Three Sentence Ficathon 2022

[rthstewart]

This post is NOW CLOSED TO NEW PROMPTS!  PLEASE POST YOUR NEW PROMPTS HERE, IN POST 2!  Do continue to fill prompts here but please put all new prompts in Post 2.

 

Welcome to the Three Sentence Ficathon!

Here's a Friending meme!

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 at bit after about 2 weeks and especially once we open a new post because this one is approaching 4,500 comments.
• 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.

Here's my attempt at a text box that might go horribly awry.

<br /><a href="https://rthstewart.dreamwidth.org/172142.html" _fcksavedurl="https://rthstewart.dreamwidth.org/172142.html"><img src="https://rthstewart.dreamwidth.org/file/71907.jpg" _fcksavedurl="https://rthstewart.dreamwidth.org/file/71907.jpg" alt="" title="3 Sentence Ficathon 2022 Banner" /></a>




How long will it go?
The 3SF closes to new prompts on February 13, 2022. The entry stays open permanently and people post fills all year long.  (There were a bunch of new posts to the 2021 3SF this week!)

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 (and much more). 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, protect yourself, 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 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 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.

 

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



      

Comments

[d_generate_girl]

Any/any, one for the money, two for the show/I never was ready so I watch you go

You Are My Glory, Yu Tu/Xia Qing

[ruanchunxian]

Yu Tu always thought he had done most things perfectly all his life: studied hard, got good grades, got into a key high school and consistently placed first city-wide in terms of academics, which made no one surprised when he also got into the top university in the nation; even now, he knew he was doing the right thing by putting in twice the work for his double major – one to fulfil his lifelong dream, the other to reassure his parents, and to give himself options as well, he supposed.

He had done everything right, made all the right decisions, and also, so it seemed, had Xia Qing; for a moment, Yu Tu thought he could see himself reflected in her, so he reached out to take her hand.

A year on, and he realised, that reflection was too perfect, too sharp, like glass, only bringing out all the imperfections in them both while pressing into their skin, making such tiny cuts that until he pulled away, he had not even noticed; those cuts would bleed them dry, if he did not pull away, and save them both.

[d_generate_girl]

The Witcher, Tissaia, Yennefer, or Francesca, I am not a woman, I'm a god

[be_themoon]

Tissaia de Vries has done many things, been many things, created many things. Things, women, creations - her mark on this world is not in what she has done herself but in what she has caused others to.

You don't get attached, that's all. You remember these are your beings and you bring them into a brighter, clearer day, and you wield love like a chain.

[d_generate_girl]

Ted Lasso, any, secret talents

Trust me, it'll be important later.

[word_devourer]

"Football coach, expert darts player... Are there any other secret talents of yours that I should know about?"

He contemplates the question for a while, and nods a few times.

"Well yes ma'am, I find it worth noting that I pride myself on being able to hula hoop the metaphorical pants off just about anyone."

[d_generate_girl]

any/any, why do we seek out ecstasy in all the wrong places?

Harry Potter, Fred/Hermione

[helsinkibaby]

Hermione knows what everyone expects of her: to gain a full set of Outstandings in her NEWTs, to work her way up to becoming the youngest Minister of Magic in history, and to marry Ron Weasley and raise a gaggle of kids with his hair and her brains and not the other way around.

She knows that, knows she doesn’t want it but she can’t articulate why, at least not until the final battle when there’s an explosion and a literal wall falling down and in those few moments until’s Fred hand appears through the rubble, pushing the bricks off him, those few moments where she’s facing a world without him, the answer comes to her loud and clear and she realises with a start that Ron’s not the Weasley she can’t live without.

He’s not the Weasley she expected to celebrate the end of the war with, but when she drags him into the Room of Requirement, when his hand drags up her thigh and his lips drag down her neck, when she arches against him and bites down on her lip so she won’t scream his name, she knows this is right where she wants to be.

