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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

















vialethe: (Susan)

Re: Susan Pevensie/that rat bastard Obi-Wan Kenobi -- ruth's crackship

[personal profile] vialethe 2021-02-03 07:34 am (UTC)(link)
I am never just 'being nice' to anyone who decides to indulge in a crackship with me, I promise you that - especially you. I love your writing, or I wouldn't be here!

And now I'm going to leave SO MANY MORE prompts for this ship, because you've given me ideas. So there! (honestly, it never feels like a proper 3SF to me if I'm not indulging some new rowboat-sized crossover ship anyhow.)
vialethe: (Susan)

[personal profile] vialethe 2021-02-03 07:35 am (UTC)(link)
Narnia/Star Wars, Susan/Obi-Wan, Alderaan trip
vialethe: (Susan)

[personal profile] vialethe 2021-02-03 07:36 am (UTC)(link)
Narnia/Star Wars, Susan/Obi-Wan, remembering Padme (or Anakin, or Ahsoka)
vialethe: (Susan)

[personal profile] vialethe 2021-02-03 07:38 am (UTC)(link)
Narnia/Star Wars, Susan/Obi-Wan, what must it be like to grow up that beautiful/with your hair falling into place like dominoes/my mind turns your life into folklore
vialethe: (River)

[personal profile] vialethe 2021-02-03 07:41 am (UTC)(link)
Ha, poor Erich. Amos is just on a whole other level now.
vialethe: (River)

And We Can Dance a Little More (Avasarala/Bobbie/Drummer)

[personal profile] vialethe 2021-02-03 07:57 am (UTC)(link)
(Apologies if you don't ship it, but I could not resist.)

“To two of the strongest women I have ever had the pleasure of knowing,” Avasarala says, her throaty voice rich as the whiskey in Bobbie’s glass, flowing sluggishly with Luna’s weak gravity; Bobbie watches the way the Secretary General’s tongue peeks out from between her lips for just a second, seeking out her own drink, and sighs, just a little.

“Feels like I am interrupting something,” Drummer mutters into her glass, dark-rimmed eyes careful, watchful; Bobbie’d known her for a fellow soldier from the first second, Belter or no - this was a woman who didn’t miss much, had bone-deep loyalty, and would absolutely fight you to the death, which Bobbie could respect.

“Or maybe you’re being invited to join,” she offers, leaning back in her chair with an ease she doesn’t truly feel and listening to the low hum of Chrisjen’s amusement; watching Drummer’s eyes shift to her with a whole new appraisal before she tips her head and raises her glass as well - it’s a start, at least.
vialethe: (River)

Never Felt So Good About Myself

[personal profile] vialethe 2021-02-03 08:14 am (UTC)(link)
She laughs when Luke asks her about her home, bitter and cut off and swiftly redirected, in that politician’s way that she is so very good at and Luke has never quite managed to work around.

Alderaan is gone; she knows this, of course, though she doesn’t let herself dwell, not ever - that way lies madness, and she is better than that (and besides, anger feels so much better than any grief - better to burn than drown, in Leia’s opinion).

Funny thing though, how the angles of Luke’s face can catch her by surprise, reflecting her own at the most unexpected moments; how Chewie’s hug is the warmest thing in the galaxy; how Artoo’s beeps and Threepio’s endless fussing become a thing she can’t fall asleep without; how Han’s hair-raising flying throws her off balance in just the way she likes; how all of this adds up without her even noticing into something that’s no Alderaan, but maybe - near enough.

(Anonymous) 2021-02-03 08:15 am (UTC)(link)
Any, any, peppermint and wintergreen
vialethe: (Default)

Goes On Easily (Steve/Diana)

[personal profile] vialethe 2021-02-03 08:23 am (UTC)(link)
“Be careful, Diana,” Steve says, breathless from the force with which she’s shoved him up against the wall in her apartment (an apartment which is so damn shiny and white and clean he can’t quite think what to make of it; nevermind all the electronic gadgets he’s somehow managed to notice when he can tear his eyes off her). “It’s been a long time since this body’s been, ah -”

“Taken for a ride?” Diana suggests, her eyes huge and dark in the moonlight, focused on his lips while her hands make short work of his clothes (where those came from, he can’t even begin to guess), before she finishes, “don’t worry about it - I believe in you,” and when he’s got a goddess like her laughing against his mouth, somehow being both thirty-something and ninety-odd doesn’t seem like such an insurmountable obstacle.

thanks for the prompt - that bothered me, too.
vialethe: (Ophelia)

[personal profile] vialethe 2021-02-03 08:25 am (UTC)(link)
This is really, really beautifully written. I don't even like Hamlet and now I feel sorry for him!
vialethe: (Narnia Group)

