#bardofheartdive

3. what are you looking forward to right now?

I'm really tired so I'm looking forward to huddling under my heated blanket and watching Youtube videos before going to sleep!

Hello, @bardofheartdive! I am your Holiday Harbinger! As a fellow Kaidan lover, I thought, what better way to send some January Jubilation and encouraging words for the new year than from Major Alenko himself? 

I got my @masseffectholidaycheer gift from @bardofheartdive — thank you SO much for such a thoughtful gift! I just moved into my first ever apartment so desperately needed kitchenware, which she supplied in the form of these LOVELY handmade potholders. :’)

Thank you also for the copy of the Last Unicorn! It’s so sweet to include a book so precious to you, I’m gonna give it a read as soon as I can. Happy January Jubilation!

Oh god thank you so much! Okay, so I flipped through a bunch of my old stuff to see if I still liked the stuff I remembered liking. I’m just gonna be indulgent and talk about them a little. ++ The Difference between the Sea and the Sky Loooooooooong Okay so this is the biggie, this is the 300k one. I’m still really proud of this and know lots of things I’d tweak around at this point in time, but I still feel pretty good about a lot of my writing in that one. I wrote the first... 40 chapters before I knew there was a Mass Effect fandom to show it to. The story was written so that each of the earlier chapters covers the between-mission development of Shepard and Kaidan’s relationship, and the tools are there to essentially play Mass Effect 3 after Kaidan/Shepard’s Apollo’s conversation along with this story. *shrug* I poured a lot of myself into this fic, and every year that passes, I realize I put more of myself in it than I even knew at the time. Heh. N7 Month 2015, Day 5: Alternate Universe Where Kaidan Makes it to the Citadel with Shepard Angst I originally saw a post about the idea of Kaidan and Shepard both reaching the transport beam to the Citadel at the end of ME3, and I immediately had this very angsty idea. I don’t have much to say about it, I guess. Sleeper Pods Fluff, short Wrote these as a series, but the link here is all of them compiled in order. I really like telling stories in tiny chunks: usually, I have like one or two crystal clear ideas and writing all the other stuff around those is tough. So in this case, I just wrote out all the bright bits in my head and wrote... nothing else. Heh. I’ve also got a thing for stories/series you can join into or leave at almost any point, and I sorta tried that here. N7 Month 2016, Day 1: Destroy Ending from Catalyst POV Angst? I’ve written different permutations of the ending of Mass Effect many many times (I already put one on this list :/). This one was part of a broader series where each of the endings was viewed from a Reaper perspective and their conclusions about big, sapient emotions like ‘Fear’ and ‘Love’. It’s convoluted, I know, but I’m always bad at elevator-pitching my conceptual stuff. I was writing during a period of great tragedy in my life, so to write about a tragedy from the perspective of a being who cannot feel pain like I do, and who has the power to DO something about the tragedy--that was kind of nice. Vigil Every N7 month, for ‘Day 7′ (the free-space day) I write about Vigil, the Prothean hologram from ME1. The stories are connected, each year, but each one takes place progressively further in the future, so I’m not exactly sure ho wI could continue it anymore. It still makes me very emotional to read these, the Mass Effect games really mean a lot to me, and this is sorta my yearly distillation of that. His Voice 60k words

Of course you may! I always love writing these two cinnamon buns! 

Available on AO3 | From this prompt here... inbox always open just let me know it’s from this list. 

The After Party

Ashley's arm was wrapped around Shepard's waist, as much for supporting him as it was to be in close proximity to him; his arm was wrapped around her shoulder. The last month and few weeks had been long and agonizing. The recovery from surgery, the physical therapy, the psychological exams he wanted to scoff at, all had been so taxing on John. He was a man of action, he couldn't sit long enough without feeling agitated. He needed to move. And hospitals had a way of making sure you did just the opposite. 

Now, as they walked back to the Normandy, a huge grin on his face, he was happy. The war was over, his girlfriend, his crew… family were all okay, and here he was, taking command of his ship once more. The thought excited him. There was just something about being out there in space, helping and protecting others he found so rewarding. He ran his hand against the hatch door.

"Skipper?" 

"Hmmm?" He looked at Ashley, their smiles met, but there was concern in her eyes.

"Thought I lost you there for a moment. You okay?" 

John's smile widened. "Everything is perfect’" he said as he brushed his lips against Ashley's forehead. He really meant it. 

“I could use a drink. I do believe there is a freshly stocked bar down on the crew deck.” A coy smile tugged at Ashley’s lips which only caused John to laugh as they walked to the elevator lift.

“I do believe we have a score to settle. I mean… I did save the Galaxy, so that gives me a few points towards being the best human Spectre… but if you do want me to drink you under the table tonight…” He half-smirked. Ashley rolled her eyes, elbowing him in the ribs. 

“Ow.” He complained slightly, as he rubbed his ribs with his hand. Ashley snorted as she pressed the button to deck three.

“Oh suck it up, princess, you’re fine.” Ashley rolled her eyes.  

“You didn’t…?” He wasn’t sure he had heard right.

“Oh! I did!” Ashley gently shoved him out of the lift and towards the lounge.

The door whooshed opened as they neared it, Shepard was immediately greeted by the crew who had gathered and already started drinking. He was surprised to see even Jack and Miranda had made their way in here. 

James raised his glass, “Hey hey, the man of the hour is here!” 

Traynor was the first one to get up from where she sat on the ledge of the couch to come give Shepard a hug. “Welcome back, Commander!”

“It’s good to be back,” Shepard said as he let go. 

Cortez was standing at the bar; he popped open the champagne bottle pouring it in glasses. 

Miranda was the first one to take up a glass. Amused, Shepard chuckled as he and Ashley approached the counter to take a glass themselves. Miranda was usually the last person to loosen up. 

“Still trying to be normal?” He smirked. 

Thanks for asking!

2. If you could be fluent in any language at the snap of your fingers, which one and why?

Welsh.  I’ve always wanted to learn, and the sound of the language is absolutely beautiful.

21. The best ice cream flavour