill you if it's called for, and add your name to my songs, and I'll still laugh afterwards." |
| 184 | * Apparently used in all duels for leadership among the northern barbarian tribes in the ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' setting, with each combatant's herald reciting [[FamedInStory a list of his accomplishments]]. When Wulfgar challenges Heafstaag for leadership of the Tribe of Elk, his list, as a man not yet twenty compared to an experienced barbarian chieftain, is quite short, but he has a trump card that evens the scales: |
| 185 | --> "I am Wulfgar, Dragon's Bane!" |
| 186 | * In the ''Literature/{{Earthsea}}'' books, the true name of a being gives one power over that being, so literally everyone uses false names. Orm Embar is the exception. |
| 187 | * The ''Literature/GentlemanBastard'' Sequence has a few. |
| 188 | ** One of the best is from Jean Tannen while drugged to the eyeballs in the temple of the goddess of death. Keep in mind he is twelve at the time: |
| 189 | --->"I saw my parents burn to death. I saw my cats burn to death. Do you know the sound a cat makes when it burns? I watched and could do nothing. Do you know where to stab a man, to bring death now, or death in a minute, or death in an hour? I do. Lingering death? Two or three days of pain? I can give that too. Ha! Death the Transition? We're old friends!" |
| 190 | ** Then there are Locke's, when [[spoiler:Calo, Galdo, and Bug are killed and their home destroyed]]: |
| 191 | --->"I promise you a death-offering, brothers. I promise you an offering that will make the gods take notice. An offering that will make the shades of all the Dukes and Capas of Camorr feel like paupers. An offering in blood and gold and fire. This I swear by Aza Guilla who gathers us, and by Perelandro who sheltered us, and by the Crooked Warden who places his finger on the scale when our souls are weighed. This I swear to Chains, who kept us safe. I beg forgiveness that I failed to do the same." |
| 192 | ** ... and when threatening a prisoner: |
| 193 | --->"But now, now I'll be a murderer once again. I will set myself to slay until every last Grey King's man is gone. You hear me, cocksucker? I will have the Bondsmage, and I will have the Grey King, and if all the powers of Camorr and Karthain and Hell itself oppose me, it will be ''nothing'' - nothing but a longer trail of corpses between me and your master." |
| 194 | * Runya [[FieryRedhead Sulemar]] [[KnightErrant roquen]] [[http://thrythlind.deviantart.com/gallery/?56596#/d143sz7 lygiel]] from the [[Literature/{{Greenwater}} Greenwater novels]] in the prologue to the first part of the first book. |
| 195 | -->"I am Runya Sulemar. Come with me to the razor's edge. We'll choose our fates with another dance, striding the river red." |
| 196 | * ''Literature/TheHammerAndTheCross'': Ragnar Lothbrok replies to an offer of mercy if he turns Christian and repents his Viking ways to live as a slave. Doubles as DefiantToTheEnd: |
| 197 | -->I fought in the front for thirty winters, Always I struck with the sword. |
| 198 | -->Four hundred men I killed, a thousand women I ravished, many minsters I burned, many men's bairns I sold. |
| 199 | -->Many have wept for me, I never wept for them. Now I come to the orm-garth, like Gunnar the god-born. |
| 200 | -->Do your worst, let the shining worm sting me to the heart. I shall not ask for mercy. |
| 201 | -->Always I struck with the sword! |
| 202 | * ''Literature/HarryPotter'': |
| 203 | ** A variation can be found in the fourth ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire''. It's different since the one making the boast is not making it about himself. In it, [[spoiler:Imposter]] Moody is describing the [[InstantDeathBullet Instant Death]] [[strike:Bullet]] [[InstantDeathBullet Spell]] that is ''Avada Kedavra''. |
| 204 | --->'''Moody:''' Ah yes, ''Avada Kedavra''...the last and worst of the Unforgivable Curses. It's not nice...not pretty...and there is no blocking it. Only one person in all of history has ever survived it, and he's sitting right in front of me. |
| 205 | ** Arguably subverted by the fact that Harry's survival had nothing to do with his badassery (he was, after all, an infant) and everything to do with the badassery of [[MamaBear his mother]]. |
| 206 | ** Dumbledore had a few in the [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix fifth book]] when the Minster as well as a few more were talking about arresting Dumbledore. His best: |
| 207 | --->'''Dumbledore:''' Well--it's just that you seem to be laboring under the delusion that I am going to--what is the phrase? "Come quietly." I am afraid I am not going to come quietly at all, Cornelius. I have absolutely no intention of being sent to Azkaban. I could break out, of course--but what a waste of time, and frankly, I can think of a whole host of things I would rather be doing. |
| 208 | ** Harry himself in his final duel with Voldemort: "So it all comes down to this. Does the wand in your hand know its last master was disarmed? Because if it does ... I am the true master of the Elder Wand." |
| 209 | * Literature/HerculePoirot is known for boasting about his intellectual powers. In "Murder in the Mews", when Inspector Japp jokingly says he'd like to see how Poirot would go about ''comitting'' a murder, Poirot retorts that if he commited a murder, Japp would ''never'' know how he'd gone about it. While he has a sincere belief in his own abilities, he's also commented that there's a bit of ObfuscatingStupidity to it; the British assume that someone who is constantly saying how clever he is can't be that clever ''really''. |
| 210 | * The panserbjorne (armored bears), Iorek and Iofur, in ''[[Literature/HisDarkMaterials The Golden Compass[=/=]Northern Lights]]'' start their duel to the death with a ritualized series of proclamations: mostly what they'll do if they win, but also to show off their badassery to the other bears. |
| 211 | * Queen Elizabeth Winton of ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' shows why her nickname is Soul of Steel: |
| 212 | -->"I make no promises of easy triumphs, because there will be no easy triumphs. I promise you only the truth, and the truth is that the price we will ultimately pay will be even higher than the one we've already paid. That the cost of the battle which waits for us will be sacrifice, loss, backbreaking toil, blood, and grief. But I also promise you this one more thing. I promise you victory. For seventy-plus T-years, the Star Empire has lived under sentence of death, yet we're still here. And we will still be here when the smoke finally clears. However long it takes, whatever sacrifice it entails, wherever the battle takes us, and no matter what foe we may face, we will triumph, and those who have wrought such destruction and suffering upon us, who have butchered our civilians, who have attacked us from the shadows like assassins, will discover to their infinite regret that in the defense of our homes, our families, and our children, we can be just as merciless as them." |
| 213 | ** A simpler one from her own father, referencing, of all things, ''Literature/TheThreeLittlePigs'': |
| 214 | --->'''King Roger Winton:''' I will build ''my'' house of ''steel''. |
| 215 | ** A more humorous one from ''Shadow of Saganami''. |
| 216 | --->'''Abigail Hearns:''' Marines are adaptable. They improvise to overcome obstacles. Just treat it[[note]]"It" being remembering not to call Hearns "milady" while aboard a Manticoran ship[[/note]] like something minor, like storming a dug-in ceramacrete bunker with nothing but a butter knife clenched between your manly teeth. |
| 217 | --->'''[[SpaceMarine Mateo Gutierrez]]:''' Ha! What kind of wuss Marine needs a ''butter knife'' to take one miserable bunker? That's what God gave us teeth and fingernails for! |
| 218 | ** From ''Shadow of Freedom''. |
| 219 | --->'''Brigadier Yucel:''' Here's my terms. You stay the hell off this planet. You put one shuttle down here, one frigging Marine, and I start shooting prisoners. I've got over thirty thousand of them in the stadium. ... I can kill every fucking person in that stadium in five minutes flat, and if you try any shit like landing on this planet, I swear to God I will! |
| 220 | --->'''Commodore Sir Aivars Terekov:''' Why is it that people like you always think you're more ruthless than people like me?[[note]]A few seconds later, a missile ordered by Terekov takes out Yucel's headquarters.[[/note]] |
| 221 | * Many in the ''Literature/HorusHeresy'' series, [[WorldOfBadass naturally]], but one of the best belongs to Sanguinius while fighting a pair of Greater Daemons. |
| 222 | -->''"If you truly do hail from the realm men once called hell, when you return there, tell your kindred it was Sanguinius who threw you back."'' |
| 223 | * In ''Literature/TheHoundOfTheDurbervilles'', Professor Moriarty has this one. |
| 224 | --> '''Mad Carew''' You know what that would mean?\ |
| 225 | '''Moriarty:''' I know what everything would mean. It is my business. |
| 226 | * Creator/RobertEHoward's characters get some good ones, on occasion, when they're not too busy simply making good on the death threat implied by their mere presence. |
