#specrecs 2020

[spectre-requisitions-exchange]

Sign-Ups are Open!

SIGN-UPS ARE OPEN! Sign-ups for the Spectre Requisitions exchange will be possible from January 20 to February 2nd. You must fill out at least five unique requests and three unique offers (requests and offers do not necessarily have to be the same!). Anytime someone offers something, we will update the “Offers Present?” tab on the nominations spreadsheet with an [x] when it is offered. You may also choose ‘Any Pairings’ and ask or volunteer to write any of the pairings of the nominations list. NOW THAT SAID: SIGN UP! SIGN UP! SIGN-UP! CLICK HERE TO SIGN-UP! You can go back and edit your Sign Up Form up until  25 Jan 2019 06:00PM EST. A BIG WARNING ABOUT USING ‘ANY PAIRINGS’: Any pairing means exactly that, that you are willing to get or create fanworks for any pairing. We cannot control what characters or prompts are in an “Any Pairings” request. Thus, it should not be used for a request like “Any Garrus Vakarian fic”.  “Any pairing” requests should only be requested for when you really want to see a certain trope or kink  (and don’t care which characters are used) and should only be offered if you want the sheer challenge of a pure mystery! The only thing we will allow you to limit it by is the category of relationship, eg Gen, F/F, M/M or F/M. Anything else put into the box will be ignored so chose this option CAREFULLY. If you would like to participate but do not have an AO3 account, please send us a message and we will get you an invitation.

One Important Warning About DNW: Please add your DNW (Do Not Wants) to your sign-ups. We cannot enforce DNWs that are only in letters!

How Do I Sign Up? Instructions beneath the cut:

1) Go to the Sign Up Form at AO3 while you are logged in (or go to the Spectre Requisitions Collection for this year and click “Sign Up”)  2) Click the checkmark on “Mass Effect - All Media Types” for the fandom!

3) Start writing the name of your favorite character/pairing from the nominations. Don’t forget to check the spreadsheet if you need inspiration! 3) The box should start to autofill as you type; if it doesn’t, simply enter things as they are in the tagset. Select your pairing of choice. You can have one or two pairings per request, and may have ten requests total. This gives you a total of 20 potential pairings to request at maximum, and the minimum is 5 requests and 3 offers. 

This is what it looks like with one relationship filled in:

Note that the box is still active and allows you to fill more in. If you are planning on requesting only the minimum, please only fill one in per box. 

And here’s what it looks like with two tags filled in:

Now, the box is gone, and you've maxed out this request set. Note that when you’re doing multiple pairings, you’ll have to put your prompts/likes/DNWs for both pairings in the same box. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you’ve got more questions! 4) Decide whether you would like to potentially receive fanart or fanfic, or both. Check the applicable box(es) or select “any” for both.  5) Give your author some idea of what you want to see in the description box. Good things to list: general likes, rating restrictions, prompt ideas, squicks/triggers/do-not-wants, or anything else you’d like the writer to know. Make sure you list things you definitively do not want. Authors and artists are absolutely forbidden to ignore squicks and triggers. Otherwise, the only guideline of your prompt authors/artists is unequivocally beholden to is the requested pairing, though they are encouraged to take your preferences into consideration. 6) Repeat between 5-10 times, as you like! 8) You may write a letter that goes more in-depth and post it to your Tumblr, DreamWidth, public google doc, or another platform, and then fill in the URL in the letterbox. 9) Fill out your offers. You must fill out at least three unique pairings you would be okay with writing and can choose one or two pairings to fill in per request. If you have any comments for the moderators, please put them in the “Notes for Mods” section. This should be used for people you don’t want to match with, subjects you feel you can’t/won’t draw/write, or other information that you think may be helpful for matching you with a good assignment. 

A BIG WARNING ABOUT USING ‘ANY PAIRINGS’: You may choose to offer ANY, but this means you could be matched to ANYONE who has signed up for the exchange. Do NOT pick Any Pairings if you are not up for a challenge! The only thing we will allow you to limit it by is a category of relationship, eg Gen, F/F, M/M or M/F. Anything else cannot be controlled so chose this CAREFULLY. 10) Click submit! And welcome to the Mass Effect Rare Pair Exchange!

