#went on a nostalgia trip through my wips

[takohebi]

twst wip sketches that i am now 100% sure i'll never finish

spicy stuff under the cut:

[notthestarwar]

does ‘the island’ also contain rats by any chance??? Will you talk about any wips you have that may feature rats? 🥺👉👈

You know all about rat island lol that's OUR baby

OK. For the uninitiated. Where to even begin lol.

So it all starts with a gremlins fueled haze. We'd watched the scooby doo movie earlier that day and au thoughts had been lit. Add codywan, my need for begrudging Anakin and cody buddy team ups, and the servers pet rat: it was a recipe for a fever dream. The gremlins music at 1am really just stoked the fire.

So the premise is: no order 66. It's post war, they're not quite at that happy ending yet. There's a feeling that they've all dodged a huge bullet. Cody is learning to live. Obi Wan has taken a sabbatical to figure things out post war. Anakin has been divorced, lost custody, and rejected the Jedi's help. He's a hot mess. He's trying to figure out who he is, in the most messy 'I'm 23 and didn't do any of this when I was 19' kind of way. He's partying. He's become a student. He's messing up in all the mundane ways that you can think of.

Then, he gets a mysterious invite to a all expenses paid resort. It's suspicious as hell, he pays that no notice. He's spiralling.

Now. The resort. Is rat themed. Don't think about that too hard. It's like Disney but it's rat themed and it's adults only so there's lots of rat bars ect and it's on an island. It's like the resort in the scoobydoo movie but it's more disneyfied and capitalist and also all of the rats are terrifying. Like. We have a storyboard of the worst rat costumes I could find (including our fav pet rat obviously) and that's the inspo we're working from here

Now if you're new to rat island you probably think that's the end. Oh no. That's just Chapter 1.

This is based on the scooby doo movie afterall. There's a sith conspiracy on the island. There's bodyswapping. AND. There's a dog.

i'm going to share 2 snippets of it. cause i love it too much to decide.

"Cody had always prided himself on his propensity for research. He was not one to walk in to a situation unprepared. As soon as they’d heard of Anakin’s trip, he’d done some digging.

Rat island was a combination of theme-park and party island, located on the beach planet: Muridae. The resort was, in its entirety, dedicated to a small mammalian creature native to the planet Eukaryota--which is not even in the same system.

Supposedly, the park was based around an ageing cartoon show that had only grown in popularity with civilians during the war, the war had brought many things, a wave of rat based nostalgia was maybe less expected than others.

Despite all his research, nothing could prepare him for the reality of it. As they leave the lander Cody finds himself in a corner of the galaxy he’s rarely had reason to imagine, let alone see. A place of over indulgence, excess and noise.

It isn’t one of the strangest places he’s found himself, Cody had seen weirder things during the war. Not many, but still, some. On one of the strangest planets. But this was maybe one of the least familiar. Kamino had never prepared him for this.

When they stepped out onto the landing platform, Obi Wan looked far too pleased. Cody only scowled.

He wished he’d listened when he was told to bring sunglasses but was utterly unwilling to admit it. Once, when he wore armour wherever he went he had a built in visor, he had tints! He squinted in the sun. Civilian life really was grim sometimes.

“Isn’t this nice.” Obi wan said, looking down at the nearby beach.

“We aren’t staying.” Cody told him shortly.

“Of course not dear, we are just here to collect Anakin.” Obi Wan agreed.

Cody gave him a suspicious side eye.

“Is the sun getting in your eyes, dear?” Obi Wan asked, tilting his head and looking at Cody through his own sunglasses, ridiculous bug eyed things.

“No. Not at all.” Cody lied.

Obi -Wan gave him a long look. Cody ignored it.

Eventually, Obi-Wan he spotted a map. “Ah look. Over here Cody. Look! There's a gift shop.”

“No.” Cody told him, flat, No gift shop.”

Obi Wan gave him a sad look.

“No.” Cody said again. He squinted at the map. “Where is the security office.”

Obi Wan sighed. “To the west.”

“Right lets go.”

Obi wan gave a pitiful sigh. Cody ignored that too.

Cody knew very well they’d be visiting one of the islands many gift shops before they left this forsaken place, there was no need for him to give in so early; Obi wan would only take advantage of such a weakness.

As they round the corner, a person dressed in a loose fitting grey costume, their whole head obscured by that of a rat, seems to pop-up out of nowhere, scaring the shit out of Cody.

“Have a Rat-tastic day!”

Cody will not be having a Rat-tastic day. He finds himself uncertain of what exactly a Rat-tastic day is, but he does know that he will most definitely not be having one."

Next, in this snippet, they finally visit the gift shop:

"Dear. Just pick a pair."

Cody continued to look at the sunglass stand in affront.

"I don't need any."

"Yes." Obi Wan gave him a stern look. "You do."

Cody gave the stand another spin, increasingly offended. "Does every pair have a rat?"

"Well…" Obi-Wan was looking towards the counter, where a sign declared that they where standing in an establishment of 'Rat-tastic Gifts'

Cody just scowled. "Why does the sun have to be so bright?" He made an irritated noise. "This place!" He huffed. "Couldn't Anakin have picked anywhere else?"

"Well, he was invited…"

"He had to accept! Who would accept an invite to Rat karking Island? Only Skywalker. Who would invite Skywalker to a Rat Island in the first place? The whole place seems like some demented way to torture people." He grumbled a few choice words under his breath.  

"Dear…" 

"Fine!" Cody picked out a pair with the least obstructive rat he could find, only a small metal rat shaped medallion on the end of each arm and a rat print that was, thankfully, reserved for the inside of the arms only.

As they made their way to the counter he caught Obi-Wan looking towards a display showing one of the worst rat costumes Cody had ever seen. It was made out of a kind of plush velveteen fabric that was quite frankly, monstrous. The thing was made of far too much material, giving it the appearance of wrinkly skin. And to add insult to the injury of having to see this thing (and see it he had, the staff in this place roamed the paths dressed in a collection of eclectic rodent outfits) the face was… The eyes. They boggled. The whiskers, were wonky. It was barely recognisable as a rat. 

"NO."  Cody managed, as he marched them to the counter. 

"Feeling ratty?" The twilek at the counter greeted with a bright smile. 

Cody swallowed a small amount of bile. "We are not." He grunted. 

The shop assistant seemed slightly caught for words, his lack of enthusiasm halting her usual script.  She looked to the sunglasses down on the counter. "Ah. Soon!" She threatened, with a smile. 

When they left the shop,  Obi Wan burst in to laughter.

"Soon!" Cody repeated. "I karking hope not. This place is like a cult."

Obi-Wan took one look at his face and burst in to renewed wheezes.

rat island is...ongoing. in the meantime, @felixeis003 has created an amazing piece of art of it here:

[fyodcrs]

WIP Wednesday

An excerpt from Part Two of Cathedrals of Melancholy (Fyodor/Dazai) Fyodor and Dazai The Morning After. A little domestic fyozai for the soul ♡ Still struggling through this fic sdfghjgh. Gonna have to rewrite some of the first part after the next few chapters, I guess. (((＞＜)))

Dazai kicked off the blankets and dragged himself, somewhat gingerly, out of bed. He rummaged around the room for his pants for a good thirty seconds before he realized that his clothes had been neatly folded and set on the table, along with a fresh roll of bandages. How thoughtful, really.

He bounced the roll in his palm for a beat, debating. The cool air against his bare flesh felt strange; a violation, almost. He could not remember the last time he had gone to sleep without the bandages, the last time he had spent so long without being wrapped up “like a half-assed mummy,” as Chuuya used to say.

He had, he supposed, always expected this. Just as he had always expected they would end up as they had last night. That they would end up here, on the precipitous edge of a future that one of them would shape to their own image. But only one of them. The other would have to fall.

Or they would both fall together.

Dazai unrolled the bandages and wrapped himself—like a half-assed mummy—with the ease of long practice. As far as clothing went, he didn’t bother to throw anything on except his pants. Thus attired, he threw open the sliding door to the bedroom with a flourish.

Fyodor smiled at him. “Dobroye utro, moy lyubimyy.”

“Dobro-whatsit to you, too,” Dazai replied cheerfully. He circled his arms around Fyodor’s waist from behind, nuzzling his face into Fyodor’s hair. “Whatever you’re making, it smells almost as good as you look.”

Fyodor sounded amused. “It’s a sausage, egg and cheese scramble. You really don’t cook at all, do you?”

Dazai huffed like he could not believe his ears. “As if.” He eyed the mess on the counter. “You went on quite the grocery shopping trip last night before breaking into my home, I see. Ooh, you even got milk!”

“I didn’t break in,” Fyodor protested. “The door was open.”

Dazai gawped openly as he watched Fyodor stir the eggs, sausages, and cheese in the skillet, as if he had never seen anything so fascinating. “Who knew you were such a foodie,” he remarked, impressed. “Considering you’re scrawnier than I am.”

“Just because it’s my habit to eat only once every two days doesn’t mean I only eat crap like canned crab,” Fyodor retorted haughtily.

“Hey, hey, canned crab is the food of the gods.”

“There’s only one God, Dazai, and even if He required sustenance, canned crab would certainly not be His first choice.”

Dazai grinned. He brushed his nose across the shell of Fyodor’s ear, and his grin turned wicked as the other man shivered.

Giving Fyodor a playful pat on the backside, Dazai withdrew, drawn to the milk. He had not had milk in—he didn’t know when. Tea and alcohol had always been more his style.

Fyodor slid him a glance out of the corner of his eye, but soon returned his attention to his cooking. Dressed in the same clothes he had swiped from Dazai’s closet last night, his posture was loose, relaxed. He moved about the dorm’s tiny kitchen space like he had always been there, like he knew every nook and cranny as well as Dazai did. Better, perhaps, because Dazai did not spend much time here.

“Did I ever tell you I used to live in a shipping container?” Dazai asked conversationally.

“A shipping container,” Fyodor echoed flatly.

Dazai wiped a respectable milk-mustache from his upper lip with a solemn expression. “Yep. In the dump.”

“Of course you did.”

“That was while I was with the Mafia.” Dazai leaned against the counter, affecting nostalgia. “It was the loneliest place in Yokohama—in the world, maybe. A place not on any map. Toxic substances had been illegally dumped there for years.”

“Like how the Mafia dumped you there?”

“The soil itself had become toxic, so even mice and gulls stayed away. And rats.”

“From the toxins or from you?”

Dazai’s eyes had darkened with memory, as black as yawning caverns, absorbing all sound and light, absorbing all. He saw the little home he had haphazardly built for himself inside the shipping container, the refrigerator, exhaust fan, the bed, table, desk, and chair, and the one naked bulb that hung above his head and cast its weak unwavering glow in the still, noxious air. And he saw Fyodor, overlaid on the present and the past like a double image, a ghost moving quietly alongside him through the years of his life.

“What did it feel like?” he asked, suddenly, in a murmur.

“What did what feel like?”

“Dying.”

Fyodor paused and regarded him, smiling, perfectly serene. “It felt exactly as you have always imagined.”

Dazai closed his eyes, briefly. His expression trembled, threatening to shatter like glass, the glint of tears beneath his eyelids. With a breath, he calmed, and when he opened his eyes again, he looked cheerful. He took a drink of milk, relishing the coolness down his dry throat.

Fyodor frowned and snatched the milk out of Dazai’s hand. “Don’t drink right out of the jug, get a glass. Honestly, Dazai, you’re not still living in the dump, you can at least pretend to be civilized.”

Dazai made a face. “‘Civilized,’ he says. I bet you’ve lived in even worse conditions than I have. Aren’t sewers where rats usually like to nest?” 

“I have never lived in the sewer, thank you very much. And the difference is it was never by choice for me. Your misery has always been of your own making.” He waved Dazai away, imperious as a matron with her unruly children, or a monarch with his servants. “Go set the table, would you? It’s almost ready.”

Dazai’s face brightened like a child’s. He immediately rushed to do as instructed.

[elshells]

WIP Filenames Tag

Thank you so much for the tag, @writernopal! Check out her post here.

Rules: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have WIPS.

I basically went through my entire Google drive, and what a nostalgia trip! Some of these are currently in progress, some are long abandoned, and some I have no memory of ever creating. So this was a lot of fun! Feel free to ask me about any of these if you'd like!

AA - SOPHIA

AA - HARLEY

Encore

The Opus Society

EMBR of the Earth

Halfway House

Pandora’s Box

I Miss You with No Response

Homebody

Sea Urchin

Alley Cat

Lionhead

Witches

Water Nymphs

The Hunter’s Legacy

DRAGONS

A Murder of Crows

Codex

Enyo and Thaedhel

The Other Side

Olly Olly Oxen Free

The Treasure of Faringray Manor

Aveline

The Hunts of Piper Field

Wayward Girl

That is TWENTY-FIVE files, and unfortunately, I do not know twenty-five people on Tumblr. Oops XD

Welp, I'll do my best! Tagging @dragonedged-if, @princessw0lf, @ryns-ramblings, @mariahwritesstuff, @e-klair, and @bitchin-beskar, plus anyone else who wishes to do this! Absolutely no pressure, of course, and apologies if anyone I tagged has already done this!

[woodelf68]

WIP Game

Rules: Write the latest line from your wip (or post where you last left off in your art) and tag as many people as there are words in the  line. Make a new post, don’t reblog.

Accepting an open tag from @nostalgia-tblr:

Odin made a rough snarling noise. “I shall not let you die at all, if I have anything to say about it. If Thanos, or anyone else comes hunting you, they shall have to go through me first.” Loki’s eyes went wide and startled, making him look very young.

(There are actually several lines after this, but the actual last currently written line of "A perfunctory knock sounded on the door and Eir entered the room" wasn't very interesting; this is the last line that I know I won't be changing further down the line in the edit phase. The set-up: Frigga is in a coma after being stabbed by the Kursed and Loki has been allowed to come say any final words to her in case she doesn't make it. (Eir did some guilt-tripping on Odin and Loki has sworn to behave like the good boy that he is because he doesn't really want his last words to Frigga to have been "you're not my mother".) Odin and Loki are both feeling vulnerable. They are talking about feelings. Truths are coming out.)

Six words in the actual first line (since I generously provided four since context is important), so I'm tagging @thelightofthingshopedfor, @psychoticgirl, @eienvine, @callistonicol, @deliriumsdelight7, and @kelyon.

