BONUS ROUND 1

[hso_mods]

Bonus Round 1

Genre-Mixing

Hey, shippers! Welcome to your very first bonus round proper--we hope you have lots of fun with it! This time around we're going to be asking you to mix it up a little--each fanwork posted for this round will be a mish-mash of two different genres, blended together in a delightful incestuous slurry to create an UNSTOPPABLE CREATIVE CONCOCTION--er. Or. Something.

Yeah, we're genre-mixing. That's what we're doing this round.

Rules

1. Submit prompts! Prompts should consist of two different genres and one ship. This cannot be your team's ship! These are worth 5 points each, for a maximum of 100 points per team.


2. Look through the prompts and fill whichever you like!


3. You may not fill prompts for your ship, nor may you fill your own team's prompts.


4. Fills should be posted as replies to the prompts which they are for, following the format below. They may be any medium.

Title Format
If you are starting a new thread, please use this format in your title.
PROMPT: TEAM [YOUR SHIP]
Replace [YOUR SHIP] with the name of the team YOU belong to; please use the characters and quadrant, not whatever portmanteau or nickname you've come up with.
If your team name is not in this format and in the title we cannot guarantee that it will be counted.

If you are filling a prompt, use this format in your title.
FILL: TEAM [YOUR SHIP]
Replace [YOUR SHIP] with the name of the team YOU belong to; please use the characters and quadrant, not whatever portmanteau or nickname you've come up with.
If your team name is not in this format and in the title we cannot guarantee that it will be counted.

Posts not using this format in the title will be understood to be unofficial discussion posts, no matter what they contain. They, like all comments on the comm, are subject to the Wank Policy.

Scoring
For prompt posts: 5 points each (maximum of 100 per team)

For fills (as stated here):
First 5 entries in each post: 30 (per entry)
Entries 6-10 in each post: 20 (per entry)
Entries 11-15 in each post: 10 (per entry)
Entries 16+ in each post: 5 (per entry)

All scored content must be created/assembled new for this round.

If you have any questions, please ask them at the FAQ post here, or email them to us (homestuck.shipping at gmail). Otherwise, we cannot guarantee that we will see them in a timely fashion!

Comments

PROMPT: TEAM JANE<3ROXY

[heartfeltdisease]

UU<3Roxy<3Jane

fantasy + reality tv

FILL: TEAM BRO<3GRANDPA

[macca44552]

Okay so this kind of turned into a cancerous blob of fluff, haha.

------------------
On your first day you wave at the cameras and smile. You were desperate to do this, you don’t know if you’ll even be able to stand them for a full week, but if there was another option you would have taken it a long time ago.

And maybe those who watch will be inspired by your story.

Your competition is Jane Crocker and Roxy Lalonde. They’re both attractive humans and you practically give yourself away every time you reach up to nervously adjust your horns in their presence.

“This is going to be great,” you say. The director gestures that you’re speaking to the wrong camera and you laugh nervously, “I can’t wait. Seven days! It’s going to be such a fun experience, even if I don’t win.”

Roxy slings her arm across your shoulder, “Yeah! We are ready! Bring it on FairyGullmother! Ooops, Godmother!”

Your belongings are on your back as you trudge through the forest, taking in everything with a catch of your breath. You’ll hike for seven days before you reach the summit and you refrain from pinching yourself. You usually play it safe and stay indoors. You’re taking so many risks with this show and breaking so many of your own rules, but if you win it’ll all be worth it.

Later that night Roxy and Jane are sitting by the fire. They call you over.

“So I think it’s about time we had THE TALK, haha,” Roxy says, “If the audience chooses you, what’re you going to wish for?”

You play with your hands and hope that the heat won’t cause your makeup to run, “I, blimey, I never really thought about the wording…”

“I think I’ll wish for inner strength,” Jane says, her eyes are determined but they’re wet, “Or, you know, the ability to be able to deal with things. To get over them.”

“Oh Janey!”

You watch as they embrace. You feel a bit awkward so you crawl in your tent and fall asleep.



On the second day Roxy gives you a few sips out of her flask and you don’t react well. You spend the journey vomiting and hiding from the cameras (you don’t quite manage that last one), and trying to fix your troll paint so the tear tracks don’t show.