[ramblingandpie]

My 2020 Fanfic Masterpost

So this year, I reached my goal of posting 50,000 words to AO3. 53,292 words, to be exact.

So. Here is my materpost of all the fics I posted this year, sorted by fandom.

Some notes: I was really proud of finishing “A Thousand Faces”. It’s definitely the most ambitious fic I’ve undertaken, in terms of what I was trying to accomplish between the character relationships and their progression as well as addressing some plot holes and areas of lore that were not covered in the game. “How to Trust an Iceberg” is another fic I’m very proud of. I wasn’t a huge fan of either Miranda or Ashley before writing it, but digging into their characters was really nice.

When I started watching The Untamed, I didn’t think I’d end up writing fic for it, but I ended up writing over 10,000 words spread over 5 fics so uuuuuuh that happened. I got my first Anti comment! Which honestly just makes me want to write more JC/NHS, so good job there, antis. I’m also really happy with how “Small, Broken Things” and “Mending the Broken Moments” turned out since I so rarely write angst, so it was interesting to explore that in my writing.

“The Only Thing You Have To Do Is Nothing” had by far the most hits, most kudos, most bookmarks, and tied for most comment threads. So apparently people liked it.

I’m also super psyched I was able to pull off 50,000 words despite being sick for about half the year, working the first half, in school the second half... yeah. It was a busy year!

So without further ado... here we are.

Babylon 5

Give It All Up (287 words) Susan Ivanova/Talia Winters; major spoilers for episode Divided Loyalties; angst; mind manipulation Control is brought back to Psi Corps for interrogation.

Leverage

Fighting Fire (238 words) Hardison/Parker/Eliot OT3; Fluff; Prompt Fill Parker and Eliot run into some fiery trouble on a job, while Hardison worries over their coms.

Mass Effect

How to Trust an Iceberg (11,256 words) (written for the SpecRecs Rarepair Challenge) Miranda Lawson/Ashley Williams; James Vega; Enemies to Lovers; Destroy Ending; Canonical Character Death; Post-Canon; Slow Burn; Or as slow a burn can be in 11k words After the Reapers and their forces disappear, there is still a lot of work to do. Ashley, recovering from injuries, finds that Miranda seems to be involved in everything. She takes it as her duty to investigate.

Something Shiny and New (1,559 words) (written for the SpecRecs Rarepair Challenge) Kasumi Goto/Miranda Lawson; Heist; Fluff; Kelptomania; Established Relationship; Companionable Snark Kasumi has persuaded Miranda to help her acquire some resources... and maybe a few other things along the way.

On Your Toes (1,625 words) (from an emoji prompt) Female Shepard/Samantha Traynor; Dancing; Swing Dancing; Fluff; Post-Canon; Shepard Survives Samantha has a surprise for Shepard. It's... dancing lessons????

A Perfect Morning (687 words) Miranda Lawson/Ashley Williams; Femslash; Fluff; Fishing Ashley takes Miranda fishing, and they enjoy some relaxing moments together.

A Difference in Translation (446 words) Ashley Williams/Tali’Zorah nar Rayya; Fluff; Poetry Tali and Ashley share a quiet moment, and Tali reflects on some poetry that Ashley shared with her. Only... that's definitely not how it goes!

Technobabble Late Into the Night (515 words) Female Shepard/Samatha Traynor; Fluff; Technobabble Shepard happens on Samantha working on a project late at night.

Eye of the Storm (782 words) (from a title prompt) Female Shepard/Samantha Traynor; Fluff; Slice of Life Shepard and Samantha are each having a rough day.