[wingedflight]

Narnia/BTS, any, dance-off to save the world

[chasingkerouac]

Ted Lasso, any, karaoke

[kingstoken]

Any, Any, "But Superheroes don't really exist, right?"

Guardian; Shen Wei (YOHE, pre-Kunlun)

[presumenothing]

All things considered it's fortunate that Wei has gotten used to depending solely on himself by this point.

Not that it makes things any less disconcerting, having people to count on him that aren't the brother he still hasn't found, but it does mean he has no habit of turning to anyone else for assistance; that probably wouldn't do much good for the already-uncertain morale.

(Taken together with the mask and cloak it means everyone else gets a fearsome hero, at least, to cower from or follow behind, and that's… enough, he has to think?)

[kingstoken]

Any, Any, "I'm not talking to you!"

Magnum PI (2018) Gordon Katsumoto/Noelani Cunha

[helsinkibaby]

Noelani’s “I’m not talking to you!” would have been a great deal more scary had it not been uttered in a feeble, breathless whine and accompanied by the unmistakable retching sound that only comes when there is nothing left in your stomach. Taking his life into his own hands, Gordon pushed open the bathroom door, kneeling down beside her to push her hair back, placing a glass of water down on the floor beside her as she twisted her head and murmured, exhausted, “I hate you, you know that?”

Gordon reached out a hand to run over her hair, smiling as her eyes fluttered shut at his touch, and whispered, “I know... I hate me too.”

[snacky]

any, any, “I’m at peace Ishmael”

[be_themoon]

There is a heavy groan at the screen, a tilt back of the head. An irritatingly slow decision as to whether to indulge or not, or even how to indulge.

"I cannot believe this shit."

She cracks her knuckles and writes anyways.

[kingstoken]

Any, Any, "I swear I can change you back"

The Untamed, Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng

[undeadrobins]

There's no way the talisman should even have been able to do it - there wasn't a single sigil that even vaguely indicated matter transformation - and yet here they were; Wei Wuxian sitting on the ground with a small, angry kitten in his lap that was, until a couple of minutes earlier, his little brother.

The kitten, a beautiful grey coloured thing with a purple collar, attempted a half-hearted scratch down the length of Wei Wuxian's forearm, with the exact same expression of annoyance that Jiang Cheng wore as a human.

"You are very cute this way, but I swear I can change you back," Wei Wuxian muttered, scritching behind kitten!Jiang Cheng's ears and pulling him closer, "at least once I've told Shijie about this... and maybe Huaisang."

[snacky]

RPF, Joy Davidman/C.S. Lewis, “face down ass up! that’s the way we like to fuck!”

[intrikate88]

I don't have a fic for this one, just know that I'm fucking dying over here

[chasingkerouac]

The Mandalorian, the Armorer, legacy

[demigodscum]

Here, bleeding out in this underground tunnel, her deathbed is that which she has forged for herself, hammered and molded with humility into a title worthy of remembrance, of pride. If there is a Beyond, from there she will watch the generations of warriors to come honor the sacred iron, theirs by ancestral claim to continue the glory of the Mandalorians.

Of the earth she is and to the earth she will return, but beskar is of the earth for her people.

[vialethe]

Narnia/BTS, King Jimin saves the day by being a real solid guy

[wingedflight]

"The bolt of Tash strikes from above!" shouts Rabadash, executing what would have been an award-winning straddle leap except that he somehow manages to get stuck on a hook on the wall on the way down.

It would have been tempting to make fun of the Prince's unfortunate situation, but King Jimin has always been a stand-up dude. So instead, he simply calls up, "I mus'say, y'highness, that footwork o'yours is inspiring! P'haps we set aside our diff'rences so w'can share our best dance moves w'each other. Much more fun--and productive!--than holdin' hostages an' waging wars."

[scytale]

Klara and the Sun, any, happy ending

[lalamorn]

It was some time -- days, perhaps -- after my old manager left that I realized the sun was different, brighter, somehow, or hotter. He was smiling at me, and I could feel some of the old vitality filling me, enough to make me restless. With some effort, I stood, and slowly, I began to walk, to search for what the Sun needed me to do.

