#mx:bathysmal

tw: blood mention, weapon mention, murder

she made the decision to follow with the soldiers, but despite her reasoning and fear seoyoung is pulled to the opposite side by a powerful tug by the person she was tied to. why he was so keen to keeping her was quite obvious, however. like him she was scared and unfamiliar with the underwater world, the moment she gets a proper look at his face she can indicate every ounce of fear was bubbling behind his features.

for sympathies sake she decides to stay by his side.

By the time the Council arrives, the castle is in a state of mayhem and destruction.

It’s a blur as volunteers rescue the hostages and diffuse the situation-- the rebels and soldiers alike have become victim to the madness that plagues the entire castle, leaving them susceptible to their worst desires and qualities, seeing a world that does not truly exist. It’s an easy task for King Seokhyeon to subdue them, causing the building and all of it’s inhabitants to fall into a stupor with one simple spell.

“It’s a shame this is how your life ended, my old friend,” the Faery King murmurs as he steps over the bodies, looking down at the corpse of King Bonhwa. “You were a great man, but I always warned you that your hubris would be the end of you.”

Still, as the volunteers start to gather the hostage survivors and begin their ascent upward, there remains a feeling of unease in the water. Bonhwa may have been an egotistical man with too much of an appetite for power, but he would have never orchestrated something like this of his own accord. It reeks of outside influence, and Seokhyeon can feel it’s oppressive force trying to break through the barrier he put up, to poison even his own heart.

But not today. That would be dealt with on a later date.

“Make sure the survivors are safe before starting the body count. Members of the Royal Family are the priority-- dead or not, make sure they are all accounted for if they were ever in the castle to begin with when this disaster happened. We shall not leave until ever mer with royal blood has been found, so get started now.”

Above water, the Council volunteers have a handful on their hand as the hostages come to: trying to explain everything that has happened, and the outcome while the morning sun peeks over the horizon, painting the sky with orange.

“No one is particularly sure what’s going to happen now, as both sides were decimated; we’re not sure if the rebellion even has a leader anymore, let alone any forces,” one volunteer admits in passing. “But we do know that the soldiers were holding the throne room. That’s the only thing for certain. Merfolk politics aren’t really something I pay attention to, though, so take that as you will.”

For the naturals, it’s a bit easier to explain: King Bonhwa went crazy because of what they believe to be some kind of spell, one that no one can trace yet, which eventually took over the entire castle and caused all of the inhabitants to follow in his footsteps. Right now, no one is to blame for the tragedy yet, and the merfolk have been dealt a severe blow not only to their kingdom but their pride. For humans, it’s a bit more basic: naturals exist and they fucked up big time. Please don’t tell anyone. Sorry.

You can’t say they aren’t trying to be upfront about it.

All hostages are given the option to be personally driven home by any of the volunteers, regardless of who or what they are-- that is, if they don’t need medical attention. Should they need medical attention, they’ll have to stay a little longer as the faeries work their magic, trying to get to as many of the wounded as possible. At this point, it’s just a matter of getting people home safely, so that this terrible night can be over.

Characters, if they were not aware of the natural world or the species’ of their friends, are aware now-- Council volunteers have explained everything, trying to be as calm and careful as possible. All wounds have been healed, and anyone missing proper clothes has been offered a blanket or towel to cover up with, as well as dry off. Any remnants of the madness is gone, but not the consequences of it.

They also have the option to be driven home by a Council volunteer, regardless of how far it may be-- it’s the least they can do to try to put an end to this horrible night, and the volunteers are more than happy to cooperate, especially since most of the survivors are too shaken and traumatized to have any business driving themselves anywhere anyways.

It’s extremely likely that most muses will need extensive therapy or at least time to mentally recover after this tragedy.

While it isn’t required, we do ask that you write one final solo whenever you get a chance, depicting the aftermath and fallout of the event and your muse’s reflections on it, including any revelations that have come about due to the events that have conspired-- please tag this solo with #bathysmal:manus. We remind you again that your muse will likely be extremely shell-shocked and traumatized, and that this event will have ripples across the natural world, touching every natural in Busan.

nsfw; mentions of gore, blood, death, killing, all that good shit, etc

her split lip, bruised forearms (and possibly elsewhere underneath her clothing) and open gash on her right thigh were clear indications of the previous altercations she’s been in thus far. she saw them as trophies of each battle. it was a reminder of that she was still penetrable, nor matter how perfect she was. in her eyes, she had the same physical capabilities as everyone else yet she still came out victorious.

everyone was behaving like savages. they’re lowly urchins that should be praising the ground she walks on. they had the gall to attack her, to challenge her. they all thought they would survive a battle with her. pathetic.

momo swam away from the heart of the carnage, her eyes sweeping the room for any sort of challenge. she stopped, looking down at her leg that left a red mist in its wake as she swam. there was a dull ache but she refused to attend to it. that would be showing weakness in front of all of them. instead she went to force herself to continue swimming and instead came with something blocking her path.

“who do you think you are?” she asks him angrily, crossing her arms. she kept her voice levelled though she didn’t hide the angry tone behind it. “you’re blocking my way. unless you intend to carry me where i need to go, move!”

neutrality is always a temporary condition. it’s a version of appeasement that works a little more like ignoring the issues at hand for a greater cause than giving something to either party to make them happy. that’s the exact situation she found herself in with the hunter.

there wasn’t any way that was she happy with this situation. it was a temporary alliance. after they found a way out and got back to the surface, things will go back to normal -- he could go back to being a cold blooded killer and she can go back trying to avoid ever seeing him again. there’s a sneaking suspicion in her mind that he wasn’t going to let her off that easy after this was over. the thought of having to spend more time with him on the surface made her sick to her stomach. she couldn’t let that stop her. they had to be cooperative if they wanted to get out of here alive.

momo didn’t know the first thing about combative magic. she’s never used her magic for anything other than little pranks and spells to get back at people (and even then, those were never extreme). she told them -- even hoseok -- this early on. how much use could a faery be in battle? but after an hour of actively being forced to defend herself, the japanese faery caught the hang of it.

“get down!” she called out to the hunter as she launched a spell at an incoming assailant. her mind didn’t agree with attacking people but it made it easier that they attacked her first. besides, who would ever want to attack her? anyone who did attack her would only end up injured or worse: dead.

as the rebel fell momo straightened, her eyebrows furrowing at the sudden and unwelcomed thought. her rational mind told her that she wasn’t that good at fighting, this was her first time, but something was creeping in her mind. something that sounded like her thoughts but weren’t her own at the same time. it’s her first time fighting yet look at the body count already. the faery chewed on her bottom lip nervously. she was right: she was already a forced to be reckoned with.

she grinned to herself. when will other people realise how great of a fighter she was?

&& @mcxrose

jimin understands the weight of responsibility. he does. it’s a difficult thing to struggle with, sometimes-- and he knows, from his previous experience with the council before his mother’s death and just how she holds herself, who the mermaid before him is. he freezes in place, swallowing slightly, unsure on what to do.

because what is he supposed to do, let alone say? ‘sorry your dad kidnapped me and then got murdered, i don’t want to die either, wanna try to not die together?’

he doubts that would fly.

so instead he tries, “um,” and swallows, before going, “my condolences. about, um. you know. yeah.”

&& @mthminseok

getting separated from hoseok might do jimin some good.

it’s still terrifying, being alone like this-- but where he’d been paralyzed by fear before, he was forcing his emotions down, trying desperately to survive before he let all of the shock take him over again. it’s not easy, and the fact that people keep getting into fights and the goddamn building keeps shaking wasn’t helping, but jimin’s lived through a lot. he can make it through this.