#i tried doing that but the struggle was so real

[yutarot]

IN PERFECT SYNC [j.jh smau]

twenty-four — that same old dimpled smile. wc: 1.4k

knock.

knock.

knock.

he’s here.

you open the door with nothing but compliance. the cool air from outside flooding you with a chill that tickles your skin.

you brush your arm with the other hand, looking from the floor, slowly to meet his eyes.

he’s looking right at you, he has been since you opened the door, a searching expression in his eyes.

“hey yn.”

you pause and he smiles.

that same old dimpled smile.

“hi jaehyun.”

FLASHBACK: the night of chenles party. jaehyuns pov

he didn’t know what to do; with his feelings, with his life, with you.

he stands with yuta in the corner of the party, swirling a half empty cup in his hand.

yuta notices that jaehyun is distracted, so he tries to get his attention, tapping him on his arm.

“bro? you okay?”

jaehyun nods. “i’m just..”

“yn?”

there’s a pause. “yeah.”

“dude, you need to get over her. it’s been years. she hates you!”

jaehyun stares at him in annoyance and yuta laughs before apologising.

“im gonna go to the bathroom, have my drink.” jaehyun says, stumbling away from yuta.

“gee thanks!” yuta says sarcastically, watching his friend try and keep himself on his feet.

but jaehyun doesn’t make it to the toilet before his arm is dragged and he finds himself in a room, the door shut and a girls voice slurring to him. and she sounds angry.

“jeong jaehyun!!!!!!” the mystery girl yells, “you idiot!!!”

she hits him on the arm and jaehyun frowns in annoyance.

she says, “i hate you!!!”

jaehyun rolls his eyes, suspecting that she’s just the friend of some girl he slept with and “forgot” to text the next morning.

“well im sorry to your friend, but she isn’t her.”

he turns his body to leave the room but giselle stops him.

“she isn’t her?” giselle asks. “oh so your pining, that’s why you’re so moody.”

jaehyun freezes. this girl was persistent. “im not moody.”

“oh yeah right, you’ve always been moody!!!! ever since you ruined yn’s life!! you hate her, for absolutely no reason may i add!!!”

“you’re friends with yn?” he backs away.

“no. she’s just… popular.. everyone knows what you did.”

he tenses even more. he did ruin your life, he thinks. it was all his fault. he never told you the truth.

so now, he’s going to.

“i don’t hate her.”

the girl stiffens. “what?”

jaehyun walks further into the room, the absence of light and his drunken state allowing him to struggle finding the bed, but when he does, he sits, giselle sitting next to him.

“i dont hate yn, i never have, it was all a stupid rumour that i was too dumb to say wasn’t real in fear that she’d find out that i…”

“that you what?”

“that i like her.”

she sits up straight, silent filling the space between them.

“you liked her?”

“i like her.” he pauses, “of course i like her, she’s…she’s yn.”

“wow… thats…”

“stupid? yeah. i know. but you know what’s even more stupid?”

“what?”

“i made a dumb burner number so i could let out all my feelings without her knowing it was me.”

“what??!!!” she stands up. jaehyun looks at her in surprise. “so… it’s you? you’re Y?”

“yeah. how did you know that?”

“it doesn’t matter. look jaehyun, you can’t do this.”

“you think i don’t know that?” he stresses, “i’ve been trying to rid my feelings for years, i thought letting her hate me would atleast help with that.”

“…she can’t find out you like her.” the girl whispers, “you have to end this!!!!”

jaehyuns silent. “i have to end this.”

“give me your phone.” giselle says, arm outstretched.

“what? why?”

“because i’m going to help you get over her, even if it means she hates me too. and step one? letting her know.”

jaehyun hands her phone to jaehyun, and she types 3 words.

i’m over you.

“step two? you’re not going back into that party.”

“can i atleast know your name?”

“no.”

FLASHBACK OVER.

you let him in. just like last time. you’re willing to listen. you have to listen.

you have to know how this makes sense.

he was over you.

“but… the new Y, those messages… they-“

“were me.”

you’re silent. he looks at you with pity.

“it’s me. it’s always been me, before and now.” he pauses. “i’m Y, yn… again…”

“but… you, you can’t be..” you’re shaking, unable to understand what the hell is going on.