| 227 | ** From "The Hour of the Dragon", [[Literature/ConanTheBarbarian Conan]]'s response to being shanghaied onto a slave galley manned by Kushite warriors he used to lead years ago: |
| 228 | --->Conan bounded up on the bridge and stood poised above the upturned black faces, ax lifted, black mane blown in the wind.\ |
| 229 | "Who am I?" he yelled. "Look, you dogs! Look, Ajonga, Yasunga, Laranga! ''Who am I?''"\ |
| 230 | And from the waist rose a shout that swelled to a mighty roar: "Amra! It is Amra! The Lion has returned!" |
| 231 | ** King Literature/{{Kull}} has his moments. For one [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome particularly memorable example]], at the end of "By This Axe I Rule!": |
| 232 | --->"By this axe I rule! This is my sceptre! I have struggled and sweated to be the puppet king you wished me to be -- to king it your way. Now I use mine own way! If you will not fight, you shall obey! Laws that are just shall stand; laws that have outlived their times I shall shatter as I shattered that one! ''I am king!''" |
| 233 | * ''Literature/TheIliad'' |
| 234 | ** Both Diomedes and Achilles boast, "Unhappy those whose children face my might." |
| 235 | ** Zeus gets an epic one at the beginning of Book 8, daring the other gods to defy him |
| 236 | --->''Come, try me, immortals, so all of you can learn.\ |
| 237 | Hang a great golden cable down from the heavens\ |
| 238 | lay hold of it, all you gods, all goddesses too:\ |
| 239 | you can never drag me down from sky to earth,\ |
| 240 | not Zeus, the highest, mightiest king of kings,\ |
| 241 | not even if you worked yourselves to death.\ |
| 242 | But whenever I'd set my mind to drag you up,\ |
| 243 | in deadly earnest, I'd hoist you all with ease,\ |
| 244 | you and the earth, you and the sea, all together,\ |
| 245 | then loop that golden cable round a horn of Olympus,\ |
| 246 | bind it fast and leave the whole world dangling in mid-air--\ |
| 247 | that is how far I tower over the gods, I tower over men.'' |
| 248 | * In ''Literature/TheInterdependency'', at the climax of the second book, Cardenia delivers this to a group of extremely surprised conspirators who didn't expect her to have countered all their schemes so robustly: |
| 249 | -->''You have doubted me. Doubt me no longer. You have come to destroy me. I am not destroyed. You have come to burn me.'' I ''[[IAmTheNoun am the]] [[TitleDrop consuming fire.]] You will feel what it is to burn.'' |
| 250 | * In his essay "In the Land of the Euro-Weenies", P.J. O'Rourke hears one too many snide comments about the U.S. and goes off on a tear: |
| 251 | -->"We're the baddest-assed sons of bitches that ever jogged in Reeboks. We're three-quarters grizzly bear and two-thirds car wreck and descended from a stock market crash on our mother's side. You take your Germany, France, and Spain, roll them all together, and it wouldn't give us room to park our cars. We're the big boys, Jack, the original, giant, economy-sized, new and improved butt kickers of all time. When we snort coke in Houston, people lose their hats in Cap d'Antibes. And we've got an American Express card credit limit higher than your piss-ant metric numbers go..." |
| 252 | * ''Invictus'' by William Ernest Henley is ''made of'' this trope. Reproduced here for your convenience: |
| 253 | -->[[DarkestHour Out of the night that covers me,]] |
| 254 | -->[[DespairEventHorizon Black as the pit from pole to pole,]] |
| 255 | -->I thank whatever gods may be |
| 256 | -->For my unconquerable soul. |
| 257 | --> |
| 258 | -->In the fell clutch of circumstance |
| 259 | -->[[StiffUpperLip I have not winced nor cried aloud.]] |
| 260 | -->Under the bludgeonings of chance |
| 261 | -->[[{{Determinator}} My head is bloody, but unbowed.]] |
| 262 | --> |
| 263 | -->[[CrapsackWorld Beyond this place of wrath and tears]] |
| 264 | -->[[FromBadToWorse Looms but the Horror of the shade,]] |
| 265 | -->And yet the menace of the years |
| 266 | -->Finds and shall find me unafraid. |
| 267 | --> |
| 268 | -->[[MillionToOneChance It matters not how strait the gate,]] |
| 269 | -->[[BecauseDestinySaysSo How charged with punishments the scroll.]] |
| 270 | -->[[ScrewDestiny I am the master of my fate:]] |
| 271 | -->[[TheHero I am the captain of my soul.]] |
| 272 | * In Creator/RogerZelazny's ''Jack of Shadows'', the eponymous character spouts off with this (literally true) gem: "I am Jack of Shadows! Shadowjack the Thief! I was beheaded in Igles and rose again in the Dung Pits of Glyve. I duped the lord of High Dudgeon in his keep and took his prize and pride. I am the prisoner in the jewel. I am the breaker of the Compact. I drank the blood of a vampire and ate a stone. So beware, all those who love the Lord of Bats or loathe me, for I have named myself Jack of Shadows!" |
| 273 | ** In Zelazny's Amber series, main character Corwin delivers one on behalf of his older brother Benedict. |
| 274 | ---> "I fear Benedict. He is the Master of Arms for Amber. Can you conceive of a millennium? A thousand years? Several of them? Can you understand a man who, for almost every day of a lifetime like that, has spent some time dwelling with weapons, tactics, strategy? All that there is of military science thunders in his head. He has often journeyed from shadow to shadow, witnessing variation after variation on the same battle, with but slightly altered circumstances, in order to test his theories of warfare. He has commanded armies so vast that you could watch them march by day after day and see no end to the columns. Although he is inconvenienced by the loss of his arm, I would not wish to fight with him either with weapons or barehanded. It is fortunate that he has no designs upon the throne, or he would be occupying it right now. If he were, I believe that I would give up at this moment and pay him homage. I fear Benedict." |
| 275 | * From ''[[Literature/JohnCarterOfMars The Gods of Mars]]'' by Edgar Rice Burroughs. |
| 276 | --> '''John Carter:''' "I am a citizen of two worlds; Captain John Carter of Virginia, Prince of the House of Tardos Mors, Jeddak of Helium. Take this man to your goddess, as I have said, and tell her too, that as I have done to Xodar and Thurid, so also can I do to the mightiest of her Dators. With naked hands, with long-sword or with short-sword, I challenge the flower of her fighting-men to combat." |
| 277 | * In ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'', every character begins every fight with a boast like this. Typically it is a poem, each one unique and more elaborate than the last. |
| 278 | * In ''Literature/TheKaneChronicles''' ''The Red Pyramid'', Carter[[spoiler:!Horus]] delivers one against [[spoiler: Set, the Egyptian god of chaos]]. |
| 279 | --> "I am Carter Kane. Blood of the Pharaohs, Eye of Horus. And now, Set– brother, uncle, traitor– I'm going to crush you like a gnat." |
| 280 | * ''[[Literature/TheNameOfTheWind The Kingkiller Chronicle]]'': |
| 281 | ** Kvothe: |
| 282 | --->"I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep. [[DeadpanSnarker You may have heard of me]]." |
| 283 | ** Bast's threat to Chronicler is a long one, ending with the lines: |
| 284 | ---> "You are an educated man. You know there are no such things as demons. There is only my kind. You are not wise enough to fear me as I should be feared. You do not know the first note of the music that moves me." |
| 285 | * Umslopogaas, preparing for his [[YouShallNotPass last fight]] in ''[[Literature/KingSolomonsMines Allan Quatermain]]'': |
| 286 | -->"Who comes to give greeting to the Chieftainess? Who would taste her kiss, whereof the fruit is death? I, the Woodpecker, I, the Slaughterer, I the Swiftfooted! I, Umslopogaas, of the tribe of the Maquilisini, of the people of Amazulu, a captain of the regiment of the Nkomabakosi: I, Umslopogaas, the son of Indabazimbi, the son of Arpi the son of Mosilikaatze, I of the royal blood of T'Chaka, I of the King's House, I the Ringed Man, I the Induna, I call to them as a buck calls, I challenge them, I await them." |
| 287 | * UsefulNotes/TheTeutonicKnights in ''Literature/TheKnightsOfTheCross'' are trying to [[ThrowingDownTheGauntlet get king Jagiello to fight them already]], sending him two swords and [[TrashTalk an offer to give his army more space, should he need it]]. Jagiełło calmly answers that he has plenty of swords, but shall accept these. Then, having better tactics (and an army that wasn't cooking in their armour in the middle of the field all freaking day) he kicks their collective ass in the battle of Grunwald. |
| 288 | * In ''Literature/LastOfTheBreed'', Creator/LouisLAmour gives the main character, US Air Force pilot Joe Makatozi aka Joe Mack, several such opportunities. |
| 289 | ** After escaping from a Soviet military prison and while on the run from the Red Army, including scary native tracker Alekhin, he finds himself alone one night with his campfire and a spear. He [[OhCrap hears something moving]] in the darkness and [[BearsAreBadNews knows exactly what it is]]. Mack then yells, "Go away, old bear. Go home and tell your cubs that tonight you saw a [[UsefulNotes/NativeAmericans Sioux]] [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy warrior]], and that he let you live because he has killed enough for one day." The bear leaves him alone. |
