Canadian Delicacy - The Kaidan Alenko Thread

Garrus isn't even in my top 10 anymore but I still think he's likable. Kaidan is still my second favorite. No one can beat Wrex though. And you hated Javik?? I thought this guy was great from the start. I like his more pragmatic and slightly more negative view of things. Most of the other characters are a bit too positive and I feel he's the grounded one. And I hate to say this, as good looking as Ash is in ME3, her romance is not as strong as it is in ME1. I love the banter between Shepard and Ashley in ME1. I've said this multiple times, but Shepard is a complete cornball with Ashley as a paragon. Which suited my Obbie Shepard well because I tend to use bad humor in those kinds of situations. It continues a bit in ME3, but man did Ashley get the short end of the stick when compared to the original squadmates. Her romance has its moments but its weak compared to Kaidan, Garrus, and Tali.

For me, James is my fav character, and I also only fully appreciated him later on. Which is funny because it was in the same run that made me like Javik. When I first played ME with Javik I felt he was being a prick. But I appreciated his comments and views on things in my 3rd run, my first FemShep and a little more Renegade-y run that ended up agreeing with him quite a lot. And that's exactly why I love roleplaying so much. Had I not done this run, maybe I'd never have liked Javik that much, but I saw things from his perspective and I really liked that. Plus his troll comments are just great, and he was super funny with James in the squad. I love these two together
You have just decided for me that I'll run a Paragon Shep for the Ashley romance I do at some point I thought whether I should do a Renegade run, but now I want to see the cornball Shepard! I have romanced Ashley in ME1 with the Renegade dialogues (which suited my Shep back then perfectly, he was such a player until he met Jack), so it's going to be fun to see how the Paragon path is.

Btw - sorry, Kaidan fans, for going a bit off-topic

Perhaps the stakes were high enough towards the end of ME1 when it was crunch time, but there is a difference between stopping Saren and stopping the reaper invasion force. In ME1 it's about stopping the apocalypse from happening. In ME3 the apocalypse is already here and it's about surviving it. The tone of the two games is drastically different. It affects morale, which in turn affects characters' decision making. The way the romances work in ME1 is you have an almost kiss before you steal the ship, at which point both parties are aware that there is something going on between them. If that moment doesn't happen, there isn't a romance. Kaidan strikes me as a deliberate kind of guy who doesn't act impulsively, so maybe he thinks confronting Shepard with his feelings just after stealing the ship is probably not the best timing. Everything is so fast paced from that moment to the end of the game, so sticking to the mission seems like the more prudent thing to do. Plus, they must have known that if they were successful in their mission there was a good chance that their careers would be saved as well. And if not, then they could always date after they were court-martialed. All it takes to prevent them from going for it is for them to talk themselves out of it, and ME1 gives them plenty of reasons to rationalize why they shouldn't.

When Kaidan sits John down in ME3, it's apparent that he had put a lot of thought into what he wanted to say. It wasn't a "Hey, I just realized I like you" type of confession; it was a "Hey, I've had feelings for you for a very long time and I can't deny them anymore" type. His feelings are even stronger now than they were in ME1, most of the obstacles keeping the relationship from happening are either in the past or don't seem as important anymore, so he is less able to keep his feelings to himself. It felt very real and natural to me. There are mods that allow Kaidan to be romanced in the first game that change the dialogue in the third game so it's a continued romance. I don't use them because I think their love story is even better because you have to wait for ME3 for them to finally become a couple. I love the friends to lovers narrative that they got.

I'm not trying to call you out; this is just an observation, but female Shepards can also start a new romance with an unromanced Kaidan in ME3. I haven't heard anyone say that that romance path feels forced.

I didn't want to quote your whole post because it would look too long. But all I can say is..that was actually a very good read. I appreciate you taking the time to put that in writing instead of just hating on my feelings on the subject. I hadn't really thought of it like that before, but I can see what you mean now. Kaidan only being romanced in ME3 can make it seem more special. Also, when Kaidan in ME2 claims to feel like he lost a limb at Shep's death, it can be taken two ways. I take it as him being my brother in arms. But that can also be taken as him secretly harboring feelings for John and getting emotional that he never got the chance to tell him. Or am I putting words in your mouth now?

But yes, I agree that his sanity check scene was very deliberate and he laid out plainly how he felt about Shepard before it was too late. And honestly, I also felt that Kaidan's sanity check scene was a little forced even with femshep especially if you treat him like a subordinate. Just being nice to him makes him think you are interested. I might overlook it slightly more because I can understand Kaidan's situation when it comes to him confessing how he feels about a girl he likes. That's my own perspective though

However, I was surprised that in my most recent run, he didn't hit on me at all. I am playing a female with no romance at all and I picked a renegade option on Mars and didn't bring him a drink at the hospital and he didn't flirt with me. At least its cool that's an option.

