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farawayfroppy · 8 months

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Evergreen – I am swept up in you; please don't dispose of me

part 2 ↣ part 1

izuku midoriya x reader

cw: aged up characters, pro-hero au, lots and lots of angst, some canon-typical violence and deaths, Izuku experiences triggers, panic attacks, and nightmares, Reader has a dream-altering quirk, adult language, Reader is referred to as she/her. i see a lot of myself in midoriya so i gave him the therapy that i need

~3k words

hey all! been a while. oops. i started my first year of teaching, so i have had no time to write. i wasn't even planning on posting this i til i had written more of it, but i wanted you to know that i tried lol. i know it's not much, but i hope you enjoy. - Jean xx

Just like that, Izuku found himself back at work.

He knew it was probably too soon, knew it wouldn’t look good to the press or feel like anything other than painful for himself, but he also knew he had a job to do. One of the bastards that had aided in stealing two lives, right in front of him, had gotten away and he hadn’t even known. Hell, beyond that, there was an entire crime ring that seemed to be growing, getting bolder, right under all of their noses.

As much as he didn’t want to relive any of it, to think about it even in the slightest, he knew that as the only hero on the scene that day, he was also a witness. Shouto had wanted information, and now he had it—first hand.

Once inside the doors of his agency, away and safe from the cameras and prying eyes, he made a beeline for his office. He took the stairs today, not bothering with the elevator, where he might have felt like an animal in a cage. That panicked feeling was happening again as he ascended the stairs. Up and up, around and around, it was all blurring together. When he finally reached his floor, he burst through the door, startling an intern standing near a water fountain that was placed a little too closely to the exit.

Izuku mumbled, “Sorry,” but didn’t slow his pace.

He tried not to think about the astounded looks he received from his coworkers as he flew down the hallway. He realized then that he probably should have notified someone, at least his secretary, of his return. As he neared his office, he passed by her, and she rose from her desk with a surprised expression.

“Oh, Deku, you’re back already?” She asked, trying to disguise the shock in her voice. Thinly veiled, painted over with politeness in a way he knew all too well. The customer service voice was like the landlord special of communication, skirting around and covering up the real issues.

He knew it was for his benefit. She was gentle and kind, but he couldn’t handle it. He didn’t feel like he deserved gentle. He didn’t have the capacity to accept kindness, didn’t know how to hold it while already juggling so much. But he wasn’t mean.

“Yep,” he replied, trying to muster up a smile. Tight-lipped, but passable. “Sorry about the disruption, Jane, but I’ll be pretty busy now, so don’t let anyone in. Thanks!” He rushed out before all but diving into the sanctity of his office.

“But—“ he heard her start just as he closed his door, locking it for good measure.

Izuku sighed, slumping against the door with his head down. He felt like crying. He felt small again. How could a man who had accomplished so much, who drew so many eyes, feel so minuscule unto himself? It was hard to live like this, feeling bad for feeling bad, for complaining when he had such privilege and responsibility. There was no end.

“Hey, squirt,” he heard a gruff voice say.

Startled, he shot up, being met with the sight of Bakugou standing near his desk.

“Wh—how did you know I would be here?” He stammered, floored by his friend’s presence and immediately sobered. “Also, I told you to stop calling me that, because—“

Bakugou cut him off, “It’s gross and weird, I know.” He snickered, his shit-eating grin somehow a sight for Izuku’s sore eyes at that moment. “Your mom called me,” he explained, and Izuku cursed to himself quietly.

He should have known. Mama Inko always needed a spy on the inside to make sure he wasn’t lying about being okay. Which, to her credit: he was totally lying about being okay.

“She said you were coming back here today and asked me to make sure you weren’t throwing up and pissing everywhere," he said, and Izuku raised a questioning eyebrow at that.

“My words, not hers,” Bakugou continued. “And you haven’t puked yet, which is a good sign I guess, but do I spy a little pee running down your leg?” He taunted, making his way closer to his green-haired companion to place a large, gloved hand over his face.

Izuku groaned, prying Bakugou’s hand off of him, “Why do you always have to be so gross? And do you ever wash your gloves?”

His friend scoffed in response, “Tch. Haven't you heard I smell like caramel?"

Izuku shuddered, "Caramelized onion maybe. Go take a bath."

Bakugou gave him a long, pointed look before speaking again," So you're really gonna be okay this time, eh?"

Izuku felt his eyebrows furrow in confusion, knowing his expression was probably all too readable to his friend of many years, at least if his stupid smirk was anything to go by.

"What do you mean?" he said indignantly. "I'm here, aren't I?"

"You look like you're here," Bakugou started, "and you may even feel like you're here," he continued, giving Izuku just enough of a shove to make him lose his balance momentarily.

