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 Kanzaki Miki/Tachibana Aya, T

[luckycricket33]

brief mentions of execution, cannibalism; supernatural beings it's still as suitable for children as, well, any grimm brothers story; hc pronouns because if mizuki doesnt know rumpelsyuuke's name why would he gender a goblin.
Mizuki Hajime and (unnamed for plot reasons but i swear it's) Fuji Shuusuke
Word count: 495

"You're in some trouble here, aren't you."

"How did you get in here!" Mizuki shouted, jumping up a little bit. No one had come in the door. It was locked from the outside. He'd been facing it, too.

"Oh, through the window, on a swallow's wing. Don't trouble yourself over it."

Mizuki felt his mouth go dry. The window here was 10 yards above the base of the tower. There wasn't a window above to jump down into this room from, either. This creature explained absolutely nothing.

"And- and what are you doing here, anyway," Mizuki added. "And what are you."

"I am," the visitor said, smiling sweetly, "your savior, and I am here to save you from your own prideful tongue."

That stung, and he hated it. It was true though. This mess was definitely his own fault.

"Picking a fight with the king's own alchemist, huh? A potion that turns straw into gold?"

Mizuki gritted his teeth. "I'll figure it out, I'm sure-"

"You will not," said the strange humanoid, "because it is impossible for you. It is impossible for anyone who isn't me." They smiled more deeply and folded their legs up, and Mizuki could see now that they were sitting unsupported in the air. It was alarming. "However, I will do it for you," they added. "For a price."

Mizuki debated the merits of being indebted to the weird goblin before him. It was certainly a precarious situation. Any number of things could go wrong. He could still be found out, and exposed; executed, perhaps in a more gruesome manner, to compound his punishments for failure and lying; and even if things turned out fine for the meantime, it would always be an axe blade hovering above Mizuki's neck - the knowledge that he could be undone by the reappearance of a magical spirit at any time. But it was always smarter to live on another day.

"I don't even know your name, why should I trust you?" said Mizuki, stealing glances at the window and door to make sure they were not overheard. Of course, by this point he had already made up his mind to agree to the short magical... thing. He didn't trust them at all, but really couldn't afford to be picky tonight.

"My price," they pressed on, ignoring Mizuki's question, "is, hmmm, let's see... how about your apprentice?"

"Yuuta?" Mizuki blinked. He expected the cost to be more like... money... though he supposed his visitor was capable of manufacturing all the gold they wanted, if what they said was true. "Well I.. sure, you can have him. You won't eat him or anything, will you?"

The goblin's smile reached wider yet, crinkling up their thin eyes further, managing still to look mechanical and cruel. "What do you care, Mizuki Hajime?" they asked. "Would it stop you from handing the boy over?"

Mizuki looked at the hovering guest warily. "No," he answered. "I suppose it would not."

Re: FILL: Team Kanzaki Miki/Tachibana Aya, T

[blueminuet]

And then Fuji murders him.

I know Rumpelstiltskin should probably be an ugly goblin, but I'm just imagining Fuji dressed like David Bowie from Labyrinth. Anyway, I love Mizuki fucking up by talking too big of a game while fighting with Inui. I hope he eats shit when this deal inevitably goes south.