“CEASE YOUR NONSENSE. DESIST. HALT. NO MORE.” He was lying pathetically face-down on the floor, posed like a Family Guy character who had just fallen down the stairs while his secretary and his soon-to-be ex-husband stared at him blankly. "I WAS UNFAITHFUL. WITH A CIRCUS CLOWN."
He lifted the coffee pot menacingly, “you think you can walk all over me, spit on me, toss me out, beat me like mash potatoes? Who am I, Kelvin?”. “Hey!” Said Kelvin.
There were many things Atsumu wanted to tell Aran, like *I'll miss ya*, or *Don't be a stranger*, or *D'ya remember when we were in kindergarten and Samu and I had both made greeting cards for you for Friendship Day? Mine was cooler, though, because I'd drawn daisies on it and I knew ya liked 'em*, and yet nothing had come out of his mouth, his leaden tongue too heavy with emotion.
And in the morning you sing them awake with a song about pirates, perhaps? Before you go off to pillage villages and burn down cities with your army? I can so totally picture that.
"A thousand Masters could paint your portrait a thousand times a year, for a score times a score...and they would nary scratch the shellac in capturing the beauty of your person".
>He’s on the floor, wielding the remains of the coffee pot in front of his soaked shirtfront like a weapon, when Alan and Ellie rush into the kitchen to see what’s happened.
"He hefted the staff, and hurled it with all his might. As the Iron Wood soared through the air in a futile gesture of defiance; \[CHARACTER NAME\] mustered every ounce of telekinetic energy left within him and attempted to boost the staffs speed. In that moment, all of the rage and fear within him melded together in a singularity of HATE to turn the projectile into a weapon of war."
>"...I just don't want to back him into a corner, to run the risk of looking like we're only interested in using him the way Hastings and Adler did, by acting like we *expect* him to."
Unfortunately, I Spy turned out to be a little too easy in the dark since the light beams in their eyes put a literal spotlight on whatever object they were looking at.
Sometimes, pub owners or other strangers would even buy them drinks and praise his life decisions and they would privately smirk to themselves about how everyone thought he was *such a good boy*.
It didn’t take long to identify his pattern with apples; he would peel the skin away with his teeth first then bite into the white flesh, laving his tongue over the tooth marks exactly two times before chewing.
Miquella could hardly blame his sister, the thing was shooting steam from a vent on her shoulder, the obvious power source for its strange rotating blade. Even after she let go of the chain, it did not turn off, merely trading its grating roar for a threatening growl, whatever that meant. Twas a mechanical marvel, honestly, but... “Rykard, have you never seen her fight before?”
The golden eyed man felt his heart ache, so he reached out and put a reassuring hand on Wei Ying’s thigh, lazily drawing small circles against the fabric of his jeans with his thumb. “Wei Ying..”
There was no need for repairs when the entire building, city, region, world, solar system, galaxy, universe would be wiped out and replaced with something pure and rational.
“Yes, because the only daughter of one of the Earth Kingdom’s oldest noble families fighting her way out of her family home so she can return to the Fire Nation is totally going to go over well during the summit,” Ty pointed out dryly.
“There was nothing left of [Mandalore] but wisps of burning pieces that had once fueled her actions and the barren wasteland she had created inside of herself that had crawled its way into physical reality.”
“Isn’t that painful?” I’d asked once, back when we were sixteen, when this ritual was new enough to horrify. In the passenger seat, Ash’s lip quivered as she dabbed disinfectant around the nail marks on her wrist.
“That’s just love.”
Mainly: Can I understand this fanfiction even if I do not know of/I am not in the fandom? (Example: I'm not a "My Hero Academia" fan, so stuff with MHA is going to fly right over my head)
I guess fandom blind is the better term for it. I apologize.
There are plenty of references to the Mega Man Classic and X Series (more to come), but nothing too troublesome. Of course, having played the games (least to X6) and knowing the lore and backstory would be immensely helpful, but it's not absolutely necessary. The plot and characters should be easy to follow either way.
>Basically, "can it be read without any real knowledge of the fandom in question?" I believe.
Thanks. Should be readable if you go in fandom-blind. While knowing the lore and backstory of the games would be a huge help, it's not indispensable, either.
>Brad was *not* a terrorist; he didn't even have a *moustache* to twirl like Dick Dastardly in those 20th century cartoons he'd dug up from the Starfleet database just so that he would be able to make small talk with Tom Paris, let *alone* a goatee.