So true. I'm always surprised how well he works with both, given my Shepards do understand his view point. I guess that was my own problem when first recruiting Javik. I didn't really try to understand him, and I also only got him late (in my first run I believe I only recruited him shortly before Thessia, which is not enough time to get to know him properly imo).
Also, prior to playing ME I always played nice characters (in Dragon Age) and I wanted to be friends with everyone, so perhaps it was also a factor I couldn't do this with Javik at first. Given how he dismissive he can be at the beginning, I just got this prick vibe from him. I'm so glad my opinion on him has changed I'm guilty of judging some characters too soon, just like I did with Ashley and Miranda. They were so super annoying to me at first, but I also appreciate them now after giving them another chance.
And thanks for the tip with the neutral responses. I often replay scenes to see what fits best (unless I know all the dialogues already ), so I probably end up picking a few of the neutral ones! I guess it will be a year or so before I do Ash's romance, so I hope I can remember to tell you about it.

And yeah, L2 Sentinel has given me a great idea for my next MShep/Kaidan romance. I like the idea of them having feelings for each other prior to ME2 even It will be a while until I get to do that, but I look forward to it.

Oh yeah, you miss a LOT of content with Javik if you get him late. Its best to get him ASAP. My only problem is that I like to take the Virmire Survivor on this mission so they can remember Jenkins (Kaidan) or the 212 (Ashley). But that's far too late to be getting him. What's also great about Javik is that like Kaidan he works well with literally every class. I can't think of a class I've played where I felt Javik/Kaidan didn't go well. I know you like James for ME3, but my go to team is Kaidan/Javik. Insanity is easy enough as is, but with these two, its just over powered.

And hey, at least you are willing to admit that you can see character in a different light. Many will never even do this. This happened to me funnily enough in Dragon Age. I didn't like Fenris at first, but as a friend he's really likable. And not to digress even further, but I am replaying DAO again. I forgot how amazing this game is. Even in DAO, I don't want to be friends with everyone. Zevran for example disapproves at a lot of things I say and I end up having to fight him. And I forgot how alluring Morrigan is. I'm going to like romancing her again as Obbie the mage.

But yeah, I see where you are coming from because I was in the exact same situation with several characters (Ashley being one of them). Though sadly Miranda went from being likable to pretty boring in my latest playthrough. And she will always look awkward to me and not attractive like she is supposed to be. And yeah, i do the same thing in terms of replaying section, but the neutral option I am referring to is the scene in the cabin. Once that scene plays out you have to sit through the characters going through the relay and chasing Saren. I don't have the patience to keep doing that and wasting 5 minutes with an unskippable scene.

Same, I usually get Javik later if I want to take Kaidan/Ash with me. That was when I romanced them. On my other runs I get him as early as possible now I agree he's a really good squadmate too! I need to try out the Javik/Kaidan combination. I wanted to pair Javik with everyone eventually anyway, but Kaidan and Javik in a squad together sounds great for the gameplay as well.

Ha, Fenris was my instant love (perhaps it has to do with that voice... ahem). I still like him the most in DA2, and it's especially rewarding being a mage and he becomes a friend/lover that trusts you. In DA I haven't been trying out so many things with the Friend/Rival system (since always having played nice...), but I want to do different things from now on too. It's been some time since I played DA2, but then I also always only want to play ME, hahaha.

Miranda does look awkward. Her voice actress is a beautiful woman, so I don't know what went wrong there, but I think for me it's her giant head. It just looks funny. But I still look forward to the romance
Thanks for the hint! Then I will know when to pick neutral

Yeah Kaidan/Javik is very potent. Area Reave and lift grenade alone is amazing. On Jacob's mission, I remember going to extract. I did Reave (hit 2-3 troopers and a Centurion clustered together), then I had Javik throw a grenade. The detonation sent them all flying into the stratosphere. What was even better is I hit a phantom with Overload as she was dropping down and she got caught in blast and got sent flying too. Its was great.

Once I gave Fenris a chance he was great. And I have also done a romance and friendship with him as a mage. Again, probably an unpopular opinion, but Fenris felt like a better bro to me than Varric did (who has Garrus syndrome because he feels really forced). And you HAVE to be humorous with Fenris. Its nice to see him crack a smile or laugh at your jokes. He felt like a character you can have a drink with at the Hanged Man. And its also been a while since I played DA2 also. But that's because I think its a boring game. Which is sad because I like the Rival/Friendship system, some of the quests, choices, and cutscenes. But playing the game is not fun.

And agreed. Yvonne is hot, but Miranda.... ehh. If they spent the time smoothing out her face and instead of putting so much time on her assets, I think she would have worked out better. And LOL how did I never notice the size of her head?

Liara is super pushy. It's like "You like A/K, right?" "Yes, I do." "Great, but you like me too, right?" Pushy, trying to get between Shep and someone else. Maybe there was always more to Liara and seeing who she became in ME2 ought not to have been such a surprise.

I'm annoyed a little by Liara too, but I was never ninjamanced so far, luckily. From my experience she will not be the LI when you tell her to be just friends when she expresses interest. I know the Renegade option there is bugged so I always use the Neutral one if I get this far with her. But I agree that the volcano scene is very funny. I waited to recruit Liara with my BitchShep and it was hilarious to be Renegade with her

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