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

FILL: Team Kyoutani Kentarou/Yahaba Shigeru, T

[kiyala]

Akashi Seijurou/Mayuzumi Chihiro; Kuroko no Basuke
mentions of violence; demon au, cardfight vanguard au (Amon!Akashi, Fixers!Generation of Miracles)
word count: 637

Akashi's castle is so large that it defies all reason.

Mayuzumi supposes that it shouldn't be particularly surprising, considering that this is Akashi, after all. Everything about him seems to defy any kind of logic or sense. It's exhausting.

Akashi seems to have made it work out for him, though.

The castle is so big that it feels almost as if Akashi is trying to fit an entire nation in there. An entire world, perhaps, and Mayuzumi doubts that it's far from the truth anyway. He understands, at least on some level, the way that Akashi thinks. He knows that Akashi's goals don't end at the demonic throne that he's managed to claim for himself. Of course not.

Gaining dominion over his follow demons is only the first step on whatever grand plan Akashi has. As far as Mayuzumi is concerned, it's so laughably obvious that those who are caught by surprised and crushed only deserve it. They aren't the kind who are built to survive in this hellish landscape, of demons consuming other demons, adding to their own magic and power. Mayuzumi has seen the way that Akashi has fed upon demon after demon, tearing them limb from limb slowly so as to prolong their suffering, taking power from that. Mayuzumi can feel the magic in Akashi's mere presence. The sheer density of his power feels like some sort of deep chasm that Mayuzumi is standing on the very precipice of. All it would take is a light push, or a strong gust, and Mayuzumi fears that he would find himself losing himself in Akashi, so full of hidden depths that perhaps there would never be anything to break his fall.

There's the nagging feeling that tugs at the back of his mind that tells him that in one way or another, he's already falling.

He swears himself as a lowly servant to Akashi, and hopes that it buys him some time. Akashi must see exactly what he's doing, and perhaps it amuses him, because he keeps Mayuzumi nearby, hidden somewhere in the shadows as he holds court.

Mayuzumi watches as Akashi appoints his generals; Fixers, he calls them. He doesn't tell them what they're fixing and Mayuzumi wonders if they realise it at all. Akashi grants them permission to betray him, to overthrow him if they have the power for it. Mayuzumi wonders if they realise just what kind of game he is playing with them.

They don't notice Mayuzumi as they bow their heads together, speaking of how they can work together to ensure that Akashi is finally defeated. None of them have good intentions; they all mean to take Akashi's throne for themselves, and Mayuzumi watches as, over time, the rest of them come to this realisation as well.

He watches as the high ranked demons begin to tear each other apart. Power changes hands, magic flaring and spiking and then winking entirely out of existence, only to be added to someone else's. Akashi, sitting comfortably on his throne, is safely away from all of it.

"Do they realise?" Mayuzumi asks, standing by Akashi's throne. "That their fighting only keeps you safe? The colourful ones; nobody is going to challenge you before getting through them, and it means they'll have to challenge all four—"

"Five," Akashi corrects with a small smile, and Mayuzumi looks again.

The fifth in a phantom, wavering in and out of visibility. The kind of demon that no one would see unless they knew to look. Judging by their behaviour, the other four Fixers clearly do.

"Oh," he breathes, his eyes narrowing. "You're clever, aren't you?"

"Perhaps I should make you a Fixer too," Akashi hums, resting his chin on his hand.

Mayuzumi looks at the five demons who unwittingly serve as Akashi's royal guard, and snorts derisively. "Pass."