[vorish-musing]

Risky Business (IT Chapter Two)

Summary: Eddie is a monster hunter, he’s called back to his hometown, there's another man eating monster, he just never realized how fucked this job could be.

Warnings: this story contains soft, safe, G/t vore. if you do not like this, I suggest not reading. this is also not a story for the faint of heart, there is (not super graphic) moments of fatal/hard vore, digestion mention (does not occur), fearplay, and the usual cussing warning.  

Hi guys! its been so long! I’ll be honest, i was not planning on posting this, since this was a WIP discarded back in march, but while watching the movie again, I realized I needed to finish this, I really hope y’all like it!

NSFW DO NOT INTERACT

Risk analysis? Was that Job invented before fun?

Well, it Depends on what you call ‘fun’

For Eddie Kaspbrak, risk analysis is fun.

He couldn’t remember much of his past, all that he knew was that monsters existed, the ones that hid under your bed, the ones that prey in the night, he didn’t know how he discovered this for the longest time, he just... knew.

He knew he had to have encountered a monster at one point, but he just couldn't remember when.

His first instinct was to kill these monsters, though after further consideration of how the ethics of that worked, plus the morality of him being the judge, jury and executioner was pretty skewed. He decided to analyze these creatures, at least the ones he found. Witches, Vampires, werewolves, ghosts.

So yeah, he was a Risk Analysis, he analyzed creatures that we’re a risk to human kind.

And yes, it was Fun.

Being a part of a small group of people who knew these monster movie critters existed was something he wished he could brag about.

Though everything changed when he got that call from Mike Hanlon, Begging him to come back to Derry to fight that clown. That damned clown.

His memories flooded back, the childhood trauma of that summer, 1989, when everyone they knew started turning up missing, really they were dead, nothing more than food to the demon living in the sewers

It was then, fighting that demon, when he realized that analyzing these monsters wasn’t enough anymore.

They were not a risk, they were a threat.

Once he got back to his home in new york, he began his own business, he tried finding his way into different circles, ones he never thought existed, multiple people with stories of slaying beasts of all shapes and sizes, and he was now one of them.

He got a second phone, one he could use for his side job, he went under an alias, Richie Marsh. Not creative, a little embarrassing,  but it worked.

He would get calls almost daily, he made pretty good money, but he had one rule, only kill if it had harmed first. He always turned the monsters who had done no wrong away, allowed him to get some sleep at night, knowing that he was saving others lives while doing this.

Hell, the first time he met a vampire, the dude just chilled alone in a cabin in the woods. Not bothering anybody.

He began making a name for himself in the business and it had only been a year, it was impressive to all about his knowledge, how much he knew about these creatures, how fearless he could be.

Up to this day, he scribbled down notes about the varying creatures he saw and met. Sitting in his living room, the constant scritch of his pencil was interrupted by a ringing from his pocket.

He took his ‘work’ phone out of his jeans, putting the device to his ear.

“Hello?”

“Is this Richie Marsh?” A familiar voice was heard on the other end, but he couldn’t quite place it.

Eddie ran a hand through his hair, thankful his phone had a voice modifier, just in case he actually knew the person on the other line.. Even though chances of that were slim to none. “Depends who’s asking”

with one hand, he took a sip of water in a glass, while with the other he opened a new page in his notebook, ready to write down this stranger's name.

“My name is Mike Hanlon, I was given this number by a friend, he told me you could help me”

Slim to none huh?

Eddie coughed up the drink back into his cup,“M-Mike Hanlon?”

“Uh...yes, I...I need your help”

Eddie scribbled down the name very quickly, though nothing in the world could make him forget it. “with what? What's going on?” he felt his heart racing, he didn’t want any of his friends to know what kind of danger he was putting himself into, he didn’t want them to know, or even try it themselves.

“Well… I live in Derry, Maine. There was a curse in this town...right? A monster, it killed a lot of people, but me and my friends… we stopped it.” Mike's voice sounded nervous.

“I...see…” Eddie’s voice wavered, hoping that this wouldn’t be another call back to defeat a killer clown “if you stopped it, why are you calling?”

“Because people are going missing again, but I know it's not what we fought, it's something else, nothing is being left behind, they’re just...vanishing.”

Eddie scribbled a few words down, his throat getting dry as he began to sweat nervously “okay...what's the age range of the missing persons?”

Please don't be kids….please don’t be kids.

“All adults, the other creature went for children, and those killings lasted for a year at least. This happens every few weeks, from my calculations, it's once every 3 weeks, and if I'm right, they're supposed to be here by Friday, they start hunting at night.”

Eddie couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief as he wrote what mike was saying down, opening his laptop and began booking a flight for Friday afternoon “okay, got it. have you seen this creature.”

There was an awkward pause, before Mike answered, almost embarrassed, “No.”

“Then how do you know all of this?” He wanted to believe Mike was reading too much into things, that Derry wasn’t being terrorized with another monster.

“Because one of the missing people has come back, and she came to me-- I’m somewhat of a Private eye in this town” Eddie smiled--good for him, making a name for himself in Derry.

“I talked with this one lady, she told me that she didn’t remember much, but whatever was out there, her two friends were killed, she didn’t tell me how they died, or even how she escaped...she just woke up..”

Eddie scribbled some more “do you know how many there are?”

“No. but I believe there's more than one, if you come in the next few days we can meet up and-”

Eddie shot up out of his seat “NO!” he heard mike go silent, before adding “uh...no...i’d rather uh...keep my face a secret”

Mike let out a laugh “of course, of course. We will have to talk more though, I have many notes and things that I’ve observed-”

‘Text me them, I have to go”

“But-”

Eddie hung up before he could hear the rest of that sentence, falling back into his seat. He put both hands on his face and sighed loudly.

He had to go back to Derry, and he had to avoid seeing Mike there too. He let out a groan, sitting up and finishing the booking process, it was only two days away, but that gave him enough time to pack everything he needed.

Those two days went by very fast. Mike tried to pay, but Eddie insisted it be free, not wanting to take money from his friend. Next thing he knew, he was on a plane to Derry, a rental car waiting for him and another traumatic nostalgia trip was in his future.

Once the plane landed, he quickly made his way through the airport, wearing a baseball cap in a poor attempt to hide his face. He got into his rental car, driving as fast as he (legally) could on the roads to his hotel room, texting Mike that he had landed, and was going to scope out the locations where Mike had claimed the creatures were.

As he drove through the streets, he began noticing the missing persons signs, it reminded him of when he was young, and there were people he knew going missing. He shook his head. Whatever those creatures were, He was sure he would stop it.

He parked his car in front of the hotel, getting a room key and making his way up with his bags. He used to be very particular where he stayed, but as the months went on with this job, he would just take what he could get.

As he settled in, he got another call from Mike.

“If you need any help, I’m no stranger to killing monsters, just give me a call” Mike sounded worried, but it also sounded like he wanted Eddie to say yes to him coming along, but the man couldn’t bring himself to ask.

“I’m fine Mr. Hanlon. Thank you.”

“Okay, most of the missing persons were last seen around the woods, be careful, the trees go on and on, outside of the town and basically into the next, which is an hour away when Driving” Mike explained a few more things about the town, which of course, Eddie already knew about.

After speaking for a few more minutes about the plan, Eddie hung up the phone, it felt so awkward to be speaking to him under his alias, it was the most disconnected he had ever felt while on the job.

Once he gets all of his hunting gear in order, he puts it under the bed, just in case housekeeping decides to come in, and promptly leaves the room.

If he had to be here for the next day or so, he could at least go out and get some food.

As he walked down the streets of Derry, he made sure wherever he would go, nobody was following, and that nobody who knew him could recognize him.

He soon settled on a cafe near the hotel, walking into the establishment and ordering coffee with a BUNCH of espresso shots inside, after all, he needed all the energy he could get. He was usually much more healthy, but on jobs, he needed as much caffeine as humanly possible.

Sitting at an empty booth in the cafe, he took his journal out, scribbling a few notes down, his plan, he never really needed a plan, but it was nice to have one. He was sure this was a simple case that would be solved in less than an hour, so he didn’t pay much mind to it.

The barista comes to his table, setting his cup of pure caffeine down. Before she could leave, Eddie pulled out a $20 bill out of his wallet, giving it to her

“Save up every cent, get out of this town, it’ll be good for you” she gave him a confused look, like she was expecting him to pull it away as a joke, but with a look in his eyes, she took the money.

The barista smiled, her eyes bright and much more charismatic than his, “thank you sir.” she pocketed the money in her apron “ and that's the plan, as soon as I have enough money, I’m leaving this hell hole--just me and my shitty van. all the way to broadway”

He nodded as she walked away. He took a sip of his bitter drink, going over his notes a few more times--now should I ambush or wait--

“Eddie?”

His heart stopped dead as he snapped his head up, hearing his name, slamming the book closed.

His eyes met Richie's, who seemed equally as shocked to see him there. They stared at each other for a few moments.

W...why is he here?! He...he can’t be here now...what the fuck?

There was something off in Richie's overall appearance, he looked very sick, malnourished, hunched over and wearing clothes that looked like they hadn’t been washed in weeks, his eyes looked like he was coming straight from the morgue.

Though his face was one of shock and confusion as to why Eddie was in Derry that night, Eddie was almost disappointed Richie was not happy to see him there.

“Holy shit trashmouth” Eddie sat up straight “What the hell are you doing here?” He motioned for Richie to sit down, which the man obliged to very quickly.

“Just passing through, I have to get down to uh… Ludlow, Maine.” to this, Eddie was confused, it sounded like Richie was making things up on the spot “I uh...got a show down there, w-what are you doing in Derry?”

He knew when Richie was lying, he always knew, he never told Richie this, but since they grew up together, he watched the mannerisms he had when lying, and could always tell ever since.

But that's because he didn’t want to look stupid, believing what Richie said. Definitely not because he liked to watch the man, and DEFINITELY not because he admired him for lying with so much ease.

Definitely not.

Eddie nodded, taking a sip of coffee “Just uh…” he quickly thought of a lie, “Visiting Mike, I wanted to surprise him, plus, wanted to get away from New York for a while”

“Interesting.” Richie’s eyes fell to the journal Eddie was desperately trying to keep hidden “Aw, does Eddie have a diary?”

Eddie let his face falter a bit, showing off his worry, pulling his journal “its it’s for work, asshat” he narrowed his eyes.

Richie, one who usually would keep poking at Eddie, slumped back a bit “Well, I gotta get going, Nice seeing you around.” he stood up, ready to walk away.

“Wait, come on.” Eddie looked up at the man, extremely confused “are you okay, man? If I'm honest, you look like shit.”

“Yeah i'm...fine.I just gotta get some...thing to eat” Richie eyed him up and down slowly, before exiting the building without another word.

Eddie just stared at the door as Richie walked away, well, not really walking, he was pretty much stumbling away.

Though as he left, the two men from before waved at Richie, like they knew him...probably just fans, Eddie couldn’t afford to read too much into things.

He shook his head, taking another sip of his coffee and reopening his book once again, Richie was probably drunk, and there was no surprise there. Eddie noticed how much Richie would drink last time they met, and this behavior didn’t surprise him.

But it was strange.

He quickly finished up his cup of coffee, placing his cup at the edge of the table, another waitress quickly coming to pick it up as he left the coffee shop, holding onto his journal tightly as he walked through Derry.

He checked his phone, a few missed messages from Mike, sharing a few more of his findings, but Eddie couldn’t bother to read them, his mind was only on Richie.

Why was he lying? What was he doing here? Questions whizzed around his head. Did Richie know something? Did Mike call him too?

Eddie sighed, he better get back to his hotel room, no use thinking about it now. He had a task at hand, and he had to get ready in the next few hours.

And that he did.

He was prepared for everything, he had a few guesses to what the monster was, a werewolf, a demon? but nothing really fit perfectly. demons kill people, but it's not like they would let people escape. Werewolves fit better, you could escape one, but they were not very...cleanly with their kills.

Whatever it was, it was going to be killed, no matter how many there were.

An alarm went off in his phone, letting the man know it was time to leave, get to the woods and start investigating.

He grabbed his bag, filled to the brim with gear, and headed out the door, texting Mike that he was headed out, and that the man needed to refrain from further messages, until Eddie had texted first of course.

He placed his phone back into his pocket, swiftly leaving the building. It was only a twenty minute walk to the forest, but if it felt like forever, his body felt shaky, like he should just turn around.

He never felt like this before, he chalked it up to nerves, with being back in Derry. Something in him still believed it could be IT, but he knew that wasn’t the case. If it was, ‘Richie Marsh’ wouldn’t be out, it would be the losers.

Before he even knew it, he was in the woods, walking down a manmade concrete pathway, exactly where Mike told him to go, trees making it seem like he was walking through a hedge maze.

As he walked down the path, it seemed to get more and more confusing, like he couldn’t even remember where he was going, but thinking it was nerves, he kept going.

His heart stopped as he heard a woman's scream break the cold silence of the night, the sound of heels clicking on the concrete coming closer and closer.

As quick as he could, he bolted towards the sound of the woman, following her voice. He carefully took out a  gun from his bag as he ran down the pathway, his finger on the trigger.

Soon enough, a woman came into his field of vision, she was wearing a black apron, a dirty white shirt caked in blood, and a tattered pair of shorts.

it was the Barista from the coffee shop, She waved her arms wildly as she ran towards him, stumbling around like an animal.

“Please! Please help me! He’s gonna kill me!”

Eddie placed the gun back into his bag, putting it on his back and grabbing onto her as she ran into him.

Her makeup was running down her face, blood all over her skin, her hair was a mess, what once was a perfect simple bun, was now tangled with branches and all kinds of dirt in it.

“Ma’am calm down its okay we just-”

“No you don't understand! We can’t stay here we have to run!” She whisper-yelled at him, grabbing his arm and pulling him into the trees, straying from the pathway. “If they find us they’ll kill us!” she pulled him into a ditch, her breath shaky and tears flooding down her face.

“Okay… Okay take a deep breath, what the hell happened?” Eddie reached into his bag, grabbing his first-aid kit, ready to seal up any wound on her.

