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

[elementalraven]

Narnia, any, advisors

Peridan/Edmund, in which Edmund is apparently dating a himbo

[last_haven]

Edmund gets the unpleasant job of trying to gently break the news to Lord Dinnae that he's being removed as an advisor to the throne, although he thankfully doesn't have to explain that it's due to the elkhound's incompetence in the role. Thankfully, Lord Dinnae is the dopey sort of dog that is so genuinely pleased with the world around him as long as there's food, soft beds, and good ear scratches, so when he hears the news, he only shrugs his boney shoulders.

"That's okay, your majesty--I'm told I make a better bed warmer than advisor anyway!"

Peridan shifts in his seat next to Edmund and already the king is silently chanting Don't say anything, don't say anything! at him on loop in his brain; unfortunately, neither he or Peridan have suddenly developed telepathy and his companion opens his mouth and inserts his foot directly. "Now, now, my lord, don't go trying to take over my job."

Across the table, Susan chokes on her tea; Lucy claps a hand to her mouth to stifle her laughter, not that it works well. Edmund pinches the bridge of his nose and thanks Aslan that at least Peter isn't there to hear it, although he doesn't doubt his brother will be informed of this shortly. At least Peridan is already aware of what he just admitted and is quietly slumping in his chair so fast that he looks like he's melting in an attempt to escape.

Lord Dinnae only blinks. "Oh, I didn't know that was a royal position already! Do you warm all the majesties' beds for them?"

Edmund wants to die, but Susan clears her throat. "Oh no, my lord. Just King Edmund's."

Lucy has crawled under the table, stuffing her skirts into her mouth to smother her laughter, and Peridan is halfway under it as well. Edmund's tempted to join them, but then again, there is an open window--maybe if he throws himself out it, it'll be a swift end to the humiliation. "Thank you for the clarification, sister."

Susan has the audacity to smile at him. "Happy to be of assistance, my lord."

It's Lucy who delivers the devastating blow, giving up covering her laughter. "But not as happy to assist as Lord Peridan!"

[elementalraven]

Narnia, the Pevensies, establishing their rule

[elementalraven]

Narnia, Jill & any of the friends of Narnia, first meeting

[mouseyear]

It is Edmund that Jill meets first out of all the Pevensies, and he marches into the room with hand outstretched to say ‘hello’ to her. She thinks for a moment he is about to stoop to press his lips to her hand but instead he merely shakes it firmly, a twinkle in his eye. She is surprised by how very normal he is. Eustace had told her stories of his time in Narnia with his cousins and Edmund just doesn’t fit the picture Eustace or Caspian described. But he is perfectly gentlemanly and Jill supposes that is all she could really be expecting.

It is Lucy she meets next, the girl skips into the room and Jill sees the otherness in her. Lucy is too old to be as jolly and carefree as she is and she skips as if she expects to fly. Yes, Jill thinks as she shakes Lucy’s hand, she can see Narnia in this one.

Jill meets Peter at her first friends of Narnia meeting and at first she expects him to be like his brother – a perfect English gentleman. But instead Peter surprises her by kissing her hand instead of shaking it and calling her ‘Lady Jill.’ He smiles too much for his age, like Lucy and when he dances he seems to be flying.

She does not meet the fourth for a very long time. She knows that the siblings are arguing with their sister but she does not know specifics or details. So it is a surprise when she meets Susan at a party, one she herself had only reluctantly attended. She recognizes Susan instantly, despite having never seen her – she matched exactly all the different descriptions she had heard of the woman. Susan is clearly not in the same boat as Jill, she appears to love the party and Jill hastens to introduce herself as a friend of Narnia. She watches as Susan’s face, covered in makeup (as if she’s trying to hide) twists and feels as the woman’s hand is yanked from her own. Susan turns and walks away from Jill without another word and she doesn’t look back as Jill stares.

[elementalraven]

Narnia, Jill & any of the friends of Narnia, building a friendship

[elementalraven]

Narnia, any, appreciation of archery

Susan and an OC, The Harmony of the Air

[silveradept]

It is already a great honor that Queen Susan has asked to borrow her bow—her bow—, but when Queen Susan lets fly, Radin would swear by the Lion's mane that she heard the arrow sing as it found the target, vibrating joyously as a testament to the Queen's still with a bow.

When Queen Susan turns to her after the shot, her eyes are lit with inner fire and a feral glee is plainly visible on her face.

