#femshepweek

[femshepping]

Shangxiang was born in the New York slums; she spent most of her childhood thieving to help herself and her family survive. When she was fourteen her parents were killed and she was taken by a slave trader ring. Before she could be transported offworld she orchestrated an escape with her fellow captives and killed the slavers, becoming de facto leader of the group now set on targeting criminals preying on the lower classes.

Four years later, after taking down a prominent corrupt official in a costly raid, she and two of her surviving crew fled the city by joining up with the Alliance; she signed up under the false surname Shepard.

Her affinity for hacking technology, aptitude of marksmanship, vicious combat tactics and leadership experience earned her quick promotion and enemies within the Alliance, as she and her former gang members continued attacking corruption within the Alliance ranks.

Accepted into the N7 program, in her final assessment her team was tasked as supporting the raid on Torfan, during which she took charge following the commanding officer’s death and ordered her team to pursue the slavers mercilessly to ensure that none could escape with their cargo. Her friends, understanding, followed the orders to their ends. She earned her N7 title and association with “Necessary”.

Shortly after, following the damning of an Alliance admiral with evidence of corruption, Admiral Hackett moved to keep her from political backlash by promoting her out of reach to Commander and assigning her to the Normandy under Captain Anderson.

Her association is Renegade, as an extension of her impatience with due process, her ends-focused treatment of crime, and eye-for-an-eye unwillingness to forgive injustice. She maintains a practical approach with the basic tenet of not allowing innocents to suffer. Following Tofan she began painting her lips black as a reminder of her duty to herself and what she had lost, and wears violet and red armour.

In ME1 she was drawn to Liara, finding comfort in her contrasting kindness and the communion of the Joining. She freed the Rachni Queen, judging her as being an unwilling tool of Saren, and likewise saved the Feros colony without allowing the colonists to die for their forced role. She convinced Garrus to become a Spectre to fight where the law could not reach, refused to let Wrex waste his potential on Virmire, and sacrificed Kaiden. She saved the council, seeing their support as more valuable than punishing their blindness.

In ME2, Liara’s newfound habits repulsed her, but by the time she realised her hypocrisy and reconciled, their romantic relationship was beyond repair. She was allured by Jack and felt solidarity in their comparable past struggles, but for some reason that potential relationship wasn’t coded into the game so screw you Bioware it did not work out. Ultimately she developed feelings for Samara, believing their strong sense of justice united them, and though they shared experiences and a near Joining, she was left devastated by Samara’s rejection of her and her methods. Hoping that the results of the Collectors’ brutalising could be used for vengeance, she saved the base for Cerberus and left with an intact and loyal crew.

In ME3 she cured the genophage, brought the Quarians and the Geth to peace, and saved the council again, always intent on maximising their resources against the Reapers. She ensured Ashley Williams’ survival and return to the Normandy, and kicked James Vega into the N7 footsteps he was afraid to walk in. At first skeptical of Joker and EDI’s relationship, she came to accept and even encourage it, and herself over time grew affection for Samantha Traynor amid the chaos of the invasion, which developed into a love for all that her life could have been and all that it could still be. As she activated the Crucible and threw herself into the Synthesis, her thoughts were of Sam, as her body dissolved into light…

But in the sunburst of power that traversed the galaxy, her consciousness drifted, touching every soul, organic and machine, timelessly dancing through the stars and across the surface of planets in a bliss of thought, before converging back into a single sentience.

She opened her eyes, felt her heart beating, breathed air into her lungs, and sensed a new energy travelling through her body. She realised she was lying on her bed on the Normandy, and heard a shatter as Samantha, with surprise, confusion, and tears on her face jumped startled, letting slip the photo she was holding and rushed forward to embrace her.

(Ohhh Shangxiang’s backstory gave me chills! Thank you for submitting, keepitslightlyunreal!)

[femshepping]

This is Marin Shepard, my colonist/sole survivor/vanguard. She’s mostly paragon, but she’s has the capacity to be cruel (she just doesn’t like to be). She’s somewhat tiny (only 5'4"), but she’s a relatively powerful biotic, and she’s absolutely deadly with her shotgun. 

She’s had a lot of setbacks in her life (Mindoir started her on something bad, and just when she thought she’d be okay, Akuze hit her and almost made her quit the Alliance) but she’s also had a pretty good support system. First with Anderson, then with her crew (especially Garrus and Ashley), so they’ve helped to shape her into the person she is by the first game. 

