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

[kalira]

any, any, a richly-deserved punch

[kaminagi]

"Mmm, this is lovely," the princess says, sipping from her goblet, "jasmine green tea, with pomegranate juice, very, very nice."

"I suppose you deserve it," the royal scholar replies, carefully holding an ice pack around her injured hand, "that was quite a punch, one blow knocked him down, I'm impressed as always."

"I won't have pompous, condescending ministers insulting my betrothed when he's every bit qualified to be the royal university's chancellor, and at least I decked him in private," she tells him airily, and the scholar tries to hide his blush behind his own goblet of punch.


I almost thought the prompt said richly deserved plums and then finding reasons to drink nice fruit beverages wouldn't go away.

[(Anonymous)]

Avatar: The Last Airbender, Princess Yue, if Aang didn't freeze in the iceberg, she was supposed to be the next Avatar

[elementalraven]

All Yue has ever known is duty: duty to her family, to the spirits, and to her tribe (but never, ever to herself). So when she accidently air bends the dummy she uses for her healing training, she isn’t so much surprised as she is resigned- what is one more responsibility after all?

But as the avatar she travels the world and meets boisterous Water Tribe siblings, fearsome Kyoshi Warriors and stubborn Earthbenders, and with their help she finds not only strength, but also freedom.

[ravenlilyrose]

Glee, any, time travel

[harmony_lover]

The twenty-first century was strange in some ways, Edmund thought as he and Susan strolled through the halls of McKinley, but not that strange. The young people here still behaved in much the same way they had in the 1940s - teasing, raucous, sometimes cruel, sometimes joyous. They were less in awe of authority, which Edmund thought a good thing on the whole. It was, after all, partly because of the cruel actions of adults that he and Susan were here.

“This one,” Susan said, stopping in front of a door. Edmund pulled himself from his thoughts and looked through the clear glass into the classroom; there were numerous students waiting on an instructor, including a stunning blonde girl who was as immaculately dressed as Susan, a tiny dark-haired girl who made herself the center of attention despite her size, and a blond boy who reminded Edmund amazingly of Corin - not so much in looks, but in his aura and mannerisms.

And slightly off to the side and in the back, the young man they had come for, and his boyfriend.

“He looks like us, you know,” Edmund said quietly to his sister.

Susan nodded. “Yes, he really does,” she agreed softly. “We’ll have to do our best to be our younger selves, Edmund. We don’t want to frighten him.”

“Well, considering that all we know is that Blaine is your great-grandson, and not how he comes to be, we can hardly give ourselves away,” Edmund said dryly.

Susan raised an eyebrow at him. “You know better than that. We can always give ourselves away.”

[ravenlilyrose]

any, any, what if?

Teen Wolf: Derek/Stiles

[wearing_tearing]

What if things had been different? is a question that plagues Stiles more often than not. But then he stares at his pack around him during movie night, notices the small smile on Derek's face when Stiles leans in to kiss him, hears the sound of his dad's laugh... and finds that he doesn't want to know the answer to that.

They're all happy and safe and that's more than enough.

[ravenlilyrose]

any, any, unexpected mom-friend

The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty, Sui Zhou & Tang Fan & Dong'er

[ruanchunxian]

These days, Sui Zhou’s daily routine included meal planning for three, deciding what they would eat later that day for dinner and drawing up a shopping list so that Dong’er could go to the market while he and Tang Fan go off to work. Dong’er was competent enough in the kitchen to fend for herself during the day; otherwise Sui Zhou kept a comfortable tab at Dong Ji to ensure that even if he and Tang Fan got carried away with some case or another, Dong’er wouldn’t go hungry even if she didn’t want to cook. After a day of chasing after some of the most hardened criminals of the capital, the sizzle of fat in the wok and the bubbling of soup on the stove as Sui Zhou cooked dinner for Tang Fan and Dong’er became the most relaxing sound of his day.

