User blog comment:Gnostic/Fanon vs. Alternate Universe/@comment-1596833-20110330003628/@comment-260745-20110330074115

Of course our creations will never exist in the series. Your mistake, however, is assuming that the galaxy will simply be unmade when the Mass Effect series ends. This is what separates fanon from alternate-universe fan fiction - a recognition of the fact that the Mass Effect universe is not so limited that one must create an entirely new universe in order for a given character to exist.

For all that you speak of alternate universes as enablers for creativity, their true sinister purpose is denial of creativtiy. "By using it, your society develops along the paths we desire," as Sovereign said. By your own admission, your alternate reality exists only so that you can recreate your playthrough. You are not allowing your Shepard to save the universe, but instead forcing them to... and denying them the possibility of any other role. Maybe they don't want all the pressure that comes with being the saviour of the galaxy. Maybe they didn't even want to become a soldier. Did you even consider the possibility that they have their own desires? Just because you created them does not necessarily mean that you control them.

Stop fighting against the canon. Embrace it, limitations and all. Only then will you begin to comprehend the true size of the Mass Effect universe and realize just how much opportunity it contains.