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sportsanime2017-07-23 07:03 pm
referees) wrote in sportsanime2017-07-23 07:03 pm
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Bonus Round 5: Clue
Sometimes, all you need are a few little details to imagine something bigger. This round is inspired by a classic board game with a cast of colorful characters, but for SASO your only limits on "who", "where", and "with what" are what you can imagine (and the SASO fandom list, of course)!
Please read this whole post before commenting to ensure that your team gets the most points possible. (There are changes from last year!)
RULES
- Submit prompts by commenting to this post with the format of a Clue mystery - "[character] in the [location] with [item]", along with any ship/ot3/etc. from one of our nominated fandoms.
- Example: Sawamura Daichi in the teachers' lounge with the Hello Kitty! lunchbox
- The person in your prompt MAY be a member of your ship, but is not REQUIRED to be part of your ship. They must still be a named character from a SASO-nominated fandom.
- Your place must be a physical location, not a state of being or a state of being. However, this location is not required to be real, nor must it be from the same setting as the characters.
- The "item" used must be a physical object that the character can hold or manipulate.
- Unlike the board game, your prompt is NOT required to imply murder. The scenario implied can be anything at all! (As always, please tag properly!)
- Your prompt MUST include some kind of relationship. Platonic relationships are indicated by an "&" between the names (e.g., Natsuo & Yuzuko). Non-platonic relationships use "/" (e.g., Natsuo/Yuzuko). Please don't say "Any pairing," either!
- Fill prompts by replying to the prompt with your Clue-inspired fanwork.
- Remember to follow the general bonus round rules, outlined here.
- Here is a prompt/fill index for your convenience.
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)
Format your comment in one of the following ways:
| If PROMPTING: | If FILLING: | If FILLING as a TEAM GRANDSTAND participant: |
PROMPT: TEAM [YOUR SHIP]
| 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.
If you see anyone breaking the code of conduct (e.g., causing drama, being rude) anywhere (not just DW), please contact the mods immediately.
SCORING
These numbers apply to your team as a whole, not each individual teammate. Make as many prompts/fills as you want!For prompts: 5 points each (maximum of 50 prompt points per team per round)
For fills:First 4 fills by any member of your team: 20 points each
Fills 5-10: 15 points each
Fills 11-20: 5 points each
Fills 21-50: 2 points each
Fills 51+: 1 point 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 (see the line of links below this post).Have a question? Check The FAQ first. If you still need help, feel free to contact the mods. Happy fanworking!
FILL: TEAM GRANDSTAND, T
Fandom: haikyuu
Major Tags: brief mentions of fantasy violence and mythical creature slaying
Other Tags: none
Word Count: 2,559
this completely ran away from me, but it was rly fun to write!! thank u for the bait!!!
***
The bounty had seemed simple enough. A twin-headed serpent, eating the village’s chickens. And for 500,000G? Piece of cake and a steal!
Turns out, that price tag was there for a reason. The small creature he'd expected ended up being much larger – it wasn't a serpent, but a fledgling dragon. It was also not too fond of Noya’s bow and while his favored greatsword had done its job in the end, the second head of the beast had managed to do a number on her, too.
It had caught the blade at just the right chip in the steel, jaw clamping down with ten-ton force and snapping it midway down. He’d been thankful it'd been his sword and not a limb, but still...
His map indicated a town maybe half a day’s trek away from the bounty location, so why not kill two birds with one stone? Collect his bounty at the guild’s satellite and...likely spend half of it to get his sword repaired. A bummer, but a necessity.
When he arrives, he decides to make his way to the smithy first. It’s an old stone building in slight disrepair, smoke bellowing out through the chimney at the top. The wooden plank bolted to the front reads ‘Tanaka Family Armory.’ Perfect!
He can hear the clang of steel against steel, can smell the melted iron and slowly burning charcoal sharp in the air. Peering in, the inside is dimly lit, minimal sunlight filtering in through small slats in the corners which Noya can only assume are for ventilation more than anything else. Overall, it’s pretty cozy for a workshop.