[ravenlilyrose]

any, any, So if it all ends, I promise that one day/We could be Future Friends

ATLA

[dawen]

"Do you think we could have been friends?" bounces around Zuko's head for days after the failed rescue-and-recapture of the Avatar.

It's foolish - he doesn't need to be thinking of this; it isn't one hundred years ago and the people of the Fire Nation can't be friends with the other nations, to say nothing of Fire Nation royalty - and Zuko needs the Avatar to be able to go home, finally, which sort of axes any sort of chance at friendship.

But... it does sound nice, is the thing; a friend of his own, as bubbly and cheerful as Ty Lee but with none of the loyalty to Azula; Zuko probably wouldn't be any good at being a friend, since he hasn't had one, but, maybe, if things changed -

it still doesn't matter, because Zuko's circumstances won't and can't change, but he does think it would be nice. To be the Avatar's friend.

[ravenlilyrose]

any, any, secretly childhood friends

[idkwriteshitdown]

By now she knew all her faces, The Doctor had sat down with her one day and showed her all of them, except the embarrassing childhood ones which the TARDIS pulled up as revenge for overdue maintenance.

So she was confused when she picked up the photo in The Master's TARDIS of two boys, one obviously The Doctor, one obviously not, both grinning up at the camera with their gapped tooth smiles and sticks in their hair.

"When she said we were old friends," The Master sidled up to her, plucking the photo from her hands, "she meant we were old friends."

[syrena_of_the_lake]

Galavant, Tad Cooper, moment of glory

Unshakeable Faith

[mad_madam_m]

Tad Cooper was not, on the whole, supposed to be a dragon—lizards were supposed to stay lizards, generally speaking.

But the unshakeable faith of a friend was a funny thing, particularly when that friend also happened to be the one true king of the land.

And so when Tad Cooper unfurled his wings for the first time and belched a great flame that incinerated two fences and a cart full of cabbages, Richard was the only one who wasn't shocked—instead, he hugged Tad Cooper tight and shouted, "I knew you were a dragon!"

[syrena_of_the_lake]

Star Wars, Han Solo, accidents will happen

[whynot]

"Chewie did it," Han blurted out.

Chewie howled, and Leia jabbed Han's chest with a finger, saying, "Chewie would NEVER."

"Hey, I wouldn't either!" but it didn't look like Leia was convinced.

[syrena_of_the_lake]

Harry Potter, Elvendork, what's in a name

[last_haven]

Greek Myth, Athena/Pallas, this love will be your downfall

[betony]

"You might have learned from me," says her brother, Leto's child, even now twining flowers and herbs about his hands, and Athena's lips purse. Her knuckles tighten on her spear; the aegis hangs a little heavier on her chest; and she knows nothing might have warned her that love lingers, centuries after the fact, and the memory of Pallas' sea-blue eyes will ever lead her irrevocably towards despair.
Athena would have it no other way.

[animus_wyrmis]

Narnia, Father Christmas, is that like a one-time thing? Does he come every year? Does he go to everyone once/every year/only sometimes...?

[last_haven]

If asked, Father Christmas might admit to a special feeling of vindictiveness as his reindeer easily sailed into Narnia, the sleigh humming smoothly along--hard to imagine that only last winter was the first time he'd been able to enter the country in one hundred years. That vengeful harpy of a witch was truly gone and he knew no other nation's people would be half so happy as Narnians to see him this year.

In Narnia, his delivery took much longer than a single night--after all, Narnians were still slowly creeping out of the woodwork, and they always needed a moment to stop weeping from joy when they saw him. It was, after all, a very rough century. He owed it to them, and he did have a solid twelve days to make his rounds. No worry.

The twelfth day, he finally arrived in Cair Paravel. It was tradition to give the royal citadel its presents last, and when his sleigh pulled in, it seemed as though the stone walls were about to fly apart at the seams from the press of human and creatures alike pressing against every window, trying to spot him. He raised a hand in a wave to greet the two kings and two queens and then lifted his sack to the roar of approval of those inside.