A Thousand Faces (22,907 words) (for the Mass Effect Big Bang) Vetra Nyx/Female Ryder; Cora Harper/Male Ryder; SAM; The whole crew makes appearances; Established relationship; filling plot holes; probably making new plot holes; minor original characters; post-canon; medical examination; lots of talking about anatomy in a medical sense; Leviathans; Kett origin theories; mind control; throwing shade at the Nexus for lack of universal design; babies; botany; fairy tale elements; couples have arguments but talk things out; evolution Kesh has the Pathfinder and her crew investigate some mysteries on the Nexus. Along the way, they encounter some mysteries from the Milky Way that came along for the ride. They learn some things about Milky Way history, Andromeda history, and some things they never realized they had in common.

21 Myths About Pigeons Debunked (484 words) (from a title prompt) Vetra Nyx/Femal Ryder; Fluff; Pigeons; Vetra’s sordid smuggler past Ryder and Vetra talk pigeons.

Star Wars

Appreciating the View (467 words)  (from an emoji prompt) Poe Dameron/Finn; Fluff; Force-Sensitive Finn; Post-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywaler Finn and Poe go rock climbing.

The Untamed

The Only Thing You Have To Do Is Nothing (906 words) Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian; Jiang Cheng; Jin Zixuan; period-typical homophobia; Jin Zixuan says gay rights; threats of violence While searching for Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji in the cave of XuanWu, Jiang Cheng and Jin Zixuan stumble across them in a compromising position. Jiang Cheng is upset; Jin Zixuan is a bit more reasonable about things. Please note that the ship is in the background; this fic is more about Jiang Cheng coming to terms with things.

Small, Broken Things (2,133 words) Lan Shizui; Lan Wangji; sickfic; kid fic; warning for a terrible doctor Lan Wangji has rescued A-Yuan, but now he has a problem. The boy is clearly ill and he has no idea what to do about it.

Mending the Broken Moments (6,443 words) (a sequel to Small, Broken things) Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian; Lan Xichen; Lan Shizui; Lan Qiren; Lan Jingui; Canonical Character Death; PTSD; Depression; Self-Harm; Angst; Physical Abuse; Angst with a happy ending; eventual happy ending; happy ending; rabbits; the cloud recesses rabbits; dead Wei Wuxian After bringing A-Yuan back to Cloud Recesses, Lan Wangji is sequestered, punished, and grieving Wei Wuxian's death. Lan Xichen is doing his best to help, but it still takes months before Lan Wangji is ready to be allowed a small bit of freedom.

Stress Relief (1800 words) (written for The MDZS / Untamed Kink Meme 2020) Jiang Yanli/Wen Qing; Light BDSM; Modern AU; Dominatrix Jiang Yanli; Almost Fluff; No Smut Based on a prompt for the MDZS Kinkmeme! The request was for business exec Wen Qing, frustrated with her boss, Wen Ruohan, hiring dominatrix Jiang Yanli for some stress relief. Wen Qing is the chief surgeon of one of the departments at Nightless Hospital, and she definitely has stress.

Do You Still Think I’m Beautiful? (757 words) Jiang Cheng/Nie Huaisang; Alcohol; Post-Canon; Fluff At some point after the events of the series, Nie Huaisang is making up for lost time, being the clan leader he couldn't be while he was focused on revenge. He has an important question for Jiang Cheng, to perhaps make up for other lost time.

[hunnybadgerv]

Love Yourself Challenge

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 favourite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc. ) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world. Tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

Tagged by @chyrstis. Thank you so much for reaching out to me for this. And @unclefungusthegoat, didn’t see that until after I posted this.

Tagging: @twistedsinews, @alyssalenko, @theoriginalladya, but pressure or obligation intended at all.Anyone else that I haven’t mentioned that wants to give it a shot, please do. I just know I’ve seen a lot of these cross my dash and I’m not entirely sure who has and have not completed this already.

Just a note: So far, this year (2020) I’ve only finished and posted 3 pieces, so by process of error I’m including them. I’m also including two pieces that I worked on last year because if I don’t I cannot get to the five required.

Hot Tub Thumping (Far Cry 5)

Again another story inspired by a Tumblr gif. This one was of a bear just opening a hot tub and climbing in. I happened to be playing Far Cry 5 at the time and I suddenly heard Sharky’s voice in the back of my head. Then this happened. I regret nothing. 