[animus_wyrmis]

Narnia/Kidnapped wife guy, any, the wife is found safe and sound

[alexseanchai]

(is the second canon in reference to something specific?)

[animus_wyrmis]

Narnia/Kidnapped wife guy, any, the wife decides to kidnap herself

[nasimwrites]

She did not know how to tell him; how to explain what she had seen when she had opened the pantry door and entered another world. She tried, many, many times, agonizing over how distressed he was, feeling terrible for having had the time of her life while he thought she was kidnapped.

But he would never listen, and if he ever asked questions he never stayed long enough to hear her answers. As the months passed, she felt herself shrinking in her own house, becoming one with the floors and walls, watching him as he went about his chaotic, self-absorbed life, dreaming of forests and new friends and wild adventures.

She grows tired of opening the pantry door and hoping, against all reason, to be "kidnapped" again. So tired, in fact, that she decides to pack her bags and kidnap herself.

[chasingkerouac]

The Mandalorian, any, Tusken sign language

[be_themoon]

If Din is honest with himself, he almost likes this method of communication better than talking. Between the helmet and the weight of the armor, his body language is always subdued. When he is required to use his hands, he finds more of himself comes through, finds himself being expressive voluntarily rather than forcing it.

Or perhaps it is simply a relief to speak to others who go about their life as he does, hidden and feared but never lost.

[chasingkerouac]

The Mandalorian, Cobb Vanth, spotchka drunk

[archersangel]

NCIS: New Orleans, Any, Let the good times roll.

[archersangel]

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Young Indy, Libraries,

[cornerofmadness]

Libraries had become his refuge ever since Mom had died. It was like his father barely noticed when he didn’t come home anymore. Indy knew his dad was hurting too, that he missed Mom but it didn’t seem like it sometimes. That’s when he realized how much comfort libraries offered.

Indy could surround himself in silence, in the accumulated knowledge of those who came before him. He enjoyed those books, devouring tomes on history. Ancient Rome fascinated him like no other. Was King Arthur actually real? He could picture walking along Hadrian’s Wall or Offa’s Dyke. At the times his father asked what he had done with his day, Indy could tell him about the interesting new book he’d found to read. Dad approved and Indy could picture himself in ten years, studying further. He’d have adventures and discoveries of his own. He could hardly wait.

But libraries offered even more than the promise of adventures to come. Indy could explore other places. The smoky London of Sherlock Holmes or Doctor Jekyll; go through a wardrobe to Narnia; under the sea with Captain Nemo. There were so many places to poke his nose into. Curled up in a chair in a quiet corner of the library, Indy prepared to join Gandalf, Frodo and Samwise. It was time to go on a quest, the first of many. Of that, Indy had no doubt.

[archersangel]

Mythbusters RPF, Any, "More bang for your buck."

Mythbusters/Princess Mononoke

[raisedbymoogles]

Watching over the wall as the once-God of the Forest went full kaiju, all Jamie uttered was a quiet "...huh."

Adam paused in his engagement in the really-quite-reasonable-under-the-circumstances activity of Freaking Out to peer at his partner incredulously. "'Huh?'" he repeated.

"Well, I've heard of more bang for your buck," Jamie elaborated. "But I've never heard of more bang from your buck."

[presumenothing]

Fullmetal Alchemist (either one), Alphonse, cats!

[cornerofmadness]

It was the first thing he had wanted to do when he got his body back, okay maybe second. First was to taste food again. Second was to run his fingers through soft cat fur. Alphonse was shocked Edward remembered that.

His brother had only been out of the hospital himself a few hours before he returned with Colonel Mustang – still recovering himself – who was assuring the nurses it would be okay. Together they had two baskets of cats of all sizes. They poured them into his bed after they shut the hospital room door. Four kittens in the bunch started chasing each other on the mattress, tumbling over him, burrowing into the covers until Alphonse laughed as hard as he could. His weak body wracked and quivered with the effort.

