Mass Effect Creative Circle

It’s that time again! I invite anyone who is interested to join me as I spend the month of December frantically writing a ficlet a day. I will be writing BBC Sherlock but any fandom is welcome!

Join Me!

Below is a list of prompts—feel free to do as many or as few as you like. Switch them around, change ones you don’t like, write them all in a month, or take all year—it’s up to you. I’m calling it an Advent challenge so I can stop writing on the 24th and have the rest of the month off, but you don’t have to write about Christmas if you don’t want to. Be creative and do whatever inspires you! Write that trope you love or misinterpret the prompt to fit what you want to say. Just make sure you have fun!

You can post your ficlets on Tumblr and/or on AO3. I’ve created an AO3 collection for everyone’s work, which will be open to all starting December 1: 2018 Advent Ficlet Challenge. (If you post all your ficlets as one work with chapters instead of individually in a series, it makes it easier for others to browse the collection, though this is not a requirement.) If you post on Tumblr, use the tag “#2018 Advent Ficlet Challenge” so others can find your ficlets.

Open to any and all ratings and ships!

Holiday decor  

Star

You better watch out

Snowman

Believe

Fireplace

Memories

Music

Gift

Do you see what I see 

Comfort and joy 

Gingerbread

Frost

A beautiful sight

Toy soldier

Season’s greetings

Warm and cozy

Celebration

Silent night

Home  

Hopes and fears

Feast

Nightmare before Christmas

Peace

Even after years of deep space travel Shepard marvels at this dark expanse, this cold, endless sea they sail. Deadly. Unforgiving. And yet - and yet it’s peaceful.

Hands trembling Shepard prepares for their first space walk since Alchera. Sometimes you have to leave the fragile safety carrying you through this darkness. Heart racing they march to the airlock. They had done this dozens of time. They used to enjoy it, and they would learn to enjoy it again.

The quiet, the vastness.

Written for the Mass Effect Creative Circle Mini Challenge of angsty romantic prompts. I included ““I thought I lost you” “Don’t go where I can’t follow!” and “Please, I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Huge thanks to my beta @starsandskies, you are amazing honey and I love you!

***

Pairing: James Vega/Female Shepard

Rated: E

“What do you mean she is out of reach?!” James shouted, ducking behind a cover. “Esteban?!”

Cortez aimed his rifle at the scattered cannibals and James didn’t fail to catch the distress in his voice. “I lost comm at 30 000 feet.”

A burst of bullets and shrieks smothered James’ grunt.

“She is going to be fine. We just- have to try and stay alive.” Liara stammered, casting a singularity that engulfed the cannibals approaching, leaving them at James’ mercy.

“No offense doc but I can’t just shrug it off.” A bitter tint on his words, as his perfect aim made short work of their enemies.

“Do you think I am?” Liara delivered her words as a whiplash on James’ face, fingers flickering in blue.

“Watch it!”

Cortez’ warning made him both face forward just in time to roll off the path of a charging brute.  

James held his shotgun with such a vicious grip he was sure his knuckles were white under his armor. His heart felt heavy on his chest, every pounding making him stagger, a rush of adrenaline and fear flooding his veins. The carnage was doing very little to put his mind at ease, every passing second dragging him further and further into desperation. Barbara was down there, alone, surrounded by darkness, probably facing dangers the galaxy had never heard of and he…. he couldn’t do nothing to help her. He gritted his teeth as the thoughts jangled his nerves. He held up a grenade throwing it at a cluster of husks, rolling to his side, skirting around some crates bumping into Liara. A volley of gunfire forced them do dip their heads, his hair almost grazing the asari’s face. He had been a douche.

“I’m sorry doc-Liara, I’m just-”

In that moment their gazes were drawn by the gushing of water at the side of the derelict ship, the Triton mech emerging from the ocean hauling the brutes attention. James’ heart froze in his chest, an iron grip around him, as the canopy opened and Barbara’s body thudded against the damped floor. He was paralyzed by the fear of losing her, unable to lift his boots from the floor and run to save her, seeing the reapers targeting her. She stood up, wobbling legs unable to support her, figure wan and frail. A horror in slow motion.

One of the beasts opened its metallic pincers, Shepard’s demise just seconds away…

She was kneeling on the floor, gaze adrift, vulnerable and powerless and finally James spell was broken.

“Shepard!” Screaming at the top of his lungs he barreled to her side, gaze pinned on her, terror fueling his movements.