"Hey–" he started to protest, stopping when Bakugou jabbed at his forehead, right between the eyes.

"But up here, you're somewhere else. And usually, you stay there longer," he explained, pulling his hand back to cross his arms, "but you're coming back to us. I can tell 'cause you sound like an idiot again–less deranged, though–but still stupid. I'm way past hoping you'll give up on being perfect or whatever, but you're making a little more sense than you were when I came by your apartment," he said, rolling his eyes as he continued, "Ya know, before you so rudely kicked me out and left me arguing with the fuckin' door. Anyway, that's a good enough sign for me to tell your mom not to get her panties in a twist," he finished.

"Because you care so much," Izuku stressed the words, "I am fine, just like I said when you barged into my apartment before," he paused. Then, with a face of disgust and exasperation, he screeched, "And can you not talk about my mom's panties?"

"Yeah, yeah," Bakugou relented. "How 'bout that neighbor chick that lives next to ya?" he smirked. "Bet hers have little cherries on 'em. And let me tell ya, they were all tied up in knots over you."

Izuku froze, feeling his ears get hot with a blush as your face came to mind–all pinched up in concern–and he immediately stared at his shoes.

"My neighbor?" he asked in disbelief, "When did you talk to her?" He peeked up.

Bakugou grinned, knowing he had struck gold with this line of conversation, "After you locked me out of your place. She came home and saw me arguing away with your closed door–asked if you were okay."

"And?" Izuku prompted, watching as his friend shoved his hands in his pockets so nonchalantly, like he didn't just say something potentially life-ruining. "What did you say?"

"Nothing," Bakugou shrugged, watching Izuku's mouth open in shock. "Didn't know you had the hots for her. Not just gonna give some creep info on you in your time of dire need."

Izuku must have visibly deflated, because he continued, "Don't implode; I wasn't mean to her. She looked all...concerned and shit, so you still got a shot."

Izuku sighed, half-relieved that he didn't scare you off and half-annoyed by his friend's tendency to be nosy.

"She's just nice, okay?" He asserted. "Not that you're ever gonna shut up about this, regardless of what I say," he groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. "And don't talk about her panties either," he ordered.

Bakugou mockingly put his hands up in defeat, "Got it, squirt. I'm heading out now, anyway, now that I've busted up your pity party," he gestured vaguely as he headed toward the door. "I'll tell your mom you haven't keeled over and died yet," he said finally.

He unlocked the door and started to turn the handle as Izuku went to his desk and took a seat, newly determined and ready to get to work.

Bakugou opened the door and began to step out, pausing as he said, "I'm glad you're better now. Than you were that day, I mean." He then added, without any real bite, "Won't have to pick up your slack."

And Izuku didn't know what to say. He nodded, and the other man left. Slumping in his chair, Izuku breathed deeply, not feeling as much of the weight that had been there before, but deep down, he knew that calling himself 'better' was too generous. He understood, though.

The last time he saw Bakugou was right after he had gotten home. Post-incident, post-bullet wound–could you blame him for not making sense? And he was so angry. Just so angry, like he hadn't been in a long time. His friend had come by to try to put an early end to his downward spiral, but he wouldn't listen to any of it. He couldn't. It's like his eyes and ears and, hell, his entire head had been filled with cotton. There had been one time like it in the past, a time that Bakugou had bore witness to just how much the job really affected Izuku.

A few years back, fresh out of school, they had been called on to a kidnapping case. This girl in a small town had disappeared, and people feared it might have been the work of a trafficking ring from a nearby city. They were right. The two of them managed to infiltrate the house that they had been holding the girl hostage in. They even found her.

Izuku still remembers how he had scooped her up, promising that she would be safe again. Promising that she would feel safe again. Bakugou had been fighting close by, securing their exit, a plan they had become accustomed to by then.

They both agreed that Izuku was better at the hands-on rescuing stuff, a more calming presence during a really traumatic time for the victims they saved. And Bakugou was doing what he did best, fighting with an almost reckless abandon. They were almost out, the majority of the suspects involved had been subdued either on the way in or by Bakugou's hands on the way out. But they missed one.

They missed a man who waited for them right at the top of the stairs, one who shot without hesitation. The bullet should have hit Izuku right in the chest, but he was holding the girl he had promised to save. It hit her instead, saving his life but ending hers almost instantly.

It wasn't instant, though. And he remembers how she had looked up at him, with shock, disbelief, pain, and fear. But more than that, he remembered the look of hope. And he doesn't know if it was confusion, or ill-advised optimism that would never cease despite the odds, but she spoke her last words to him then.

"Don't worry," she had choked out, with a smile and the tears on her cheeks that betrayed it.

"Deku will save us."

Izuku felt too warm, trying to shake his head to rid himself of the memory.

