Ashley has a little secret in ME3...

[MercurySteam]

Okay, so today I was linked this [http://www.gameranx.com/updates/id/5411/article/bioware-institutes-zero-tolerance-policy-on-communit%20y-forums/].

Now, lemme insert an important quote from Stan Woo of Bioware:

Update: Looks like this particular rumour is a fake, (as is the quote) albeit a finely crafted one at that.

Many of you already know, with the subsequent leak of the story, that Ashley is holding a secret. Many of you feel baffled by this reveal of the story and are questioning why did we chose to take this path. We at Bioware are committed with progressive thinking and shun every time of discrimination in relationships when we develop our games. We already put homosexual relationships in Dragon Age 2 and we heard the input from the transsexual community, that they wanted to be counted too. That's why we chose to take this path with Ashley's character. A final word to out heterosexual fans. This choices are not forced upon you, and there's always the choice of going with the opposite sex in your game love interest

Now before I go any further, I want it known that why I may not be 100% comfortable around homosexuals or transsexuals, but I do not have a problem with them. Now Bioware chose to spring this on us in the last game when back in ME1 all who chose Ash as a love interest and assumed that they were picking a 'straight' Shepard. Now, I dunno, I suppose all those people should might feel cheated to know that Ash was a transexual all that time and Bioware changed her as of the last game to appeal to the transsexual community.

They say that they're not forcing this path on you but fact of the matter is, back in ME1 nobody knew that Ash was a transsexual, and now suddenly they're all "Btw, while the galaxy is ending and all, now might be a good time to let you know that Ashley is a transsexual." I just don't know what to say now but I'm sure that then never initially planned for Ash to be a transsexual and just springing this on us is..... unfair.

Maybe I am homophobic, I dunno. I do know that this is not a good way to appeal to your fanbase, Bioware (at least when everyone was convinced that Ash was totally normal). I'd like to hear feedback from you guys if I'm right to be disappointed at Bioware or not.

 

[Veldt Falsetto]

when is this revealed in the game? Kaiden isn't too is he?

WTF!? well confused

 

[The Forces of Chaos]

I'm sorry for the rant guys its just blew up. I guess I need to think if i really want mass effect 3 anymore.

Edit : must a be a troll getting worked up over nothing,

 

[him over there]

The fact that they are just suddenly springing this on us now gives me the same initial reaction to them adding homosexual relationships to the third game. It feels forced and out of character and you can almost feel the "Look how awesome and progressive we are" coming through. If this or the homosexual relationships had been there from the first game it would be totally okay, hell even if it was a different npc or protagonist it would be okay.

Think of it like this: ME1 and 2 Shep had no homosexual options, this leads us to believe that Shep is not a homo or bi sexual. So suddenly opening those paths up in the third game makes it like what, Shepherd is out of the closet? Even doing something like hinting at it previously or having a subplot intrinsic to Shepherd's identity would be fine but it feels so pathetically rushed and tacked on here.

About Ash? Well it's strange to say the least and it's very similar since some people may have been chasing Ash the previous two games and suddenly finding out she is a transsexual will probably mean they will feel cheated, especially since it is hinted in absolutely no way.

The best way for Bioware to salvage this now is to take this into account and mold this particular path around the ethics of being up front or misleading your boy or girlfriend or also the social conventions of romancing a transsexual and whether they should tell you they are one before getting to the bedroom, y'know "I wanna know what I'm getting into". Concentrating on emotions and scenarios about trust and exploring the themes above would probably intensify the emotions of feeling cheated by this change and would also make it seem like it wasn't a total tack on to appease a smaller part of the fanbase.

On another note, why couldn't they introduce a new crewmate who was a transsexual instead? Probably would have sidestepped all this.

 

[Strain42]

...I'm not gonna lie. I came here expecting to just write

"Does she have a penis!? :O"

without even reading it, entirely as a joke

However after skimming the main thing...was I even wrong?

 

[Jedoro]

*headdesk*

...

*headdesk*

About Ash? Well it's strange to say the least and it's very similar since some people may have been chasing Ash the previous two games and suddenly finding out she is a transsexual will probably mean they will feel cheated, especially since it is hinted in absolutely no way.

I'm one of those people. Really, Bioware? I go through the whole first game getting to know her, hook up with her, stay faithful in the second, then you throw this shit in out of nowhere?

I'd also like to know how the grandson of a disgraced general would even be able to pull that off without anyone knowing.

EDIT: Oh, thank Sithis it's fake. There may or may have not been murders if this had been true. Most likely not, but it's the thought that counts.

 

[DrWilhelm]

What. Just...what.

Please tell me this is wrong, because otherwise, just...damn. What an absurdly counter productive way to encourage progressive attitudes towards transexuals.

