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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)

[personal profile] vindoletta 2021-02-16 02:42 pm (UTC)(link)
I've never thought about Kyoko possibly having food security issues but now that you say it it'd make a lot of sense! And how she doesn't mind sharing food because it's also "safe" on the stomachs of her loved ones, or it helps them be safe. I agree she probably made the deal with Kyubey in the end due to her family, even if there was other elements there too (assuming what her father would want, perhaps even gain his approval, preserve his ideals, not being shunned by others).

I know it's not the most common opinion, but I loved Rebellion while the anime left me feeling more depressed. ^^' It's a very important movie for me for personal reasons - I watched it while I was depressed and suicidal because of PTSD, and seeing that experience reflected on the screen through Homura was cathartic and, even though it may sound strange, very hopeful. It kept me going when I had no other reasons to. Though if I watched it now that I'm in a much better place, I'd probably think the same as you.

Lol, Kyoko and her "trustworthiness tests" reminds me of cats in a way. First she shares space with Homura, then she comes closer but is still wary, then she does a friendly but reserved gesture, not quite relaxing while observing how the other reacts and judging if this person is safe.

I agree with Homura just resigning herself to be misunderstood! It happened in the anime with Mami and Sayaka. And in the movie with all the other girls. I think the only ones who see through it in the anime are Madoka (but Homura can't never bring herself to be completely cold-hearted when it comes to her) and Kyoko (who's also misunderstood). I think Kyoko noticing that detail in your fic makes her savvier and more aware of interpersonal nuances than how she was portrayed in canon, and I love it (she's portrayed as a bit more oblivious in canon imo, although not entirely ignorant).

You've definitely succeeded in packing a lot of meaning in a short story here! There's a lot that could be further developed. Thank you for this ficlet!
fallen_stage: Kuja standing in the wind, facing down Bahamut (Default)

[personal profile] fallen_stage 2021-02-16 08:42 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, in her flashback she and her sister are eating a meal of just half an apple so... not very hard to connect the dots there. Kyoko made the wish for a lot of reasons, but I think the source of the wish, the spirit if you will, is that she wanted her family to be happy and healthy. Unfortunately Kyubey is very literal and children aren't good at noticing these kind of tricks or consequences.

Really? Thats very interesting! I'm glad the movie hit at a pivotal time for you. I read a summary w some theorizing and apparently Urobachi just wanted to end it with homura in mg heaven with madoka, lol. I think with more distance now, I could watch the movie and enjoy its messy and messed up, ambiguous ending.

Something like that! Kyoko doesn't trust easily bc she cant be Vulnerable!! but she can be close to people who make the effort to understand her. the food also helps.

Poor kids... homura is definitely cold as a trauma response, just repeating "its fine if i can save madoka" to herself to justify her suffering. If Kyoko is more insightful here it's because she can recognize the sort of suffering she's gone through in others, and also because they've established a rapport. They have a lot in common and it's nice to explore that, as one traumakid to another. since kyoko has the new context of "wow homura really thinks shes responsible for the whole world", she cottons on more about homura's seemingly callous attitude really being from a place of hurt.

Thank you! I'm glad I succeeded and I'm glad you liked it!