“listen, i’ll explain everything i promise.” he rests his hand on your shoulder, urging you to sit down. he sits next to you before he continues.

“the first time i told you i was Y… i thought it was a mistake. your friend giselle had tried to talk me out of it, even hooked up with me so i wouldn’t run to you, albeit i didn’t even know it was her until you told me, but i ended up coming to you anyways. and when i saw the look on your face? the disappointment that she warned me about? i couldn’t stand it. she was right, i had to get over you.”

your brows furrow, she had tried to convince him?

jaehyun continues, “so i lied, i told you i was over you, in hopes that i could do it. in hopes that, finally, i could forget about my feelings and let you be happy. but i couldn’t do it. and so i panicked. i tried to reverse everything. i was desperate yn, and so i tried to make it look like it was someone else again, that i was Y, past tense. i even spoke to yuta about it, and his dumbass said it was a good idea. i thought i made a mistake by telling you it was me, so i made up some random shit to make it seem like someone else.”

“what…?”

“it was always me… it won’t ever not be me. only from now on, ill try not be a fucking coward about it.” he laughs quietly, but when he notices the confusion in your face, he falters.

“i know i made this all so messy. but i care about you.” he sighs, “alot.”

“so all those messages saying ‘i’m glad jaehyun’s over you.’… that was just to make me think you weren’t Y, so that i’d really believe you were over me.”

“yeah.. i know i’m being selfish by telling you i still like you but, i hate lying to you. i don’t ever want to lie to you again. you don’t deserve that.”

you finally take a deep breath, one you’ve been holding since you let him inside.

“i like you, yn.” he nods down to your hands, asking if he can hold them and you nod your head. he takes them in his, brushing his thumbs over your knuckles gently. “i screwed up. this whole time, it wasn’t a case of me getting over you, it was a case of me getting over the fact that i wasn’t.”

you can’t help but smile in relief, a relief that you’re so incredibly unsure where it comes from.

“but i don’t think ill ever be.”

as if on instinct, you had risen to your toes, throwing your arms over his shoulders. his head falls to the nape of your neck and he hugs you, arms closing around the small of your back.

it’s warm, comfortable. you’ve missed this.

you can hear him, feel him, breathing. he’s finally calm, the same composed jaehyun that you and everyone else know him as. the hiphop team captain that only talks to those he thinks deserve his attention, and sleeps with the rest.

you pull away but he keeps his hands on your waist, you clear your throat and they flinch away, falling back to his side as he laughs.

“i’m sorry, about everything.” jaehyuns says, “i’ve made everything so hard for you, when all i wanted to do was make it easier.”

you nod, lips pursing into a small smile.

he continues. “i don’t expect you to suddenly grow your feelings for me back,” he laughs, “i just hope you’ll, maybe, hate me a little less.”

“thank you jaehyun. i mean it.”

his dimples show.

“and.. i don’t think i can hate you now.”

“really?”

“i mean… not if you try on a tutu infront of the boys..” you laugh, and he looks at you in terror before playfully chasing you around your dorm.

it’s nice, being friends with him again.

you should be scared. you should be anxious.

but something tells you, this time, he won’t let you hate him, that this time he won’t let his feelings come inbetween you.

something tells you this time will be very different

mlist — next

notes; well well well 😁😁😁😁 i am so absolutely horrified to post this chapter because ik you guys have been anticipating it like CRAZY😟😟 ive enjoyed all the theories and everything sososoooo much im definitely gonna include smn with possible theories in my next smau cus it’s been so fun🙏🙏🙏🙏 i rlly wana properly say thank you because u guys have been giving me so much support on this and it makes it so much more fun to write!!! i rlly hope you’re enjoying it as much as i am making it. there’s still quite a bit to go but Y is FINALLY REVEALEDDD🤗🤗🤗 (fr this time i swear)

taglist — open; @https-yeonjun @chenlesfavorite @therealbobbyshloby @f6llsun @jkslvsnella @nanaxwi @cloudmrk @neocrashed @vernonburger @vividwritess @taeeflwrr @mmjhh1998 @cyjzzl @stareaa @minkyuncutie @mrkleelvr @dudekiss3r @nattan127 @slayhaechan @jaeveil @tynlvr @mslora @nosungluv @grassbutneo @dokyriu @girlz4jaem @axo-l0tl @yyangj3lly @solvrse @m1ng1swife @gentlepeach @xiuriii @soobinbunnie5 @tocupid @apolloxxivmin @ctrlstar @gyuguys @tokitosun @i-kai @flamingi @mrkleelvr @en-dream @queenrachelpink @ssweetreveries @swanyvess @flaminghotyourmom @hyuck-me @cryingforjae @hizhu @starfilledgaze

[kaihuntrr]

part twenty-seven: rematch.

