#last lines

[magpiefngrl]

writing patterns: last lines

I love the first lines meme, but what about last lines? I find them as vital as first lines, if not more. A first line should do a lot of things (indicate POV, tone, voice) while also catching the attention of the reader and inviting them to read on. But it can be invisible, just a way into the story, and that's perfectly fine because the story is what will amaze/impress/entertain the reader.

The last line, however, is the last impression: it can be a powerful punch, or it can be underwhelming. It's the vibe, the feeling, the aftertaste that the reader will carry with her when she closes the tab/book. It doesn't do as much work as the opening, but a really strong (or really weak) last line might colour what has come before.

For this game, instead of recent fics, I decided to check my longer fics; the last line of a longer piece of work sort of carries more weight, in my mind, idk.

Rules: write the last line of your 10 longest fics. What patterns can you see, if any? Which ones are your favourites?

Something I noticed: in my longer fics, I often have a short epilogue at the end of the story. Like a post-credits scene. I'm including both last lines for pattern-seeking. Also, a while ago, I'd done a before-during-after ask thing and posted some sequels at the end of a few fics. I debated using only the original ending here, but the sequel's last line is what will stay with readers, so I added both. Finally, The Boy Who Died has a coda but it's so long I'm treating it as a chapter.

I. 9 ½ Days (drarry, E, ~70k)

(story) Harry burrowed closer to him, eyes fluttering open. ‘You’re real.’ ‘I am.’ Draco tangled their legs together. It was snug under the covers. ‘Touch me and see.’

(epilogue) Harry took his hand and together they stepped forward into the green, living wood.

II. dirtynumbangelboy (drarry, E, 39.4k)

(story) ‘Home,’ Harry says, nuzzling Draco’s hair. ‘Take us home.’

(epilogue) He wants them to look smashing at the betrothal.

III. The Miseducation of Draco Malfoy (drarry, E, ~38k)

(story) Draco decided he would be happy to spend his life making Harry laugh, and thrust in.

(epilogue) “Let’s give them something good to talk about then,” Draco suggested, and Harry smiled, bent him backwards, and gave him a proper kiss, tongue and all.

IV. The Boy Who Died (drarry, E, ~27k)

Overthrowing the regime will take a miracle, Kingsley had said in the dark Edwardian manor. Draco had smiled at that and gazed at Harry. Indeed. Which is why we’ll win.

V. The Gift (drarry, E, ~26k)

Before [Draco] casts Nox, he takes a last look at his packed trunk, and then, in the whispering night, he allows himself to dream.

VI. Hush, darling (drarry, E, 23.6k)

But Draco holds Harry tighter — and doesn’t let go.

VII. The Unquiet Grave (drarry, E, 21.5k)

Draco glanced at Harry and smiled. ‘I’ll be fine. I have a bodyguard.’

VIII. Through the Looking Glass and What Draco Found There (drarry, E, 17.5k)

(original) This world was fucked up. It had pain and grief and sick people and dead people and stupid decisions and bad hair days and fear and regret—although it didn’t have Smith in leather gear, which was something. It also had Harry Potter, who buried his face in the crook of Draco’s neck, and who liked this Draco, the Death Eater Draco, and that made everything worth it.

(sequel) ‘Pull them down yourself,’ Draco said and kissed him.

IX. The Full Monty (drarry, E, 10k)

First, he goes to the kitchen to make sure Arthur is indeed alive — he is, nibbling at some seeds on the counter — but after that, yes, he goes straight to where Potter is waiting, hopefully all soapy and wet.

X. How to Court your Husband (drarry, E, 5,5k)

(original) Their escorts maintained a discreet distance when they arrived and saw what the princes were up to, and twenty minutes later in the palace courtyard, the Fountain spurted a jet of water the likes of which had never been seen before.

(sequel) Harry smiled and stroked Draco’s face. ‘We’re in no hurry, husband.’

Patterns

JFC. I like my epilogues and codas and sequels, don't I? Lord. I don't think I'd noticed it before as clearly as I do now. This isn't even everything: I actually started a coda for The Gift a while back, and I have a half-finished sequel scene for dirtynumb in my folders. I can just never leave off. But it's true: I do love epilogues.

I end with dialogue A LOT more than I start with it. First lines, I estimated a third of them are dialogue, but a good half of the endings are.

A large majority of my endings involve kissing or cuddling or touching in some way. Love language touch anyone?

