PLEASE SEE THE POSTED UPDATE (AT THE BOTTOM) FOR INFO ON HOW YOU CAN ENTER TO WIN A HITBOX LEVERLESS CONTROLLER OR A COACHING SESSION WITH DOCTAAFRIKAN!
Hi, I’m Fem!Shep. You may have seen me around; I’ve had a wild first year and a half in the FGC. I’ll give you the cliff notes:
— Defeated Justin Wong’s “Impossible Zangief” challenge, 970K views and counting (https://youtu.be/mbyjIytS6So?si=_4_g9zW2fyMqwQS4)
— Competed on Justin Wong’s “NXT Up” Street Fighter 6 online reality show (https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLR2MijdS-8-yrovj0WTOqeqCUPQ1D19Gy&si=krh--39VZJvKLbFW)
— Featured as a weekly stream guest in the online Casa Bunch tournament (https://youtu.be/peTTyP_uz3U?si=5VCiTL5qaYOs4czL)
— Bodied a stranger on a billboard in Times Square at a Red Bull Kumite promo pop-up (https://youtu.be/2txbg677hX4?si=4b1Pf3Zp2NlwFBYn)
— Sponsored to EVO 2024 by SGF Devices, who build my leverless controllers (https://youtu.be/Xc1qwxC5rMQ?si=mKSohi-_4dY9eIZW)
— Competing at EVO, out of pools winners side with a 3-0, placed 513th out of 5K+ players (https://youtu.be/wMEu-8y0lyY?si=cGjWc9lB4rTi7CZI)
— I help moderate the Marisa character Discord (“Marisacord”), a thriving community of character tech, game discussion, and camaraderie
— Since entering the FGC, I’ve personally built 1.2K+ followers on Twitter, 250+ on Twitch, and 1.25K+ on YouTube under @ femshepfgc
Street Fighter 6 is my first fighting game. The inclusion of modern controls empowered me, a dyspraxic gamer, to seriously engage with a fighting game for the first time despite my difficulties with fine motor skills and visual processing/reaction time. And my local community welcomed me with such open arms that I fell in love with not just the thrill of competition, but the people.
Since taking my modern Marisa from rookie to master (and now also a pocket Ken,) I’ve won a handful of locals—and every time I lose, I just get hungrier for the next one.
I take great pride in representing multiple under-represented categories of competitive FGC as a woman, a queer person, and a disabled/neurodivergent person. While I never originally set out to “inspire” anyone, it’s become increasingly clear that my visibility in the FGC makes others feel like there could be space here for them, too, and that’s an incredible thing. It can be lonely as a woman especially in the FGC, and if seeing me on a stream or in a YouTube video convinces even one girl to get into this scene, that’s everything to me.
EVO 2024 was one of the best weekends of my life, and I desperately want to attend another major offline event with all of the incredible people beyond my local scene who I otherwise never get to see offline. Unfortunately, I was out of work from early March through late October this year, and while I’m grateful to have found work, it is outside my field and doesn’t pay enough for much spending money to be left over, particularly so soon after the cost of Christmas presents for my loved ones.
All donations to this fundraiser will go directly towards enabling me to attend Frosty Faustings 2025. Here’s the cost breakdown:
Flight: $400 (flying in on the 23rd and home on the 27th)
Uber: $200 (trips to/from airport and hotel, approx. $50 each after tip)
Entry fee: $150 (on start GG)
Food: $350 (lunch and dinner every day, possibly breakfast)
Hotel: I have a friend who already has a room in the Westin. My portion of the cost would be $200.
TOTAL: $1,300
If the total amount is not raised, all donations will go towards enabling me to continue attending my local tournaments instead, just like the Buy Me A Coffee donations have ($600+ since I opened it—thank you, FGC!).
If the total amount is exceeded, all extra funds will either be used to patronize the artists at Frosty Faustings or used to continue attending my local tournaments after I get home.
Please consider donating to help me reunite with the broader online FGC, compete in another major, and make unforgettable memories—alongside of course documenting the experience on my YouTube channel!
Extremely grateful for any and all support, even if it’s just sharing this link around. Thank you for reading!