The final stretch on the way home. The game of hide and seek begins once more….

The sea was dangerous.

It was no place for a human.

Of course it was dangerous! 

Lizzie felt a sickening twist in her stomach as Martyn brought her below deck and into the private quarters she and Joel shared.

That thing, that beast.

That was a sea prince?

That was the same monster that stared at her all those years ago. The same rattling trill, the same red fins and long tail. Even the human features, which she had thought she was just making up to deal with all that tragedy- it was real.

How was it real?

Lizzie felt the world around her spin as she sat on the bed, Martyn was moving his mouth but she couldn’t hear anything that escaped his lips. All she could hear was the roars of those monsters, the screams of the innocent, the jaws of the demon snapping as screams and lives were cut short.

Those were sea princes. 

The monsters that had haunted her since she was a child- those fairytales she’d learned as a kid and thought nothing of- something she’d thought she’d never encounter, she’d met two of them when she was a child.

“Lizzie, Lizzie–!” Martyn called out, putting his somewhat dry hands on Lizzie’s damp coat. She was sitting in the chair by the desk, dripping puddles on the wood. She could hear her heartbeat bursting out of her chest as she looked Martyn in the eye. “Hey,” he said so much gentler, shifting on his knees to lean closer, “you’re alright, we’re still alive–”

But how long were they going to stay alive for?

“They’re going to torment us,” Lizzie tried to control her breathing, inching closer to Martyn as he gripped her upper arms and squeezed. Her hands shook. “They’re going to play with us then eat us alive, Martyn.”

Haunting screams. The sound of wood and metal twisting and bending all around her as Lizzie struggled to survive. She could remember being drenched in rainwater and holding on to a door floating on merciless waves. 

Lizzie squeezed some of the rain out of her coat. She didn’t like to get drenched. Her hands shook.

“The one that held our ship earlier didn’t do that.” Martyn mumbled, breaking eye contact to look away from Lizzie.

Was he serious?!

“That’s because it’s waiting for a better moment to strike!” Lizzie cried. She motioned outside the window as the ship plowed forwards. Distant rumblings from across the waves sent shivers up her spine. “That thing saw me and my parents on the ship. It stared at us, left, and everyone died after!”

Martyn put a hand on top of Lizzie’s. “But you’re alive, Lizzie! Please, take a breath–”

“Only because I was too young and tiny for them to notice me!” Lizzie snatched her hand away from Martyn. The knot of emotion in her stomach softened as he bit his lip. Lizzie forced herself to let out a breath. No. She couldn’t lose her temper. Martyn was her friend, he was probably just trying to rationalize things with her, trying to calm her down. Lizzie held her hand against her chest, looking at the floor. “I was small then…. Not anymore.”

“We’ll make it out of here alive, I promise,” Martyn had a hopeful smile on his face. He scratched the back of his head, “Things are just very–”

Lizzie froze as she heard the sound of bellowing thunder. Her blood ran cold as she dug her fingers into the meat of her thighs. The ship shook like her hands were shaking as she tried to keep herself together. Lizzie swore the glass in the window was trembling too, threatening to crack if the beast swam too close and so much as growled.

No no no no no no. 

It was too similar. Things were too similar. 

The storm, the loud crashing of waves, even the damned sea princes were the exact same as the ones from ten years ago. Why were they coming after her now? Were they hunting for her? Would the Canaries– no, any human be able to take these monsters down?!

“Gods,” Lizzie looked down, lowering her head and covering her ears. “Both of them are here.”

Martyn blinked. “Both?”