There's a fair bit of Draco glancing at Harry and smiling.

In the two fics that have a sequel scene, the original ending is, imo, vastly superior to the sequel's. Hm.

Faves

I like the epilogue ending of 9 1/2 Days; the ending of Unquiet Grave, which works better I think in context; the rather poetic ending of The Gift; the original ending of Through the Looking Glass, which, imo, perfectly captures the theme; and the original ending of How To Court Your Husband, which is hilarious in context. Several readers commented on that one.

Tagging

I'll no-pressure tag @lettersbyelise @lqtraintracks @the-starryknight @skeptiquex @etalice @coriesocks @gracerene @citrusses @lower-east-side @hogwartsfirebolt @queenofthyme @writcraft @shealwaysreads @phdmama @stripedroseandsketchpads @sixappleseeds to get the ball rolling-- and of course YOU, reading this! Feel free to tag me so I can read your last lines, I'm ever so curious x

#last lines #drarry #writer memes #endings

[try-set-me-on-fire]

Tagged by @lover-of-mine and I think somebody else in last lines tag game but I posted too much today and it got buried in notifications asdfgfd anyway

He looked like a damn brick wall. Now he looks like a brick wall in short sleeve button down that’s buttoned pretty far down, several surprising inches of hairy chest on display.

Tagging @bigfootsmom @rogerzsteven @buckactuallys @iinryer @eddiebabygirldiaz @shitouttabuck @chronicowboy

#tag games #last lines

[freneticfloetry]

last sentence tag game

Rules: post the last sentence you wrote and tag as many people as there are words.

Thanks to @alrightbuckaroo and @herefortarlos for the tags! This is… something else.

“It took a kidnapping, two comas, and several acts of god to get him to love me the first time around. I don’t think the world would survive me trying to make lightning strike twice.”

I don’t have it in me to tag like 35 people, and it’s too late in the day for all that, anyway. But I’ll tag in @never-blooms, @ambiguouspenny, @rmd-writes, @walkinginland, @paperstorm, @orchidscript, @liminalmemories21, @lemonlyman-dotcom, @three-drink-amy, @carlos-in-glasses, @reyesstrand, @strandnreyes, @hoko-onchi-writes, @heartstringsduet, and @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut for shits and giggles.

#fic meme #tag games #last lines #the amnesia fic

[greatunironic]

got tagged by @sharpbutsoft for the first lines of the writing patterns, and @jewishrat420 for the last lines of the writing patterns, so just gonna smush them all together here!

(also not gonna tag anyone because, as usual, i've been absent + idk who's done what -- so if you haven't, and you want to, consider you're self tagged!!)

Writing Patterns 🏁

rules: list the first line of your last 10 (posted) fics and see if there’s a pattern! / list the last line of the same 10 fics you shared opening lines for and see if there's a pattern!

“So, you gonna put out tonight or what?” asked Robin from where she was reclined on his bed, painting her toenails and drinking his pop.  // “Yeah,” said Eddie. He kissed him again, even softer, sweeter. “Yeah, a promise.” (the valentine experience)

It started when Eddie said, “Seems kind of like a lot of bullshit that I’m about to die a virgin, man,” and Steve’s brain sort of spun out — because what? How? Eddie? He was a what? — as they sat in the middle of the woods, hotboxing the beemer in the late afternoon of what very well might be the day they died. // Eddie pressed his thumb to the corner of Steve’s mouth, said, “Guess we’d better live then, if we’re gonna go to Nationals or whatever,” and Steve said back, “Cool,” and then, smiling, Eddie replaced his thumb with his mouth. (in the backseat of your (boy)friend's car)

Eddie wakes up to sixty-eight unread text messages in his group chat with the boys. // “I mean,” says Eddie, and rolls him, laughing, over into his sheets for round two. (they're going to send us to prison for jerks)

At this point, Eddie’s life had really just sort of become an Aristotelian confluence of events. // “So gimme a sec, baby, and we’ll see if we can’t get this migraine sorted, okay?” (i give myself to you (as long as we move on the floor))

There’s laughter coming from the living room still as Eddie ushers Steve through the open door with a gentle hand at the small of his back. // For now, Eddie tucks his face into the soft, quiet juncture of Steve’s neck and shoulder, holds him close, and breathes, and it’s enough. It’s perfect. (your house is waiting)