Noya pulls on a small, frayed piece of rope, the action sounding the bell attached. He can barely hear it over the hissing of steam and the crackling flame of the forge in the back, so he pulls a little harder this time and accidentally rips the rope clean off in the process, dislodging the bell in turn.
The scrape and clatter of his greaves against the stone floor as he swiftly moves to catch the bell before it hits the ground is enough to get the attention of the man at the forge. He’s greeted by light applause and a low whistle.
“Nice moves.”
“Thanks, I’ve always had a knack for quick saves,” Noya says, getting back up to his feet and holding it out for him to take. “Sorry for, uh, breaking your doorbell.”
“Nah, it's cool, it was only a matter of time before this piece ‘a shit came off the wall.” He tosses it aside and wipes his hands on his apron, extending one out. “Tanaka Ryuunosuke, apprentice blacksmith.”
Noya takes his hand, handshake firm, but friendly. “Nishinoya Yuu, but you can call me Noya!”
“Woah, wait, you mean like the ‘Guardian Deity of the Seven?’ That Nishinoya?” Noya nods, beaming. “I’ll be damned! Didn't know we were attracting celebrities.”
Noya laughs, proudly puffing his chest out a bit. It seems like his reputation proceeds him greatly. “A celebrity, huh?”
“Well, yeah, I mean, you're practically a household name around here after you cleared that bounty in the next town over. Y’know that one for the pack of dire wolves a couple years back? Asahi cried when he found out his sheep were finally safe. They're like...practically his kids.”
“Nah, that'd be goats,” Noya jokes, earning a snicker from Tanaka.
“So, what can I do for ya?”
“Well, I was hopin’ you'd be able to do some work for me,” he motions to the weapon strapped to his back.
“A greatsword, huh? That’s pretty badass. Usually we just get your run of the mill short model – sometimes a war hammer. Haven't seen one of these in a while, though, not up close.”
“You can tell just from a glance? I came to the right place.” Noya takes his weapon from its sheath – well, most of it; the other portion is carefully retrieved from his pack – and lays both pieces down on the worktable between the two of them. He can almost hear Tanaka’s heart break at the sight of it, a very relatable reaction.
“Man, this baby’s seen better days, huh?”
“Yeah...y’think can you salvage her?”
Tanaka holds the shorter metal fragment up to the light and squints as he inspects it from every angle he can. “Well, it'll be a ‘lil hard since the break isn't too clean and a shard’s missin’ from here...you'd prolly be better off just replacing her.” Noya’s face falls and Tanaka shakes his head, “but I know how much she must mean to ya and I do enjoy a challenge, ‘specially one like this. Gimme ‘til sundown two days from now, should be good as new.”
“That’s a pretty quick turnaround.”
“I ain't called the up ‘n comin’ ace of the blacksmithing world for nothin’,” Tanaka says, pointing his thumb to his chest.
“I've got some business to take care of, but I’ll come by later to check on stuff, if that's alright with you,” Noya says. “I’m lookin’ forward to seein’ your work up close!”
Tanaka waves him goodbye and Noya can hear the snap of the fire begin to grow behind him as he pardons himself.
---
It takes nearly the entire morning and afternoon for Noya to finish his business at the guild satellite. Something about the bounty being null because he didn't technically slay the monster indicated in on the poster, even though the beast in question had been very clearly misclassified by the requester. They ended up giving him half the bounty, which in the grand scheme of things is still a lot of coin, but dammit, he'd put in a lot of effort only to get swindled out of a good chunk!
After a big to-do at the inn as well, Noya had finally gotten a bath and changed out of his armor, a much welcomed reprieve.
When he finally makes it back to the smithy, it's bordering on sundown already. Tanaka's still hard at work, striking away at the metal secured to the anvil in front of him.
Noya watches the muscles in his shoulders and back flex with each movement. He lets his gaze wander to the cut of his bicep, down to his forearm, taut as he follows through with each subsequent downward strike. He’s really got some great arms...
