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aceouttatime · 3 months

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@sparatus' girlies, Galenia and Taniria Arterius--Leni's visiting her big sis on the Citadel after getting her tattoos! Thank you again for letting me draw these two, and you really do bless us with your worldbuilding for the Arterius clan <3

And, yes, I may or may not have taken inspiration from Saren's concept artwork (specifically the black robes he's wearing in the one piece) for Leni's outfit. Currently a puddle because she really is a baby goth who looks up to her uncle, isn't she?

Commission type: Two-Character, Bust, Colored Sketch; $70 USD Interested in a comm? Check my availability, style, and pricing HERE!

#taniria #galenia #arterius #turian #exponential differentiation #exdiff #mass effect #oc #mass effect oc #acecomm #acedraws #digital art #fanart #art #commission #commissions

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lieutenantabrudas · 6 months

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in which saren meditates (with mixed results), galenia has ALL the anxiety, and desolas and valis are out late on hierarchy business - and come home with ominous news.

exdiff updates will be slowing down or on hold until after november, i’m using nanowrimo as a motivator to finally finish kryterius murder mystery aka to catch a rabbit! join us we’re getting to the exciting part

#fic upd8 #the weight of memory #exdiff

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sparatus · 10 months

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Let’s go bitch

destiel meme but for writers

HI I GOT EXCITED AND MADE YOU FOUR

for exdiff:

for rise & reign and also the batarian resistance:

and one for the sparatus clan:

#press conference #korblez #ierian's writing #sparatus clan #ierian's ocs #batarian resistance #exdiff

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outpost51 · 7 months

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meteorite?

Make Me Write

you got it!! [salutes]

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

Septimus kicked his ankle sharply under the table without ever looking away from Ierian’s speech. The bastard hadn’t even rattled his medals with the movement.

He kicked back.

If Septimus felt it, he didn’t react, and the boiling indignation was enough to distract Des’s hindbrain for the time being. It didn’t last long; Ierian introduced the newest councilor—

“Councilor?” he hissed to his alleged babysitter, hiding his mouth behind his drink. “Since when do they have a councilor?”

Septimus was clearly just as blindsided by the announcement. “Since just now, apparently,” he muttered back. “Don’t be obvious about it, but the attack dog doesn’t seem terribly happy about her new master either.”

Des had never been subtle a day in his life and he wasn’t about to start, dais be damned. He looked directly at Hannah — if she could spit his first name like a curse, he could use hers — whose face had turned the same shade as her hair and looked about ready to explode. A shorter, wilder mop of red caught his eye elsewhere in the crowd as he looked away. “She’s not their attack dog anymore. They’ve got her brats for that.”

“Still fucks like one,” Septimus chuckled to himself, and it was all Desolas could do not to choke on his drink. He didn’t need to look to know exactly who the old general tilted his glass to in a subtle greeting, but his eyes slid back that way of their own accord, if only to lay them upon the table’s occupant that he desired in much the same way as Septimus wanted—

Ah, that cooled his jets. He’d never thank Septimus for it aloud, but he did make a silent toast in his head. As a treat.

#my fic #sneeps.txt #this one’s not quite helix not quite exdiff but a secret third option

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thetrashbagswasteland · 1 year

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2022 Writing Wrapup

Tagged by: @korblez (ty!!)

Total Words Published: 452,803 words 😳

Additional Words Written: I've got 44,851 strewn through like 20 WIPS at this point lmao

Grand Total of Words: 497,654. Yikes. Before 2022 I'd put maybe 100k words down total in my life, so that's a terrifying number.

Fandoms: Honestly, it's just been Mass Effect all the way down lmao

Highest Everything (raw kudos, hits, comments): Project Sunseeker without a shadow of a doubt. Kinda to be expected all things considered but it's still a scary number yaknow?

Highest Kudos to Hits Ratio: Extended Release - the n7 day posted final chapter from Sunseeker that I forgot I'd planned to finish with (oops)

New Things I Tried: Writing! Actually, y'know, putting words down and publishing them! I cannot stress enough that I published the first chapter of Project Sunseeker having never actually finished a multichaptered work in my life and it's been a STEEP learning curve.

Fic I Spent The Most Time On: Instead of saying the obvious one bc it's already been mentioned at great length, let's go with Beyond Familiar Stars bc putting 80k words down simply takes time no matter how well your brain's vibing.

