rthstewart | Three Sentence Ficathon -- Part 2

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Three Sentence Ficathon -- Part 2

EDIT AS OF 2 FEBRUARY 2019 -- THE 3 SENTENCE FICATHON IS OVER! Go ahead and read and fill anything that catches your eye and comment on fills but I'm not checking it anymore and most people have moved on so any new prompts aren't likely to get much love.

We are nearing the point that the first 3SF post, which went live on 12 December, is nearing 4,600 comments. At 5,000 comments, Dreamwidth starts demanding captcha to assure you aren't a spammer bot. It's a pain and unpleasant but totally understandable. So, I'm opening a new post, for new prompts, new fills, new comments!

What does this mean?
The original 3SF post is here, so be sure to check it out, fill anything that catches your eye, and comment on anything that delights you. But don't post any new prompts there. All new prompts go here.

How long will we do this?
I will officially close the 3SF on January 31.

Does that mean you'll close this and no one can post?
Nope. It just means that we will all move on in our lives until next year and my inbox will get a vacation to Hawaii.

Remind me again, what's the 3SF?
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's a prompt? How do I do that?
You can start 3SF by posting 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."

Open ended and anthropomorphic fills are popular too, such as:

Any, Any, "I don't like sand."

or

Earth geography, sand, "I don't like humans very much, either."

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. Banners and icons are below.

How long will it go?
We'll officially close on January 31, 2019 but I don't close the entry to comments.

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?
So far, as near as I can tell (and I skim most entries especially from newcomers I don't recognize) we've not had any issues. As in the past, this is 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. As a reader, use your best judgment and be prepared to skip over things that aren't your thing.

I have noticed that some people have posted content warnings in the first lines of their fill or in the subject line. But still, it's readers beware here. Not everyone does this and no one is under any obligation to do so.

Wow, there are so many cool people here. Can I introduce myself?
Yes, in the Friending meme.

Here, have some banners, embed codes and icons courtesy of

st_aurafina and

metonomia

And can you believe I figure out how to make boxes so you can copy and paste this to plug the exchange elsewhere? I DID!

Icons:

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This is quite sweet!

Edmund always enjoyed watching the reactions of first-time guests dining at Cair Paravel when the Holly dryads switched from the loam to the wine at table. The more the Hollies drank, the faster they talked and once the Females started flirting and batting their long, green, sharp lashes and leaves, the Males could be counted upon to respond prodigiously; by the fish cours, the prickly and quivering leaves became positively revelatory. A visiting delegation from a Galman farmers’ cooperative took it all in stride though even they were taken back momentarily with proliferation of Holly berries during the salads.

"Demon Ghost Senju!" Tobirama's head flew up and he looked to find Madara striding towards him, but hesitating in the doorway. "I . . . want to try something," he paused long enough that Tobirama hummed promptingly, curious and uneasy, then straightened his spine, scowling, and continued, "not . . . loathing one another completely?"

Tobirama stared, and Madara fidgeted before him even as he began to smile, cheeks warming. "I. . . I wouldn't have expected that," he said, then tipped his head, catching Madara's darting eyes, "but . . . I could entertain the idea." he finished almost playfully.

Well, despite not knowing the source, I'm glad the feeling came through. Thank you for commenting.

Her husband is in Tartarus now, and sometimes, Rhea visits.

Their son and his jailer, Hades, is always politely receptive if never more than that.

He always gives her a royal if impersonal welcome; Iapetus wouldn't have given her such finery, but Hades - third born but first devoured - ensures her mother has a room to her own for whenever she wishes to use it, and she should be thankful, and she is — if never more than that.

- - -

He has a room for them all actually, individually, and Rhea thinks that's just a bit alarming - not enough to report to Zeus, but enough that she dwells upon it, under covers thick and dense as briar-thorns.

Sometimes she wonders if perhaps, heartless Hades has internalized his role as jailer just a bit too well and merely waits for the day the eldest comes into his own at last, even if only in death; sometimes she thinks he is too lonely and simply, desperately wishes for heavenly arms to dig deep and remember that one of their own still lives deep in the underground.

She supposes she should be thankful for his magnanimity, but like those above, she finds her strange son's habits strange, and his heart far too cold.

- - -

He always accompanies her down to Tartarus, though he does not have to, her rebel days long done; Her hard-hearted son watches unmoved as she sobs, raining tears as she caresses his brow; as Chronos' mad mouth ceases his hideous wailing for a few moments, soothed by his wife's hand on his brow.

He accompanies her back, too, and she will, as always, ask is all that really necessary, to keep them bound in the dark like that and she will hope to bate him into an argument, to see a bit of emotion on that mottled brow, but he will simply sigh and say yes and they will ride the rest of the way through the Phlegethon with little more than silence on their tongues.

She tries to leave quickly after these visits, but she is an old goddess and her power drains quickly; often, she has to stay in the underworld, under Hades' suffocating care — and there she dreams of Chronos, not the mad Chronos who howls in the dark but the man who she loved, the man whose children he held in his hands and he devoured and she had let him — in her darkest moods, she sometimes wonders if it isn't Hades directing the Erinyes to drown her in her own guilt; she cannot shake her suspicion of him, even if sometimes her son comes in the room when she sobs and presses a heavy, iron hand to her brow in an imitation of kindness.

