Three Sentence Ficathon 2022 Part 2

[rthstewart]

UPDATE 14 FEBRUARY 2022 -- 3SF 2022 IS NOW CLOSED TO NEW PROMPTS!  Do continue to fill prompts already posted but the 3SF 2022 is now closed.  We'll be back next year in a new comm (If I can get my act together).  Thank you again!

THIS IS THE NEW POST FOR PART 2 OF THE 3 SENTENCE FICATHON -- ALL NEW PROMPTS SHOULD BE POSTED HERE
You may continue to fill prompts (but not leave new ones) at the original Post 1 here but please post new prompts here, not there.  And if you're asking, hey is just me, or did this get enormous really fast? Why yes, yes it did.  Last year, it took us ten days before I opened a new post.  This year, it took us about 5.5 days to get there.  So, by all means, go back and fill in Post 1 and post new prompts here!

Also woops, in an indication of how busy I've been with other things, I neglected to post that for a third year in a row the awesome conuly  started a master list of unclaimed prompts and has been updating it as time permits.  Obviously a huge task! Thank you!

 

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

[paxilam]

any, any, late night radio show

Les Miserables ModernTimes! AU - Javert / Valjean - inspired by David Bowie's Starman

[wickedlittletown]

They sat on the couch, it was past midnight and their favorite radio show was on air.

It was a rare occasion that they could listen to it together due to their jobs, but tonight was an exception.

They had fine French wine and cheese and were about to open the second bottle of the night when suddenly the radio show got interrupted.

"That's a bad sign" Javert remarked worried. Only in an emergency with nationwide consequences they would interrupt the program, right?
Valjean could read Javert's mind. "Maybe they just have technical issues" but he knew that he didn't sound very convincing.

They both exchanged surprise looks when they heard the unfamiliar voice of the individual who had got access to the waves.

"Was this... A message of hope? A promise of better times?" Javert gave Valjean a doubtful look. There was part of him that had trouble believing that. "I understood it like that. You should stop being so pessimistic, just because you see so much bad things in your job doesn't mean the good is gone from the world".

[paxilam]

any, any, joking demons

[zombie_honeymoon]

any, any, fake dating

[swirlsngirls]

The worst part about agreeing to pretend to be your crush’s new boyfriend, Gavin thinks, is that it gives you a taste of what could be. What you could have had. But of course, it’s all for Calypso’s ex, some nameless douchebag who wouldn’t know the perfect person if she stood in front of him and said “I love you”.

[(Anonymous)]

Northanger Abbey, Catherine/Henry, "a man who knows his muslins, how could I not marry you?"

lol 3 sentences thoroughly failed

[ruanchunxian]

“With Eleanor’s rise in consequence by marriage, my father’s idea of his own importance has only risen even further, and when I reiterated my intentions of keeping my words to you, he has declared I am as good as dead to him. To further punctuate his disapproval of our union, he has rescinded the living and properties at Woodston, perhaps in hopes it would sway me,” Henry said, as they walked along the back garden of her father’s house.

Catherine stopped abruptly and tried to swallow the dread in her throat. Removing her hand from his arm, she turned to face him, steeling her heart and hoping she looked only calm. “Mr Tilney, given the circumstances - “

“I am not here to do such unthinkinable thing as to rescind my word also, dearest Catherine,” he interrupted gently, knowing what she was about to say. “I am only here to tell you of my changed circumstances, which I feel may serve us even better still.”

“My parents had not really consented, our engagement has been tentative all this time, our correspondence hardly proper,” Catherine said in a small voice. “Surely that cannot be enough for you to give up your family, your fortune, your means of living.”

“Let us speak of the fortunes later,” Henry replied. “Regarding our engagement, no matter how tentative it has been, I consider myself bound to you, Catherine. By honour and affection both. If you would still have me.”

Catherine found herself silent. As much as she wanted to say yes, as much as her heart longed to say yes, spurred on by the knowledge that she might not even have to deal with either General or Captain Tilney if this was the case, there was still a part of her that wondered, without his Woodston living, how could they afford it?

“You are sensible to not make any reply just yet. Let me tell you first what you would be accepting,” Henry said, when she did not speak. “Upon hearing of my predicament, an old friend of mine, a Mr Darcy, who owns a substantial estate in Derbyshire, tells me that he is this very moment also looking for a new clergyman for the parish of Pemberley where he resides, and has offered me the living should I wish to take it. The living is an extremely generous one, and I have known Darcy since Eton – he is the best of men. The break with my father regretfully does not seem reparable – not in the foreseeable future in any case – and as painful as it is, I must now count myself an orphan. I hope this will be enough for your parents to waive the requirement of still obtaining General Tilney’s consent also. Given these circumstances, I intend to accept Darcy no matter what. I shall likely never inherit any token from General Tilney, but with Darcy’s offer, I should still have more than enough to support a wife and family in Derbyshire. Dearest Catherine, if you could bring yourself to be moved so far away from Fullerton, I should heartily like for you to accompany me as my wife. Would you?”