“Hey, you're back!” Tanaka says, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his glove and snapping Noya out of his low-key trance.
“Yeah! Just wanted to see how things were goin’,” he says, glad Tanaka didn't catch him eyeballing him. “And boy, you were right about the ‘celebrity’ thing! When I told the auntie at the inn my name to book my room, she nearly had a heart attack!!” He can't really complain though; she'd been so excited that she'd waived the room cost entirely.
“If it's too overwhelmin’, why don't you just stay here? We’ve got a spare room, nothin’ extravagant, but at least it's quieter ‘n ya won't get hassled.”
“Really? I’d hate to wear out my welcome.”
“My sister is off running a delivery anyway, so the company would be welcome.” He rubs the back of his neck, quickly adding, “I mean, if you want, of course.”
“Yeah, that'd be great! I’ll grab my stuff from their storage in the mornin’. Thanks for the hospitality!” Noya dips his head in a bow before peering over the worktable to see how much Tanaka’s gotten done so far on his weapon. “Wow, you weren't kidding ‘bout your speed, Ryuu.”
“Told ya!” He holds up the larger piece of the sword by its hilt, showing Noya the mating faces at the end. “All that's left for tonight is the welding process to connect these parts together with the ones I’m about to make on the part that broke off.”
“Can I watch?”
Tanaka looks a little surprised, but it quickly spreads to a wide, toothy grin. “Yeah, ‘course! If y’really want, you could gimme a hand, even.”
Noya’s eyes sparkle. “Really?!”
“Some parts get kinda tricky with only one set of hands. You can be my striker for the afternoon.”
Noya hops off the stool and comes around to the anvil. “I’m ready, show me!”
Tanaka laughs, setting down the piece and grabbing a spare apron. “First thing’s first.”
“Ah, yes, safety first,” Noya says, nodding sagely. He lets Tanaka slip it over his head and turns around, lifting his arms so he can tie it around his waist. “If you don't mind.”
“Not at all.” Tanaka wraps the strings all the way around him once to make sure the fit is snug and then hands him a sledgehammer.
“Okay, so I’m gonna show ya where to strike once I heat this in the forge. We’re gonna upset the metal for the shard that broke off so that we can make the matching mating faces and weld ‘em together.”
Noya nods, determination clear across his face. He loves learning new skills, especially ones that require precision. Add a big hammer and pounding the crap out of something? That’s just a fun bonus, really.
Tanaka takes the piece of steel between his tongs, sticking it into the flame of the forge and waits. Noya observes, noting the change in his features; the look of concentration on Tanaka’s face is different than anything he's seen on him so far. He can tell he’s watching the color of the steel with expert precision, waiting for the perfect moment to pull it so that they can begin their work.
Once the steel has become a molten yellow-orange, Tanaka removes it and sets it onto the anvil. He taps gently against the piece with a smaller hammer, indicating where he wants Noya to begin. “Okay, you're going to strike right here to start. Go for it.”
Noya nods, spacing his feet, squaring his shoulders and swinging downward. The reverberation of the motion travels up his arms, tingling – the sensation is exhilarating. No wonder Tanaka likes it.
“Not bad, but don't hold back! You can hit it a little harder. Same spot as last time.”
He squares up again, putting a little more force behind his strike this time. He feels it more this time and briefly wonders how long it took Tanaka to get used to the recoil.
“Here,” he says, coming around and behind him. Tanaka places his hands over Noya’s, helping to correct his posture just slightly. His chest is warm against Noya’s back, his breath warmer as it hits just above his temple as he explains the technique to him (not that he’s even paying attention to that at this point, but he’s trying and that's what counts.)
Noya tilts his head back, looking up at Tanaka. “Actually, maybe we can swap spots? It’ll prolly go quicker since you've got more experience.”
Tanaka looks down at him, quickly letting go of Noya’s hands and putting some distance between them, as if suddenly realizing just how close they've gotten. Noya’s just a smidgen bummed to lose the contact, but he understands.
