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rthstewart ([personal profile] rthstewart) wrote2021-01-30 02:31 pm

Three Sentence Ficathon 2021

We have now opened a new post, for new prompts! Please leave all new prompts there. You may continue to fill existing prompts here. If you didn't get a prompt filled here, feel free to post it on the new post!





Welcome to the Three Sentence Ficathon!
2 Feb. 2021 See important edit below regarding where to find unfilled prompts.


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

What do I do first?
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 happens after that?
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

I'm really overwhelmed by all the prompts and how much there is and how fast it goes. I can't read 1,000 prompts and fills. It's too much. 
I hear this a lot and it keeps a lot of people from participating.  The 3SF is big and it moves fast, especially at first. 
I get overwhelmed, too, and I'm hosting the thing. With 2020 and 2021 sucking so badly you don't want something that's supposed to be fun cause you anxiety.  I have a couple of suggestions for managing the 3SF volume. 
  • First, really, you don't have to read every prompt and fill on every page.  You can start at the last page of this and just go forward, or back a page or two.  It's fine.
  • You can come and go as time and energy allow, you don't have to participate the whole time, and it drops off quite a bit by mid-February.
  • Even after the 3SF and new prompting end, people fill prompts all year long.
  • You can fill an already filled prompt and you can can leave a prompt that's already been prompted before.  People do it all the time. 
Always make sure you're looking at top-level comments only, not threaded. That helps a lot. Your screen should look like this.




But shouldn't I read everything to see if someone already prompted the same prompt I want to leave if someone already filled it? 

No.  Prompt as many times as you want, as much as you want.  It doesn't matter if someone prompted the exact same prompt.  Go ahead and prompt again!

I left a prompt and no one filled it.  Can I prompt it again?
Absolutely!

Can I spread the word?
Yes, please. I generally fail at creating banners and embed codes but if you create one and make it really idiot-proof, I might be able to post and share it.  Feel free to cross-post this entry. If you create your own banners or icons, let me know and I'll share!
Please share the 3SF with your followers, friends, and any channels and comms you are active on.  I'll post on fandom calendar, Tumblr, and Twitter, but I don't have many connections in other spaces such as Discord.


How long will it go?

The 3SF closes to new prompts on February 28, 2021. The entry stays open permanently and people post fills all year long.

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 and archive warnings, triggers, pairings, ratings, tags, and squick?
I thought a lot about this. It boils down to reader beware.  In my experience, this typically gets too big, moves too fast, and the stories are too short for content warnings and ratings to even apply. It is too big for me to moderate in this way. You should assume spoilers are fair game and that the initial poster and the responder have opted to use no content warnings or tags. This means AO3 content warnings for dubcon, violence, canon character death, underage, etc. COULD be present. I've found personally that I can skim and scroll 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. In this format, the obligation is on you, the reader, to protect yourself from triggering content.
Some posters do include warnings and spoiler tags in subject lines or include spoiler space, but they don't have to do so.

Why is 3SF split among several posts?  That seems confusing.
It is confusing and we always lose momentum once we have to move to a second post. The reason is because at 5,000 comments to a single post, DW installs a human test CAPTCHA, which is a pain for users.  So, once this entry gets to the upper 4,000 comments, I open a new post.  If you've been waiting until things slow down to participate, when we open a second post is often a good place to join.

If I have questions, what do I do?

I'm rthstewart everywhere, here, Twitter, Tumblr, gmail and AO3.

A special thank you to [personal profile] conuly  .
Last year, Conuly started logging all unfilled prompts.
This year's (2021) unfilled prompts are here.
Last year's (2020) unfilled prompts are here.
Conuly asks that you not reply, as they want to be able to edit and add more prompts to the list.
Conuly does this just because they are an awesome person but should you want to write them fic in thanks, you can find a birthday wish list here.

Here is the 3SF 2021 Friending Meme to show of your new DW account.

Here, have some icons and banners and let me know if you've created your own!