She took deep breaths, holding onto her arms as she shivered “these two guys, he… came into the cafe I work in, He was so nice” she let out a laugh, sniffling a sob. “I was so stupid, he asked me and my coworker out, and we said yes, it was supposed to be a walk in the woods, a nice walk… “

“Where’s your coworker now?” Eddie pulled out a cloth to wipe her off with, before he could give it to her, she began sobbing.

“The man…the thing! It ate her!” she said through her sobs. “While we were walking, they… they began saying weird things, like ‘dinner is ready' we didnt know what they meant! They meant us! This man came out of the woods, i called out to him, he just looked away, I think he was one of them.”

As she spoke, he watered down the cloth, giving it to her. “he...ate her?”

She sighed, wiping her face with the cloth, “this is going to sound crazy…”  she hesitated, sniffling again as she looked at him.

“I deal with crazy almost 3 times a week, this is why I’m here, you’re gonna be okay, this is my job.”

She nodded nervously “there was another man there, he was in the trees, before we could even say anything, all three of them...grew..into giants...and… my coworkers date...he picked her up and…”

She suddenly fell into a crying fit once more, falling into eddies lap, he rubbed her back, trying to console her.

“He… he bit her in half!” she screamed through sobs. “I got away, the one in the trees just watched me, who knows how close he is.”

He felt sick as she cried, and Eddie looked away from her… this wasn’t what he expected, no wonder nothing was making sense, there was nobody, because they would eat it.

He was about to say something, as they heard the sound of leaves crunching and branches breaking. “It's not my fault you lost the bitch”

The girl froze, her cries stopping out of fear, she covered her mouth. She shared a terrified look with Eddie, who shared the same look.

“Well it's not mine either, I was in the middle of eating!” the man sounded so nonchalant when talking about murder, but then again, most monsters weren’t remorseful.

“Will both of you shut the fuck up and just get on with it?” the voice sounded eerily familiar, but he couldn’t concentrate on it now.

The three men kept bickering, and the barista nodded to eddie, pointing to the other side of the ditch, mouthing the word “run”

He shook his head wildly, mouthing the word “no” over and over, if she did this, she would be dead.

Either she thought it would work, or she didn’t care if she died, but she ran up the side of the ditch, then began dashing through the woods once again, ignoring Eddie's silent pleas not to.

Instantly two out of the three men yelled, and began running as well, though their footsteps began getting louder and louder, Eddie shrunk back, trying to hide as best as he could.

He watched in horror as one of the giants walked over the ditch, which took them only one step, right above him, then another, then another, it was too dark to get a good look at any of them from his disadvantaged point.

But luckily, with all the noise they were making, he was able to run to the other side of the ditch, running up and hiding behind a large tree, digging through his bag, the best luck he would’ve had with killing these things, was his machete, thanking god that he actually brought it.

Eddie held it tightly to his chest, slowly turning to see what was happening.

“Let me go!” the Barista screamed as she was picked up by the giant, flailing around in his grip.

“Oh I’ll let you go alright,”

She gave him a strange look, before returning to her screams as he lifted her up over his head, his mouth agape.

“I’ll let you go now”

Eddie turned back behind the tree, hearing her screams as she was dropped into the giant's mouth, he wasn’t looking, but his mind pictured it. He felt sick to his stomach, anger bubbling up inside of him

He heard the screams of the woman suddenly stop, and a silence filled the air. Eddie knew what this meant, he felt like he was ready to vomit, his stomach twisting in knots

“Y’know you don't have to drag it out.”

“What? You’re just mad because you got jack shit, maybe you shouldn’t be so picky”

Eddie listened to the three bickers, waiting for the right time to move from tree to tree, making sure they couldn’t see him as he got closer.

In his head he knew this was a bad idea, that he was going to get caught, but this was the first time he had ever actually met a victim, he talked with her, even if it was brief, it pushed him more than anything else did, this wasn’t about money, for the sake of the town, no…

It was for Her.

He took a deep breath as he prepared to move to another tree, planning to climb it and attack in a much better position.

“Ah! I thought I heard something!” Eddie froze, hearing a booming voice behind him.

He. was. Fucked.

He instantly spun around, waving the machete up, he heard the giant let out a yell as the blade bit into its hand, which was about to grab eddie.

shitshitshit

Eddie backed up a bit, before taking off in a run, but it didn’t help, another came barreling in.. barrelling in Eddie's eyes, it was pretty much just a few steps for the giant, the last one just hung out in the back, basically ignoring the interaction.

Eddie prepared to swing again, but the giant in front of him didn’t move, just smirked, catching Eddie off guard, allowing the one behind him to snatch him up.

“Shit!” Eddie yelled as the sneak attack made him drop the machete on the ground.

“You little fucker…” the giant lifted him off the ground at a speed that made Eddie sick, never in his life had he wanted to be on the ground more than he was now, the cold wind made him cringe as he was face to face with the Giant.

Surprisingly, the man looked fairly normal, he wore a plain blue shirt with some black jeans, nothing like any fairy tale would describe it.

His eyes were damn near murderous, he held up his other hand ‘look what you fucking did.” Eddie struggled in the giant's grip, which only made the man laugh, “what? Little hunter doesn’t know what to say?”

Eddie sputtered a bit, how did they know he was a hunter?

“Looks like you got dinner after all, huh Rich?”

“Don’t fucking call me that.”

Rich...Rich...that voice...is that...NO….NONONO

Eddie's head whipped around as the third giant came closer to the other two...those glasses, those clothes...those eyes.

When those eyes met him, they shared the same look, the exact same look that they shared at the coffee shop. Eddie wanted to yell, but it seemed all the sound had left his body.

That's why Richie was in Derry...

“What's the matter?” the giant holding him pulled him closer, “don’t like knowing that you’re dinner?” he chuckled devilishly, Eddie didn’t respond, too horrified at richie to even register what the giant was saying “hey fucko! You listening?”

The giant shook Eddie a bit, still nothing, he gave a look to the other stranger, who just nodded, the same devilish smile pasted onto his face.

Without another word, he let Eddie go, plummeting towards the earth.

Eddie let out a loud yelp, it was almost in slow motion for him, falling through the air, hitting the cold, hard ground, he was sure a rib or two were fractured just by the pain he felt in his chest, but the pounding in his head was much...much worse. He couldn’t move, he could only listen to what they had to say.

“Why the fuck did you do that?” Richie pushed the giant who was holding Eddie, not even caring to remember his name “you could’ve just given him to me.”

Richie's heart sank as he saw the hunter in the giant hand, Eddie, he knew Eddie was lying about why he was in Derry, Eddie was just simply, a bad liar. But he had never expected something like this, he never wanted any of the losers to find out about this. It was bad enough he was hunting in Derry, only a mere half hour from Mike.

“Why not? The little fucker wouldn’t listen, so I gave it what it deserved.”

He felt anger overflow him as the giant talked about Eddie in this way, but he stayed silent, bending down, and picking up Eddie by the collar of his jacket, his body dangling at it rose up.

Eddie could barely move, everything hurt, he knew he was being lifted up once again, but he couldn’t do anything about it, what was he to do, his ribs were broken, he was winded and he was basically a doll to these guys.

He could hear Richie talking to the two, but he couldn’t really understand it, until one sentence was asked.

“So, You gonna chew ‘im?”

This sent Eddie back into his fit of panic, adrenaline coursing through his veins, he began cursing, kicking, wildly flailing. The two giants just laughed.

“Come on richie, you can chew this once, trust me, so much better experience.” Eddie couldn’t tell which of the two giants spoke, but he begged to whatever was out there, that Richie wouldn’t go through with it.

“I’m not a fan of blood, you should know that by now.” Richie rolled his eyes, his gaze back to Eddie, his heart breaking as he watched the man flail around, knowing he was in pain by the look on his face.

“The bitch thought he was going to kill us, he cut my fucking finger! Let him have it!” the giant pushed richie slightly, Richie giving him a glare.

“He's going to die anyways, why can’t I let myself enjoy him squirm?” Richie spoke, monotone. “I like how it feels when they go down.”

It was enough to make Eddie sick.

“It's your last hunt with us, go out with a bang! You got a fucking hunter after all…treat it like it treats our kind!”

“Fuck off, let me do it.'' His tone seemed almost protective, but with Eddie hearing a low gurgle of the man's stomach, Eddie knew it was like an animal protective of its prey.

The two just sighed, watching Richie...just...waiting.

Eddie paused as the giants fell into silence, staring up at Richie with tears in his eyes, his vision was blurry, and his head kept feeling worse and worse. “Please...don’t do this…” he found his voice, only to say that.

What else was he supposed to say? It was rich! The man he grew up with, the man he fought a killer clown demon with….the man...who was about to eat him.

Richie just sighed, lifting Eddie up carefully, much more carefully than the others would even dare, tilting his head up and placing Eddie right on his tongue. Letting go of the man and shutting his mouth.

Eddie's heart dropped at the quick action, Richie not even hesitating before putting Eddie into his mouth.

The heat inside richies mouth was enough to make Eddie let out a yell, going from chilly weather and a biting wind to a human sauna was not the best transition. The sensation of the wet, squishy muscle underneath him giving him a dose of reality-- He pushed against the roof of the mouth, hoping to re-open the mouth, but from the angle he was at, the throat was just becoming him.

He attempted to climb up the tongue, but no matter how close he would get to almost getting out, the saliva around him beckoned him down the tight, hot throat.

“Let me out!” Eddie yelled, but he knew it was no use, that Richie wouldn’t let him go, not after this. “Let me out you...fucking bastard!”

This was it? This is how he would go, he fought almost every dangerous creature in the book and won but he HAD to be eaten by someone he called a friend?

He felt himself getting weaker and weaker, his breath becoming more and more shortened with each breath. He found himself almost allowing his body to be pulled and squished around by the tongue, which happily licked at him.

He yelled as richie rolled him around, coating him in thick saliva in the process, but he really couldn’t do anything about it, the fear and fatigue getting to his head.

As the throat beckoned him down, he clawed at the tongue to keep himself out of the hot, wet esophagus “don’t do this!”

His words were met with no answer, but with a swallow.

Eddie yelled as his lower half was pulled into richies throat, he couldn’t move, which made him flail around even more, this was met with another swallow, thick muscles pulling the rest of him into the hungry throat and down the man's gullet, it was almost second nature to the man.

It must’ve been only a few seconds, but it felt like hours as he slid down the esophagus, unable to move and his Eddies head spinning with anxiety.

The one word spilling into Eddie's mind was only ....”Why?”

He pushed against the esophagus in an attempt to stop himself from sliding down any further, but all the saliva clinging to him and his clothes wouldn’t let him.

Suddenly, Eddie felt his legs slip into the stomach below him, gurgles and growls heard below him. As the rest of him slipped inside the belly, the whole experience became very...very real.

His head was dizzy from the lack of oxygen in the throat, and he couldn’t stop shaking at the thought of this being the final place he would be alive, nobody would know Richie had done it.

And that's the last thing Eddie Kaspbrack remembered, before passing out completely.

----------------------

Richie paused as he felt eddie go limp on his tongue for a few moments, he was scared this was too much for the little guy and his heart gave out, but the small man began to thrash around once more, which in a dark way, got him relieved, so he could continue.

This was a disaster, he hated how he had to eat people already, but the fact that it was Eddie made everything so much worse.

Richie should’ve known something was up when he saw Eddie in that cafe, he just couldn’t focus with the hunger eating him up inside.

Now it wasn’t only hunger eating him up...it was guilt.

He rolled Eddie around on his tongue a few more times, capturing the taste of the man.

he hated to admit it, but people tasted so good. It was almost like a drug for him, nothing really could sustain him for long, except for this. The longest he could go without eating a person was three weeks, he would move town to town with his tour, every few weeks swallowing a person to keep his energy up.

He carefully swallowed a few times, his Adam's apple bobbing as he brought his head back down, he could feel Eddie sliding slowly down his gullet, esophagus stretching as he did so it felt so...normal for him, like it was second nature.

One thing he was grateful for, was that he was the only guy that night who didn’t have a meal already lined up.

The past few weeks, meeting up with these guys got worse and worse, they were cruel, but for some reason they liked him, and would not leave him alone no matter how much he demanded them to, but tonight they agreed that tonight could be their last night

They always wanted it to be Derry, maybe because they lived there, maybe because the people tasted better. Richie didn't know, all he did was agree, since he didn't want one of their victims to become someone that he cared about. .

He felt guilty knowing the fates of the other two girls, but he knew he couldn’t stop it, they chose to kill those girls, they could’ve safely eaten them, but they chose to kill, which they thought he chose as well. He couldn’t change this, and it made him sick just to think about it.

As the two other giants shrank back down to their normal height, RIchie didn’t even bother to remember the jackasses names, they looked up at him.

“Sad to see ya go! Maybe we’ll meet up again!” one of them spoke, the other just nodded, before they both walked away.

sickos...

Richie stayed silent and still until they got out of sight, before letting out a deep breath, holding onto his stomach as he felt eddies body slip inside of it, it felt so...good to have someone in there again

But all according to plan,  he felt Eddie pass out, feeling his shallow breaths as he lay unconscious in his belly.

He was going to be okay...

----

It's too hot, It feels like I’m melting...I can’t move...I have to get out of here...I have to…

Eddie's eyes snapped open at the sound of a car horn, and a familiar yell, his head throbbing and he almost jumped out of his seat, he would’ve if he didn’t have his seatbelt on…

Seatbelt?!

Eddie's head snapped in every direction as he looked around, he was in a car, a blanket covering him...not where he thought he was...did...did he actually...no...he wasn’t...he couldn’t be… he wasn’t inside of a...

Richie let out a yell as Eddie popped up, making him swerve the car violently into the left lane, then back into the right lane, causing a chorus of more car horns to indicate that what he just did was an asshole move.

“Jesus fucking christ Eddie!” Richie yelled, “you scared the shit out of me!” he kept his eyes on the road, but the shock poured off of him like sweat.

Eddie just stared at richie as he drove, he could feel his body shaking at the sight of the man… he stammered for a moment, but he was only able to get out one word.

“Y-you…” his voice cracked a bit.

He didn’t want to believe it was true, but his clothes and hair being damp pointed out that might be the case, he felt his eyes sting with the threat of tears, never before had he felt this much Terror.