"Work," he reminded himself. "Work, work."

He knew that his best chance of preventing anything like that from happening again was to stop it before it started. He had to find the evil in the world and snuff it out before it could spread. But evil doesn't exist in a vacuum.

Evil is born and raised. It's shut out, dealt a bad hand. Loved or unloved; seen or unseen. Evil is a product of generations of the product of an evening. It can sometimes be found in minds and hearts, but always in places it shouldn't be.

It had been hard for Izuku to learn that evil wouldn't be going anywhere despite his best efforts. Like the the night to the day, it just is. He didn't know if it was necessary, and understood that ultimately, he would not be the one to decide. He could only be evil's consequence, but that had consequences for him as well. Everything balanced out, one way or another. All he could do was try to tip the scales in favor of the righteous and the good.

He spent the next few hours pouring over any and all footage from the incident, as well as witness testimonies. From that, he could gather a decent description of the second perpetrator despite his face being partially obscured. The guy was too coward to even show his face, so he'd worn sunglasses and a baseball cap. He did, however, neglect to cover the tattoos that covered his arms, and some were familiar.

At this point, Izuku had seen criminals of all kinds, and was starting to be able to tell who ran with who just based on their tattoos and general demeanor. But while these looked familiar, he couldn't exactly place them. They were slightly different than those of the main gang that ran in his area, so he decided he would send an enhanced (as enhanced as possible based on grainy footage from the scene) photograph of the tattoo he was looking at to both Dynamight and Shouto's agencies. Maybe they would recognize it.

There wasn't much else to go on at the moment, so as difficult as it was, Izuku turned back to the less pressing but very necessary task of filing reports from past cases. Cases--at times very loosely called so--could mean anything from a traffic violation to a minor dispute. Of which, there were many, especially in a big city. It wasn't glamorous, but it was work that needed doing. And, in his absence, the reports had started to pile up.

"Alright," he said, cracking his knuckles. "Paperwork."

To Izuku, the minutes seemed to pass more quickly than usual, which was probably due to the fact that he could basically hear the humming of his heartbeat. His leg was bouncing too, unconsciously, a dull anxiety nipping at his throat while his heart turned over in his chest. His vital organs thrumming with energy made him feel connected to the moment in a way he wished he could reject. It came out of nowhere, that thief of focus. Not completely unwelcome, but uncomfortable in a way that made him start to realize the sweat on his skin and the scratch of his collar.

He had been productive, at least, and had burned through the daylight. He checked the time, eyes growing a bit when he realized how long he had been working. He was completely caught up on paperwork and had even started to get ahead on some things, so he should've known that he had gone way beyond working hours.

He packed his things and left, noticing how he seemed to be the last one in the office. Jane had really taken it to heart when he asked not to be bothered. In some ways, he was relieved. He felt like he'd had enough conversation for the day, so he found a guilty pleasure in walking out in silence. It seemed that even the camera and news crews had taken their leave, and Izuku let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in.

Once he arrived home, he had only just turned the key when your door was thrown open. He flinched, visibly startled, before taking you in.

You looked flustered as you rushed out, "Oh, did I scare you? I'm sorry." Sheepishly you added, "I totally wasn't waiting for you to come home or anything. Just wanted to...look...at the hallway." You nodded then, as if trying to convince yourself, "You know, for fresh air..."

Izuku laughed, slightly confused, but like felt that was the right move.

"Do you want to come over?" You asked suddenly, and he saw something hopeful swimming in your eyes, which were much more open now than the last time he had seen you. He was thankful for that.

Before he could even agree, you said, "I promise I won't fall asleep on you this time."

He really laughed at that as he nodded, "Sure. Give me 10 minutes? I just need to put my stuff away and change."

"No," you whined playfully, slipping back into your apartment. "Don't change. I like you how you are!"

Izuku just laughed at your antics as your door closed, glad to see you much more full of energy. He hoped you were able to get the rest you needed, but knew that fixing that level of deprivation would take a bit of time. You can't catch up on sleep, after all.

#anime #my hero academia #mha #farawaytalks #mha fic #bnha #izuku midoriya #bnha fic #deku #farawaywrites #my hero academy fanfiction #boku no hero acedamia #deku x reader #bnha deku #mha deku #izuku angst #izuku midoria x reader #izuku x reader #izuku x y/n

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goldenpinof · 4 months

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What do you think is happening with the wad recording? What I mean is, obviously Dan’s still working on it and I trust he's doing everything he can, but do you think it will have the same vibe as when it was performed during the tour? Since it's been so long. And do you think, if he doesn't for some reason manage to record it, does he have some kind of backup recording from the tour, be it from one camera, but at least with a passable audio? You know way more about this than I do, sorry if this is not how these things work actually 👀

oi, i don't know anything but i have theories. my roman empire.