[personal profile] vialethe 2021-02-03 08:33 am (UTC)(link)
Narnia, Pevensies, I was dancing when the music stopped/and in the disbelief, I can’t face reinvention
vialethe: (Lion in Winter)

[personal profile] vialethe 2021-02-03 08:35 am (UTC)(link)
Bridgerton, Eloise &/ Benedict, chastising one another
smallhobbit: (PoI 2)

[personal profile] smallhobbit 2021-02-03 08:52 am (UTC)(link)
Harold heard the sound behind him, but was unable to move fast enough to take evasive action and in a moment his assailant had grabbed him. Then he heard the more welcome sound of speeding paws and before the other man knew what was happening he was flattened by a flying dog. Further running footsteps confirmed Reese was following Bear.
vialethe: (Lion in Winter)

[personal profile] vialethe 2021-02-03 08:57 am (UTC)(link)
It's good to see something that touches on this - and I love that it's the awful Berbrooke, of all people, who makes her realize that she's not the only one who can feel trapped and helpless.
zdenka: Orange carp on a black background. "Oh, tree! Eat the fish!" (one of those days)

Imperial Radch, Zeiat & fish

[personal profile] zdenka 2021-02-03 08:59 am (UTC)(link)
Tiny orange fish
swimming around the basin,
swallowed down and gone.

Fish-shaped cakes are strange;
their insides are not complex,
unlike other fish.

Translator Zeiat
has drunk up all the fish sauce
and wants more oysters.
vialethe: (River)

Re: [Star Wars, post TROS] Coda

[personal profile] vialethe 2021-02-03 09:01 am (UTC)(link)
Aw, they're so sweet! Finn would be the most supportive partner to Rey ever, for sure.
vialethe: (River)

[personal profile] vialethe 2021-02-03 09:01 am (UTC)(link)
Oh wow, beautifully done.
vialethe: (Lion in Winter)

[personal profile] vialethe 2021-02-03 09:03 am (UTC)(link)
I'll have to see what other prompts I can come up with for them, then!
zdenka: Yellow leaves. (all will yet be well)

Modao Zushi, Wen Ning

[personal profile] zdenka 2021-02-03 09:13 am (UTC)(link)
Wen Ning knows they’re not like him, not really. The other fierce corpses are powered by resentful energy, as he is, but they have no awareness, no emotions except rage and hunger. Still, after a fight, he makes sure to gather as many of the pieces as he can and bury them properly.
zdenka: Jiang Cheng from MDZS donghua (mdzs)

[personal profile] zdenka 2021-02-03 09:14 am (UTC)(link)
<3
zdenka: Starry background with text: "I will not say the Day is done, nor bid the Stars farewell." (my story is not done)

[personal profile] zdenka 2021-02-03 09:17 am (UTC)(link)
Aww! I love Wen Ning too, he really is a sweetheart.
zdenka: Jiang Cheng from MDZS donghua (mdzs)

Re: My Brother's Keeper

[personal profile] zdenka 2021-02-03 09:20 am (UTC)(link)
Oh no, this is too plausible. Very well written.
zdenka: Jiang Cheng from MDZS donghua (mdzs)

Re: Regret

[personal profile] zdenka 2021-02-03 09:22 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, ouch. She loves her brother so much, and it must hurt so much that she couldn't save him.
eagleoftheninth: (Default)

Fill: Chuubo's Marvellous Wish-Granting Engine, Seizhi/Chuubo

[personal profile] eagleoftheninth 2021-02-03 09:23 am (UTC)(link)
by universal law

The wish for a best friend failed. Let's be quite clear about that. The rules of miracles are clear, set down since the Golden Age began; push too far into impossibility, and instead of what you wanted (what is simply against all law for you to have) you'll get a hole in the world, and through that hole shall crawl monsters. Lilimund in her kindness softened the curse, gentled the beast's panic as best she could and woke up the seed of striving mind to true sapience—but that's just damage control.

Except...Chuubo looked at the hideous half-formed thing, badly concealed beneath a thin veneer of humanity, saw it in all its hunger and misery, and said Oh, you're perfect. I know you. You're like me; you're mine.

And the monster looked back at him, at the starveling last child of the Ash, at the kid so pathetic and broken that reality itself'd declared it was unforgivable hubris for him to imagine anyone might truly know him and yet still want him around, and replied You're me, you're mine. You're like me. I know you! I love you! Please keep me forever, so that I can keep you!

And arms reached out, and bodies curled close against each other, and hearts sang so loud that the song warped universal law around it; mine-to-me! All lovely, all holy, all mine!

So, yes; the wish failed, and failed in the worst possible way.

But with all the wrongness flowered into joy, you'll never convince either of them of that.