Bonus Round 5: Myth & Lore

[referees]

Summer's a time for swapping stories around the campfire. With that in mind, this round draws inspiration from the stories humanity have told each other over the centuries.

This round is CLOSED as of 7PM on August 4 EDT. Late fills may be posted, but they will not receive points.

RULES

• This round does not have prompts. Instead, we ask you to draw inspiration from the wide pool of mythology, fantasy, folklore, and fable. An urban fantasy or supernatural AU? A re-imagining of your favorite folk tale? Characters swapping ghost stories or playing D&D? As long as your fill in some way incorporates the fantastical and/or supernatural, it's welcome here.
• Your fill still has to be about a ship from one of our nominated fandoms. What ships you create work for is up to you, though.
• To submit your fill, simply leave it as a comment as a reply to this post.
• 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.

Remember, this is a NO-PROMPT round. Format your fill comment in one of the following ways:

If FILLING:

If FILLING as a TEAM GRANDSTAND participant:

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 (without brackets) 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) If no major content tags are applicable, make sure to state this-- even if including other additional tags 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 If no major content tags are applicable, make sure to state this-- even if including other additional tags 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 fills as you want!

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

Re: FILL: Team kanzaki miki/tachibana aya, G

[spacewives]

THANK! YOU!

Re: FILL: Team kanzaki miki/tachibana aya, G

[spacewives]

/YOURE/ SO GOOD!!! >:^0

Re: FILL: Team kanzaki miki/tachibana aya, G

[spacewives]

yachi obsessing over the goddess known as kiyoko is exactly this ship. u _ u

Re: FILL: Team kanzaki miki/tachibana aya,

[spacewives]

LMAO

Re: FILL: Team kanzaki miki/tachibana aya,

[spacewives]

Thank you!!! :^D

FILL: Team Matsuoka Rin/Nanase Haruka, G

[alder_knight]

Matsuoka Rin & Nanase Haruka, Free!
tags: talk of death, genderbend, magic, curses, witches
wordcount: 903


On the day of her thirteenth birthday, Nanase Haruka was stung by a jellyfish, and she died.

Except she didn’t die. Not actually.

There was a curse on her, placed when she was a baby in the womb, which meant she should die. It was all put in place long before she was born: thirteenth birthday, jellyfish sting, death. The witch that cast the spell didn’t count on one important factor, however.

There was a new witch in town.

***

“What do you want to do for your birthday?”

Haruka looked up at the wispy clouds that slouched idly across the gray-blue of the sky, shifting her leg where Makkou’s wagging tail tickled it. “I want to go swimming,” she said.

Rin paused, propped up on her elbows on her stomach in the grass, pulling petals from a daisy. “I thought your parents said you couldn’t go swimming today.”

“They did.” Haruka sighed and flopped onto her stomach as well, shoulder-to-shoulder with the red-haired girl.

“Hmm.”

The two girls considered their options. Originally, Haruka’s parents had meant to stay with her for the entire day, watching over her in order to protect her from the curse’s magic. But a runaway cart had knocked her father over and broken his leg, and he was now in the care of the Widow Matsuoka, Rin’s mother, who tended to illnesses and injuries as well as to unlucky romances and failed crops.

“Go with Haruka,” Rin’s mother had told her, pulling her aside quietly. “Her mother and father need to stay here while I tend to this injury, but Haruka must not be left alone today. Do you understand?”

Rin had nodded solemnly and gone outside to join Haruka, who was tugging at a stick in her dog’s mouth while she waited for her parents.

“Come on,” Rin told her, “we can go play while Mother fixes your father’s leg.”

The three of them had made their way to the meadow, and now Rin was deciding what to do next.

“First,” she announced, coming to a decision, “let me give you your birthday present.”

Haruka perked up at this suggestion and rose to sit cross-legged. Rin sat up as well and pulled a cloth-wrapped bundle from the pouch at her waist. “Careful with it,” she cautioned. “It’s fragile.”

Pulling open the blue-patterned folds, Haruka gasped softly. Rin tried not to look too pleased. From the cloth, Haruka pulled up a sand dollar, crocheted into a little net of red string, hung from a cord like a pendant.

“It’s for protection,” explained Rin. “The little stones in the netting are actually tiny pearls, I saved up for those. The symbols on the sand dollar are old magic. It’s to wear, it’ll keep you safe from -”

Rin was cut off by Haruka throwing her arms around her neck. Flabbergasted at the display of emotion, Rin quite forgot what she had been saying.

“Thank you, Rin,” said Haruka into Rin’s hair. Rin blushed furiously.

“Of course!” she stammered. “It’s your thirteenth birthday! Thirteenth birthdays are very important in families like mine,” she added.

Haruka pulled back, sliding the cord over her head and pulling her hair out from under it. “Why, what do they mean?” She adjusted the pendant, admiring it from all angles.

“Well, for us, thirteen is when you start the rituals that bring you into adulthood. I’ll start training under my mother for real soon.”

The day was hot, and heat shimmered across the meadow through the sky’s haze. A bead of sweat ran down Haruka’s neck. Rin watched it go.

“If I were an adult, I’d be able to go swimming on my birthday,” said Haruka, looking up at the sky again, turning the sand dollar over in her fingers. She looked back at Rin. “This is for protection, right?”

“Yes,” said Rin. “Why?”

“Well,” said Haruka, getting to her feet, “if I’m protected, there’s no reason not to go to the ocean. Right?”

Rin felt there was a flaw to Haruka’s logic, but was having trouble placing it. “Well….”

“Who could possibly be better protection than you and Makkou?” said Haruka, petting the dog’s ears.

Rin blushed again, her ego satisfied. “You have a point there,” she said, standing up as well, and when Haruka challenged her to a race down to the water, she took off at a sprint.

A child’s sand dollar protection charm might not have been enough to fizzle a grown witch’s revenge curse entirely, but it was certainly enough to keep Haruka alive.

The girl did not die, but nor did she escape unscathed. The jellyfish’s sting caught her off-guard, and she cried out in pain before she collapsed into the waves, falling underwater. Rin raced to her and pulled her unconscious form out onto the wet sand, but nothing she tried would revive her. And then the old witch came.

“Fool!” hissed the witch, materializing on the shore, voice like metal sheets sliding down rocks. “You have meddled where you should not, child. Your charm has foiled my spell, but for your interference, I shall take your friend away forever!”

And in a trice, the witch vanished again, leaving Rin open-mouthed, staring into the space where she had been. When Rin looked back down in front of her, Makkou was there, pacing frantically, and there was an indentation in the sand like the side of a girl’s curled-up body, but Haruka was gone.

Re: FILL: Team Matsuoka Rin/Nanase Haruka, G

[alder_knight]

oh my god, thank you so much for this comment, this fill is feeling like it's running off the rails completely so I'm glad it made some sense to you!

nothing in the rules says a participant can't post multiple fills in the same narrative, so this is part one of three! *sweats*

Re: FILL: Team Kyoutani Kentarou/Yahaba Shigeru, G

[yrindor]

Ooh, I love touch-based powers in all forms. This was really good!

Re: FILL: Team Chihayafuru, T

[alder_knight]

oh my god. oh? my god?? holy shit.

o_o

I LOVE THIS A LOT. It builds so menacing and intense? and the world is so fully-fleshed, even in so minimal a style. I love this. I LOVE IT. I'm shivering from reading it. wow wow.

