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

[intrikate88]

The Locked Tomb series, Camilla and Palamedes, open up the promise of the day / drive the dark things away / i will do what you ask me to do / because of how i feel about you

[be_themoon]

He hesitates, in the dark of the nights and the early bright mornings, looks at her with eyes exhausted more every day. They mirror hers, in slowly changing grays.

"You know I will," she says one quiet night, when everything else is bearing in, and he looks at her and his gaze is too hot and too cold in one.

"I don't want you to have to."

[last_haven]

Undertale, Papyrus, fake it 'til you make it

In which game Papyrus is already past some significant character development, apparently

[word_devourer]

You've seen the worst of yourself, all the odd looks when you say the wrong thing, the doubt at the back of your mind when you realize nothing you did today improved the world, and you've seen the flaws in the world around you just as clearly; all the people who doubt themselves, can't seem to muster up the will to work towards a better tomorrow.

Today, the smile you wear is not your own, the encouragement you offer to others unfamiliar in your mouth, but, once or twice, you think you can see people listening to it, responding to it.

And so you keep going; the Underground deserves the great Papyrus, and they'll never get to meet him if regular old bag-of-bones Papyrus doesn't give him somewhere to start.

[ruanchunxian]

Taylor Swift teenage love triangle songs (betty, cardigan, august from folklore), Inez & any, You heard the rumors from Inez/You can't believe a word she says

Would You Trust Me If I Told You (Betty, Betty & Inez)

[vialethe]

“This time, it had to be true?” Betty rages, hands balled into such tight little fists that the blunt black of her nails must be digging into her palms. “It couldn’t be like all your other made up bullshit?!”

Everything’s made up, Inez wants to tell her; love, anger, hurt - it’s all just stories in the end, but she knows that won’t go over well, and besides, Betty’s nice - she deserves better than James - so instead she just shrugs, and says, “Sorry,” and doesn’t add that she wishes it was, too.

[cornerofmadness]

Prodigal Son, Malcolm Bright & Edrisa Tanaka, she is a very good friend

[grayswandir]

DMBJ novels and adaptations, any, in the dark.

沙海 | Tomb of the Sea, post-canon Li Cu & OC

[shadaras]

"Do you ever get scared?" a new university friend asked Li Cu one autumn night, knowing that he would often wander alone into the city's darkest areas without the slightest air of concern.

Li Cu thought about the scars covering his back, how the toughest gangs were nothing compared to the Wang family, and the way he still woke from nightmares of snakes and knives in a cold sweat multiple times a week; none of that would help him pretend that he could become an ordinary student again. Instead, Li Cu grinned at the friend who'd asked him to walk her across campus that night after a study session run too late, and said, "Sure, but there's nothing here to be afraid of."

[ruanchunxian]

The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty, Dong'er & Tang Fan, first meeting

[reeby10]

Criminal Minds, Morgan/Spencer, hidden right in front of my face

[ruthchinn]

Intelligence (Canadian tv show from 2006-2007), any, legal marijuana

[ruthchinn]

Awaken the Stars, any, favorite book

[kalira]

any, any, wolf moon
(Which is the full moon in January, but you know. Whatever~)

Breath of the Wild, Link & Zelda (werewolf!Link AU)

[raisedbymoogles]

Zelda huddled close to the fire, wrapped up so thoroughly in her furs that only her eyes were exposed to the elements. She didn't think she'd ever get used to the cold no matter how many fur pelts she wrapped herself in, but Link, dressed only in his natural fur, seemed to thrive here in the Hebra snowfield: scampering about, digging in the snow, chasing the odd cold-weather butterfly or Keese.

The moonlight fringed his fur, making him almost glow silver, and Zelda would have liked to bury herself in it, but Link was having so much fun (for once) that she wouldn't dream of calling him back to the fire.

[cornerofmadness]

Lucifer, Lucifer & Mazikeen, the first day Luxe opened

[dariaw]

MCU, Sam Wilson/any, shoreline

a moment of peace, mcu, sam/natasha

[svgurl]

The waves crashed down, slowing before they reached Sam's feet, his toes sinking into the wet sand, as he stood on the shoreline, looking out into the ocean. The sun was setting in the distance, leaving streaks of red, orange, and yellow in the sky. The scene was beautiful and peaceful, yet he couldn't help but feel anxious inside, the reminder that this was temporary constantly in the back of his mind.

He was also aware that he was no longer alone, the very familiar woman now by his side, taking his hand. Sam entwined their fingers instinctively and he looked over, brown eyes meeting green, and despite everything else, he smiled.

"You're thinking too hard," Natasha murmured, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Can you blame me?" he asked quietly, even if they were one of the few on the beach, the others a safe distance away. "The world awaits."

"And it can keep waiting- right now, we're on a vacation," Natasha reminded him, raising an eyebrow. "We all need a break. Even you, Captain America."

He chuckled, and her lips curved into a smile as he visibly relaxed. "And what does the Black Widow need?"

"She needs for her boyfriend to stop worrying and join her in the hot tub," Natasha replied.

"Fair enough," he agreed. "From this moment, my focus is all on you."

"Now you're talking," Natasha replied cheekily, lifting her head up, and he bowed his down, their lips meeting in a long, lingering kiss, his worries dissipating, at least for the moment.

Whatever peace they had may be temporary, but Sam knew he was going to enjoy every second of it.

[dariaw]

Magnum PI (new version), Magnum/any male, charm

[dariaw]

Leverage, Hardison/Eliot(/Parker), trust

Trusting Family

[mad_madam_m]

Parker can't explain it—how, after years of working on her own, of trusting no one, she came to trust her little family. How she and Eliot and Hardison all work as a unit better than they ever worked alone—and they were all damn good when they worked alone.

