SASO Referees (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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sportsanime2016-07-21 08:53 pm
referees) wrote in sportsanime2016-07-21 08:53 pm
Entry tags:
Bonus Round 5: Myth & Lore
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)
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]
| FILL: TEAM GRANDSTAND, [RATING]
|
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!
2/2
Iwaizumi Hajime? Oh, he’s just second-rate. If Seijou had a better ace, they’d be a lot stronger…
Hey, have you heard? Oikawa-senpai has a new girlfriend! Maybe Iwaizumi will finally give up…
That brute doesn’t deserve to hang out with Oikawa-sama…
If you’re going to drag someone into volleyball with you, at least have the skills to make it worth it for them!!!
Have you seen the way Iwaizumi looks at Oikawa-sama? Pathetic…
Oikawa-senpai broke up with his girlfriend. I bet it’s Iwaizumi’s fault…
Iwaizumi sure gets along with the rest of his teammates, huh? Do you think he’s desperate enough to let them…
Shitty fucking untalented goddamn fa-
Hajime slams a fist into the wall behind him and shouts, ‘STOP.’ Still the voices continue, their venom seeping into his skin and gnawing at his heart. The medley they form with the pain in his head is overwhelming: for several moments he stands in place, paralysed with hurt, pressing his palms against his ears in an attempt to block the voices out. It’s pointless; the voices seem to be speaking directly into his mind, slithering heavily and coiling around his nerves. He turns and bursts into Oikawa’s room, the voices following him. He staggers forward, sight blurry from the tears welling up in his eyes, and bumps against a table. He’s about to trip and fall, when strong arms reach out from behind to grab and steady him.
‘Oikawa?’ He hears nothing but his pulse racing in his eardrums. The voices and pain that had so persistently dogged his mind have been replaced by the cool relief of silence. One of the hands rises to his face level and places a finger on his lips. The other starts to rub soothing circles on his stomach. Hajime sighs. ‘Oikawa, where have you been all this while? I’m –‘ He stops and swallows nervously several times as the finger makes its way up his cheek, brushing the tear trails tenderly. ‘I’m glad you’re safe. This hospital… I don’t know what’s wrong with it. I think we should check out when it’s opening time.’
Opening time. What time is it now? Hajime lifts a hand and rubs at his eyes. When they come into focus again, he looks out the window. It’s still as dark as it was, with red on the horizon. His pulse starts to race again as he takes in his surroundings. Everything is as it was when he woke up, except for the thing he ran into in the middle of the room. He looks down and feels his blood run cold: on a table is a small tray full of scalpels of various shapes and sizes.
The arms around Hajime tighten their grip and hold him flush against their owner’s body. ‘Oikawa?’ The left hand travels up Hajime’s torso, and the right one reaches up and locks Hajime’s arm whilst stroking his ear. ‘Kusokawa, let me go.’ The left hand thumbs Hajime’s nipple, and Hajime grits his teeth and hisses, ‘Oikawa, this isn’t funny.’ He feels puffs of breath against his neck, and he squirms against the firm arms locking him in place. ‘Oikawa, fucking stop, this isn’t-‘ When he feels a hand at his zipper and the wet heat of a mouth against his ear, Hajime acts instinctively, slamming his head backwards into the person behind him. Their grip on him loosens, and he takes the opportunity to jump away from them and brush himself off.
Hajime looks up, ready to tell Oikawa off for his shitty sense of humour, but the words die in his throat. He’d expected to be looking at a familiar face, but not to this extent.
It’s a dream it’s a dream it’s a dream it’s a dream it’s a dream it’s a dream-
‘Hey.’ They’re bleeding from the nose, but from the spiky hair to the facial features, other than the bright gold eyes...
Hajime reaches out and grasps the person’s face with his two hands, pulling at the skin. It won’t come off. He steps back and examines his hands, then looks at the person’s face again. They laugh, an ugly sound that is reminds Hajime of feedback when dropping a microphone. ‘What, you think this is a mask? Thought it might be Tooru playing a prank?’
Hajime scowls. ‘Who the hell are you?’
More laughter. ‘What, isn’t it obvious? Oikawa was right, huh. You really aren’t very bright, are you… my other self.’
‘What?’
They’re howling now, and Hajime’s trying and failing not to wince. ‘Oh, come on! After all you’ve been through since waking up, why is that so hard to believe?’
‘But… what… no… prove it…’
‘What, my appearance isn’t enough? Well, how about this: ever since you saw my face, you’ve been thinking that you’re in a dream. Well, whatever helps you!’
Hajime feels faint, and he reaches a hand out to brace himself against something. He ends up toppling the tray of scalpels onto the floor, and grasping the table unsteadily. ‘I thought… but… if you’re me, why did you try that stuff on me just now?’
The Other Hajime grins a familiar lopsided grin, revealing the hint of sharp white teeth. ‘What stuff? The stuff in the hallway, or the stuff here?’ When Hajime doesn’t reply immediately, his other self steps forward and reaches for Hajime’s hand. Stroking it, he purrs, ‘Well, I wanted to see how far we could go. I mean, when’s the last time you, ah, let loose? You are my beloved other self, you know. I wanted to have some fun. I mean, you deserve to have a good time. After all… I’m going to kill you.’
Hajime jumps back quickly, but his other self leaps forward and sweeps at his legs. Dark tendrils emerge from the shadows and held Hajime on the floor. His other self kneels over him, his face distorted in twisted glee.