| 290 | ** Another one sometime later, when Mack and Yakov steal a Red Army helicopter. When asked if he knows how to fly it, Mack dismissively answers, "I can fly anything." |
| 291 | ** The best one is [[spoiler: Mack's written message for Zamatev in the [[SequelHook very last lines]] of the final BookEnd. "This was once a custom of my people. In my lifetime I will take two. This is the first." ''It's written on Alekhin's scalp'']]. |
| 292 | * From ''Literature/TheLaundryFiles'': |
| 293 | -->'''Bob''': [[spoiler:Iris]], you've forgotten the first rule of applied demonology. |
| 294 | -->'''[[spoiler:Iris]]''': How did you know my- |
| 295 | -->'''Bob''': ''[[Main/EvilIsNotAToy Do not call up that which you cannot put down.]]'' |
| 296 | * A curious inverted example from the Literature/{{Lensman}} sequence. A hostile Lyrianian telepath has just had her mind turned inside out by Karen Kinnison, one of Civilization's few third-stage intellects outside of the Arisians. Karen's mother Clarissa, unaware of what has just transpired, describes Karen as one of the four dearest, sweetest girls you could ever hope to meet. Because Clarissa ''is'' Karen's mother, and viewed as obviously more dangerous and experienced by the Lyranians (though Karen is actually the more powerful), she's subsequently afforded a great deal more respect. Karen's boast is more to the point -- she describes what her mother would do in her shoes, none of which is pretty or even survivable, and then adds "But she's always sorry afterwards - she even insists on coming to the funerals and paying all the expenses." |
| 297 | * From Creator/RogerZelazny's ''Literature/LordOfLight'': |
| 298 | -->We are the legions of Hellwell, damned\ |
| 299 | The banished ones of fallen flame\ |
| 300 | We are the race undone by man\ |
| 301 | So man we curse-forget his name!\ |
| 302 | \ |
| 303 | This world was ours before the gods\ |
| 304 | In days before the race of men\ |
| 305 | And when the men and gods have gone\ |
| 306 | This world will then be ours again\ |
| 307 | \ |
| 308 | The mountains fall, the seas dry out\ |
| 309 | The moons will vanish from the sky\ |
| 310 | The Bridge of Gold will one day fall\ |
| 311 | And all that breathes must one day die\ |
| 312 | \ |
| 313 | But we of Hellwell will prevail\ |
| 314 | When fail the gods, when fail the men\ |
| 315 | The legions of the damned die not\ |
| 316 | We wait, we wait, to rise again! |
| 317 | ** Yama has one as well: |
| 318 | ---> '''Yama''': "Fallen or no, the real death dwells in my eyes." |
| 319 | ** Sam's from the end of Chapter 1: |
| 320 | ---> "I shall tear these stars from out the heavens," he stated, "and hurl them in the faces of the gods, if this be necessary. I shall blaspheme in every Temple throughout the land. I shall take lives as a fisherman takes fish, by the net, if this be necessary. I shall mount me again up to the Celestial City, though every step be a flame or a naked sword and the way be guarded by tigers. One day will the gods look down from Heaven and see me upon the stair, bringing them the gift they fear most. That day will the new Yuga begin. |
| 321 | ** Sam (in his role as [[IHaveManyNames Kalkin]]) has another one before a great battle later on: |
| 322 | --->"There are only demigods and men upon the field," said Death. "They are still testing our strength. There are very few who remember the full power of Kalkin." |
| 323 | --->"The ''full'' power of Kalkin?" asked Sam. "That has never been released, oh Death. Not in all the ages of the world." |
| 324 | * In ''Literature/MagicalsAnonymous'' by Kate Griffin, Rhys comes pretty close: |
| 325 | --->"I'm a druid very nearly of the first circle," he hissed. "I was almost the leader of my peers, practically the chosen one. I didn't quite summon the essence of the waterways from beneath the city streets, nearly brought forth the glory of the heavens, was almost on time for a conversation with the whispering dryads of the thousand and one lamp posts, and was only a few words away from sealing up the nether gate across the rotting railway tracks. You should maybe fear me, perhaps." |
| 326 | * ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'': |
| 327 | ** [[BigBad Yawgmoth]] in the novels gives a nice two-page-long one when he finally appears. The first paragraph where he reflects on his less powerful days gives you an idea: |
| 328 | ---> "No shadow shows itself to those eyes, for I am the city's sun and moon and morning star. I am her every lamp. Even my own shadow hides from me, turned traitor by the ache of darkness for light.\ |
| 329 | I am Yawgmoth." |
| 330 | ** Also from MTG, Toshi Umezawa of the ''hyozan'' ("iceberg") Reckoners, who promise tenfold vengeance at minimum, leaves this little note for the killers of an oath-brother. |
| 331 | --->''The iceberg travels upstream. Choking it off at its source. The river runs dry, dead and forsaken, yet the iceberg endures. The river has made a terrible mistake, and the hyozan now rises to destroy it.\ |
| 332 | We will kill you. We will burn your fields, steal your treasure, destroy your house, and enslave your children. We will murder your spouse, poison your pets, and desecrate the graves of your ancestors.\ |
| 333 | We will do all this, and the only way to avoid it is if we never find you.\ |
| 334 | We have already found you.'' |
| 335 | * High King Kallor from ''Literature/TheMalazanBookOfTheFallen'' has the best boast ever: |
| 336 | --> "I walked this land when the T'lan Imass were but children. I have commanded armies a hundred thousand strong. I have spread the fire of my wrath across entire continents, and sat alone upon tall thrones. Do you grasp the meaning of this?" |
| 337 | * ''Literature/TheMidnightMayor'' by Kate Griffin has a nice example (if somewhat spoileriffic and incomprehensible unless you've read ''A Madness of Angels'', the book it's a sequel to): |
| 338 | -->"I was the apprentice of Robert James Bakker. I'm sure you've heard of him. I am a sorcerer. I was there when Bakker died. [[PronounTrouble We]]... made it happen. I too have met death, and did not have to peel the bones away from my chest to survive the encounter. I am also, and incidentally, the Midnight Mayor, the blue electric angels, the fire in the wire, the song in the telephones, and we are having a bad week. Be smart; fear us." |
| 339 | * In ''Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy'' Vin threatens Straff Venture that if his army doesn't stop threatening the city, she will personally kill him, then kill the person who takes over, then keep going down the chain of command as the rest of the army is helpless to stop her until one of them is willing to surrender. In the end, his plan to remove her from the board fails and that's exactly what happens, with her starting the process by [[InASingleBound leaping over the city walls]] to [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe vertically bisect him]] and the horse he rode in on with one swing. |
| 340 | * [[LittleOldLadyInvestigates Jane Marple]] gets one in in ''[[Literature/MissMarple Nemesis]]'', while still being a tiny old woman wrapped in a fluffy shawl and sitting up in bed: |
| 341 | --> "One of my names," she said, "is Nemesis." |
| 342 | * Mr. Croup from ''Literature/{{Neverwhere}}'' |
| 343 | -->Unprofessional? Us? Sir. Might I with due respect remind you that Mister Vandemar and myself burned down the City of Troy? We brought the Black Plague to Flanders. We have assassinated a dozen kings, five popes, half a hundred heroes and two accredited gods. Our last commission before this was the torturing to death of an entire monastery in sixteenth century Tuscany. We are ''utterly'' professional. |
| 344 | * From Stephen Hunter's ''Night of Thunder'': |
| 345 | ** the Big Bad, a dirty cop, gives this: |
| 346 | ---> "Swagger, you are way overmatched. You have seen me draw. You know how fast I am, and how [[ImprobableAimingSkills I don‘t never miss]]. I have to leave now. If you try to stop me I will kill you. Who do you think you are?" |
| 347 | ** And then Swagger's response: |
| 348 | --->"Who do I think I am? You never got it, did you? Y'all thought [[ObfuscatingStupidity I was some old coot from out West]], no match for Grumley killers and armed robbers and crooked-as-hell detectives. I am Bob Lee Swagger, [[SergeantRock Gunnery Sergeant]], [[SemperFi USMC]], eighty-seven kills, [[ColdSniper third-ranking marine sniper]] in Vietnam. I have shot it out with Salvadorian hunter-killer units and Marisol Cubano hitmen and a Russian sniper sent halfway around the world. I even won a sword fight or two in my time. They all had one thing in common. [[MuggingTheMonster They thought they were hunting me, and I was hunting them]]. Faced many, all are sucking grass from the bitter, root end. Here‘re your choices: You can come easy or you can come dead." |
| 349 | * John Taylor of Simon R. Green's Literature/{{Nightside}} books practically uses the BadassBoast as his weapons. From the very beginning it's been more or less the case that even John himself cannot tell when he is bluffing. Needless to say, the BadassBoast isn't John's ''only'' weapon, just his ''preferred'' one. John prefers not to make the kind of mistakes you can't undo by saying you're sorry. |