“I what eddie? I saved your life, what the fuck were you doing there?! If I wasn’t there you’d be fucking dead!” Richie turned to Eddie, giving him an angry look.

Richie was angry… at him?!

As Eddie got a good glypse at Richie, he noticed the man's face was red, his eyes a bit puffy, and he was shaking profusely, not to mention the cracks in his voice and the tears rolling down his face.

Richie was crying...Richie never cries…

“You actually...you fucking ate me?!’” Eddie finally worked up the courage to yell “What the fuck man?! I thought we were friends?!” his hand fell to his side, instinctively grabbing his knife holster, though only grabbing nothing, his knife lost in the fight earlier.

Richie didn’t respond, he just kept staring at the road. This just made Eddie angrier.

“You fucking piece of shit!” Eddie pulled the blanket off of him, shivering as his damp clothes absorbed the cold air around him. “You didn’t even tell any of us, you are a fucking m-monster!”

Again, silence, but he could see richie white knuckling the steering wheel.

Eddie could feel hot tears coming down from his eyes, “what's your plan now?” he couldn’t see himself leaving this vehicle alive, unless he hopped out the car door right now, even then he had a higher chance of ending up dead. “you should’ve made it quick like those other two fuckers did” he mumbled quietly.

Suddenly, Richie swerved across a few lanes, making Eddie slam into the car door instantly, which caused another abundance of yelling and anger from the man.

Richie didn’t say a word as he moved off of the highway, onto a local road, close to the treeline of the woods, slamming on the breaks at the closest place he could pull over at.

Eddie couldn’t help but be afraid of Richies silence, his slight shakiness as he held the wheel and the fact that Richie refused to make eye contact as he cried.

“I could’ve killed you.”  Richies voice cracked a slight bit.

Eddies heart sunk hearing those words, he could feel every bit of fear he had felt before hit him once again “R-Richie...I-I-”

“I could have done everything I said I would out there, and you could imagine what they would do if I wasn’t there…”

“Richie...p-please-”

“But I wouldn’t...I...I can’t Ed’s!” Richie lost all of his composure, and began yelling “I couldn’t let anything happen to you! What the hell were you thinking going after us? You could’ve died, Killing IT was one thing, but you’re alone!”

Eddie stared at him with a shocked expression, he felt his face flush, even if he was angry and scared, he was almost embarrassed, he felt like a child being berated by a parent, he frowned.

“You. ate. Me.”  Eddie spoke, emphasizing each word. “You ate me and you’re giving me shit?”

“But you’re still alive, hm?” Richie gestured up and down to Eddie, “nothing Hurt huh? You’re welcome.”

Those words actually got through to Eddie, “how am I...not dead…”

Richie sighed, hearing Eddie's tone, not angry, just...scared. “I’m not like them, Eddie. It's safe, because I’m safe…” Richie pinched the bridge of his nose “fuck that didn’t make sense, I..Its just something I can do.”

Eddie got a good look at Richie at this point, the man was no longer disheveled, he looked like he was good as new, no bags under his eyes, he didn’t look like he was going to pass out anymore...he looked healthy.

Eddie, felt tired, nauseous, and felt like he was about to pass out, they practically switched places. t

“What did you do to me…?” Eddie asked, which richie let out a small chuckle.

“Unlike Them”  he spoke of the two like it was bad luck to even think of them “I can’t digest living things, i uh… do have to eat living creatures though” he looked at Eddie, answering before the man could ask the question “I take energy, that's why you passed out, you came on the right day honestly, i usually wait a while before eating.”

“That's why there were survivors, that's how Mike knew--”

“Mike knows?” it sounded like a stupid question, but it had never crossed his mind. “How much does Mike know?” his voice was desperate, almost terrified.

“Not much… one girl that you...let go...talked to him about what she remembered…”

Richie shook his head “Fuck!” he yelled, slamming his hands on the wheels. “I left her on the pathway, watched her wake up, she shouldn’t have known about what happened.”

Eddie jumped at the slam “She didn’t remember anything, she thought escaped on her own, Mike has no idea what's going on, he...doesn’t even know he sent me here.”

“How the fuck doesnt he know?”

This is where Eddie began to feel nervous again-- what to say?

“A simple alias and a voice modifier did the trick.” Eddie rolled his eyes “and this isn’t my first time doing this.”

The shifter's heart sank.

Richie began piecing it all together, “You’re actually a hunter…?” he asked, “Tell me your joking Ed’s, you’re fucking with me…”

The thought of Eddie being an actual hunter was almost as absurd as knowing richie was a giant. Eddie was pretty fearless, but he didn’t act like the other hunters he’d met, if Eddie was actually a hunter, Richie was most likely a dead man.

“I uh… did tell you that I’m a Risk analyzer, I just didn’t tell you what kind of risks I worked with…” Eddie looked away, almost embarrassed. “I didn’t think I’d even run into you...or any of the losers on the job… Especially if the job is on one of you.”

Richie just stayed silent, Eddie. Eddie fucking Kaspbrack, kills monsters, just like him...all the time? He just silently turned on the car, driving back onto the main road. He felt this...intimidation now, and Richie did not like it at all.

“Richie?” Eddie asked, staring at the man, who just kept his eyes on the road. “Richie what's going on…?”

“I’m going to drop you off at your hotel, and guessing that there’s only one hotel that's not a total shithole, I’m guessing that's where you’re staying.” he spoke fast, like he didn’t want to talk to Eddie, which made the other man frown.

“You’re right...but...you seem...off.”

“Finding out my best friend is a killer isn’t something I really enjoy knowing.”

Holy shit…”Richie, are you...scared of me?” Eddie asked, utterly confused. He got no answer except for Richies face turning a slight red colour.

Eddie turned a bit red, but quickly changed the subject when Richie pulled into the driveway of the hotel, parking. “Are you going to answer me, dickwad” he only added the last part to get a reaction out of the man.

Richie snapped his head over to Eddie,  “we’ll finish this talk in the hotel room, I’m not staying in this car the entire night.”

“In the hotel room? What makes you think I’m letting you up there?”

“Because you can’t fucking walk.” Richie snapped once more, pointing to Eddie's legs, “Just try.”

Eddie just nodded, giving Richie a snarky look, then getting out of the vehicle.

“See!” Eddie spoke as Richie started, just waiting.  “What was that about---!”

Eddie couldn’t finish the sentence of glory as his legs wobbled. Making him fall to the concrete of the parking lot with a painful groan.

Richie got out of the car, a smug look on his face “what was what about?” He stood, hands in his hoodie pockets, holding back a bit of laughter.

Eddie just looked up, about to yell once more, but his own fear silenced him as he had to look up at Richie again, towering over him as he was on the pavement.

Richie frowned, seeing the fear in the hunters eyes, sighing

“Fuck--Here” Richie bent down, grabbing onto eddie, pulling the mans arm over his shoulder as to stablize him and help him move.

At first Eddie pushed back, not wanting Richie to even touch him at the moment, but something made him turn red as he got so close to him.

‘Do. not. Even. think. About. It.’

The walk up to the hotel room was silent, only minor grunts or breaths from either of the men.

Richie was practically going nuts with Eddie so close again--He would never admit it, but having eddie so close to his nose, he couldn’t help but smell him once again, and he smelled so...delicious, and the fact that he was able to taste him once meant that he knew that eddie was delicious.

‘Stop it….fucking stop.’

As they reached Eddie's door, the man tried to get the keys out of his pocket, only for Richie to just grab it out of his pocket himself, unlocking the door.

“T...thanks”

“Get in.”

Eddie sighed as they both walked in, the door shutting behind them. Eddie turned red as his luggage bag was sprawled on the bed, knives visible.

Richie groaned, seeing the blades, setting Eddie onto the bed, “Have enough fucking Knives man?”

“What? Scared?”

Richie said nothing, but looked away.

“The man who Eats people alive, is afraid of me?” Eddie couldn’t help but laugh, dry and sarcastic, “and I’m not a killer…”

Richie gave him a disbelieving look, eddies laugh faded

“Well I am a killer, but it's not like that...I researched creatures like you for a while, I made like four journals just observing you guys…”

“Wow, a nerd in literally everything. Even murder” richie rolled his eyes, but it was very noticeable when his shoulders relaxed slightly, though still seemed on guard as Eddie spoke, his eyes narrow and hesitant.

“After IT,” Eddie turned away. “I realized that some of these creatures, they just want to Hurt people… and...I just can’t let that happen. So I became a hunter… it was tough at first, but i’ve gotten better.” Eddie rubbed the back of his neck nervously “B-but I don’t kill people who are just trying to live their lives, only the ones who are killing people...which doesn’t make me that popular.”

Richie gave Eddie a look, not disproving, but just...intrigued, “Damn, a hunter with a moral backbone? Where have you been all my life”

Eddie paused, “I’ve been in your fucking life” He almost felt offended “suddenly I haven’t been with you because of my fucking career choice? Newsflash fuckface, I’m still fucking eddie kaspbrack”

Richie’s eyes widened “I didn't mean it--”

“You fucking EAT people. And I still see you as my...friend” Eddies voice lowered, looking away, “trust me, if I didn’t you’d be dead.”

Richie fell silent, somehow the word ‘friend’ still hurt him. Eddie could see the hurt on his face, looking away as well.

“All the other hunters i’ve known never gave me a chance to explain” Richie finally spoke after a few minutes, “They just see me as a monster.”

“i-I’m sorry.” Eddie responded “I didn’t mean--”

“Oh shut up.” Richie flashed a smile “You get a pass, I fucking ate you. I didn’t get a chance with any others.”

Eddie couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle at the comment, something so absurd about the situation allowed him to. He was a hunter, who had been eaten, and is now talking to the person who had eaten him.

“So...the other losers?” Eddie fake coughed, trying to change the subject “Do any of them know”

“FUCK no.” Richie shook his head loudly, “If they knew that I’ve wanted--” Richie paused mid sentence, sputtering, clearly not wanting that to come out.

Eddie's eyes widened, “No no no, you don't get to say that shit and NOT finish the sentence, dickweed.”

“I-I..er--” Richie couldn’t form a coherent sentence, too busy turning redder than a tomato.

“Richie...Have you thought about...Eating us...like all of us? The losers?”

At first, Richie resisted, sputtering out a shaky ‘no!’, but Eddie just stared at the man, his expression not changing, it was a trick he would use when they were kids, Richie would always break.

“Fuck you Kaspbrak!” Richie finally broke, throwing his hands in the air “what do you want me to say? There's not one goddamn day that goes by since the reunion where i don’t think about it! There! Judge me all you fucking want! It's not gonna change the fact that I wanted to Eat you!”

Richie turned red again as eddie just stared “forget it”

“Did you ever try?”

It was richie's turn to look offended “you think im fucking stupid? If I tried anything on that trip, you’d think i was IT, I wasn’t about to be killed by my friends!”

Eddie put his hands up defensively “Okay okay! Don’t get your panties in a twist! It was a fucking question!”

Richie slumped back, defeated “I’ve thought about it sure---I never planned to though!” Richie almost sounded like he was trying to promise Eddie this, rather than convince him “I never planned on telling you guys, not that you’d believe me if I did.”

“Well you didn’t exactly tell me...so you kept your plan?”

Richie gave him a ‘are you kidding me’ expression

“I will eat you again”

“Don’t make me pull out the Knives, Tozier.”

Before Richie could even say another word, a loud ringing came from the luggage bag. It was his backup phone, Eddie reached for it, Richie first shook his head not to answer, but Eddie did anyway.

“Mr Marsh? Oh thank god you answered, it's been so long I thought the worst? What happened?” Richie tensed up, hearing Mike's voice on the other end of the phone, Eddie looked at the frightened predator and shook his head, mouthing the words ‘voice modifier’ which made Richie calm down slightly, still uncomfortable to hear Mike's voice.

Though on the other hand, Richie couldn’t help but laugh at the ‘Mr. Marsh’ mouthing to Eddie ‘are you fucking serious?’

Eddie shook his head, trying to wave the man off “Sorry Mr Hanlon, I understand your concern, everything is--”

“Ed’s?”

Eddie's sentence came to a full stop as Mike said his name, and so did his heart “w-what?”

“i-I” Mike stammered on the phone for a second “Eddie is that you?”

Richie, in an act of pure instinct, snatched the phone away from Eddie, who yelled out a quick “wait!” Before Richie hung up, turning the phone off.

There were a few moments of silence, you could practically hear the two’s hearts pumping loudly and full of anxiety.

“Shit.” they both said in unison.

---------

its good to be back...again!

[mysticalandenchanting]

Dahlias [1]

Part 1

Summary:

Elain and Azriel are happily married and about to begin their own little family to join they’re much bigger, louder family in Velaris. Sometimes, however they crave they’re own peace and quiet; a small vacation is exactly what they need before their bundle of joy takes over their lives and hearts. Peace is not found in the Night Court though, war brews and things take a devastating turn.

~~~~~

AN: This is my first story I’m posting to tumblr although I already have a couple wip’s going. So i guess, if you come across this and like it, let me know! This is just a short idea i had and worked for Elriel. Can you guess which other SJM couple this is based off?😈 This will probably only be around 4 parts.

~~~~~

Elain

“I need to get away,” I complained while sinking further into the pillows, “I can’t handle it here anymore.”

Azriel smiled at me, his eyes crinkling in a way that I loved. He tucks his wings back as he sits on the end of our bed in front of me, resting his hand on my leg, “You know they mean well, and trust me, I know better than anybody they can be too much—I spent 500 years with them.”

“Yes, but that was before my sisters came into the mix. Together they’re all insufferable.”

Azriel laughed, “Well, you know better than anybody how headache inducing they are to me as well; how much of Madja’s powder mix have I gone through over the years?”

I smiled at the memory of the gift I gave for our first Winter Solstice spent together. “It has become a reliable gift to give.” I looked to him hopefully, “So what do you say? A mini vacation to relax before our lives are too chaotic for breaks ever again?”

He hesitated, “I don’t know El, you know there’s a lot going on in the Night Court and with you so close it might not be safe.”

“Come on, Az,” I turned my doe eyes to him with a pout on my lip, “I could use the break—we could use the break.” I pleaded, moving my hand to my rounded stomach. “I still have a month left before our baby gets here, and we can just go up to the cabin where it’s totally safe.”

