srs2012 | Bonus Round 1

You better promise me I’ll be back in time...

Welcome to our official bonus round one. Bonus Round 0 is now officially closed! Don’t worry, though – BR0.5 is open for one more week alongside this round. This time, the theme is historical settings.

If you have an idea for something you’d like to see, please leave a time period, the characters involved and any other details as a PROMPT below. Then read through everyone else’s prompts, and leave a FILL for any which catch your eye. Fills can be in any media, and they need not be long, but please put a little effort in – if anyone starts spamming this post for points, we’ll be able to tell.

You should place PROMPT/FILL, your current team affiliation and a brief summary in the comment title. NSFW prompts and fills should mention this in the summary or at the top of the post.

You will be awarded five points per prompt for the first five prompts you leave. The first three fills posted for each prompt will receive 15 points, the next three 10 points, and the next three 5 points. Prompts with ten or more fills will no longer receive fill points.

You can post prompts or fills for any ship this round, including gen/platonic ones (which should be indicated with an & as above). However, you may not fill your own prompt. We also encourage people not to fill prompts from their teammates, although the points will not be deducted if you do.

Bonus round fills can include links provided they are publicly viewable. Works can also be cross-posted to other websites, as there is no anonymity requirement in bonus rounds. However, works posted directly to comments will be limited to 16,000 characters by the Dreamwidth comment limit. Longer works should therefore be divided between multiple comments.

Remember, Team Chuck can participate in bonus rounds, and if you change teams, points earned will transfer with you until the end of the team shuffle period.

Edit: This round is now closed. You may still leave fills if you wish to, but no further points will be awarded.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The king of Chalcis didn't take her seriously, and that was perhaps the most irritating part. She could ignore the teases and the taunts of the Abantes, ignore their leers and searching eyes, for she was used to such treatment by men. But King Elephenor reclining in his chair, drinking his wine and eyeing her long, tangled blonde hair with distaste, before he sending her off without so much as a thank you for killing the wild boar just outside the gates of the city, well, that had nearly sent her into a rage.

"I have solved your problem," she'd said, striding into the throne room, the body of the boar slung across her shoulders. Jo was a slight girl, but she was strong. She had the power of the goddess in her bones. "This animal will trouble you and your people no longer." She'd thrown the corpse onto the ground, satisfaction striking through her at the way the firelight flickered in its dead eyes. It wasn't the dead animal that pleased her - she took no real joy from killing - but the simple truth of her triumph thrown back in the faces of those who had originally paid her no heed. She had succeeded where they had failed, and thus, could and should be counted among the ranks of heroes.

The king had refused to believe it. "Liar!" He had claimed, one knobby finger pointed at her. "You could not have possibly killed this beast. Obviously, you conned a poor man into doing your work for you," he'd declared, seeking support from the Abantes. The warriors, no doubt seeking to heal the sting in their pride, took up his call. "She lies, she lies!" Their cries had echoed across the hall, and Jo's hands itched to draw her sword, to show them all exactly how much of a liar she was.

She only stayed her hand because the charm around her neck began to burn. A warning from Anael. Keep your head; do not give in to the taunts of men. As always, the goddess spoke truth.

"Leave, you filthy cheat," the king had ordered, eyes burning, "leave, and do not return." Jo did so gladly, retrieving her kill and striding out of the room, head held high.

While she should have felt pride at preserving her dignity, she felt only weariness. Jo had not slept with a roof over her head for nearly a month, and she was very tired of it. The stars are only so beautiful for so long.

Jo looked to the stars now. She squinted her eyes, attempting to see through the veil of smoke from her campfire. "Hail, Anael!" she said, raising her arms to the sky. She had already made her respects to Lord Zeus and the Lady Artemis. Those had been impersonal, the rites performed only out of duty. This was a rite performed out of devotion. "I sacrifice this beast to you, as a sign of my gratitude and my love for you."

This was not her first failed mission. The fiasco of Chalcis was the last in a long line of disappointments, and Jo was losing faith, both in herself and in her mentor. It had been so long since that fateful day, when the goddess had come to her and given her the gift of her sword. She drew that sword now, laying it in the dirt, gently. She was lost without her goddess, and she knew it. She clasped her hands together, and prayed. "Lady Anael, I call upon you to guide me now.

"I… I am losing faith. No one takes me seriously, and I do not know where to go from here. Please, Anael. I just want to be a hero. I just want to make you proud. Help me." The night was silent. Jo felt tears pricking in her eyes.

Rationally, she knew it was very unlikely that Anael would show herself. The few times she had come down from Olympus, however, had been in times like these, when Jo was in the direst need of her assistance. Jo treasured each memory like a precious jewel. Anael's flaming red hair, the smell of smoke and lightning, the softness of her skin, the sound of her voice, like a stream in the spring - Jo didn't think she would ever forget these things, not until her dying day.

She prayed, and prayed, and prayed, until she fell asleep from exhaustion. But it seemed that Anael would not grace her with her presence that night.

Jo woke up on the cold ground with the sun shining on her face, back aching and fire almost burnt out. There were no signs of any animals or bandits, so at least she had been protected. The would-be hero sighed, and picked up her walking stick. The sky overhead was vast, and distant, and Jo felt lonelier then ever.

Then a breeze passed by, blowing her hair out of her face. It smelled of smoke and lightning. Jo thought she could hear the sound of water. Anael. "Thank you," she breathed. "Thank you." Anael had not forgotten her.

She followed the wind, heading East towards Eretria.

Bonus Round 1

FILL: Smoke and Lightning (fill by team Castiel/Sam)