turps

Not a fandom that I expect anyone to be familiar with, but I'll always be proud of a couple of my Suikoden fics.

Zen and the Art of Dragon Sword Maintenance because that was the first time I ever thought "Hey, I can actually be kinda funny." (My twin brother was always the "funny one" and I was the "good, serious one". And finally, I broke out of that box.)

My favorite bit of that fic was actually the footnote:

This presumption was entirely Viktor's fault. Compounding his untreated allergies to carrier pigeons and his boycott of Ninja Express--ninjas, he thought, should not be glorified postal workers--was the simple fact that he just wasn't much of a letter-writer.

Alchemy because that was the first time I really felt that I'd done something both funny and serious.

And I'll always remember how I felt when I wrote this bit, like maybe it wasn't terribly original, but it was exactly what the fic needed:

"I remember thinking at the time," Flik said, "that even a fraction of her love was priceless. And if I treasured it less simply because I wasn't her first love or her greatest love, then... " Flik's voice broke, and Viktor squeezed his hand. He swallowed and continued. "Then God forbid, if I were ever in her shoes."

And Viktor--though he wasn't Flik's first love or his greatest--drew Flik's hand to his lips, and whispered into his palm. "You're priceless."

I think the pleasure I got from just feeling like I got those two fics right is what has kept me trying to write.