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

[scytale]

"In a battle, what would you save first, me or one of the horses?" Hektor asks.

Their horses trot along the banks of the Scamander; she rides pale, fickle Lampos, who has always been her special favorite, and Hektor is seated on Aethon, who is usually so much less well-behaved. Perhaps Aethon longs for the sight of the sea as she does; more likely, she thinks with a private smile, it is her husband's skill with horses.

Then she considers her husband's question. "Which one is closer, you or the horse?"

"We're equally distant."

"Do I have an equal chance of saving both, too?'

At his nod, she smiles. "I'd save the horse, of course."

"You could have pretended to think about it," he says, his hand over his heart as if he has been stabbed with a spear.

"Surely my husband can save himself?"

He laughs, and the brightness of the sound pleases her. He's been so serious lately; the delegation from the Lycians has been occupying him. She's glad to lighten his spirits. Besides, she's missed teasing him; Ilium is not Thebe, and here she cannot be so light and free with him unless they are alone--and he has been so very busy.

"If you cannot defend yourself, I'd still go for the horse," she says, flashing him an impish smile. "I'd reach you faster on the back of Aethon or Lampos, and we'd ride down whoever it is that threatens you."

Amusement flashes in his eyes, and then he bows his head. "My wife is ever the tactician, even with my life."

Laughing, she urges Lampos into a run, and his hooves thunder; as always, he loves to run. Hektor brings Aethon to a gallop as well, and they exchange looks. Then they race their way along the banks of the Scamander, following the flowing river to the wine-dark sea.

In the years of grief and glory to come, she will remember this: her heart beating fast and her breathless laughter as she rides into the wind with Hektor behind her, his hand in hers at the end of their race, the horses on the shore, the sunset blazing when they turn their horses toward home. She will remember peace, and she will remember the roar of the sea.

[elementalraven]

I love this! your Hektor and Andromache are amazing and I love their relationship

[scytale]

Thank you! <3

[be_themoon]

oh, my heart. this is so beautiful and such a lovely small window into a loving happy marriage and knowing what comes after makes it hurt so much.

[scytale]

Thank you! You're too kind. <3

[vialethe]

I like the flashes here of tactician Andromache - and that Hector teases her about it. They're so cute and sweet here, even knowing what's coming.

[scytale]

Thank you! :D

[betony]

This is so delightful, and I love their relationship and the horses, and every last word of this because it is PERFECT.

[scytale]

<3 I'm absolutely delighted you liked it! It was more than a little inspired by your letters -- I've always loved your description of Andromache as "a horse-mad, military-minded Theban princess" and the characterization notes you pull out in there.

Thank you for giving me an excuse to write them for you!

[betony]

Thank you! It's an interpretation that is particularly dear to my heart, and I'm always pleased and grateful that it makes sense to other people, too ♥