FILL: Team Kominato Ryousuke/Kuramochi Youichi, T

[sky_rose]

Kominato Ryousuke/Kuramochi Youichi, Daiya no Ace
tags: injury
1560 words

Rain poured down over the trees and rocks. Water flowed down over the stony paths, turning muddy and pooling in crevices and transforming footholds into death traps. Thunder rolled overhead, lightning flashing and illuminating each separate leaf on the trees, as well as a lone traveller pushing forcefully through the storm.

He pulled back branches with his bare hands, ignoring how scratched up they were; he had somewhere he needed to be, and this damn storm wasn’t going to stop him, no matter how fierce it was. He took care to hold onto the large bag on his back, containing his belongings – if he lost his food, water or hunting equipment, he would be in even more trouble. A hand went to the knife at his belt to check it was still there, and he carried on.

Kuramochi Youichi was on his way home after staying in a neighbouring town for a little while – just seeing friends, brushing up on his survival skills and the like. He hadn’t been expecting such a big storm, but the reminder that his mother was waiting for him on the other side of the forest gave him the strength to carry on despite the relentless rain and wind and ominously creaking trees. He couldn’t let her down.

However, he’d been so focused on staring straight ahead at the path that he hadn’t been watching his footing. Kuramochi stepped on a rock that was far too slippery for a foothold and yelped as he lost his balance, crashing down onto the stones.

Pain exploded in his head as it hit the rocks and he instinctively brought his hands up to it, breathing hard, at the same time realising his ankle was throbbing. Turning and gritting his teeth through the pain, Kuramochi tried to assess how damaged it was. The forest was dark and he could barely see, but he could make out a gash in his lower shin, slowly oozing blood. His heart thumped in panic.

Very clever, Youichi. As if twisting it wasn’t bad enough – you’ve gone and torn a hole in it, too.

He tried to stand, ignoring the pain in his head, but when he put weight on his injured leg his knees went from under him and he collapsed again. Involuntarily, his hands began to shake. He was alone and injured in a forest in the middle of a storm, in no position to defend himself from any wolves or bears or hell knows what could be out there. He was practically inviting unwanted attention.

As his vision began to blur with frustration, he suddenly realised that a strange blue mist was threading itself through his fingers and over his arms, gradually spreading to settle over the rest of his body. Kuramochi blinked once, then blinked harder, but it was clear that the mist wasn’t a figment of his imagination.

Movement stirred above him, and he looked up.

There was a figure standing over him, although he couldn’t make it out through the mist that had now clouded over his eyes. He tried to speak, to ask who it was, but the moment he took a breath the mist flooded into his lungs and all of a sudden he could barely keep his eyes open.

“Sleep,” a smooth voice murmured, as the fog gradually swamped Kuramochi’s thoughts.

***

When Kuramochi woke up, he was lying on something soft
.
For a moment he wondered whether he was back in his bed, either at home or in the previous town, but the texture of his bedding said otherwise. It was as if he was lying on a bed of moss.

Kuramochi opened his eyes. He was lying on a bed of moss.

The memories of the storm came flooding back and he immediately tried to sit up to check his leg, but a stabbing ache in his head made him groan and roll over. Fortunately his leg didn’t feel as bad as before, but his head was still just as painful.

“You’re finally awake,” said a voice.

Kuramochi recognised that voice. It was the same one that had talked to him before he’d fallen unconscious.

He turned his head in the direction of the sound, and saw a person sitting on a rock nearby. Kuramochi couldn’t even tell what the first thing he noticed about him was, because too many things were out of the ordinary. One, his hair was pink, and adorned with a wreath of flowers and berries. Two, all he seemed to be wearing was a white cloth, draped over one shoulder and tied at his hips, resting over his thighs. And finally, two large, semi-transparent wings fanned out from his back, glimmering in many different colours when hit by the light.

Kuramochi stared at him, his mouth half-open. “What… what are you?”

The person’s mouth curved upwards in what looked like amusement. “Are all humans this rude when greeting someone?”

Humans. So this guy definitely wasn’t human. Kuramochi barely registered the rest of the question – he sat up, trying to see him more clearly, but then slumped back down when a jolt of pain flashed through his head and let out a groan. The stranger didn’t make any move to help him – just sat and watched.

When the pain had subsided, Kuramochi opened his eyes again. He realised they were in some sort of large hollow tree, light streaming in through gaps in its roots and cracks in the bark. At the sides of the area, he could make out several toadstools, and there was a foreign air to the place he didn’t quite understand. The whole thing screamed “magic”.

“Are you a faerie or something?” he mumbled.

A hum. “You’re not as dim as you look, then.” He didn’t pause to let Kuramochi to spit out a retort. “You may call me Ryousuke. This is the Fae court of these woods, and being the one who found you during the storm, I’ve been assigned to watch you.”

Kuramochi studied him warily; something about Ryousuke’s tone made him suspicious that he hadn’t been rescued out of the good of his faerie heart (did faeries even have hearts?). Against his better judgement, he gave his name in return. “Kuramochi Youichi. How long have I been out?”

“Maybe a day?” Ryousuke mused. “You were pretty badly injured.”

“A day?!” Kuramochi pushed himself up into a sitting position, bracing himself for the pain in his skull and hissing when it came, but managing to keep upright. “I can’t stay here. I was on my way to my mom’s—”

“You cannot leave,” Ryousuke interrupted. Kuramochi stared at him. “Huh?”

He gestured to Kuramochi’s bandaged ankle. “You have already accepted our care. Did your mother never teach you about us?”

She had. Kuramochi’s stomach sank; everyone from town to town knew that accepting anything from the Fae folk, be it food, water or medicine, meant that you were now bound to them in a way that wasn’t so easily reversed.

He glowered. “I was unconscious. This wasn’t my decision.”

“You would’ve died otherwise.”

“How do you know?”

Ryousuke raised an eyebrow. “By the time I stepped in, wolves had been following you for nearly ten minutes.”

Oh. Right.

Kuramochi sighed, pressing his fingers to his temples. He really wasn’t in the mood for this. Part of him wanted to yell at Ryousuke, part of him wanted to get up this moment and storm out, curse be damned, and the last part just wanted to lie down and sleep.

“I can’t stay here forever,” he muttered.

Ryousuke clicked his tongue. “You may not have to.”

Kuramochi looked up. Ryousuke had shifted position slightly so a ray of sunlight was now cutting straight through his wing and onto his face, lighting it up in warm rainbow fragments. There was a kind of ethereal beauty to him, something distinctly otherworldly that sent chills down Kuramochi’s spine. He swallowed, then pressed on. “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Ryousuke said, pressing a finger to the curve of his mouth, “that I can help you break the curse. You will be able to see your mother without being followed by any kind of magic. It will be as if you were never brought here.”

“What’s the catch?”

“Catch?” A smile. “There isn’t one. I just need your agreement.”

Huh. “So, in other words,” Kuramochi growled, “you’re asking me to make a deal with you. Like a devil.”

“Don’t go making analogies to things you know nothing about.” The coldness in Ryousuke’s tone made Kuramochi shiver. “This is an agreement. A partnership, if you will. I just need your word.”

It was definitely a deal, even if it wasn’t one of devil nature. Kuramochi regarded him carefully, the voices of the people from his hometown playing over and over in his mind – never make deals with the faeries, Youichi; it only leads to trouble. They lie and twist words, famed for their untrustworthy nature. Never, ever make a deal with a faerie.

One of those voices was his mother’s. Kuramochi closed his eyes, remembering her face. She’d expected him hours ago, and was probably starting to worry.