 






text box you can try to cut and paste

















vindoletta: (Default)

Re: Halved Sorrow, Doubled Joy (PMMM, Homura + Kyoko)

[personal profile] vindoletta 2021-02-09 02:51 am (UTC)(link)
Okay, I want to comment tomorrow in more detail, but let me just quickly thank you for this <3 Homura and Kyoko are my favorite girls but there isn't much content out there focused on the two of them.
loveandrockmusic: (Default)

[personal profile] loveandrockmusic 2021-02-09 02:51 am (UTC)(link)
Woww!!!!!!! i love it
fallen_stage: Kuja standing in the wind, facing down Bahamut (Default)

[personal profile] fallen_stage 2021-02-09 03:06 am (UTC)(link)
You're welcome! I look forward to More comment :3c

I'm glad! honestly i was surprised by the prompt but homura being a savescummer punched me in the face and this blossomed. i thought that both girls would gel on having like, big heavy tramatic Things they tacitly agree not to talk about, but still have some understanding. even if they wouldn't exactly cry on each others shoulders, it can help sitting with someone who also gets how much shit sucks. you can tell homura is sorry bc she rephrased her blunt wording. the food was an easy thing for homura to give as a peace offering and an excuse for kyoko, but its the company they both come back for.

it was fun to write! i unexpectedly had Feelings, and i really enjoyed how it turned out.
edenfalling: stylized black-and-white line art of a sunset over water (Default)

Theseus in the Labyrinth (The Magnus Archives)

[personal profile] edenfalling 2021-02-09 03:07 am (UTC)(link)
"Sometimes the only way out is through," Georgie says, and Jon makes a noncommittal noise rather than answer; he understands that she means well, and that pushing through worked for her in the aftermath of her own brush with the impossible.

In his experience, though, 'through' never reaches an exit; he only tangles deeper and deeper into the grip of his own personalized whirlpool of terror and regret. Turning around and asking somebody to haul him back is the only chance of freedom, for however short and painful a time.

He's trying not to Know if there's anybody left to hear him when he calls.
mad_madam_m: Mad Madam Mim as a dragon (Default)

Negotiations

[personal profile] mad_madam_m 2021-02-09 03:07 am (UTC)(link)
The raised voices in the other room finally reached a point that Elisa couldn't ignore it, and she slammed shut her book and stalked into the TV room to find Lex, Brooklyn, and Broadway all inches away from being at each other's throats, with Lex actually trying to grab the phone from Broadway's hand.

"What is going on?" Elisa demanded.

Three voices tried to explain at once, and the only thing Elisa gleaned from it all was the phrase "pizza toppings," which really shouldn't have been as surprising as it was.

She rolled her eyes and snatched the phone. "Why don't you three chill out, and I'll place the order?"
syrena_of_the_lake: (Default)

[personal profile] syrena_of_the_lake 2021-02-09 03:19 am (UTC)(link)
Any, any, “I don’t do math in my head”

Obsidian & Blood, Acatl & Teomitl

[personal profile] notapaladin 2021-02-09 03:25 am (UTC)(link)
“Good. You are dismissed.” The Emperor's voice is steady, calm, regal; his mind is a choked-off scream, an arterial spray.

He catches a fluid rise, the swirl of a gray cloak, the tumble of an errant lock of black hair; soon he will be alone again, and that’s too much for him to bear. His chest is full of knives carving him open from the inside out--not again.

It leaves him like an arrow, like thought, and is out in the air before he can even think to take it back. “Acatl.”

Stillness. The flicker of an eyelid. A slow, indrawn breath. “Teomitl-tzin.”

(His onetime mentor, his onetime friend had said his name just the same on that day, in front of his siblings’ corpses and Teomitl’s warriors--cold and measured and echoing with the cavernous grief of Mictlan, held back only because he was too proud to break in front of him; it would have been easier to bear if he’d screamed.)

(Anonymous) 2021-02-09 03:33 am (UTC)(link)
Any, any, perilous tides

Obsidian & Blood, Acatl/Teomitl

[personal profile] notapaladin 2021-02-09 03:34 am (UTC)(link)
Teomitl was his student, a member of the imperial family, and the man's noble brother would take any excuse to see him disposed of...but there were fingers tracing the pattern of Acatl's cloak, close enough to press over the line of his hip, and all his very good and moral objections blew away like dust in the wind. If he was going to die anyway--and if Tizoc ever found out about this he would absolutely be very dead--he might as well go all the way.

Acatl took another long swallow of pulque (the drink he wasn't supposed to have, the drink no priest was allowed to touch), felt it burn all the way down his throat, and kissed Teomitl on the mouth.

-

(me? posting snippets of a larger work? it's more likely than you'd think)

Obsidian & Blood, Acatl

[personal profile] notapaladin 2021-02-09 03:47 am (UTC)(link)
The funeral was officially over, but the pyre still burned hot; it would keep burning until Coyolli of the Atempan calpulli was reduced to ashes, and then he and his fellow priests would see her remains interred. Acatl sat by the pyre, upwind from the smoke, and finally took a long, deep breath.