The stresses of being pregnant were getting to me what with living in a city in a house with all the others; I felt as if I could get no peace and quiet. The worst offenders being my sisters who have always been protective, I loved them but I didn’t know how to ask them to back off. I could not even enjoy my garden with it still being on the edge of winter.

“What if you go into labor?”

“It’s just for a week, and we will have plenty of time to get back if that happens—which it won’t.”

He took a minute to really think about it as I held my breath in anticipation. “Okay, fine.” He gave in, the corners of his mouth tugging up. I broke out a big smile, sitting up and reaching for him as he leaned forward and our lips met in a happy kiss, our baby giving a couple kicks. I couldn’t keep in my laugh at it as I put my hand over the area.

“Seems like we’re all excited.” Azriel looked between us in wonder before resting his hand over the area as well and feeling the kicks. No matter how many times it has happened, he always looked as if it was the first. It was a side of him that I couldn’t wait to see when the baby actually came and he saw him for the first time.

I leaned forward and caught his lips again, this time more gently, trying to express my love for him and for our little family that we were starting. We stayed like that for several moments, both with one hand on my belly and the other pulling each other closer. He leaned more forward, deepening the kiss, until he was lowering me back onto the pillows—

Just then a knock came loudly at our door. “Elain?” Feyre’s voice asked and I groaned in annoyance while Az laughed and removed himself from over me, going for the door.

“We’ll leave in the morning.”

~~~~~

This trip was exactly what I needed. Being out in the quiet mountain tops with no one but Azriel all to myself was therapeutic. The past two days have made me feel more calm and like myself than I had felt in months.

Feyre and Nesta had objected to our retreat from the family but after a quick statement of needing some quiet rest away from the city before the arrival of the baby they could hardly object, although they had suggested to tag along which I could not have declined quicker. Az and I had practically ran out afterwards.

I was enjoying some tea on the couch as Azriel looked over some paperwork at the table. There wasn’t very much for myself to do but I most definitely didn’t mind what with being so round in the middle.

I took a moment to admire all of Feyre’s paintings that took over the walls and furniture. They were all beautifully done and brought a comfort of nostalgia from the old house that we had lived in when the wall had still been up and we had resided on the other side of it. It was hard to believe we had come so far from that.

I looked over to my husband who just so happened to be looking back and smiled. I am so lucky to be where I am right now.

I opened my mouth to express that luck when suddenly his attention snagged elsewhere, not on any specific point in the room but a look I had grown familiar with when Rhys was saying something to him mentally. I waited to see what could be so important before suddenly Az was tensing at some unwanted information.

“Rhys needs me.” He looked to me, proclaiming.

“What is it?”

“An Illyrian camp has gone missing, up and vanished without a trace and he needs me and my spies to find it.”

“Vanished?” I asked confused, “How could they just vanish?”

“I don’t know. With the rebellion spreading, we have been tracking the threats extensively.”

“And this camp is a part of the rebellion?”

“Yes.”

I sighed, “Okay, you need to go.”

He stood and walked toward, seeming unsure what to do. “I can take you back to Velaris.”

“No,” I shook my head, “I’ll wait for you here. How long could it take to find them? They couldn’t have gotten that far.”

“You shouldn’t be alone while you're pregnant.”

“I’ll be fine. The cabin is well warded and will practically take care of me with its spells. It will be more hassle than it's worth to go home and come back when you return and I’m not ready to end our vacation.”

He hesitated again before deciding and touching the siphons on his hands so that his Illyrian leathers appeared on him and he went to retrieve his weapons. “Your not going to be fighting them are you? Rhys just wants you to find them?” I asked worriedly.

“Yes, don’t worry,” he strapped on Truth Teller and his sword before leaning over the couch and kissing me on the forehead, “I’ll be back tomorrow, I promise.”

He was going to find a dangerous camp of Illyrian warriors who hated him, how could I not worry? What if he got caught? My nerves started to get to me and I, struggling, got up from my spot on the couch and made my way to door to meet him.

“I love you and be careful, okay?” I said kissing him and opening the door for him.

“I will.”

I watched him walk out into the cold chill of the mountain before settling back on the couch with fluttering of nerves and kicking at my stomach.

~~~~~

Azriel

After meeting Rhys just before the Illyrian mountains, I flew low in the sky just as the sun was setting, perfect time to begin my search. I let my shadows encompass me, hiding me, as I followed the valleys deeper into the cold that whipped past my wings.

The Illyrians have been spreading wide in the mountains and steppes working to fortify it against us and the rest of the Night Court. After so much tension and anger after the war that spread and spread into all out rebellion, communication became nearly impossible. Rhys could have easily gone in with his power to distill fear into them but that would have earned him no respect and likely would have made things worse. There were too many of them to continuously keep in check and the wrath required to end this rebellion didn’t seem necessary when they had confined themselves to their own lands.

In the end, no matter how much hate we bore toward them and their ways, they were still our people. Killing them outright didn’t seem right in any way, so we have been doing our best to contain them and work our way to an understanding despite the huge differences in view.

Recently, though, they have been growing angrier and braver, encroaching lower into the lands of the Night Court. We have been preparing for an attack since and the disappearance of this camp was not a good sign.

Over the course of the cold night I flew to the last known location of the camp but finding no trails, I went to nearby camps. They were just as discorded with us as many other camps but I have been working my around that for years, building networks within each of those who did not agree with the rebellion. I met with a few, being careful to enter and exit secretly hidden almost completely by my shadows. All of them had very little idea where the camp went or how they had managed to keep their departure a secret.

After gaining very little intel and no general sense of direction, I decided to take to the skies again flying high to gain any sight of them. I started with south, in case our suspicions of attack were true, and worked outwards from there.

I flew most of the night but found nothing of the camp, a seemingly impossible disappearance considering several hundred resided with them and they had to settle somewhere to rest. In every direction for seemingly reasonable distances that could be travelled for a camp that departed only the night before there wasn’t anything.

I flew well into the day as the snow began to pick up until Rhys summoned me and I flew back to our meeting point.

“What have you found?” Rhys greeted looking tired and troubled. He had been reaching out with his magic to see if he could locate them from a much farther back location outside of Illyrian territory.

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing.” I admitted, perturbed, “Nearby camps have no knowledge, they’re last known location completely abandoned with no tracks in any particular direction. With the amount of supplies they would have to travel with along with the amount of females in company, I tracked out as far as they could have gotten and found nothing.”

“This is worrying. If they attack, it might lead to civil war, and if all the rebel Illyrians evasive techniques are just as good, then we might not be able to nip it in the bud as I had hoped.”

“Where is Cas?”

“He is preparing some of our forces for a defense that can be transported easily enough wherever this camp shows up to.”

“and Mor?”

“Handling her father”

“And you haven’t sensed them anywhere?”

“No,” Rhys shifted looking back out to wide expanse of the Night Court, “I’ve been reaching out as far as I can and no signs. I’d hate to think either they were so far out of reach inland that I couldn’t sense them or they had some sort of spell protecting them.”

Both thoughts were not great options but both seemed viable at this point. “So what now?” I asked.

“What can we do but keep looking? We can’t take action against them until they are found or they attack.”

We both paused, realizing just how close the cusp of war was again. It’s not exactly that we were settled in perfect peace all this time but it was enough that we all had settled down into our own routines and families. Feyre and Rhys had a child, Nesta and Cassian were happily married, and me and Elain were about to have a baby.

“I need to get back to Elain.” The sun was setting and I had promised I would be back today, I couldn’t leave her on her own too long when she was so far into her pregnancy.  No matter how close war was I would not miss my baby’s birth.

“Of course,” Rhys nodded, still distracted, “Feyre and I will keep looking covertly and Cas can handle wherever they show up, you should focus on Elain and the baby.”

A mix of relief and worry flowed through me at that, both wanting nothing more than to focus on my wife and the weeks coming in that our baby would enter the world and not wanting to abandon the rest of them to the war we had so carefully been trying to avoid.

I simply nodded placing my hand on Rhys’s shoulder as he winnowed us back to the cabin.

The dark wind blasted us as we stepped through space but what waited on the other end was not the comfort of being close to Elain again, but fire. My heart stopped at the sight of the cabin blazing high into the sky, almost completely burnt to ashes and nothing more than a frame of what used to be there.

“Elain!” I scream as I ran forward as close to the cabin as I could get, looking everywhere around but there wasn’t anybody or anything in sight except the blazing cabin and the darkening sky where the snow fell and melted as it came into contact with the heat of the flames.

I was met with nothing but silence and I felt like I couldn’t breath. What had happened here? Where was Elain? She couldn’t have been…

I ran my hands through my hair as I barely glimpsed the horror on Rhys’s face before I was calling out again, “Elain! Elain!”

My hands start to shake and a horrible feeling grows in my chest and just when I don’t know what to do I look to the ground and see it all covered in a thin veil of snow. Most looked melted so close to the fire but it was still there. Tracks. Lots of them. Everywhere as if hundreds of people had came through here. Not a second after this realization, Feyre winnowed in, fear already written on her face as she took in the sight and covered her mouth with her hands. Right next to Rhys.

I knew without a doubt then that every ward on the cabin was, somehow, down.

The Illyrian camp had been here.

[evanescentdawn]

Today’s writing:

ITS TOUKEN DAY

—+13 words to touken kisses! HOW DO YOU WRITE KISSES. I probably should have put more thought into this when I was thinking of writing it. I don’t know how to write kissing in this detail. TT im running out of words.

—STARTED A NEW WIP! For 240/touka and it’s smut! gah, I love these two so much. so much feels here. I read this fic thing and it inspired me to write for them. this one is angstyyyy. I have a lot of feels about 240neki, oh gosh.

—I finally found that touken headcanon thing I wrote, freaking tumblr and while I was re-reading through it I got writing urge to do drabbles on some of the stuff I wrote. I started on!! The bit about the trips. THE FIRST PART IS DONE. POSTED IT. 🎉 I want a second part where I write about the actual trip, too. So it’s not quite finished. gah, im so emotional over these two. They’re so good, and I love them so much. AAAA. Uh??? The first part got longer????? I didn’t expect that dhfjkf. Kaneki is such a sap, I cant deal. PLS. I did the second part!! Well, it’s not quite what I was looking for but just as good as well. I wanna write more stuff for this. LIKE. them doing stupid in love stuff! And grossing out their friends who was technically their fault because they crashed their trip.

—another new wip born from the headcanon thing!! this time about kaneki kissing touka’s forehead. GAH. listen okay, im so weak for forehead kisses and kaneki’s being so in love and being such a sap IS NOT HELPING. drowning in many feels. goddd.

—started a nsfw twitter thread for touken! about first time blowjob. half-finished thoughts, for now. maybe I will come back tomorrow and turn into a proper wip. WOAH I TURNED IT INTO A PROPER WIP??? this. I didn’t expect to happen, but. I DID???

—honestly thought that would be my last writing for the day, but uh. I started another touken wip??? bit confusing as to what this is about. so far I got that touka’s pregnant, and it’s an AU and age-up and sortaaa friends-with-benefits.

—another fucking wip, because why not. it’s toukuroneki because I am so soft for them and miss them very much. LOTS OF NOSTALGIA AND FEELS HERE. they’re babies ;-;

—another wip, which I have been thinking of, but didn’t quite land well when I started writing which...I think is because of my writing energy suddenly went 📉

[bomberqueen17]

sugarspiceandcursewords replied to your post “reading as autobiography”

I used to do a lot of those episode fill-ins and flesh-outs as well. My memory of the shows always fades but I still like to read that type of thing. And this is a particularly good reminder that authors are people and stories often come from specific headspaces, so no one should ever have to justify why a story or series went a certain way or ended. And the things we write in less than sunny times can be really helpful to others.

This reminds me that I’m about due for an SGA nostalgia trip, so I shall go re-read some stuff as well and we’ll see whether or not I have kudosed them while logged in yet!

LOL thanks!

I think that is an excellent point, though-- sometimes I think a lot of art is important because of what the artist was going through, and sometimes art is important regardless of what the artist was going through. 

Anyway, it was making me think of two of the most recent comments on my old SG:A stuff-- I got one, at the end of the one series, that was so lovely I’ve literally had it open in a tab since I got the notif months ago, trying to think of what to say in response, and it was in essence “I get that you didn’t mean to stop here and this wasn’t finished but leaving it on this note was such a lovely wrap-up anyway”, basically, only like, better-said and deeper. It was so lovely, I literally cried.

And then the more recent one, on the other series which got recced somewhere so it’s enduringly popular and I Regret That a lot honestly, which was “IIIIII don’t get it, IIIIII’m confUUUsed, you set up all this shit and then never resolved it?? What’s all that supposed to mEEEEan?? How dare u”

Which, ironically, because I’m not a good person, I did reply to right away (it is not the first comment I’ve gotten like that on that series, hence the Regretting the mild popularity of it; if I’d been able to finish I’d be delighted but I set it up to be way too ambitious and also I was pretty fucking mentally ill, so), and i said “oh I get what’s confusing you! see, when you’re on AO3 there’s a little ticky box that says whether a work is completed or not and this one’s still set to Not, also I wrote this shit for free in 2012 so you get what you fucking get and being a snippy little shit isn’t the way to get it finished!” only I hope I said it nicer. Not much, though. Because fuck you, whoever the fuck you are; you’re looking at something marked WIP that hasn’t been touched in numerous years and you’re pretending that confuses you?? 

So I wrote right the fuck back and they haven’t answered, which, good, and then I stewed about it for a couple of days. The fucking nerve. 

[madrut16]

Anything Goes - July Fanfic Challenge Day 1

Author’s Note: Here we go, we’re doing this. I’m super excited to participate in this challenge and put out all of the WIP and ideas I’ve been collecting in my head for a while. I hope to use this to write different pairings I haven’t before (including side ships) and experiment with different writing styles and ideas so please leave feedback on whether I should continue with certain things or not! 

Fair warning, I may fall behind in this and if I do, bare with me! I will be doing most of the prompts and committing to the ones I’ve planned, I promise. They may just be later than the day they’re supposed to be out. 

I’ll also be compiling a specific master list just for this challenge that I will post at the end so that if you want to go back and read them, they’ll all be in one place.

