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 MIYUKI KAZUYA/MIYUKI KAZUYA, T

[catlarks]

tags: no major tags, mention of violence/fighting monsters
Ship: Kominato Ryousuke/Tanba Kouichirou (daiya no ace)
Word Count: 970


Tanba is walking his horse when he sees it. He's moved off the mountain road and into the trees in search of a place to make camp; his caution is the only reason he doesn't ride right over the monster in the clearing. His horse is a beast bred for battle and she would have done her best to put her hooves right through the monster's skull.

(Tanba is relieved that she has no such chance, and that the snarling, slashing thing on the grass has no chance to slice its claws into her.)

Tanba drops her lead, and draws his sword.

He is a knight of the realm and it is his duty to protect its people from harm. Sometimes that means putting down savage beasts when he finds them. He circles around the clearing, slowly, slowly, making no sudden movements lest he draw the monster's attention before he's in position. He's still several paces away when motion catches his eye, when he realizes, he isn't alone.

There's a body beneath the beast, prone on the grass. Their face is hidden by the monster's muscled, crouching forelegs, but beneath the lean line of its belly Tanba can see their chest heave. His blood runs cold. He's poised at the edge of a rescue — or a butchery.

Not all beasts are dumb. Tanba has yet to fight a dragon, but their intelligence is textbook-proven, as is their cultivated taste for humankind. Those are the most dangerous monsters. A beast hunts prey out of hunger and instinct; a monster tracks mortals for the joy of the hunt and the thrill of their fear. Tanba can hear heavy breathing: the stranger's, the beast's, his own. He is certain this is the second kind of circumstance.

He gives a shout, long and wordless, the battle cry of his knight order when engaging their enemies. The beast whips its head around, luminous yellow eyes locking onto Tanba.

For a long moment, they're both motionless. Its mouth yawns wide, a mess of needle teeth that stretches open in a snarl; its shoulders are hunched, keeping it low over its prey, protective. Tanba holds his sword out before him, knuckles white around the grip, holds himself ready when timing is everything.

The beast snarls, and jumps. Tanba's sword pulls up, a practiced motion in preparation to catch its claws against the blade. But its weight never hits him. It jumps to the side, away from its captive, away from the knight and his steel as they menace it with violence. All of Tanba's training shouts at him, go after it.

But he knows his duty. More than pursuing the menace to the kingdom, he must make sure its captive is unharmed.

Tanba walks over to them, sword sliding back into its scabbard as he surveys the boy on his back in the grass. Or... Not a boy. The face staring up at him might be clever and pretty, but it belongs to a man fully grown. He props himself on his elbows, leaning back as if he was the one who'd chosen to sprawl on his rear in the grass.

"Sir knight," he says, the corners of his mouth tipping up with the beginnings of a smile. "It seems you scared off that creature."

"It was my duty," Tanba says. It's the proscribed response; it's all Tanba can manage. "Are you alright?"

"Am I?" the man repeats.

He looks down at himself, at where the robe he wears is tugged open to the waist, the sleeves in tatters. Despite the dirt ground into his garments, the clothing itself appears fine, befitting of nobility where they gather at court in the capital. Tanba flushes; he feels presumptuous for asking.

The man laughs. He puts out his hand, palm up and waiting, then puts up his brows when that gets him no response. Tanba startles, before it sinks in what's being asked of him. He reaches down, pulling the man to his feet.

"I had that under control," he's told for his trouble. There's an edge to the comment, waiting beneath those words like their speaker would enjoy nothing better than to slice a man through with them. When he says he could handle a monster alone, suddenly Tanba believes him.

"But since you did help me..." he continues. His fingers are at Tanba's arm, folding in against the crook of it. "I ought to thank you."

"Th-Thanks aren't necessary," Tanba says, but he stumbles.

Having the right words to say is meaningless, when he can feel the ground he stands on slowly sliding from beneath his feet. He's off balance, at a loss in a way he wasn't when he had his sword in his hand and a monster before his sights. Tanba knows how to rally his courage, how to fight and defend. He has far less practice with what comes after it.

"I insist," the man says. "There's a river not far from here, and I suspect you and your horse might both be thirsty. If you're resting for the evening, sir knight, you wouldn't begrudge a stranger the sharing of your fire... Would you?"

"I couldn't refuse," Tanba admits.

"Then it's settled," the man says. "It's Kominato Ryousuke, by the way. To whom do I owe my thanks?"

Ryousuke steers him away from the clearing, back towards his horse and the road through the mountains. Tanba allows himself to be led; he doesn't know the area, and matters are how he's said. A knight would never turn away a weary traveler from the place he's made safe to camp. Even before he's made it.

"It's Tanba," he says, as he winds his horse's lead again around his hand. "Tanba Kouichirou."

Ryousuke smiles, and Tanba can't help but wonder exactly who is thanking whom.