some kind of snark faery (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
arcanetrivia) wrote2008-08-29 09:21 pm
arcanetrivia) wrote2008-08-29 09:21 pm
That "first lines from 25 fics" meme
I was very surprised to learn that I actually had more than 25 fics to draw from; I thought I was going to come up short. This might not be in quite the right order since I'm going on file-created/modified dates rather than looking back in my actual posts. Reverse chronological order. And just because I want to be different, I'm including the last line from each fic as well.
1. Congratulations on the acquisition of your new Severus Snape!
As long as you avoid colours you would be likely to find in your grandmother's bathroom wallpaper, you should not encounter any difficulties.
2. Behold the Metatron, herald of the Almighty... "...and voice of the one true God, yes, yes," snapped Severus.
"Already accustomed to it, I'm afraid."
3. He has done something terrible to his soul, and embraces it.
He does not... he does not...
4. Severus stared sullenly out the rain-streaked window of the train.
And after that damned fiasco by the lake last term, now I'll never get to try it.
5. "I won't do it, Mam."
When sea serpents fly, thought Severus, making plans to burn his copy of this family picture at the first opportunity.
6. What exactly was he offering her?
Narcissa pitied her son and her husband, but she pitied herself far more.
7. Severus considered the candidates clinging to the oak trees' bare, icy limbs.
The leafy ball lay perfectly centered in the cloth's glowing rings.
8. Shortly after Lily's murder, Severus began to notice an increasing feeling of unease whenever he used his wand, like it was distancing itself from him.
He would begin again with a wand that had never done a Death Eater's work.
9. 1. He's a Hufflepuff.
(the second numeral is intentional -- this was one of those "20 random facts" things.)
He understood why James would think it was a silly thing to do, but he thought it was always good to hear that your friends were thinking of you, and that Neville was no exception.
10. "Mmm. More. Harder."
(I know this is cheating a bit, but stopping at "mmm" would have left the quote open.)
Now Sirius knew why he'd never seen Severus's hair properly clean.
11. Severus's nimble fingers stroked idly over the flat ivory as he waited in the Malfoys' parlour.
Severus grunted noncommittally as Lucius exited without waiting for a reply, then flexed his long fingers, pale as the ivory, but shining like moonlight against the sharps and flats.
12. Lily stole a look at Severus as he wrote his exam.
It therefore seems unlikely I was gazing at it, does it not? --S.
(again a bit of a cheat, but "--S." didn't make much sense by itself.)
13. It didn't exist, Severus concluded with a frustrated sigh.
He picked up his quill.
14. "Sev, what do wizard children do when they play make-believe?"
He screwed up his courage and asked, "What's an astronaut?"
15. Sirius quietly closed the door to his bedroom and silently looked up and down the hall.
If anyone could save Regulus from himself, it was Snape, but Sirius despaired nonetheless.
16. Hermione stirred the clippings of her own hair and then the powdered stone into her potion and waited patiently for it to turn the delicate pink colour described in the recipe.
Ron: [pauses] Goooood night, everybody!
17. Sirius didn't think he could stand it much longer.
Severus pressed his hips forward just hard enough as he said the word "this", and Sirius hurriedly prisoned a moan in his throat...
18. Some days it was a little frustrating being Neville Longbottom's friend.
"If Professor Snape hears I've brought you along again, I've really had it."
19. Awake.
And so it was that fifteen-year-old Lily Evans discovered there was indeed such a thing as a screaming orgasm.
20. there were shadows in his head where no one could see them, where no one believed they were there, with the density of a forest all loam and lichen.
now he just couldn't see past the shadows into the place where consequences lived.
21. Summer weather did nothing pleasant to the river.
"Let me take you home."
22. Albus was only five years old when he started asking if he could have a computer.
"Can I have a computer too?"
23. Like any growing thing, it had started with a seed.
It was only a crescent moon, so the light-show was not moonlit, but that small detail didn't trouble Lily very much as Severus moved above her, his velvety voice at last making the quiet ecstatic cries she had longed to hear.
24. "Say, Severus, how do you bottle foolish wand-waving?"
"Mmmm...."
25. Magic of any sort was always a sensual pleasure, the way the power flowed through bones and veins and swept over the skin, but there was something about Dark magic that was better.
Let me show you how to have your revenge, whispered a quiet voice inside him, and he listened; and soon he was drifting deep in the murky visions of his heart.