A plump orange Tom sat on his chest and Alphonse stroked him. His purrs bounced off Al’s ribs. A gray and black tiger curled up in the long spray of Al’s hair while a white blue-eyed girl play attacked his foot under the covers until Ed plucked her free. An officious mouthy cat took an interest in Roy as he sat near the window.

Surrounded by fur and love, Alphonse drifted off to sleep, happier than he’d been in years.

[rthstewart]

Narnia, (Tisroc & the King AU) King Cor +/ Tisroc Aravis, Ah, my Beloved/fill the Cup that clears/Today of past Regrets and future Fears

[nasimwrites]

“Will you dance with me?” the King asks, his eyes bright in the firelight.

“I do not know your Northern dances,” Aravis replies.

“They aren’t that great,” he admits, rising to his feet. Her subjects and his own still watch them, seeking to understand the true meaning of this truce. “But dance as you would dance, and I will follow.”

“I do not know that a Tisroc has ever danced before,” she admits, and feels that pang of bitterness again. She had never enjoyed dancing as a Tarkheena, but Cor’s smile is warm and so was his palm when he held her hand—and Aravis cannot help but want more. “I worry how it may be perceived.”

“What else is there to perceive?” he asks, and his fingers move closer to hers again—always gentle, never demanding. “A Tisroc may do as she wishes.” He smiles. “And a King may dream.”

The Tisroc takes his hand.

[vialethe]

Narnia, Bree & Hwin, buddy cop AU

[rthstewart]

It's longer than 3 sentences....
The summons came before Hwin had finished her morning oats or had the straw combed out of her tail. The brisk cadence of Bree’s trot conveyed a great deal even before the Stallion spoke. He was very excited.

“Inspector Hwin!” She hated when he did that but Bree loved his titles and insisted upon their use. “There’s been a crime wave at Cair Paravel overnight! We’re needed urgently!”

“Crime wave? You mean the Squirrels have misplaced their nuts again?”

Still, she shook herself thoroughly and hoped the worst of the straw and bracken were gone. Hwin wasn’t vain but Bree always took such pride in his appearance, she always looked very unkempt by comparison. Sometimes, though, that did work to their advantage.

“No!” Bree whinnied. “Far more serious. Possible murder. And theft from the Royal Treasury. And a riot between the Claw and the Parliament is turning ugly.” Bree sounded positively gleeful.

“Well, Bree, we’d best get to the Cair.”

Bree snorted. “You forgot, Hwin. Again. We can’t expect others to respect us if we don’t respect ourselves!”

Hwin sighed and her lips fluttered. “Well, Inspector Bree, we’d best get to the Cair.”

@nasimwrites!!!

[vialethe]

Narnia (Tisroc & the King AU), Aravis/Khalid, i’ve been looking for the conqueror/but you don’t seem to come my way

Re: @nasimwrites!!!

[nasimwrites]

He leaves for the South scarcely a few days after she returns. Aravis had expected that, of course; Khalid had to ensure that her promise would be kept. Ishamiel adds, as a footnote that she never really asked for, that this is how Khalid has always done things—he rides to Tashbaan perhaps once a year to pay his respects and keep a watchful eye on his kin; the rest of the year, he is content to forget about the Northern cities and the Tisroc (may she live forever). He will not be your concern for a while. It was wisely played.

She does not try to put into words the feeling that simmers in her then, or how it bubbles up now and then, when she is being dressed in her armor, when his name is mentioned in reports, when the words she longs to say are too acerbic, even for her.

And so, when Khalid returns only two months later—with no explanation other than there is still business in Tashbaan needing my attention—Aravis says nothing, and allows him to linger. She watches him out of the corner of her eye, through meetings, meals, festivals, and prayers—and does not quite allow herself to wonder what might happen when only the two of them are left.