there are so many things about mass effect that give me so many feelings but the one thing i think i will /never/ be over is how selfless shepard is. like even if you’re playing renegade shep, shepard is always the last one out of the crashing ship, always the one throwing themselves in front of their squad mates to protect them, always the one putting everything and everyone before themselves no matter what. not once during their entire mission does shepard think about turning back, even after they fucking die and are brought back to life. not once does shepard question their duty in the fight against the reapers or in anything they do to help people. and all of this is so well encapsulated by that heart shattering moment at the end of the third game when the crucible doesn’t work at first and hackett calls shepard and their immediate response is ‘how can i help’ even while their burned and broken body is slowly bleeding to death, even after everything they’ve done shepard is still so determined and selfless, right to the very end, without question or remorse. i don’t think i’ll ever be able to put into words how blown away i am by the selflessness of commander shepard