4. Which has the most “you” in it, however you’d define that?
There is a certain thread, almost a “through line” to my mess of work, of Adults Doing Shitty Jobs When They Should Really Kick Back And Go To Cabo (But They’re Too Damn Stubborn). ”Heaven’s Blessing Upon Us" was an early example (really, who else would write self-insert Seth wherein banging Eirika is decidedly not the point?). ”Another Piece of Blue" is TOTALLY that. Several more recent pieces of Jugdral fiction hit the line as well, as did some of the mid-period contemplative stuff focusing on Marth.
That said the actual answer would be “These Useless Feelings.”
10. Favorite line or lines of dialogue that you’ve written
The funny stuff! Things that make people laugh! I like to make people laugh, actually. Stuff like “Enhanced" and "Wings of Love" and "Sailane Scramble" and the Lord Mash-up Crackfic. And AU Innes.
I especially like the bleakly funny stuff set in a serious story, like this piece from “Sleep of the Just”:
Six solid months passed before Rennac popped up once more in Frelia.
"That’s a new page," the agent commented; his face, though pocked by mosquito bites, had lost not a shred of its insolence. "Fine-looking lad. Of good breeding, I’m sure."
Innes ignored the comments regarding Vanessa’s son and set about interrogating Rennac.
"Imagine a tower of rubes with other rubes perched on their shoulders- suckers carrying other suckers, going on to infinity. That’s Grado."
"How colorful. Whatever do you mean?"
"There’s no real money involved," said Rennac, and his eyes widened for just a moment with what might have been genuine concern. "Maybe a little bit of gold in the hands of a few at the top, and the rest of it is pure faith. People owing millions and millions in nonexistent gold and gems, all of it attested to by worthless slips of colored paper."
"How has it sustained itself for this long?"
"There’s always another sucker," Rennac said, and the smirking mask slipped back into place. "Besides, these people have a faith in their ventures that would nearly put Her Majesty to shame."
"Talk lightly of Her Majesty at your own peril. How long can this scheme continue to sustain itself?"
"Funnily enough, sire, I lied a few moments ago. There isn’t always another sucker. You run out of them eventually. Then the whole thing bursts like a swollen corpse."
"You’re thinking of the Carcinese Goldfish Bubble of 769? I knew this entire fiasco sounded familiar.
11. If I’m showing off just one of your pieces to someone, which one should it be?
I was going to reach way way back into the past and say “A Knight In Reverse,” which was my favorite one-shot for, like, ever and held a very special place in my affection. ”In That Dawn to Be Alive" was actually a contender as well. Both of them are, on some level, a Statement of "This is what I do, OK?" in addition to being things that meant something on an emotional level and weren’t just some kind of ideological exercise. I think both of them are also at least comprehensible to someone who is canon-blind, which used to be a thing I strove for in my stories.
But of my recent work aka Where My Head Is At Now, I think “Drink Your Glasses Empty" is more representative and also fits the criteria outlined above.
13. Are there any things that might have happened in any of your stories, but you changed them at the last minute? (So-and-so dies, they don’t actually kiss, main character has long extended ballet-based dream sequence, etc.)
The big, big one is the ending to “Starchild” wherein Lewyn shows up and, uh, things literally explode. I had a completely different “the system wins” ending set in place for years and finally said “F that, things gonna blow.”
