the empire of gold ( the daevabad trilogy book 3 ) part 2 - s. a. chakraborty
change tenses/pronouns as needed !! some lines have been edited for clarity / length / ease of roleplaying / part one found here.
tw ; death , war , violence
‘you are an exceedingly frustrating person to talk to.’
‘she scared me, and I am not a woman who frightens easily.’
‘it’s supposed to be the mark of a wise leader, right? the willingness to make sacrifices for a greater good? but nobody ever asks those ‘sacrifices’ if they’re willing— they get no say in whether or not their kids die for some supposed greater good.’
‘we die, and we bleed, and it’s a debt that the powerful never repay. I don’t want to be part of that.’
‘I have made my loyalty clear.’
‘I find I can get a more accurate measure of a man when he’s not aware he’s being appraised.’
‘you have a very long way to go to earn my trust.’
‘i’m not tossing away (name’s) legacy. i’m completing it.’
‘it feels like you’re keeping all these secrets, like you still don’t trust me.’
‘oh, (name). what have you done?’
‘you court death with far too much persistence.’
‘I do not wish to leave. I am very content here with you.’
‘I want you dead and I want your city destroyed.’
‘the ___ do not deserve your loyalty. no one in the world does.’
‘they are poisoned. they are infected. and you are the disease.’
‘I need to go. there is no other way.’
‘I won’t lose you. not again.’
‘you and I are not the worst of our ancestors. they don’t own us. they don’t own our heritage.’
‘it’s a shame you hate politics. you’d be a very good queen.’
‘do you want me to stop?’
‘it’s like you’re in a competition with yourself over picking the worst time to say something.’
‘look me in the eye and tell me the truth. you promised no more lies.’
‘if saving ___ had meant likely killing me, would you have done it?’
‘so you plan to mock me as I bleed to death? that sounds like terrible bedside manner.’
‘don’t be stupid or reckless or proud. give her what she wants and come back to me.’
‘promise me. promise me you’ll come back.’
‘i’m not here to stop you. everything in my blood screams at me to, but I know I can’t.’
‘there is nothing I wouldn’t give for you.’
‘I am so sorry for the words I spoke before, but I won’t burden you with my regrets or my grief.’
‘I was starting to believe in you, in all these things you’ve been saying about a new ___ and equality for my people.’
‘you made me think it might be possible. that if I ever went home, it’d be as some kind of hero, and maybe all the other things I’ve done wouldn’t matter.’
‘i’m helping you. the right fucking thing to do and all that.’
‘there’s no helping me. i’m not getting out of this. all you’ll do is get yourself killed.’
‘I didn’t ask your permission. and I’m not doing this for you.’
‘(name) said you were coming in peace. the face you are making does not indicate peace.’
‘do you not understand? you have lost. save yourself and what is left of your people before their blood is on your hands.’
‘you’ve gone too far, and I’m trying to bring you back!’
‘you keep doing that. making that face like I’m an enemy you have to guard yourself against. i’m not.’
‘you’re not the only one whose had to pretend to be different. whose had to smile politely when people with power insult the parts of you that you never get to wear openly.’
‘I wish you had trusted me. but more than that, I wish I had behaved in a way that would have encouraged you to trust me.’
‘do you have to do that? sound all reasonable and kind?’
‘I have a lot of experience in loving frustrating people.’
‘if you make me cry, I’m going to stab you.’
‘we need to be able to trust each other if we’re going to fight back.’
‘it was the worst thing I’ve ever done in my life, and I didn’t blink an eye.’
‘I know how hard it is to think clearly when someone you love is in danger.’
‘I feared even thinking about the things that would make me happy would destroy them. and it does.’
‘we do not interfere. we seek to avert the greatest harm, to listen to the warnings of the heavens when it’s laws are about to be broken.’
‘you said your people had a proposal for me. so why don’t you state it? clearly, if that’s even possible for you.’
‘let’s not pretend you care about justice when it comes to the internecine squabbles of my people.’
‘please understand. i’ve lost everyone I’ve dared to love. I can’t lose you. not you.’
‘you’re not alone anymore. you don’t have to do this all by yourself!’
‘we can do this together. I don’t need you to save me!’
‘I am not a good man. I am a weapon.’
‘was any of it ever real between us?’
‘I hate you. I hate that I ever had feelings for you.’
‘I offered you mercy once, and you threw it in my face. don’t make that mistake again.’
‘i’m not looking for your mercy. i’m here to save our people.’
‘do you hear yourself? do you have any idea how naïve you sound?’
‘you think I had a choice? I had no one and nothing!’
‘I did not want this violence. it will haunt me to the end of my days, but I will be damned if it was for nothing.’
‘surrender. you cannot defeat her. it will be easier.’
‘oh, (name). you always did underestimate me.’
‘i’m sorry you and I didn’t grow up in a time of peace, where we could have lived happily together.’
‘I mourn, truly, the kind of relationship we could have had.’
(name) didn’t break me. you won’t either.’
(name) didn’t break me. you won’t either. I will never surrender to you.’
‘you have your mother’s/father’s spirit. it got her/him killed too.’
‘i’m not going to hurt you. I would never hurt you.’
‘you have hurt me. you left me.’
‘my entire life is a lie.’
‘you were all I wanted. I dreamed of seeing you again every night.’
‘I do not believe you. because I know you. and you are a liar. a thief.’
‘talk to me. tell me how to fix you.’
‘if you are looking for absolution, you won’t find it from me.’
‘I genuinely believe she wanted better for her people and her city. she just got very, very lost.’
‘I wish I had more time with her. I had so much I wanted to say.’
‘you may have to battle with words and with your very beliefs. but it it worth it. your life is worth it.’
‘your life is worth it. don’t let it be made into fodder for those who will never be in the trenches.’
‘you rip me apart. I was ready to kill you. and then you had to go and do the right thing.’
‘if I could go back … it breaks my heart to think of the different path we might have taken.’
‘you have earned your happy ending. let me do the same.’
‘you don’t get to make me laugh while you’re breaking my heart.’
‘find your happiness. steal it and do not ever let it go.’
‘I am sorry to be such a disappointment.’
‘you say you trust me. so trust me.’
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