Jane sits beside you as you lean against a tree and she lets you have one of her granola bars and a bottle of water.

“Thank you.”

“Not a problem at all. I, um, Roxy can be a bit…forward at times. She had no idea that trolls reacted that way to alcohol, I can assure you, or else she wouldn’t have been so careless.”

“It’s okay, really. I should have asked.”

Roxy comes running out of the forest, arms outstretched, headed towards you. Your eyes widen.

“Oh Calile I’m sorry!” she holds you and your spine stiffens, “I didn’t mean to make you sick! You’re the bestest troll ever and I love you and forgive me pleasies?”

The camera catches all that and you force a smile as you hug her back.



On the third day they ask you what it’s like being a troll. Your first instinct is to recite all the facts you know about them but that seems unnatural so you shrug.

“Well, I never grew up on Alternia. I mostly just lived here on Earth. Like you lot.”

You take a rest on a hill, sun pouring down your backs. Roxy unceremoniously drops all her camping gear, Jane chides her and you run for the shade.

“So wait, do you have a, er, kismisesis? Or a matespirit? Tell me all your quadrants,” Roxy plops down next to you. Jane’s rummaging through her bag. Her skin is a lot redder than it was before.

“Gosh Roxy. That’s personal, isn’t it?”

“We’re on a reality show, Jane, how much more impersonal can we get?”

Jane turns to you, “Don’t listen to her. Tell us as little or as much as you want.”

“No, it’s okay. I haven’t filled any of my quadrants, actually.”

“Aw really?” Roxy frowns and puts her head on your shoulder. You think by the end of the week you’ll have gotten used to her clingy nature.

“Looks like we’re all just a bunch of hot bachelors! We should spice up the show and have an orgy or something.”

You swallow nervously but Jane just rolls her eyes and laughs so you figure it wasn’t a serious suggestion.

Later that night Jane and Roxy find a lake and go swimming. It looks like fun but you’re content to only be a spectator. You suppose.



On the fourth day the producer calls everyone in for a meeting and tells you that you’re getting along too well—you need to do something dramatic to keep the audience interested. As incentive, he tells you that Roxy’s in the lead for audience votes.

Everything’s awkward now. Your conversations are strained and forced so you eventually stop talking. Roxy takes out her flask again and drinks more than she did on the previous day. Jane attempts to take it away and in the struggle it spills all over the ground and Roxy stomps off, demanding that she’s going to “take a leak”.

You climb a tree and Jane stares up at you. You tell her she should climb too. She laughs.

“I don’t know. I’m wearing a skirt and I wouldn’t want to scrape up my legs.”

“You could put on some pants, then?” She doesn’t respond. There’s a ladybug crawling on the trunk and you touch it carefully, “The view is really splendid from up here.”

She bites her lip. And then she grabs a pair of pants, throws them on under her skirt and climbs. She goes higher than you do, laughing the entire way. You don’t think you’ve seen her so happy before.

“You know, tolot paper should grow on trees. If I end up getting, like, vagina burn from these leaves then I’m going to be so pissed!”

She notices Jane’s head peeking out from the top of the tree and she smiles and screams “woohoo”.

Later that night Roxy grabs Jane’s face and kisses her. Your mouth hangs open and so does Jane’s. She’s bright red as she slaps Roxy’s knee and laughs. You laugh too but when Roxy turns to you and leans in you recoil.

“I can’t,” you say.

“Aww man, okay. No smoochies for us.”

It takes forever to fall asleep that night.



On the fifth day they find out what you are.

You oversleep and are woken up by Roxy collapsing on top of you.

“Oh would you leave the poor girl alone?” Jane says.

“No, man. If I have to be up this early then everyone has to be up!”

You turn on your side. The first thing you see is Roxy’s eyes, wide and pink and confused.

“What’s that on your face?”

Some of your makeup came off during the night. There’s a patch of green skin that extends from your neck to underneath your eye. You sit up quickly and your wig and horns go flying off your head.

You spend the morning taking off your makeup and telling your friends exactly what you are. The camera catches everything; you bitterly think that they finally have the drama they desired. You try your best to keep your hideous face in the shadows.