"Make me one for me, please," she says, the pretense of the Gentle dropped in favor of the pulsing blood of the hunt.

[elementalraven]

Narnia, any, exploration of a plothole

The stupid swords from the Voyager Movie

[mouseyear]

The sword was an old Narnian one, Lord Bern told them it had been entrusted to the seven lords by Caspian IX. It didn’t make sense. How did Caspian IX get The Sword of Eawal anyway? After the discussion, Caspian handed Eawal over to Edmund who took it graciously, still pondering on how the Telmarines had managed to get a hold of these swords and which ones they had.

How long had they been in Telmarine hands? Had they been found by the Telmarines or were the previous holders of the swords murdered? Lord Bern said that the swords had been given by Aslan to protect Narnia. Which was true enough, but the way the Lord said it… It was as if he believed Edmund hadn’t been there when the Sword of Eawal was given to Narnia. Had they stolen it right out of Cair Paravel’s ruins?

"Caspian… That is an ancient Narnian sword." Edmund was sure to approach the topic gingerly once they were back on the Treader.

"Yes, just as the First Lord said. Given to my father by Aslan." Caspian sounded so eager, so happy. Edmund almost didn’t continue, and perhaps in another life he wouldn’t have.

"Caspian… Did your father even believe in Aslan?" Caspian just stared at him for a bit, and Edmund almost continued before Caspian shook off his thoughts.

"I guess he did! Everyone always told me he was a good king, I guess now I know why!" Edmund found himself treading carefully, aware of Lucy’s gaze on them both.

"Caspian… your father was a Telmarine. He… oppressed Narnians." Caspian was oh-so-quick to defend his father.

"My father thought the Narnian's were extinct! He was a good king."

Edmund doesn't even have to try to refute that statement, Lucy does it for him. "But they weren’t. And everyone knew it too. Why else avoid the forest? A good Telmarine king is still a Telmarine king." Lucy’s voice was soft in the cabin, knowledgeable and oh-so-right.

"So what? The first Lord lied to me? Is that what you two are saying?" Caspian sounded accusatory and Edmund didn’t really blame him. He took back over the pain of the conversation from Lucy.

"I'm saying that is the story he was told. I know that sword Caspian. It's the Sword of Eawal and I was there when Aslan presented it."

[elementalraven]

Narnia, any, what happened to Lucy's dagger? (you know, the one that was never mentioned again)

[last_haven]

The dagger is supposed to go into the vault with all the other royal treasures, a lasting memorial to their beloved kings and queens, but Tumnus keeps it instead. He knows it is selfish--the entire nation is in mourning and he's on the council for Aslan's sake--but he keeps it anyway. It's not like the cordial, too powerful and important not to go into the vault--it's just a dagger that Lucy eventually outgrew long before they disappeared, that'd she gave to him one day to help him in the harvest and he forgot to give back.

It's selfish, but he hopes she'd understand--it's one of the few tokens he has left of his best friend.

[paxilam]

any, any, ancient being

Original Work, Invisible

[mouseyear]

She walks among them invisible. She doesn’t hide what she is but they ignore it anyway, content in their own way of seeing the world. They discover pieces of a extinct people and never dreams that she and hers could be that people, albeit defeated, cowed and hardly recognizable. She shakes with anger and horror when she reads what the modern people think of the past, so much has changed that they can hardly be blamed but she has to fight the urge to scream the truth.

[elementalraven]

any, any, criminal au

Obsidian & Blood, Teomitl

[notapaladin]

The office had once been a penthouse suite, of course. Once—when he was younger and stupider—Teomitl had taken the stairs. Had charged into the aftermath of a firefight. Had begged Acatl to ascend to the top floor with him. Acatl, forever smarter than him, had refused, and it’s why he’s now calm and steady enough to take the elevator. Like then, he’s not alone.

Unlike then, he has only three people with him instead of an entire squad. Acamapichtli is checking his knives. Mihmatini is calmly loading her sidearm, murder in her eyes. Acatl...Acatl is silent.

He can’t take it. “I asked you if you approved, once.”

Acatl looks at him, eyes unreadable. But then he sets a hand on Teomitl’s arm, and that’s clear enough. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”

The elevator dings softly. They step out, Teomitl in the lead.