Lizzie had all these thoughts, all these memories buried so deep within her head, and it had only taken the glare of the sea prince to make her crack and fold. Like a fallen ink bottle, dark thoughts and repressed memories spilled out of the depths of her mind, all black and splotchy, leaving stains for another to clean up. The words fell out of her mouth.

“Wh– when all of that happened, i– it wasn’t just one beast,” Lizzie stuttered, finding difficulty in breathing. Martyn gripped Lizzie’s hand and tightened it. “There were two.”

Martyn was silent. The silence was swallowed by the wail of wind, the crashing of waves, distant animal rumbles. Lizzie tried not to think about that last sound. She worried that she would pass out the moment she did and those thoughts overwhelmed her.

Lizzie could remember the details of the two demons.

“One of them was Blue, the one we saw with the red fins and blue hair,” Lizzie shuddered. The one that had stared at her back then. The one that had stared at her friends just now. Its vacant, dreadful eyes that pierced into a person’s soul, mixed with its ungodly huge teeth were horrifying to think about. “Then, Red….” A giant wave crashed against the ship, causing Lizzie to gasp audibly and shake her head. 

Red was the one chasing them. Armored. Big. The one that spoke all those years ago.

The one that swallowed the sailors.

“Red’s going to eat us.”

Lizzie stared at her clenched, shaking hands gripping her skirt so tight that she’d wrung out all the water. Her hands had gone numb. Lizzie breathed, mentally counting down from ten in an attempt to keep herself stable.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Ten… nine… eight….

But how could she possibly stay calm with all of this?!

Martyn gently grasped Lizzie’s hand. “We won’t let that happen, I promise.” His voice was calm, or at least as calm as he could make it sound. This was life or death for all of them. No one could be so calm during a time like this. “We’ll escape Red. We won’t let it eat any of us.”

An uneasy silence washed over them. Lizzie glanced at the window, seeing nothing but violent rain and choppy waves as a distant sound of booming made its way towards the ship.

It was only a matter of time until Red caught up.

Martyn leaned closer to her, keeping his voice soothing and low. “Do you think you’ll be able to leave the room?”

“No,” Lizzie shook her head. She already felt the fingers of death closing around her throat the moment she saw Blue’s eyes, but Red? Lizzie didn’t want to see what that monster looked like at all. As far as she remembered, Red would have flaming eyes and a huge mouth for all of its victims, crunching their bones until they– Lizzie was adamant to stay in her cabin. She didn’t want to see her death coming. “I don’t think I can–”

BOOM.

Martyn stood up, his legs shaking as he made his way towards the door. He looked resolved, determined, and a bit on edge. “Joel and the others need me, so I don’t think I can stay down here–”

“Wait!” 

She couldn’t be alone again. She had to have people with her. This nightmare was happening all over again. Her mind ached and body trembled, but her heart urged her to go back. To be with her friends. To be with her love. She couldn’t be alone. Not now. 

“I’ll–... I’ll go with you.”

Time slowed in the moment, Lizzie’s gaze faltering between the bed -she so desperately wanted to crawl under the covers- and Martyn as he relaxed his stance and just looked at her, without judgment. All the chaos of the tides around them deafened. Lizzie didn’t know whether to stand up and walk out with Martyn, or to stay and hide- under the covers of the bed… like a child. Lizzie knew she couldn’t call anyone down, but the thought of being alone froze her to her very core. She couldn’t be alone. 

She didn’t want to float around in debris in icy dark water, desperately clinging on to a piece of garbage, praying that her life was far from over. She had a future now, a life she wanted to live. She refused to float alone in the icy water again.

Maybe she had pushed her luck too far when she agreed to join the Canaries all those years ago. But she wouldn’t be left behind this time.

“Are you sure?” 

Now was the only time for Lizzie to say no. 

She reached her trembling hand out as she took a stumbling half-step forward, staring hard at Martyn’s hand as it rose in an offering gesture. Martyn was her friend, a childhood buddy, and an amazing hunter. With her friends and allies, they could make it out of this place alive–

The boat rocked abruptly, nearly throwing her into Martyn. Martyn hesitantly looked out towards the hall, eyebrows creased and biting his lip. Lizzie couldn’t leave Martyn idle for too long.

Lizzie took Martyn’s hand.

“I’m sure.”

Lizzie felt a little better as Martyn gave her a reassuring smile.