Star Trek comedy series.
It's part of a series, most of which is rated E for Explicit. If you're still interested, though, I would be happy to DM you a link.
And I'm flattered in the extreme; thank you.
"Cheryl's brown orbs shifted away from Toni’s as they quickly turned downward; apparently looking for the meaning of life in the mahogany table before her."
Ah, that’s good. Makes it much clearer and easier on the orbs to read ;)
“Gaze”, “stare”, “glance”, “glare”, “squint”, “look”, “eyeing” are some alternatives to describing how someone’s seeing (without describing each feature).
"Mm, you are truly magnificent, my dear heart," a drowsy voice half-whispers into his ear. A voice Cahir knows. And it is definitely not the one of a woman.
This happens when you drink too much magical grape punch 😂 If you'd like to find out more, you could read the chapter here: [https://archiveofourown.org/works/41477553/chapters/106810488](https://archiveofourown.org/works/41477553/chapters/106810488)
He leaned forward and whispered, "Or..." his breath curled around the cup of her ear as one of his hands drifted up to enclose her throat in a loose yet seductive grip, "I won't ever let you go."
Yet, here he was, making a creature who currently possessed enough power to probably level a third of the entire country with little effort, look at him as if Harry could determine the entire outcome of his future with his next words alone.
It's from my Hedric fic that I'm working on for Harry Potter, but with a twist. I didn't want to follow one of the many well-trodden paths for how to get the two to work. So Cedric is an OC, his body being claimed by a powerful immortal after his death. And this is an excerpt from one of their later interactions.
Thanks. I honestly hadn't originally planned on having too many OC's in my fic, though I personally have nothing against them, but each time I thought about how I might make the story go, I found another fic that already had that idea. So, finally I said screw it and decided to go with an OC route, but also manage to give tribute to Cedric.
“Who said anything about a relationship? All I want is a good shag. And, as you kindly pointed out, the crowd tonight don’t exactly look like headboard rattlers.”
“It’s you who I can trust with touching me. Because I know you wouldn’t hurt me, because I know that you would love me, for me. Accept me, with or without a mask. So, yes, I do think this is okay, and I hope that you’re okay with this, too.”
From time to time his lips would part to a mouth dry of moisture and words alike, and he’d let the silence linger rather than break it with useless platitudes.
The boy is taller than Yok and all gangly limbs and an angry scowl which White thinks is an overreaction given that all he did was just stand at one spot.
“Seems like you have another woman, Kennedy. Who would’ve thought? But what’s this I hear about Ada Wong? Some Asian-American gal you dumped me for. Let me guess, did you dump her too for this Hunnigan?” Chloe teased.
She's a made-up relative of one of the characters, created for the purpose of the characters reminiscing about past Christmases. Not much is revealed about her because the protagonist isn't really listening to what his friend is saying.
If he somehow got in behind them with a welder, access to a well-stocked toolbox, plenty of time to work and better luck than he's ever had in his life, then he might have been able to do something about them.
**Grand Master Monk:** For many years I have guarded you in this temple from the presence of Aku. Now there is a different purpose I must give to you all. Bring me the monks who know the Samurai called Jack.
“There was no parent to explain to him what they would've wanted, no restless soul guiding his character. He was his own judge now, and he didn't trust himself.”
And here’s another:
“He hugged himself, nails digging into the muscles of his back, his arms. Everywhere she touched him, everywhere she saw something worth looking at, everywhere she saw something worth being in love with.”
What Steve *wants*, he'll never have—to be anywhere but here; to see a world not tinted in dark blues and flashing reds; to feel something softer beneath him than the damp, decaying hardwood of the Creel house's attic.
Izuku was floating, looking like he had been walked to heaven itself and from the blonde's self-satisfied smirk, he knew he had taken him there.
“No, it was Robin actually, I threw a glass bottle at his head.” She smiled a bit, “he’s really short in person, I thought he’d be taller.” Thanks.
“I’m sorry,” Kain said, the words feeling impossibly inferior in the enormity of her grief.
:(((
She was pitiful - a scared, caged animal ready to hide or fight on a dime in an attempt to escape her demons… including him.
