Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all!). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favorite opening line. Then tag 10 of your favorite authors!
I was tagged by @lynne-monstr. and @ladymatt, so here goes! I'm just gonna pick the last 20 fics I posted to ao3, regardless of completion status.
1. Talking With Strangers (Shadowhunters, malec, university AU w/ marriage of convenience and an approximate fuckton of pining)
On the day that is going to define the rest of his life, Alec jerks awake to the gentle chiming of his phone and proceeds to fall off the couch.
2. The Stair Into the Sea (SH, malec, The Lighthouse Fic, i.e. the magnum opus, a magical realism au with a haunted seaside village and a fraught summer romance) [NSFW in chapter 10]
Magnus stepped off the coach onto the grizzled asphalt of the tiny bus station and thought, not for the first time, You're out of your head, Bane. And the next bus service out of this place is the day after tomorrow.
3. The Underwater Heart (SH, malec, fairytale AU w/ a soulbond twist)
Far across the ocean, in a kingdom whose name is lost to time, there lived a young prince.
4. Bramble (SH, clizzy, canon-divergence getting-together fic, on semi-hiatus until I figure out a kink in the plot)
Isabelle has a problem. Like a not insignificant number of her problems, it starts with a kiss.
5. From the Green Shadows (SH, malec, The Witcher fusion, Alec & Magnus as fellow monster hunters ā this is the PWP coda to the main fic) [NSFW link]
Magnus weaves through the crowd, a tin mug held high in each hand. Alec watches his progress as he ducks around a server with a flourish of apology, a quick, glittering smile.
6. is it bright where you are (SH, malec, post-canon, fluff w/ (im)mortality talk)
Magnus collapses into the pillows with sticky, boneless satisfaction, limbs going every which way. Alec presses a damp kiss on his brow. "Be right back."
7. The Birthday of the Sea (SH, Alec & Maia, lighthouse fic prequel about their friendship)
On his thirtieth day as a lightkeeper, Alec woke to find a girl in the parking lot.
8. Walkers of the Winding Path (SH, malec, The Witcher fusion, the main fic in the verse, a fantasy road trip romance w/ a helping of family feelings) [last two chapters are NSFW]
The first frost of autumn surprises Alec on the road. The forest pond near which he camped is covered in glittering rime so fine that it melts at a brush of his fingers. Horse stamps and snorts on her tether, her breath forming clouds in the dagger-sharp dawn air.
9. ring the bells that still can ring (Star Wars sequel trilogy, jedistormpilot, The Return of Skywalker coda)
The night after they win the war, only the wounded sleep.
10. you who have come from my old country (SH, malec, Magnus after Alec, post-canon, a take on the future of the New York Institute)
On a crisp, cloud-strewn day in September, Magnus goes up the steps of the New York Institute for the first time.
11. the wine of your dreams (SH, malec, canon-verse PWP w/ friendly tentacles) [NSFW link]
Here's a thing about dating Magnus Bane: just when Alec thinks he has the hang of it, something new comes up.
12. to make the saints attend them long (SH, malec, canon-verse future fic, implied main character death)
When Alec falls, Magnus doesn't sense it.
13. as if I have eaten fire (SH, malec, canon-verse PWP w/ light D/s) [NSFW link]
Fingers dip into the hollow of Alec's spine with idle curiosity, followed by the mark of a kiss between his shoulder blades. He gasps through the last of his dream. His back curves into the touch before his waking mind catches up.
14. Will They Sing of Us (SH, malec, canon-divergence from 3.10, mid-danger wedding fic during a hypothetical siege of Alicante)
The streets of Alicante burn.
15. an act of faith against the night (SH, malec, canon-divergent 3.18 coda where Alec canāt go through with the breakup)
Alec turns away, and all Magnus knows is the white flare of panic eating up the air in his lungs.
16. a hazy shade of winter (SH, malec, another canon divergence from 3.18 w/ Magnus dealing with his magic loss)
First of all, Alec comes to Magnus and says, What if we contact your father.
17. Rosemary For the Soul (SH, malec, 3.12 coda, a domestic evening w/ stories from Magnusās past and emotionally fraught sex) [NSFW link]
The front door sounds just as Alec is staring, with semi-religious fervor, at the final stages of his baking experiment in the oven.
18. Book of Days (SH, malec, 3.11 coda feat. Magnus carrying the memory of everyone heās loved)
Magnus breaks gently from Alec's grip, muttering about the time and feeling drowsy.
19. love has drawn red from my hands (SH, malec, 3.10 coda feat. bad coping via sex and eventual emotional catharsis) [NSFW link]
There is a sense of wrongness in Magnus's mind like a splinter dug into flesh.
20. bodies full of untold stories (SH, malec, canon-verse case fic w/ accidental soul bond set in early season 3, Magnus & Alec (& Izzy) solve the mystery of a potion gone wrong) [last chapter is NSFW]
It happened on an ordinary Thursday.
So. I cheated slightly by quoting the whole opening paragraph for each story. In most cases, that is a single sentence. This tells me I like to find a short and distinctive opening line (and sometimes I can spend days looking for the right one; the rest of the fic is basically there but if I donāt know where to start I cannot get to it).
I like to start with an emotion or a specific image. Usually Iāll use the opening line to showcase that emotion/image and then start on the wider context in the next paragraph. #20 is a good example of that: the āordinary Thursdayā stands lonesome as its own paragraph, and the next sentence expands on Magnus at his potion experiment. #12 and #14 also fall into this category.
Also, I should never again start a fic with Alec waking up. That is clearly a thing I do too much. xD
I canāt pick one favourite, but right now I really like opening lines #1, #4 and #11. Theyāre snappy and evocative and also set the tone of the fic nicely.
Here are no-pressure tags for @lightwormsiblings, @faejilly, @electricshoebox, @firstaudrina, @ohfreckle, @la-muerta, @bytheangell ā and whoever else wants this. Feel free to blame me, as usual!