The penthouse used to be well-furnished, tastefully so. Now it’s too bright, too loud, too tacky. They meet resistance, of course, Tizoc’s hired goons prepared to use lethal force—but then Teomitl brings up the matter of their paychecks, and miraculously they all find better things to do than get into pointless fights. (Which they would lose anyway, because Teomitl has never seen his allies miss a blow.) Hard marble tile gives way to soft carpet with expensively useless objets d’art lining the silk-sheathed walls. The electronic doors have been locked, but he knows all the passcodes. Tizoc had trusted him.

His brother is waiting for them, standing on the other side of a vast mahogany desk with stacks of papers spread out between them. Teomitl doesn’t need to look to know what they are, but his gaze flicks over the titles anyway—records of protection money paid, drug sales negotiated, munitions sold.

And then he meets Tizoc’s eyes, and his brother reaches inside his suit jacket. “So,” he grits out. “Come to drag me down into the muck with you? Come to be righteous?”

Teomitl shakes his head. The gun is already in his hand.

“Consider this a hostile takeover.”

[elementalraven]

any, any, circus au

[elementalraven]

any, any, percy jackson au

[elementalraven]

any, any, survival/wilderniss au

[elementalraven]

any, any, stranded on a deserted island au

[elementalraven]

any, any, accidentally saving the day

[(Anonymous)]

Any, any, persimmons

Original Work, Descendants

[mouseyear]

Her dress is somehow still the colour of persimmons. It is cheaply made now, but still a colour that doubtless brought her comfort. There were no fruits the colour of persimmons anymore but she doubtlessly would have loved them if they did exist. She was surrounded by several others, all wearing the same distinct shade. The clothes cobbled together with ancient thread and ancient dye.

[(Anonymous)]

Any, any, magnolia

Original Work, Dryad

[mouseyear]

The flowers are delicate and so is she. She walks among rows and rows of flowers, each one with a uniqueness she feels more than she can convey. These are her children, eventually each bloom may emerge into a being capable of leaving the thicket for long periods like she can. These are her life’s blood and she doesn’t bother trying to run.

[(Anonymous)]

Any, any, tree peony

[(Anonymous)]

Any, any, violet ribbons

[(Anonymous)]

Any, any, cinnamon and nutmeg

[(Anonymous)]

Star Wars, any, thinking up names is hard

[(Anonymous)]

Any, any, princess of princesses

[(Anonymous)]

Any, any, morning and evening

Obsidian & Blood, Acatl/Teomitl

[notapaladin]

Dawn should have been greeted by conch shells, by bloodletting, by hymns to the gods. Once, Acatl would have done it all promptly, without even thinking about it. He still did, of course, but now his morning was...slower. Lazier. Teomitl was a terrible, terrible temptation.

(“Good morning, Acatl.” A sweet smile, full of promise. A hand sliding down his side. He was suddenly very awake indeed.)

Dusk should have been a time for rest and relaxation, for going home alone to his cold and silent mat. Once, Acatl would have done that too. He was a priest of Mictlantecuhtli. Death was his lot, and Mictlan the domain of his god. There was no need for him to fill his nights with music, with love, with revelry.

Once again, Teomitl was a terrible temptation.

(“I should go,” whispered in between kisses, with hands on Acatl’s hips. That same sweet smile now with a wicked edge, saying he didn’t want to go. The way he started to pull away anyway.)

(Acatl pulled him back in.)

[(Anonymous)]

Any, any, I heard mermaids singing (but I feel no temptation to go to the sea)

Original Work, Siren Call

[mouseyear]

One learned very quickly during the war not to go anywhere near the sea. One learned or one died. The sea was no longer safe, and if you heard music coming your way it was best to cover your ears and run in the opposite direction. No matter what you did, you could not follow anyone who had been trapped in the music. There was no saving the already lost.

[(Anonymous)]

Any, any, sunbeam

Obsidian & Blood, Acatl/Teomitl

[notapaladin]

Acatl has seen the sun. Brilliant, radiant, scorching. He has stood in the Heartland, the domain of the Southern Hummingbird, and baked to delirium beneath its rays. He knows its heat upon his back, knows the way it soaks into his hair. He hadn’t thought a brighter or more dangerous thing existed, either on earth or in the heavens.

And then Teomitl turns to him on a day where the sky is a flat unrelieved gray, a day where the clouds are threatening to release their burden of water any minute, and smiles.

And Acatl knows he was wrong.

[(Anonymous)]

Any, any, parting is such sweet sorrow