Three Sentence Ficathon

[rthstewart]

UPDATE! EDIT!
 We're running into the Dreamwidth comment limits so all new prompts should be posted here Keep responding to and filling already posted prompts here, but all new ones should go to the new thread!

Someone did this banner for me a couple of years ago.  It's great, isn't it?  If it was you, please step up and take a bow!
It was st_aurafina!   Thank you again!


caramelsilver ran one last year on Livejournal and I did two over here a few years ago. We'll keep it open until January 31, 2019 which should give everyone time to play a little. This is a delightful part of the online fandom community.


What is the 3 Sentence Ficathon?
This is a challenge where you answer a prompt with a fic consisting of only three sentences. It's open to all fandoms and you can post and answer as many prompts as you like, as many times as you want.

What do I do first?
You post prompts! When posting a prompt please format it this way:

fandom, character(s), prompt word/sentence.

Only one prompt per comment please.  So, for example,

Star Wars, Obi-Wan Kenobi, I don't like sand."

What else?
You answer other posters' prompts in three sentences (or more if you can't stop yourself) and fill as many prompts as you want, as many times as you wish. If you see that a prompt you loved has already been filled, go ahead and fill it again! Multiple fills of the same prompt are allowed and even encouraged!  (We get really fun stories going this way).

Can I still post if I need more than 3 sentences?  Or should I just abuse grammar in ways the English language never contemplated?
Yes.  Yes.


But I'm not a member of Dreamwidth
No problem. You can comment anonymously or through open ID

Can anyone play?
Yes! Please signal boost this to your flist, followers, and any other places you frequent. Come one, come all!
The more people who come and play, the better!

Can I spread the word? 
Yes, please.  I'd love to create a nifty banner with an embed code but I fail at it.  So if you create one, I'll post it and everyone can use it.

How long will it go?
Tentatively, we'll close it on January 31, 2019. 

Are there any rules about cross-posting?
Nope, you can post wherever you want, whenever you want. A lot of folks collected their responses together and posted them on AO3 under the 3 sentence fiction tag. 3SFs are a terrific prompt for remixes and could be helpful for Yuletide bears, too.

What about spoilers, content warnings, triggers, pairings, ratings, tags, and squick?
I thought about this.  It wasn't an issue the last 2 times I ran this but times change.  In my experience, this typically gets too big, moves too fast, and the stories are too short for content warnings and ratings. You should assume spoilers are fair game and that the initial poster and responder have opted to use no content warnings or tags. I've found personally that I can skim by stuff that, from the prompt, I can tell isn't my favorite flavor of delicious cake. Use your best judgment and be prepared to skip over things that aren't your thing.


And here, have some icons!










I'll start things off...

Edit to add on 12/18/2018 Please check out this update here. And this friending meme if you're so inclined here.

Comments

[rthstewart]

Narnia; Eustace Scrubb; oblivious yet alluring man of science

Last Battle AU, possibly Rthverse (forget 3 sentences...)

[autumnia]

Just for you, rth...

May 1965 - London

He was surrounded by Lions everywhere he looked--from the paintings hung on the walls to the sculptures scattered around the room--but it was the Lion of Knidos that currently caught his utmost attention.

"Have you given up the research of Gryphons and Dragons in exchange for Lions?" asked a familiar voice from behind, startling Eustace as he hadn't heard anyone approach.

"For now," he answered as Edmund stood beside him to admire the massive marble statue. "As you may remember, you advised me to avoid occupied cities the last time we met over my research. Please note that I have taken your advice; I shan't need a rescue from the British Museum."

The other man turned away briefly, eyes sweeping across the expanse of the hall for the museum's latest exhibit before returning his gaze back to Eustace. "Are you so sure about that?" Edmund's voice was grave and given how the former king knew things that others would not--thanks to his current, somewhat hazardous occuputation--it was hard not to believe anything he said.

For a brief moment, Scrubb was disconcerted. "Well, I think..."

"I have heard tales of people getting lost or trapped in the depths of the collections." There was no mistaking the amusement in the older man's eyes. "Peter, for instance, couldn't find his way out fast enough after somehow ending up in a room that contained paintings of boats at sea."

Eustace sniffed. "No fear of that for me. After the journey on the Dawn Treader, I'm rather impervious to boats and water."

Edmund smiled. "So what kind of research are you doing about Lions?"

"I'm trying to decide if Aslan belongs to any of the current subspecies we know about or if he's unclassified. Given his unusual growth rate every time Lucy's said she seen him, I'd like to know if that applies to other lions as well."

Re: Last Battle AU, possibly Rthverse (forget 3 sentences...)

[rthstewart]

OH Autumnia. THANK YOU. This is delightful. Edmund still sneaking up on people unawares even in 1965 and Peter still terrifically adverse to boats and water. And Eustace, oh Eustace, Aslan isn't going to comport with growth rate charts of any known sub-species of lion but that's not going to stop him from trying. This is wonderful.