Rating: PG/PG-13 (some half nakedness)

Book/Pairing: Bloodbound (Adrian x MC)

Summary: While they are visiting her parents in Georgia, Isabel shows Adrian her favorite spot to enjoy the humid summer nights.

The pine trees and tall grasses towered over Isabel as she carefully walked through the path the young high schoolers and twenty-somethings continued to maintain in secret from the older generations. It was a little overgrown at the moment and she had to use some effort to keep the branches at bay as they walked.

“Are you going to tell me what this is for?” Adrian asked her, his voice a little hoarse from exertion. 

She gave him a coy smile. “Of course I will...when we get there.” This elicited a groan. “What? You surprise me all the time. Now it’s my turn for once.”

He rolled his eyes but a similar grin soon appeared. She knew that he could never be annoyed at her for long. Luckily for him, the feeling was mutual on her end as well. 

“Can you at least tell me how much further it is?” 

“That, I can do. We should be just about there actually. Definitely less than five minutes,” she told him. 

Her memory should have been fuzzy having not been there in a year or two, but the mental blueprint was still just as fine-tuned as when she frequented the favorite party spot back in her high school and college days. Sure enough, her estimate was spot on and the glimmer of water could soon be seen through the cornrows. 

“Ah, here it is. And there’s no one here. Perfect.” 

The end of the path revealed a large clearing in the forest that led to a small lake on one side. A pine tree stood on the edge with a rope that hung from one of its branches closest to the water. The view was picturesque with the silvery glow from the full moon and the flickering yellow of the lightning bugs providing the landscape enough illumination to make out its silhouette. 

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” she commented, breathing in the fresh air.

A wave of nostalgia hit Isabel which surprised her. New York was her dream city and she never wanted to live anywhere else, it was where she was finally realizing her ambitions, getting her need for adrenaline pumping adventure. Yet, she couldn’t help feeling that out here far away from the lights of town that this was what sang to her heart. 

This was her home too. 

Adrian nodded in agreement, his analytical mind still taking everything in. “It definitely is. I’m assuming this is what all that is for?”

He gestured to the large bundle of supplies in her hands, including a blanket and a picnic basket.

She nodded. “Usually, this place is a little more rowdy, since it’s the popular underage party spot. Tonight, however, we got lucky.”

She got busy setting up camp and soon the grass was transformed, creating the romantic atmosphere Isabel hoped it would. Sitting down on the blanket, she patted the space next to her. 

“Impatient much?” he quipped before taking a seat. 

“Hey, it’s almost impossible to get some alone time while we’re here, especially with my parents’ rule,” she remarked. “I don’t want to waste a second of what little we do have.” 

His lips twitched back up into a smile. “I can’t argue with that.”

It was one of the few things her religious parents expected of Isabel, her brother Gabriel, and her cousin Delilah. They didn’t really care that they all weren’t virgins but, if they had a partner staying over, they couldn’t share a bedroom until they were engaged. 

While Isabel liked bending with the rules, this one she strictly adhered to since they respected that she was less religious than they were. And it wasn’t the first time they put family over church---that was when her brother Gabe had come out and they chose to be kicked out of their previous one for supporting him. 

Now, outside of the home, they had no qualms. In fact, her mother helped her in the kitchen with the food earlier in the afternoon while Adrian was out with her father. 

It didn’t take long for her to serve the small meal and seeing that the method her mother suggested to keep it warm worked, it gave her a satisfied feeling. It was also full of a mix of traditional southern recipes that had been passed down for generations.

She watched in anticipation as Adrian took the first bite. 

“What do you think? Is it good?”  

He nodded, holding up a finger while he finished chewing. “Good? Isabel, it’s fantastic. Please tell me you have recipes for everything. Especially the potato salad.”

Isabel let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. But then again, she’d been like this the entire trip. Deep down she couldn’t help worrying that he would somehow decide her small town roots weren’t good enough. And every time he’d proved her silly little insecurities wrong. 

“We do, we stopped depending on the oral tradition with my great-grandmother. I’ll have my mama write copies of them before we leave.”

They continued to talk intermittently as the food was slowly eaten, including a peach cobbler dessert. 

Sitting back afterward, Adrian sighed, “Okay, I am definitely gaining some weight from this trip,” he commented with a laugh.

She examined his slim and muscular figure which was on display more than usual with his casual t-shirt and jeans and bit her lip. He definitely needed to get out of the suit more often. Not only was this a little more flattering, but he’d also been much happier and carefree too. 

“Adrian, I’ve been to the gym with you, I think you’ll be fine,” she replied. 

“I’m glad for your vote of confidence. Although, I might sweat some of it off with the heat. It really doesn’t cool down in the summer, here does it?

Isabel shook her head. “Not really. In the morning it’s okay but, that’s as cool as it gets.”

A comfortable silence descended on them and her gaze drifted over to the lake a few feet away. Suddenly, a tiny gasp escaped her lips and her eyes brightened which Adrian noticed almost immediately. 

“What is it? I know that look,” he inquired, his eyebrows rising off his forehead. By now he was all too familiar with her impulsive ideas. 

Her smile grew as she stood up. “I know a fun way to cool off.”

Without another word she grabbed the bottom of her tank top and pulled it over her head, revealing the black bra underneath. She thanked herself for wearing something that wouldn’t become translucent when wet. 

“Isabel...” Adrian’s eyes widened as they roamed her disrobed form. “What...what are you doing?”

She answered as her shorts joined her shirt in a pile on the blanket. “Skinny dipping of course!”

It was an activity that she was practically an expert at, having perfected it in high school at the countless parties held there.

Throwing him a wink, Isabel went and dipped her toe in the water’s edge to test the temperature and smiled when she found it to be just right. Cool enough to be refreshing without being too cold. Then, she proceeded to take a few steps back and leap into the lake with a carefree giggle. 

Seconds later she emerged back up at the water’s surface. Looking back, she saw Adrian on the blanket still trying to process her spontaneous action. 

“You are welcome to join me you know,” she said teasingly. “The fish won’t mind or bite your toes off if you’re worried about them.”

She watched as his face became conflicted. The youthful spirit in him clearly wanted to throw caution to the wind, but the more mature, business side was holding him back. 

“We won’t get caught will we?” 

Isabel scoffed loudly, holding back a laugh. “Adrian, no we’re not in New York. We’re five miles out of town, we’ll be fine.”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “What if I want to enjoy the view from here?”

His flirtatious remark had it’s desired effect and she felt her cheeks become warm. He wasn’t getting off the hook though.

Putting her hands on her hips, she pleaded, “Oh come on!” Then, a sly grin appeared. She knew exactly which words she needed to say. She dropped her lips into an exaggerated pout. 

“Do it for me?”

And just like that, he broke. 

“Well, if you’re that insistent,” he commented before beginning the effort to strip out of his outer layers. 

A victorious smile graced her features. 

Soon, the only thing left was his underwear and she whistled her approval. Instead of her quick entrance, he sat down on the grass before easing himself into the water. 

“Okay, you were right, this is pretty nice,” he admitted with a sigh. 

“See, I know what I’m talking about.”

Another pause fell on them but once again the silence proved a delightful change of pace from the always noisy and frantic city life they were so used to. 

After several minutes of casual swimming, a mischevious grin appeared on Adrian’s face. 

“Wha--?”

Before she could finish, she felt a rush of cool water douse her followed by a deep, throaty laugh from its sender a few feet away.

“Hey!” Isabel shrieked in protest, though her smile soon gave away her true feelings. 

He gave her an innocent shrug in response. “You’re not the only one with a trick up their sleeve.”

She raised a challenging eyebrow. “Oh? In that case...” 

Gathering up as much strength as she could muster, she sent a massive wave back to him which started a splash war between them that lasted a little while.

Finally, they both called for a truce.

“I don’t think I’ve had this much fun in a while,” Adrian said with a light chuckle. “Thank you for this.”

“You’re welcome. You may have fancy restaurants and all the luxury wealth can offer but this right here, this is priceless.” Isabel settled into a relaxing back float which gave her a perfect view of the clear night sky. 

He gave her a nod joining her stargaze. She wished that they could stay out there all night, camp out until morning. But, her mother would be worried if they didn’t come back soon. So, as she remembered the different constellations she’d memorized over years coming here in her childhood, she soaked in what limited time they did have until they would have to go back to civilization. 

[selenecrown]

Take Your Time for a Vacation - A Phantom Thieves x Female!Reader - [Part 1: A Week in a Hot Springs Town of Summer Break]

Author's Note: Holy Crap I wrote this whole fanfiction while listening to the Persona 5 soundtrack and a little bit of Kiss Me Thru the Phone, but shush! That's not important right now. And, that soundtrack an interesting soundtrack. But if you guys haven't listened to it, I would recommend it.

Warning! This will contain dark themes of suicide, severe depression, very dramatic panic attacks, and implied self-harm and drug use (If you have played Persona 3, that is). I wrote this to be a much lighter and cheerful, but apperantly all I got was angst. So, sorry about that guys. If you want to skip this, sure. It's basically just how you got to the place you will be staying. So, It's nothing hugely important.

[ Introduction in case you missed it ] 

[ Part 1: You Are Here! ] 

[ Part 2: WIP ]

"A trip to a hot springs town in the mountains?" You asked the cheerful person on the other side of the line.

"Yeah! Come on, Summer Break starts next week and our break aligns with Akira's Summer Break and he said he wanted to spend so time with all of us!" Ann Takamaki said. 

You sighed as you lifted your hand not holding the phone towards the ceiling of your room unconsciously and then dropped into your hand on your head. Which hurt a little, but was nothing compared to how hot it was in the apartment. The hand currently unused at the moment covered your eyes from the burning sun rays coming through your window. You were laying down on your bed about to take a nap after you had finished an research paper that would be due the next day, when you received a phone from Ann Takamaki.

She asked you a question about how available you would be during summer break. 

You said you weren't sure due to your job and then asked why she wanted to know. 

She explained that Akira proposed the idea of your whole group of friends going to a hot springs town for a week because everyone had summer break at the same time. Everyone else had accepted, even Akechi had accepted Akira's proposal, you were the last person they needed to talk to. 

But, since your schedule seemed occupied by your part time job working at famous restaurant as a waitress, it would be hard convincing your boss to give you a week off because they would lose a valuable asset and the job paid really well for a student like you.

You said to Ann, getting up from your bed and standing up, "I will try my best to convince my boss to give me a week off, Ann." 

"Wait, but what if your boss doesn't let you have a week off?" Ann worryingly asked.

"Then you guys can have fun without me. All I will ask is you bring me some souvenirs or take me there some time." You said, plainly. Honestly, you were tired at the time, so that was affecting your ability to think properly. 

"But, Akira said he wanted everyone to come! And plus, you'd feel left out when we come back! I don't want you to feel like you aren't part of our group! It's either we all go, or we don't go at all! That's what Akira said!" Ann pouted to you.

"Alright. If Akira says it's all or nothing." You sighed. Even if Ann was lying about either all of us going or all of us don't go, this was going to be a challenge. You looked at the time, and saw you had to go to work soon. 

You wouldn't be so lucky with a nap today.

So, you told Ann you needed to go. When you got there, you did ask your boss about having a week off.

He said, "A week? For what?"

You instantly knew you needed a really good excuse, and fast. "Family issues. My uncle got into the hospital for driving drunk, and someone needs to take care of my cousins. Please, sir!" You begged him.

"Family issues, huh? Alright. I will give you next week off. But that's it, you are a good worker, (Your/Name), and we do need you here because you work so well." Your boss told you.

You nodded. "Thank you." 

You did work overtime mainly because you wanted to impress you boss a little bit. But after your shift was over, you went home and told Ann the news.

"Yes! So, we can go! Yay!" Ann jumped for joy over the phone. After other small talk, Ann hung up, and went into the chat room and told everyone the good news. 

"That's a relief. I was scared for a moment we wouldn't make it." Yusuke typed.

"So, do we know where we are going?" Makoto asked. 

"Oh! What about Kurokawa Onsen?" Ryuji asked. 

"I don't think we can afford that, Ryuji." Ann pointed out.

"Then, what about local hot spring towns? Does anyone know of any?" Futuba asked.

"Well, there is one I know of." Haru answered.

"Okay, which one?" Makoto asked.

"Well, I don't remember the name of the town right now, but I do know it isn't super far from us. But, it is still far from the city." Haru stated.

"Hey, if it will get us away from the city, I will go anywhere." You commented.

"You seem a little more flexible about for this, as long as we get away from the city, huh (Y/N)?" Goro added.

"Hey, I'm getting off of work. That's a huge plus for me. I finally have more free time!" You said to Akechi, who probably knew what that was like more than anyone else in the chat room.

"Then, we will talk about it when Haru remembers there the town is, I guess." Ryuji said. 

Everyone agreed to wait for Haru to remember. It was only Monday, after all. 

We had time. 

Akira did read the chats, which he missed because he was eating dinner with his family, but he repiled nothing back to the chatroom, since there was not much to comment about.

Haru remembered the name of the hot springs town, which was apparently was named Golden Fog and everyone agreed to go there. You all had made a plan to pick up Akira from his hometown, mainly because he said he couldn't just drive to the hot springs town by himself. So, everyone agreed to pick Akira up and all of you would drive there, since you couldn't get a plane there and you definitely couldn't just walk there. So, you guys were going to have a road trip to the hot springs town in the mountains. The day that all of you were going to leave Sibuya was fast approaching. 

And soon, the Sunday before summer break had finally come upon you. This was the day that everyone agreed to to pick up Akira and go to the hot springs town. 

The drive most likely would take the whole day. 

But, nevertheless, the day of the road trip had come upon you. You ready for this day. 

Or so you thought you were.

Nothing could have prepared you for the fun day ahead of you, even though most of it was purely because people got bored.

You had finished packing up your suitcase and then looked at the time. You had packed some food for yourself during the trip, since you had somewhat of an idea of what a whole day road trip would be like. And you realized it would be a while before everyone came to pick up, since you were the closest to the outskirts of town.

But waiting was the hardest part to do on this trip.

"'Patience is a virtue', my ass." Is what Ryuji said about situations like this. And he wasn't wrong.

You decided to distract yourself by watching TV. When you turned on the TV, a TV show you haven't watched since before high school came on. You remembered your time before even becoming a Phantom Thief, or even Shujin High School. You rememered when you were little and didn't have to worry about things like the things you do now. The feeling gave you nostalgia, but also, a little bit of pain as well. You wished you could go back then, were you didn't have to worry about all that crap you do now. 

