#i hope that answered your question and wasnt too much of tooting my own horn

[turnupswritessometimes]

Hi, can I ask your top favorite fics that you've written (feel free how much that you want to list)? Why they're special to you? Is there a specific inspiration when you wrote them?

Oh, it's Hanging Tough. It honestly feels like I peaked with it.

I just feel like it has a really nice flow. I love how Ash and Eiji's conversations came out. I love how it captures the 80s New York summer. I love how they are with each other.

I had absolutely no plan for it. It was just oneshots that kept joining together into something more. I love this moment:

"I never want you to act with me, Eiji." His voice was quiet.

"Really?" Eiji's lips quirked upwards. "So, I can hold your hand in front of Bones and Kong?"

"Is that all you want to do? Hold my hand?"

Eiji laughed, his fingers twitching in Ash's. "Maybe. What would you want to do?"

He stubbed out the rest of the cigarette on the balcony and let out the last breath of smoke.

"You don't want to know."

But that only made Eiji laugh again. "I just asked, didn't I?"

Ash gave him a sideways glance. He was smiling with slightly pink cheeks and sparkling eyes.

"It's too early for this."

"Let's go inside," Eiji said.

So, they did. And left the balcony doors open, putting on a pot of coffee then coming back to sit on the sofa with mugs filled to the brim.

A fun behind the scenes tidbit is that I started writing some of the earlier oneshots whilst I was at work. Only the only thing I could write with whilst on the floor was quill and ink, and as I wore regency dress, I didn't have pockets. Cue me stuffing pages of queer fanfiction down the front of my dress for safekeeping. Truly living the Austen heroine dream!

I also come back to We Don't Need Another Hero a lot - I enjoyed writing a young Ash. I really enjoyed giving young Ash a home; and really exploring that. Ash and Max's relationship is so special to me (as is probably evident in my other Banana Fish works). I actually have even more scenes for that one that I haven't uploaded.

I could probably fill the whole list with Banana Fish, lol - Bed of Roses I'm very proud of (inspired by Young Guns) too!

I also really loved Worth Running To. It's such a love letter to the first Kingdom Hearts game for me. I really loved the piracy hijinks, and weaving in the other characters and the story. I loved both Riku and Sora's backstories in it. It was really fun to have overarching story threads through the whole fic - Namine, but also the medallion. The Montague sibling books were definitely a big inspiration, but I was also surrounded by regency history at the time. I've considered making it into it's own novel many times, but it's just too entrenched in Kingdom Hearts, and I think that makes it very special.

I also loved their first kiss. I was so eager to write it:

“Riku!” He tried to fight his way forward, even as he was dragged away.

Riku started onward, panic in his eyes. “Sora!”

He dug his heels into the deck. He could only see those sea coloured eyes and he knew that he had to keep them in sight. No matter what.

But the men were stronger, and he stumbled.

Just as men grabbed hold of Riku, trying to tug his arms back.

But he had closed the gap. His mouth smashed into Sora’s.

For a moment, that was the whole world. The whole world was Riku’s lips on his and there was supernova exploding in his chest.

He was kissing Riku. Riku was kissing him.

Then he remembered the hands pulling him away. They were yanked apart and someone was yelling. People were yelling, but Sora couldn’t hear them. His out breath was a sigh.

The only thing he could see were those eyes.

And his lips were still tingling.

I also loved writing Roxas' story in the same universe, but it wasn't as big a hit on Ao3. (Very much inspired by Byron's schooldays, though.)

I also have a soft spot for Confession; I like exploring religion and it's been really cool to see it hit home with others, and I was very proud of An Impression in Bread Dough; it came out very poetic.

I feel like that's the main ones that I would say are my very favourites. I've loved writing all my fics, I think, but these are the ones I often come back to re-read and am proud of.

Generally, with my oneshots, I'm inspired by little moments or throwaway lines that mean something more. (My Fruits Basket fics usually come from there.) My Banana Fish fics are certainly inspired by watching movies with my dad, and me inserting Ash and Eiji into them. (He doesn't know this!)