Re: Last Battle AU, possibly Rthverse (forget 3 sentences...)

[autumnia]

You're so very welcome!! :-) This follows the AU I wrote some years back about Berlin. And since you like historical footnotes, there really was an exhibition about lions at the British Museum in 1965 (I did research for this prompt!).

And continued in 3 sentences...


Edmund thought that it'd be impossible to research growth rates of a Not Tame Lion that was so completely different from the lions of Spare Oom but he knew it'd be futile to mention it to his cousin.

At least there was no discussion about whether Aslan actually qualified as a Feline, deity or not. He thought it would likely end up in a much longer conversation resembling something similar to the Narnian Census Edmund had absolutely no wish to repeat in this world.

Re: Last Battle AU, possibly Rthverse (forget 3 sentences...)

[rthstewart]

Oh Ed. You are right. The Narnia census on Great Cats is not relevant, especially in 1965. And that's RIGHT. You did have comment fic with Eustace in Berlin in the divided city didn't you?!!
A whole exhibit on lions! no wonder Eustace is there.

Re: Last Battle AU, possibly Rthverse (forget 3 sentences...)

[syrena_of_the_lake]

I love ALL of this! Oh Eustace, always trying to put things into neat little boxes (hey, it’s like a double-fill for Ruth’s cats and boxes prompt!)

[ernest]

"Fascinating -- are you a mammal or a reptile?" Eustace asks Puddleglum, and either ignoring or failing to notice Jill's pointed glare. "You could be something different entirely; Narnia and our world have been apart for so long that who knows what could have evolved, especially with magic in the mix!"

"I hope you know you're a very rude child -- but it's nice for someone to take an interest."

[autumnia]

LOL. With Marshwiggles, it's hard to tell if they'd take offense or rather enjoy the insult. And I doubt Eustace would ask a Centaur this type of question (man or horse?)...

[ernest]

HEE! Probably somewhere in the middle, and enjoy having something to be offended about?
Yeah, I can't imagine Eustace asking a centaur that - even something like "how did a man and a horse come to become one creature?" would get him an Unimpressed Response, I'm sure.

[rthstewart]

OMG. So head cannon is that Eustace becomes inordinately interested in reptiles living and dead after being un-dragoned and so this is just perfect as he puzzles out where Marsh-wiggle fits in Linnean classification. I"m so glad you are having so many Narnia feels because they are wonderful.

[ernest]

Oh goodness, I love that! It makes a lot of sense, too, and I might end up writing a little fic about it, so watch this space!

[syrena_of_the_lake]

Eeee, this is wonderful, and I can’t choose which dialogue I like more — Eustace’s thought process or Puddleglum’s obligatory offended yet reluctantly gratified response (the Marshwiggle who looks for the positive! I love him so much)

[ernest]

thank you so much!

Hips don’t lie (part I)

[syrena_of_the_lake]

“Eustace has a girlfriend,” Alberta announced with all the joy and pride of a mother alligator watching its young scamper off to eat or be eaten (or drowned or run over) — which is to say, very little, for Alberta believed a good mother should be Detached, not Doting — and anyway you look at it, thought Eustace, she was mostly wrong.

“I heard him talking about...” Alberta lowered her voice, “hips” and Eustace smothered a snort of laughter, because Alberta would probably disapprove of his interest in dinosaurian anatomy even more than an interest in, er, female anatomy.

In any case, Harold merely grunted and hunched into his newspaper and muttered something about starting at the wrong end, and Eustace wished Pole could be there to see the look on Alberta’s face.

Hips don’t lie (part II)

[syrena_of_the_lake]

What Eustace didn’t see was the look on Alberta’s face after he returned to his anatomical studies, when Harold grunted again and rustled his newspaper and reached out a sly hand to pinch his wife. “Maybe the boy has the right end of things for a change,” he muttered, and Alberta giggled like a schoolgirl.

What Eustace also didn’t see was the look on Alberta’s face when she was preparing dinner and contemplating the empty sugar bowl; as a rule she despised all things saccharine, and as a rule she tried not to smother her son like so many English mother hens with their chicks, but if Eustace ever brought a girl home for dinner... well, she may just have to bake a cake for the occasion.

Re: Hips don’t lie (part II)

[rthstewart]

Oh these are just ADORABLE. It's so nice to see Harold and Alberta not be horrid. They are so confused, but proud (you just know they are proud of their son) and goodness if it's serious enough to have Alberta break out the sugar, well that is something! Thank you!!

Re: Hips don’t lie (part II)

[autumnia]

OMG I only just saw this and it's fabulous! Alberta for once is acting like a caring mother. And of course she'd mistake the topic of hips for something that would be more appropriate for a boy of Eustace's age.