Fic I Spent The Least Time On: I'm discounting prompts and gifts here bc that's not a fair metric imo and makes things sound like they're less important (when they aren't) but Wipe My Hands Clean was written in like... 13 days straight. Yeah, kinda overdid the NaNoWriMo goal there 😂

Favorite Thing I Wrote: Curiosity Is A Dangerous Concept ties with A Little Too Much Like Me here because they're two very different fics but equally fun and off the cuff!

Favorite Thing I Read: Oh boy, this one's a long one. Let's go with: Broken Mirror by @sparatus, and for that matter the entire exdiff universe Interregnum (Species Swap as a whole for that matter) and Friend of a Friend by @otemporanerys Stellar Parallax and Lost/Found by @korblez Hunger Pangs and Controlled Explosions in Chicago and The Citadel Adventures of Castis Vakarian and Alec Ryder by Missjlh and... let's stop the list there y'know, there's only so much history digging I can do lmao

Writing Goals for 2023: Keep up the momentum! I've got the full sequel to Project Sunseeker in its planning stages - Good Men Don't Go To War should at least start within the year, though I doubt it'll be finished within it because it's going to be massive. I'm also looking forwards to putting that down as well as finishing up Beyond Familiar Stars and Follow My Lead; Heart Of A Dancer and Here We Go Again are also on the cards within that same universe though I'm not sure where they're going quite yet.

New Works: Chomp The Champion Varren, Project Sunseeker, Yes, Sir, Tales In The Last Days, The Idealist, The Only Thing I Ask (Love Me Mercilessly), Poison The Well And Take Me Straight To Hell, 'Your Dad Is My Cardio' & Other Torture Tactics From The Desk Of Avitus Rix, Spectre, You Talk Me Into The Best Bad Situations House of Anarchy, Ryncol Tastes Like Ass, A Fraction Of Your Happy Heart, Shatter, Extended Release, Curiosity Is A Dangerous Concept, Wipe My Hands Clean, Beyond Familiar Stars, Follow My Lead and A Little Too Much Like Me. *dies* Is it too late to make my NY resolution picking shorter titles?

I'm like 90% sure everyone I know has already been tagged but... if you haven't and you wanna do it, self-identify at this point!

#tag game #writing wrapped #2022 was the year of the hyperfixation apparently lmao

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sparatus · 8 months

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Incorrect Quotes Tag

tagged by @writernopal here like a month ago, oopsie, thank you!!

Rules: Use this generator to make some incorrect quotes.

gonna do a few for each of the main relationships in exdiff, just for funsies :3

tagging @outpost51 @thetrashbagswasteland @teamdilf @heymacareyna @autistic-council-spectre @otemporanerys @dandenbo and anybody else who wants to!

Desabrudas

Valis: I have feelings for you. Desolas: Why? What's wrong with you? Are you sure you're okay?

Desolas: Are you an F5 key? Because that ass is refreshing. Valis: Are you a software update? because not right now.

Desolas: Valis is playing hard to get. Desolas: Little do they know, I'm a master at playing hard to get rid of.

Kryterius

Saren: I am so cool. I am an absolute Chad. I am the epitome of coolness and awesomeness— Nihlus: Hi. Saren: *melts down in a flustered heap of softness*

Nihlus: I think we should kiss. Saren: And I think you should die but we don’t always get what we want.

Nihlus: So you like cats? Saren: Yeah. Nihlus: *tries to impress them by slowly pushing a glass off the table*

Vakarennis

Garrus: Let’s watch Sharkboy and Lavagirl. Tasora: Okay. Garrus: And make out during the scary parts. Tasora: Th- Tasora: The scary parts. Tasora: Of Sharkboy and Lavagirl.

Garrus: Can I have 2 straws with that milkshake? Tasora: Aww- Garrus: With 2 straws, I can drink it double as fast!

Tasora: I’m proud to identify as morosexual. I’m attracted to dumbasses and dumbasses exclusively. Someone asked me what the Spanish word for "tortilla" was once, and now I dream of kissing them under the moonlight. Garrus: What kind of animal is the Pink Panther? Tasora, already taking off their clothes: God, Garrus, you’re so fucking stupid.

Shepard/Jack

Matteo: You have to apologize to them Jack. Jack: Fine! But I must warn you that this might make me a better, nicer person and that is NOT the person you fell in love with!

Jack: I want to wake up with you every day for the rest of our lives. Matteo: I wake up at 4:30 AM every day to train. Jack: I want to see you at some point every day for the rest of our lives.

