rthstewart | Three Sentence Ficathon 2022

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.

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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

any, any, tenderly caring for the random stray cat

"Tiger," Denzel announced, scratching the subject of discussion under the chin.

Marlene, who had the opposite perspective on the matter, countered, "Princess Fluffypants."

Tifa was expecting Sephiroth to have picked a name somewhere between the two extremes for his new feline companion, which was why she nearly spat her tea when Sephiroth called, "Delicate Plum Blossom from the Orchards of Heaven," and the fluffy white cat meowed.

springboarding off my fic On Broken Wings, coughshamelessselfpromotioncough

I laughed.

It is a great name!

hahaha great name indeed XD

Just like the actual Forbidden City, cats also freely roam Hengdian, growing fat with the abundance of prey for hunting that hide in the nooks and crannies of the world’s largest film studio. Many a take has been ruined by a cat wandering into shot, but today, before the director can call “Cut!”, Jing Jing simply places her arms securely around the tabby that has jumped onto her lap and strokes the soft fur lazily without missing a beat in her monologue. It’s been a good take, and it would be a shame to allow such an adorable uninvited guest to ruin it.
(The take makes it into final cut of the drama.)

Edited 2022-01-18 14:34 (UTC)

One morning Susan rises early and steps lightly and surely into the crisp air, following a gentle murmur on the back steps. Edmund doesn’t look up, which she puts down not to her superior stealth, but to the attention he’s focused entirely on a small feline eating from a dish in front of his crossed legs.

“So you see, Reginald, that’s why you don’t need to go terrorizing the local bird population and damaging the ecosystem anymore, because I’ll always be here with a plate and – oh, don’t give me that look, of course it’ll be real meat,” he’s saying, and Susan doesn’t have the heart to tell him that the animals here aren’t going to talk back, no matter how hard he tries.

Aww! <3

thank you, i love ed <3

cat!!! oh that's dear, and then a little bit sad, the animals won't understand and they won't talk back, this isn't narnia. but at least edmund has made a cat friend, they can work on conserving the bird population later.

i think animals can understand at least a little when edmund speaks, even if they can't or won't speak back, but of course susan has to look out for her little brother and hope he won't get his heart hurt too bad.

". . .how many strays do you feed?"

Galo jumped, turning to find his boyfriend leaning in the balcony doorway, arms crossed, a little smile playing across his lips; Pineapple butted against the back of Galo's hand when he paused too long, and he ducked his head and returned to petting her - the little dish of kibble was set out for her, but she'd eat only when she'd gotten enough attention, he knew.

"Just, um . . . the ones that . . . need it?" Galo said, realising he didn't actually keep track of the number - he knew all their names and their favourite foods and places to be scritched and . . . there might be more than ten, now.

Lio would absolutely feed strays as well, naturally. Also all of Galo's strays are named after pizza toppings.

Edited 2022-01-21 11:40 (UTC)

While living at her tiny cottage (something of her own that Aunt Agatha won't take), Jenny can't offer the tortoiseshell cat much, just a small saucer of milk that she normally keeps for tea, crumbs of ham sandwich on the rare days she can afford meat, and a basket by the Primus stove if it likes.

It comes and goes as it pleases, but the cat never shies away when Jenny pets its soft head, and when it stays the night, it always sleeps next her feet to them warm.

When she returns to her father's house at last, the tortoiseshell goes with her, the first of many loved ones to join her - after all, since that first saucer of milk, its home is wherever Jenny goes.

Awwwww. <3 I wonder if this could be a rare male tortie? I saw that you didn't use he or she for said tortie, and my mind jumped to tricolor rarities. Either way *melts*.

When Tobirama was young, he left water and meat scraps out for a straggly big stray; he used it as suiton practice, which made Father happy, and waited patiently as the cat crept closer each time. Soon it came close enough that Tobirama could see that the proportions were all wrong for an adult cat - it was still a kitten - but he'd gone too far now to stop or have it caught and killed, so he simply adjusted the food to be more appropriate for a youngling.

He politely maintained eye contact, though he tried very hard not to slow-blink in trust before the kitten did first, crouching over the food bowl; then another, much larger, adult cat (some kind of leopard? snow leopard?) appeared out of the brush, padding up to crouch protectively behind the kitten, holding unwavering eye contact with Tobirama, and announced, "Yes, you'll do nicely; will you sign our contract?"

Tobirama's jaw dropped, but the kitten gave an excited squeak.

The ginger cat had first appeared outside the Pink Palace a few weeks after Ritchie died; Ash would arrive home from a long day at work where he was expected to plaster on a happy face, unable to explain to anyone exactly what Ritchie had meant to him, and he’d find the cat waiting for him at the door.

As Roscoe began spending more time with his family in the hope of rebuilding their relationship, as Jill became more involved in raising awareness of sexual health, Ash found himself looking forward to the cat’s visits, stocking up on food for it, allowing it to curl up on the sofa with him watching mindless quiz shows.

Ash didn’t know the cat’s story, didn’t know how it came to be frequently wandering in his neighbourhood, but he knew the cat had come to him when he needed it most, that they could provide comfort to each other.

awww cuties *A*

Three Sentence Ficathon 2022

no subject

FF7, Sephiroth, Tifa & the kids

Re: FF7, Sephiroth, Tifa & the kids

Re: FF7, Sephiroth, Tifa & the kids

You Are My Glory

Narnia, Edmund

Re: Narnia, Edmund

Re: Narnia, Edmund

Re: Narnia, Edmund

Re: Narnia, Edmund

Soft Heart (Promare; GaloLio)

Matilda, Miss Honey

Re: Matilda, Miss Honey

Naruto Founders, Tobirama & his summons

It's A Sin, Ash

Re: It's A Sin, Ash