She could hear the storm much better now, out in the hall, and could hear the muffled shouting voices above on the top deck. It sounded frantic up there– disorganized and chaotic, which was understandable, given the situation.

Martyn walked Lizzie up the stairs, pulling her close as she stared at her boots.

“Don’t hesitate to call for help if you need it,” Martyn paused as they were close to reaching the upper deck. Multiple sets of boots rumbled overhead as Grian shouted commands with Joel’s louder bark following, the rest of the hunters shifting and shouting reports. It felt overwhelming, much more than before. “Take deep breaths.”

Lizzie nodded, watching Martyn ascend the stairs, still holding her hand, making it easier for her to follow.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Ten… nine… eight….

Lizzie walked up the stairs and looked around her, absorbing the chaos as she tried to reorient herself. The winds pushed against her, a strong gust propelling the ship forward. Grian’s eyes were wide as he saw the two hunters and ran over. “Martyn! Lizzie!” he addressed the two as he walked forward, nodding at both before looking at Lizzie. “Are you okay?”

“I’ll try to be,” Lizzie forced a grin. “How is the escape attempt?”

“Doing well, I think,” Grian looked over his shoulder, “The beast hasn’t found us yet–”

Just as he said that, one of the towering rocks to their side toppled down, cracking and breaking and pushing the surrounding stones as it crumbled to the sea. Hundreds, no– thousands of rock chunks crashed around them. The ship swerved around the falling debris as best it could, each crash in the water tossed the ship from left to right as it tried to stabilize itself.

Lightning struck as mist formed around the stone forest, revealing the shadow of the sea prince following them.

The beast had two demonic horns that grew out of its head, multiple fins on the sides of its head, and a slithering tangled mane of hair that went below its shoulders. Its humanoid torso leaned over one of the tall rocks, large claws clasping the sides of the stone it perched on, as its thick lobster tail smashed the pillars of stone behind it. Lightning crashed once more upon the rocky waters, the sea prince moving closer with booming thuds as its golden eyes pierced out of the darkness.

The mere shadow of the beast was enough to chill Lizzie to her very core. The sea prince growled, rumbling like an echoing thunder as Lizzie swore she could hear it chuckle under its breath.

“Treasure Hoarder….” Lizzie could hear Martyn mumble, staring up at the great beast as it cocked its head and stared after the ship.

Treasure Hoarder… Lizzie was sure she heard that name before, from one of the old sea prince stories. Treasure Hoarder was one of the ‘crowned’ sea princes, the one that guards treasure. Red… Red was Treasure Hoarder? It made sense for it to have all those flecks of gold in that case.

But if Treasure Hoarder was here, did that mean the treasure–

“Well, it found us now!” Grian shouted.

THA-THUMP.

Lizzie looked above, seeing Joel grit his teeth as he swerved around a crumbling rock spire. He was focused, doing his best to steer clear of the falling rocks as the sea prince above laughed, guttural bellows and roars filled the air as rain continued to pour.

“Keep slipping through the rocks!”

THA-THUMP.

Tha-thump.

Another heartbeat.

“What do you think I’m doing?!”

THA-THUMP.

Tha-thump.

“Watch out!”

THA-THUMP.

Tha-thump.

Was that its heartbeat… echoing? Lizzie could be mistaking the rhythmic thumps with some kind of thunder, but her hands shook at another possibility.

What if there was another sea prince?

Blue had swam away, and Treasure Hoarder’s heartbeat was loud, but it wasn’t the faint one Lizzie was hearing. Either Blue had come back to finish them off, or there was a third sea prince lurking around somewhere they couldn’t see.

Whoever had told Martyn and Grian there was only one sea prince to be worried about was dead wrong. This island’s bay was full of them.

“Lizzie, you should go back downstairs–”

“No,” Lizzie stood her ground, trying to build her confidence as her world continued to shake, both physically and mentally. “If– If this ship is going down, I’ll go down fighting with it.”

Lizzie ran to the railing, trying to get a closer look at the sea prince despite her head and heart both screaming at her to turn away, to hide. She needed a closer look, even if her legs trembled with every step, even if her heart beat out of her chest and her head ached with pain.