 

[boag]

well, Ash always looked like a Post Op Tranny to me >.>

Everyone has seen the Prince Edits of her ME2 appearance right?

 

[Nimcha]

I can't believe how people can even contemplate believing this.

There are some pathetic people out there trying to destroy this game for some misguided reason.

 

[Hal10k]

I can't believe how people can even contemplate believing this.

There are some pathetic people out there trying to destroy this game for some misguided reason.

It's either a remarkably inspired trolling effort, or, in the event that it's authentic, the event that's going to cause the community here to devour itself whole like a fat guy who's run out of doughnuts. Either way is going to be fun to watch.

 

[DrWilhelm]

I can't believe how people can even contemplate believing this.

There are some pathetic people out there trying to destroy this game for some misguided reason.

Yeah, I'm inclined to believe this isn't true. I've dived into a few Ashley discussion threads on the BSN and I can't see anyone mentioning it. As people are actually playing the game now, I'm sure that if this were the case there would be a lot of anger being thrown around. Either that or the BSN has become way, way more tolerant.

 

[MercurySteam]

I can't believe how people can even contemplate believing this.

There are some pathetic people out there trying to destroy this game for some misguided reason.

This is literally the first issue I've had with the game so far. I'm still picking up the N7 Edition and I'm still goning to love the game despite what everybody else is saying. I don't even have a problem with Ashley being a transsexual. But having this thing sprung on us at the last moment is just uncalled for. As far as everybody was concerned (Bioware included), for both ME1/2 Ash was not transsexual. Now suddenly, in ME3 because Bioware recived "input from the transsexual communinty" Ash is suddenly 'made' a transsexual. Of course this is Bioware's story so they have every right to do this but considering that the majority of the ME fanbase are straight males, I don't see how they didn't see any backlash coming.

However is this does turn out to be false, then I'll be glad to breathe a sigh of relief.

 

[Fr]anc[is]

Now even though I'm scared Jim is reading this, I'm going to say if this is true then people have a reason to be mildly upset. Not for a bigoted reason, but just because this is a straight up retcon. And the air around this game is already bad enough without them reaching back and changing things.

 

[worldruler8]

Wait, so all this time, my Shepard had sex with a transexual who didnt even bother to tell me? That's...unbelievable. This is either a troll article or a very VERY bad move from Bioware in the PR department. I have nothing wrong with transexuals. Hell, it'd be interesting if before Ashley and shepard go their rocks on, Ashley told shepard she used to have rocks to have on. It'd be an interesting case of whats more important when dealing with personality, gender, and sex. But no, you just had to shoehorn this in in the most awkward way possible. I really, REALLY hope this is a troll, because this is just appealing to more liberal ideals in its ugliest forms.

 

[evilneko]

So, she used to be a he? Or she is a he on the way to becoming a she? Or she is a she on the way to becoming a he? WHICH IS IT?

Hmm. If the former, I say people just get the fuck over it, she's a woman. If either of the latter, shame on Bioware, because that should've come out in the first game. It would've affected people's choices for sure.

Oh look, the SolveMedia captchas are back. Hooray for easy-to-read captchas. Boo for the spambots that will inevitably pass them easily.

 

[octafish]

...and she only has one hand, and she works at S-Mart (shop smart, shop S-Mart), and she defeated the Deadites, now give her some sugar.

Even Bioware aren't this stupid.

 

[Freechoice]

...and she only has one hand, and she works at S-Mart (shop smart, shop S-Mart), and she defeated the Deadites, now give her some sugar.

Even Bioware aren't this stupid.

But if they are, it means Yahtzee was right.

 

[octafish]

...and she only has one hand, and she works at S-Mart (shop smart, shop S-Mart), and she defeated the Deadites, now give her some sugar.

Even Bioware aren't this stupid.

But if they are, it means Yahtzee was right.

About the ox?

 

[Programmed_For_Damage]

They're just trying to cash in on the Poison/Roxy argument from Final Fight/Tekken vs Street Fighter fame.

In all seriousness, I'm not mad that my straight Shep has got in on with a tranny. I'm more pissed that they all of a sudden decide to shoehorn it into the story via an existing character who never gave any indication that they were "born that way".
Now I can accept that Ashley wouldn't lead with "By the way I'm really a man", but before you got down to it, surely that might be a thing to mention.

Ashley was already interesting as a space-racist; they didn't need to add that extra level of character onto her. Could turn out to be all bullshit though.

 

[Programmed_For_Damage]

...and she only has one hand, and she works at S-Mart (shop smart, shop S-Mart), and she defeated the Deadites, now give her some sugar.

Even Bioware aren't this stupid.

But if they are, it means Yahtzee was right.

About the ox?

About everything! ;-)