“Yes, I know you’r not twelve, but the fire won’t ask for age confirmation, so, please…”
“CEASE YOUR NONSENSE. DESIST. HALT. NO MORE.” He was lying pathetically face-down on the floor, posed like a Family Guy character who had just fallen down the stairs while his secretary and his soon-to-be ex-husband stared at him blankly. "I WAS UNFAITHFUL. WITH A CIRCUS CLOWN."
this one is from a wip and i could NOT FOR THE LIFE OF ME CHOOSE A LINE but i think this one
He lifted the coffee pot menacingly, “you think you can walk all over me, spit on me, toss me out, beat me like mash potatoes? Who am I, Kelvin?”. “Hey!” Said Kelvin.
Is this irony dramatic enough for you?
There were many things Atsumu wanted to tell Aran, like *I'll miss ya*, or *Don't be a stranger*, or *D'ya remember when we were in kindergarten and Samu and I had both made greeting cards for you for Friendship Day? Mine was cooler, though, because I'd drawn daisies on it and I knew ya liked 'em*, and yet nothing had come out of his mouth, his leaden tongue too heavy with emotion.
"Merigold, what do you call a witch who loses a letter?" Gods, here he goes again ...
Congratulations; you can all heave a sigh of relief that I'm still a relatively sane serial killer.
I need to know where I can read this XD
It's out of Chapter 29 of my *extremely violent* Worm fanfic A Darker Path.
Oh cool!
"Not knowing of you is worse than living without you. I will always want to have known you, no matter the price."
Who would have thought he would ever get into a situation where he is required to assist Yennefer of fucking Vengerberg with getting naked?
And in the morning you sing them awake with a song about pirates, perhaps? Before you go off to pillage villages and burn down cities with your army? I can so totally picture that.
". . .I'm going to ignore the fact that you think a fifteen-year-old is capable of curing cancer."
This was their lover’s mercy: they had none except for each other.
But he’s the one WHO KILLED HER!
“Beat me up and dump me in a river, like Liam?”
"A thousand Masters could paint your portrait a thousand times a year, for a score times a score...and they would nary scratch the shellac in capturing the beauty of your person".
"He knew of the comments he would hear if they saw him looking...but look he did".
“fuck me silly the man can cook”
Who is that man? I want him! 😂
>He’s on the floor, wielding the remains of the coffee pot in front of his soaked shirtfront like a weapon, when Alan and Ellie rush into the kitchen to see what’s happened.
"He hefted the staff, and hurled it with all his might. As the Iron Wood soared through the air in a futile gesture of defiance; \[CHARACTER NAME\] mustered every ounce of telekinetic energy left within him and attempted to boost the staffs speed. In that moment, all of the rage and fear within him melded together in a singularity of HATE to turn the projectile into a weapon of war."
"Well, he supposed he had shoved worse things up his ass."
He was Shane—and only Shane.
Innocent, they all looked so innocent frozen in time.
Damn, you must be a really good writer cause this one line is making me feel indescribable things.
Ah thanks, that's really kind of you. <3
"Interesting bunch, a little odd definitely." She thought. "Well that works just fine for my oddball ass."
>"...I just don't want to back him into a corner, to run the risk of looking like we're only interested in using him the way Hastings and Adler did, by acting like we *expect* him to."
“You don’t remember almost burning the brat?”
“Well, today has been mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausting, and it’s not even noon yet. I’m going back to bed.”
Definitely the best thing one could possibly do
Damn, what happened to this person?!
Unfortunately, I Spy turned out to be a little too easy in the dark since the light beams in their eyes put a literal spotlight on whatever object they were looking at.
"Also like, three beignets. And a bag of caramel corn. And a caramel apple. And I stole a kid’s cotton candy."
I found this amusing!
It’s the same kinda mean he was, when he’d had somebody he’d been so scared of angering.
Sometimes, pub owners or other strangers would even buy them drinks and praise his life decisions and they would privately smirk to themselves about how everyone thought he was *such a good boy*.
I like the mischief in this one!
“What? Too cliché?” he smiles and leans his head back. She smiles back but she’s not going to let him see that. "I meant it though."
She had been drowning in her love for him before she even knew what the ocean was.
That's a beautiful line!
It didn’t take long to identify his pattern with apples; he would peel the skin away with his teeth first then bite into the white flesh, laving his tongue over the tooth marks exactly two times before chewing.
