The 'I'm Commander Shepard' meme originates from the 2010 RPG Mass Effect 2, specifically a quest where the protagonist can record promotional endorsements for various shops on the Citadel station in exchange for vendor discounts. Players quickly discovered they could record the exact same line—'I'm Commander Shepard, and this is my favorite store on the Citadel'—for every competing shop in the district, leading to a hilarious contradiction of integrity. This behavior became a staple of gaming culture, used to mock corporate sellouts, repetitive NPC dialogue, or to humorously endorse any niche community, product, or hobby across the internet.