“But Callie, you’re not ugly! Look at those cheekbones. Girrl, do you know what I would give to have suckers like those?” she pokes them and it feels weird to have someone touch your skin.

Jane’s eyes have stopped popping out of her skull. She sits down next to you, leaning against the tent, “She’s right, dear. You’re not ugly at all. You’re just different.”

You don’t want to be different.

It’s a late start due to the incident and you don’t hike very far at all. You hope that you’ll be able to get to your destination by the end of the week. Jane and Roxy don’t talk much but they throw you looks of support every few minutes.

It’s comforting knowing that they care, but you wish they’d stop.

Later that night you sit in the confessionals tent, sans makeup, and tell the audience what you are.

“I’m a Cherub. I’m… our species is spread across the universe; we have no planet to call our own. This is what we look like,” you swallow and stare at the ground, “And that’s why I’m on this show. I want to… if the audience votes for me, when we make it to the Fairy’s summit, I’d…I’d wish to be beautiful.”



On the sixth day Roxy and Jane bombard you while you’re getting ready. They say they want to be trolls too. You end up sitting in the sun laughing and getting makeup everywhere. You have two extra sets of horns but only one extra wig, so Roxy takes the wig, insisting that Jane’s hair is already close enough to troll black, and ties daisies around her horns.

“Oh man Janey. We are so cool looking. When we get back no one will be able to resist a piece of this.”

Roxy loops her arms around both of you and for the first time in your life you feel like you belong.

Later that night you reach another lake and they pull you in this time.

You watch as gray paint falls from your skin, settles thick on the water before washing out. You throw your horns and wigs to the shore and you’re having so much fun splashing and swimming that you forget to care about what you look like.

There’s something pressing uncomfortably on your foot. You reach down and pick up a rock, glowing blue and red and green and purple and orange and pink and when you loosen your palm it shoots into the sky and rains color all over the water.

When the show ends everyone’s quiet.

Roxy’s floats on her back, “You know, when we got to the summit, I was gonna wish for my mom to come back.”

You stare at her.

“But I’m not sure… if I need to anymore? I just want to not feel so alone, you know?”

You know.

You and Jane dunk her under the water and she yells that you’re both ‘dumb bitches’.

When you come out Roxy grabs your arms and kisses you.

You don’t feel anything romantic but you feel a deep sense of companionship and trust so you kiss her back. When Roxy’s gone Jane comes in for a hug and you sigh happily.

The summit’s in sight but you think you don’t need to reach it anyway.



On the last day the producers give you all a heads up. They tell you that you won.

Your stomach drops and tears catch the corners of your eyes. Roxy and Jane look genuinely happy for you as they hold your hands.

You don’t put any makeup on that day.

The journey is filled with quiet moments. The three of you split a bag of Cheeze-Its (humans really are fantastic at culinary endeavors), chase a bunny (you didn’t catch him), and rub lotion over your exposed skin (you don’t need any but you help Jane even as she winces because she burns too easily). You’re not supposed to know that you’ve the won and it’s easy to keep your excitement contained when you know that this is the last day with your friends.

You hold hands as you climb the summit. The Fairy is waiting, beautiful and blue as she floats with a long gown fluttering behind her. She announces that you’re the winner and Jane and Roxy each give you a hug and a kiss on the cheek before you step forward.

“What is your wish?” she asks.

You swallow. You dig your feet into the dirt. You sweat.

You don’t know anymore.

The director gives you a sign behind his camera. He’d told you to pause dramatically before making your wish but he obviously hadn’t meant for you to take this long.

Your heart’s beating frantically. You thought this would have been easy. You thought you knew what you wanted!

“I just…” you try to keep your voice from skipping, “I just want to be loved.”

Roxy and Jane run up to you then, encircling you in their arms. You try not to get emotional, but the director gives you a thumbs up and you let the tears fall freely.

The Fairy raises an eyebrow, “You didn’t need me for that.”

No, you’re realizing, you didn’t.



Since that didn’t count as a real wish Roxy takes it upon herself to ask for a flying ship that comes with a jacuzzi and cabinets that are always stocked.

You’re on the deck, running your hands through Roxy’s hair and doing a crossword puzzle with Jane, amazed that your wish came true.