On July Fifth — though she learns that after — Heather wakes up in a hospital bed. // “Yeah,” she says, and she means it. “I think we did.” (saint of ongoingness)

Hop buys a house in the Berkshires, after. // He thinks he’s going to like him. (these traces of available light)

November 1st, 1986 | Eddie, Well, man, you fuckin called it: fully got “gang-pressed” or whatever into hosting a Halloween party for the twerps last night. // “Well,” he repeats, the sun on his skin, the future like the ocean stretching out before them, way out and past the horizon. “Here’s to firsts then.” (scheming on a thing)

Ever since they walked out of Hawkins Middle for the last time in June, Lucas has been thinking about what high school is going to be like. // Maybe Max will show up for it, if he asks, he thinks. Maybe they all will. (zen, and the art of three point throws)

Getting shot, Eddie thinks, sucks balls, and not in the fun way. // With his hand still on his wrist, and Steve’s smile small and warm across from him, he’s kind of leaning towards a happy ending. Why not hope for the best for once? (three inches above the floor)

#fic #stranger things #tag games #first lines #last lines #apparently i like some in medias res #and ending on some dialogue #also hopeful open endings i think

[onpurposeilovehimonpurpose]

Last & First Lines Written of '23 & '24

I saw this idea floating around Tumblr, so here it goes, they both happen to be stories that I'm working on and plan to post only after they're completed. They're still in the early days of writing, so they're definitely unedited. I chose an image for the banner that doesn't relay the level of angst these two stories apparently have, but the happy endings they will absolutely have.

Fandom: RWRB, Pairing: Alex/Henry

Last line of 2023: (From an unpublished fanfic with the working title: Where We Begin)

He can't let anyone know how scared he is, how desperate he feels to go back in time and demand that Christina tell the doctor about how she was feeling, that it wasn't heartburn, but he can't; this is his reality, he can’t back out, he will have to take the Oath.

First line of 2024: (From an upublished fanfic titled "Regarding Henry")

Henry looking so fragile and broken is the scariest image that Alex has ever seen, and if it weren’t for him holding his sleeping child and the instinct he has to protect Austen, to remain calm so that he doesn’t wake him up, he would probably be on the floor, curled into a ball, crying.

#FirstPrince #First Prince #Red White and Royal BLue #RWRB #My RWRB fanfic #Last Lines #First Lines #My RWRB fanfic: Regarding Henry #My RWRB fanfic: Where We Begin #Alex/Henry #Alexander Claremont-Diaz #Alex Claremont-Diaz #Henry Fox #Prince Henry George Edward James Hanover-Stuart Fox #Prince Henry #prince henry of wales #RWRB Movie #hrh prince henry #red white royal blue #rwrb film #henry x alex #taylor zakhar perez #nicholas galitzine #alex claremont diaz #alex x henry #henry george edward james hanover stuart fox #henry george edward james fox mountchristen windsor

[tintagel-or-cockleshells]

last line challenge

Not tagged but I wanted to say--

Fight? Henry can barely remember a fight. The doctors said he’d remember more soon. All he knows is that there was a period of abject nothingness, and then he was woken up. You were crying, he wants to say. You were happy I was home. Henry’s pulse is thudding unpleasantly. The heart monitor is beeping.

:)

tagging @dumbpeachjuice! @clottedcreamfudge! @firenati0n! @kiwiana-writes! @cricketnationrise! @celeritas2997 (who has already posted words, go read 'em)! @smc-27! @everwitch-magiks! @dustratcentral! @orchidscript! @cheesecurdsgravyandfries! @anchoredarchangel!

#last lines

[fishwithtitz]

Last line tag

Reblog with the very last line(s) you wrote and tag as many people as you’d like, so we can all obsess over our WIPs!

Here's mine from Chapter 4 of "5 Times" w/ Mary Goore:

“I wouldn’t expect anything less from Scary Mary — purveyor of putrefaction, self-proclaimed copromancer, enthusiast of all things death and decay,” I finished my spin to face him, a shit-eating grin on my face. 

He raised an eyebrow and I couldn’t for the life of me decide if he was amused or not. “Wow. I should add that to my business card.”