But being unable to explain it doesn't make it any less true, and she trusts her boys as much as—maybe more than—herself, to the point that when Hardison says I have an exit and Eliot says I'm on my way, she's already heading to where they tell her without a second thought.

[dariaw]

Leverage or Teen Wolf or Vampire Diaries/Originals or Cobra Kai or Samurai Champloo, any m/m that used to be rivals or enemies or used to dislike each other, 3 things he never wants to hear

[tellshannon815]

Klaus and Stefan have agreed they never want to talk about Caroline, about Stefan’s past with Rebekah, about Stefan’s ripper past and Klaus’s role in that, because they would rather concentrate on their future together instead of their rivalries of the past.

Jeremy and Kol never discuss the fact that when they first met Kol wasn’t being honest about who he was, or that Klaus had engineered their friendship in the first place; Kol’s previous death at Jeremy’s hands is also never up for discussion.

Alaric and Damon had agreed from the start they would never talk about Isobel; Damon would prefer it if Alaric quit bringing up the times he’d killed him every time they have an argument; before Damon took the cure, neither of them ever wanted to hear any mention of the fact that Damon was immortal and would go on living his undead existence long after Alaric had crossed over.

[vialethe]

MCU, Bruce/Natasha, it wasn’t right, the way it all went down/looks like you know that now

[vialethe]

The Secret Garden, Mary/Colin/Dickon, sweet earth, alive under me/know what I need/cradle me like a seed/as I lay in the garden

[grandmemester]

Leverage, Nate/&Sterling, one-sided conversation at a cemetery

[senmut]

"You're a right bastard, going and dying like this," Sterling says, voice a little bitter. "Now I have to make sure your little project doesn't go fully off the rails, don't I?" He looks at the silent grave marker, closes his eyes, and says, "Don't you dare think I'm doing it to help them, though, Nate."

[(Anonymous)]

Ninth House, Darlington, lullaby

Alex & Darlington, "Promises"

[acequeenking]

When Alex closes her eyes, she can hear his voice, sometimes: not his voice as he was, but something rougher, the edges wore just a bit too thin.

There is more to this world than life and death, he whispers, his jaws snapping wide; if she concentrates too much upon him, she thinks she could see him: dapper as always, the gentleman demon.

"I'll see you soon, Darlington," she says; a promise in its own way; the wolf at her metaphorical door nuzzles at her throat, a promise, too, in its own way.

[caramelsilver]

Gilmore Girls, Rory/Logan, what could have been

[peaked]

Rory sits comfortably on Logan’s lap, ignoring the way he tries to see past the shoulders he describes as the boniest points on her body. Playing with his soft hair, she ignores the sports on the television and laughs when Logan murmurs about missing a ball and if he’s ever going to see a proper play with this beautiful leggy brunette girl on his lap. Withdrawing her hands from his hair, she fiddles with her simple wedding band and ignores the way he gazes softly up at her and no longer watches the television.

[caramelsilver]

Harry Potter, any, Voldemort won

[ernest]

No one calls him Tom anymore.

This is what he wanted, dominion over death and over the earth and over anyone who would demean him by referring to him by a thing irrelevant to his existence.

So why, now that he’s won the war, has all the fight gone out of him?

[caramelsilver]

Shadow and Bone, Darklina, queen

Darklina, "crown"

[acequeenking]

"Like a crown," Alexander whispers, his fingers touching upon her clavicle.

Alina closes her eyes; tries to see what he sees, the madness that licks at the dark edges of his mind, but try as she might she sees only what it has always been: a gift she did not want, enmeshed upon her shoulders.

"My queen," the general whispers, his fingers trailing down her arms like shadows, pulling her towards the dark.

[caramelsilver]

Narnia, Edmund, he knows things

[elementalraven]

Narnians know of the Just King’s sharp mind, ever thinking and ever churning, they know he moves in and out of the shadows as easily as breathing, that he sees through lies as quickly as his swords cut through flesh and his words pierce through souls.

His siblings know his wisdom comes as much from the beaks of Crows and the whispers of Trees as it does from his own senses, they know that his network stretches wider and wider still, that he has not one pair of eyes and ears but ten, a hundred, many and more, ever growing and ever stretching.

And yet it is only those who kneel trembling before him, uncovered, unmasked and unmade, who know this: the Lion prowls behind his eyes.

[dawen]

any, any, fragile lives, shattered dreams

The Kids Aren't Alright came on during my drive home and I gave myself feels, so I'm sharing them. I'll probably fill this myself too :P

original work, princess/knight

[octahedrite]

It's all she can do to not avert her eyes from her princess's face: normally vivacious and gay, it lies unnaturally still, not only a symbol of her grave failure in her duty as a knight, but also a knife twisting in her heart, of her powerlessness to protect her oldest friend and her newfound love. She had never imagined herself infallible, but never had she imagined her lady so fragile, either. With one stroke of ill luck, all their dreams -- both their personal future of love and laughter, and their grander plans for their realm -- are so easily shattered.

[small snippet from my original story's universe -- things get better for these two!]

[grandmemester]

any, any, acting upon an intrusive thought

Crush [Persona 5; Goro/Protag]

[fallen_stage]

Kiss him.

Goro jumps over the coffee bar with easy grace, slams that idiot against the wall of coffee jars, smashing their mouths together like Goro could crack his skull apart with the force of it.

Kill him.

Goro slips around to where he's grinding the coffee, sidles up behind him, smooths his gloves hands against that pale neck and squeezes.


Goro did neither. He sipped his coffee. He chatted about nothing. He gave his television smile, maybe a little more teeth. He beat back both feelings for another day.