Catching Matt (Saints Row)

This piece has been sitting in an unfinished partially written and ever-changing state for ... oh wow, longer than I’m going to admit to. It was inspired by a wonderfully dirty image I stumbled across here many moons ago. And maybe once ever two years, I have happened across it in its ever-in-need-of-revision state and put a little work into it. This year, when that happened I decided to put it on the front burner and finally finish it. So, I did.

One Too Many (Mass Effect 3)

This was a sweet fluffy piece featuring Ashley Williams and James Vega from Mass Effect 3, and written for this year’s SpecRecs. I kind of wanted to take that cute flirtation they had in the Citadel party and translate it elsewhere. So, we ended up with a drunken elevator kiss, or kisses.

Unshakable Duty (Dragon Age 2)

This ongoing WIP is actually one of my favorite pieces ever. I’m in a planning stage with much of it right now, because I became suddenly aware that I wasn’t sure where I was ending this piece. And since I did not know that I didn’t know where to go next. It has resulted in some edits and revisions to even the chapters currently written. So, I’m trying to get a bulk of writing done on it before I start updating again. Ideally, I’d like to have it finished completely before I start updating again.

This WIP is a Templar!Sebastian AU that puts he and Hawke on opposite sides of the line, to start. But shows that sometimes when everything is at stake you take all the help you can get. It is unfinished and will remain so for a bit longer.

Surprise Attack  (Far Cry 5)

This was my first Far Cry 5 fic. It was a lot of fun to write and I cannot even remember where the idea sprang up from. But it just kind of happened. (Though it is at the edge of over a year because it was posted last March, but I discovered that I’ve really only posted like 6 things in the last two years in total. So, yeah. Need to write more. Oh my!)

[dr-ladybird]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Mass Effect: Andromeda, Mass Effect - All Media Types Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Liam Kosta/Female Ryder | Sara Characters: Female Ryder | Sara, Liam Kosta, Nakmor Drack, Tempest Crew (Mass Effect) Additional Tags: Fluff and Smut, Humor, Beards, Beard Fetish, Friends to Lovers, First Love, Awkwardness, Boundaries, Bad Dirty Talk, Domestic Fluff, Cooking, vaguely love-triangle-ish, Not actually polyamory but don't read if poly!fic squicks you, open relationship to closed relationship, HELP most of my crew is hot INCLUDING THE MAGENTA CATSQUID, Alien Gender/Sexuality, Alien Technology, Drack attempts romantic advice, Drack is gay Summary:

Sara’s never had a boyfriend before, and she’s not sure what she’s doing with Liam. At least the sex is good?

Sent in a late treat for SpecRecs 2020!

[bardofheartdive]

Year in Review 2019

I was tagged (kinda? sorta? close enough!) by @cdrkateshepard. I will tag @blueteaparty, @joufancyhuh, @ljandersen, @pigeontheoneandonly, (only if you want to) and anyone else who wants to play!

Published

I actually did better than I thought. Two exchanges, a mini-MEBB, and a full length MEBB will do that, I suppose.

Fragile: Pinch hit written for the 2018 Critmas Exchange. (But published in 2019, so it still counts right?) Kima/Allura Vysoren featuring small appearances by Vox Machina. 

Easy Money: Mini-Reverse MEBB with art by @bioticfox. My take on how Feron got involved with the Shadow Broker.

Five Times Kaidan Fixed James’ Phone (and one time James fixed his): My SpecRec assignment, a gift for @thisnewjoe. Kaidan Alenko/James Vega, college AU where Kaidan works at the IT Help Desk and James is as good at tech as he is in canon.

Echoes Remain: Full-length reverse MEBB with art by @azzydarling herself. Super angsty, break your heart Kaidan Alenko/mShep. Warnings for Major Character Death.

Heads I’m Yours, Tails Your Mine: Kaidan Alenko/James Vega collab with @bioticfox that we started for Leather and Lace Week in 2017 and FINALLY finished after 2 years (please don’t judge). 