Matteo: The first time I saw you, you stole my heart. Jack: But I'm a kleptomaniac, so that doesn't mean anything.

#councilor's notes #tag game #exdiff

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sparatus · 9 months

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rocks up more than a day late but w/e for the WIP talk asks, 15 and 16 pls?

this answer is [checks calendar] more than a week late so listen time is fake

current wip asks

again using memory for this one since that's what ive been working on all day

15. In as vague of terms as possible (to avoid spoiling), how do you anticipate this chapter/fic to end?

we're gonna talk to an old friend :)

16. Write the next 5 sentences and share.

His new physical therapist in Kieta was responsible for this new set, after an hour-long lecture on why just one wasn’t sufficient, which had annoyed Saren right up until she’d offered to get his new set in black with gold filigree like he’d designed the first since they were going to be custom-built to his size anyway. She’d also made notes in his file to take the crutch design into account for the final stage of his prosthetic, once they got there. He supposed she could stay.

He made his way to the door, leaned on his right crutch, pulled open the door, and didn’t give his brother time to so much as suck in a breath for his inevitable complaining. “What.”

#press conference #thetrashbagswasteland #ierian's writing #exdiff

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lieutenantabrudas · 9 months

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this is literally twice the length of usual chapters. i hope you people appreciate me.

in which our heroes return to the ship, jack has an existential crisis, and we learn the full extent of what cerberus was planning to do with her. oh, and maybe shepard might possibly have a crush. whee!!!

#itlog upd8 #fic upd8 #itlog #exdiff #mefanfic #no reapers au

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sparatus · 11 months

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WIP themes

tagged by @heymacareyna, thank you!!

Rules: Bold the themes that appear in your WIP (& italicize those that are loosely covered) then tag 10 people.

i’ll do it for Exponential Differentiation since the other series i’m working on is uhhh depressing by nature, lol

tagging uhhh @thetrashbagswasteland @teamdilf @threewhiskeylunch @monstrousfreedom and anybody else who wants to cause idk who all's been tagged, lol

#councilor's notes #exdiff #tag game #thank you!!

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sparatus · 9 months

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2 and 18? 😊

thanks j!! yes i know these are late shshsh my excuse is Root Canal

current wip asks

bouncing rapidly back and forth between bad end and memory rn but i did a lot on memory today so we're doing that one!!

2. Give the first line of this chapter/fic.

The days were getting longer. Saren was surprisingly at peace with that.

18. Share the scene you just wrote, written from another character’s POV.

Bzzt-bzzt.

Valis grumbled and pushed her face into the pillows. "Des."

Bzzt-bzzt.

She gave the deadweight lying half-on top of her a half-hearted, aimless kick. "Des."

Bzzt-bzzt.

She groaned and pushed herself up onto her elbows, stretching out an arm to grab the little omni-tool band off the side table. "Useless man," she grumbled, activating his 'tool to squint at the alert. Something, something, wind advisory. Cool. Definitely worth sending out on the fucking prairie.

Still limp on top of her, her husband groaned. "Dexitius is set to emergency push-through. Anyone else c'n fuck off."

"Feel like there's a whole buncha people s'posed to be on that list." Valis gave the band a little toss back over to the table, then rolled and reached back to hug Desolas to her keel as she put her back to his responsibilities. "You get to make breakfast, since it was your 'tool't woke me."

"Deal." Desolas chirped pleasantly as Valis pushed her face between his keel and the bed. At least his laziness meant he was perfectly happy to be a cuddle toy when she wanted him to be.

She was just starting to doze off again when a rapid thmpthmpthmp came racing down the hall, followed by aggressive banging on the door. "Zhizhi Mumu Zhizhi Mumu!" hollered a high, much too loud for before noon voice.

They groaned in unison this time. "You ever wish we had our shit together enough to have kids back when we were, like, thirty? And had energy?" Desolas grumbled against her cowl.

Valis heaved a blustering sigh. "You didn't have energy then, either, Hotshot, you were depressed and in the fuckin' hastatim." She reluctantly pried herself away from the coziness of her husband's body and pushed herself back upright. "What's up, Lu?" she called, rubbing at one eye with the heel of her palm.

The door cracked open, and her youngest poked his head in. Definitely his father's son - Lucipius's eyes were wide and adorable, and he tipped his head just enough to be cute even with his mandibles and nasal plates ruffling with sheepishness. He knew it was a sleep-in day, but he also knew his phatzhi couldn't stay mad at him. Horrible little boy that she loved. "Hi," he chirped, rolling his head around to bare his throat. Cheeky submission, definitely Des's kid. Her mother would be horrified. "There's a thing in the yard."