i don't think it's gonna be released as wad dvd (not anymore, lol). i still call it dvd because it's easier. it can be put on a streaming platform. he didn't record the whole show during his tour but he has recordings of some shows (segments of some shows) that were used for promo. and i'm sure there is more footage than we have already seen. i think it's a good backup that could be used if other plans went to shit. did they go to shit though?

at the end of October i was told that Inter Talent was reaching out to companies trying to sell wad movie rights, basically (hello, op if you're still here). and then in November Dan told us that, "the oven has almost reached temperature" and i would assume they finally sold the rights. to what exactly? i have no idea. a one-man show? has something to do with the place and the festival we shouldn't name? BBC is involved again? if he actually performed wad show in front of some audience we would have known, i assume. so it leaves me with a theory about the "gay and not proud" format that was surely adapted to wad as much as possible. Bo Burnham: Inside (Daniel Howell edition), idk. or another theory - a mix of the footage they have (the promo one) and Dan "performing" on stage alone. no idea how they would make it look natural but they could try.

in both October and November people called the product a movie and a film. it also makes me think that there's gonna be either bts or actual acting in the final product, instead of just what we saw live. so, not the same vibe for sure.

also, since there were adjustments to the script for almost every live show he probably had to make changes for dvd as well. and also he had enough feedback to modify some jokes. this whole delay of wad dvd is a blessing and curse, honestly. he had a chance to perfect it, and i hope he did.

p.s. if he is only about to perform it in front of an audience for filming purposes, and he was selling only the movie idea to get funds, i'm gonna cry. but it would be funny.

#companies guess: channel 4. bbc. netflix is very unlikely so as youtube. i hope it's not amazon would be ironic.#nebula as people suggested. but he will have to do something for them soon if that's the case #he already did something for channel 4 and bbc #answered #wad dvd #stepja

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chubsonthemoon · 1 year

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Binderary week 3!!! These are three wonderful fics by dear friend @aboxthecolourofheartache! Box's writing is so so lovely--she can articulate the big, sweeping things in the everyday and ordinary, as well as accurately portray that wild mix of humor and grief you feel in the aftermath of tragedy. Literally some of my favorite writing ever!

Some process and design chatter, under the cut <3

From top to bottom!:

I'm caught inside every open eye: This is THE fic that made me officially adopt Daniel and fully accept him into my heart! Desire's POV is SUCH a delight--I've never wanted to both laugh and cry so hard in just under 2k words. Green and red/gold irises on the title page as color coding for the two disaster siblings! And the scrapbook paper cover was from a fun paper pack that was all neon and disco-y, which I thought was fitting :3 Also really fond of the title page font, which is called Retrolight! It gave me such groovy vibes~

The Politeness of Princes: WHERE DO I BEGIN with this fic??? I read it before I read the comics, got my heart broken, then re-read it after I had finished the comics and got my heart broken all over again in a fun new way T_T This fic also has one of my favorite tags ever, which is "in which gluten free peach cobbler is a metaphor for vital personal relationships"--and lemme tell you that gluten free peach cobbler IS a metaphor for vital personal relationships (reader, I cried so hard). Anyway, all of this to say: peaches! :3

The last scene also takes place at a potluck/cookout during the summer, so I wanted to give the cover a picnic vibe. I layered two pieces of scrapbook paper--one with the wooden table pattern, and one with the picnic tablecloth pattern over that. I also left a little strip unglued (see below) on the picnic pattern to give it some more TextureTM and as a kind of "edge" of the table (yanno that little flappy bit that always tickles your thighs when you sit at a picnic table? That vibe!)

Then for some fun touches I printed the leaves on vellum (my original intent was to make the leaves transparent for a dappled sunlight kinda feel, which...kinda worked? It's hard to see in the photos but you can kinda see through to the wood layer baha), then I went to town with my watercolors to make the grease/coffee stains on the tablecloth and the shadows under the leaves. (Actually might have gone a little too much to town LOL it kinda looks like I actually got grease on it XD). And then for the finishing touches, I added a layer of glossy paper mod podge to the tablecloth (which is acid-free and archival hell yeah!) to really give it that shiny vinyl/polyester feel and look (although it's kinda hard to see in the photos ajslkfdsj).

Uncertain Results: AHHHH this fic!!!! An absolutely bangin' convo between Hob and Dream with so much said and so much more unsaid--Box's take on their relationship is so fresh and hits all of my buttons. It takes place on the shore of the Dreaming under the stars, hence the cover! The title page graphic is one part of a larger graphic that shows the progression of a star winking in and out of existence, frame by frame:

Which, uh. Well let's just say it reminded me of an Event that happens at the end of the Sandman, an event which is heavily alluded to in the fic T_T This fic, unsurprisingly, also broke my heart! I love it so much.