The rocks rumbled above them as Treasure Hoarder moved, Lizzie could see the glints of gold lining its tail through the mist, all adorning a massive black shape that crawled along the rocks. The only times Lizzie could see it clearly were the moments when lightning struck, otherwise it was just a massive blob of shadow and movement on top of the rocks.

She thought it was strange- Treasure Hoarder didn’t take a step near the water.

It was climbing the rock spires and pushing them over, but it wasn’t moving through the water. She remembered that it could swim.

Lizzie looked around, watching as Treasure Hoarder pushed the rocks against each other, making them topple over, letting sudden streams of water rush in as the area around them got bigger and wider–

Treasure Hoarder wasn’t just trying to crush the hunters, but to get down into the rock forest too! It was too big to fit between the rocks!

Lizzie’s mind raced a mile per minute, trying to think of something while rain poured down from above them. She stared outward, towards the rocks, her mind blurry as her vision as thoughts began to overwhelm and overpower her. What if no one had a solution? What if this was all for nothing? All Lizzie wanted to do was curl up and hide–

Wait. Hide!

Lizzie ran up to Joel, almost slipping off her feet as she gripped his shoulders tightly. Joel's eyes widened as Lizzie looked at him with frantic eyes. “Find a place to hide under the rocks! One of the ones that’s part way fallen down. We might lose it!”

The gears in Joel’s brain turned, looking around. “Sounds like a plan!” he smiled. It was a gamble, but anything was on the table at this point. 

Lightning struck overhead, once more revealing the monster’s imposing silhouette and glowing golden eyes before it disappeared into the mist once more. Lizzie could hear the distant rhythmic thumping from earlier, but it was less of a priority in her mind as Treasure Hoarder growled above them.

Joel’s eyes flickered over the rock forest then lit up as he jerked the ship to the starboard side. Lizzie moved to grip the railings. The ship pierced through the fog, navigating through the stones until the ship barely slipped through the cracks of two rocks that had fallen on top of the other. It provided just enough of a gap to get the ship inside.

The rain pouring over the rocks like a waterfall became a curtain for the ship to hide behind, and to douse the ship from bow to stern. It wasn’t like everyone wasn’t drenched already, but it felt colder than ever before. The winds howled as the mist began to part, thunder reverberated through the heavy skies, and the waves tossed and turned in the ocean.

Yet in this moment, things felt calm. 

The ship was rocked by the waves, winds still pushed through the sails, but it wasn’t a rampant chase anymore and the ship’s hull was sturdy enough to take the bumps against the rocks shielding them.

Lizzie held her breath.

CRASH.

The sea prince leapt down from the rocks. It let out a hiss as its lobster tail slapped the water, sending out large waves upon impact, air filling its lungs as it reoriented itself. Lizzie could see its blurry form as it rose up, its shape framed by all the rocks around. The rock forest was too shallow for Treasure Hoarder to fully submerge itself, so it towered out of the water, its head on a swivel as it looked for them. 

Lizzie couldn’t understand how a beast that gigantic could even exist. All of its features were monstrous, but it looked human.

Treasure Hoarder looked around at all of the debris, all of the fallen and shattered rocks as it growled, pushing itself forward with its legs stabbing into the water as it raised its head to the sky and–

“COME OUT, LITTLE ONES!”

That voice…! 

It was a decade since Lizzie had last heard it, but she had heard it. That same voice. That same crackle through the air. Its tone was lighter than in her memory, its voice dripping with manic glee, but no less overpowering. It was the same thundering bellow, but this time it sounded…

Hungry.

Treasure Hoarder lowered its head, moving slowly as it breathed. Each time it moved there was a resounding thud, rock spires shaking as its hands and tail hit the rocks beneath the water, making the ocean shake. With each thud, the force only grew stronger, louder, as it slowly approached the crevice.

Lizzie couldn’t move. 

She could only bite her lip and shut her eyes as the powerful force stalked ever so close to their hiding spot. Would it notice them? Notice her? 

The air around them grew colder. The wind was bone chilling, but then it was suddenly warmer. Warm, rhythmic, rumbling winds echoed all around Lizzie as her skin paled in response. Her mouth opened, but she dared not to scream at that moment.

The sea prince’s mouth was right outside.