| 350 | ** In ''Hex and the City'', John Taylor and a team of baddasses who are all NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast are threatened with an eternity of torture by the Lamentation, EldritchAbomination and God of the Suicides. The team dismisses the threat as follows: |
| 351 | ---> "What can you show us, you caged freak? I am [[DealWithTheDevil Sinner]], and I have known the secrets of the Pit." |
| 352 | ---> "I am Pretty Poison, a demon of the Inferno." |
| 353 | ---> "I'm Madman, and I have seen [[GoMadFromTheRevelation the Truth]]." |
| 354 | ---> "And I'm John Taylor, and you wouldn't believe the shit I've seen. So [[BringIt bring it on]]." |
| 355 | ** Taylor only has one actual superpower: He can find ''anything,'' and, if it’s close enough, draw it to him. He has a habit, when being held at gunpoint, of “finding” the bullets in his enemies’ guns and dropping them on the ground. At least once, after doing this, he says, “Now go away and stop bothering me, or I’ll show you a similar trick involving your lungs and a bunch of buckets.” |
| 356 | * Odysseus does this to Polyphemos in ''Literature/TheOdyssey''...and similar to Bilbo's example above it comes back to bite him since by revealing his true name to the blinded cyclops in the end he basically draws the wrath of the latter's father Poseidon a map. |
| 357 | * North from ''Literature/OfFearAndFaith'' gets to make one of these in the last chapter of the first set, during the climactic battle with the demon [[TheDreaded Fear]]. |
| 358 | ---> "Don’t try to intimidate ''me'', monster! I am North Avalon, beloved son and steadfast soldier of the Most High God! And I will '''not back down'''!" |
| 359 | * ''Literature/TheOneWhoEatsMonsters'': Ryn, being an unkillable monster from before the dawn of time, gets a lot of these. |
| 360 | ** When a militant terrorist group rapes and tortures a girl, Ryn comforts her after and promises to take care of them. |
| 361 | --->'''Aina:''' They will hurt you! They're monsters!\ |
| 362 | '''Ryn:''' I am the one who eats monsters. |
| 363 | ** When she promises Dust, a minor spirit, that a much larger spirit won't be a problem for him. |
| 364 | --->'''Dust:''' Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you must be too young to know. Deva can't kill asura. Unlike you, we got no bodies to kill.\ |
| 365 | '''Ryn:''' I am from the black places and the Long Ago. I can kill anything that can die, and a few things that cannot. |
| 366 | ** After Naomi is attacked, Ryn ''thinks'' one, but is too socially awkward to actually say it. |
| 367 | --->'''Ryn:''' The dark is terrible, surrounds you, and is never empty as it seems. Though monsters lurk, know this: none is hungrier than me. |
| 368 | ** When sneaking out to go dancing, Naomi wonders how they'll get past her bodyguard, Mark. |
| 369 | --->'''Naomi:''' And the armed guard? The one with the gun?\ |
| 370 | '''Ryn:''' A small gun.\ |
| 371 | '''Naomi:''' But full of bullets.\ |
| 372 | '''Ryn:''' Small bullets. |
| 373 | ** When Naomi sees Ryn's incredible athletics, she wonders if gravity even matters. |
| 374 | --->'''Ryn:''' Gravity matters. For you.\ |
| 375 | '''Naomi:''' Cocky much?\ |
| 376 | '''Ryn:''' Between gravity and me, I am the superior force. |
| 377 | ** At one point, a sharpshooter takes a shot at Ryn with a living C’thulonian weapon meant to kill gods. It doesn’t work, and this exchange follows: |
| 378 | --->'''Bystander:''' What was that?\ |
| 379 | '''Ryn:''' A dead man. |
| 380 | * Keira gets one in ''Literature/AnOutcastInAnotherWorld'' during the defense of The Village. [[spoiler:"Prepare yourself, Fallen Lord! I’ll give you a death worthy of the stories they’ll sing of me!"]] |
| 381 | ** Rob gets a much more unhinged one against the giant spider in the Dungeon. [[spoiler:“CATCH THIS, YOU EIGHT-LEGGED BITCH! YOU EXPECTED A FAIR FIGHT? FUCK THAT! EAT FIREBOMBS, YOU AFFRONT TO ALL THAT’S GOOD AND HOLY! YOU SCARED ME SO MUCH THAT I’M YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE!”]] |
| 382 | * Subverted in Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem "Literature/{{Ozymandias}}": all the remains of a statue is the legs, the head, and the inscription: "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings / Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!" The subversion comes from the fact that Ozymadius's empire is now empty desert, and his triumphant statue is nothing but a ruin. All that is left of his mighty works is a boast. Of course, given that Ozymandias is actually Rameses II, greatest of Pharaohs and the only one scholars still knew the name of until the Rosetta Stone was decoded, it's a lot more fun in hindsight. Turns out those works were a hell of a lot more expansive than was imagined. |
| 383 | * In ''Literature/ParaisoStreet'', Danny Capistrano's suicidal stare-down of the [[EldritchAbomination Stained-Glass King]], perhaps the second most powerful creature in existence, is full of these. Justified in that he's stalling for time and has accepted imminent, agonizing death. |
| 384 | ---> “You sure as hell will tarry for me, your Highness! As appointed representatives of the worlds beyond this world, we are going to parlay!” |
| 385 | ---> “Even you aren't eternal. I've seen the eternal and knelt down to it. It's empty and still contains everything there ever was. It was there before you were shaped and it'll be there forever after the dust of every world is forgotten. So, yeah, I speak for nothing. Our Father who is nowhere, cousin. And in the name of the one greater than you and the Golden and all of death itself, you will GO BACK TO THE ABYSS PREPARED FOR YOU, [[PrecisionFStrike MOTHERFUCKER]].” |
| 386 | * ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'': |
| 387 | ** ''[[Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus The Lost Hero]]'': Jason Grace and Porphyrion have a boasting contest. Porphyrion states that he will kill Zeus, marry Hera or if she didn't like that feed her to the Earth, grow invincible by the hour, and was already strong enough to reduce Jason to a greasy spot. What did Jason have to top that. |
| 388 | --->"I'm the son of Jupiter. I'm a child of Rome, consul to demi-gods, praetor of the First Legion. I slew the Trojan sea monster. I toppled the Black Throne of Kronos, and destroyed the Titan Krios with my own hands. And now I am going to destroy you, Porphyrion, and feed you to your own wolves." |
| 389 | ** Percy to Polybotes: “You. Me. To the finish.” |
| 390 | ---> '''Percy:''' Twelfth Legion FULMINATA! |
| 391 | ** Which then shot out a thousand blasts of lightning that basically annihilated the Giants entire center line due to Percy's willpower. BAD ASS. |
| 392 | * ''Literature/PeterPan'' -- "I'm youth, I'm joy. I'm a little bird that has broken out of the egg." (Note that [[MeaninglessMeaningfulWords Peter himself doesn't know what this means]]. [[RuleOfCool It just sounds cool]].) |
| 393 | * ''Literature/PleaseDontTellMyParentsImASupervillain'': |
| 394 | ** Lucyfar has one made all the more intimidating by the crown of black fire she was wearing: |
| 395 | --->"I don't know if I've mentioned this, but I am the moningstar, the fallen one, the first and most damned child of creation. Magic is the power of creation, children. It cannot harm me." |
| 396 | ** The Librarian has one when Penny asks who was winning in a fight between her and She Who Wots. |
| 397 | --->"She only knows the forbidden words. I know all the words." |
| 398 | * ''Literature/ThePowderMageTrilogy'': |
| 399 | ** ''Literature/PromiseOfBlood'': |
| 400 | *** A line so badass they put it on the cover of the book. |
| 401 | ----> '''Tamas:''' The age of kings is dead, Adamat, and I have killed it. |
| 402 | *** Near the very end of the book. |
| 403 | ----> '''Tamas:''' My son lies at death's door. My wife is long dead, and many of my friends have joined her. I have nothing left to inspire compassion in me. I will meet Ipille's forces at the Gates of Wasal. I will shove them back. I will route them into Kez and burn my way to Ipille's door. I will confront [[PhysicalGod Kresimir]] and I will teach him about justice. |
| 404 | ** ''Literature/TheAutumnRepublic'': |
| 405 | *** When Cheris is arrested for [[spoiler:trying to kill Ricard]], with plenty of incontrovertible evidence that she was behind it, she is put in the most secure prison in the world, and she gets a blase boast. [[spoiler:Turns out she's half of the god Brude, so this boast was not just her being a SmugSnake]]. |
| 406 | ---->'''Cheris:''' See you in a few weeks, Inspector. |
| 407 | *** When Taniel meets his third god and threatens to kill him. |
| 408 | ---->'''Brude:''' You cannot fight a god.\ |
| 409 | '''Taniel:''' Yes I can. Where do you think Ka-Poel got Kresimir's blood?\ |
| 410 | '''Brude:''' ''[suddenly looks worried]'' |
| 411 | *** After Brude's plan [[spoiler:to get elected First Minister of Adro fails, Cheris blows up the prison and calmly floats out]]. |
| 412 | ---->'''Brude:''' You should have taken the deal. |
| 413 | * ''Literature/ThePowerOfFive'': Two crackers from Shang Tsung: |
| 414 | --->'''Master of the Mountain:''' I do not recall how many men I have killed to be where I am now, but I would hazard a guess at 25. |