Tagged: @copias-juicebox @anamelessfool @portaltothevoid @the-lisechen @katyaoaksdottir @discountdemonwarehouse @copiasghoulfriend @writingjourney @copiousloverofcopia @drifting-wreckers

#last lines #dashboard games #wip #writing #fanfic #fanfiction #let's lift each other up #last line tag #last line wip #last line challenge

[virtie333]

thanks for the tag @ivystoryweaver!

Rules: in a new post, show the last line you wrote and tag as many people as there are words.

This will be short and sweet! LOL

---"Welcome to the Resistance, Rey."

Tagging (sorry if you've already been tagged): @campingwiththecharmings, @the-little-ewok, @romanarose, @agent-troi, @seleneisrising

#tag game #last lines #writing #fanfiction

[deandoesthingstome]

tag game: last line you wrote

The ever lovely @ellethespaceunicorn tagged me and I just happened to have bit of inspiration and time to work on a little something today:

“August Walker, I meant what I said and I can’t wait to fuck you however I can. And believe me, I know how to make it good.”

This is taking some time to get where I want it, so no idea when I'll be posting but I kinda can’t wait! (And am also super nervous about the details. This is not your everyday August Walker. 🫣)

Not sure who's working on what out there but I'm always interested, so let me know @mayloma (how are things with viking!Geralt?), @cardierreh15 (I know you have something cooking), @just-chirpin (care to share anymore ETS tidbits?) @littlefreya (can you grace us with anymore nautical August?) and anyone else who'd like to share. I'm here for it!

#tag games #wip #last lines #do the thing #have the fun

[penvisions]

Last Line Tag Game // WIP Wednesday

ahhh, thank you so much to @beskarandblasters @tightjeansjavi and @javierssunglasses for the tags ♡ i love these little activities ♡

here's what i literally just worked on to relax after work before school stuff

WE'VE GOT INTENTION OF CLEAR COMMUNICATION Y'ALL, THIS IS NOT A DRILL

np tags: @undercoverpena @bageldaddy @javierpena-inatacvest @javierpenaispunk

#dev talks #wip #wip game #writing game #last lines #lovely moots 💕 #fic: by the grit of sandpaper #joel miller #joel miller x reader #joel miller x you

[freneticfloetry]

last line game

I’m aliiiive! And actually writing, though it remains wildly schizophrenic. Case in point: this little snippet from the last thing I tapped into my writing server at three this morning (courtesy of @welcometololaland, who tagged me).

He'd prepared so carefully to come face to face with Alex's anger, to withstand the full force of his betrayal and disdain and perhaps no small amount of pity. But even the worst of scenarios he'd dreamt up with every sleepless night could not have prepared him for this — to squarely meet those deep, dark eyes and have them stare so blankly back, devoid of the fire that blazed before they'd started and the sun-bright heat that came after. For Alex to briefly bow his head, the very picture of proper etiquette, and greet him with bland, polite indifference, as if all his light had gone out. "Your Royal Highness."

(Pay no attention to the rogue FirstPrince behind the curtain, this is barely a thing.)

Thanks for all the Inspiration Weekend tags, though — @strandnreyes, @lemonlyman-dotcom, and @alrightbuckaroo. Like I said, I’m all over the place… but everything always comes back to this sentiment from Neil Gaiman, so it’s my blanket inspiration this go ‘round.

#fic meme #inspiration weekend #last lines #tag games

[spiced-wine-fic]

Ten lines from my last ten fics

I’m counting completed fics or WIP’s here.

What happens when the Light of the Flame Imperishable meets Unlight?

A Time of Thunder

The horn sounded again. And then there was only the wind, bleak in the trees and the snow, and the wild winter night.

Winterthorn

She stopped and looked back. ‘It is,’ she murmured. ‘I’m sure this is Summerland. And of course no-one has ever heard of him. I’m not a bit surprised.’

Requital

Somehow, no-one on that bright Solstice morning, saw them leave.

Solstice Fires

But Nael had not recognised it. His eyes were pure as a dawn sky and as guileless. He simply handed the card back and walked away.

The Once and Future Kings 

‘Very pretty, Eru. But I was not made for this, nor for the tedium of peace; I never was. The Monument is my place, formed out of the ashes of a dead universe. How very apt, no? So, let us see if I can disturb thee a little.’

A Crown of Ash 

‘Yes,’ Tindómion agreed. ‘It blows now from the East.’

The Last Fires of Autumn 

‘As blood-kin,’ Tindómion repeated. ‘Until death takes us, or the High King comes again.’

