the poppy war - r.f kuang sentence starters
change tenses/pronouns as needed !! some lines have been edited for clarity / length / ease of roleplaying
tw : drugs , death , murder , nsfw , prostitution mention , language
‘why would anyone drug themselves before a test?’
‘you’re about to be a very lucky girl, sweet.’
‘wow that’s great. really great. Terrific.’
‘your folks are assholes.’
‘well fuck the heavenly order of things.’
‘don’t you have actual responsibilities?’
‘I don’t want to get on _____ ‘s bad side.’
‘you would make a terrible prostitute. no charm.’
‘what is so wrong with getting married?’
‘everything is spilling out of my head as quickly as I put it in.’
‘please do not commit spousal homicide.’
‘give me a way out of this shithole.’
‘I seduced him with my nubile young body. you caught me.’
‘you can’t scare me into a confession, because I’m telling the truth.’
‘and that means you’re shit at your job.’
‘if you cross them—- if they even think you’ve looked at them funny—- they can and will hurt you.’
‘it’s easy to lose a language when you never speak it.’
‘you’re offending them with your very presence.’
‘they’ll make you an outsider, because you’re not like them.’
‘no matter what they say, you deserve to be here.’
‘I’ll kill you. I will fucking kill you.’
‘I went out in the sun once. you should try it sometime.’
‘oh, you’re the one ____ hates.’
‘you’d be a prick too if your family was both rich and attractive.’
‘honestly? I think he just comes in here to get high.’
‘I think you’re flattering yourself.’
‘unless you’ve got a weapon, don’t aim for the face. the neck’s a better target.’
‘we aren’t here to be sophisticated. we’re here to fuck people up.’
‘this is the only kick you’ll ever need, really. a kick to bring down the most powerful warriors.’
‘power dictates acceptability.’
‘he hasn’t done anything to earn my respect. all he’s done is act high and mighty.’
‘you’re nothing. you shouldn’t even be here.’
‘consider me bullied and intimidated, just let me sleep.’
‘he’s playing with her. he’ll end it soon.’
‘they’re good at fighting, but not much else.’
‘spend a lot of time looking at ____’s eyes do you?’
‘a betrayal of that sort would not have been out of character.’
‘come on, you belong here too.’
‘they’re not going to get rid of me like this. not this easily.’
‘I’m calm! I’m extremely calm!’
‘you’d rather kill your own people than let the opponent’s army walk away?’
‘you don’t let an enemy walk away if they’ll certainly be a threat to you later.’
‘he can’t stop raving about you.’
‘oh, don’t pretend to be bashful. you love it.’
‘you’re a walking disaster.’
‘anyone this obstinate deserves some attention, if only to make sure you don’t become a walking hazard to everyone around you.’
‘I heard he got drunk on rice wine last week and pissed into ____’s window. he sounds awesome.’
‘it’s me, your favorite person in the whole wide world.’
‘I do not have a problem. you are making up this problem for reasons unbeknownst to me.’
‘you’re killing the mood.’
‘they were weak as shit. scrawnier than you, even.’
‘you’re a real asshole. you know that right?’
‘your state of mind is just as important as the state of your body.’
‘sometimes you must loose the string to let the arrow fly.’
‘because I want to break his stupid face.’
‘he’s the most dangerous when he’s desperate.’
‘from this point on you’re just going to be a danger to yourself and everyone around you.’
‘you’re too reckless. you hold grudges, you cultivate your rage and let it explode, and you’re careless about what you’re taught.’
‘I knew I was the only one that could help him.’
‘they honed his rage like a weapon, instead of teaching him to control it.’
‘one urinating statue for my easily entertained friend.’
‘I don’t believe in gods. but I believe in power.’
‘one might say you’ve been obsessed with ____.’
‘don’t look to your left. pretend you’re taking to me.’ / ‘I am talking to you.’
‘we’re studying very weird things.’
‘I don’t actually know what I’m getting into.’
‘here is what happened: you called a god, and the god answered.’
‘you know that if you don’t get answers now, the hunger will consume you and your mind will crack.’
‘you’ve glimpsed the other side and you can’t rest until you fill in the blanks.’
‘supernatural is a word for anything that doesn’t fit your present understanding of the world.’
‘I’m supposed to take it as true that you’re a god?’
‘I’m not a god. I am a mortal who has woken up, and there is power in awareness.’
‘are we getting high? oh, wow. we’re getting high.’
‘ah. the law. so inconvenient. so irrelevant.’
‘we are not madmen. but how can we convince anyone of this, when the rest of the world believes it so?’
‘the price of power is pain.’
‘I understand the truth of things. I know what it means to exist.’
‘prey do not question the motives of the predator. the dead do not question the living. mortals do not challenge the gods.’
‘I killed for you. I would have done anything for you.’
‘I have seen the end of things. the shape of the world has changed.’
‘war doesn’t determine who’s right. war determines who remains.’