Times Long Past: Songfic based on Same Old Lang Syne by Dan Fogelberg. Kaidan Alenko & Rahna is the primary focus though there is background Kaidan Alenko/mShep/James Vega. (Because it’s me.)

Written

I don’t even know how to answer this question. Total from published works is 28,623 but some of that was previously written and that doesn’t count WIPs so... who knows?

Miscellaneous

Okay, so not a writing thing but I really wanted to include the crafts that I did this year. Because, honestly, it’s not a complete review without them.

N7 dice bag for the 2018 Holiday Harbinger exchange. (Like Critmas, posting was first thing in the year so I’m counting it with 2019.)

Thane messenger bag, also for 2018 Holiday Harbinger. This one was a pinch hit and I was glad to get it!

Kaidan pencil/make-up bag. I made this for Kaidan Week 2019 and then used it as a give-away prize for participation in the week.

Rice hot/cold pack with N7 cover. This was a Christmas gift for @cdrkateshepard and I’m so pleased with the way it turned out.

My 2019 Holiday Harbinger gift is completed, however it has not been mailed yet so I’ll just include it with next year’s review, I guess.

Future

I have a whole bunch of WIPs (some of which have been sitting in folders for years) and my goal for 2020 is completion so... here’s a smattering. (Most of them are unnamed or have working titles.)

14000606: An Avengers: Endgame ending rewrite, because I have some issues with what canon gave me.

Not the First Time, Nor the Last (working title): Collab with @rock-paperback-scissors, her art, my fic. Her Jon Shepard (Commander Shepard’s father) joins forces with my Veerla Sterling (not-Shepard) to fight Cerberus on Earth during ME3.

5 Times Shepard Stayed Awake (and 1 time she didn’t): Probably the only thing I will ever write for Gina, one of my not-a-Shepards. This has been in my WIP folder for years and I’d really like to get it finished.

Besame: A Walk in the Clouds AU with @cdrkateshepard, my Alé Ryder with her Jack Shepard. Features fake dating, bed sharing, nightmares, and, above all, true love. Possible one-shots to follow, maybe.

Hopefully, something with @cdrkateshepard’s Sully Shepard and my Veerla Sterling (Shepard). Zombies? We’ll see!

I plan to do the MEBB again this year, though I’m not 100% sure what I’m going to write about. I have a couple different ideas so it’s just a matter of which one catches my fancy enough to get going with it.

I also plan to do SpecRecs, depending on the dates (and how much they overlap with the MEBB).

I’m going to start doing an annual sewing project giveaway for my birthday. The plan for this one is a set of Avatar: The Last Airbender potholders.

[spectre-requisitions-exchange]

Nominations are LIVE!

Time to get to nominating this year’s delicious rare pairs!

When nominating, please fill in “Mass Effect – All Media Types” in the fandom box.

As a reminder, both gen (&) and romantic (/) relationship tags are allowed for this exchange. Any relationship with less than 200 completed works is eligible! If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask the mods!

And if you haven’t already joined the Discord server, it’s a great place to hang out and talk rare pairs.

We’ve had a few new people inquire just how to nominate, and for a guide to find out how to do so, please read below:

1) Go to the Ao3 Tagset Page for Spectre Requisitions while logged into Ao3. A tagset is what most Ao3 fan exchanges use to determine what relationships (in Spec Rec’s case) or other criteria are used for a fanfiction exchange. If a pairing is not nominated, it will not be able to be used for sign-ups, regardless of whether it would have been eligible otherwise. (eg, Suvi/Chakwas, while certainly being eligible as far as total works go, won’t be an option to ask for if it’s not nominated.) 

If you don’t have an Ao3 account, contact the mods, we’ll be happy to help you get one with an invite link!

If you do have an AO3 account, it should look like this in the upper right corner:

2) Click the Nominate Button.

You should wind up with a page that looks like this:

3) Fill out the Nominations Sheet.