Then, you heard a knock on the door in the middle of an episode of that show.

"Coming!" You yelled as you turned off the TV in your apartment. When you answered it, there stood Ann Takamaki, who seemed very energetic today.

"(Y/N)! You ready? Come on, everyone is dying to see you and Akira! Futuba is getting impatient!" Ann smiled and grabbed one of your hands, as you grabbed your suitcase from where you hid it behind the door.

"Okay, okay! I'm coming!" You laughed as Ann tried to pull you out of your apartment before you could make sure everything in your house was going to be okay. After you did a check to turn everything off so your bills wouldn't go up when you weren't home, you closed and locked everything and then Ann escourted you down to the apartment parking lot. When you got down there, a familiar silver Citroën H van appeared before your eyes. It was the same sliver van that you brought Akira home in. Outside of the van standing there was Ryuji, arms crossed and had a scowl on his face. When he spotted you, he waved and his scowl changed to a smile. 

"Hey, you ready to pick up Akira?" Ryuji asked you.

You nodded. "Yeah. Let's go." 

You put your suitcase with everyone else's in the back of the car. In the back of the car was Haru and Futuba. Akechi was sitting next to Yusuke in the middle seat, where Ryuji got in as well. Ann sat next to Makoto, who was driving the car. You got into the backseat with Futuba and Haru, and after everyone had made the preperations to start the car, Morgana came out from the front seat and jumped back to where you were. 

Morgana jumped unto your lap, "Alright. That's everyone. Let's go."

Makoto started the car, and the nine former members of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts went off to go find their leader in his home town.  

But, as soon as everyone got on the toll road after getting lunch, everyone seemed tired.

Futuba and Haru fell asleep an hour after lunch was served. Yusuke said he was going to take a quick nap before he sees Akira, and Ryuji agreed to do so as well. Leaving you, Makoto, Ann, and Akechi in each other's presence. 

Akechi turned to you.  "Hey, Makoto doesn't look so good. Can you drive? I can if needed." 

"Yes. I can drive. Hey, Makoto, Ann, do you guys want to take nap before you see Akira?" You asked the other girls in the car, leaning up against the seat you where in.

Ann nodded. "Yeah. I woke up super early because I was one of the first to be picked up by Makoto. So, I'm going to try and take a nap. Thanks, (Y/N)." 

Makoto nodded in agreement. 

You moved Morgana unto Futuba's lap until such time as you could put him on Ann's lap, because you didn't want him bothering you. Morgana had decided to stay on your lap for the rest of the car ride until Akira comes and Morgana, being a cat, decided to fall asleep on you as well. Makoto pulled into a gas station to check the car and see how it was doing, and to switch places with Akechi. Ann said she wanted to sit in the back with the other two girls, while Makoto didn't seem to care where she sat, as long as she could take a nap. When Makoto and Ann fell asleep, you placed Morgana on Ann's lap. Akechi went into the convenience store to get some water for himself and you incase the two of you needed it. But, you got into the driver's seat and then waited for Akechi to come back. He came back with a whole package of medium-sized water bottles. Akechi got into the shotgun seat, and after making sure you had paid for the gas, the two of you buckled your seatbelts, and drove off. While it was just you and Akechi, he brought up an interesting topic. 

"Do you think it is possible that I could have been different when the two of first met?"

"What do mean by that?" You asked him, trying not taking your eyes off the road, but still smirking at Goro.

"If I was different, you think we could have been teammates? By which I mean, maybe we could have started out our own group before the Phantom Thieves of Hearts? And maybe have been a rival to the Phantom Thieves?" Akechi asked, as he put his arms and head on the dashboard looking at you. 

Even though you didn't take your eyes off the road, you did let a small laugh escape you. You said to Akechi, 

"Probably. I'm still not competely sure why I was suppose to find my powers, but I still did. If that truly were the case, I suppose it could have been possible. I'm not sure, Akechi. I would have prefer that then being enemies, but it is what it is." 

You and Akechi did talk more about what could have happened, or what life could have been like if none of us had known each other. You know, normal teenager stuff.

While doing so, you did take note of the nice scenery, which Akechi did make comments like, "Impressive." Or "Akira is used to this scenery? I envy him." and an area of somewhat familiarity came into your view after who knows how long of other sights of wonder. 

Your car had gotten closer to to your destination, and soon enough, the sliver van had pulled up the entrance of Akira's hometown. 

"Here we go!" Futuba exclaimed, as she pumped her fist in the air, and hit the roof of the car. Futuba seemed to retract her arm and grumbled in pain a little. Futuba and the others woke up about the time you and Akechi started commenting on the scenery all of you saw on your way to Akira's hometown. Well, if Futuba's fist pump didn't get people's attention, then that Phantom Thief sure must love being put to sleep in battle.

"Ah. Yes, we are finally here." Yusuke agreed with Futuba. 

"Yes!" Ann and Ryuji said at the same time. 

"Finally!" Ann smiled.

"It is about time!" Ryuji smiled too.

"We are so close! Who is going to go pick Akira up?" Makoto asked the group. 

"Well, both Akechi and (Y/N) haven't gotten their turn. And, they drove almost all the way there. So, they should do it." Ann commented.

"Yes. Let's leave it to them." Haru nodded. Everyone seemed in agreement that you and Akechi were to pick Akira up.

"Well then, let's get this over with." Akechi said to you. 

You nodded. 

As you pulled up to Akira's house, Akechi got out of the car and said, "Let us both go to his house in case one of us cannot talk to his family." 

"Funny. Because all you have to do is charm them into finding out where their son is. You can do that, right, Detective Prince?" 

Akechi laughed. "I will try my best." 

The two of you walked up to Akira's house, or where you remembered it to be the last time you came here. When you knocked on the house door, a feminine voice yelled, "I'll be right there!" But the door opened right as someone had said that. A man appeared, who you had assumed to be Mr. Kurusu, and said, "Are you the people Akira mentioned was coming to pick him up?" 

You nodded. "Yes. Is he home?" 

The man shook his head. "No. Akira went to the store to get something."

"Is that so? I suppose it cannot be helped then." Akechi sighed.

"How do you know Akira, anyways? Did he go to your school? Or you his friends he keeps talking about?" Akira's father asked as he leaned against the doorway oh his home.

"We became friends when Akira was on probation. We went to the same school." Akechi stepped in as you going to say something.

"Alright, then-" 

"Hey. You guys are earlier than I thought you would be." You heard a voice from behind you, and there stood Akira. With his cocky smile and all. 

 He did talk with his father for a second and then he and his father went inside. After a little while, Akira came out with his grey suitcase you remember when you went to Hawaii.

"Well, sorry for keeping you all waiting." Akira jokingly said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Don't be. We still have some time." Akechi said.

You nodded.

"As long as we get there tommorrow." You said as you and the boys walked to the car. As the three of you walked to the car, Akira did talk with both of you about everyone else and when the three of you got into the car, everyone greeted Akira very warmly. After all the greeting and happiness of your leader being back, Makoto asked you and Akechi, 

"Are the two of you okay?" 

"Yeah, why?" You answered for the two of you. Even though Akechi felt differently then you.

"I mean, everyone else in the car got a nice nap. Do you guys want one?" Ann cut in on Makoto, who was about to say the exact same thing.

"I will take you up on your offer. A nap is a good opportunity for getting energy." Akechi informed you.

You sighed. "Sure. Why not take a nap? You guys have fun." You waved at your teammates as you stretched out your arms and put your head against the window of the van. The boys were all squished in the middle seat, while the girls had plenty of space. As you stared out the window hoping to drift off into sleep, you noticed scenery of the town start to fade away, and in its place a view of mountains came in. But slowly, that scenery faded to black. 

While you and Akechi about taking a nap before everyone was to meet at the town in the mountains, everyone else seemed to be bored out of their minds.

"Darn it! My computer died! Argh! Now what am I suppose to do?!" Futuba growled.

"Um, read a book?" Ann offered from the front seat.

"Akechi mentioned brought something didn't he? What did he bring is the question." Yusuke said.

"Wait, are we going to go through a sleeping person's stuff? Hell no! Who knows what he will do if we get caught!" Ryuji said. 

"He won't know if we don't tell him." Akira pointed out. 

"But we are driving. We are not pulling over on the side of the road." Makoto said, she had this look in her eyes she really didn't want to do that. Like, at all. 

"Mona!" Futuba said. "Go to the back and get me a source of entertainment!" 

"Why me?!" Morgana said. 

"Because, you are smaller then us and can sneak past the sleeping (Y/N)!" Futuba said. 

"Fine. But I don't expect much from either Akechi or (Y/N)." Morgana said, as he jumped back to the suitcases. When he looked at the everyone's suitcases, your suitcase was easy to open. Akechi's suitcase, however, was being guarded by Akira's, which was on top of it. 

"Good news, (Y/N)'s suitcase is completely unguarded. Bad news, Akira's suitcase is covering Akechi's. Should we open (Y/N)'s first?" 

"Yeah," Futuba said, leaning over the seat to watch Morgana do his work. "Why not?"

And, so, Morgana opened it. 

"Clothes . . . Towels . . . Toiletries . . . Aha!" Morgana excliamed as he had found your snacks. "What is this? Maybe she's loaded with food!" 

"What?!" 4/5ths of the car exclaimed. Even Makoto took her eyes off the road to look back and see Morgana had your bag of snacks. Then, realizing she took her eyes off the road, she immediately turned her focus back on the road. The rest of the car watched as Morgana open the bag. When he did, the treats you packed for yourself revealed itself to the rest of your team. 

"She's got food! She has pretzels, apple and watermelon slices, a large pack of mixed nuts, and popcorn! She also has dressings to go with it! She's got cheese and chocolate!" Morgana told the rest of the van.

"Hell yeah!" Ryuji said. "We scored big time!" 

"And, they didn't drink all of water bottles while they were driving! Double big time!" Ann cheered. 

"Alright!" Futuba said, "Let's split the loot!" 

When you and Akechi woke up, all your snacks had been completely devoured, and the water bottles where gone. They also threw away all the evidence, except the bag you brought your snacks in, of course, since it looked like it was reuseble so they put it back in.

Also when the two of you woke up, the van had arrived at the springs town. And, now you were looking for a place to park a car. 

The town itself was beautiful. The mountain that looked like it was watching over the town. Below the mountains was a forest that seemed to surround the mountain, almost like a barrier in between the mountain and the town. Most of the buildings looked new, or at least modern. There were shops and places to eat scattered everywhere. But all the shops seemed to be pointing to this huge traditional castle which the group learned was actually the hotel. The hotel, looked huge compared to the rest of the buildings. It was mostly red, green, and white. There were roads, but it was more used for streets then roads since so many people were walking on it. But, thankfully one of the locals told them of a back road to the hotel with no people. 

It was getting somewhat dark, and by then, almost everyone felt guilty about invading your suitcase and eating your stash, when most likely, you would have happily shared it with them if they asked. Well, everyone but Morgana and Futuba. 

"Hey, (Y/N)? You awake?" You heard Haru say to you as you were half-awake. Futuba, looked over at you to see if you had woken up. At this point, all of you were getting closer to the parking lot.

You and Akechi had been sleeping for three whole hours. And only once, had you woken up because you smelled chocolate and cheese. After a small amount of panicking from the car, minus the driver Makoto, Haru and Akira were able to put you back to sleep without too much trouble. 

You sat up from the window and rubbed your eyes. "Mmm . . . Yeah, I'm awake." 

"Good. We're almost there." She informed you. 

"Nnn . . . Is Akechi up?" You asked, looking for Akechi.

Haru shook her head. "No, the boys can't seem to wake him up. You've known him for a while, can you try?" She asked. That explains why all the boys were looking at you. When you saw Akechi, you saw Akechi still sleeping. 

You nodded at everyone, as you reached your hand to Akechi and had to lean over Haru to get to where Akechi was, and then you said,

"Hey~, Hey~ Akechi. Wake the hell up before I get over there and beat your ass." You said sternly, poking Akechi's face not-so-gently, but it didn't work. The boys, minus Akechi, seemed to flinch at the way you said "beat your ass." 

Plan B.

"Are you dead yet~? Heeeeeey, Death Metal~! Are you dead yet~? I'm gonna go steal all your shiiiiiit~!" You sing-songed Akechi. Then Akechi grabbed your hand, which scared the hell out of everyone watching. This was, kinda new for everyone. They knew the two of you had fought for many years, but they didn't know exactly what kind of people the two of you were once like.

"Shut the hell up," Akechi growled at you. His face of anger was enough to scare everyone watching but you. "Why you little piece of---Wait a moment. I thought he agreed not to call each other that in front of them." He protested, as he had now somewhat regained his composure in front of the other Phantom Thieves. 

"Well, we tried everything else." You said, retracting your hand when Akechi let you of it.

"Ah. And that is what makes you an Airheaded Pigeon." Akechi threw back the insult he gave you years ago.

Okay, now you were pissed at Akechi. Even though normally you would stop with teasing him, it seemed like he really wanted pick to fight. Or, was that just your muscle memory speaking for you? "You wanna fight? You wanna fight me punk?" 

"I would, but you're the one who started it." Akechi said. "And we both know that I'm going to be the one to beat the shit out of you."

"Hahaha! How funny! We both know I'm going to beat your ass into the ground even if you win or not!" You laughed as everyone else was starting to get concerned about the two of you. 

Then, Morgana stepped in and hit the two of you on the head by jumping on the both of your heads, twice. 

"Ow!" You cried as Morgana had knocked you off balance and you fell down by Haru's and Futuba's feet.

"Ow!" Akechi cried as well, as he tumbled back unto the window. Luckily, the window didn't break.

"The two of you need to chill out. We aren't here to watch the two of you destroy a town." Morgana growled at Akechi and you. Morgana didn't speak because he knew how the two of you used to fight but he said what he felt like saying. "At least try to act to mentally sound people." 

Akechi and you responded nothing to that. While, Morgana jumping on your head was painful, you knew he had a point. 

"Fine." Akechi said. Then, he looked down at you in concern. "Are you alright?" 