She saved Ash on Virmire, let the rachni queen live, saved the council (nominated Anderson, mostly as a big “screw you” to Udina), kept everyone alive on the Collector Base (destroyed it as a “screw you” to Cerberus), cured the genophage, peace between the quarians and geth.

She romanced Garrus, which was a somewhat impulsive decision for her, but it worked out and he’s definitely a good support for her. She doesn’t regret it. She also has a soft spot for Tali, and Miranda grows on her after a while.

She’s my first Shepard and she’s incredibly special to me, not only because I definitely aspire to be as good and as strong as her, but because I’ve put so much time and effort into her and her development. She my favorite tiny vanguard and I love her to bits, and I don’t think any other Shep I could make could ever replace her.

(This lovely tiny Shepard was submitted by makoraleighs!)

[femshepping]

I will seriously never get tired of hearing all of the backstories and romances and personal headcanons you all have for your femsheps like holy wow you’re all so creative!!

[femshepping]

Olivia Shepard lived with her mother, father, two younger brothers, and a younger sister on Mindoir. When she was little, she dreamed of being a pianist - the universe had different plans for her, though.

After being saved by Alliance soldiers who found her hiding in her home, she was sent to live with a close family friend who had moved to Earth a year before the attack. On Earth, she was confirmed as a biotic, and she put all her energy into physical and mental training in order to join the Alliance. 

When faced with a difficult decision on Torfan, she followed her gut and ultimately led ¾ths of her unit to their death. While she doesn’t believe there were any other viable options, the military’s public and private speculation that the events at Torfan were revenge for Mindoir do have her doubting herself at times. 

Summary of the games/other random stuff:

Romanced Kaidan in ME1

Romanced Thane in ME2 and 3

Counts Thane, Garrus, Tali, Joker, and Wrex as her closest friends

Almost full renegade, comes off as harsh and a bit bullheaded at times, but kind and thoughtful towards her crew. (Some would call her two-faced; she sees it as having a very clear public persona.)

Suffers from nightmares of Mindoir, especially after being brought back to life. 

Reteaches herself piano as a way to cope with losing her last few years of childhood.

In game chose Control. I like to believe her soul has gone to join Thane across the sea.

In fics I’m writing chooses Destroy and lives.

Besides Thane, I ship her with Joker and Zaeed.

(I love her! Thank you, bi-biotic!)

[femshepping]

I'm extending femshepweek for another day! So if you still want to submit your sheps go ahead! :)

[femshepping]

one more day until femshepweek ends!! submit your sheps, peopleeeee!

[femshepping]

Rennah Shepard

Rennah Shepard (born Raina Varlakov) was born in Russia. Her father was killed in the First Contact War and her mother died not long after moving to the US to take part in an outreach program for parents of biotic children. She was put into the Good Shepard’s Children’s Home which was actually a front for a human trafficking ring. She was sold to the Tenth Street Reds who bought her for her biotic abilities and renamed her Rennah Shepard. She stayed with them until she was a teenager when he had a ‘wake up’ moment and realised she had to get out.

She enrolled in the Alliance, fought in the Skyllian Blitz and was quickly recruited into N-School. Rennah is a Vanguard-Infiltrator mix and is a somewhat emotionally immature woman who can be incredibly ruthless when the situation calls for it. In ME1 she fell in love with Kaidan Alenko and became good friends with Liara and Garrus. She was killed when the collectors attacked the Normandy over Alchera.

In ME2 she became more ruthless and angry. Rennah resented having her life taken away and being brought back and shoved into a new life she didn’t want. When she met Kaidan on Horizon and he walked away from her she reacted violently and cut off all contact with him - interpreting his actions as a betrayal of their relationship. She fought viciously to stop the Collectors, often risking her life in reckless stunts. Rennah became best friends with Jack and Kasumi. After the Collector base was destroyed she handed herself back into the Alliance.

In ME3 she fell in love with James Vega and after lots of flirting and dancing around each other, they ended up in a committed relationship. He’s been a stabilizing force in her life and has helped her calm down and think before she acts. Rennah has patched up her friendship with Kaidan - slowly recognising that what she saw as a betrayal was him protecting himself from hurt. However, James is the only man for her and they have vowed to have a life together when the war is over.