So, um. Patterns? I don't see much. Some first lines are "here's a general summary of the theme of the fic", others are lines of dialogue, others are simple statements of action. Ditto last lines, although "He picked up his quill" is up there with "All was well" (is that a recommendation? er...), and I rather like 19 and 25 as standalone sentences.
1. Congratulations on the acquisition of your new Severus Snape!
As long as you avoid colours you would be likely to find in your grandmother's bathroom wallpaper, you should not encounter any difficulties.
2. Behold the Metatron, herald of the Almighty... "...and voice of the one true God, yes, yes," snapped Severus.
"Already accustomed to it, I'm afraid."
3. He has done something terrible to his soul, and embraces it.
He does not... he does not...
4. Severus stared sullenly out the rain-streaked window of the train.
And after that damned fiasco by the lake last term, now I'll never get to try it.
5. "I won't do it, Mam."
When sea serpents fly, thought Severus, making plans to burn his copy of this family picture at the first opportunity.
6. What exactly was he offering her?
Narcissa pitied her son and her husband, but she pitied herself far more.
7. Severus considered the candidates clinging to the oak trees' bare, icy limbs.
The leafy ball lay perfectly centered in the cloth's glowing rings.
8. Shortly after Lily's murder, Severus began to notice an increasing feeling of unease whenever he used his wand, like it was distancing itself from him.
He would begin again with a wand that had never done a Death Eater's work.
9. 1. He's a Hufflepuff.
(the second numeral is intentional -- this was one of those "20 random facts" things.)
He understood why James would think it was a silly thing to do, but he thought it was always good to hear that your friends were thinking of you, and that Neville was no exception.
10. "Mmm. More. Harder."
(I know this is cheating a bit, but stopping at "mmm" would have left the quote open.)
Now Sirius knew why he'd never seen Severus's hair properly clean.
11. Severus's nimble fingers stroked idly over the flat ivory as he waited in the Malfoys' parlour.
Severus grunted noncommittally as Lucius exited without waiting for a reply, then flexed his long fingers, pale as the ivory, but shining like moonlight against the sharps and flats.
12. Lily stole a look at Severus as he wrote his exam.
It therefore seems unlikely I was gazing at it, does it not? --S.
(again a bit of a cheat, but "--S." didn't make much sense by itself.)
13. It didn't exist, Severus concluded with a frustrated sigh.
He picked up his quill.
14. "Sev, what do wizard children do when they play make-believe?"
He screwed up his courage and asked, "What's an astronaut?"
15. Sirius quietly closed the door to his bedroom and silently looked up and down the hall.
If anyone could save Regulus from himself, it was Snape, but Sirius despaired nonetheless.
16. Hermione stirred the clippings of her own hair and then the powdered stone into her potion and waited patiently for it to turn the delicate pink colour described in the recipe.
Ron: [pauses] Goooood night, everybody!
17. Sirius didn't think he could stand it much longer.
Severus pressed his hips forward just hard enough as he said the word "this", and Sirius hurriedly prisoned a moan in his throat...
18. Some days it was a little frustrating being Neville Longbottom's friend.
"If Professor Snape hears I've brought you along again, I've really had it."
19. Awake.
And so it was that fifteen-year-old Lily Evans discovered there was indeed such a thing as a screaming orgasm.
20. there were shadows in his head where no one could see them, where no one believed they were there, with the density of a forest all loam and lichen.
now he just couldn't see past the shadows into the place where consequences lived.
21. Summer weather did nothing pleasant to the river.
"Let me take you home."
22. Albus was only five years old when he started asking if he could have a computer.
"Can I have a computer too?"
23. Like any growing thing, it had started with a seed.
It was only a crescent moon, so the light-show was not moonlit, but that small detail didn't trouble Lily very much as Severus moved above her, his velvety voice at last making the quiet ecstatic cries she had longed to hear.
24. "Say, Severus, how do you bottle foolish wand-waving?"
"Mmmm...."
25. Magic of any sort was always a sensual pleasure, the way the power flowed through bones and veins and swept over the skin, but there was something about Dark magic that was better.
Let me show you how to have your revenge, whispered a quiet voice inside him, and he listened; and soon he was drifting deep in the murky visions of his heart.
So, um. Patterns? I don't see much. Some first lines are "here's a general summary of the theme of the fic", others are lines of dialogue, others are simple statements of action. Ditto last lines, although "He picked up his quill" is up there with "All was well" (is that a recommendation? er...), and I rather like 19 and 25 as standalone sentences.