It feels like forever since I first started on my FemShep tattoo. My first session for her was in June where my tattoo artist did the outline of her along with the shading that needed to be done. I have been waiting a very long time to go back in and see him in order to get this tattoo done. I’ve been patient though and trying not to go through tattoo withdrawal as I looked forward to what would be done and how the end product would look. In the meantime though, while I’ve been waiting ever so patiently, I have been replaying the whole Mass Effect series. But what does this have to do with completing my FemShep tattoo?
I want to start off by telling you that I in no way planned this to happen the way it did. It just so happened that I was replaying through the Mass Effect series and the day before I finished my tattoo, I had completed all 3 games. What does this have to do with getting the tattoo finished? Nothing really, but for me it was kind of an end of an era. I’ve been playing Mass Effect since 2010 when I first bought Mass Effect 2, I know I was late to the party, but this was the first time that I played all three games in a row. I already knew why I loved the character of FemShep whether she was a paragon or renegade, if I didn’t then I wouldn’t have had her image tattooed on my arm for everyone to see for the rest of my life. What I didn’t realize until now though, was the effect that this character actually had on me as a person.
Through good times and bad, which felt like a hell of a lot more bad times than good, this character was one of the constants in my life. She fought for what she believed in and she fought hard. Never giving up, never wavering, and getting the job done in the very end. Throughout the years of playing this game, I made a lot of huge changes in my life. I won’t detail them here and bore you to death, but I like to think that some part of me did this because of the admiration I have for this character. In a way, the completion of this tattoo is like saying goodbye to Shepard. Not only goodbye, but also a thank you and constant reminder that if you believe in something, it’s worth fighting for.
Now that you’re completely bored, I will tell you that my session took a total of four hours. Yes, four hours to just color in FemShep to perfection. While we were supposed to start on the background as well, after four hours I was in a shit load of pain. Yes, I admit this time I was in a lot of pain. If my tattoo artist is reading this he is probably pumping a fist in victory as I finally admit to being in pain since I usually just brush it off and tell him to keep going. Anyway, below is the final product of my last session.
Since I was really eager to finish up my arm before the year is out, I scheduled my next appointment for next moth where we’ll work on the mysterious background that I talked about last time and I’ll give able to finally give a picture of the full 360 view of my completed forearm sleeve. As always, I look forward to my next session and would like to give a huge thank you to my tattoo artist who always makes the crazy shit that I want done into a reality with a few tweaks here and there to make it look amazing.
1 Broke Gamer Girl 