| 415 | --->'''Master of the Mountain:''' I mentioned that I had killed 25 men to attain my position. The man who asked me [if he would be willing to work for the Old Ones] was number 25. |
| 416 | * ''Literature/RavellingWrath'': After Justicar [[NoSell No Sells]] Rinn stabbing her in the face: |
| 417 | --> '''Justicar:''' ...the Stern has granted me the power to do what must be done. None of your grasping has had the slightest chance to change this. Do you imagine that you have been cheated of a victory, only for want of a more powerful weapon? The Blood God does not even comprehend what it is fighting against. A Justicar is not simply a human who will fold over when struck with a blade. Even if you find a way to pierce my defenses, even if you ''tear my heart from my chest'', the will of the Stern God will always carry me forward. |
| 418 | ::: [=Later, Yali delivers one of these back to Justicar in the climax:=] |
| 419 | --> '''Yali:''' What you will regret is trying to kill Rinn Akatura while ''I'' am here to stop you. ... Even if Rinn was what you think, you still have no hope of ending her life. The power of three Ravellers stands against you. If you continue your attack, you will die and accomplish nothing. |
| 420 | * Literature/{{RCN}}'s Commander Daniel Leary -- ironically, in a quiet conversation with a friend -- said, "Every Alliance spacer ... knows that no matter how many ships they have, they've always got to expect us to go for their throats. Deep in their hearts, they're afraid and they know we aren't. We're the RCN." |
| 421 | * Romsca's VillainSong [[spoiler:pre HeelFaceTurn]] in ''[[Literature/{{Redwall}} Pearls of Lutra]]'', in which she brags to her crew and the Monitor lizards; |
| 422 | -->"Come one, come all, I'm waitin',\ |
| 423 | "I'll flay yer carcass bare,\ |
| 424 | "So every place I go they'll say\ |
| 425 | "Ahoy, you bold corsaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiir!" |
| 426 | * ''Literature/TheReynardCycle'': |
| 427 | -->'''Reynard''': ''"You may hit me as much as you like, as long as you realize that I will one day hit you back."'' |
| 428 | -->'''Isengrim''': ''"You may try."'' |
| 429 | * Captain Amos Trask/Captain Trenchard in Creator/RaymondEFeist's ''[[Literature/TheRiftwarCycle The King's Buccaneer]]'' |
| 430 | --> "I'm Captain Trenchard! The Dagger of the Sea! I've sailed the Straits of Darkness on Midwinter's Day! My ship's the Raptor and I've taken her into the Seven Lower Hells, drunk ale with Kahooli and sailed home again! My mother was a sea dragon, my father was lightning and I dance a sailor's jig on my victim's skulls! I fought with the war god and kissed death herself. Men tremble at my shadow and women swoon at my name and no one lives who can call me liar!" |
| 431 | * from the otherwise obscure ''The Ring of the Slave Prince'' comes a great line which basically summarizes the book and have the bonus of being completely true: |
| 432 | -->“I am Tom O’Connor, Grandson of [[PirateGirl Grainne Grainne Ne Mhaille.]] I am wanted all over the Caribbean because I kill and I set fires, I free slaves and I steal horses, they have tried to [[NoOneShouldSurviveThat drown me, shoot me, stab me, hang me, I have been whipped, robbed rolled, and keelhauled.]] They have taken my [[PerpetualPoverty last penny]], my best knife and one of my fingers, but Tom O’Connor is [[MadeOfIron still standing!]]” |
| 433 | * Variants on the Myth/RobinHood story are full of these -- unsurprisingly, because it's about a bunch of romantic outcasts who pride themselves on their valiance and shooting ability. Just look at Howard Pyle's version, ''The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood:'' |
| 434 | --> '' ' ... stand thou where thou art, or else, by the bright brow of Saint Aelfrida, I will show thee right good Nottingham play with a clothyard shaft betwixt thy ribs."'' |
| 435 | --> ''"Now," quoth the stranger, "I will tan thy hide till it be as many colors as a beggar's cloak, if thou darest so much as touch a string of that same bow that thou holdest in thy hands."'' |
| 436 | --> ''"Thou pratest like an ass," said Robin, "for I could send this shaft clean through thy proud heart before a curtal friar could say grace over a roast goose at Michaelmastide."'' |
| 437 | * In William Makepeace Thackeray's novel ''Literature/{{The Rose and the Ring}}'', thirty thousand troops come to arrest Prince Giglio, the rightful king of Paflagonia. He gives a speech in blank verse about his intention to take back the throne from his usurping uncle which lasts three full days, interrupted every nine hours by him sucking on an orange, during which the troops only cheer for him because they're so impressed by his oratorical skill. When he finishes, the troops declare their loyalty to him. He follows this with a written challenge to yet another usurper, offering to duel with him with everything from fists to battleaxes, if Giglio's beloved is not released. [[spoiler:The challenge is declined, and the usurper plans to boil her alive, but she's friend with lions who carry her to safety anyway.]] |
| 438 | * In the ''Literature/{{Sandokan}}'' books, the main character has the habit of boasting he could do something apparently impossible... And then do it. Among these boasts, the most notable are his casual mention he felt capable of killing a tiger (that was when he found that 'present' for Marianna: he told it to lord Guillonk, then his host, who promptly invited him to a tiger hunt), notable because he was still recovering from being shot and nearly drowning, or his boast he alone was more than enough to thwart the pursue from a British gunship (he crippled it with a single grenade on a paddlewheel, after waiting for dawn to show the enemy crew his wife as added insult), notable not only for the fact that a single man defeated a warship but because Yanez's reaction (he was quite annoyed at Sandokan for waiting so long, giving the enemy the chance to sink them with a lucky shot) implied it's almost normal occurrence. |
| 439 | * The Scarecrow in ''[[Creator/MatthewReilly Scarecrow]]'', while handcuffed and locked into a guillotine: |
| 440 | -->Killian. I'm coming for you. |
| 441 | * ''Literature/SecondApocalypse'' includes quite a few from various characters: |
| 442 | ** [[ScreamingWarrior Cnaiür urs Skiötha]]: |
| 443 | *** "I am Cnaiür urs Skiötha, most violent of all men! I bear your fathers and brothers upon my arms!" (The Scylvendi scar their arms for each kill in battle) |
| 444 | *** "I am Cnaiur urs Skiötha, breaker-of-horses-and-men! ... None have murdered so many! None bear as many holy scars! I’m the measure of disgrace and honor. Your measure!" |
| 445 | *** "I have not the skin to bear the number I have taken. I have not the bones to carry the wickedness I have wrought. The sky gags for the bodies burned. The Hells grow fat on the back of my wrath -- my judgment!" |
| 446 | *** "I am your end. Before your eyes I will put your seed to the knife. I will quarter your carcass and feed it to the dogs. Your bones I will grind to dust and cast to the winds. I will strike down those who speak your name or the name of your fathers, until ‘Yursalka’ becomes as meaningless as infant babble. I will blot you out, hunt down your every trace! The track of your life has come to me, and it goes no further. I am your end, your utter obliteration!" |
| 447 | *** "I know nothing of your Afterlife. I know nothing of your Gods or their greed for glory. But I do know this: In days to come, widows shall curse me as they weep! Field shall go to seed! Sons and daughters shall be sold into slavery! Fathers shall die desolate, knowing that their line is extinct. This night, I shall carve my mark into the Nansurium, and thousands shall cry out for want of my mercy!" |
| 448 | *** "Demon! ''Demon!'' For a thousand years! Fucking your wives! Strangling your children! Striking down your fathers! A thousand years I have stalked you!" |
| 449 | *** "''Who? Who will murder me?''" |
| 450 | ** [[CantArgueWithElves Cet’ingira]]: "I am a warrior of ages, Anasûrimbor... ''ages''. I have dipped my ''[[ThunderboltIron nimil]]'' in a thousand hearts. I have ridden both against and for the [[EldritchAbomination No-God]] in the great wars that authored this wilderness. I have scaled the ramparts of great [[{{Mordor}} Golgotterath]], watched the hearts of High Kings break for fury." |
| 451 | ** [[EldritchAbomination Aurang]]: "We are old, Anasûrimbor, very, very old. Age is power in this world. Very many have thought to play the game you now play. We've had a thousand thousand foes through the millennia and we've made shrieking agonies of their hearths, wildernesses of their nations, mantles of their skins... All of them, Anasûrimbor, and you are no different." |
| 452 | ** [[WizardClassic Achamian]]: "I could break you, Kellhus. See you burn! Burn until your eyes burst! Dog! Treacherous dog! I’ll see you shriek until you gag on your own heart, until your limbs snap for agony! I can do it! I can burn hosts with my song! I can pack the anguish of a thousand men into your skin! With tongue and teeth, I can peel you to nothing! Grind your corpse to chalk!" |
| 453 | ** [[EvilSorcerer Meppa]]: "The Cant that murdered my family, I took as my name! And I swore I would come upon thee! Come upon thee as a flood! That I would deliver such Water! As to strike thee to ash!" |