His work was not done, but the drums had stopped and the wailing of the dead woman's relatives no longer rang in his ears, and so--for the moment--he could rest.
primeideal: Multicolored sideways eight (infinity sign) (Default)

Remembrance of Earth's Past, Yang Dong/Ding Yi

[personal profile] primeideal 2021-02-09 03:52 am (UTC)(link)
For Dong's birthday they went to a restaurant that served authentic Inner Mongolian food; she didn't remember enough of her early childhood to find it familiar, but it was the kind of stuff her mother savored. The beer was good and they wanted to leave a big tip, but they just stared awkwardly at each other until simultaneously reaching for their calculators to calculate the percentage.

Ding Yi could be full of himself and blustery and moody, but he knew better than anyone what it was like to be a physicist, and for Yang Dong that made everything worth it.
ravenlilyrose: (Default)

[personal profile] ravenlilyrose 2021-02-09 03:59 am (UTC)(link)
Any, any, a river of tears flows uphill

Re: fire in their bones

(Anonymous) 2021-02-09 04:00 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you! It was fun to imagine!
snacky: (Default)

Re: fire in their bones

[personal profile] snacky 2021-02-09 04:00 am (UTC)(link)
Sorry, that was me!:D
snacky: (snacky princess snax)

Re: Narnia, Peter/Caspian, I’m In A State / Nothing Can Touch Us, My Love

[personal profile] snacky 2021-02-09 04:02 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you! :)
snacky: (Default)

Re: Narnia, Peter/Caspian, I’m In A State / Nothing Can Touch Us, My Love

[personal profile] snacky 2021-02-09 04:03 am (UTC)(link)
Thanks!
snacky: (Default)

Re: I made you my temple, my mural, my sky

[personal profile] snacky 2021-02-09 04:04 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you! There is still time to use it as another prompt!
harmony_lover: (Default)

[personal profile] harmony_lover 2021-02-09 04:04 am (UTC)(link)
Agree with Vialethe - this is chilling! It also points out that in a slightly different reality, the Pevensies might not be special for WHO they are, just WHAT they are - just descendants of Adam, to be used like mannequins or dummies or something.
snacky: (Default)

Re: Narnia, Peter/Caspian, I’m In A State / Nothing Can Touch Us, My Love

[personal profile] snacky 2021-02-09 04:05 am (UTC)(link)
The best flavor of Peter, tbh.
snacky: (Default)

Re: Narnia, Peter/Caspian, I’m In A State / Nothing Can Touch Us, My Love

[personal profile] snacky 2021-02-09 04:06 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you so much! I have loved this ship for a long time, so it’s always good to get to write it again. It’s that weird mix of tragic and hopeful that I love. I’m glad it worked for you.
harmony_lover: (Default)

Re: Swinging with the Wild Apes of the Western Wild by P. Porcupine, Cair Paravel Physician

[personal profile] harmony_lover 2021-02-09 04:06 am (UTC)(link)
Hilarious! I am completely with Lucy and Edmund on this. :D

Re: Negotiations

(Anonymous) 2021-02-09 04:07 am (UTC)(link)
...if I were to ask for a Gargoyles/TMNT followup (or several now that the idea is in my head), could I count on you or is that a bridge too far?

Obsidian & Blood, Acatl & Teomitl

[personal profile] notapaladin 2021-02-09 04:07 am (UTC)(link)
"Hmmm...let me see...our suspect was born on the third day of Izcalli in the year Five Rabbit, which makes him an..."

"Eight Monkey."

Teomitl lifted his head from the sheet of bark paper on which he was carefully and laboriously calculating the interactions between the civil and liturgical calendars, staring incredulously at his teacher--his teacher who, quite plainly, had just done some very complicated math in his head. "Acatl-tzin. How in the fuck."

"Language," he said, but he was smiling. "And practice. I can teach you that as well, if you'd like."

"Most people can't do math in their heads!"
snacky: (narnia edmund)

Re: rummaging for answers in the pages

[personal profile] snacky 2021-02-09 04:08 am (UTC)(link)
It seems like something that would really please him!
harmony_lover: (Default)

[personal profile] harmony_lover 2021-02-09 04:09 am (UTC)(link)
Oh my gosh, Larm. This was wonderful and hilarious until suddenly it was awful, and that takes such skill to do so well! <3