Its mouth extended wider than a humans’ ever could, lips opening almost to the hinge of its jaw, exposing the inner muscles of the mouth, along with its colossal, ship destroying teeth. Its breath smelled of fish and blood, trails of saliva glistened as a shock of lightning cracked overhead. 

The beast let out a low trill, a deep pitch as it rattled the hiding spot, and it inhaled, likely smelling for the hunters as it sneered.

“HUNTERS DON’T BELONG HERE.”

The exact same words.

Lizzie’s heart beat a mile per minute. She shook her head, shakily stepping back and nearly tripping over nothing. No no no no no. Not again. Not this again. She couldn’t bear to hear anymore. The next thing she knew that happened after the beast spoke was, was–

A distant shriek caused Treasure Hoarder to flinch, the beast suddenly froze in place.

The waves grew more chaotic as the fins on the sides of its head flicked back and forth, almost rattling the ship into view.

Then it moved its head back and rose from the water.

THUD.

Treasure Hoarder’s hand slammed on top of the crevice as it bellowed a deafening, thundering roar. Its guttural shouts were enough to cause the entrance of the ship’s hiding place to collapse as it swiftly moved away from the hunters, slamming its tail down, creating a wave that pushed the hunters out to the other side.

The loud thuds of the beast’s steps quickly distanced itself from the Canaries, fading away as Lizzie winced when she could hear Treasure Hoarder diving back into deeper water.

No one spoke afterward, probably too afraid to do so.

…But they were safe, weren’t they?

The ship quickly jerked forward as wind caught its sails now that they were free of the rock pillars, propelling the ship forward, but this time, they weren’t greeted by a raging storm.

Simply soft rain.

It was still cold, horribly so with everyone being so drenched, but the tides were slower, lapping against the ship instead of crashing against it, and the breeze felt a bit more bearable. 

What surprised Lizzie the most was–

“The sun!” Tubbo called out, smiling and pointing dead ahead. “I see the sun!”

Past the dark clouds, the stormy howls of the sea, and the last of the pointed spikes, was a sunrise. The sun’s golden light bleeding on the shimmering blue seas, the sky hues of red and orange as the ship sailed close.

But all hope faded as something rose from the water: a giant arm covered in black scales, sharp fin on its elbow, and clawed fingers. A massive dark shape trailed after it, under the water, like the arm had risen from a puddle of spilled ink.

That must’ve been the third sea prince. The sea prince Lizzie had neglected to warn anyone about. How did it get this close to them, without making so much as a sound?

She should’ve spoken up.

The clawed arm of the sea prince curled its fingers and aimed to strike, to rip their ship down beneath the waves, but–

The arm swiped at the ship, slashing the stern of the boat, but then the arm, and the sea prince, sank back under the water and swam away without another word. Without another sound.

Lizzie stared after the sea prince, seeing a tall black dorsal fin rise and sink into the water as she took in a steadying breath. She had lived, her friends had lived, and they were all going home relatively unscatched. Unharmed. They could finally go home.

Yet, as the breeze of the dawning morning fluttered through the ship and caressed Lizzie’s cold skin, she could only clench her hand against her chest. She could feel Joel’s arms wrap around her, trying to soothe her with words of comfort and gentle kisses, but she could only focus on the passing tides and distant rumbles of thunder. They had survived, for now, but how long could they last when it finally came down to capturing a sea prince?

[deoidesign]

.

[habken]

I've been rigging in harmony for almost five years and have done so on TV and streaming productions so if you have any immediate questions or anything lmk!

oh wow that’s so cool :0 and thank you!!

Honestly I think I need to mess around a bit more before I have any decent questions to ask haha, but if there’s any general tips or like “remember to do this” type advice you have, that would be so great !!

[junebugtwin]

even while it was happening, you knew it wasn't going to last

[akimojo]

ok wait i'm curious to know what yalls go-to party is in ffxiii, because lightning-sazh-vanille always feels like such a no-brainer to me anytime i play and now i need to know if people think the same or not 👀

[simgerale]

me after attempting to get back into sims and realizing i had a lot more to do than play the game

[idolbound]

Anders kinnies on twitter in the year 2024 not understanding that while yes, Meredith had previously written to Val Royeaux to ask about invoking the Right of Annulment, the request was rejected.