‘it’s alright. I know what you are.’
‘I thought I was the only one left.’
‘we have developed the power to rewrite the fabric of this world. if we don’t use it, then what’s the point?’
‘I don’t mess with that shit. it screws you up.’
‘I understand the appeal, I really do, but I like having my mind to myself.’
‘he’s a charmer. like a new puppy. you think he’s adorable until he pisses on the furniture.’
‘there’s no routine. no discipline. nothing you’re used to. am I right?’
‘so you’re the last of your kind. that’s sad.’
‘If you hold the fate of the country in your hands, if you have accepted your obligation to your people, then your life ceases to be your own.’
‘____ feared, and so he held you back.’
‘great danger is always associated with great power. the difference between the great and the mediocre is that the great are willing to take that risk.’
‘don’t ever let go on that anger. rage gives you power. caution does not.’
‘don’t give in… you’ve been so brave… but it takes more bravery to resist the power.’
‘the nature of this god is to destroy. the nature of this god is to be greedy, to never be satisfied with what he has consumed.’
‘so. screaming at rocks. is that, like, normal behavior here?’
‘fix this. prove your worth. do your fucking job or get out.’
‘I saved your life. doesn’t that make us at least a little square?!’
‘I was scared of you. and I lashed out.’
‘I thought I was better than you, and I’m not. I’m sorry.’
‘when I killed it, it felt like murder.’
‘look, I’m happy to discuss this, really, but I’m currently leaking life out three different wounds and I think I may pass out. would you give me a moment?’
‘well maybe ____ should get his head out of his ass.’
‘ ____ is more fragile than you think.’
‘look, asshole, I don’t need you to tell me what to do.’
‘they say he can read the future. shatter minds.’
‘you misunderstand the nature of our relationship. I am not your friend.’
‘he’s not human. he—- I don’t know what he is.’
‘but ___ was never allowed to be human.’
‘do you trust me?’ / ‘no. but that’s irrelevant.’
‘you don’t know what true suffering is.’
‘I have seen more than my fair share of suffering.’
‘that boy is beyond redemption. that boy is broken like the rest.’
‘I don’t want to be saved! I want power!’
‘that power will destroy everything you’ve ever loved. you will defeat your enemy, and the victory will turn to ashes in your mouth.’
‘we’ve missed something. something’s been laid out for us, but we can’t see it.’
‘fretting won’t make the dead come back to life.’
‘there was nothing human in those eyes.’
‘It was a nightmare, and I couldn’t wake up.’
‘I don’t need your pity. I need you to kill them for me.’
‘whatever it takes. swear it on your life. swear it for me.’
‘I won’t judge him. I don’t dare, because I don’t have the right. and neither do you.’
‘you asked me why I wouldn’t stop him. now you understand. you can’t stop an avenger. you can’t reason with a madman.’
‘I am afraid of what he might do in his quest for vengeance. and I am afraid that he is right.’
‘I am about to do something terrible. and you will have a choice.’
‘they give nothing to the universe, and the universe owes them nothing in return.’
‘you cannot survive my death.’
‘you’re trying to deceive me. you don’t get to deceive me.’
‘this is not the way. this path leads only to darkness.’
‘when are you going to stop being such a damn coward? what are you running from?’
‘you will turn the world to ash, and only demons will live in the rubble.’
‘you dress up your crusade with moral arguments, when in truth you would let millions die if it means you get your so-called justice.’
‘you have not cared about anything for a very long time. you are broken.’
‘I am terrified. but only because I’m starting to remember who I once was. don’t go down that path.’
‘your country is ash. you can’t bring it back with blood.’
‘I’m so sorry. I tried to warn you.’
‘you know the worst part? we’re so close to home.’
‘did you miss me? did you miss this?’
‘I just gave him some of his favorite medicine.’
‘resistance here means suffering. there is no escape. no future.’
‘you have nothing to fight for anymore’
‘what are you defending? you owe ____ nothing.’
‘we were disposable. we were tools. tell me that doesn’t make you furious.’
‘I will die on my feet. I will not die a coward. and neither will you.’
‘we could stay here. we could stay here forever. we wouldn’t have to go back.’
‘you’ll have to live with the consequences. but you’re brave … you’re the bravest person I’ve ever met.’
‘I have lost everything I care about. I don’t want peace, I want revenge.’
‘I don’t need to sleep. I need to feel nothing.’
‘do you want forgiveness? I can’t give you that.’
‘we avenged him. he’s gone, but avenged.’
‘you have to believe that it was necessary. that it stopped something worse. and even if it wasn’t, it’s the lie we’ll tell ourselves, starting today and every day afterward.’
‘aren’t you supposed to be a seer? do you ever see anything useful?’
‘we have an enemy whom we love.’
‘I’m going to find and kill everyone responsible. you cannot stop me.’
‘oh I’m not going to stop you.’