And that's all from me for today! Thank you SO much, Box friend, for letting me bind your work! It was such a pleasure, and I'm so happy I get to put your writing on my shelf now to read whenever I want ehe :3 (and here's to hoping these books are at least somewhat passable, archival-wise ^^")

<333!!!

#the sandman #The Politeness of Princes #I'm caught inside every open eye #Uncertain Results #aboxthecolourofheartache #bookbinding #fanbinding #ficbinding #not my fic #binderary2023

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desertfangs · 6 months

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Delicate Desires [AO3] Louis/Lestat - Explicit - 3,212 words

I know, I know, I don't really write Louis/Lestat these days but they were my first VC ship (and honestly one of my first fandom ships ever!) and I love them so much. So I hope I did them justice. (I promise I will get back to writing Devil's Minion soon, LOL!)

I really wanted to write something with them for Lestat's birthday and the Rue Royale Era is one of my favorites. I definitely think Louis left some spicy stuff out of the interview (or Daniel cut it out later, I don't know.) This is pretty mild for the explicit rating and it's canon compliant action but I feel like if there's any question, always go for the higher rating, you know?

This was also written for @vampirefest's Lestat Birthday Bingo - for the "Rue Royale Era" square.

Excerpt:

Louis’ door finally opened, startling him. Lestat adjusted himself on the chair, making sure he looked disinterested and bored. He glanced up only briefly when Louis came into the room.

“Finally, he emerges,” Lestat said, keeping his tone droll. “What is it that you do in there?”

Louis looked faintly abashed, turning his head. So delicious to watch him writhe under the most mundane questioning. “I was getting dressed.”

“Certainly took you long enough.”

Lestat looked him up and down with exaggerated purpose as if evaluating his efforts, but in truth, he had to admire how Louis looked. The black brocade vest hugged his narrow waist and cinched the billowing white shirt he wore beneath it. The silver buttons gleamed. His long black hair was neatly tied back with a ribbon, though a strand had already escaped and dropped delicately over his pale white face. His beauty always took Lestat’s breath away.

“I suppose your effort is passable.”

Louis clenched his jaw tight in irritation. Lestat loved how easy it was to rile him up and get a reaction.

Louis looked around the room, no doubt searching for signs of Claudia.

“She went out on her own. She can do it herself now.” He tried to mask his bitterness.

Louis sighed, his shoulders sinking. “I suppose it was bound to happen eventually.” That frustration, at least, was something they shared.

Lestat stood. “Let us go out together instead.”

Louis frowned. They did not hunt together. Louis did so alone, wandering around like a directionless vagrant until some unfortunate crossed his path. Every so often when she insisted, he would take Claudia with him, but mostly she went with Lestat—or now, by herself. Louis was a solo hunter, phantom death lurking alone in dark alleys.

“I prefer to go alone,” Louis said stiffly, tugging at the bottom of his vest. “Have a good evening.”

Lestat moved in front of him, blocking the door and grinning wickedly. “I intend to.”

Read the Rest on AO3

#louis/lestat #loustat #louis de pointe du lac #lestat de lioncourt #lestat/louis #vc fanfic #vc fic #my fic #rue royale era #rue royale #vc #vampire chronicles #lestat's freaking birthday!#lestat birthday bingo #vflestatbirthdaybingo #i am nervous about this because i never write them!!#but i really do them love a lot #the vampire chronicles #also not happy with the graphic but i really wanted to get this posted today so

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daisyful-gvf · 1 year

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sweet as berries (part 5)

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pairings: josh x reader

word count: 1.9k

notes: a short little thanksgiving chapter! i hate writing angst even if it is mild lol, idk how good it is but i hope passable. and now we’re all caught up. i’m looking forward to christmas!bf!josh :)

p.s. this is minimally edited for now

playlist

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-🍓-

Thanksgiving was by no means your favorite holiday, but at least there was wine. And Josh, now.

You spent the better part of the day with your family, helping here and there with the easy bits of cooking, arranging the table setting and lighting candles, helping make it cozy.

The fun part was that you’d been texting Josh all day, and he never failed to make you feel a bit better when things were chaotic.

still coming by later? :)

You sighed pleasantly as you responded to the message.

yeah, as long as you’ve got a kiss or two for me 😊

He answered within a few seconds.

i’ve always got infinite kisses for you, berry. don’t be ridiculous.

Like a giddy child, you bit your lip and smiled at your phone.

i’ll be there around 6 for the infinite kisses, then

He answered:

it’s a date :)

So it was easy, really, to get past the drunken family bickering, the whining children, the obligatory conversation. Because you knew that in just a few hours, you’d be in his arms.