For fandom, please use “Mass Effect - All Media Types”. We only use Mass Effect - All Media Types because it gives us the highest chance of getting that sweet, sweet Mass Effect content in there regardless of potentially sticky couples (for example: crossovers between a book and a game, or between the Mass Effect Trilogy and Andromeda, or crossovers between other media and Mass Effect) and because Ao3 frankly doesn’t like it when we have couples wandering through other groups. For Relationships, any pairing/threesome/moresome with under 200 completed works is allowed. For most pairings, Ao3 should help autocomplete it for you -- but if you come up with a very original pairing (or AO3 is feeling unhelpful), it may require you to type in the full thing. If it does not auto-complete, don’t worry - you can still submit it! Pairings should be in alphabetical order. One pairing per line, please!

4) Submit your Nominations! Just click the button on the bottom, and you should be off off and away!

FAQ:

 How can I tell what is under 200 completed fics? I’m not a mind reader, C-sec officer!

You can search AO3′s tags here to find pairings for a given character (canonical only gives you pairings big enough that Ao3 has declared them canonical categories). It should look something like this:

If you see a number under 200 here, you’re golden! Submit away. If it’s over 200 here, however, don’t despair - check the completed works. For example:

Doesn’t look eligible if you just do a tag search. However, if you click the tag and then go through the works for the couple, do a search for completed works only and you might be surprised!

To do this, look at the “Sort and Filter” sidebar and scroll down until you reach this field:

Click complete works only. And in this case, you’d find this couple is, in fact, eligible!

What if I accidentally nominate something that’s not eligible? Will I get in trouble?

Nah. You might wind up with it being rejected, but we assume most people operate in good faith in their nominations.

How many things can I nominate?

10 pairings - so choose carefully what you’d like to see and write. That covers both Andromeda and Trilogy.

Can I nominate even if I’m not sure I’ll sign up?

Of course! Nominating isn’t a binding process - you’re only voting for what you’d like to see. You don’t have to sign up after nominating things - in fact, nominations are anonymous, so we can’t tell what you’ve nominated.

Are there any special rules/restrictions on what I can/can’t nominate?

Only the 200 work maximum on what’s allowed in.

Can I nominate Original Characters?

Yes - ish. We allow original characters who are defined enough to give the person who matches you something to go on, but not so much so they have to do an exhaustive amount of research on a fanon character. For example:

Allowable OC nominations:

Female Asari Spectre/Female Cerberus Agent - both these roles are defined in terms of what category of pairing they want (f/f), and the two roles give someone an idea of who these people are without being excessively limiting.

Not-so-allowable:

Communications Officer/Male Original Character: both of these are too vague. We’re not sure whether this person wants m/m, f/m, or a third category for the Communication’s Officer; Male Original Character is so nebulously defined that we’re not sure just who that might be.

Female Shepard/Batarian(s) - We don’t know who these batarians are, or how many of them there are. “Five Male Batarian Pilots” tells us a lot more.

Male Shepard/Legion/Ebony Raven Darkmayne (My OC) - While we encourage you to add details about your shepards or other OCs, it’s very hard to write for original characters someone else has formed. Please nominate your OC in more generic terms - you can add in names and descriptions in optional details, but this way the writer or artist has more wiggle room for what will suit their fic or art, and you have more options of matching more people since you aren’t limited to one interpretation of a concept.

A good rule of thumb is if you can sum up an OC in five non-name nouns, it’s probably a valid nomination.

Can I nominate crossovers?

Yes! Crossovers between different Mass Effect properties are welcome! Just please, if the character you’re crossing over doesn’t hail from a Mass Effect canon, add in the canon next to the character name, eg “Darth Vader (Star Wars)/Garrus Vakarian.”

[spectre-requisitions-exchange]

Discord Invite Link

Apologies! We set it to never expire, but evidently, Discord has changed the formatting and caught C-Sec officer sleeping. Thanks to the helpful spectre operatives who told us about this. 

Our lovely C-Sec officer has been reprimanded. Please use this link instead to get to the Spec Recs discord. We look forward to seeing you there! 

https://discord.gg/5RUyNNB

[spectre-requisitions-exchange]

Spec Recs 2020 Clarification Post #1

 Please change these nominations to be more specific. Failure to change these nominations by the final day of nominations (January 19) will result in them being declined!

