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sportsanime2016-07-21 08:53 pm
referees) wrote in sportsanime2016-07-21 08:53 pm
Entry tags:
Bonus Round 5: Myth & Lore
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)
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]
| FILL: TEAM GRANDSTAND, [RATING]
|
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!
FILL: TEAM KURAMOCHI YOUICHI/MIYUKI KAZUYA, T
Pokemon AU
word count: 1856
tags: non-major character death
It was dark and Suga had been navigating through Viridian Forest for what seemed like eternity. He'd come here on a tip that there was some sort of moon ceremony held by the native Clefairy and Clefable in the area. Typically they were found on Mt Moon where there were frequent meteorite showers but Suga had been keeping his ears pricked for any information about other gathering places of the rare Pokemon.
He'd been lucky when talking to his long-time friend, Daichi. Daichi was a scientist who had been studying the Paras Pokemon since they'd both graduated university. Daichi was fascinated with the possibility that the fungus growth on the grass type Pokemon's back had healing potential for humans. His line of study was controversial and a highly discussed topic in the news these days.
Daichi mentioned overhearing one of his coworkers talking about a new Clefairy hotspot in Viridian Forest one day while on the phone with Suga. Suga had rushed through the rest of the phone call, excited to follow this new lead. Now he was facing the pitch blackness of Viridian Forest at night and he realized maybe his plan wasn't that well thought out. (nor had he anticipated just how vast the forest was)
Despite studying and working with the things-that-go-bump-in-the-night, he found himself overwhelmed by just how dark it really was. He had assumed the light from the fabled Moon Ceremony would guide him in the right direction. So far no such light existed. He was starting to think maybe Daichi's coworker had heard wrong or was misinformed. Daichi had warned against his adventure and told Suga to let go of the theory he had been investigating. “Some things were meant to remain unknown.” Daichi would say very matter of factly. Suga would remind Daichi of his own research, causing Daichi to back track, giving Suga a shrug and a smile.
In moments like these, Suga had begun to think Daichi was right about letting things remain a mystery. As each moment crept by, Suga began to feel more and more uneasy and creeped out by the silent darkness that surrounded him. Nevertheless, he trekked on, determined to find the rumored hot spot.
Suga's area of study focused on ghost Pokemon, primarily as of late, Gengar; the final form of Gastly. His theory linked Gengar to the Fairy Pokemon, Clefairy and Clefable. To cement his suspicion, he knew he needed to observe the timid pink Pokemon. Unfortunately his personal funds were lacking, hindering him from making the trip to Mt. Moon. The company wouldn't fund the trip either, leaving him with almost no options. Another reason why he was so desperate to follow up on the tip from Daichi.
Stumbling through the forest, Suga saw a soft glow of light appear from what looked like a tree line. He crept closer, huddling against a large tree. He peered around the trunk and saw a circle of Clefairy's and one Clefable dancing in a clearing, their arms outstretched to the sky. His eyes followed where they seemed to be reaching and above the clearing he saw the moon. It was a full moon, which is why he had picked tonight to come. Exhausted, but having finally found the tribe, he got to work straight away. He used a tree root as his seat, quickly pulling out several journals and a pen. Using the light from the glowing stone fragments which were in the middle of the Clefairy/Clefable circle, Suga set to writing everything about the scene.
Each Pokemon was facing the circle inward. There was probably 12-15 Clefairy in total with a Clefable that seemed to serve as some kind of leader of the group. Their dance wasn't entirely intricate but was still fascinating to Suga. They side-stepped clockwise, every seventh step spinning their bodies counterclockwise. Their arms remained outstretched to the sky the whole time. Suga wrote every detail of the ceremony down, not completely sure of it's purpose. As he watched, something caught his attention from the corner of his eye. Suga almost gasped out loud. Another human!
He was also perched on a tree root but was closer to the circle of dancing Pokemon, in clear view. He wore a grey sweater and glasses, chewing on the tip of his pen as he watched the ceremony unfold. His brunette hair was disheveled but in a way that didn't make it appear unruly. Suga figured the stranger had been running his fingers through his hair all night long. He looked as tired as Suga felt, eyes drooping, back hunched, one hand resting under his chin, propping his head up.
Suga unglued his eyes from the stranger and continued to observe the Clefairies. It wasn't long before he found himself watching the other man again rather than the dancing tribe. His curiosity got the better of him (as it usually did) and he began creeping back into the darkness, out of sight of the Clefairies but closer towards the stranger.
Sidling up next to the stranger army crawl style, Suga positioned himself between the man and the tree. He hadn't thought of something to say by way of introduction and now felt a little silly lying on his stomach next to the handsome stranger.
“I don't know what you're doing, but keep it up and you'll scare them off.” The man said to Suga, not sparing him a glance. His tone was firm and he almost sounded bored.
“What are they doing?” Suga whispered, straining his neck to catch sight of the ritual again.
“Dunno, no one has ever seen this particular dance.”
“How do you know?” Suga asked, incredulous.