•••

“So actually, I don’t think you get to wear any other outfits ever again,” you said into the soft skin of his neck, embracing him on the porch. He smelled more like cologne than usual, and you drank it in.

“Oh, is that so?”

“Mm,” you nodded, “Look too good in this,”

He did, you were being completely reasonable—the blue jeans, the cream colored t-shirt, the soft brown knit cardigan, the golden charm necklace, the sneakers. It was nothing exceptionally fancy, but damn if he didn’t look good.

And he was chewing gum, something that made you stare at his jaw to a point that most people would consider rude. He looked good.

“Haircut?” You asked, touching the fresh, soft sides of his head.

He nodded, “Gotta look good so you don’t leave me for another man,” he giggled.

“Oh, uh huh,” you laughed, wrapping your hands around his head to pull him into a kiss. He hummed into it, but you felt something, a small fuzz at the base of his head.

“What is this?” You murmured, spinning him around.

“I, uh,” he giggled, “Well,”

“Josh,” you grinned wildly, “Is this a rat tail?”

“Mmm,” he giggled, “Maybe,”

“How—when—?”

“It’s been growing out a little bit, it’s just finally noticeable with the new haircut,”

“Oh my god,” you smiled as you touched it. It was barely there, no longer than a centimeter of hair in a small elastic band.

“Do you hate it? You hate it, don’t you?”

“No,” you spun him back around, “No, I like it,”

“Jesus, look at that smile,” he touched your bottom lip, “You do, huh?”

“You gonna let me braid it when it’s long enough?”

“Duh,” he kissed your cheek, “Glad you like it, I just thought it was kinda…I dunno, different.”

“It suits you,” you thumbed over his cheek, mesmerized by how the sunlight looked reflecting in his eyes.

He tucked his bottom lip under his teeth and his eyes danced over your face.

“You…” he started, reaching up to touch your face.

“Mm?” You grazed your thumb over his cheekbone, noting the faint freckles.

“The way you look at me sometimes…” he smiled the softest smile.

Your heart skipped a beat in your chest, anticipating his next words.

He shook his head as he grinned, “I’m so glad you’re mine. C’mon, Berry, let’s go inside,”

You let him pull you into a hug. He pressed a kiss to your temple as you sighed against his cardigan.

“You like pumpkin pie?” He asked, leading you inside. You nodded, taking in the atmosphere.

His family members were scattered throughout the home, chattering to one another, sipping wine and eating bits of dessert. There were earth toned tablecloths draped over every table and buffet, the occasional seasonal decoration as a centerpiece. The fireplace was lit, and the warm smell of it filled the home.

His parents said their ‘hello’s as you followed Josh to the dining room, where most of the dessert was laid out.

“Look who it is!”

You looked up to see Danny setting a plate of pie down, approaching you for a hug.

“Hey!” You gave him a tight squeeze.

“Haven’t seen you in a minute, how you been?” He picked his plate up and took a bite of the apple pie.

“Good,” you said, “Really good, how about you?”

“Same,” he nodded, “Heard you’ve been glued to that one,” he waved his fork at Josh and grinned.

You rolled your eyes and smiled, “A bit, yeah,”

“She can’t help it, have you seen me, Daniel?” Josh shot him a wink and Danny laughed.

“Well, I’m happy for ya,” Danny patted your shoulder, “M’gonna go bring Sam his pie, I’ll see you two around,”

You nodded and made your way back over to Josh, leaning on his shoulder as he scooped a slice of pumpkin pie onto a plate.

“What else do you want, sweetheart? Apple pie, chocolate pie, lemon bar?”

“Mm, just get a tiny bit of everything and we’ll share it,”

“That’s your best idea yet, Berry,” he grinned.

So you sat on the fireplace hearth, knee bumping Josh’s, trying bite after bite of dessert, sipping sweet wine. He would nod after each one, saying it was better than the last. When you kissed him, softly, his lips tasted of powdered sugar and cinnamon.

When you were done and pleasantly full, you excused yourself to take the plate to the kitchen. After setting it in the sink with the others, you made your way to the dining room to get another glass of wine.

As your poured it, a low voice startled you.

“It’s nice to see you”

You turned your head to see Jake, leaning against the doorway. He grinned, just barely.

“What do you mean?” You murmured, finishing your pour.

“I’ve barely seen you since we’ve been home”

You blinked at him, “I’ve been at your house like, every other day”

“Mm,” he mused. He looked…upset? A frustrated heat rose to your cheeks at his curt demeanor.

“And I was at your bonfire?” You said, “And your halloween party?”

“You said like two words to me at the halloween party, and you were drunk”

You huffed out a short laugh. What was he trying to say? You were inexplicably annoyed that he wouldn’t just get to the point.

“Didn’t know I should have been sober at the halloween party,” you bit out, taking a large drink of the wine.