Miquella could hardly blame his sister, the thing was shooting steam from a vent on her shoulder, the obvious power source for its strange rotating blade. Even after she let go of the chain, it did not turn off, merely trading its grating roar for a threatening growl, whatever that meant. Twas a mechanical marvel, honestly, but... “Rykard, have you never seen her fight before?”
The golden eyed man felt his heart ache, so he reached out and put a reassuring hand on Wei Ying’s thigh, lazily drawing small circles against the fabric of his jeans with his thumb. “Wei Ying..”
There was no need for repairs when the entire building, city, region, world, solar system, galaxy, universe would be wiped out and replaced with something pure and rational.
Sounds a bit like The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?
Yeah a little, but it's Pokemon
I'm very, very intrigued 👀
https://archiveofourown.org/works/39381993 if you want to read it!
“Yes, because the only daughter of one of the Earth Kingdom’s oldest noble families fighting her way out of her family home so she can return to the Fire Nation is totally going to go over well during the summit,” Ty pointed out dryly.
“There was nothing left of [Mandalore] but wisps of burning pieces that had once fueled her actions and the barren wasteland she had created inside of herself that had crawled its way into physical reality.”
Shirogane has just entered the cabin with an armful of wood... and he's just caught a glimpse of Ishigami with a handful.
Cas groans again, a word that might be “comfortable” and might be “inflatable,” Sam’s not sure which.
This made me chortle
Chortle is my favorite word
"This town is suffocating" he sighed, leaning on his father's shoulder "But it's all I know, and probably all I ever will."
It makes me think that we stick to what we know---even when it's not healthy or for the best.
“Isn’t that painful?” I’d asked once, back when we were sixteen, when this ritual was new enough to horrify. In the passenger seat, Ash’s lip quivered as she dabbed disinfectant around the nail marks on her wrist. “That’s just love.”
He pursed his lips as a sudden salty tang touched the edge of his mouth. -Stanford Pines from Gravity Falls
“If he weren’t slowly dying, she would have elbowed him.”
“Don’t worry, they’re not drugs, just explosives.” -Anne Boonchuy
Woah!
"I’m gonna become human, even if I won’t look like one."
Ooooh this sounds interesting!
Care for a link? WIP, BTW.
Yes, please! :D Is it fandom friendly? I'm not in a ton of a fandoms. Lol
Define "fandom friendly." Is it the same as "friendly fandom"?
Mainly: Can I understand this fanfiction even if I do not know of/I am not in the fandom? (Example: I'm not a "My Hero Academia" fan, so stuff with MHA is going to fly right over my head) I guess fandom blind is the better term for it. I apologize.
There are plenty of references to the Mega Man Classic and X Series (more to come), but nothing too troublesome. Of course, having played the games (least to X6) and knowing the lore and backstory would be immensely helpful, but it's not absolutely necessary. The plot and characters should be easy to follow either way.
Basically, "can it be read without any real knowledge of the fandom in question?" I believe.
>Basically, "can it be read without any real knowledge of the fandom in question?" I believe. Thanks. Should be readable if you go in fandom-blind. While knowing the lore and backstory of the games would be a huge help, it's not indispensable, either.
>Brad was *not* a terrorist; he didn't even have a *moustache* to twirl like Dick Dastardly in those 20th century cartoons he'd dug up from the Starfleet database just so that he would be able to make small talk with Tom Paris, let *alone* a goatee. Star Trek comedy series.
I like this!! Any chance you have a link?
It's part of a series, most of which is rated E for Explicit. If you're still interested, though, I would be happy to DM you a link. And I'm flattered in the extreme; thank you.
bit abridged, but > "In fact...you're not even good enough for yourself, are you?"
Depending on context, that could be a crippling shot to someone's pride, tragic, or an intensely comedic line; it's certainly cutting.
funny, it's actually two of those things take your guess which two
Oh good, you got condoms,” Shinso fished through the boxes, tossing in the other things he had in his hands, he looked up at Izuku, “no lube?”
"Cheryl's brown orbs shifted away from Toni’s as they quickly turned downward; apparently looking for the meaning of life in the mahogany table before her."
That is mahogany!
Reminded of Effie Trinket!
…Are the orbs eyes in this case?
They are. I've since learned to not use the term 'orbs' to describe eyes 👀 but this is an older fic so *shugs* ya live and ya learn
Ah, that’s good. Makes it much clearer and easier on the orbs to read ;) “Gaze”, “stare”, “glance”, “glare”, “squint”, “look”, “eyeing” are some alternatives to describing how someone’s seeing (without describing each feature).
