Wow. It's been a long time hasn't it?
It's been eight years, actually. Ten since this was first published.
A lot has changed. I've changed… You've changed… The world we live in has changed.
Mass Effect has changed, too. The final game in the trilogy was released on March 6, 2012. If you used to read this story, then… Well. You know. A lot of things we hoped for happened, and were great! And, a lot of things didn't. In fact, the particular way in which some things didn't materialise felt more than a little sad. I think that's why my brain imploded and I couldn't write it anymore, at the time.
Somewhat recently, someone left a review and favourite here. Subscribed to the story, and as I looked at the notification on my phone, I glanced over to the N7 tattoo I have. Memories came flooding back of how much this series, the characters, and the fandom mean to me. I was reminded of a time when I was relentlessly creative and met so many friends; Many of whom have now faded into the mists of time, yet remain cherished in that soft and peaceful way that only happens between friends that drift apart.
I read back on the entirety of TBMS. On a whim I Googled it and found people talking about it in places I never knew of at the time. I re-read every review the thing had ever gotten, and I got really, really emotional. After all these years, people still cared about my silly little love story. And, I'm guessing, you're one of them, given that you're reading this.
I've decided to rewrite, re-tell, and complete Tiger By My Side. I wanted to answer all those who'd felt disappointed that it never finished, and I wanted to answer myself, too. However, I don't write like this old story anymore… How could I, after ten entire, whole, actual, real years? I couldn't justify just picking up from where I left off given how many problems I had with the writing of the previous chapters. So, I started again. I hear the games may be getting a Remastered edition coming up relatively soon… I felt that if they do, having a TBMS Remastered of my own would be nice, to go along with it. A very literal love-letter to those years long gone by, and to those characters who still live inside my heart, both real and imagined.
At present, I am around 13,000 words in.
The story is available in the following formats:
(Preface these URL pieces with the appropriate domain names and paste into your browser)
Here, on FF: s/13689385/1/Tiger-By-My-Side-World-Rocking-Edition
Here, on AO3: /works/26287663/chapters/63999331
And as a living document on Google Drive. If you have an interest in being a beta reader, please message me for access. It's set up so that anyone who has the link can leave comments and suggest edits.
Don't fear the Reaper,
- Introjection