- - -

Once, when she comes above, she finds another Earth Goddess watching her; Demeter's daughter, she can tell by the gawky legs and wheat-colored hair - an adult, but only barely; kind and sweet looking, flowers blooming at her feet — the sort of unimportant little Goddess who matters little in any pantheon.

What's it like? The Underworld? She whispers, obviously transfixed by her own curiosity; Rhea takes inventory of the girl, her dirtyy dress and kind, golden eyes, and performs a ruthless calculuation: she takes the girls hand and shoves it deep in the dirt, whispers in the little one's ear to ask him herself and is satisfied when the girl does not, immediately, draw her hand back.

She leaves Demeter's pretty girl in the dirt, and wonders if perhaps Hades' heavy heart can be assuaged with a sacrifice.

- - -

When she comes back to the underworld a few months later, the girl's influence on Hades' realm is apparent; the asphodel has spread over almost every room, infecting the underworld with life in a way that does a bit - if only a bit - to soften its gloom; her influence on Hades' the man seems less obvious: he still is cool when he greets his mother (alone), still takes her to Tartarus (alone); takes her back, and still refuses to take to the subject of his father's care, choosing instead to stand upon the boat and stare grimly into the Phlegethon — not even congratulating him on his nuptials gets a rise out of him.

When she falls asleep in the underworld, exhausted and frustrated, she isn't surprised when the old dreams come to her, Chronos and his golden throne; she is, however, startled when she wakes and finds Demeter's little girl standing in her doorway, the bride staring at her with unworldly grace in her smile — Rhea bristles only a little as the girl comes in uninvited, places one ice-cold hand in Rhea's one; don't worry, the little one whispers, stroking her hand gently, I used to call out for help from above, too.

She opens her mouth to tell Hades' wife of her impertinence, but the little thing presses something into her hand and shakes her head; There is warmth here, grandmother, if you know where to look she whispers, pressing a kiss to Rhea's brow before turning away — so transfixed is she by her strange granddaughter, she doesn't even look at her gift until she's walked out the door: a dour, bruised bouquet of calla lilies and forget-me-nots.

Ah, Ares/Aphrodite, my great weakness! I love that despite the fact this whole thing is totally Aphrodite's fault for being jealous and vindictive, she's still worried about her bby boy. And Ares is smart enough to realize he can't do anything, but he still wants to anyway, because even if he IS a dick, he still cares about her.

Ah, my heart, it's so full. Thank you.

Holy moly, I was not expecting so much. Score!

Aww, Rhea still visits her husband--it's really not a relationship I see explored a whole lot, so this is neat. [...] she dwells upon it, under covers thick and dense as briar-thorns is a really cool, evocative line. I love it. And, oh, her lack of understanding of Hades, breaks my heart, especially the bit where he's trying so hard to be comforting by imitating how she comforts Cronus. At least Persephone gets him, and oh, she's so perfect too.

Thank you for this, I love it.

(I Uh....wasn't expecting it to be so long either but IT HAD PLACES IT WANTED TO GO.)

I am eternally curious about Rhea's relationship with the original five/six; she doesn't get doomed to the pit, but you never really see any stories of her interacting with anyone who isn't Zeus, either.

any, any, If there's nothing missing in my life
Then why do these tears come at night?
Lucky by Britney Spears

"Hey, Kris, check this out," Susie says and the moment they and Ralsei turn to look at her, she holds up the stag headed enemy she just pummeled by his rack of antlers and smirks. "I use antlers in all of my decorating."

Huh, Kris thinks as Ralsei bleats in dismays and tries to shoo her away from her beaten foe, I didn't know Susie liked Disney movies.

Nice. Love how Edmund just sits back and enjoys the chaos. Wonderful stuff.

This is hilarious and perfect, thanks for sharing it.

I know there's some variations of her showing up actually in the marriage/kidnapping/rape of Persephone (whatever you want to call it) where in some versions she's the one to either tell Demeter what happened to Persephone or helps Demeter get Persephone back (usually she's replacing Hecate when she showed up in other versions). There's also variations of Dionysus's origin myths where she takes him in to keep him hidden from Hera and then she still runs around with her grandson, saving him one time when Hera put a madness on him. The problem is that apparently some of her myths are tied up into other mother/mountain goddess and then other myths got absorbed by Demeter. Which is a shame because she's really a fascinating person if only because she's a titan but also the matriarch of their usurpers. She's just cool and underrepresented.

"-the hell are you doing what was that, Tobirama?" Madara demanded, almost staggering sideways until he caught hold of Tobirama's shoulder with one hand and the trunk of a tree with the other. "Was that- Did you tweak your hiraishin again?"

"Yes!" Tobirama agreed as Madara panted, catching his breath from the dizzying whirl and immediate shouting. "This is not quite as planned, however. . ."

"Your 'something new' was a completely untested hiraishin experiment?" Madara demanded, stiffening, and glared as Tobirama confirmed it with nothing closer to an apology than a shrug, then waved him off, wandering a few steps away.

