21 First Lines Meme
This is all over my friends’ page, and it seemed fun, so I went and gathered what I think are the last 21 stories. I could be wrong because I have a lot of stories in comments and published in various locations that I don’t remember, so this is just a general estimate. It’s mostly Avengers, some Greater, and a little New Girl. It’s not counting the hundreds of 3-sentence-fics I wrote because that’s just a headache.
The last twenty-one first lines I wrote in fanfic. I'd love to be asked about them, or have people point out any trend that they can spot.
1. When the doors opened, Steve kept his jaw wired shut thanks to the fact that the Howling Commandos had once surprised an entire French battalion enjoying a Turkish bathhouse near the Northwest Riviera in Italy, and if you can face down 50 surprised and naked French men with a stoic look, you can also face the Black Widow wearing an American flag as a dress.
2. “Hey, Tsarina.”
3. At the polite knock on his office door, Phil Coulson glanced up and paused.
4. Most of the family was still sleeping when Sarah let herself into the Bartowski house to drop off Sir after her morning run, but she still wasn’t surprised to find Chuck in the kitchen.
5. It only took six weeks for Headquarters to call, and when they did, it came in the form of Foster, much to Carina’s dismay.
6. Nick doesn’t know why the bar even has a jukebox.
7. “Let’s say you don’t take Natasha as your date, Steve.”
8. “I just don’t understand it, that’s all.”
9. It shouldn’t surprise him, not when he just survived Christmas and the marathon that involved (he’s fought in a war and he’s fought aliens, but neither of those has anything on the lines at Macy’s between the beginning of November and the end of December), but somehow it does: Steve Rogers just does not understand what happened to Valentine’s Day.
10. It was the quiet giggling, neatly amplified by the absence of shrieking and other after-dinner horseplay, that alerted Chuck that something just might be amiss.
11. She knew she’d had a long shift and an even longer session with Dr. Markham, but Natasha had never been prone to hallucinations, even when exhausted.
12. The first time, he assumed it was a candy thief on a one-time job.
13. “Why’d Olivia go red?” Sarah finally asked.
14. “It’s really called that?”
15. "If I were you, I'd do my best to avoid being hit by the zappers," was Tony's somewhat-less-than-helpful advice when the Quinjet finally hit Chicago air-space.
16. You know,” Chuck tells her one night while they’re inspecting gear in Castle-harnesses and parachutes, as Chuck insists they check on a weekly basis-“it used to be that I could name the states I’d been to one hand.”
17. When they finally made their way back to the rendezvous point-not an easy task: Maria’s left ankle throbbed every time she touched her foot to the ground, and Natasha’s concussion had messed with her night-vision, forcing her to walk the last half-mile through the snow with one hand on Maria’s shoulder-they found Tony Stark waiting just inside the cabin, arms folded over his chest.
18. “Hawkeye, what’s your twenty?” Steve asked, sounding out of breath.
19. It was impossible to destroy a place so covered in scum and debauchery as Tortuga, but, Natasha Romanova thought as she stood on the cliff overlooking the city, somebody had certainly done his best to try.
20. The trouble starts in Antigua, inexplicable site of the newest in a long line of alien invasions, though Natasha won’t know that for weeks later.
21. “Barton.” Fury finds him in his bunk since it’s downtime and his shift doesn’t start for another four hours.
The last twenty-one first lines I wrote in fanfic. I'd love to be asked about them, or have people point out any trend that they can spot.
1. When the doors opened, Steve kept his jaw wired shut thanks to the fact that the Howling Commandos had once surprised an entire French battalion enjoying a Turkish bathhouse near the Northwest Riviera in Italy, and if you can face down 50 surprised and naked French men with a stoic look, you can also face the Black Widow wearing an American flag as a dress.
2. “Hey, Tsarina.”
3. At the polite knock on his office door, Phil Coulson glanced up and paused.
4. Most of the family was still sleeping when Sarah let herself into the Bartowski house to drop off Sir after her morning run, but she still wasn’t surprised to find Chuck in the kitchen.
5. It only took six weeks for Headquarters to call, and when they did, it came in the form of Foster, much to Carina’s dismay.
6. Nick doesn’t know why the bar even has a jukebox.
7. “Let’s say you don’t take Natasha as your date, Steve.”
8. “I just don’t understand it, that’s all.”
9. It shouldn’t surprise him, not when he just survived Christmas and the marathon that involved (he’s fought in a war and he’s fought aliens, but neither of those has anything on the lines at Macy’s between the beginning of November and the end of December), but somehow it does: Steve Rogers just does not understand what happened to Valentine’s Day.
10. It was the quiet giggling, neatly amplified by the absence of shrieking and other after-dinner horseplay, that alerted Chuck that something just might be amiss.
11. She knew she’d had a long shift and an even longer session with Dr. Markham, but Natasha had never been prone to hallucinations, even when exhausted.
12. The first time, he assumed it was a candy thief on a one-time job.
13. “Why’d Olivia go red?” Sarah finally asked.
14. “It’s really called that?”
15. "If I were you, I'd do my best to avoid being hit by the zappers," was Tony's somewhat-less-than-helpful advice when the Quinjet finally hit Chicago air-space.
16. You know,” Chuck tells her one night while they’re inspecting gear in Castle-harnesses and parachutes, as Chuck insists they check on a weekly basis-“it used to be that I could name the states I’d been to one hand.”
17. When they finally made their way back to the rendezvous point-not an easy task: Maria’s left ankle throbbed every time she touched her foot to the ground, and Natasha’s concussion had messed with her night-vision, forcing her to walk the last half-mile through the snow with one hand on Maria’s shoulder-they found Tony Stark waiting just inside the cabin, arms folded over his chest.
18. “Hawkeye, what’s your twenty?” Steve asked, sounding out of breath.
19. It was impossible to destroy a place so covered in scum and debauchery as Tortuga, but, Natasha Romanova thought as she stood on the cliff overlooking the city, somebody had certainly done his best to try.
20. The trouble starts in Antigua, inexplicable site of the newest in a long line of alien invasions, though Natasha won’t know that for weeks later.
21. “Barton.” Fury finds him in his bunk since it’s downtime and his shift doesn’t start for another four hours.