This brief blurb should serve as a letter to the reader. I originally posted it as a review, but I felt it would be better as an introduction. I apologize for any repetition.
The 350 or so characters in the description weren't really enough to communicate what I'm going for, so I'll try to elaborate here.
My number one priority is to treat the characters with respect. Mass Effect is probably my very favorite game franchise, and I am attached to its characters. Nothing bothers me more in a fan fiction than when someone takes a character that I love (like Tali for instance) and turns her into a high school girlfriend. I wanted to represent the characters in a way that was realistic and mature- one that reflected their essence as it was presented in the games. I also wanted to give these characters conflict that was more than just a story of challenges, but that addressed who they are as a character: their fears, insecurities, loves, etc, and I wanted to present these conflicts in a profound way. As I said in the description, this is not a narrative story. There is no clearly defined beginning or end point. Every chapter investigates different aspects of a character, and is meant to stand on its own. Some of these aspects are made up by me, some of them are hinted in the games, but I provide them with more depth and elaboration. Even so, the universe is still continuous. If Tali and Shepard are together in one, then you can expect that they will be together in all. If something like that changes, then it will be explained in one way or another in the chapter.
Ok, a brief word on my writing style. One common problem I often see in writing in general, including fan fiction, is a tendency to over-describe or over-saturate scenes and characters. People seem to be under the impression that good writing is fancy writing. I disagree. Adding three adjectives to every noun when you're describing a scene or character more often than not just leaves it sounding ostentatious. It is possible for something to be both simple, and elegant, and I did the best I could to adopt this idea into my writing. Often times my form of writing is sort of a stream-of-consciousness, and therefore my writing style is meant to sound believable- like it is something a character would actually be thinking to themselves in their own heads. I will use sentence fragments and breaks in tempo frequently in order to achieve this goal, but this is intentional.
At any rate- this is my first attempt at fan fiction, so I am still learning. I hope you enjoy it, and please don't hesitate to comment or critique. Thanks for reading-
-FearTheRedman89