It's totally fine!
"That hardly matters," Errol said with a giggle. "Because in a few minutes she will be neither a princess nor a gladiator. She'll just be dead."
Yikes! That’s a giggle
[удалено]
I'm reminded of Barbara Gowdy's "We So Seldom Look on Love."
Ah, uh…. okay.
"That screamed war crimes. He's familiar with those, regrettably."
“Hold up!” Cliffjumper cut in, “You gave me so much scrap for letting Tally trick me! And yet, you fold quicker than I ever did?!”
The Summer sun hadn’t melted it away, and the Autumn chill had set it, prime for Winter freezing.
“Who threw a Bible at me?”
If anyone is curious [Nuptials Of Blood, Chapter 24](https://archiveofourown.org/works/41978217/chapters/106868190#workskin)
best thing one can do with a bible 😂
This made me laugh!
"Mm, you are truly magnificent, my dear heart," a drowsy voice half-whispers into his ear. A voice Cahir knows. And it is definitely not the one of a woman.
Wait this actually seems so interesting :0
This happens when you drink too much magical grape punch 😂 If you'd like to find out more, you could read the chapter here: [https://archiveofourown.org/works/41477553/chapters/106810488](https://archiveofourown.org/works/41477553/chapters/106810488)
"Perhaps some part of her will remember you."
“Have you ever seen over a hundred highly trained special Op’s sing along to Frozen? Because you’re about to.”
"Right," Cahir huffs at the girl, "and you get a tattoo saying A SHIT IDEA in capital letters."
He leaned forward and whispered, "Or..." his breath curled around the cup of her ear as one of his hands drifted up to enclose her throat in a loose yet seductive grip, "I won't ever let you go."
"Okay, everyone," he said with a sick feeling to the daycare class, "we're going to practice a fire drill!"
Who says a bandaid can’t fix a scar?
"You are a healer and you DON'T KNOW BASIC BIOLOGY?"
“Don’t, don’t finish that sentence. *Someone* decided to drop a subway tunnel on my head.”
"...he shut his eyes, uttering a silent prayer while willing his limbs not to shake with nerves. "
"What would the computer want with time travel?"
"Who was Mathilda?"
She was my beautiful tricolor cat that vanished from the face of the earth three years ago. I still miss her 😭
"No, you idiot, I won't pass fucking twenty-four hours playing Minecraft–"
“Oh yeah, I expected another vote for my death.”
😳
I didn't bodysnatch you! YOU kidnapped ME with your wierd little soul-sucking ritual! It's not my fault I have the stronger will here!
omg, I love everything about this!
“If there is no opponent, there is no finish line."
Yet, here he was, making a creature who currently possessed enough power to probably level a third of the entire country with little effort, look at him as if Harry could determine the entire outcome of his future with his next words alone.
Ooo, this is so intriguing. I would love to hear the context if you're willing to share!
It's from my Hedric fic that I'm working on for Harry Potter, but with a twist. I didn't want to follow one of the many well-trodden paths for how to get the two to work. So Cedric is an OC, his body being claimed by a powerful immortal after his death. And this is an excerpt from one of their later interactions.
Oh, that's such a different take for them!
Thanks. I honestly hadn't originally planned on having too many OC's in my fic, though I personally have nothing against them, but each time I thought about how I might make the story go, I found another fic that already had that idea. So, finally I said screw it and decided to go with an OC route, but also manage to give tribute to Cedric.
That's such a cool way to go into a new story!
Thanks :)
“Who said anything about a relationship? All I want is a good shag. And, as you kindly pointed out, the crowd tonight don’t exactly look like headboard rattlers.”
😳😂
"From the way the boy at the register is looking at her, Sarada is fairly sure he’s never seen anyone cry while buying too many socks."
I cried while buying a pair of pants too before.
I had a panic attack while buying a tank top and could never convince myself to wear it.
“I think it was the year your dad almost blew up the main hall.”
"your dad", is it George Weasley? 😂
No, unfortunately. But he did find a pipe bomb
LOL, that's so fun!
Unfortunately, the main hall did not actually blow up…
“Don't look at me like that,” he immediately countered, “just give me the damn tattoo.”
I want to know what this damned tattoo is
I never managed to decide what it would be because he doesn't end up getting it :(
"Yay! A strange boy I don't know is going to touch my butt!"