He looked at you with a warning glance, but it did nothing but spur your defensiveness. You swallowed and continued.

“And it’s a party, not a meeting. Did you want me to stay and talk to you the whole time?”

“I dunno,” he shrugged, “Would have been nice to catch up without you attached to my brother”

You blinked.

“Are you jealous?”

His eyes blew wide, eyebrows arched.

“Excuse me?”

“Of Josh”

He laughed, and a nervous pang hit your stomach.

“Excuse me?” He repeated. “You and I both know it’s never been like that. Never.”

“Oh, so what, you’re repulsed by me, now?”

“No, are—“

“Then which is it?”

“Can you have a bit of empathy for a moment, maybe? Think? Use your brain?”

“Jake—“

“Please. I’m asking. Please empathize.”

He looked…sad. You took a shuddering breath.

Maybe you were being insensitive.

“I’m not mad at you,” he sighed, “Well, I’m a little mad. But I miss you. I miss my friend, I don’t know what—“ he threw his hands up, “It was so sudden. The bonfire happened and then…”

“Jake…”

“And then that was it. And then I’ve just been sat here wondering if you were only close to me so you could be close to…”

You gasped softly.

“Him.” he finished.

There was a beat of silence as you struggled to find the words.

“No, Jake, of course not,” you moved closer to touch his arm but he backed away.

He furrowed his brow, standing there, watching you.

“Then what is it?”

You took a deep breath.

“I’m sorry,” you started, “I am. It was unintentional to…be so distant,”

He nodded slowly, listening. You tried to swallow down the lump in your throat.

“It’s been, um, a surprise. That this has happened. And I’ve been really caught up in it, because it’s…it’s nice. But I never meant to make you feel like I…”

“Forgot about me?” He finished quietly.

You took a breath, “Is that how you feel?”

He nodded. Tears welled up in your eyes.

“I’m so sorry,” you exhaled, “No, I never want you to feel like that. You’re my best friend, I hope I’m still yours.”

“Yeah,” he exhaled, uncrossing his arms and pulling you into a hug, “Yeah, Berry, of course.”

The nickname made your heart ache. You hadn’t heard it from him in a month, knowingly because Josh had asked him to stop. It was bittersweet to hear.

You leaned into the hug and let his arms wrap around you. He was always warm, and he always made you feel so grounded.

You murmured into his shoulder, “Have I really been a dick?”

He nodded and giggled, pulling away, “Yeah, a bit.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m sorry, Jake.”

He nodded again, “Thank you.”

There was another pained silence.

“I miss my friend. I was the one who started calling you Berry, ya know.”

A silence fell over the room. Your throat felt tighter.

“You were too shy to even give the strawberries straight to Josh. Had to have me let you into our kitchen every saturday to drop them off.”

He nibbled on his bottom lip.

Fresh tears spilled over, and you sniffled.

“It’s okay,” he consoled, touching your arm.

“No,” you wiped the tears from your eyes, “No, it’s not. I missed you, too.”

He tucked his bottom lip under his teeth—something that always reminded you that they were twins. The nervous mannerism was identical.

“Hey,” he said softly, “Let’s go do something stupid together, we’ll forget about it,” he grinned.

“Yeah?” You wiped your nose off on your shirt sleeve, “Like what?”

“Hmm,” he pondered, leaning against the table for a moment, “Let’s go drive,”

“It’s…” you pointed outside, “It’s icy.”

“Yeah,” he grinned, “Perfect for doing donuts in the grocery store parking lot,”

“Oh, Jesus,” you laughed, “As long as you don’t kill us,”

“Never, Berry, I’d prefer to live until Christmas,” he grabbed you around the shoulders and led you to the front door, grabbing his keys.

“He told me…um. That he didn’t like when you called me that,”

You didn’t look at him as you made your way out. He offered his arm for you to hold onto so you didn’t fall on the slick driveway.

“I know, and I get it,” he muttered, “Our secret. Like I said…you were Berry to me first.”

“Jake…”

“I know, I know. Just—“ he sighed, “It’s gonna take some getting used to.”

You nodded, getting into his passenger seat. You texted Josh, letting him know you and Jake would be out for a bit. Then you put your phone in your pocket, looking to Jake as he got in.

He started the car and put on his music. As he drummed on the steering wheel, he looked to you.

“Ready, Berry?” he smiled wildly.

“No,” you laughed, “But let’s do it.”

“Atta girl,” he beamed, pulling out of the driveway.