Derbyshire! So far away, farther than she had ever traveled, farther than she had ever imagined! Could she do it, remove herself so far from her family, from everything she had ever known?

But could she not, when he was standing here before her now, telling her he had given up everything for her?

If Henry said the living his friend offered was sufficient to live on, then she of course she believed him. She was a clergyman’s daughter – even without General Tilney’s fortune, she would make do.

Besides, he was not the only one bound, by honour, and by affection, both.

So Catherine found herself smiling, clasping his hands between her own, and said, “A man who knows his muslins, how could I not marry you?”

[(Anonymous)]

Any, any, jade and coral

Fallen London, The Melancholy Curate/The Dashing Drownie

[(Anonymous)]

One night by the Stolen River, after the festival is over and winter creeps through the cracks of the city, the Melancholy Curate asks whether it’s true that the sea folk have no souls to weigh them down.

The Drownie laughs, shaking his sodden locks, and says they have treasures instead, as common in Dahut as the brightly-colored mushrooms that spring up through London’s streets; he presses a necklace into the Curate’s open palm, of polished jade beads and red coral roses, and a salt-sharp kiss to the Curate’s open mouth, cold and fierce with the zee’s hunger.

Then he’s gone, diving with scarcely a ripple beneath the River’s surface – but as the Curate makes the long walk homeward, he feels the anchor of that gift beneath his somber suit, above his heart, warm from his body heat and heavy enough to replace the thing he’s lost.

[(Anonymous)]

Any, any, the red queen and the white queen

[(Anonymous)]

Any, any, ivory and alabaster

Harry Potter, Fred/Hermione

[helsinkibaby]

Fred had never seen a Muggle wedding dress before, couldn’t understand Hermione’s insistence on wearing one instead of traditional wizarding robes but he accepted it anyway, figuring it was fair enough for Hermione to want to marry her two cultures at the same time as she was marrying him.

When he sees her walking down the aisle towards him on her father’s arm, for once in his life he’s stunned into speechlessness, the ivory of the dress warm against her alabaster skin, clinging to every curve, her hair sleek and tamed and just begging for him to mess it up later. She looks more beautiful than he’s ever seen her and as he takes her hand, he thinks he really should listen to her more often: after all, she’s usually right about these things.

[(Anonymous)]

Any, any, marble

Les Miserables, Enjolras

[ernest]

“That boy might be your brother,” Combeferre says quietly, nodding at the young soldier at the head of the National Guard.

“I know,” answers Enjolras, and with a tear running down his marble cheek he takes careful aim and fires. The saltwater leaves a trail in the dust on his skin that looks like the beginnings of a fracture, yet he does not break.

[(Anonymous)]

Any, any, sea urchin

Obsidian & Blood, Teomitl

[notapaladin]

They should have been farther along their planned route than they were. Teomitl’s feet almost itched with the urge to keep marching, to keep leading his troops along the campaign trail. But he wasn’t a fool, and he knew they needed rest and better food. The Totonac traders from along the coast were able to provide both.

That wasn’t all they had.

His reverie was interrupted almost immediately by the sight of a group of his warriors clustered around a tub, staring in apparent fascination at whatever was inside. Without thinking about it, he headed over to investigate.

The wooden tub was full of round, spiky...things. Things with little feet on the underside, crawling gently over each other. Things that had gently undulating spines.

Sea urchins. He stared at them, fascinated. He’d seen dead ones, but they were so different when they were alive.

“You want to buy?” the trader asked.

He agreed without a second thought.

(Acatl was predictably unimpressed with his failure to haggle, but he did agree they were both cute and rather tasty, so Teomitl counted it as a win.)

[(Anonymous)]

Any Final Fantasy, any, moogles and tonberries and cactaurs and chocobos, oh my!

Final Fantasy VII, Cloud and Cait Sith, Manipulation

[silveradept]

"You look like a Gold Saucer barker," Cloud said, laughing at the puppet in front of them, " 'step right up, see the famous gold chocobo, the deadly Tonberry, the mischievous moogles, and stay long enough to see the cactuar's sensual Dance of 10,000 Needles.' "

Cloud's laughter was cut abruptly short and he began to say a different thing while doing a poor imitation of a carnival dance: "My name is Cloud, and I'm a second-class SOLDIER who thinks he's the hottest shit since Sephiroth went up to Mount Nibel."

"Next time, before you make fun of someone, check their Materia," the automaton said, flashing the yellow sphere as the rest of the party howled in laughter.

[loveandrockmusic]

Any, any, "I'm quick like the wind, silent as a shadow... I'll never be found..."

Narnia: Hide and Seek

[syrena_of_the_lake]

“Who’s going to tell her?” whispered the young Fawn.

Her friend, an equally young but much less discreet Faun, cupped his hands around his mouth and hollered.

“We can see you behind that birch tree, Elephant’s Child — next time pick a really big redwood!”