Sometimes Utena forgets why she left Ohtori Academy (it was because there was a creepy administrator who kept perving on her, who didn't stop until she nearly broke his arm, and then the school insisted she had to leave, right?), but she doesn't let it bother her for long. Her aunt and her new uncle, her friends, her admirers, the school clubs (somehow, she got roped into student council, but it's weird--didn't student council members do more than organize dances and festivals?), all of it keeps her busy, and isn't it wonderful, to be so popular, so adored? And yet, there is a hole in her life, a strangely shaped hole that aches and aches, but she can't ever remember why it aches.

(And then, one day, a girl in a pink dress and a flowing mane appears on the horizon and she thinks oh, there you are as the hole slowly fills in.)

:) Thank you!

"You're sure about this? And you're ready?" Madara asked just behind his ear, voice a throaty purr, and Tobirama shivered, bringing his hands up a little higher and winding his fingers around the thickly woven cords hanging on the wall for the purpose.

Madara brushed a kiss to the nape of his neck, murmuring so low Tobirama felt the words even when he couldn't quite parse them, then sat up, still kneeling astride Tobirama's lower back. He drew a breath and let it out, trying to unwind the tension in his muscles, and let out a sharp, wordless cry as burning heat poured across his shoulders in a narrow curve, silky and cooling fast and making his whole body tingle as he fought not to squirm.

"Jiraiya!" Tobirama snapped, and Madara ducked his head, biting back a burble of laughter and glancing at Orochimaru; he smiled slightly and licked a smear of yolk off his fingers. "At least try it?" Tobirama said firmly, gesturing at Orochimaru and then pushing the now slightly emptier bowl right back across the table towards Jiraiya and somehow managing to ignore the slightly damp puffed rice stuck to his face and in his hair.

"You got him eggs. He loves eggs." Jiraiya pouted, crossing his arms huffily in a way Madara found entirely too familiar and wasn't entirely sure he was pleased to see like this. . .

I didn't intend to write five of these, or all for the same ship, either, but . . . I had enablers and a challenge and oops.

i love it

". . .you can't!" Madara protested, taking a step back, eyes wide.

Tobirama's eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms. "Yet here I am. Anija couldn't stop me. Mito couldn't stop me. Touka couldn't stop me." He paced nearer with every word. "Do you think you truly can? When," he reached up, stroking Madara's face, and his voice gentled, "you don't even truly wish to?"

Madara shuddered, then folded his arms around Tobirama's waist and crushed him close.

(Oh jeez, I haven't read Naruto in ages, and only remembered a couple of these names, no!)

Anyway, I loved that tenderness at the end--it was very sweet. Thanks for the fill.

Greek Mythology, Hera/Zeus, until the bitter end

thank you :) What a fun prompt!

(I have one silly fill and another, serious Deep Lore one. This is the silly one.)

Mr Straw only has to write names on cups, yet he despises his job with a passion other people dedicate to hobbies: the Bazaarbucks manager is perpetually locked in the back room, crying as she eats sugar cubes directly from the box; their de facto substitute manager, Mr Coffee, doesn’t need sugar in order to be a giggly, shambling disaster; incidentally, Mr Sugar hates the manager and Mr Coffee; Mr Receipts thinks his machine is a typewriter with a built-in printer and uses it to write explicit stories about Mr Coffee and Mr Sugar; Mr Roast tries to forge extensions of their current lease; Mr Coins hoards change like a sticky piggy bank (and is only slightly more communicative); Mr Cake collects pay for himself and ‘Mr Pie’; Mr Napkins is the reason why they need so many napkins; and Mr Cups keeps complaining about drawing the short end of the stick in this universe, whatever that means.

They don’t talk about what happened to Mr Drunken - or is that Mr Drank - or Mr Has Been Drunk - it Used to Be and it’s definitely not Mr Dranken - look, they couldn’t talk about him even if they wanted to.

Worst of all, February of the Calendar Cafe visits to stand in front of the counter and drink ‘deconstructed coffee’ from a series of brandless styrofoam cups until Mr Straw chases her out with a broom; Mr Coffee cheers and Mr Receipts gurgles in agreement as he frantically bangs out a new story.

Thank you!

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Page 48 of 58

Three Sentence Ficathon -- Part 2

Re: Mother's Grief

Narnia, Golden Age

Hatred and Changes (Naruto; MadaTobi)

Re: Undertale

Rhea /Cronus + Hades/Persephone

Re: Mother's Grief

Re: Rhea /Cronus + Hades/Persephone

Re: Rhea /Cronus + Hades/Persephone

no subject

Deltarune, Kris+Ralsei+Susie

Re: Narnia, Golden Age

Re: MCU

Re: Rhea /Cronus + Hades/Persephone

Untested (Naruto; MadaTobi)

Revolutionary Girl Utena, Anthy/Utena

Re: MCU

Heat (Naruto; MadaTobi)

New Foods (Naruto; MadaTobi)

Re: MCU

Followed After (Naruto; MadaTobi)

Re: Followed After (Naruto; MadaTobi)

no subject

Re: MCU

no subject

Re: Mother's Grief