“Alright,” he said. “I’ll do it.”

Ryousuke’s smile widened, making Kuramochi shiver, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that this was going to be a lot more difficult than he’d first thought.

FILL: Team kanzaki miki/tachibana aya, G

[spacewives]

Onoda Sakamichi/Manami Sangaku
no tags

Sarah and I made this together!! She did the lines, I botched the coloring!!! I mean I colored it!!! Yeah!!

FILL: TEAM KURAMOCHI YOUICHI/MIYUKI KAZUYA, T

[tripsh]

iwaizumi hajime/oikawa tooru, haikyuu!!
no tags, hogwarts au
548 words

From his place at the Hufflepuff table, Iwaizumi can see Oikawa's expression, his reaction to his name being chosen from the Goblet of Fire. First, there's a brief moment of surprise--quick flash, then an even quicker recovery. He's smiling--bright, proud, happy--as his fellow Slytherins clap him on the back, shout and cheer as they shove him toward the front of the Great Hall.

Iwaizumi's clapping too, smiling as if he's the one who got chosen. He's happy for, proud of Oikawa, knows how much he wanted this--ever since the Triwizard Tournament was announced.

And he's glad it's him. Of course it's Oikawa. No one's better for this than him.

As the applause dies down and Oikawa follows into the room where Beauxbatons' and Durmstrang's champions went, Iwaizumi thinks that he'll stick around after eveyone's dismissed back to their dormitories. He'll stick around and wait for Oikawa to come out of the meeting, pull him into a hug and give him his first proper congratulations.

His thoughts trail off as his attention is drawn back to the Goblet of Fire--the headmaster's speech cut short, students' excitement halted as something unprecedented, something strange (even for a room full of wizards and witches) occurs.

The Goblet shoots out another name--a fourth one. And everyone's silence, and confusion sliced open as the name on the slip of paper is read as Gryffindor fifth year Kageyama Tobio's, Hogwarts' second champion.

.

"You alright?" Iwaizumi's hand brushes against the back of Oikawa's own as they walk through the halls together--no direction in particular, just moving. Away from the Great Hall, away from the confirmation that Kageyama would in fact have to compete in the tournament as well, Hogwarts would have two champions.

Oikawa's happiness at being chosen had quickly turned into something other than that, something definitely noticeable to Iwaizumi when they'd met up after, when Oikawa had told him what had happened.

"Well, I would be." He crosses his arms over his chest, leaning back against the wall, eyes focused on something distant--a portrait on the wall, a statue, something more interesting to pretend to stare at over Iwaizumi's shoulder.

He sighs. "You are not pouting. Seriously, Oikawa?"

"I'm not!"

"You can't pull that on me. I know you."

He groans because there's no reason to fight back when they both know that's the truth. "Fine. I'm just... I was supposed to be Hogwarts' only champion. My name got chosen, and he's not even old enough."

Iwaizumi knows better than anyone the rivalry Oikawa's had with Kageyama for years now--the constant comparisons about measuring up to the genius younger one that he's made. And that was just at Quidditch only. This is a lot heavier than that. "He looked as surprised as everyone else."

"So?" Oikawa huffs. "It doesn't change anything."

"No, it doesn't." He leans forward, resting a hand on Oikawa's shoulder. "So go out there and win." Prove it. Prove you're the right choice.

That seems to be enough motivation. Oikawa's lips curl into a determined grin, his hand brushing over Iwaizumi's arm. "You know I will, Iwa-chan."

He does. He does know that. And he can't wait to watch Oikawa make it true, to be there every single step of the way on the trek to victory and eternal glory.

FILL: Team Nishinoya Yuu/Tanaka Ryuunosuke, T

[savetanaka]

Nishinoya Yuu/Tanaka Ryuunosuke and background/implied relationships, Haikyuu!!
Hogwarts AU
Warning: Drowning
1513 words

“We’ve taken what you'll sorely miss,” Ryuu recites the song as he paces up and down the Gryffindor common room as Noya stares blankly into the fireplace.

“Any idea what that would be?” Noya gazes up at his best friend, eyes silently screaming for help. The challenge is only two days away – and he, quite frankly, doesn’t want to think about the upcoming challenge, nor does he at this stage particularly care for it.

Ryuu hums and puts a thoughtful hand to his chin as Noya thinks about his possessions that he would miss if they got taken away from him. He can’t really think of anything, aside from perhaps his broomstick. But even then, he knows he can easily buy a new one, should it decide to go missing.

Over the next couple of days, Noya thinks of all the possible things that he would miss. He writes up a list with Ryuu’s help, and it looks something like this:
Things I'll sorely miss:
- My broomstick
- ???
- Ryuu's painting of the sunset
- Saeko's two-way mirror

Noya sighs at the piece of paper that glares at him from his bedside table. Both he and Ryuu know that there's no chance he'd have this figured out by the time the challenge starts – in six hours, if Noya’s watch is a reliable indication to go by.

It’s two o’clock. I need to go to sleep, thinks Noya, exasperated. Giving up on what on earth the egg’s clue could possibly mean – aside from merpeople, he got that much – he rolls over into an uneasy sleep.
Broken dreams of strange creatures under the water, Noya choking and struggling to breathe, and Ryuu’s face keep interchanging in Noya’s sleep.

---

The blaring sound of Noya’s alarm jolts him awake. Time for the task, a snide voice mocks him. Wishing that he could have slept for six more years, Noya forces himself to roll out of bed.

“Ryuu?” Noya pushes aside Ryuu’s curtains, only to find that he’s already left.

Did he already go down to the lake? Noya can only assume that, feeling slightly betrayed that Ryuu would ditch him when he knew how nervous he was before this task.

He falls deaf to the sounds of cheers and yells from the people around him as he makes his way down to the lake. Noya tries not to think about the task that awaits him – he knows he has to use a Bubblehead Charm in order to last underwater for an hour, but he still has no idea what he’s going to have to do underwater. A sense of uneasiness settles over him as he stands along the edge of the lake with the other competitors.
Kuroo Tetsurou gives Noya an awkward grin from his side.

“Where’s your mate? Tanaka?”

Noya does his best not to think about Ryuu’s absence – his silence is almost too much for Noya to handle because if it were any other circumstance, Ryuu would be there, yelling encouragement at him.

“Dunno,” Noya responds flatly.

Ryuu, where are you? Why aren’t you here? Anxiety gnaws Noya's thoughts as he looks around to see him in the crowd.

“Yeah ... I dunno where Kenma is, either.” Kuroo follows Noya's gaze to the crowd, his usually cool demeanour looking shaken as he swallows a handful of Gillyweed.

“Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament!” The Headmaster’s loud voice booms over the speakers, hushing the crowd. “Contestants – you have one hour to retrieve what has been stolen from you. Good luck!”

A sharp whistle blows and Kuroo dives into the water beside him, splashing Noya with icy-cold water. Aone Takanobu grumbles a soft “Good luck” before putting on a Bubblehead Charm on himself.

Noya takes a deep breath and places a Bubblehead Charm over his head. Feeling very much as though he’d rather drown than go ahead with this task, Noya dives into the water. He knew what he had signed up for, but he didn’t think he’d actually be Karasuno’s Champion. After the First Task had gone so well, he wasn’t entirely ready to live up to the pressure and expectations of those around him.

The water hits him sharper than knives and the frostiness of the water bites Noya as he splashes around under the water, trying to get accustomed to the sensation of wearing a glass bowl over his head.