Rennah is the main character in my fanfic Lights in the Sky.

(Ahhhh I’ve read Lights In The Sky - it’s so exciting to put a face to the Shepard! Rennah was submitted by vorchagirl!)

[femshepping]

Calico Shepard was born an Alliance Brat.

Moving every few years as their parents were re-assigned to different ships and stations, many Spacer kids grew up outgoing, making friends quickly and easily as they adapted to their new homes.

Calico went the other direction, becoming introverted and reluctant to make close friends just to either leave them or have them leave. Instead, she buried herself in her school work and the libraries of the various places her parents were stationed. She developed a particular fondness for mid to late 1900s entertainment, particularly pulp heroes and rock music.

Joining the Alliance on her 18th birthday wasn’t really a choice she consciously made. Growing up in that environment, it basically never occurred to her that she would do anything else.

Her introversion likely led her to specialize as an Infiltrator, with a particular talent for the sniper rifle. She became, in the words of one commander, a “holy terror” with the weapon, to the point that she could use it as effectively in battle as others used their shotguns and assault rifles.

Her military upbringing also gave her a particular dislike of mercenaries, pirates and the like, which was only heightened after the events of the Skyllian Blitz.

ME1 - She sacrificed Kaidan on Virmire to protect Ashley and the bomb. She knows it was the right decision tactically, but sometimes, in her darkest moments, she wonders if his creepy come-ons nearly every time they talked had something to do with it.

She became fast friends with Garrus and started a relationship with Liara.

She picked up a couple of small facial scars when parts of Sovereign landed on her during the final battle, which she stubbornly kept because the Council public relations people kept being more concerned with her image than with the idea that they needed to start preparing for the Reaper invasion.

ME2 - After Calico was brought back, she felt lost. No progress had been made against the coming attack and she was forced to work not only with Cerebus, but a collection of mercs and psychos the likes of which she’d spent years fighting against. At least there were a few familiar faces to keep her grounded, but those who knew her noticed a subtle shift. Whereas before she’d worked hard to solve problems peaceably if at all possible, she was getting more likely to just punch or shoot someone to settle things.

She tried rekindling her relationship with Liara when they met again and took down the Shadow Broker, but something just seemed off.

She lost people on the suicide mission, but she succeeded in stopping the Collector’s and cut off all ties to the Illusive Man and Cerebus.

ME3 - During her ‘house arrest’ she cut her hair short, claiming it was easier to do that than jump thru the security hoops involved in either going out or bringing someone in to take care of it. She also thought about her relationship with Liara. She realized that the discomfort she’d felt stemmed from the fact that, while she had no real conscious knowledge of the time that had passed while she was ‘dead’, Liara had had two years to grieve and move on with her life. When they met again on Mars, she officially ended things, tho the two remained close friends. She would end up starting a relationship with Samantha Traynor.

She still had the harder edge she’d picked up during the fight against the Collector’s, fueled by frustration over the lack of preparation and having to fight on two fronts with Cerebus dogging her heels while she tried to organize the resistance against the Reapers.

That frustration came to a head when Thessia fell. Calico’s anger, both at the events on Thessia and herself for feeling that way while knowing how much worse it had to be for Liara, caused her to leave the Normandy for several days. It wasn’t until after she returned and the crew heard of Omega’s liberation from Cerebus occupation that they realized what had happened. According to the stories, the Commander Shepard that tore thru Cerebus forces on Omega made Aria seem restrained by comparison. Whatever the truth of the matter, when she returned, Calico was more focused than ever on taking out the Illusive Man and then defeating the Reapers once and for all.

Just as things looked darkest, Calico realized the true nature of the Crucible and the Catalyst. It wasn’t a super weapon. The design required every advanced race in the galaxy to work together, and that - the united forces of the galaxy - was the weapon. A final, desperate transmission as the Citadel crumbled around her was enough to spur every being capable of fighting to go for one last push, a push which saw the Reapers fall at last.

When Calico awoke, it was to a galaxy ravaged by the war. Untold billions had died, planets had been destroyed, fleets decimated…but it was galaxy that would never have to face the Reaper threat again.

And with the rebuilding to be done, Calico and the Normandy had another mission….

(Ohhh I love this backstory!! Calico was submitted by caeric-arclight!)