Phew...

So I think I've been to hell and back. Worst of it is that I know I'm not alone, and actually a lot of people do that to varying degrees - life can get a lot worse for people than it got for me, and that was almost more than I could bear. Anyway...

About me:

I have three primary laws that form the basis of my mental operating system day to day:

1. Recognise power that you have.
2. Share it responsibly.
3. When sharing power is not responsible, use it on behalf and benefit of those in a lesser position.

Writing is a form of media, an engagement with an audience. That means the power to influence - make a person smile, make a person cry, make them look at a problem, think something is a problem, or see an existing problem in a new way. Any time someone becomes popular for something they create, they widen their potential audience, and the responsibility they retain for the content and impact of their creations deepens (their fans are of course responsible for their end of the equation, but it's a two-way input to the overall and person-by-person outcome).

I'm doing my best to write with these 3 laws in mind. I could just write what you want to read, but that wouldn't mean I wasn't influencing you, because endorsing the way the world is, what is normal, or how a person ordinarily thinks, is not necessarily the responsible thing to do. I hope, given the very responsible way I try to handle my stories, that their content although potentially not within the rules of fanfiction.net, will be approved of and appreciated.

I hold 3 science A levels, a BSc in Environmental Science, a PhD in Electronic Engineering, and I pick up knowledge from other disciplines any time I'm fortunate enough to come across people with expertise in other areas. I'm what's known as a polymath, although I'm not exactly genius level! I write fanfic here, dabble in artsy stuff on Deviant by the name 'treewyrm', and admin a Facebook page called Mass Effect Female Shepard.

I'm also a survivor of Hyperemesis gravidarum - a rare condition that only affects women, and only during pregnancy (although there can be severe long-term complications arising from it). It's rarer still to have it as severe as I did. I have - responsibly - decided not to try again. For my sake, but also for my unborn daughters: I will not pass on a hereditary condition that nearly took my life and could have left me anything from midly diabetic to severely brain damaged.

Adoption is something we're looking into, if we reach a position where being told we're not suitable or eligible will be sad but not life-breaking, and when we can take on a child as a person and not a replacement or substitute for the daughter we had to give up. I list qualifications and then trauma, because I think surviving trauma should be worthy of a qualification.

About my stories:

Garrus was my first inspiration, and not the best story although I recommend reading the chapter "Two Moons" - I'm fairly proud of that one.

My Sam story is far more recent, and that one is 100% therapy for me. It more or less documents what I went through with HG and it is thanks to someone who read that, that I ultimately got a lot of support because they told me about an organisation that researches HG and tries to support sufferers past and present (the Hyperemesis gravidarum Education & Research - or HER - Foundation).

Zaeed's stories are my hardcore attempt at practising the writing of a story, in the context of a pre-existing universe.

My reasons for writing? Practice. That and I love the characters I've written about. I hope to use the skill I develop here, to write my own original story which will be a whole lot harder as I'll also have to create the universe in which the story is set and retain connectivity and plot integrity within its framework. Not easy!