“An hour’s gone the prospect’s black,
Too late it’s gone, it won’t come back.”

The familiar eerie voices of the merpeople taunt Noya as he swims further out, towards the voices. As he plunges deeper into the lake, Noya can’t help but think about Ryuu – Ryuu who didn’t come and wish him luck or even say bye to him.

The lake itself is quite pretty under the water, Noya observes, noticing the various colours and types of the creatures that swim beside him. Seaweed rustles his legs as he navigates his way further to the darker parts of the lake.

Suddenly, a set of hands grab him, forcing him to swivel around. Noya tries to shout, but nothing comes out. He must look ridiculous, gaping around in a glass bowl, resembling a goldfish. The mermaid that grabs him wraps her fingers threateningly around his neck, her claws digging into his skin. Noya fights against her, thrashing around – he grapples for his wand and directs at the creature who backs away immediately, swimming into darkness.

Noya follows her, knowing it couldn’t possibly turn out well, but not having any other leads. He swims for perhaps about another ten minutes, delving deeper and deeper into the lake when he sees him. His heart freezes and he stops in his tracks.

Ryuu.

Ryuu is standing – floating? – in the water, bound to a large rock with ropes. His eyes are closed so that he looks peaceful – but Noya is far from it. Something tightens in his chest as he swims as fast as he can to Ryuu.

Please be okay, Ryuu. Please be okay, please be oka –

Oh. Noya’s attention goes to a smaller boy tied next to Ryuu. His orange hair floats in the water above his head, swaying with the current.
Shouyou, Noya thinks, the same feeling of being suffocated returning to him as he cuts through the ropes binding Ryuu to the rock. It takes almost five minutes to untie Ryuu from the ropes, but he finally does it. Relief swarms through him, but not for long. I have to save Shouyou, too, Noya swims to Hinata. Next to Hinata, Kozume Kenma is lying motionless in the water in the same position. And next to Kenma is Iwaizumi Hajime.

Noya knows that there isn’t much time left – perhaps there’s another ten before “An hour’s gone, the prospect’s black”. He tries to untie Hinata’s ropes, but the moment he is centimetres away from him, the merpeople lash out at him.

“You can take only one,” hisses one of the mermen, waving his trident menacingly towards Noya.

“But he’s my friend, too!” Noya tries to yell, but nothing comes out.
In a blinding flash, something large swims past him. Aone is furiously untying Hinata’s ropes, and gives a silent ‘Thank you’ nod to Noya before swimming up to the surface with Hinata in his arms.

Noya checks his watch. Six more minutes … Neither Oikawa nor Kuroo were around, as far as he could see. Out of nowhere, a merman suddenly swims forward, flashing spells at the other merpeople who screech in dismay as they disperse; Oikawa seemed to have Transfigured himself into a merman. He unties Iwaizumi in an instant and dolphin-kicks away without looking back once.

Two more minutes …

Thirty seconds …

Not thinking about the consequences, not thinking about how this was a school competition, Noya shoots a non-verbal spell to release Kenma. He swims over and grabs onto Kenma with one hand, Ryuu on the other. His Bubblehead Charm doesn’t have a time limit, thankfully, so he swims without the fear of running out of time, something Kuroo must have realised too late with Gillyweed.

Finally, after what seems like an eternity of kicking and splashing about, Noya sees the light above him and kicks as hard as he possibly can. Just … a little more …

Without warning, a pair of rough hands grab his feet when he’s less than a metre away from the water’s surface. Noya looks down to see the hoard of merpeople looking furiously up at him.

No, no, no, Noya panics. In his moment of terror, his Bubblehead Charm pops and breaks when one of the mermen strikes his trident at him. Water choking him down, Noya pushes up both Ryuu and Kenma with all of his energy from beside him so they float to the surface as he feels himself getting dragged further down by the sheer strength of the merpeople. They swarm him, blocking his path and grab onto his limbs firmly, pulling him further and further down as it gets darker around him …

FILL: TEAM MATSUOKA RIN/NANASE HARUKA, T

[fullofjoy]

Shirtlessness Idk

Based off an AU I have with someone. Rin is a harpy eagle creature and Haru is a nymph who controls plants and water.

FILL: TEAM IMAIZUMI SHUNSUKE/NARUKO SHOUKICHI, G

[dynamite]

Iwaizumi Hajime / Oikawa Tooru, Haikyuu
tags: food, very minor body horror?
graphics&etc fill, mundane magic au

LINK HERE

Re: FILL: Team Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, T

[yrindor]

I can't stop laughing at this. This is brilliant! Between Fukutomi and Toudou making the least-balanced characters possible and Arakita running in without thinking all the time, I'm amazed they made it this far (even if this is the very beginning of their adventure). My absolute favorite line though has to be:

"Juichi, why are you stripping? What did I miss?"

Manami's grin brightens.

"Oh, Arakita-san was about to bite someone, so Fukutomi-san successfully created a distraction," he chirps.

"I meant in the game," Shinkai deadpans as he peels open a power bar.

I love Shinkai's deadpan, and also the fact that Manami's explanation really could apply equally well to the game characters or to the players.

Don't mind me, I'll just be over here in the corner laughing over this some more.

Re: FILL: TEAM Tachibana Makoto/Yamazaki Sousuke, G

[yrindor]

This is really pretty!

FILL: TEAM MIYUKI KAZUYA/MIYUKI KAZUYA, T

[blueminuet]

Inui Sadaharu/Kaidou Kaoru (Prince of Tennis) (And, if you squint and believe really, really hard, Kinjou Shingo from Yowamushi Pedal is there.)
Tags: character death, blood, strange genetic stuff, time bullshit, l33t sp34k (it’s a homestuck AU, I’m so fucking sorry)
Word Count: 752

"Mels, if they're humans, why did you give them troll-style typing quirks?"
Because shut up.
Shut up is why.



— tonicThaumaturge began pestering chartreuseGloydius —

TT: 1f 1t makes y0u feel any better.
TT: The data and ass0rted l0re 1’ve been able t0 rec0ver fr0m prev10us 1terat10ns 0f th1s game.
TT: Suggests that all her0es have t0 watch the1r guard1ans d1e 1n th1s manner.
TT: Granted, all 0f those sess10ns fa1led.
TT: But 99% 0f all game sess10ns fa1l, so real1st1cally we’re r1ght 0n c0urse.

You stare straight ahead, reading the pesterchum messages as they ping in from your helpfully-alchemized, hands-free bandanna-puter, but you’re having trouble really paying attention to them. A soft rain is smattering down on you from the clouds of Skaia, and as far as the eye can see, there’s blood. You’re focused on some very specific blood though.

You are Kaidou Karou and your dad is apparently VERY DEAD.

Your hands are shaking. You wrap your trusty whip around in your hands (the ever-reliable Why-Did-It-Have-To-Be-Snakes Whip that you alchemized from movie posters) and it hisses at you in a way you like to think is kind of comforting.

You’re not really comforted.

TT: Umm.

You look back at pesterchum. You know Inui is trying to help, it’s just kind of hard focus right now.

CG: sssenpai
CG: i dont
CG: what am i sssupposssed to do now
TT: Ka1d0u…

Inui is silent for a while. You know that means he’s either typing a really, really thorough message, or he just hasn’t calculated the right thing to say yet.

He calculates a lot.

