A summary of my journey with Femshep

[HG]

I am not a good writter at all, and I can barely manage enough to communicate with others in English, so I will be simple and straight to the point....

It was about 2 and a half years ago when I came across Mass Effect 2, before that I have known nothing about ME at all because my social life and culture is outside of the main western steam.

When I first finished ME2, I felt a great desire inside of me wanted to know more about this universe, specifically about Shepard. Here was the moment I fell in love with this game, and this very character I know, created and shaped. She then not only showing me how badass she is even in the most dare situation, but also she trigger the long, sleeping inner me and now I am fully awake because of her existence. For that, I have to thank BW for bringing her into my life, I am a complete person more than ever and lucky my life goes on quite well after the crisis on losing my marriage back in last winter.

Therefore, femshep naturally means even more to me. As I played through the game and its DLC, I feel the same as the others that femshep is 'slipping' away right in front of me. The close connection that I have in ME1 has shrink into a spectator then finally the connection has lost. Sage's blog has pretty much sum up how exactly I feel, so please take your time and read it through When you lost Shepard, you lost me 

I admit that by watching all the endings of EC, my tears not drop but poured down for a couple of scene. BW still has a touch on moving people's emotion by their writing; however, that didn't really apply to the story anymore. <Spoiler> that very hug EDI give to your LI and her expression just so real and finally seeing her act as an organic, what can be greater than to see someone you have known who finally become what she ultimately wants to be? Of course at the memorial wall, the hesitation of your LI hanging your Shepard's name on it. The very moment that Shepard tell her LI to leave before she gets back to the beam. These moments are used to define how great does ME can be and how unique this game is when you comparing with other.<End Spoiler>

Despite how much I dislike the mistakes BW made in ME3, I have to tell myself that this is the ending of Shepard. Eventually I will let her go and live long in my memory, but for now, there are still 3 more playthroughs I have to done for each of my femshep. I could not stand the fact to leave them hanging somewhere, they will have their chance to do what she should in her final hours.

Beside the game, here is the great femshep community which I hardly have seen around the internet. Things may have changed for now but the group used to be one tight family that all of us hanging in the chatroom, talking about all kinds of theory, thoughts relate to femshep. Not to mention the effort they put in on asking BW to make a femshep trailer, which I have to give most of the credit to David Silverman, who is the director of marketing of BW, he made this dream of fans become truth. The very Friday of Femshep Trailer release will always be one of the greatest moment in my gaming life.

I have never invest so much efforts, time and money into one franchise, sometime my wife said that I am obessed with this game. I wish there will be even greater game and character than Femshep and ME, but she will always be the first the the very special one. I know it will be hard to say goodbye to Femshep, it will not be easy and it will take quite some time. Meanwhile, fans starts to leave the group as time goes by; however, I hope this community could stay together, and act as a group on voicing out to the gaming industry on making more character like Femshep. We have done for once before, why rule out the possibility in the future?

Also, I would like to pay my greatest thanks to all the people I have met during this period and especially you, Jamie. No one in this community have contribute greater than what you have done, it is time for people to recognize this. Thank you very much~

Finally, as my journey move on, Femshep will live on in my heart in a place that nothing will able to replace her, she will always and shall be the only one. Thank you for reading this personal note and I hope this hasn't bored you to hell XD

Hyper (Ming) 3:08AM PST June 29, 2012

[Kate Lorimer]

Totally agree with you.  Never before has any type of fictional drama sucked me in and made me care about its characters so much.  I cried A LOT in Mass Effect 3, and cried at the tragedy that was the original bloody stump of an amputated ending... which has now been corrected.  They might not have been the endings I wished and hoped for, but they were a proper resolution, and I'm bereft and lost without Mass Effect, as I think the book has to now be closed - but at least the new endings open up possibilities for some hopefully good fan-fic, or even canon-fic based on branching storylines at the end...

The all new "control" ending has me breathless with its possibilities, portents, and potential dark overtone!

Im deeply saddened that Shepard will not be in any kind of future story, and that I wont hear Jennifer Hale's magnificent performance continue.

I held the line, the line held, and now its over.

[JamieCOTC]

Well said, Hyper.  Truth be told, the auto-dialog bothered me more than the ending. Admittedly the first ending was a complete WTF, but w/ an open ending you can headcanon stuff and now they are fixed.  The auto-dialog can't be fixed, unfortunately and UJ did slip through my fingers a bit.  But that's what headcanon is for.  ;)

Some people may seem skeptical, but there will be a mourning period for this character.  We put ourselves into femshep, even if we did not play her as ourselves. In a very real way we have lost a friend who many will never forget. That we got femshep at all was a twist of fate as many called her the happy accident.  Only time will tell if she will be a pioneer or a single quirk of fate, destined never to repeat.  And of the friends I've made here and on the boards, thank you for being here.  Thanks to Hyper for all the help toward the community And thanks to BW for femshep.

All things must pass
All things must pass away