She lifted one brow plate. "What kinda thing, lamb?"

Taking the question as an invitation, Lucipius pushed the door further open and scuttled over to the bedside. "Iunno. It's big an' rustling the grass. Leni an' Sivvi are watching it. Can we hunt it? Please?"

Valis blinked slowly, sharing a look with Desolas. "You don't know what it is, and you want to hunt it."

"Uh-huh." Bless his little eight-year-old heart, the little lamb saw nothing wrong with that statement. "Please? Sivvi said to ask first."

Valis took a deep breath. "Des."

"I know, I know." Desolas sighed and put out his hand. "Saren's probably up by now, lemme see if he'll go check it out an' report back."

Lucipius perked up, and Valis scrunched her nasal plates. "You leave your uncle alone," she scolded, reaching an arm out. "C'mere, baby bird, you can wait here 'til we know what's outside." Her son pouted, but crawled up onto the bed, and she leaned back to grab Des's 'tool for him. "You, too, hardhead, if he doesn't respond, you're gettin' up and going yourself."

Desolas whined, but pulled himself up to flop into the pillows while he texted his brother. "Yeah, yeah." He raised one arm, and Lucipius happily tossed himself down to cuddle with his father for a few minutes. "It's probably just a tengo, it's that time of year all the new bulls start wandering. It'll figure out there's predators in the area and fuck off, or we get free dinner. Kids could use the practice hunting as a team, anyway, Siv needs to start getting ready for basic."

Valis grumbled and eased herself back down next to him, leaving enough room for Lucipius to cuddle them both at once. "And if it's not?"

"Then we get several free dinners."

#press conference #teamdilf #ierian's writing #exdiff #arterius family

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sparatus · 6 months

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itlog is about to hit 100k next chapter, currently just 160 words away

we are here on the outline

so roughly 3.5 arcs for 100k words, and a few of those arcs will be monsters and at least twice as long as the other arcs because a lot happens

yeah this is gonna be longer than broken mirror huh

#councilor's notes #bm was 330k. i'm almost dead certain itlog will beat that #exdiff #ierian's writing

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lieutenantabrudas · 9 months

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fighting for my fucking life trying to force tumblr to let me post links the way i want to

in which we check in with an old friend, who’s having. uh. an interesting time.

#itlog #upd8 #itlog upd8 #exdiff #no reapers au #spoilers. the friend is garrus. he is having such a bad fucking time so much

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sparatus · 6 months

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the next arc of itlog is finally fully outlined, through ch25

this arc is literally 9 chapters, potentially 10 if i decide to split up ch25

it is twice as long as any previous arc

why am i like this

#councilor's notes #exdiff #itlog will be shorter than bm i said. i know what im doing with the story now i said.

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lieutenantabrudas · 6 months

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in which shepard and jack meet some pirates, a potentially very valuable lead is offered, and the author shows off their oldest and favoritest barbies

remember back in bitw when i said this was a stealth part of the rise & reign universe all along. well too bad. you will love and appreciate axilus madelivio and thie’haasn and you’ll be happy about it

#itlog #upd8 #itlog upd8 #no reapers au #exdiff #mass effect fanfiction

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sparatus · 2 years

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Exponential Differentiation Series Masterpost

welcome welcome, we’re now [checks notes] 3 major installments and some extras into my big no-reapers au, so it’s probably high time i actually make a big masterpost for it, huh?

Features

Premise: 50,000 years ago, the Protheans were able to complete the Crucible, but by the time of firing, their population had been reduced to unsustainability. Their technology still remained for the later species, but the Reapers would never return. All’s well that ends well, right? Well, not quite. When a routine artifact retrieval on Eden Prime once more goes awry, new Special Tactics candidate Matteo Shepard is thrown headfirst into the fray, hunting down the mysterious team that attacked the colony - and stumbling across something so much bigger than they ever could have imagined.

Our Hero: Matteo Shepard, DMAB nonbinary (they/he pronouns). Native of Terra Nova, Matteo’s mother disappeared at a young age, leaving their family fractured and their trust in others on shaky legs. When their team’s investigation into the disappearing colony of Akuze leaves all but themselves and two others (that they know) dead and them needing intensive psychiatric care, they withdraw in on themselves, not wanting to get close enough to other people to be hurt again. Unfortunately for them, the universe disagrees with this plan.