TT: There’s sss0meth1ng 1 sh0uld have t0ld y0u earl1er.
TT: *s0meth1ng
TT: …
TT: Anyway…
CG: what isss it
TT: Well.
TT: D0 y0u remember the lab 1n the mete0r 1 t0ld y0u ab0ut?
CG: yeah
TT: 1 d1dn’t c0mpletely tell the truth when 1 sa1d 1 d1dn’t kn0w what 1ts purp0se was.
CG: sssenpai
TT: The cl0nes that 1 made.
TT: And sent thr0ugh t1me.
TT: They weren’t c0mpletely rand0m.
CG: what do you mean
TT: They.
TT: Well.
TT: They were us.
CG: …
CG: what

There’s a really, really long pause, and it’s like you can feel Inui typing an essay feverently into his pesterchum window.

TT: 1n the lab, there were tw0 d1st1nct sets 0f cl0nes that had t0 be made. 0ne set made up the players fr0m 0ur sess10n.The 0ther set was a ser1es 0f comb1nat10ns 0f the genet1cs 0f pa1rs 0f players fr0m 0ur sess10n. Each cl0ne als0 had tw0 c0p1es. 0ne each t0 spl1t between tw0 un1verses. 1n 0ur un1verse, the base cl0nes were the y0unger set, mak1ng us, the players. And the set 0f genet1cally c0mb1ned cl0nes were sent t0 the past, t0 be 0ur guard1ans. But 1n the sec0nd un1verse, the 0rder was reversed. S0, 1n un1verse tw0, 0ur guard1ans are the players, and 0ur c0unterparts are the1r guard1ans.

You feel a massive headache trying to follow that message, but luckily, Inui just presses right on through.

TT: T0 summar1ze.
TT: Acc0rd1ng t0 the l0re ab0ut th1s game, 1t seems we’re dest1ned t0 meet up w1th a sec0nd set 0f players fr0m a sec0nd un1verse.
TT: And th0se players w1ll, essent1ally, be 0ur guard1ans.
TT: Except that they w1ll be 0ur age.

Your breath catches in your throat.

CG: ssso
CG: i’ll get to sssee my dad again
CG: when we get to the new universsse
TT: Prec1sely.
TT: But, as far as he w1ll be c0ncerned, Y0U w1ll be H1S dad.

You think about that. It makes your head hurt, but… it sounds better than nothing.

CG: okay
TT: 0kay?
CG: letsss get going to the new universsse sssenpai
TT: Alr1ght, g00d.
TT: Y0u sh0uld head f0r Pr0sp1t. We can meet y0u there.

You pause, thinking about all the information he just gave you. It still seems like a jumble, but suddenly something clicks.

CG: wait sssenpai
TT: Yes?
CG: ssso
CG: if our guardiansss were umm
CG: combinationsss
CG: of usss
CG: doesss that mean they were kind of like our kidsss
TT: Yes, sc1ent1f1cally speak1ng.
CG: ssso
CG: if i wasss half of my dad’sss genesss
CG: who wasss the other half

Inui falls silent again. You get the feeling he’s not typing something really long this time.

TT: Umm.
TT: 1 d0n’t remember.

You nearly fall over at that.

CG: sssenpai
CG: you remember everything
TT: Umm.
TT: S0rry, 1 th1nk Tezuka 1s pester1ng me.
TT: He probably wants a ssstatusss update.
TT: 1 mean.
TT: *status
TT: Anyway, bye Ka1d0u.
CG: sssenpai wait

— tonicThaumaturge has disconnected —

Well.

That was weird.

FILL: TEAM KURAMOCHI YOUICHI/MIYUKI KAZUYA, T

[tripsh]

kuramochi youichi/miyuki kazuya, daiya no ace
blood, mentions of violence, mentions of injury, fantasy & magic au
697 words

"What the hell was that?!" Kuramochi's standing in front of Miyuki, close, too close--blood on his hands, dirt on his face.

It's been like this for days. Running, fighting, trying to make it to the end of this tournament in one piece, let alone win it all. There are close calls every day. They have to be on guard every moment, even when it's just a quick pause like this to catch their breaths after a fight.

"What do you mean?" Miyuki asks. There's not really any use playing dumb--his back's against the wall there, metaphorically, at least--and he knows as well as Kuramochi what that was.

(Quick, and reckless decisions. Using his powers almost beyond his point of control, dangerously close to stepping over the line of what he's just recently learned how to use, magic he's learned to wield as his own, at his fingertips.)

It'd paid off in the end. They'd both escaped mostly unscathed. The rest of their team is safe, and they're heading to meet up with them. But next time might not be as easy.

"Don't play dumb. You know what I mean."

Miyuki laughs. "Concerned? For me?"

Kuramochi doesn't even bother to hide it, to fake it as something else. "Yeah. I am." Then, he quells Miyuki's momentary surprise by punching his shoulder. "Asshole."

"Well, you're not too concerned if you're punching me. What if that was the final thing that broke my bones?"

Kuramochi snorts. "You couldn't get so lucky."

That honestly seems like an accurate prediction. Everything in this maze, this gigantic forest with no end, is a million times more dangerous than Kuramochi's barely there punches and kicks ever could be.

"You're bleeding," Kuramochi says, quieter this time. His hand rests on Miyuki's cheek, wiping the blood away with the sleeve of his jacket. "Stupid."

Kuramochi doesn't pull his hand away, even after Miyuki's pretty sure he's finished wiping the blood, and his fingers brush over Miyuki's cheek. They're gentle. Soft touches. Concerned ones. Like he's double and triple checking that Miyuki is in fact alright after the fight they'd just been through.

For a moment, it catches Miyuki off guard. Until he relaxes, lets himself--his mind, his body--take a break and enjoy it.

"What's with that face?" Kuramochi's question after a few moments of quiet, makes Miyuki open his eyes again, snaps him back (in part) to where they're at again. But Kuramochi doesn't pull his hand away, his fingers still caressing Miyuki's cheek like that's all that matters right now. This. This moment.

You just killed three of those monsters, he wants to say. You just finished being powerful, ruthless, but then can be this way with me.

It's a stark contrast, but a welcome change. He likes that, this about Kuramochi. About them. This is what counts, what matters.

"You're being so gentle," Miyuki finally answers, a concrete explanation of those thoughts.

"Is that a problem?" This time, Kuramochi hesitates in what had been certain before. The brief pause ceases when Miyuki answers.

"No. I like it."

The quick quirk of Kuramochi's lips matches Miyuki's own, now. Like a reflection. This is what they both want, what they both need.

"Good."

Then, more serious, frown back on his lips, forehead creased with worry. "Don't do stupid things like that."

"I had to make a quick decision or we would have--" His hand rests on Kuramochi's forearm, their touches tangled, simultaneous reassurances. I'm still here. We're still here.

"Yeah, but don't take it on all on your own next time." Count on me too.

"Youichi..." Miyuki's fingers slip from Kuramochi's skin, as Kuramochi finally pulls his hand away, lowers it away from Miyuki's face. But the contact doesn't end there, when he catches Miyuki's hand that had fallen in the small space between them. Their fingers tangle together.

"We need to move," Kuramochi explains, his reasoning for the abrupt stop to one contact in favor of initiating another, more pliant one--one they can move with. "There might be more..."

"Okay." It's Miyuki who tugs on Kuramochi's hand, pulls them forward and doesn't let go until next time, next fight is right in front of them.

Re: FILL: TEAM Tachibana Makoto/Yamazaki Sousuke, G

[prillalar]

That's lovely!

