Bonus Round 3: Gift Tags

[referees]

Feeling generous? In this round, you get to give creative gifts as prompts.

This round is CLOSED as of 7PM on July 7 EDT. Late fills may be posted, but they will not receive points.

RULES

• Submit prompts as a gift tag in the format below. You can specify the size and a characteristic of the gift, who the sender is, who the recipient is, and a one or two sentence note from the sender to the recipient. Descriptions of the package and the included note don’t have to be explicit, see below.
• Package: medium sized cube, rattles
  From: Kageyama Tobio
  To: Hinata Shouyou
  Note: These will help you get better.
• Envelope: manila, 12''x17'', very thick and heavy
  From: Tezuka Kunimitsu
  To: Kinjou Shingo
  Note: Enclosed - Play without regrets!
• Your prompt MUST include a relationship. Platonic relationships are indicated by an "&" between the names (e.g., Riko & Momoi). Non-platonic relationships use "/" (e.g., Riko/Momoi). Please don't say "Any pairing," either.
• Fill prompts by leaving a responding comment to the prompt with your newly-created work. Fillers can get creative with how to interpret the prompt: your fill can be about the character receiving the gift, one or both characters using the gift, what prompted the sender to send the gift—the physical gift itself can even be excluded from your fill. What’s important is that the gift tag is clearly the inspiration for your fill.
• 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. Below that, place applicable major content tags (when applicable; otherwise write "no tags" or "none") 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: Please cross-link these fills and use clear tags in your comment. Written/text fills should be hosted at AO3 ONLY as a new, unchaptered work. Art/visual fills can be hosted anywhere. You may include a small safe-for-work preview of the fill in your comment. To place an image in your comment, use this code: <img src="LINK TO YOUR IMAGE" alt="DESCRIPTION OF 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: Please cross-link these fills and use clear tags in your comment. Written/text fills should be hosted at AO3 ONLY as a new, unchaptered work. Art/visual fills can be hosted anywhere. You may include a small safe-for-work preview of your work in your comment. 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

PROMPT: TEAM IMAIZUMI SHUNSUKE/NARUKO SHOUKICHI

[chiharu]

Arakita/SHinaki Ywpd

Package: Cat Carrier
From: Shinkai
To: Arakita
Note: They remind me of you, Yasutomo

FILL: Team Kyoutani Kentarou/Yahaba Shigeru, G

[kiyala]

no tags
word count: 515

They tell him that he can't fill the space left in his heart, that he can't find new things to occupy all the gaps that have been left cold and empty, but that doesn't stop Hayato from trying.

It's been months since Yasutomo has left and all the promises to stay in touch don't mean a thing with the distance between them feeling like a yawning chasm. It's quieter in Hayato's life, duller, and he misses the warm touch and easy affection of someone that he loves.

He takes the first two kittens in because they remind him of Yasutomo so much that his heart aches with it. The same narrowed eyes, the same tendency to shy away from affection when he's willing to give it, but then seek it later, silent but without hesitation. He lets them curl up with him on the couch and it doesn't feel quiet as lonely any more. They purr softly, reassuringly, rubbing their faces against his like they've claimed him as much as he's claimed them.

It's a nice feeling. He takes photos, sends them to Yasutomo, with a long winding recount of how he found the two of them and immediately realised that they're smaller, softer versions of the real thing, on the other side of the computer screen, so far away that Hayato tries not to think about it because it only makes him feel lonelier.

He takes photos of himself with the two of them, spread out in the double bed, grateful that he no longer has to sleep in it alone. He finds one of Yasutomo's ties among his own clothes and ties it around one of their necks, sending off a photo of that, too.

Two kittens eventually turns into three, then four, and the apartment feels lively again. It's no longer as quiet as it used to be, even if the kittens sometimes choose to stay to themselves. That's no different to Yasutomo either, Hayato thinks with a sad smile. His heart aches again.

The weeks turn into months, and Hayato lifts his head from his pillow one afternoon, when he hears the front door opening. He sits up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, only to be greeted with:

"Hayato, what the fuck."

His breath catches in his throat and he gets to his feet, walking out into the lounge room. Yasutomo is there, his black suit jacket already covered in at least two different kinds of cat hair.

"Yasutomo," he greets, with a warm smile.

"I was away on a business trip for two months," Yasutomo says, and indicates the couch, which has been claimed by kittens, now numbering six. "What the hell."

"I missed you," Hayato explains with a smile.

"That's not an explanation," Yasutomo sighs, but crosses the room, pulling Hayato into a kiss. "I think I have cat hair in my mouth."

"They reminded me of you," Hayato murmurs against Yasutomo's lips.

"Yeah," Yasutomo rests their foreheads together. "You told me. I clearly can't leave you on your own, ever again."

Hayato grins. "Better not risk it."

FILL: TEAM MIYUKI KAZUYA/MIYUKI KAZUYA, T

[catlarks]

cosplay fill, 3 pictures, ~100 words
tags: implied pet death






[Arakita doesn't know how Shinkai finds out. Probably Fuku-chan, Fuku never was the best at keeping a secret. Arakita doesn't want the reminder, doesn't want to think about the cat he coaxed into tameness through persistence and patience and a whole lot of cat food. It's kind of the last thing he wants to think about.]

[He doesn't want to think about Shinkai, either, with how long it's been since... Since high school. Since things were easy with them. Easy as things ever were, in Hakone's cycling club.]

[Arakita knows there are more cats, knows what Shinkai's note means. He knows there's an offer here, if he bothers to take it.]

[He's not going to take it.]