#it really is high time for me to do another novel-length multichapter huh

[mithrilwren]

First Lines

Tagged by @thetragicallynerdy to share the first lines of my last ten fics! (Thank you for all the tags!!) I think I did this ages ago but I truly can't remember which ones I posted at the time, so I might as well do all ten!

Table Manners (Usopp/Sanji, Sanji teachs Usopp about fine dining etiquette)

See, there are some rules about the world that Usopp is still learning. He likes to think he’s a quick study—he’s kind of had to be, given he always seems to end up with the jobs nobody else wants—but weird things still catch him off guard: little details he’s never had a reason to notice, or care about.

2. Rosmarinus (Sanji + Nami, Sanji gives Nami a haircut and has some Feelings about it)

Sanji wouldn’t call hairdressing a particular talent of his, any more than Zoro would probably call lifting heavy objects a talent. It’s simply another application that his hands happen to be well suited for.

3. The Oar that Leads Us (Nami + Sanji, Nami and Sanji get stranded together in the East Blue)

They take stock in a moment of hard-fought calm: Sanji counts the food, while Nami counts her bruises.

4. Caleb Widogast's Five C's of Safe Return (Caleb/Essek, Caleb and Essek build a life together in Rexxentrum post-canon)

The little house sits along the western edge of the Tangles, just beyond the elegant disorder of the Court of Colors and its lively, winding streets. Its door is made of sturdy Dwendalian oak, but the floorboards are rosewood, brought from the shores of Nicodranas and laid in neat order by Caleb’s own hand.

5. burning up (for you, baby) (Caleb/Essek, the M9 have a beach day and Essek gets a sunburn)

The successful completion of a world-saving quest calls for a week in the sun: relaxation, rejuvenation, relocation (while the heat of Trent’s still-ongoing search dies down). With amulets slung over bathing wraps and under wide-brimmed hats, the Mighty Nein make their way back to Nicodranas, pay their respects to a grateful Yussa, and hit the beach.

6. Damage Control (Essek + Caleb, Essek gets hit by a curse in Aeor that devastates his powers)

“Ooo, look at this!” Essek looks up from his perusal of the cabinet’s bottom shelf to find his vision obscured by a curtain of deep, vibrant blue.

7. Echoes (Caleb/Essek, Essek is unsettled by Caleb's new eye-related powers)

There was a time when a voice from the darkness was comforting.

8. to say what lips cannot (Essek/Caleb, Essek muses about Caleb's hands)

It’s not hard to guess where the fascination began. So much of a wizard’s work is done with the hands. A forefinger extends, leaving wisps of smoke in the fiery ember’s wake. Crooked thumbs come together and apart, and space rends before their passing. A dot of sweet nectar passed over the lip, and the tongue becomes as deft as the curling wrist that placed it there. 

9. a liquor never brewed (Caduceus/Eodwulf, Caduceus has an unexpected crush)

“You don’t like meat, and you don’t like drink.” Eodwulf grins, arms uncrossing. “Is there anything you do like?”

10. your dust from mine (Fjord/Caduceus, Fjorclay retelling of The Goose Girl fairytale)

Fjord’s first memories are of darkness.

Phew, that was a lot! Tagging (if they feel like it!) @the-littlest-goblin, @saturdaysky, @soullistrations, and anyone else who feels like doing it!