FILL: TEAM IMAIZUMI SHUNSUKE/NARUKO SHOUKICHI, G

[dynamite]

Kanzaki Miki / Miyahara, Yowapeda
no tags
graphics&etc fill, fairy tale au

Miki = dynamite
Miyahara = chiharu

FILL: Team Kominato Ryousuke/Kuramochi Youichi, G

[sky_rose]

Kominato Ryousuke/Kuramochi Youichi, Daiya no Ace
tags: near-drowning
1832 words

Sunlight shone down hot on the back of Ryousuke’s neck as he leaned warily out over the edge of the boat, his eyes searching for whatever Haruichi was showing him among the waves. Then, the boat gave a sudden lurch.

The next thing Ryousuke knew, he was surrounded by water. Cold water, dragging at his clothes and filling his mouth, open in a surprised shout. Clamping his jaws shut, he tried to move his arms and pull himself back up towards the distorted sunlight, but his sodden clothes made his limbs heavy, not to mention that his body was still shocked from the sudden change in environment. He could hear muffled, frantic voices coming from above the surface, and stone cold dread began to settle in his chest like ice.

Ryousuke couldn’t swim. If he’d been on the surface of the water, it wouldn’t have been as much of an issue, but down here, there was no one to help him.

He thrashed, his arms moving slow, too slow, the bright spot of sunlight getting smaller and smaller as he sank. His vision swam, black spots dancing at the edge of his eyes as he fought the urge to take a breath. Slowly, his sight dimmed.

One moment, Ryousuke had been standing on the edge of the boat as Haruichi pointed at the water, full of glee about graduating from high school, Ryousuke feeling pride glimmering in his chest. The next, he was caught in the ocean’s cold clutches, and sinking to certain death.

***

Ryousuke opened his eyes.

He was greeted by the bright light of the sun and instantly squeezed them shut, covering them with his hand. He barely had time to register where he was or what was going on before he heard movement next to him and a voice saying “oh, shit, sorry, forgot about the light-” and suddenly his face felt cooler, as if it had been shaded.

After the initial surprise at being awake – alive, even – Ryousuke allowed himself to feel how his body had fared. His limbs still felt like they weighed several tons and moving them felt like moving mountains, and his throat was dry and scratchy. When he tried to breathe through his mouth, he started to cough, turning over on the sand.

“You okay?” The voice spoke again, coming from above. “You’re not coughing up more water, are you?”

Ryousuke opened his eyes.

A man’s face stared down at him, with curious, sharp eyes and defined cheekbones. His hair was an off-brown and spiked up from seawater and sand, and – were those freckles around the sides of his face, or something else? Ryousuke squinted – he couldn’t tell with his blurred eyesight, but they looked like… scales?

“I guess not.” The stranger gave a grin – a bright one, like he was genuinely glad this complete stranger was alive. “Hey. How’re you feeling?”

What do you think? Ryousuke thought, annoyed. He ignored the question. “Where am I?”

God, his voice sounded terrible. Even the newcomer looked alarmed.

“Don’t try to talk yet,” he said, like he hadn’t just asked Ryousuke a question. Ryousuke ignored him, again, and sat up, ignoring the pain in his head and the stranger’s startled call of “hey, you almost drowned! You’ve gotta rest!”

He rubbed his temples, taking in the landscape – the beach he was lying on didn’t look familiar, and he couldn’t see any signs of human settlement. Ryousuke scoured the land, trying to spot something, anything, that looked like his home.

His gaze rested on the newcomer, and he stopped.

The stranger didn’t have legs. Where his torso ended stretched a giant, sea-green fishtail, scales glimmering in the sunlight from where it lay on the sand. Ryousuke stared, blinked, then blinked again. And again. The tail didn’t go away.

The tail moved, and he looked up to see the stranger shifting backwards a little. “Look, I know it’s a lot to take in, but-”

“Who are you,” Ryousuke replied flatly.

“My name’s Youichi – Kuramochi Youichi.” He shifted back a little, sitting up on his tail, raising his hands in surrender. “Uh, I’m a merman, but I guess you’ve figured that out.”

“Explain,” Ryousuke said. When Kuramochi looked at him in confusion, he clarified, his tone hard. “How did I get here, and why? How do I get back home?”

“Jeez, you’re not as soft as you look,” Kuramochi mumbled, then quickly backtracked when Ryousuke shot him a chilling glare. “I-I mean. Okay. I saw you sinking in the water, and I rescued you. We’re on an island.”

“Why did you save me?”

“Well…” He scratched the back of his neck, looking away almost sheepishly. “Don’t hate me for this, but… we’re kinda the reason you fell in. Our pod, I mean. We were hunting and caused a disturbance under your boat, which made it rock, and… you know the rest. I split off from the others when I saw you.”

Ryousuke stared at him for a moment, then sighed, palm coming up to press against his forehead. Kuramochi watched him, concerned, and Ryousuke waved him away. “Give me a minute.”

“Okay.” He shuffled backwards towards the sea. “Do you, uh… want anything?”

Ryousuke considered. “Some fresh water would be nice.”

“Got it.” With a quick flick of his tail and a splash, Kuramochi disappeared smoothly into the water.

When he was gone, Ryousuke looked around, spotting some rocks a couple of meters away, which he quickly shifted over to so he could lay down in their shade. Once he was there, he allowed himself to think.

He’d been rescued by a merman. A merman. At first he’d been wary; the mythology surrounding merpeople wasn’t exactly pleasant, often composed of drowning and even eating sailors, but Kuramochi appeared genuine and that kind of behaviour was hard to fake. Besides, Ryousuke had never believed the eating people part; he knew a lot about myths and legends, and none of those stories had reliable sources.

Still, it didn’t change the fact that he’d just been rescued by something he’d thought was just a myth. No, they were here, in the seas of Japan, casually hunting beneath the boats and fishermen. Or maybe it wasn’t so casual, he thought, remembering the urgent rocking of the boat. If humans found out about them, it could be disastrous. The tales of murder lingered in his mind and he wondered if, should a human find out about the merpeople, they would be killed instantly.

But then, why had Kuramochi wanted to save him instead of leave him to drown?

As if thinking his name summoned him, Kuramochi resurfaced a few metres away, a strange bubble grasped in his hands. Upon seeing where Ryousuke was, he frowned – it looked almost cute – and ducked back into the water, swimming around until he popped up again on the other side of the rocks.

“You’re giving me a real workout,” he grunted, hauling himself up onto the stones. The sight made Ryousuke snort with laughter. Kuramochi leaned forward, handing him the transparent orb. “Here. Water.”

Ryousuke took it. It felt strange, smooth and cold. “What’s this?”

“You take bites. Mouthfuls.” Kuramochi cupped his hands to his mouth and demonstrated. “I used magic to keep it separate from the seawater on the way, so it looks like that.”

Cautiously, Ryousuke took a mouthful. Sure enough, it spread over his tongue as fresh water, and he quickly drank the rest without any further questions, too thirsty to care. When he was done, he sighed, leaning back against a rock.

Kuramochi was watching him closely. Ryousuke glanced at him. “What are you staring at?”

“You’re…” Red blossomed on Kuramochi’s cheeks and he looked away with a cough. “Nevermind. Uh, you were asking about going home, right?”

That got Ryousuke’s attention, and he sat up. “Go on.”

“I’m guessing you can’t swim?”

Ryousuke narrowed his eyes, then gave a small shake of his head.

“Thought so. Anyway,” Kuramochi continued, “the mainland isn’t far from where we are. The problem is, none of the other merpeople know you’re here. If they find out, they won’t be happy. Plus, there are patrols around the island, and I’ll have to take you back, so not being seen by merpeople or humans is gonna be pretty hard.”