The winter had been long and hard for one hundred years, but Christmas was here once more; they would endure yet again, for spring to return, as it would always come again. For now, however, was feasting and presents--he let the monarchs lead him into their home and joined the warmth and merrymaking inside.

[ranalore]

The Untamed, Jiang Yanli, the mouse that roared

[(Anonymous)]

Jiang Yanli likes to tell herself that she has no illusions regarding what others think of her.

Her weak constitution, low cultivation, plain looks and soft-spoken nature evoke a very clear picture in the minds of most people as to what they expect of her (uninteresting, shy, dull and ordinary like a grey mouse almost).

That’s why during the night hunt on Phoenix Mountain, when she rebukes Jin Zixun, his dumbstruck face with mouth hanging open feels like a victory, until…until she sees a very similar expression on A-xian's face and her heart sinks.

Did you really think that I would stand by and let them hurt you?

When 3SF ends I will post this to my AO3: Sundream

[vialethe]

Narnia, Susan, But if I cannot let go/will you carry me home/can we celebrate the end/I’m asking for a friend

Narnia, Susan, so what do you say when you lose your way?

[snacky]

(Sorry, longer than three sentences, I fail at this game sometimes!)

Peter holds her hand at the very end of the night, and she knows he's reluctant to let go, to head to his bed and dream of Narnia, to face the morning without her by his side. "You can still come with us, Su, I'll make it all right with the others."

There's a moment where she thinks she'll say yes, where she'll put the past behind her, where she'll join in whatever adventure awaits, but it's too late for that now, she thinks, and their plan chills her to the bone, after what Aslan told them of not returning. "No, not this time, I'm afraid. So we must say good night and good bye."

[vialethe]

Narnia/GoT, Susan/Jon Snow, family that I chose/now that I see your brother as my brother

Narnia/GoT, Susan/Jon Snow, the rain is always gonna come / If you're standing with me

[snacky]

The ship is ready, it's almost time for them to set sail for home, and Susan cannot let him give his life to her, without saying this one thing. "You understand, Jon, that even in Narnia, this will not be easy, for I am queen with my brothers and sister, and it is not a simple, nor peaceful life."

His voice is grave, matching his eyes, and her name has never sounded as good as it does on his tongue, "Susan, I don't want peace; what I want is you."

[vialethe]

Shadow & Bone/TGT, The Darkling/Alina, you assume i’m fine, but what would you do if i/break free and leave us in ruins/took this dagger in me and removed it

SAB, Darklina

[caramelsilver]

He was dead and everyone around her was happy, and they assumed she was too. Because, of course she was, this is what she had been working for, of course she was happy, and not feeling like a part of her soul had been ripped out of her body, and a part of her mind deleted forever. His absence felt like a removal of a knife leaving her bleeding to death - and she could tell no one.

[vialethe]

Shadow & Bone/TGT, The Darkling/Alina, and though it’s true/sometimes you’re the bad guy/you’re still mine/and I want you

TGT, Darklina, ca. SaS (I think...)

[caramelsilver]

It was strange how she just let him be a part of her life, she let him come to her in the lonely hours. She let him sit there, watch her, be a part of her, not telling anyone he was there. He was hers, and it was comforting in a cold, worringly way, and while she couldn't really admit it to herself, she looked forward to those hours they spent together in silence.

[vialethe]

Shadow & Bone/TGT, The Darkling/Alina, when my time comes around/lay me gently in the cold, dark earth/no grave can hold my body down/i’ll crawl home to her

SAB, Darklina

[caramelsilver]

All he ever wanted was to live forever with her. If not, being dead together wouldn't be so bad either. As long as she was with him it didn't matter if it was in life or death.

[vialethe]

The Mandalorian, Din Djarin/Bo-Katan Kryze, know what it is to grow/beneath her sky, her punishing cold/to slowly learn of her ancient misery

[demigodscum]

Din isn't sure how they got here: Manda'yaim, him Mand'alor, her (only, she would say, only) his riduur.