Avitus Rix & Ryder – Please clarify which Ryder are you requesting: Female Ryder | Sara, Male Ryder | Scott, Ellen, or Alec

Illusive Man | Jack Harper/Shepard - Please clarify whether you want Male Shepard or Female Shepard.

Kai Leng/Shepard Clone - Please clarify whether you want Male Shepard or Female Shepard.

Miranda Lawson/Original Character(s) - Please clarify which kind of original character is desired, eg Miranda Lawson/Five Batarian Soldiers, Miranda Lawson/Female Alliance Recruit, etc.

Miranda Lawson/Miranda Lawson's Rogueishly Handsome Trans Clone - Please specify which gender the clone is.

As a clarification note for trans characters, please nominate trans characters under the gender identity that is preferred by/for the character (ex: for a trans! female Shepard that was assigned male at birth but is/identifies as female, please use "Female Shepard"). To ensure the character is seen as trans, please write in optional details that you would prefer to see this character as trans and DNW: non-trans/cis interpretations of [Character]. We do not use the "Trans [Character]" label firstly because we do not believe a trans character should be segregated from other characters of their chosen gender, and secondly because this allows a wider potential range of possible trans characters - by leaving it in optional details, any character can be seen as trans.

[bardofheartdive]

A Writer’s Review of 2019

tI was tagged by @alyssalenko - thank you so much, hon! I’m tagging literally everyone who wants to do this. Please tag me if you do it so I can take a look at all your stuff!

Word count:

I honestly don’t know how to answer this. I don’t do a good job of tracking my unpublished words and there were stories that I finished this year that were collabs or started before this year. The total word count for all my stories completed this year was 28,623.

Number of smut scenes:

None. I don’t write smut (outside collabs). I’m not against them and I don’t have a problem reading them, I’m just not very good at them and I’m too embarrassed to post at their current...caliber? They typically read like a mix of an anatomy textbook, a sex ed pamphlet, and an instruction manual. Not the kind of thing you look for in fic.

New things I tried this year:

I wrote for the Critical Role fandom, which is only my second not-Mass Effect fic. I also did two reverse MEBBs. One of them had the full 10k word count, making it the longest thing I have ever posted.

Favorite thing I wrote this year:

Echoes Remain, my full length reverse MEBB. Angsty mShenko with warnings for Major Character Death.

Haunted by the memory of an unknown voice, Kaidan begins to suspect that his world is not what it seems. As he searches for answers, reality itself threatens to unravel.

Favorite fic I read this year:

I don’t think it’s fair to ask me to pick just one so here are some of the 

Surviving Hell on Earth by @juleshawke. This was on my To Read list for forever and I got to it just in time to read the ending in real time.

Sargent Matt Stokes was part of Vega's team responsible for Shepard but when the Reapers arrived only Vega and Shepard made it off Earth. All Stokes has to do now is survive but he's once more given a task he never expected and he'll be damned if he doesn't give it his all.

Pieological Necessity by @bioticfox. Foxy or I have gotten the other in three of the five exchanges we’ve both participated in, which has lead to so many fantastic mShenga fics (if I may say so)! This is was my gift for the 2019 SpecRecs and foxy delivered in spades.

Five times James Vega didn't get pie and one time he did.

Forever May Not Be Long Enough (WIP) by @cdrkateshepard. Origin story for Jake Shepard, set in Mindoir pre-raid. Jake and Johnny are adorable and I love them!

Commander Jake Shepard wasn't always a leader. As a matter of fact, he wasn't always a Shepard, either. Born on Mindoir, his path to 'hero' was made up of joy and sadness, losing everything and finding it again. The day his biotics manifested in bio class was the beginning of a journey that he was never entirely sure he would survive but also of a love that would shape the rest of his life.

1,000 Years (A Reconciliation Story) by @soldiermom1973. fShenko set post-Reaper War. I really enjoyed the relationship coming together after the war. It was an idea I hadn’t seen before.