The attacking brute turned to its companion, striking it down at the same moment James kneeled beside Shepard, barely aware of the barrier Liara was casting around them. His strong arms curled around her broken shape, lifting her as if she wasn’t heavier than a feather.

shows up to @masseffectcreativecircle 2 days late with dextro bubble tea

Heartbreak on the Horizon -

Originally this was named Post Horizon but I like the new title better. So I decided to spruce this up a little for the #MECC as I felt it fit the “Please, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

I absolutely love Kaidan but not all my Shepards stay with him after Horizon. Andromeda Shepard is one of those Shepards. This is a one shot based on her reaction once she got back to her Cabin after Horizon.

One-Shot

Words: 472

Pairing: Past Kaidan x Female Shepard, Jeff ‘Joker’ Moreau x Female Shepard

Fighting Reapers all day long, cleaning battle wounds until the night [please click for high-res!]

if the fic already has a thousand comments, comment still. Your comment will still matter and delight the author.

if a fic is a decade old and the author hasn’t been active in the last five years, comment still. There will come a time when the author will read and cherish your comment, or maybe it will motivate them enough to start writing again. You never know!

if the author never responds to comments, comment still. Interaction with the author is a very nice bonus, but you can be sure that even if the author doesn’t answer, they will read it and enjoy it at some point

there’s no such thing as a too long comment.

there’s no such thing as a too incoherent comment.

the author will give no flying fuck about any gramatical errors, typo or other misspellings. If you’re a non-native speaker struggling to express themselves, you can be sure the author will be all the more pleased that you surmounted the language barrier to let them know you appreciated their work. Don’t be afraid!

there’s no such thing as commenting too often.

you will never, ever come across as creepy by obsessing over a fic or an author to the point where you worry the author might think you’re a stalker. On the contrary, the author will be delighted by your investment in their work.

say thank you. It’s always appreciated to see readers acknowledge the work and commitment that is put into writing.

the floaty review box (ao3 add-on) is your friend

be positive and encouraging. Positive reviews make writers all warm and glowy from the inside, bashing plunge their soul into icy darkness. You want the first, not the second!

whoever you are, if you read their fic, YOU are IMPORTANT to the author. Let them know you’re there!

(if any author wants to contradict one of those rules, please let me know!)

Fandom: Mass Effect Characters: Ashlyn Shepard, Kaidan Alenko, EDI, Garrus Vakarian, Miranda Lawson (Mention) Pairing: Technically Shenko and (pre-)Shakarian Warning: Language, minor bending of canon Word Count: 2633 Note: So, as I’ve mentioned before, my first ME playthrough was a bit of a mess in terms of romance, to put it mildly >_> Here’s my personal take on how Shepard broke off her relationship with Kaidan before initiating one with Garrus.

Shock turned to overwhelming joy in the span of mere seconds and before Ashlyn even had a chance to say a word, Kaidan’s arms were thrown around her neck, pulling her close to his body. He clung to her, desperation and disbelief practically radiating off of him. Swallowing thickly, she allowed her eyes to slide close and she reciprocated the embrace, her arms snaking around his torso and giving him a light squeeze. Ever since waking up in the Cerberus research facility, everything had been an absolute whirlwind and she’d barely had a moment to herself, a moment to think.

In Kaidan’s arms, however, everything suddenly felt right. Despite her initial reservations when they had first gotten together, she loved him enough to have missed his embrace.

When they finally pulled away from each other, she glanced back at the companions she had brought with her down to Horizon’s surface. Miranda seemed to be picking through the buildings and containers surrounding them, presumably searching for any remaining colonizers, while Garrus stood on lookout for Collectors that may still be lurking about. The turian eventually glanced over and met her gaze. She jerked her head to indicate a spot a short distance away and quirked a brow in a silent question; he nodded in response.

“The world has been broke down, the world has just announced The final time is now, the final time to bow But I will not get down, for you can’t force me now Awakening is clear, I could show you how I could show you how to fight them I could show you how to defeat the night.”

Defeat the Night by JPB

As a child, her life had been filled with pressure, constant observation and scrutiny based on her father’s status. Then came her Pilgrimage, with more pressure as the only quarian involved in the mission to apprehend Saren. She had gotten used to it years ago, and it rarely bothered her. In short, Tali is confident with her place in the world, a space she occupies by virtue of her species, her heritage.

She is Tali’Zorah. Admiral, machinist, friend.