-🍓-

taglist:

@starshine-wagner @dannywagners-middlefinger @writingcold @kels-gvf @aconfusedhippie @jordierama @fearless-wanderer @finelinejpm @thehourbeforesunrise @madz-0217 @gretavanbitches @doodle417 @rhythm-of-space @milkgemini @st4rdust-ch0rds @thegardensgate @myownparadise96

#gvf fanfiction #gvf fic #greta van fleet fan fiction #gvf fics #josh kiszka fic #josh kiszka x you #josh kiszka x reader #sweet as berries

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manonamora-if · 2 months

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March Check-In

Lol. We definitely were not back on track here. We tried and SUPER FAILED at going back to the schedule.

Will March be better? Let's find out together...

Onto the usual index:

Recap of last month’s progress

IF Events in the Next Month

Plan for the next month

Still long post under the break. If you want a mini version, head over to itch.io!

February Progress

Welp... there wasn't much of a list in the January Check-in, since it was the retrospective, which included the yearly plan. Still, I did make a mini one on itch. Put together we'd get:

Play more IF and maybe review. ✅

Finish the coding of Harcourt Ch5 ❌ and editing of Ch6 ❌

Fix one of the semi-completed games: ❌

Complete the Vamp/Smoochie jam entry✅

Heyyyy 50/50. Passable grade!

I've passed the very funny number of 420 reviews on the IFDB recently, mainly working my way through the French games (since there are very few reviews and French IF peeps are neat people). There are 300+ games left on that side, it will take me a while to get there but I'm making progress (almost done with 2023!). If my pace continues... I might be able to reach 2nd place in the ranking before my 1 year anniversary of reviewing games (mid-may). Also somewhat related, I've been trying to rate more games on itch too :)

I said I would finish the coding of Harcourt... and then didn't. But MelS was more productive than me, and he finished the first draft of Chapter 6 earlier than planned... which I haven't finished commenting on either... So :/

I also didn't fix any semi-completed games. So there.

But I managed to make it for the Queer Vampire Jam and the Smoochie Jam with Teatime with a Vampire ! A 20k-long trippy game with a hot vampire and a weird show...

AND AND I finally fixed my website and my itch.io profile. It has a cool feature on the front page. And we did a little AMA a few weeks ago!

Honestly, I thought I would have been done with Teatime two weeks before it actually was completed. So that threw a wrench in the rest. And probably having to moderate a few events at once...

And the extra day clearly didn't help.

EDIT: I TOTES FORGOT, but I updated DOL-OS for an extra QOL screen at the start.

What’s happening in March?

There's always something happening in the IF world. I don't think I ever find all that happens anyway... but. Here's the ones I know!

Today is the last day to submit a Spring Thing intent! (ranked)

he Queer Vampire Game Jam ends in about three weeks. Got a vampire/human story with a LGBT+ cast? Then this is the event for you! (unranked) Also they are doing a fundraising/matching donation with submissions!

The SeedComp! (Sprouting) extended the deadline for a few more days! See @seedcomp-if for more info ;) (ranked)

Concours de Fiction Interactive Francophone 2024 se termine Lundi! Viendez faire des histoires en français!! <3 (ranked, duh)

The next @neointeractives mini-jam will all be about bringing back old jams... Check out the Revival Jam !

The Text Adventure Literacy Jam 2024 just started! It will be looking for "parser for beginners" entries until May!

Note: @neointeractives will have jams all year long. One a month/or so. And the next Planting Round of @seedcomp-if will start as soon as the results are dropped.

The PLANtm for March

Busy plan once again. Here are the thing I'm hoping to do or finish this month:

Complete my French Comp entry. The deadline is in 3 days. Will I make it? Probably. Will it be good? Probably be not because I've been writing it only in the past two weeks. You can expect some "love" letters though...

Complete my SpringThing entry. It will be all about fixing typos and potential bug. The code will be ready next week anyway. Maybe slap some cool-er animations.

Play more games! Consider this done. There's the Smoochie Jam, the SeedComp! and the FrenchComp right there...

Finish the Code Ch5 of Harcourt and edit Ch6. At least one round of edits would be good. So I can put MelS to work again.

Finish fixing The Roads Not Taken. I'm so sorry babe. I'm not avoiding you I swear. I actually haven't bee on the computer with your files this month...

LET'S DO THIS! WE CAN DO IT!

The 2024 To-Do List:

I have done nothing here. So here's the list again for nothing.

The hopefully maybe easy to handle To-Do:

fix the bugs in EDOC + overall the French version to match

fix the bugs of TRNT + find a way to add the missing pieces (giving up on the translation)

fixing the interface of LPM and the popups + check animal interactions

figure out the One-Button JavaScrip/jQuery issue...

edit the loading screens of the completed tiny games to include the program/format logo at least.

The 'Need a Bunch of Content to update but it's planned!' To-Do:

Update my website (bunch new title - also I don't think the logo clicky thing work...) + redo my itch page

Finish TTATEH (MelS dependent - this year should be it - for real)