“I've seen them all. Oikawa Tooru, nice to meet you.” He finally looked down at Suga and Suga felt his breath catch. Oikawa had the most beautiful eyes he'd ever seen. The name rang a faint bell in the back of Suga's mind, maybe he had read it in a scientific paper when he had began his research on the fairy Pokemon.
“Sugawara Koushi, but Suga is fine.” Suga extended his hand awkwardly to Oikawa whose face lit up with a toothy smile as he shook Suga's hand.
“Nice to meet you, Suga-chan. Sorry if I was a bit stiff just now. I'm dying for a nap and some food but this is too incredible to pass up.” He indicated towards the dance, which continued to remain the same.
“What's so incredible about it?” Suga propped himself up carefully, neck and back aching from laying down.
“I can't be sure, but I think this is a sacrificial ceremony.” Oikawa got solemn as quickly as he had brightened. Suga scrunched up his face and watched the dance again, trying to find any hidden signs in their movements that would indicate it was some sort of sacrifice.
“I'm here trying to prove a theory about the ghost Pokemon, Gengar.” Suga started, a little hesitant. He felt it was only fair to reveal his own reasons for this late night excursion.
“You might have the right place then, Suga-chan.” Oikawa's voice was grave but now Suga was buzzing with an excited energy. This could be it, after months of researching, this could finally be it. They watched together in silence as the Clefairy began to chant soft and slow.
As their chanting grew faster and louder, the Clefable made it's way to the middle of the group as the Clefairy made a tight circle around it. Suga saw Oikawa grit his teeth, his whole body alert and stiff as the scene unfolded.
“Your theory, what was it, Suga?” Oikawa asked quietly, his voice pained. Oikawa's nervous energy was feeding into Suga and he found his throat had become dry and his palms sweaty. (or maybe he was just that excited himself)
“I think it's very possible that Gengar are the shadow of Clefable.” Suga said with authority, eyes watching Oikawa for a reaction. The other let out a soft laugh, locking eyes with Suga.
“Very good, Suga-chan. But how exactly is that accomplished? How does the Gengar come to be?” Oikawa asked, knowingly. Almost as if he were mocking Suga.
“I have a feeling we're about to find out, don't you Tooru-chan?” Suga shot back, causing Oikawa's eyes to widen at the use of his given name.
“I'm afraid so.” A sad smile etched itself across Oikawa's face, breaking eye contact with Suga as he turned back to watch.
They were both silent as the Clefable stepped up onto one of the glowing stone fragments, stretching it's arms out as far as they would reach. The chant from the surrounding Clefairy became even faster until suddenly it stopped. Sparks rose up from the glowing stone underneath the Clefable and swirled around it.
Suga was able to see the Clefable's shadow be ripped away from it, which seemed to cause the Clefable physical pain. It flinched before falling over, lifeless, off the now dull stone. In it's place stood a triumphant Gengar, mischievous smile plastered across it's face. Suga was thrilled and horrified at the same time. He'd finally seen that his theory had been correct, though he had never imagined that this was how such a thing came to be.
His head was full of so many unanswered questions, all battling for his attention, begging to be answered first. He hadn't even realized his hand was whizzing across the pages in his journal, writing down everything he had just seen for later evaluation. He wished he had remembered to pull out the camera he had packed in his bag.
Without warning, the Gengar took off into the night, haunting red eyes piercing the darkness, stopping on the two men for just a moment, before it was gone. The remaining Clefairy's all stood, mourning over the body of the Clefable that seemed to have been sacrificed for the Gengar's creation.
As soon as the Gengar had gone, Oikawa sprinted to the middle of the Clefairy circle and scooped the unmoving Clefable in his arms, tears flowing freely down his cheeks. Pen and journal forgotten, Suga followed behind, more confused than before.
Oikawa cradled the fallen Pokemon to his chest, stroking the top of it's head, whispering softly into it's unhearing ears. Suga wished there was something he could do to ease the other's sorrow, wanted to kneel down next to him and assure him everything was alright. The overwhelming urge to comfort Oikawa Tooru was a feeling Suga had rarely experienced before.
But all he could do was stand, helpless, and watch as this beautiful stranger sobbed over the body of a dead Pokemon. Running the past hour's events over and over in his head, Suga put two and two together and felt his heart fall to the pit of his stomach.
“That Clefable, it wasn't wild, was it?” Suga asked softly, banishing the desire to reach out to Oikawa.
Oikawa looked up at Suga with his tear-stained face and bloodshot eyes and Suga already knew the answer.
i had to cap myself bc this fill could have easily been so much longer. hoped i did pokemon and this theory some justice!
Re: FILL: TEAM KURAMOCHI YOUICHI/MIYUKI KAZUYA, T
Re: FILL: TEAM KURAMOCHI YOUICHI/MIYUKI KAZUYA, T
2) Suga's last line...ouch, ouch, ouch. I'll be over in the corner crying with Oikawa over his poor Clefable if you need me.
This was really good!
Re: FILL: TEAM KURAMOCHI YOUICHI/MIYUKI KAZUYA, T
Re: FILL: TEAM KURAMOCHI YOUICHI/MIYUKI KAZUYA, T