“Are you that bad at keeping quiet?” Ryousuke chided, prompting an offended sound from Kuramochi. “I’m plenty quiet! And I’m fast enough to get us out of here if there’s an opening. We’ll be able to leave soon, I’ll just need to plan-”

“So you’re just going to carry me through the water?”

A blink. “In an air bubble, yeah. We can make those.”

Ryousuke imagined it. He imagined being in a tiny pocket of air, surrounded by water on all sides, nothing but the endless darkness of the ocean as far as the eye could see, and nothing to survive it if things didn’t go to plan.

He steeled himself. “I’ll pass.”

“What? Why?” Kuramochi stared at him, then frowned. “Don’t tell me you’re scared of the ocean.”

Ryousuke hesitated. “That’s not it.”

He’d hesitated too long. Kuramochi’s eyes widened. “You are! What the hell were you doing on a boat?”

“It was a treat for my brother,” Ryousuke said, an uncomfortable feeling nagging at him for revealing a weakness to someone he barely knew. “He just graduated, and wanted me to come on the boat with him and our parents. So I did. I was growing used to it, and then you showed up.”

To his credit, Kuramochi did look sincerely apologetic. “Ah. Uh… I’m sorry.”

Ryousuke was silent.

“But,” he continued, “you aren’t gonna be able to leave unless you’re comfortable with the ocean. I can help you with that, y’know.”

Ryousuke glanced at him. Kuramochi was leaning towards him on the rocks, his eyes serious. “I mean it.”

As much as he didn’t want to admit it, Ryousuke knew he was right. It would be too risky to wait around for a boat, which could take weeks; this didn’t seem like a frequently-visited island, at least not by humans. All other methods of travelling required a certain level of comfort in the water, which he didn’t have.

His parents had tried to help him with it ever since he’d been small – frequent beach trips, swimming lessons, even therapy – but nothing had worked. It was no surprise that Ryousuke was sceptical about the idea.

Still, he had no other option. He sighed. “Alright, I’ll bite. Show me what you have planned.”

At his agreement, a grin broke out across Kuramochi’s face – its brightness momentarily seemed to stop Ryousuke’s heart. “Great! Oh, uh, I don’t think I got your name.”

Ryousuke tilted his head. “Kominato Ryousuke.”

“Alright, Ryousuke.” The use of his first name startled him, but Ryousuke guessed it was probably just a merperson thing. Kuramochi was beaming, looking positively overjoyed at the thought of helping a stranded human out. “After you’ve rested, we can start!”

FILL: TEAM MIYUKI KAZUYA/MIYUKI KAZUYA, T

[blueminuet]

Kaidou Kaoru & Zaizen Naoyuki (Prince of Tennis & Daiya No Ace)
Tags: no major tags, implications of drinking gross things, possible implications of fantasy racism, elf!Zaizen, drake!Kaidou, wizard!Chris, wizard!Inui
Word Count: 851



Zaizen watches as Chris lays out the scrolls on the workspace table, barely managing to make enough room between haphazardly organized potions ingredients to roll one out enough to read.

“Is that all you retrieved?” the other wizard asks. Zaizen’s pretty sure his name is Inui. Zaizen’s pretty sure Chris knows him from whatever wizard clique they hang out in, but Zaizen’s only seen him on a handful of occasions. And that’s more than enough, as far as he’s concerned, if this reeking potions shop is the kind of environment he prefers. It might even be slightly worse than the company he keeps.

Zaizen looks over to the corner, where Inui’s drake companion is standing. The drake — Kaidou, Zaizen thinks that’s probably the thing’s name — has been standing there glaring ever since Chris and Zaizen arrived, crossing his arms so that his long talons were clearly displayed over his green, scaled skin.

“Unfortunately, it is,” Chris says, snapping Zaizen out of his appraisal of Kaidou. He looks and realizes that Chris is giving him a reproachful look. “Our negotiations were cut tragically short,” Chris continues, his look at Zaizen not waivering.

Zaizen scoffs. He opens his mouth to defend himself (That trader guy had it coming!) but he’s cut off when he hears a sound from the drake. Kaidou makes a hissing sort of noise, and Zaizen swears it’s a laugh. Zaizen sets him with a glare, but Kaidou refuses to look at him.

“It should be fine,” Inui says, not really paying attention to the whole exchange but instead looking over the scrolls. “There does appear to be some information missing, but what remains for the procedure we can likely supplement with sufficient potions work.”

Chris brings a hand to the bridge of his nose, pinching slightly. “It’s always potions with you.”

“What’s your point?” Inui asks. “Potion making is among one of the most powerful branches of the magical arts.”

“My point is not every problem is a nail to be hammered at,” Chris sighs.

Zaizen stops paying attention to the wizard-bickering, and looks back over at the drake. He’s concerned to see that Kaidou is already staring back at him.

Elves don’t typically feel at ease around dragons, and apparently the principle extends to dragon look alikes as well, if Zaizen has to judge from how this guy makes his skin crawl. And from the way this Kaidou guy is looking at him, apparently drakes tend to feel the same way about elves.

Zaizen recrosses his arms, making sure to shift his cloak as he does, giving Kaidou a glance at his quiver. He has at least a few arrows in there sturdy enough to pierce drake skin. (For a full dragon, Zaizen would probably need Chris’s enchantments to get him through, but he doesn’t feel like dwelling on that fact.)

In response, Kaidou also shuffles his arms, flexing his hands so that the light glints off his talons. Zaizen snarls at him, and Kaidou hisses back.

“Zaizen,” Chris says, but his voice is more distracted than reproachful, showing that he tuned out of the elf/drake dealings just as much as Zaizen had tuned out of the wizard ones. “For the correct spell, we’ll need some of the branches of that felled oak we saw along the path. Can you go retrieve some?”

“What?” Zaizen snaps, caught off guard. He shakes his head, looking away from Kaidou. “Huh? Sure. Yeah.”

“Kaidou, go with him to assist,” Inui says.

“What?” Zaizen spits, and feels uneasy when he realizes Kaidou shouted the same thing.

“I don’t need to take the overgrown lizard with me,” Zaizen says. “I can manage on my own.”

Kaidou snarls at him.

Chris sighs and turns to Inui. “I don’t suppose one of your potions can make them more agreeable?”

Inui frowns. “Well, if you’re not too concerned with treating this problem like a nail, I think I have something that will—”

“No!” Kaidou interrupts him.

Zaizen looks over to Kaidou, and is surprised to see the muted fear on his face.

“I mean,” Kaidou says, a bit more evenly. “That’s not necessary. We can cooperate on our own.” Kaidou turns to Zaizen, and it looks almost pleading. “Trust me,” he hisses lowly to Zaizen.

Zaizen is caught off guard, but slowly he remembers the stench of this place (which has become slowly, horrifyingly familiar over the past few minutes), and he thinks briefly all the distasteful looking things preserved in precariously stacked mason jars everywhere.

Suddenly, Zaizen feels like playing nice with a drake might be the preferable option to drinking whatever this guy would whip together. “Yeah, sure,” Zaizen mutters. “I’ll play nice, I guess.”

“See that you do,” Chris says, picking up the scroll again and looking away. Zaizen still catches the slight curve of his lip at that though.

Zaizen feels like arguing at that dismissal, but Kaidou is already making his way to the door. “You’d better keep up, elf.”

