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 KURAMOCHI YOUICHI/MIYUKI KAZUYA, T

[tripsh]

iwaizumi hajime/oikawa tooru, haikyuu!!
ghosts, ghost hunting
724 words

Back when they were kids, Iwaizumi hadn't believed in ghosts.

Oikawa had, though. He'd always had a penchant for believeing in everything supernatural or otherworldly. Aliens, ghosts, demons, monsters under the bed--the list goes on and on.

Iwaizumi would always sigh, tell him those things weren't real. Oikawa would bicker with him, saying he was wrong. It was never a subject they could agree on.

At least, not until one night when they'd been at the park together. They were only thirteen, then, and the night had been normal, for the most part. Eerily quiet, maybe. A little creepy.

Oikawa had been clutching Iwaizumi's sleeve tightly as they decided to head for home. Not really afraid, just on guard. Iwaizumi felt the same when the warm summer night air shifted to something much colder out of nowhere.

Then, had been the first time they'd encountered a ghost. Its translucent figure trailing behind them when Iwaizumi looked over his shoulder. It was close, close enough to tell that whatever the figure was, it wasn't human.

They had run home, taking a few twists and turns from their normal route there in an attempt to lose the ghost, and when they collapsed onto Oikawa's bed--side by side and out of breath--the first thing Oikawa had said when he looked over at Iwaizumi was 'I told you so.'

After that, Iwaizumi couldn't really deny it. He had seen it with his own eyes. And then, things had changed after that.

You see, ghosts started making themselves more known in the world. There were peaceful ones, kind of like the one they'd seen that night, that didn't really do much, just existed. But then, then there were others. The ones who caused harm, who haunted and hurt people. Killed, even.

As they grew up in this new world, side by side with spirits Iwaizumi had once believed to be nothing more than stories, ghost hunting for money became a lucrative business. A new in.

It had been Oikawa's idea to take it up. They were only seventeen, then, sitting across from each other at a little cafe in town when he suggests it to Iwaizumi.

"We could do it, you know," Oikawa says, first kicking Iwaizumi's leg under the table, then curling his foot around Iwaizumi's ankle.

"Do what?" He's used to Oikawa's suggestions, his plans, but still needs to know what he's got in mind for them.

"Ghost hunting. You and me. We'd be good together, don't you think, Iwa-chan?"

He can't really deny it. They would be good together. They're always good together, whether it's at sports or something more dangerous like hunting and exterminating the malevolent ghosts that plague the world now.

"Yeah, we would." If you want to, I'm with you. We can do it.

So they do. It takes a lot of work and training, but they've always been ones for hard work and determination, so they do it.

And now--

"This is gonna be our biggest mission yet, Iwa-chan." Oikawa grins as he finishes gathering his gear.

They're somewhat renowned as proficient, talented ghost hunters, a few years after their start. And this is their chance to make themselves even more well known, their time to claim more power and recognition (and business) over rivals. (And Oikawa's got a pretty strong rivalry with that Ushijima--who always seems to get and take the best busts--as well as a new up and comer, Kageyama.)

But they were hired for this job, and they're going to make good on this opportunity.

"I know." Iwaizumi nudges Oikawa's shoulder as he comes to stand by his side, a silent way of asking are you ready? "Don't do anything stupid this time, Oikawa."

"Have more faith in me, won't you?"

He snorts. He doesn't need to be told that. He already has so much faith in Oikawa, knows that he wouldn't want to do this with another person. This is theirs, dangerous, but something they'll always step into together, ready to fight, to win.

Oikawa slides his hand into Iwaizumi's, swings their connected hands back and forth between them as they walk toward the door, head toward their mission. It's a message, a promise. And Iwaizumi swinging his hand back? That's just as much of one too.

As long as we have each other, we can do anything.