"My heads hurts. But other than that, I'm little dizzy." You said, as you tried to get up by yourself, but Haru and Futuba saw you struggling to keep balance and helped you get up. Man, Morgana knew how to beat you into submission.

Makoto had found the hotel all of you were ment to be staying in. Luckily, they had a place to park a car. Everyone got out of the car, and Akechi helped you walk to where the lobby was.

The lobby was more modernized than the outside of the building. It was a mostly light brown and white room, with the front desk being black and the floor being made of tile. There was mostly windows around the lobby, but since it was getting dark lamps placed around tbe lobby had lighten up. The front desk had a single bamboo plant on the right, and with a women standing behind the desk looking absolutey bored doing paper work. There was also a huge window behind her. The lobby also had an area with four light brown couches, with a table in the center decorated with grey stones and pens and fake plants in a bowl. While to the left and right of the front desk was stairs, seeming to go up. There didn't seem to be an elevator in sight. The lobby smelled like a mix of chlorine and lavender. 

Akechi and you sat down next to each other, with you sitting down and laying your head on one of the armrests of the couch for support. Morgana didn't hit you that hard, right? Makoto and Akira went up to the front desk to ask about rooms, while everyone else was in the waiting area. Either talking to one other, or not doing anything.

"Sorry about earlier, Akechi." You told him, as you put one of your hands over your forehead. "We really couldn't wake you up." 

Akechi shook his head. "No. I shouldn't have pushed that much to tease you." 

"Apology accepted. Where on earth is a drinking fountain?" You asked him.

"I do not know. But shouldn't we wait until Makoto and Akira are done asking about room arragements?"

"Fair enough." You said, leaning your head against the armrests. But, Morgana came up to you by sitting in your lap.

"Hey. Hey, (First/Name)! What's wrong? I didn't hit you that hard but---"

"It's not that, Morgana." You said plainly.  "It's just my head. I need some space, I'm not mad, it's just my head hurts."

That, right there, was a big fat lie.

It wasn't a headache that was bothering you.

It was memories of the past trying to come back and haunt you. Something about Morgana knocking you down and sassing you must have hit you harder than you thought it would.

Memories of when you and Akechi were enemies, and Palaces of people when the two of you would fight in.

And. . . People Akechi killed that you couldn't save.

"But, you're shaking, and breathing really fast." Morgana commented. And, he was right.

It wasn't enough to notice without intensely staring at you, but you definitely were having problems.

And it was getting worse. 

"Hey girls, we finally have---(Y/N)? Hey, are you okay?" Makoto asked you when she went to announce to the girls where their room was. 

But, you couldn't hear the room number at all. 

Everything was spinning and you couldn't hear what they were saying. 

And, you didn't notice it at the time, but you were starting to cry.

"(Y/N)! Hey, what's wrong?!" Ann called to you, as you started mumbling about someone was after you. Your paranoia was already on the scene, huh?

"No . . . ! I can't die here. . . ! If I do he's gonna . . . ! Gah!" You let out a small scream, and saying other things like, "No, nonononononono! Stay away!" 

"Hey, what's gonna on over there? Keep it---What the---?" The employee said as she saw you. 

"What is going on here?!" Yusuke asked, 

By this point, almost everyone wasn't sure what the hell was going on. That is, until Makoto said something.

"She's having a panic attack. Something must have triggered it, but whatever it was, now she's having flashbacks." Makoto explained. "We need to calm her down before we can do anything else. Can you get some wet towels or clothes ma'am?" 

The employee ran to do just that, hopefully.

Makoto took you off the couch, and into the open floor next to the couches. The others rushed around you, most were unsure of what to say. Makoto had an idea of where to start. 

"(Y/N)? Listen to me! You're having a panic attack!" She said.

You didn't respond. You kept crying and covering your face.

"Look! The Man in the Black Mask isn't here! You are in the real world! Look! Look around you!" 

"No!" You said, moving your arms from your face to your ears. "He's, he's here! He's-he's gonna kill me!" You shook your head.

"No! It's only Akechi! The Metaverse is gone now, he can't hurt you! Look! Look around you!" Futuba said, she once had hallucinations and was trying to do what Sojiro had done for her back then.

You refused to listen to them. But, soon enough, other hotel staff came in, one of them claiming he could help, since his mother went through panic attacks as well.

The man, with help from your teammates, was able to talk you through the attack.

When you had regained your composure, basically the hotel staff didn't think it was safe for you to walk up stairs especially by yourself. So, they showed the team to an elevator and asked someone to go with you. Haru decided to go with you. 

The elevator ride itself wasn't all to bad, and most the time Haru tried to keep your mind off of the Metaverse instead talking about coffee and random trivia about it Akira had shared with her. When the doors opened, there was a business man waiting in front of it, seeming a little ticked off. You and Haru were able to find the room the girls would stay in, room 330. The boys had the room across the hallway, room 329. You were on the third to the top floor of the hotel. You did ask Haru and see if you could open a door, and you were able to unlock the door without too much of an issue. 

When you opened the door, you noticed the room was very spacious. The room looked more modern compared to what you had seen in flyers about hot springs rooms. When you first walked in, to your right was a closet. To the left was a kitchen, with small dining room in front of it. While next to the dining room was a TV, and a single long couch, and a long window with the curtains drawn. There was a door a few inches from the couch, which you assumed was where the bedroom was going to be. 

"Wow." You said. "This is a lot bigger than I expected."

Haru nodded in agreement. "It is big, isn't it?"

"Hey Haru, how did you know about this town, anyway?" You asked Haru. It had been on your mind for a while, but you didn't get the chance to ask the question.

"My father and some of his associates loved this place. It was a small, rural town and the hotel we stayed at was pretty nice." She explained to you.

"Wait a minute, did you pay for the trip all by yourself?" You asked without thinking your thought through.

Haru looked shocked for a second and blushed, "Actually, no. Akira insisted he pay for it. Then, Makoto asked everyone else to chip in, but she forgot about asking you."

"Eh?" You now had a face of confusion as you sat down on the couch.

"Yes. Makoto didn't ask for too much from me, but she asked a decent amount from everyone."

"So, I have to find and pay her sometime during the trip, right?" You asked. 

"Or whenever she remembers, she'll probably ask." Haru said. 

The room got quiet as Haru sat down next to you. She opened her mouth but closed it again. She turned to you. She looked nervous. 

"I'm sorry, I scared you earlier didn't I?" You said to Haru. "I didn't mean to scare everyone like that."

"It's alright. Have you always had panic attacks like that?" She asked. 

And there's the question you didn't want to answer.

Because along with it, comes other questions about your past.

"No. When I was first fighting Akechi I was fine. But, we fought for years. And, slowly, things started to make itself known. Like, how I was becoming passively suicidal because I couldn't beat Akechi. I gained anxiety because I couldn't stop thinking of him or how to beat him. Akechi became the one thing I actually cared about because everything else around me was pretty much crumbling. My parents died, and none of my family cared too much for me. So, I had to get a part-time job just to pay for a place to live. And school in and of itself was pretty horrible to balance on top of all that, I had to fend for myself in a world like this. And it took a huge toll on my self-esteem amd mental health. I do remember this though: Shiho, Ann's friend who tried to commit suicide, gave me a huge wake up call. I remember the day she did. Shiho made me reconsider everything, after I had seen what was going to be my fate if I kept up what I was doing. Even though me and Akechi fought less and less, it still heavily worried me about what he was going to do next. And, I really didn't want anyone to have deal with my problem. I hadn't done anything to help everyone with Kamoshida, and I only met Akira, Ryuji, Ann and Morgana by chance." You told Haru.

"I see." Was all she could say to you. Haru seemed to be a little sympathic with you, but she just wasn't sure what to say to you. 

But, luckily, she didn't have to. As the rest of the girls came in with worry written all over their faces. Namely, Ann seemed to be the most worried. 

"(Y/N), are you okay?" She asked as she sat down next to you. 

You smiled at Ann. To Ann, you had the exact same smile has what Shiho had when she was recovering from her suicide attempt. "I'm okay. Sorry to worry you." 

She sat down next to you and leaned on you shoulder. While Ann seemed a little less worried, she seemed like she didn't want to move.

Makoto set down the luggage that they brought with them and walked right in front of you. "How long?"

"What?" You said confused. It was Makoto's turn to bombard you with questions.

"How long have you had panic attack like those?" She asked you.

"Longer than the Phantom Thieves of Hearts have been around." You answered bluntly.

"When? When did those start? You told the school you had no history of mental illnesses."

"Yeah? The school doesn't need to know everything about me. And really, since Kamoshida was around, I didn't really trust most of the staff at the time. So, I didn't find it necessary to tell the school anything." You answered. You knew you were being mean to the student counsel president, but it wasn't a lie.

"You do have a point. So, what was it like? To fight with Akechi, I mean."

"Well, I have panic attacks, so that says something about it." You made the comment to try and lighten up the mood, but that didn't work. ". . . It was the same as how you fought him in Shido's Palace. But, you saw how the two of us fought. It's like that." 

"That, you call the fighting you and Akechi did normal?!" Futuba said.

"I have fought him for years, Futuba. Yes, a fight like that is normal to me." You said.

"So, you fought for so many years just like that? Because the way you fight with the Phantom Thieves is much differently." Futuba commented.

"Because I suppress most of my abilities. After all, I did need to hide my identity from Palace rulers since rumors spread fast in the Metaverse." You answered.

"Wait, if you were suppressing your powers then---" Makoto said.

"That's right. I never fought at my true strength when I was with the Phantom Thieves." You admitted.

"What?! Why?! Why not?!" Futuba growled at you. As the former navigator of the team, she was indeed angry you hide your true power from her. 

"Because I'm a monster!" You yelled as you started to cry. As soon as you realized you had yelled at Futuba, you had buried your face in your hands in both shame and sorrow. At that moment, you were breaking down. 

"You saw me when I fought Akechi that day! I'm not the girl you think I am! I just wanted to fix a mistake I made, but it's unfixable! I'm just as big of a monster as Akechi! I didn't want any of you to suffer because of a mistake I made!" You cried into your hands. 

Now, you had broken. All those years of your hidden feelings and desires had been let free and shown to your female teammates.

But because of your true power being hidden from your group, you thought you were protecting the rest of the group of the true horrors a Persona User can do to themselves. 

You had spent years using unsafe and dangerous methods to gain more power as a Persona User just to beat Akechi.

But, it seemed the more power you gained, Akechi gained equal power. 

All the methods your friends had used were healthy, normal methods to gain strength. You originally used those methods, but they didn't work for you after a while. So, you turned to more dangerous methods to try and gain more power. 

But, the more power you gained, the less stable you became. 

But when you were given a wake up call, you realized something. Your power, unless it was suppressed or gotten rid of, would kill you. So, you choose to suppress it by using a drug used to help you suppress unwanted memories. 

But, that had now failed you. Because of the most recent panic attack you had, all of your memories of the past had returned. 

But what you didn't know at that time was, you had hope.

Because your former teammates now understood your hidden suffering. And, there was someone else who needed healing just like you. 

You didn't understand at the time, but your broken, scarred self was on its way to be put back together by your dear friends.

Ann was the first to respond. She wrapped her arms around you and pulled you into her chest for a hug. While she said nothing to you at first, the message she made was clear: 

I care about you, (Y/N). 

Haru was the next to join in on the hug. She didn't say anything either, but she was crying, too. Even enough she didn't understand your past, she understood your pain. For, she had felt the same thing when her father died.

She felt alone, and she felt it might never be happy again.

But, now she had been proven wrong, as now, she had hope.

Futuba joined in next, and she, out of everyone else in that room, knew how you felt the most. Since, she went through something very similar in her lifetime.

Makoto joined in last. She was crying too. Though she probably didn't understand exactly what was going on, she understood a part of the pain you felt, and the feeling of how hard it was trying to let those feelings go.

Even though all of the girls spent most of the night hugging and comforting you, it had been a healing experience for you.

And so, the night fell onto the small town of Golden Fog. 

After all that crying, most of the girls had fallen asleep from physical and emotional exhaustion. Not in the futons you had been given, but mainly on the floor in living room. 

You were surrounded by your female teammates, all hugging one another with you in the middle of the group cuddle. Makoto and Futuba were hugging one another in their sleep on your left, while Haru was on the far right sleeping by herself. Ann had cuddled unto you, as if she was being somewhat clingy.

You woke up to the sound of knocking on the door. You untangled yourself from the mess of girls to answer the knocks. When you opened the door, there stood Akechi, in his summer outfit. 

"Ah. You are awake. If I maybe a bit of a nosy person, did you happen to come with a bag of treats?" Akechi asked. 

"Uh, yes, why?" You asked him.

"Akira mentioned something about them having a bag of treats, and that he would count that as dinner today. But, he seemed to not what to tell you about it." Goro said.

"He---What?!" You said. "So that's why my snacks were all gone when I checked my bag! Go figure. Then, should we get dinner then?" 

"Huh?" Akechi said. He was somewhat shocked on how you took your situation so lightly. Also, because you were offering food.

"Well, Mister Detective. Do you really think just Akira was in on this? Most likely, everyone else had apart to play, too. They most likely ate when the two of us were asleep. But we haven't eaten anything. I'm offering you food." You said.

Akechi got into his normal thinking pose, with his hand on his chin and everything, and thought about your theory. And, it was probably what had happened from what Akechi could assume. 

"I'll take you up on that offer, (Y/N)." Akechi said, putting his hand down from his chin. 

"Then let's hurry. We don't know where any shops are, or even when they close for that matter." You said to Akechi. "Anything in particular you want? Pancakes?" You teased him.

Akechi nodded at your comment about the shops closing times, but then frowned at the pancakes offer. "Are you guys going to tease me about that? That one comment I made a long time ago?" 

"At least, I will." You said. "Everyone else is up for debate."

Akechi laughed at that. 

While wandering the town, you noticed they were pretty diverse. You had many options as where to eat, and the two of you decided on a sushi place. Since it seemed decent in both cost and food quality. 

Or, so you thought. 

They gave you sushi bigger than your fist. And they had a lot of choices for dessert. It was pretty cheap to!

Aw hell yeah! Now that's the kinda stuff I'm talking about!

Freaking they stole your snacks, but you got a whole bunch of sushi and sweets in exchange. 

Now that, was a great way to start off your summer vacation!