| 454 | * [[spoiler: Yun]] in ''Literature/TheShadowOfKyoshi'' gives one that borders on BlasphemousBoast, considering the setting. And given how he may well be the most skilled [[DishingOutDirt earthbender]] in the franchise's entire history, he's not even that far off. |
| 455 | --> "The earth is ''my'' element. I just let other people borrow it sometimes." |
| 456 | * ''Literature/TheShahnameh'': is full of these. |
| 457 | ** Before their battle Kamous asks Rostam, "What is your name? Who shall weep for your headless body?!!" to which Rostam replies, "My mother named me Your Death! Fate made me the hammer that smashes your helmet(/skull)!!!" |
| 458 | ** A decidedly tragic example is when Sohrab delivers one to his opponent as he lies dying: |
| 459 | --->''Whether you become a fish in the sea,\ |
| 460 | Or fade into the darkness of night,\ |
| 461 | Or If you become a twinkle in the starry sky,\ |
| 462 | And forsake the earth all together,\ |
| 463 | My father will come seeking vengeance,\ |
| 464 | When he learns, my bed is in the ground!\ |
| 465 | Of all these warriors present,\ |
| 466 | One will bring the news to Rostam,\ |
| 467 | That ‘your son Sohrab is stricken down’\ |
| 468 | Then he will come looking for you!!!'' |
| 469 | ** When Rostam is displeased with Kay Kavus the shah, he says: "I have no need of Kay Kavus: My saddle’s my throne, my helmet’s my crown, this stout armor’s my robes of state, and my heart’s prepared for Death. Why should I fear Kavus’s rage; he’s no more to me than a fistful of dirt. My mind is weary of all this, my heart is full, and I fear no one but God himself." |
| 470 | * ''Literature/{{Shannara}}'', "The Wishsong of Shannara": "I am Garet Jax, the Weapons Master. And I have never lost a battle." |
| 471 | * ''Literature/{{Sharpe}}'' manages a good one in ''Sharpe's Rifles''. |
| 472 | -->"Father Alzaga said," Louisa astonished the room by raising her voice, and by her evident knowledge of Spanish which she had concealed till this moment, "that this night he will pray for the soul of the Tippoo Sultan, because the Tippoo Sultan slew many Englishmen." |
| 473 | -->Till now Sharpe had been embarrassed in describing his career, but the priest's scorn touched his soldier's pride. "And I killed the Tippoo Sultan." |
| 474 | -->"You did?" Father Borellas's voice was sharp with disbelief. |
| 475 | -->"In the water gate's tunnel at Seringapatam." |
| 476 | -->"He had no bodyguard?" Vivar asked. |
| 477 | -->"Six men," Sharpe said. "His picked warriors." He looked from face to face, knowing he need say no more. |
| 478 | * Literature/SolomonKane: |
| 479 | ** He may say it in a more understated manner than most boasts, but... |
| 480 | -->"It hath been my duty in times past to ease various evil men of their lives." |
| 481 | ** Kane also trots out an inversion at one point, in line with Puritan humility. |
| 482 | ---> Nay, alone I am a weak creature, having no strength or might in me; yet in times past hath God made me a great vessel of wrath and a sword of deliverance. And, I trust, shall do so again. |
| 483 | * ''Literature/{{Somewhither}}'': |
| 484 | --> '''Ilya:''' I am Ilya Muromets! Ilya the Barbarian; Ilya the Abomination. I cannot die and I am here to tear this Tower down! |
| 485 | * From Larry Correia's ''Literature/SonOfTheBlackSword'', not hours after fighting a demon and having a molten chunk of magic sword embedded in his chest, the main character sits down to 'pray': |
| 486 | -->“Forgotten, if you are real, heed these words. I did not ask you to spare my life. I do not want this. I seek no favor, blessings, or glory. I will do what I believe to be right. That is all. If that is not what you are looking for, then ignite this shard and let me die now, because I serve justice. I have given my oath to protect your prophet, so I will do so or die trying. I warn you now that if your cause is unjust, stay out of my way, because I am Ashok Vadal, and I will make sure even the gods regret crossing me.” |
| 487 | * ''Literature/StarshipsMage'': |
| 488 | ** Damien Montgomery is a small and quiet young man, but by the beginning of [[Literature/HandOfMars the second book]], only a few people in the known universe can match him for raw power. Cross the line, and he'll be [[TranquilFury quite matter-of-fact]] about your impending demise. |
| 489 | --->'''Damien:''' You do not understand. I am here to speak for Mars. I have the power to negotiate, but I no longer have the ability. Any ability I had to negotiate ended three hours and thirty-four minutes ago [when you murdered the hostages.] My terms are this: you and your men will release your remaining hostages and lay down your arms. You will face trial for murder and conspiracy to commit mass murder. In exchange, I will guarantee your lives. There will be no negotiating. [[BewareTheNiceOnes You will surrender or you will be destroyed.]] |
| 490 | ** "I speak for Mars" is, itself, a boast. A Hand of the Mage-King has the full authority of the Mage-King outside of Mars, and are thus literally the most powerful people on whatever planet they happen to be standing on at the time. They are perfectly within their rights to slaughter half a planet's population to save the other half, though of course they rarely do so. |
| 491 | --->'''Damien:''' No one on this planet really understands what it means for a Hand to go to war. |
| 492 | * From ''[[Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse Star Wars]]'': |
| 493 | ** ''Coruscant Nights book II: Street of Shadows'': |
| 494 | --->'''Aurra Sing''': Fear me, Jedi! I am Aurra Sing, Nashtah, scourge of your kind! I haunt your darkest dreams! I drink Jedi blood; I nest in their guts! Your nightmares now have a name, hierophant, and that name is Aurra Sing! |
| 495 | --->'''Jax Pavan''': [[DeadpanSnarker You'd be the bounty hunter, then.]] |
| 496 | ** A double one from ''[[Literature/XWingSeries Wedge's Gamble]]''. Flirry Vorru, Corran Horn's arch-enemy, notes that to tangle with Horn is to play with fire. [[TheSpymaster Ysanne]] [[SmugSnake Isard]] replies, "I am Iceheart. I do not burn." As it turns out, only the [[spoiler: former]] is correct. |
| 497 | ** In ''[[Literature/XWingSeries Iron Fist]]'', Lara Notsil accesses the files of a corrupt colonel running an illicit side business. She then sends the files to the proper authorities, as the anonymous slicer "White Lancer". She begins her message as follows: |
| 498 | --->''I am the unseen, the unknowable, the unstoppable.\ |
| 499 | No computer can stand before me. gates open for me. back doors are revealed to me. knowledge willingly spools itself out for my inspection. i am the jedi of the electronic world.'' |
| 500 | ** From the novelization of '' Literature/RevengeOfTheSith'' (doubling as ThreatBackfire): |
| 501 | --->'''Grievous:''' I have been trained in your Jedi arts by Lord Tyranus himself! |
| 502 | --->'''Obi-Wan:''' Do you mean Count Dooku? What a curious coincidence. I trained the man who killed him. |
| 503 | ** The final sentence of ''[[Literature/HandOfThrawn Specter of the Past]]'': Admiral Pellaeon is warned by [[NumberTwo Captain Ardiff]] that the unknown enemy who ambushed them might try again, Pellaeon looks out at the vapor cloud that used to be an enemy battlecruiser. |
| 504 | --->'''Pellaeon:''' Let him try. |
| 505 | ** From New Jedi Order: Traitor: |
| 506 | --->'''Ganner Rhysode''': This threshold is mine. I claim it for my own. Bring on your thousands, one at a time or all in a rush. I don't give a damn. [[YouShallNotPass None shall pass.]] |
| 507 | ** The Star Wars universe will ''never'' be rid of the [[ProudWarriorRace Mandalorians]], why? Well, in the words of Mandalore the Destroyer: |
| 508 | ---> ''"Here's why you can't exterminate us,'' aruetii''. We're not huddled in one place — we span the galaxy. We need no lords or leaders — so you can't destroy our command. We can live without technology — so we can fight with our bare hands. We have no species or bloodline — so we can rebuild our ranks with others who want to join us. We're more than just a people or an army, aruetii. We're a culture. We're an idea. And you can't kill ideas — but we can certainly kill you."'' |
| 509 | ** In ''Literature/StarWarsTheFallenStar'', Marchion Ro, the Eye of the Nihil, broadcasts this to the galaxy as a whole: "I do not wish to rule the galaxy. If I did, you would be under my boot even now. But I will take what I wish, when I wish it, and no one will stand in my way—Republic, Jedi, or anyone else. They ''cannot'' stand in my way. The Nihil have proven our power, and we will use that power however we choose. This galaxy—This galaxy is mine." |
| 510 | * ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'': Kaladin gets a pretty epic one near the end of ''Literature/WordsOfRadiance''. [[spoiler:"The wind is mine. The sky is mine. They have been mine since childhood. You are the trespasser here. Not me."]] |
| 511 | * The ''Literature/SwordOfTruth'': |
| 512 | ** ''Temple of the Winds'' has this example: |
| 513 | --->"You don't even have your weapon."\ |
| 514 | "I ''am'' the weapon." |
| 515 | ** "I'm the seeker." It's one of those ones that you had to be there. |