He isn't sure what it means when Bo-Katan lets her touch linger on his throat, or when she spends the entire day visiting the ruins of the old Royal Palace, or when she leaves the city limits to go out into the desert on her own, or when she locks the door to their room — or whether it means anything at all (anything more than respect, which is her justification) that she refuses to address Din by name while he's armed with the Darksaber.

The only thing he's sure of, though, is that Bo-Katan seldom has only one reason for doing anything, and that's as much as Din will ever know.

[vialethe]

Narnia, Cor, Let your lion heart cleave the waves/brother, you will return

Narnia: The Dread Pirate Shasta? (AU)

[cofax7]

In the event, there was no Lion this time; instead, the rowboat was spotted offshore by privateer from the far south of Calormen, sailing under the flag of the Tarkaan Beruhel.

Nothing could be done for the dead Northerner, and he was committed to the waves with respect, if little ceremony; but the infant!--such a charming child, with his yellow curls and happy smile (once he'd been fed and clothed).

The crew adopted him as their own, and they called him Russum for his sunburned skin; he grew agile and laughing under the sun, as swift to race up the mast as to slide down the lines, and as fleet in the water as any porpoise.

Because Aslan has his purposes, and will not be withstood (howbeit delayed), Corin had been on the throne of Archenland for six years before his campaign against the pirates threatening his shipping brought him face-to-face with his brother.

[animus_wyrmis]

Narnia, Corin, princes have all the fun

Narnia, Corin, Princes Just Want to Have Fun

[snacky]

"Corin is right," Cor grumbled as he and Aravis leaned over one of Anvard's many balconies and watched his brother ride off, heading down the road to the mountain pass, to visit Narnia and Cair Paravel, to parties and feasting and tourneys and adventures. "Princes do have all the fun."

"Do you think that's true?" Aravis asked, her voice sly. "For you're a prince and you never seem to have much fun at all."

[kalira]

any, any, richly-deserved plums

Because of the added note on this. X'D

Nirvana in Fire

[ruanchunxian]

“Present, present, present,” Fei Liu pestered Lin Chen all the way back to Su House after they successfully captured and dealt with Qin Banruo, and Lin Chen, of course, ignored him all the way to the house; but Fei Liu was nothing if not persistent, especially when it came to things he wanted, and things he wanted from Lin Chen.

When they finally arrived at Su House, Fei Liu’s endless chant of “present, present,” became a wide-eyed, delighted, “Present?” once he spotted the huge – really, worthy of being number 1 on a Langya List of Baskets if there was one – basket filled with plums in the middle of the courtyard; when Lin Chen threw his hands up in utterly mock exasperation and grumbled an affirmation, Fei Liu’s eyes became stars as he attempted to dive into the basket.

“They’re sweet plums, but you can still only have ten a day, at most,” Mei Changsu called from inside the house, barely even bothering to look up from his book.

[ruanchunxian]

Spider Man: No Way Home, Midtown High, is there just a shrine to some random kid nobody recognises at Midtown now that nobody remembers who Peter Parker is anymore?

And He Isn’t You (MCU No Way Home, MJ/Peter Parker (sort of))

[vialethe]

‘Died in a gruesome lab accident’ was the most popular theory, but Ned claimed to have heard ‘hushed-up cafeteria food poisoning incident’ and ‘post-blip jump off the roof’ rumors too.

MJ doesn’t buy any of them - like the school would ever publicize any incident where they’d been at fault, please. Still, something about Anonymous Memorial Guy’s face bugs her, and it doesn’t get any better the night she goes home and realizes there’s a drawing of him on her wall she can’t even remember doing.

[ruanchunxian]

Black Widow, Yelena + Natasha, Natasha lives AU

[(Anonymous)]

Narnia/Galavant, Eustace & Richard & Tad Cooper, knowing a dragon when you see one