Allie Shepard regretted the day she told Kaidan Alenko 'no' during the sanity check lunch date. In the years since the Reaper War ended, they drifted apart and she lived with that regret, often wondering how things might be if she hadn't told him no. When chance brings them together again, it is too late to start over?

Writing goals for 2020:

My overarching goal for this year is completion. I have SO many WIPs and even more ideas... This year I really want to work on finishing things. I plan to do SpecRecs and the MEBB again. I’d also like to work on stretching my word counts and maybe get into long(er) fics.

[bardofheartdive]

Fic Wrap-up Meme

Tagged by @joufancyhuh

Your 3 fanfics with the most comments in 2019:

Echoes Remain, my angsty, mShenko MEBB

Five Times Kaidan Fixed James’ Phone (and one time James fixed his), SpecRecs for @thisnewjoe

Fragile, a pinch hit for the 2018 Critmas Exchange

Your 3 fanfics with the most kudos in 2019:

Fragile

Five Times Kaidan Fixed James’ Phone (and one time James fixed his)

Echoes Remain

Your 3 fanfics with the most Bookmarks in 2019:

Tie between Echoes Remain and Fragile

Tie between Echoes Remain and Fragile

Five Times Kaidan Fixed James’ Phone (and one time James fixed his)

(I swear I wrote more than three fics in 2019, these 3 were just the most popular by a LARGE margin)

Your first fanfic in 2019:

Fragile (for the 2018 Critmas Exchange)

Your last fanfic in 2019:

Times Long Past, a Kaidan Christmas fic set in my mShenga universe (Unless I happen to whip something out in the next week. Don’t hold your breath.)

Favorite Opening line from a fic in 2019:

Kaidan hadn’t planned to spend Christmas Eve in the grocery store but somehow between seeing his mom off, making arrangements to get John and James home by New Year, and getting everything squared away with his students and subordinates, he found himself alone in an apartment with no coffee, an empty refrigerator, and exactly half a roll of toilet paper. (Times Long Past)

Favorite ending line from a fic in 2019:

Kima had never loved fragile things. But nothing about Allura had ever been fragile. (Fragile)

Your favorite character to write for in 2019:

Kaidan Alenko, to absolutely no one’s surprise.

Your favorite pairing to write for in 2019:

Kaidan Alenko/James Vega, though it’s not a very clear margin. All of the fics that I started AND finished in 2019 have different pairings. Kaidan/James only pulls again if I include Heads I’m Yours, Tails You’re Mine, a collab with @bioticfox for Leather and Lace Week, which we finished this year but started in 2017. (don’t judge, okay?)

Your proudest fic from 2019:

Echoes Remain. It was my first solo, full length MEBB and the longest thing I’ve ever written. Also, I’m just really proud of how the whole thing came together. The world and the plot were challenging but in the end I think I did well with it.

Your Longest Fanfic in 2019:

Echoes Remain again. Like I said, longest fic to date.

Any goals for 2020?

Completion. I have a lot of WIPs that have been sitting around for months (or years) and that I really want to finish. I also would like to do the MEBB again and SpecRecs Exchange.

Tag some people

@alyssalenko, @blueteaparty, @pigeontheoneandonly, and @soldiermom1973. Only if you want to play!

[dr-ladybird]

status of me

-back in Inconvenient Farming Town With No Good Coffee for another two weeks. Then RETURN TO NATURAL HABITAT! mmm lattes. 

-well, at least the air’s clean now (town was never on fire, but it caught a lot of smoke from the big NSW fires...)

-internet not working

-if I keep flickering in and out of apparent existence, it’s because the jury-rigged WiFi is no longer WiFi-ing

-on the bright side, taking sertraline was a brilliant idea (now I just need a replacement therapist - told the last one to bugger off after she wouldn’t stop telling me to quit my job and live off my partner’s earnings - I mean, it’s a tempting idea, but I’m saving it for Plan Z if absolutely nothing else works!)

-will definitely make sure I’m part of Specrecs 2020 though, hell yeah. I love this fandom and most of the popular pairings, but wow it’s hyperfocussed on the popular pairings and the PCs.