“Hey!” Zaizen shouts, turning and stomping after him. “I have a name, drake!”

Kaidou just hisses in response.

FILL: TEAM KURAMOCHI YOUICHI/MIYUKI KAZUYA, G

[tripsh]

arakita yasutomo & toudou jinpachi, yowapeda
no tags, kiki's delivery service au (arakita is toudou's cat familiar)
439 words

"We don't have to go tonight."

Toudou looks offended by the suggestion, tossing a shirt in Arakita's direction as his response. "Don't even start with that, Arakita!"

The shirt completely misses the target--not because Toudou's aim is bad, but mostly because Arakita's quick, jumping from where he's perched on Toudou's dresser to another spot.

"You're doing it again," he insists, on guard, ready to jump again if need be. (Like hell he wants to get attacked by Toudou's stupid clothing. No thank you.)

"And what might that be?" Toudou finally stops what he's doing, puts his hands on his hips, all dramatic, as he turns to look at Arakita. "If you have something to say, then say it already!"

I was getting to it if you'd let me fucking finish, he wants to say, but instead goes with, "Okay, fine. You're not thinking things through again."

"Like you should talk? You never think things through, Mr. Impulsive."

He snorts. Maybe Toudou has a point, but Arakita will always insist even with his dying breath that cynical pragmatism is better than Toudou's idealism.

Then, Toudou looks away, like he's closing the discussion as final, no more opening it again. "We're going tonight. That's that."

How the hell did he get stuck with Toudou Jinpachi, of all people? Arakita often wonders that. See: moments like these, filled with Toudou's stubborn insistence and inability to see another side to an argument--no, correction, not inability to see another side, just the inability to see Arakita's side.

(See also: the times when he'll be dumb enough to sleep on Toudou's bed at night, curled up, comfortable, only to be kicked off by Toudou in his sleep. Fucking bed hog.)

"Fine, you're the boss. We'll go tonight."

"Thank you for seeing reason." Toudou's immediately back to packing. "I knew you could do it, Arakita."

He scowls. "Yeah. Sure. Whatever you say."

Sure. Reason. He knows they're going to go eventually, but still feels like Toudou's rushing it a bit. And Arakita would be lying if he didn't admit that he feared what would face them when they leave--Toudou's dreams of bright lights and big cities to live in to complete his year of training to be a full witch, a major contrast to the small rural, nearly off the grid home they're used to; any and all challenges, disaster.

And there's probably going to be a lot of disaster, Arakita's definitely been resigning himself to that fact for the months leading up to this.

He barely even trusts Toudou on a broom, but that'll take some getting used to.

It'll all come with time.

Hopefully.

FILL: TEAM MIYUKI KAZUYA/MIYUKI KAZUYA, G

[blueminuet]

Kikumaru Eiji/Oishi Shunichiro/Tezuka Kunimitsu (Prince of Tennis)
Tags: no major tags, polyamory, magical coffee shop AU
Word Count: 877


“I’ll have the usual.”

Eiji tilts his head, looking up at the customer. He’s tall, with dark hawkish eyes piercing from behind his oval glasses. Eiji gapes up at him for a few moments before remembering that he originally asked for something.

“Oh, uh… What?”

The customer frowns at him. “My usual.”

Eiji frowns. “I don’t… I don’t know what you normally get…” In truth, he doesn’t think he’s ever seen this customer before in his life; he’d remember those eyes.

Neither of them can say anything before Eiji feels a hand clap over his shoulder. He whips his head around to see Oishi smiling at him.

“Don’t worry about it, Eiji, I’ve got this,” Oishi says. He grabs a cup, scribbles on it, and then hands it to Eiji. “One of your usuals coming up, Tezuka,” he says to the customer. He doesn’t even mention the price before the customer — Tezuka, apparently — hands over exact change for it.

Eiji turns over the cup in his hands, looking at what Oishi has written on it. Eiji’s eyes widen a little; it calls for five shots of luck and one shot of charisma. No sugar… Eiji sticks out his tongue a little. Luck shots are known for being super bitter, that’s why even the strongest magic lattes usually only come with one or two shots of it.

This guy must be super unlucky to be willing to put up with that. But with no sugar even… Eiji hasn’t slapped together a drink like this since the nearby university hit finals week.

“You got this, Eiji?” Oishi asks, snapping Eiji out of his musing.

Eiji looks up, and the Tezuka guy is standing off to the side, just out of earshot. “Yeah, I guess,” Eiji says. “What’s with that guy?”

Oishi’s face goes a little pink as he looks away. “What do you mean?”

Well, if Eiji wasn’t suspicious before… “You know him, right? You knew his usual after all.”

Oishi waves a hand. “He’s just a, uh, customer.”

Eiji squints at him. “Then why didn‘t you just say so?”

Oishi shuffles backward still shaking his head. “Oh, it’s nothing. Anyway, I should get back to doing inventory in the back. Let me know if you need anything, okay, bye.”

Eiji huffs as Oishi quickly retreats.

---

“Oishi. Oishi! Oishiiii!”

Oishi sighs.

It’s been more than a week of Tezuka coming in and getting the same drink, every day, with clockwork regularity. And Eiji has had about as much mystery as he can deal with.

“Eiji, it’s nothing that interesting,” Oishi says.

“Then tell me!” Eiji says, pulling out his vowels long enough to convey all of his frustration.

Oishi sighs again and waves a hand vaguely. “He and I… we kind of… dated.”

Eiji pauses and blinks at him. “Is that all?”

Oishi shrugs. “Yeah, basically.”

Eiji huffs, feeling a huge let down. “So? Was it bad? Is he a jerk? Is that why I’ve never seen him in here before? And why is he back now?”

Oishi waved his hands. “It’s nothing like that. He’s not a bad guy or anything. We dated for a little while, but then he had to move away for his career, and he picked the career over the relationship. That’s all.”

Eiji frowns. “He moved away? But if he’s coming in every day…”

Oishi shrugs again. “Well, he moved back. Just recently… He called me to tell me about it maybe a month or so ago, but I explained about. You know, us.”

Eiji smiles, leaning forward. “So? Now what?”

Oishi gives him a doubtful look. “So? So nothing. We’re together now. You and me,” Oishi says, pointing a finger between the two of them. “Remember?”

“Well, duh!” Eiji rolls his eyes. “But whatever, I mean you only broke up because of the distance right, and now he’s back… So…”

Oishi looks a little concerned at that. “So?”

“So, are you going to ask him out or do I have to?” Eiji asks, sighing.

Oishi makes a strangled sort of noise.

Eiji pouts when Tezuka leaves without being hit on at all.

---

Eiji sets the cardboard cup down on the table, just next to where Tezuka is resting his forearm.

Tezuka looks up at him. “Don’t you normally just call people up to the counter to get their drinks?”

Eiji ignores him. “I don’t think you need so many luck shots in your drinks,” he says without preamble.

Tezuka raises an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

Eiji grins, leaning over the table towards him. “If you play your cards right, I think you can get lucky right now, no shots required.” He adds a wink at the end, for good measure.

Tezuka looks shocked, but soon is distracted by a loud crashing noise. Eiji looks and sees Oishi standing, staring, blushing, with an armful’s worth of broken mugs at his feet.

Eiji winks at him too.

“I… I don’t understand,” Tezuka says. “I thought the two of you were dating.”

Eiji huffs. “Why does everyone keep saying that like it’s a problem?”

Tezuka and Oishi share a confused look, and Eiji silently wonders how many luck shots he’ll have to drink for them to get it.