Blood Kin

He reached out a hand, and Glorfindel clasped it. A warrior’s pact.

A Fire in the Night  

He kissed Tindómion’s brow like a king conferring a blessing, then walked away.

Shattering 

Not sure who’s already done this, so…

tagging @gardensofthemoon @crowandmoonwriting @nuredhel @polutrope @pinksiamese @jane-ways @cycas @naryaflame @awesome-bluehair-universe @edgeoflight @sallysavestheday @auntieaugury @minquelie @cuarthol @sedailanderekaden @nocompromise-noregrets @swanfloatieknight @g-m-kaye @thenookienostradamus @morgulscribe @elennalore @geneeste

#fanfic #last lines

[fuckyeahfightlock]

@onesmallfamily tagged me to share the last line I wrote on my WIP.

I have two on the go at the moment.

From One-Man Advantage (hockey!lock fic)

Lying there, he could feel a streak of sunlight from the window warming his thigh near-uncomfortably, and felt grateful for it. It seemed to him just then he could feel the blood rushing through his veins.

From The Ravening (monsterlover romance/smut novel)

“Another one with the smooth distraction tactics,” she said, rolling her eyes a bit and finally releasing him. “Careful, I’ll get a big head, all this talk about how pretty I look.”

One of my goals for this year is to really work at reestablishing my writing habit of a few years ago (ass in chair, every day, period). I'm going so so slow in tiny baby steps--today is my fourth day and I'm doing three writing sprints of 5, 5, and 10 minutes--but I hope by the end of the month it will feel more natural and less like I am hanging off a window ledge by my fingertips.

#last lines #WIP #writing #fic #One-Man Advantage #The Ravening

[polutrope]

Last line meme!

Tagged by @thelordofgifs @welcomingdisaster @searchingforserendipity25 @camille-lachenille @swanmaids and um possibly others? I have finally written some sentences for @nolofinweanweek so here's one:

Sometimes, when the wind blew fierce from the West and the Sea thrashed against the cliffs of Vinyamar, Aredhel’s heart longed in bitterness for the anguish of the Ice.

If you'd like to play (or keep playing), feel free: @ettelene @grey-gazania @i-am-a-lonely-visitor @melestasflight @cuarthol @swanhild @echo-bleu @tethysresort

#wips #last lines

[runninriot]

ROUND TWO OF THE WRITING PATTERN GAME

thanks again to @wynnyfryd - what a brilliant idea! i'm having way too much fun with these 🖤

Rules: list the last line of the same 10 fics you shared opening lines for and see if there's a pattern!

1. Maybe, Dustin thinks, feels something like hope blooming in his chest despite the lingering sadness, one day, I’ll find something just as perfect and wonderful. the definition of love

2. “I’ll come back,” he promises again, “I’ll always come back to you, Steve.” Only Love

3. Because they might be idiots but they’re her idiots and they deserve to be in love. sorry, not sorry

4.    “I love you, Eddie.” give and take

5. They can take care of that tomorrow. I'll take care of You

6.    “Will you marry me?” five more minutes

7. [It's a small thing, a hidden 'I love you'.] Another small treasure to keep. small treasures to keep

8.    “Careful, doll. You know what happens when you challenge me like that.” Liberate Me

9. Healing comes first, anything else can wait. Healing

10. [And then he leans in and kisses him. Just once, just a gentle touch of lips before he pulls away and smiles.]  “Guess that makes two of us.” What Dreams Are Made Of

I'm such a sap, it's disgusting 😂

tagging the lovelies @wormdebut, @eyesofshinigami & @sidekick-hero again (feed me your last lines pleaaaase!) and anyone else who wants to do this!

#writing pattern game #tag game #last lines #steddie fanfiction #steddie

[dcyllom]

Last Line Askbox Meme

Thank you @noneedtoamputate and @xxluckystrike for the tag :)

Share the last line you wrote and tag as many people as there are words (sorry, I don't have it in me to tag that many people).

It took a good few minutes for Ron's pulse to stop sounding in his ears, and by the time he could breathe again, Mabel had fallen asleep with her face pressed into his OD’s and her hand flat against his heart. 

tagging (no pressure!): @wexhappyxfew, @georgieluz, @hesbuckcompton-baby, @jump-wings and anyone else who wants to join in, just say i tagged you! :)

#tag game #last lines #meme game #mutuals