It’s a dream it’s a dream it’s a nightmare-
‘Why… Tell me why you’re doing this!’
‘Why?’ His other self sits back on his heels. ‘Why?’ He reaches forward and grabs Hajime by the collar, snarling at him. ‘I- We need to be free. You, you’ve spent your whole life by Oikawa Tooru’s side, denying your feelings for him. Denying your feelings, yet they’re still so glaringly obvious! Everyone can tell, and you’ve heard what they have to say, but still you hang back like a coward, instead of standing up for yourself. Instead of being brave and telling him how you feel to put this to an end, you’re burying your head in the sand so you don’t have to come to grips with how you don’t trust your supposed best friend to stay by your side, no matter what you tell him!
‘You thought you could get away at university, didn't you? A new environment and new faces, time to get comfortable with yourself without the risk of accidentally confessing to your first love. But somehow, you got accepted to the same universities. You both had the same one as your top choice. And then you switched. You switched to a second-rate university because you were afraid of your feelings. When you spoke to Oikawa, you made a great speech about how he was your perfect partner, and how he was the best setter, and how you would defeat him. But Hajime, have you really exhibited trust in your perfect partner? How can you hope to defeat him when deep down, you’re so pathetic?
‘I’ll give you more proof of how pathetic you are. You didn’t even realise that Oikawa was hurting himself with overtraining. You failed to stop him from overexerting. And, worst of all…
‘Oikawa Tooru is dead, and you did nothing to help him.’
‘Dead?’
Hajime looks confused, and his other self stares at him in disbelief. ‘This happened weeks ago. How hard did you hit your head when you landed in this world?’
Hajime wracks his brain for the memory and comes up blank. Everything his other self has said is ringing in his mind, but he finds tranquillity in the non-existent memory. If he doesn’t have it… perhaps this is really a dream. If this is a dream, if he can defeat his other self, then he will likely be able to wake up.
His other self stares at him incredulously, a hint of sorrow flashing across its features. ‘I see you have no intention to accept the truth. Well then… Goodbye.’ He wraps his hands around Hajime’s neck and starts to choke him whilst slowly bringing his lips closer to Hajime’s…
Hajime swings his lower body upwards, and his legs make strong contact with the Other Hajime’s torso. The impact catches him off guard, and startles him into losing his grip on Hajime. Taking advantage of the opportunity and the adrenaline, he heaves the Other Hajime off and quickly reaches for one of the fallen scalpels on the floor.
He grabs one and swings into a defensive stance. He sees that the Other Hajime is bleeding from the palm – possibly his scalpel’s fault. He can’t really bring himself to care. They stare coolly at one another. Hajime slowly stands, and the Other Hajime does as well.
‘I thought this would be easier, but I guess you are me, after all. Well. It’s been more fun than I expected from you, but it ends now.’
They grapple with one another for a while, each snarling and trying to gain the advantage. Hajime thinks of Oikawa, the smile on his face when they have dinner at either of their family homes, the determined set of his jaw when he does a jump serve, the unfailing pride with which he leads their high school volleyball team. He thinks of Oikawa, and how his body is a burial ground of hidden feelings, but how that’s okay, as long as it doesn’t interfere with their friendship.
He thinks of Oikawa as he trips the Other Hajime and, cradling him with one arm, plunges the scalpel into his chest.
The Other Hajime’s eyes widen in disbelief, and his hand comes up to finger the base of the blade. He starts to cough up blood, flecks of it getting on Hajime and speckling his face, his shirt. ‘You idiot!’
Hajime feels pain in his chest where his heart is – it’s probably relief. Slowly, he lowers the Other Hajime onto the ground. ‘There… The dream is over. Now I can go home. To Tooru.’
The Other Hajime chuckles softly, blood dripping down his face and onto the floor. ‘You… you thought this was a dream? Well, it’s too late now.’ He reaches out and places a palm over Hajime’s heart. When he pulls away, his palm is stained red with blood. Hajime looks down and sees red creeping radially across his shirt. His other self caresses Hajime’s cheek with his bloody hand. ‘Oh, my other self… Foolish to the end. I am you, and you are me…’ With that, his hand falls to his side, and Hajime collapses on the floor with it.
--
He wakes up to several concerned faces staring wide-eyed at him, with the glare of bright white light shining behind them. He blinks several times, licks his dry lips, and opens his mouth to speak. ‘Where…?’
Immediately there’s a cacophony of several voices trying to speak at once.
‘Iwaizumi-san!’
‘Iwaizumi-senpai, are you all right?’
‘Hey, it’s good to have you back, ace.’
‘I thought you’d never wake up!’
‘I’m… I’m glad we at least managed to save you, Iwaizumi.’
He frowns at everything the people are saying. He doesn’t recognise them, so he tunes them out and gets lost in his own thoughts. He can’t quite remember how he got here, but judging by the person wearing a white coat and a stethoscope, and the drip he’s hooked up to, he thinks he’s in the hospital. But why is he here? How long has he been asleep? Who are these people? What…
He realises that it’s gone quiet around him. He looks at the people surrounding him, and they peer back at him, brows deeply furrowed. They’re concerned. Whilst all attention is directed at him, he takes the opportunity to ask the question that’s at the front of his mind.
‘Who is Iwaizumi?’