In the throes of her paranoia being made worse with the addition of the red lyrium idol fashioned into a sword, she was getting desperate and looking to search the Gallows for blood mages as a reason to invoke the Right.

However, Meredith did not invoke the Right until after Anders blew up the Chantry.

During the argument with Orsino, it was clear that he was not going to allow Meredith to search the tower. And, much like the start of Act 3 in Hightown, he wanted to call upon Grand Cleric Elthina to settle their disagreement because he KNEW that Elthina was the only person who could control Meredith (and kept her on a proverbially short leash). To this, Meredith immediately raises her voice and says "You will NOT bring her Grace into this!" which CLEARLY implies she knows Elthina would put a stop to her actions then and there, which is the opposite of what Meredith wants to do.

So, with Anders' interjection in this scene and blowing the Chantry up:

Meredith (who was running Kirkwall as a Templar police state under martial law) had to respond to the crime in and of itself;

Elthina was dead, and therefore, the person who could have stopped her from invoking the Right of Annulment was no longer able to do so; and,

She was already at the peak of her paranoia, and this made her not seek justice on Anders himself (who had immunity from templar prosecution as a Grey Warden), but upon the innocent mages of the Circle.

So, she initiated the Right of Annulment as a response to the destruction and lives lost, and the Circle mages paid for Anders' actions (and depending on Hawke's choice, his own life could pay for it too).

It is not difficult to understand that Anders' actions - however morally justified he may have been - acted as the catalyst to the genocide of the Kirkwall Circle.

People will say "it would've happened anyway" but to be frank, if Anders did not blow up the Chantry and had Elthina been involved, she would've shut Meredith down again as someone who didn't want to get involved in taking sides but wanted to maintain the peace AND the desires of the Grand Cathedral in Val Royeaux. Alternatively, Hawke - Champion of Kirkwall - has enough influence at this point to influence Meredith and Orsino both as a popular (political) figure among Kirkwall's citizens and nobility. (it's why Meredith was reluctant to crown them Champion to begin with - it gave them power that she wanted for herself!).

I realize a lot of DA fans are not looking at these moments in-depth, but acting as if Anders is entirely justified in giving Meredith the fuel she needed to kill all the innocent mages is a bit ignorant and tbqh, misunderstanding this situation for what it is.

[kimkhimhant]

trying really hard to reignite my spark and get back on track with my fics but sometimes this fandom really feels like it's draining the life out of me lol

[bunnihearted]

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔

[peculiar--princess]

Killed it today with the exposures & wanted to share 😌

[databent]

why the fuck is it that some people cant seem to acknowledge that people can just... be disabled. not through any fault of their own, not because something "happened" to them, just because, you know, sometimes people have disabilities. like, come on

[gideonisms]

Also a great time to remember that if your religion tells you things about yourself that you wouldn't put up with hearing from a friend or partner, you don't have to put up with it from god either. You can leave just walk out if it sucks hit the bricks real revolutionary girls quit ❤️

[nympippi]

Necromancer Finney AU: Adults in general aren’t sure how to feel about Vance. On one hand, he’s got that infamous short temper. On the other hand, he’s been through quite a bit, even before the Grabber incident. Ultimately, it’s generally agreed that Vance is a victim of terrible circumstances and is reacting accordingly to them

I’m actually unsure on this one because I do think maybe in a town like Denver they’d definitely sympathize with him, and feel for his pain but at the same time I think Vance would hate it. Because it’s only after Vance has to undergo massive amounts of trauma and pain for the adults around him to see him as a kid and not some criminal.

it’s showing him that the adults had potential to care but they never did. And instead of working with him, they work against him labeling him as a troubled child who would end up seriously hurting someone. …I don’t know, I’m not too sure on my stance or have any ideas on the adults in tbp but I do headcannon Vance to dislike adults to a serious degree and it only gets worse after his kidnapping.

[yoiku]

hkglhklkgjhkjljhk I fucked up a giant file i've been working on bc i resized it to save and share a wip, and it had autosaved before I undid the resize and I had closed the file not thinking about it Q_Q now I only have a version that's one third of the size it was... ghhhhhhh I want my workflow and setup back...

[volcanogoblin]

:')