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 IWAIZUMI HAJIME/OIKAWA TOORU, G

[sotongsotong]

Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Haikyuu!
no tags, immortality
519 words, immortal!Oikawa


“I can’t really die,” the boy sitting beside Hajime announces with no fanfare whatsoever.

He nearly throws his glass of water at him just for that. To be honest, he’s starting to regret the blind date Matsukawa and Hanamaki had set him up on because:

a) stranger danger
b) he gets random idiots like this
c) he can never stress on the importance of wasting a good Friday night just by himself

Instead, he’s stuck here in this ramen place— Chindoushuu, really— with what could possibly entail as the weirdest exchange of words he’ll ever have with anyone his whole life, excluding his two meddlesome friends, of course. Despite his better misgivings, Hajime throws caution to the wind because you only live once, and time might pass faster if he humours his date anyway. So, he clears his throat and begins to say, “That’s unfortunate to hear about—“

But then he’s cut off; the boy stands and moves to make an exit. He doesn’t even spare a glance at Hajime as he brushes past, and perhaps, it’s the coldness in his eyes, or the way his body gives itself away with every jerky motion, there’s something jaded about him and Hajime can’t think of a reason for why a guy as young as him should act this caged.

(Unless, really, he’s not lying.)

Hajime’s hand shoots out, stopping the boy in his tracks. “You haven’t introduced yourself yet.”

“Didn’t think I’d need to after that.” The boy tries to pull away but Hajime holds on. He sighs; it sounds very tired. “Let me go?”

“Not just yet.” Hajime motions for him to sit down again. “Tell me your name first, then, we can dive into this whole…undying business.” The boy still doesn’t make a move. “…please?”

The boy finally smiles; it’s hesitant, like a sun peeking behind clouds after a rainstorm, but the barest of warmth is still felt. He sits down. “Oikawa Tooru, that’s—that’s my name.”

Hajime takes a sip of his water. “You paused. Not sure of your own name?”

“My bad!” Oikawa laughs, tone light despite the implications behind what he’s just admitted. “It gets harder to remember your own name the longer you live, really.” He gives his order to the cook behind the counter before he resumes speaking. “It’s like being old, except I still look twenty six even after all this time.”

It should be ridiculous how this person has basically confessed to being an immortal but Hajime finds himself believing him anyway; the ennui in Oikawa’s body language tells enough: I’m too tired to hide the truth, too old to be playing hide and seek either.

Hajime feels a bit bad for acting the way he did earlier then. “You probably need someone to remind you every now and then.”

“What? Are you offering?” A cheeky smirk graces Oikawa’s lips; it makes his face light up and eyes twinkle and ah, Hajime’s heart beats hader, he thinks, beauty is such a timeless thing.

Hajime hides his blush by turning to the counter and placing his order as well. “We’ll see.”