2023 Three Sentence Ficathon - Post #1

[3sfmod]

Welcome to the 2023 Three Sentence Ficathon!
As of 16 Jan 2023 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.



This post will remain open for new prompts until we hit 4000 comments, at which point we'll open a new one to avoid captcha as long as possible. New fills and comments on fills will always be welcome.


How to Prompt

Prompts should be one prompt per comment, formatted in this way: fandom, character(s), prompt word/sentence

Example: Star Wars, Obi-Wan Kenobi, I don't like sand

Prompts may also be open ended, unspecific, or anthropomorphic, such as:

any, any, I don't like sand
or
Earth geography, sand, I don't like humans very much, either

Prompts for relationships are welcome; a / is used for romantic/sexual relationships and an & for platonic. A prompt that uses both means the relationship can be written as either romantic or platonic, such as:

Star Wars, Anakin/&Obi-Wan, I don't like sand

Prompts may be repeated if they are unfilled; there is no obligation to read through every prompt to make sure yours isn't a repeat. This year's 3SF will stay open for new prompts through Sunday, February 12th.

How to Fill

Respond to your chosen prompt with a short fic of three sentences containing the fandom & characters requested!

Prompts can be filled more than once, as many times as someone has a new idea for them.

Notes & Rules

No, fills do not need to be exactly three sentences! It's more of a guideline. Please abuse grammar and punctuation as much as desired.

3SF is a Choose Not to Warn space. Spoiler and content warnings are not required, though writers are free to add them if they please. If you see something you don't like, just scroll until you do!

A Dreamwidth account is not needed to participate. Anonymous prompts/fills are welcome, or you can use Open ID.

Cross-posting is encouraged; there is a 3SF Collection on AO3 if you'd like to post fills there as well.

Note that the comm is searchable! Tick the 'include comments' button when searching to easily find prompts for your chosen fandom/characters.

And most importantly, have fun! If you have questions, check the Sticky Info post and if they're not answered there, head to the Contact the Mods post.

Comments

[last_haven]

"It wasn't always this way," Mister Tumnus says softly as the snow and wind hauled outside the door. "We Narnians knew winter, yes, but only when Her Majesty left us to return to her husband's home. But, oh, no nation in the world knew spring like Narnians. When Her Majesty would return, there would flowers everywhere and the river Lethe would flood its banks to wash away harsh memories of her absence."

Later when they talked to Mister and Missus Beaver, they sighed--both of them were too young to have seen the spring, but they also had stories to tell, that had been passed down in their families. But, Mister Beaver did add a particularly startling detail when he said "there sure was a lot less blooming ghosts, I'll tell you that much!"

The children paused and Peter needed a moment to pluck up courage to ask "ghosts? Are there ghosts here in Narnia?"

The Beavers both nodded vigorously. "Oh, aye. Some real wraiths haunt these woods, which is why I was in such a hurry to try and find you lot."

"Oh, but there are some very nice ones," Missus Beaver added at the looks on their faces. "Many of the newest spirits are perfectly lovely and even some of the old ones remember us and try and keep us safe."

"The problem is when they stay here too long," Mister Beaver huffed. "They begin to forget everything except that they shouldn't still be here. They get angry and then they get mean. But, until the ice melts, they're trapped here." He pounded his little furry fist against the table. "That's why we need to get you to Cair Paravel! When we do, you lot will melt the ice blocking the path to the Underworld and call her, so that she can send the ghosts to where they belong!"

Each child had their own reaction to this: Susan nervously repeated "The Underworld?" while Peter asked "Melt the ice?" and Edmund said "Cair Paravel?", but Lucy was the one to focus in on "Call her?"

Mister Beaver nodded and did his best to explain everything, Lucy still had to ask "but how do we call her?"

"Why, by calling her name of course! How else do you call someone?"

"But, what is her name?" Edmund asked, annoyed by all this nonsense and very much starving for a piece of that Turkish Delight again.

The Beavers, however, paused and nervously shared a look. After a moment, they nodded and scrambled around their home, locking windows and shutting doors, even putting out the fire so they could shut the flue (and in the process of all this, coincidentally stopping Edmund from running off entirely). Only once every entrance was bared and the lights dimmed did Mister Beaver lean across the table and whisper "Her name is Persephone."

The moment the word left his mouth, each child felt a swell of dread and awe wash over them for reasons none of the could explain--the effect was so powerful that Edmund forgot about his hunger for Turkish Delights for a moment. Maybe it was because the moment the name hit the air, every window and door rattled violently, or maybe it was the way a dried flower in one of Missus Beaver's picture frames briefly revived, its colors bright and vibrant before abruptly wilting.

It was only after all this did Mister Beaver speak again, although he looked just as rattled as them. "She's the Lady of Ghosts, the Spring Maiden, and Queen of the Underworld. The White Witch might have shut her into her husband's home for now, but when you call her back to us, there won't be any fighting or war. Her Majesty will fix that witch, right quick, and spring will return again."

[elementalraven]

ooohhhh this is fantastic! All the detail you put in here is amazing and it all fits so well!!

[last_haven]

I do have a big soft for Persephone, so I might have gotten a littlecared away while writing this.

[vialethe]

Oh wow, I absolutely love this! It's such a different mythology for Narnia, but it all slots into place so well - and I admit I'm dying to see what part Hades would take here. Is he the Tash equivalent?? There's so much potential!!

[last_haven]

Oh, I admittedly had put much more thought in Hades playing a larger role--the cop out answer would be he's sort of like The Emperor Across the Sea, but instead of it being a distant father, it's a patient husband. A more fun idea would be instead of the Carolmene Empire and Tash, it could be a different culture who does worship Hades (I dunno, Terebinthia, maybe? No one really writes about them), and are trying to invade a weakened Narnia. Except the same way the Tash isn't putting up with his followers' nonsense, Hades would also have no patience and just try to kill them all for the audacity of summoning him to bother his wife's people.

It'd be fun, but harder to do a one-to-one swap of characters. Mostly for a tltwtw swap, I'd probably keep references to him at a minimum and then he could show up for a sequel.

[kalira]

Oooh, this is delightful! *chinhands*

[dawen]

I absolutely love the little detail of "coincidentally stopping Edmund from running off entirely," hahaha, suck it pre-redemption Edmund, you have to stay with your family XP

[last_haven]

I can't decide what would be better--have him run off later to join the witch, or earn his redemption by getting punished for his shitty attitude directly. Like, instead of him doodling on the lion statue in the Witch's Garden, he invokes Persephone's name like a big shot but instead he nearly gets mobbed by angry ghosts and it puts the fear of God(desses) into him. Maybe he'll get called Edmund the Wise because the first lesson he learned was how to keep his mouth shut.

[dawen]

ohhhh, I like that idea! I didn't realize that was why they were afraid to speak Persephone's name, but it's really cool.

[last_haven]

In Greek Mythology, Hades and Persephone will often get named by epithets (The One Who Receives Many Guests or Infernal Zeus, or Nestis the Fasting One or Kore the Maiden for example) instead of their names because people were afraid that calling them by their name would get their attention and, as they were deities associated with death, you wouldn't want that.

Since the whole point is that Persephone needs to be called in story, it couldn't be her that shows up if Edmund calls her name, but I think it'd make sense that saying her name invokes enough of her power that it drives the spirits near him crazy.

[dawen]

oh! yeah, that makes sense. I like that you're continuing to draw on the original mythology.

[be_themoon]

this is fantastic, damn! what a cool concept and translation, and i would love to see a longer form of this someday

[edenfalling]

This is such a great idea, and so well executed!