His voice is a little pitchy when he replies. “Yeah! That's fine!”
He gives Noya a quick demonstration of how to hold the metal into the forge and then against the anvil so that he can upset it. The information soaks up into Noya’s brain like a sponge now that they're not pressed together and once they get into a good rhythm, their teamwork is absolutely impeccable.
By the end of the evening, they've successfully welded the blade back together.
“Hey, great work,” Tanaka says, grinning. “Especially for your first time – you're a real natural.”
“Only ‘cause you're such a great teacher, Ryuu!!” He smiles back, dabbing sweat from Tanaka’s brow with the end of his apron. “I think I’m gonna head off to bed, though. It’s been a long day.”
“‘Course, please,” Tanaka motions toward the doorway in the corner. “It's the third door on the right up the stairs. Make yourself at home.”
“Will do. Thanks again, Ryuu. This was a lot of fun.”
Tanaka flashes him that wide, bright smile that Noya’s become so fond of so quickly. “Yeah, it really was. Sleep well, Noya.”
“G’night, Ryuu.”
---
“Mornin’,” Noya says, taking a seat at the worktable. He pushes forward a mug of warm milk for Tanaka to take. “Did you get any sleep?”
“A bit. I wanted to get your piece finished. Once I get into a groove, it's hard to stop, y’know?” He takes the drink, nodding a thanks before taking a few big sips.
“You're already done?!”
“Yeah, wanna see it?” Noya’s rapid, excited nod draws out a bubble of laughter from Tanaka, who sets down his mug to retrieve it from the wooden holster in the corner. He withdraws it from the sheath, letting the limited sunlight glint off the shiny, smooth steel of the blade. She’s beautiful. Noya can't even believe it.
“Wow, Ryuu! This is like, master level craftsmanship!! You sure you're just an apprentice?”
Noya can't help a smile at the growing flush on Tanaka’s face.
“Yeah, I’m sure,” he says, sheepishly rubbing his cheek with soot-dusted fingers. Noya doesn't even think he realizes the smudgy trail the action’s left. Adorable. “Oh, uh, also, I hope ya don't mind it, but I engraved the reverse side of the blade with a small inscription.”
Noya immediately turns it over to inspect the engraving, running gloved fingertips over the perfectly etched runes. He swears he can feel the freshly polished steel hum as he does - it's like magic.
“My sister’s real big on charms ‘n stuff. Her work’s real popular around here. I learned a couple of things from her, like this one. It’s pretty basic, nothin’ special, but it's ‘sposed to help protect your sword and bring ya good luck in all your battles.”
Noya's chest is warm, smile exploding over his face. He’s quite touched. “I love it, Ryuu!! It’s definitely special to me – super special! The most!!”
“Y’know, you're like, really bad for my ego,” Tanaka laughs.
“I mean it, though! You've really helped make her one of a kind.” Noya returns the blade to its sheath and places it on the table. “But y'know, if it protects my sword from breaking, then I don't have an excuse to come back here ‘n see you.”
The look on Tanaka’s face – somewhere between ‘shit, I didn't think about that’ and embarrassed by Noya's smooth talking – is just as satisfying as he'd thought it'd be. He wants to see Tanaka fluster more.
“Well, I mean,” Tanaka clears his throat, gaze downcast, “do you, uh, really need an excuse?”
Noya can feel his own face start to heat up. Well, that backfired.
“No, I guess I don't, huh?” He matches Tanaka’s grin. “Gimme one anyway?”
Tanaka rummages through the pockets of his apron, pulling out an old handkerchief stained in polishing oils and peppered with scorch marks of varying sizes. He ties it tightly around the hilt of Noya’s greatsword, double knot and all.
“It’s my favorite one, so make sure you bring it back.”
Noya leans across the table, closing the distance between them and placing a gentle kiss against Tanaka’s slightly chapped lips. “‘Til we meet again, then.”
Re: FILL: TEAM GRANDSTAND, T