| 516 | ** Much more obviously "I'm the Bringer of Death." He scares a ''school of sorcery into silence'' by saying it. Wearing a collar that makes him unable to do magic AND allows his handler to control him with her mind. He then tells them that if they do anything that breaks his rules, he'll kill them all, personally. (Things that break his rules include abusing him, their prisoner, or the Sorceress who hunted him down ''on account of him'', teaching him slowly so as to prevent him from getting back to Kahlan, or any of a number of actually reasonable requests.) Otherwise, they'll have a pleasant and cordial relationship. The meekest of them could ''evaporate him''. |
| 517 | ** Zedd was known as the "Wind of Death". He likes to remind people. |
| 518 | ** Nicci likes to remind people that she's ''Death's Mistress''. Named by friends and foes alike. |
| 519 | * In ''Literature/TallTaleAmerica'': |
| 520 | ** Mike Fink is awfully fond of these. |
| 521 | --->"I'm King of the Keelboatmen, King of the Rivers! I'm a ring-tailed screamer from the old Mississippi! I can out-run, out-shoot, out-brag, and out-fight any man on the rivers! WHOOP! I've got the best crew and the fastest boat on all the rivers, and my muscles are as rusty as an old hinge! WHOOP! So come and see what you can do about it!" |
| 522 | ** Likewise the version of Mike Fink in ''[[Literature/TheTalesOfAlvinMaker Red Prophet]]:'' |
| 523 | --->"My name is Mike Fink, boys, and I'm the meanest lowdown son of an alligator that ever bit off the head of a buffalo! I eat growed men's ears for breakfast and bear's ears for supper, and when I'm thirsty I can drink enough to stop Niagara from falling. When I piss folks get on flatboats and float downstream for fifty mile, and when I fart the Frenchmen catch the air in bottles and sell it for perfume." |
| 524 | * Skeeter Jackson, of ''Literature/TimeScout'', finds himself fighting for his life in the Roman Arena against a favorite who's won 100+ matches. An odd thought makes him laugh, startling the Roman, so he pushes his advantage by breaking into a Mongolian war song. |
| 525 | * ''Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium'': |
| 526 | ** In Creator/JRRTolkien ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'': |
| 527 | *** Fëanor: |
| 528 | ---->'''Fëanor:''' "Then turning to the herald he cried: 'Say this to Manwë Sûlimo, High King of Arda: if Fëanor cannot overthrow Morgoth, at least he delays not to assail him, and sits not idle in grief. And it may be that Eru has set in me a fire greater than thou knowest. Such hurt at the least will I do to the Foe of the Valar that even the mighty in the Ring of Doom shall wonder to hear it. Yea, in the end they shall follow me. Farewell!'" |
| 529 | *** The [[DoomyDoomsOfDoom judgement of the Valar]] for his crimes doesn't even slow Fëanor down: |
| 530 | ---->"We have sworn, and not lightly. This oath we will keep. We are threatened with many evils, and treason not least; but one thing is not said: that we shall suffer from cowardice, from cravens or the fear of cravens. Therefore I say that we will go on, and this doom I add: the deeds that we shall do shall be the matter of song until the last days of Arda." |
| 531 | *** The Challenge of Fingolfin. |
| 532 | ---->''Come, open wide, dark king, your ghastly brazen doors! Come forth, whom earth and heaven abhors! Come forth, O monstrous craven lord, and fight with thine own hand and sword, thou wielder of hosts of banded thralls, thou tyrant leaguered with strong walls, thou foe of Gods and elvish race! I wait thee here. Come! Show thy face!'' |
| 533 | ** ''Literature/TheHobbit'': |
| 534 | *** Bilbo to Smaug: |
| 535 | ---->'''Bilbo''': "I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led. And through the air. I am he that walks unseen. I am the clue finder, the web-cutter, the stinging fly. I was chosen for the lucky number. I am he that buries his friends alive and drowns them and draws them alive again from the water. I came from the end of a bag, but no bag went over me." |
| 536 | *** And then subverted when part of his boast ("I am barrel-rider") sets Smaug off on a killing spree against an innocent town, leaving Bilbo to curse himself. ("That would have made a blind rabbit in these parts think of the lake-men!" he laments.) Granted, this also results in Smaug's ''death''. |
| 537 | *** Smaug responds with a boast so badass that it effectively shapes our cultural mindset of how ''exactly'' a fantasy dragon should act, appear, and function. |
| 538 | ---->'''Smaug''': "I kill where I wish and none dare resist. I laid low the warriors of old and their like is not in the world today. Then I was but young and tender. Now I am old and strong, strong, strong... ... My armor is like tenfold shields, my teeth are swords, my claws spears, the shock of my tail a thunderbolt, my wings a hurricane, and my breath death!" |
| 539 | *** And, spoken by Bard the Bowman, right before he fires the shot that ''slays'' Smaug: |
| 540 | ---->'''Bard:''' Arrow! Black arrow! I have saved you to the last. You have never failed me and always I have recovered you. I had you from my father and he from of old. If ever you came from the forges of the true king under the Mountain, go now and speed well!” |
| 541 | ** ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' has a multitude. |
| 542 | *** Galadriel in ''Fellowship of the Ring:'' |
| 543 | ---->'''Galadriel:''' "And now at last it comes. You will give me the Ring freely! In place of the Dark Lord you will set up a Queen. And I shall not be dark, but beautiful and terrible as the Morning and the Night! Fair as the Sea and the Sun and the Snow upon the Mountain! Dreadful as the Storm and the Lightning! Stronger than the foundations of the earth. All shall love me and despair!" |
| 544 | *** Gandalf in ''Fellowship of the Ring:'' |
| 545 | ----> '''Gandalf:''' "[[YouShallNotPass You cannot pass.]] I am a servant of [[BigGood the Secret Fire]], wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn. Go back to the Shadow! You cannot pass." |
| 546 | *** Aragorn in ''The Fellowship of the Ring:'' |
| 547 | ---->'''Aragorn:''' "I am Aragorn son of Arathorn, and if by life or death I can save you, I will." |
| 548 | *** Aragorn in ''The Two Towers'' has been chasing a band of Orcs who've taken Merry and Pippin all through the Wold and he is in no mood to be obstructed. |
| 549 | ----> '''Aragorn:''' "I am Aragorn son of Arathorn, and am called Elessar the Elfstone, Dunadain. The heir of Isildur Elendil's son of Gondor. Here is the Sword that was Broken and is forged again! Will you aid me, or thwart me? Choose swiftly!" |
| 550 | *** The Uruk-hai at the storming of Helm's Deep in ''The Two Towers:'' |
| 551 | ----> '''Saruman's Host:''' "What of the dawn?... We are the Uruk-Hai: [[ImplacableMan we do not stop]] the fight for night or day, for [[CueTheSun fair weather]] or [[BattleInTheRain for storm]]. [[BloodKnight We come to kill]], by sun or moon. What of the dawn?" |
| 552 | *** To which Aragorn responds with another: |
| 553 | ----> '''Aragorn:''' "No enemy has yet taken the Hornburg. Depart, or not one of you will be spared. Not one will be left alive to [[BringNewsBack take back]] [[BearerOfBadNews tidings to the North]]. You do not know your peril." |
| 554 | *** Éowyn in ''Return of the King:'' |
| 555 | ----> '''Éowyn:''' "[[NoManOfWomanBorn But no living man am I!]] You look upon a woman. Éowyn am I, Éomund's daughter. You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him." |
| 556 | *** Faramir supplies one ''for'' Aragorn in ''Return of the King.'' |
| 557 | ----> '''Faramir:''' "Here is Aragorn son of Arathorn, chieftain of the Dúnedain of Arnor, Captain of the Host of the West, bearer of the Star of the North, wielder of the Sword Reforged, victorious in battle, whose hands bring healing, the Elfstone, Elessar of the line of Valandil, Isildur's son, Elendil's son of Númenor." |
| 558 | * ''Literature/TreasureIsland'': |
| 559 | ** Long John Silver sways one of the honest sailors into joining the rebellion with one. |
| 560 | ---> '''Silver:''' There was some that was feared of [[AxCrazy Pew]], and some that was feared of [[TheDreaded Flint]]; but Flint his own self was feared of ''me.'' Feared he was, and proud. |
| 561 | ** Silver is so badass he even gets boasts by proxy. |
| 562 | ---> '''Israel Hands:''' A lion's nothing alongside of Long John! I seen him grapple four and knock their heads together--him unarmed. |
| 563 | ** Jim Hawkins, caught by the pirates and facing death, delivers one. |
| 564 | --->"Let the worst come to the worst, it's little I care. I've seen too many die since I fell in with you. But there's a thing or two I have to tell you," I said, and by this time I was quite excited; "and the first is this: here you are, in a bad way--ship lost, treasure lost, men lost, your whole business gone to wreck; and if you want to know who did it--it was I! I was in the apple barrel the night we sighted land, and I heard you, John, and you, Dick Johnson, and Hands, who is now at the bottom of the sea, and told every word you said before the hour was out. And as for the schooner, it was I who cut her cable, and it was I that killed the men you had aboard of her, and it was I who brought her where you'll never see her more, not one of you. The laugh's on my side; I've had the top of this business from the first; I no more fear you than I fear a fly." |