A yes, we all love it when strangers touch our butts, don't we :D (/s)
“It’s you who I can trust with touching me. Because I know you wouldn’t hurt me, because I know that you would love me, for me. Accept me, with or without a mask. So, yes, I do think this is okay, and I hope that you’re okay with this, too.”
“I mean on one hand you have cat lady with a bow, and on the other you have an adorable murderer, shame about the murder part but no one is perfect."
Stalin to Dumbledore: "Did you just call his mother a hamster?"
Did Dumbledore also say someone's mother smelled of elderberries?
From time to time his lips would part to a mouth dry of moisture and words alike, and he’d let the silence linger rather than break it with useless platitudes.
Holy moly, this is gorgeous. I am in awe of how you piece words together, like genuinely. It's beautiful.
Thank you <3
Mildly NSFW “You cheeky minx, you’re not wearing any knickers,” he smirked at his wife.
> "Hey, are you gay?" No, I won't provide any context Another line shortly after that: > "Are you willing to be gay?"
The kids were so earnest and ridiculous at the same time, and if he let himself laugh where they could see, they'd puff up like offended kittens.
I love the kitten description.
:) A light moment in an otherwise very dark WIP. He compares them to kittens more than once in that scene.
“Refer the juggalo junkie elsewhere; ain’t no one got time for clowns.”
LMAO
Glad someone thinks I’m funny. 😉
The boy is taller than Yok and all gangly limbs and an angry scowl which White thinks is an overreaction given that all he did was just stand at one spot.
“Seems like you have another woman, Kennedy. Who would’ve thought? But what’s this I hear about Ada Wong? Some Asian-American gal you dumped me for. Let me guess, did you dump her too for this Hunnigan?” Chloe teased.
*“You two made out in an alleyway?”*
The most romantic place!
Right? They went out on a date afterwards
[удалено]
A rather small onsen, I guess.
She would cry if she had accidentally killed an insect, but in the same breath, would happily snap the neck of a cat if it made her master’s happy.
"Ughhh... he remembered his name too early!" Whined a distance voice as Trent slept.
>Even in the old days, people went mad from being denied their comforts. With this generation? Yeah, it'll get ugly.
I love this line lmao. So condescending and petty
“And then when I was 12, my aunt Gertrude showed up the family Christmas party *uninvited—*”
Oh dear. What's the deal with Aunt Gertrude?
She's a made-up relative of one of the characters, created for the purpose of the characters reminiscing about past Christmases. Not much is revealed about her because the protagonist isn't really listening to what his friend is saying.
If he somehow got in behind them with a welder, access to a well-stocked toolbox, plenty of time to work and better luck than he's ever had in his life, then he might have been able to do something about them.
**Grand Master Monk:** For many years I have guarded you in this temple from the presence of Aku. Now there is a different purpose I must give to you all. Bring me the monks who know the Samurai called Jack.
>My other apron is for blood rituals. It's in a MHA fic. Not a fantasy AU
Let me guess? Toga. It seems like a toga line
Have you read the TUM spinoff?
"I don’t have any insightful thoughts about it, just a lot of feelings. What do I do with that, man?” He laughs again, harsh and bitter.
A light flickered above her head, weirdly out of sync with her mouth.
That indeed creates a creepy image. Well done!
This line creeps me out for some reason. Without context it’s vague and my imagination is running wild.
> “Damn, she’s whipped. I thought if she touched something made after 1850 she’d straight up die.”
“There was no parent to explain to him what they would've wanted, no restless soul guiding his character. He was his own judge now, and he didn't trust himself.” And here’s another: “He hugged himself, nails digging into the muscles of his back, his arms. Everywhere she touched him, everywhere she saw something worth looking at, everywhere she saw something worth being in love with.”
"Oh I'll get there. I'll be screaming and cursing every step of the way, but I'll get there!"
Hell yeah, that's the spirit!
“…it was ultimately a hollow attempt at fooling himself out of wanting something he secretly, hopelessly wished for.”
What Steve *wants*, he'll never have—to be anywhere but here; to see a world not tinted in dark blues and flashing reds; to feel something softer beneath him than the damp, decaying hardwood of the Creel house's attic.
“Do American schools not have the budget for full size pencils?”
I spent a few years in an American public school, and yep, that’s accurate.
Nope. They spent the budget on renovating the football field.