[(Anonymous)]

Any, any, beech, maple, oak, gingko, willow

[(Anonymous)]

Any, any, cantaloupe and honeydew

[topaz_eyes]

Any, any, it’s not a slow burn, it’s a sous vide

[Miraculous Ladybug] foreseeable future

[alexseanchai]

Let them find out their feelings are mutual too early and they entangle themselves too tightly, burn too hot: they get to be as happy as they deserve before it is safe for him to be happier than his father permits, before he realizes his father cannot be saved, and they drop their guards: disastrous. Let them find it out too late and they burn too cold, they have severed their connection or let it wear thin, too thin to save each other, too thin to ever be happy at all: catastrophic.

Marinette and Adrien are Alix's friends—though they permit her that honor in ignorance of how much torment she allows them to endure, and for that reason she fears she shouldn't claim that title.

[schoolsasaint]

Greek Mythology, Aphrodite/Psyche, such beauty should belong to Aphrodite alone

[schoolsasaint]

They have mistreated her priestess so, kept her from the temples and altars where she should lead the grateful masses in singing and sacrifice, where to be in her presence would be to worship to the goddess of beauty itself - have held her instead in the poor palace of her mortal father, clothed only in the few jewels and paltry linens that her mother affords.

Is Psyche not blessed with an aspect of her own divinity, reflecting on her like the stillness of a millpond reflects the skies above - for who else would bless the child with such a gift, make of her mortal frailty something greater than a thousand kings could hope to be allowed to glimpse?

Is it not just, then, that such sacrilege is rectified by and for the hand of the injured party, that tender Psyche moves the beating heat beneath her breast otherwise to its habitual path of wrath and she is instead borne away from the sight of such vainglorious eyes, where only the softest of dawn traced touches and warmest dusk-hidden embraces shall be hers forevermore?

[zombie_honeymoon]

Boyfriend Material, Oliver/Luc, Domestic Fluff

[(Anonymous)]

His Dark Materials, Lyra and Pantalaimon, the Dust is stardust

[paxilam]

any, any, that's my ex over there

Killing Eve

[swirlsngirls]

Eve shows up at the wedding, flustered but determined. “Wait, who is that?”

Villanelle follows her gaze to her wife as of a few minutes ago. “That’s my ex over there.”

Eve’s brow scrunches as she looks at Villanelle’s suit. “Oh my god, did you just get married?”

[paxilam]

the witcher, any, a barrel of ale

[elementalraven]

Yennefer is the last person Jaskier expected to find in the inn at the foot of the mountain, but perhaps she shouldn’t have been; she has as much reason, and in fact the same reason, as Jaskier to want to drink away her sorrows. On a normal day, Jaskier would spot her sitting in a corner booth, looking lonely and almost sad, and turn right back around.

But this is not a normal day, and Jaskier is tired, so he orders a barrel of ale, ignores her poisonous looks as he sits down, and resolves that, whether she will help him or not, the barrel will be empty before sunrise.

[paxilam]

lotr, any, nowhere land

Inheritance

[(Anonymous)]

There was a road of white stone here once, running straight and unbroken from the sea, built by the refugees of Westernesse before all their arts failed them. After that, the wagon trails of farmers ran from scavenged stone walls to firelit windows, leading ever homewards, before the shadow of fear fell on the land. Now, a man called Strider camps beside a deer trail that leads to places only deer themselves know, beneath branches that drip with rain; his grey-green cloak is mud-spattered, his stern face worn and weary, and his firepit is ringed by cracked white stone.

[wickedlittletown]

any, any, meeting mother-in-law

Obsidian & Blood, Teomitl (AU)

[notapaladin]

Teomitl chewed on his lower lip for a moment before switching his attention to the inside of his golden lip piercing, where it would at least be less noticeable. He’d certainly been more terrified than this—he’d been to war, he’d taken captives, he’d seen men die—but he didn’t think he’d ever been more nervous than he was in this moment, sitting in Neutemoc’s receiving room with Acatl by his side as he waited to meet their mother. Since an illness several years ago, she moved slowly. There was plenty of time for him to imagine all the ways it could go wrong.

Acatl must have seen the look in his eyes, because he reached over and patted his forearm briefly. “She will adore you.”

“But,” he started, and stopped.

“And she will definitely give her blessing for you to court my sister.”

Teomitl, younger brother to the Mexica Emperor, thought about that for a moment and tried not to wince. Yes, it would certainly give him an advantage...but maybe he shouldn’t have worn all his finery.

[wickedlittletown]

NBC Hannibal - Hannibal and Freddy (can be shippy if you want)- misleading headline

[(Anonymous)]

Greek mythology, Aphrodite and Hedone, secretly doting on her favourite grandchild

[betony]

By rights, pleasure is Aphrodite's own dominion--but then again, as her son argues, she can hardly hold claim to something she yielded herself, and who is she to complain if he passed it on to his child (his impudent, headstrong, open-hearted and -handed child) in turn?

"Well," Aphrodite grumbles, "I'm sure I've no idea where you get it from."

"Bad blood, I suppose," Hedone replies cheerily, "on my father's side"; and Aphrodite thins her lips to hide a reluctantly smile.

[wickedlittletown]

NBC Hannibal, any, You're the apple of my eye

[ernest]

any, any, Enjoy your youth / Sounds like a threat / But I will anyway