Bonus Round 2: AUs

[referees]

Bonus Round 2: AUs

SASO 2015 is over, but this round is perpetually open to new fills (no new prompts).


This round is made for exploration of all those "what-if?" scenarios, like "what if my favorite sports anime was actually a spaghetti western?" or "what if everything was the same except everyone was actually a car?"


This round ends at 7PM on June 27 EDT. Countdown Timer.

RULES

• Submit prompts by commenting to this post with an alternate universe idea, along with a ship from one of our nominated fandoms.
• An AU could be a canon divergence, e.g. "what if [team] didn't win the Inter High in season 1, but [other team] did instead?", or a completely different setting altogether, e.g.s pop idol AU, coffee shop AU, superheroes AU, etc.
• Fill prompts by leaving a responding comment to the prompt with your newly-created work.
• Remember to follow the general bonus round rules, outlined here.

FORMAT

Bonus round shenanigans all happen in the comments below. Brand-new works only, please.

Required Work Minimums:

• 400 words (prose)
• 400px by 400px (art)
• 14 lines (poetry)

There is no max work cap.

Format your comment in one of the following ways:

If PROMPTING:	If FILLING:	If FILLING as a TEAM GRANDSTAND participant:
PROMPT: TEAM [YOUR SHIP] Replace [YOUR SHIP] with the name of the team you belong to, including Grandstand or Sports Teams Write it exactly as it appears on the team roster or your team will not receive points Place the prompt's relationship in the first bolded line of the comment. Including the canon isn't required, but it's nice. Visual example	FILL: TEAM [YOUR SHIP], [RATING] Replace [YOUR SHIP] with the name of the team you belong to Write it exactly as it appears on the team roster or your team will not receive points Replace RATING with the rating of your fill (G - E) Place applicable major content tags and word count before your fill (when applicable) NSFW FILLS: Post written/text fills directly to the round with clear tags. Please link to art/visual fills. You can include a small safe-for-work preview if you'd like. To place an image in your comment, use this code: <img src="LINK TO YOUR IMAGE" /> Visual example	FILL: TEAM GRANDSTAND, [RATING] Replace RATING with the rating of your fill, G - E, as explained in the rules Place applicable major content tags and word count before the fill, where applicable NSFW FILLS: Post written/text fills directly to the round with clear tags. Please link to art/visual fills. You can include a small safe-for-work preview if you'd like. To place an image in your comment, use this code: <img src="LINK TO YOUR IMAGE" /> Visual example

Posts not using this format will be understood to be unofficial discussion posts, regardless of what they contain. They, like all comments in this community, are subject to the code of conduct.

SCORING

These numbers apply to your team as a whole, not each individual teammate. Make as many prompts/fills as you want!

For prompts: 5 points each (maximum of 50 prompt points per team per round)

For fills:

First 3 fills by any member of your team: 20 points each
Fills 4-10: 10 points each
Fills 11-20: 5 points each
Fills 21+: 2 points each

All scored content must be created new for this round.

Etc.

If you're hunting through the prompts looking for what to fill, a good trick is to view top-level comments only.

Have a question? Check The FAQ first. If you still need help, feel free to contact the mods. Happy fanworking!

Comments

FILL: Team Aoyagi Hajime/Teshima Junta, G

[kiriska]

No warnings apply. 741 words.

Tsukishima doesn't think he's arrogant, exactly, but he knows that Yamaguchi loves him, that he's is in love with him. It's obvious from the way he looks, or at least, the way he looked the last time they saw each other. Tsukishima remembers it easily enough: the wide smile, freckles dark from the summer sun, eyes squinting at him through the sunshine, a laugh clear and bright, echoing after him. He'd known it then.

And a hundred letters later, he is even more certain.

Their words are casual and cordial, but Tsukishima sees them both reading and writing between the lines. Yamaguchi writes of others' affairs and comments frequently on Tsukishima's travels and adventures in other kingdoms. He rarely writes about his day to day life and answers only occasionally when Tsukishima prompts him for details. Yamaguchi tries to shut Tsukishima out while drinking up his every word and responding promptly and enthusiastically to each letter. These aren't ways to behave with someone you don't care about.

Tsukishima sighs, sets his quill down, and crumples up another sheet of parchment. He resents having to be the one to confess first, but he's tired. He doesn't like being made to second guess what he already knows with certainty. He needs confirmation. He flattens another sheet on his desk and dips his quill into the ink bottle again.

~

He doesn't believe the letter he receives in reply, penned in a stranger's hand, with words he has to reread five times before he's sure of what they say. He doesn't believe it though.

Shy, nervous and awkward Yamaguchi's eloped? Impossible. To an old miser for their money? Impossible. Yamaguchi Tadashi, who's never once made comment of Tsukishima's status or family or treated him differently for it? Yamaguchi, who has never spoken of wealth or riches, who was happy to skip out on the stuffy speeches of courtiers to goof off and slide down stair railings?

Impossible. Tsukishima doesn't believe it, no matter how many times he reads the letter.

~

"Yamaguchi..."

The shoe fits perfectly, and he's hunched, clutching his leg, crying and laughing at the same time.

"Yamaguch-- Tadashi, please," Tsukishima says. "Look at me."

The dirty, freckled boy obeys, mouth twitching, eyes shining with tears.

"Tell me what you think of me."

Yamaguchi sobs and closes his eyes, but he obeys; he whispers, "I love you."

"Then marry me!"

He nods; his body trembles as fat tears roll down his cheeks. Tsukishima doesn't feel relief or happiness. His heart is in his throat, and he doesn't understand.

"Don't marry him," one of the stepsisters say.

Yamaguchi nods again, then shakes his head. "I can't... Tsukki."

"Marry him!" the other stepsister says. "Marry him and make us rich!"

"No! Go to your room, Tadashi. You're a mess and no one wants to see you!" the first says.

Yamaguchi rocks in his chair and cries. Tsukishima stares at him, then back to his horrid family, who are all shouting contradicting orders. "Marry him." "Don't marry him." "Do what I say!" "Obey!" "Obey!" Tsukishima feels like he's on the verge of a realisation. It's like an itch in the back of his brain. But the frustration explodes from Yamaguchi first.

"No!" he shouts suddenly, standing. "Shut up! Shut up! I won't do what you say! I won't marry Tsukki! You can't make me!"

"M-Make you?" Tsukishima stutters, taking a step back as Yamaguchi whirls around wildly.

"I won't marry him!" Yamaguchi screams at his stepsisters. "I won't marry the prince!" He yells at his stepmother. He turns back to Tsukishima. "I won't marry you," he says, voice shaking, then kisses him on the cheek. "You're--"

"Why?" Tsukishima grabs his hand. "Why not? If you love me?"

"I can't," Yamaguchi says, looking away. "I can't! I'm cursed and you wouldn't be safe... I...I...please..."

Tsukishima holds on to Yamaguchi as he mutters, suddenly looking bewildered.

"You're free, Tadashi," someone in the crowd of servants says. "You're free!"

Tsukishima thinks he understands. He doesn't let go of Yamaguchi's hand.

"Tsukki..." Yamaguchi straightens slowly, face still shining with tears. He turns back to him, smiling now. "Tsukki, I wasn't ready, a minute ago, to marry you... but now, I--"

Tsukishima is tired of waiting. He was tired waiting a year ago. "You're too slow, Tadashi," he mumbles, and kisses him.

"S-Sorry... Tsukki."

"Will you marry me?"

"Yeah..." Yamaguchi smiles, and kisses him in turn. "Yeah."