| 565 | * In Väinö Linna's war novel ''Literature/TheUnknownSoldier'', Lieutenant Koskela, who usually behaves in a very correct and prudent way, yells while drunk: ''Koskela Suomesta! Syö rautaa ja paskantaa kettinkiä!" (Koskela from Finland! Eats iron and shits out chain!) |
| 566 | * The [[TheMessiah Comet King]] in ''Literature/{{Unsong}}'' delivers one to the local version of {{Satan}}. Made all the more impressive because it's being said in TCK's DarkestHour, when it seems the most unlikely that he will ever be able to make good on it. |
| 567 | -->'''Comet King:''' As God is my witness, the next time we meet face to face I will speak a Name, and you and everything you have created will be excised from the universe forever, and if you say even a single unnecessary word right now ''I will make it hurt.'' |
| 568 | -->'''Thamiel:''' You can't harm me. [[AsLongAsThereIsEvil I am a facet of God.]] |
| 569 | -->'''Comet King:''' I will recarve God without that facet. |
| 570 | * ''Literature/VirgilColeEverettHitch'': Cole is honest about how good he is: |
| 571 | ** A shooting competition against TheGunfighterWannabe leads to this exchange: |
| 572 | --->When it was over, the former deputy from Lincoln County walked over to Virgil. |
| 573 | --->"That's the best shooting I ever seen," he said. |
| 574 | --->Virgil nodded and smiled at him. |
| 575 | --->"Yeah," he said. "I know." |
| 576 | ** When Mary Beth expresses concern that the man who kidnapped and raped her and her daughter will come back to take her again: |
| 577 | --->“We’ll kill him, too,” Virgil said. |
| 578 | --->“You don’t know what he’s like,” Mary Beth said. |
| 579 | --->“No,” Virgil said. |
| 580 | --->He smiled at her. |
| 581 | --->“But I know what I’m like,” Virgil said. |
| 582 | * In Matt Farrer's TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} short story "After Desh'ea" (in the Literature/HorusHeresy ''Tales of Heresy''), when Angron comes out of the room with Kharn, Kharn reels off a Badass Boast of Angron's exploits and tells the War Hounds to salute him. |
| 583 | * In ''Literature/TheWarlordChronicles'', these are issued as a matter of routine before [[CombatByChampion single combats]]. For instance: |
| 584 | ** Liofa to Derfel, in a matter-of-fact tone: "I have killed forty-eight men in single combat, and lost count of the ones who have fallen to me in battle. In all those fights, I have not once taken a scar. You may yield to me now if you want your death to be swift." |
| 585 | ** And then, later, Derfel himself: "My name is Derfel, son of Aelle, King of the Aenglish. And I am the man who put the scar on Liofa’s cheek." |
| 586 | * In the ''Literature/WarriorCats'' book ''Riverstar's Home'', Riverstar gives one to spook the BigBad Slash: |
| 587 | -->'''Slash:''' "This is absurd! You're not ''special.'' You're just a mountain cat who's learned a few tricks." |
| 588 | -->'''Riverstar:''' "I'm not a mountain cat. I never was. I'm not like them. I'm not like you. I'm like nothing you've seen before. I'm a ''water rat'', remember? A cat who can ride rivers. I can come back to life when I'm dead. I live where and when I choose. Even the mountain cats couldn't drive me out. Who are ''you?''" |
| 589 | * Of course ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' has a number of examples. To kick it off: "I am the Dragon Reborn." The Dragon is prophesied to [[DestructiveSaviour break the world and save the world]], [[BlessedWithSuck to bleed so it may live and fight the Shadow for all time]], and is a [[CursedWithAwesome Male Channeler]]. The last Dragon locked ''Satan'' in the underworld, killed thousands if not millions of enemies personally, and when the Dark One's final counterstroke drove him mad, he ''killed his entire family of powerful Channllers'', earning the title Kinslayer. In one last, crushing moment of sanity, he realized what he'd done, and ''erupted a volcano ten times larger than the tallest mountain out of nowhere as his funeral pyre''. His armies' last acts of madness cataclysmically destroyed the world, bringing it from a 20th-century technological analog to a society that was barely back up to the level of the renaissance, with magic, three thousand years later. ''' '' HE. HAS. RETURNED.''' '' |
| 590 | -->'''Rand:''' Do you believe that I could kill you? Right here, right now, without using a sword or the Power? Do you believe that if I simply willed it, the Pattern would bend around me and stop your heart? By... coincidence? |
| 591 | ** More than one of course. Rand's rather gentle reminder of his status to Cadsuane: |
| 592 | --->'''Rand''': ''"I show you respect. Perhaps it would be appropriate for you to return it. If you wish, you may call me Rand Sedai. I am, so far as I know, the only male Aes Sedai still alive who was properly raised but who never turned to the Shadow."'' |
| 593 | ** Not just Rand |
| 594 | --->'''Lan''' "I am al'Lan Mandragoran, Lord of the Seven Towers, Defender of the Wall of First Fires, Bearer of the Sword of the Thousand Lakes! I was once named Aan'allein, but I reject that title, for I am alone no more. Fear me, Shadow! Fear me and know. I have returned for what is mine. I may be a king without a land. But I am still a king!" |
| 595 | ** The Aiel get one too: |
| 596 | --->Till shade is gone, till water is gone; |
| 597 | --->Into the Shadow with teeth bared; |
| 598 | --->Screaming defiance with the last breath; |
| 599 | --->To spit in Sightblinder's eye on the last day. |
| 600 | ** And in the last book, Demandred (the Shadow's commanding general and a man only ''slightly'' less of a badass than the original Dragon, who feels that he could and ''should'' have been the Dragon himself) gets a great one that goes on for several paragraphs: |
| 601 | --->'''Demandred''' "You are to deliver a message for me, Aes Sedai, to Lews Therin. The one who calls himself the Dragon Reborn. Tell him that I have come to slay him, and in so doing, I will claim the world. I will take what originally should have been mine. Tell him that. Tell him you have seen me, and describe me to him. He will know me. |
| 602 | --->"Just as the people here awaited him with prophecy, just as they showered him with glory, the people of [[TheEmpire my land]] awaited me. I have fulfilled their prophecies. He is false, and I am true. Tell him I will finally have satisfaction. He is to come, so that we may face one another. If he does not, I will slaughter and destroy. I will seize his people. I will enslave his children. I will take his women for my own. One by one I will break, destroy, or dominate everything that he has loved. The only way for him to avoid this is for him to come and face me. |
| 603 | --->"Tell him this, little Aes Sedai. Tell him that an old friend awaits. I am [[DarkMessiah Bao the Wyld]]. He Who Is Owned Only By The Land. [[HeroKiller The dragonslayer]]." |
| 604 | * In ''Literature/TheWitcher'' saga, we get these in ''Literature/LadyOfTheLake'': |
| 605 | ** This gem by Vilgefortz: |
| 606 | ---> You have a tendency to piss against the wind. Know, that here, [...] you have pissed against a hurricane. |
| 607 | ** Another one [[spoiler:from Regis]], who at this point had to assure Geralt that no, actually he didn't mean it literally: |
| 608 | ---> I feel so much power within me, I could blast this whole castle to pieces! |
| 609 | ** Geralt himself has, curiously, a nonverbal equivalent of a boast when he unshackles Yennefer (who has a collar on her neck) [[LudicrousMeleeAccuracy with a single sword-strike]]. |
| 610 | * In Creator/VernorVinge's ''Literature/TheWitling'', when Guildsman Lan offers the Guild's support to County Tsarang in fighting a war, he says simply, "The last country that opposed the Guild no longer exists." |
| 611 | * In ''Literature/{{Worm}}'', [[FlyingBrick Alexandria]] has an excellent one at the beginning of [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/05/11/cell-22-4/ Cell 22.4]] and spends the entire first half of the chapter proving it. |
| 612 | --> '''Alexandria''': Threats is the wrong word. But English is a limited language in some ways. There’s really no word to articulate what I mean. A threat with a measure of inevitability to it. A promise? Too feeble. People break promises too often. A curse? A malediction? Too… magical. An oath? The connotations are wrong. When I say I’ll do something, I make it happen. |
| 613 | ** Of course, [[spoiler: it's kind of [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] when Taylor gets mad and [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu kills Alexandria shortly thereafter]]]]. |
| 614 | * ''Literature/YoungWizards'': Roshaun attempts this a few times in Wizard's Holiday... and actually succeeds in Wizards At War. (He really came into his element then.) "So stand by, lackey..." |
| 615 | ** One that's actually become ''traditional'', spoken by wizards whenever they encounter the Lone Power--who, by the way, was the inspiration for '''Satan.''' As Nita explains, just because you're about to throw down doesn't mean you can't be polite. |
| 616 | -->"Fairest and Fallen. Greeting and defiance." |
| 617 |
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