The Crew: The Normandy crew has been supplemented with a whole host of other Shepards imported into a different canon OCs to flesh out the crew, as well as a couple familiar faces - Nihlus Kryik, mentoring Shepard for the Spectres, is a fixture on the team, and his rude shadow Saren Arterius is (very grudgingly, because the boss said he had to) coming along for the ride. Beyond the Normandy’s hull, the rest of the galaxy’s got a lot of new faces too, both friend and foe, ranging from Saren’s secretive family to the batarian Resistance and back again! Both canon characters and OCs join the party to bring the awfully empty galaxy to life...

Most Wanted: ... including the antagonists, of course. An entirely new team of mini-boss antagonists causes problems for Shepard left and right as Shepard explores the depths of Cerberus’s depravity, and an enemy often overlooked gets their own time to shine, with a subplot all their own, because I think they deserved better and had a lot of potential, and I’m the author so I decide the subplots, dammit. (You didn’t think I mentioned the batarian Resistance up there just for fun, did you?)

Love and All That: It's no Truck Shepard and the Space Kissing Adventure, of course, but we're not leaving romance off the table entirely! There's both established relationships and budding relationships for the discerning connoisseur. A couple of them are even majorly plot relevant, check the AO3 tags. Endgame for Matteo themselves is with Jack, but we have to get there first ;)

Links

Full Series: Exponential Differentiation

Broken Mirror: Start here! The first fic in the series. 333k words, completed. The adventure begins on Eden Prime, as usual, but takes a turn for the Something Else when the beacon is assaulted instead by a human strike team, launching a manhunt across the stars that quickly spirals into something so much bigger than Shepard ever could have imagined. [LINK]

Blood in the Water: A novella in-between-quel set maybe a month after Broken Mirror. 50k words, completed. Shepard is taking a much-needed break from the hunt for Cerberus when an unwelcome guest turns up on their doorstep with dire news. It's a race against time to stop batarian terrorist Ka'hairal Balak and his genocidal plans, but this time, with some help: half-mad salarian Spectre Gurji Taeja and her pals from the batarian Resistance, Tarvok and Teezh Shad'derah. [LINK]

Where the Wind Rests: Two-shot glimpsing what Nihlus has been up to while Shepard was dealing with Balak. 8.6k words, completed. Nihlus takes a detour to Palaven to visit Saren and get an answer for an important question. [LINK]

In the Land of Giants: The second major installment. Currently in progress! With Hislop dead and Terra Nova safe, Shepard is back on the hunt for Cerberus. A friend's disappearance and a strange message both point them to Omega, where they encounter a surprising new ally... [LINK]

The Weight of Memory: Novella companion piece to In the Land of Giants. Currently in progress! While Shepard and Nihlus continue the hunt for Cerberus, Saren returns home to Palaven to get his new leg built and adjust to retirement. Unfortunately, the problems for the Arterius clan are getting too big to just retreat from and wait for the storm to pass... [LINK]

#mefanfic #no reapers au #mass effect #mass effect original trilogy #matteo shepard #exponential differentiation series #exdiff #kryterius #vakarennis

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sparatus · 8 months

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First Line, Last Line

tagged by @outpost51 here and @otemporanerys here like almost a month ago oops see i promise i do actually do these anyway thanks guys!!

Rules: Pull the first and most recent line from a wip of your choice

been plugging away at memory again finally so let's do that one

FIRST

Saren couldn't have told you when it started snowing. Maybe it was after they left Cipritine's walls. Maybe it had only just begun. Whatever the case, thick globs of white fluttered aimlessly down from the sky as they wound through the Otoran prairie, slapping against the windshield and adding to the heavy blanket already muffling the landscape.

LAST

“Yeah, yeah.” Desolas had already whipped up his omni-tool and was skimming through his contacts. “It’s a big one, more importantly. Stay here for a sec, Lu, let me call the rangers quick, ’kay?” He tapped one with his thumb-claw, then tapped a button to switch the comm to private mode and clicked his mandibles. “What do you think, Gradros’s? Don’t think it’s dark enough to be a black-and-tan, but it could be a saddleback. Those’re endangered, no steak if it is.”

idk who's already been tagged or not so if you wanna do it and haven't been tagged yet, open tag, go for it!!

#councilor's notes #tag game #exdiff #the weight of memory

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