Canadian Delicacy - The Kaidan Alenko Thread

Yep. Right now I'm doing Aeriel's playthrough in NG+ while I'm just starting out with John's Vanguard playthrough.

You did, thats really cool. I would also love to have both male and female shepards there as well.

Thats very interesting. I'm not that great at story telling. I suck at writing in general lol. And I love this screenshot, very nice.

Yea it will be a bit difficult because sometimes i get too caught up in the game that I forget that I have another playthrough waiting for me lol. I do however take alot of screenshots while i'm mostly in cutscenes, sometimes I take some fighting scene shots but thats a bit difficult for me to do honestly. Hopefully one day I will record my playthroughs and upload them on youtube, but thats another time.

No idea, but there's always been chatter about the "biotic booty".

Yeah, she does check Ash's ass out as well

I think human sexuality might be a bit more fluid in the late 22nd Century.  Just ask Shepard, Kaidan, Kelly, Jack (though not with Shepard), Diana Allers or that woman.  Anyway, I have this pic from my visit with Kaidan at Huerta.

I don't think he meant that kind of straight.  Lol

lmao

I was thinking about why I like Kaidan so much and why I'm so deeply invested in a MShenko relationship. It has to do with me on a personal level. As one straight friend of mine said to be early this evening "You're basically a straight guy who just likes to XXXX XXXX." (Crude language not needed here.) So when I see these guys who would appear "straight" to the average person but instead fall in love with each other, it's like finally seeing myself represented in media. I'm so used to "types" appearing all over the place in gay media. "Twinks", "bears", "alpha males", etc. They're all stupid and pointless labels. And none of them are relatable to me. I'm just some regular dude. Most of the guys I've dated are into sports. People I've known for long stretches of time often have no idea I'm gay until some comment is made that makes it obvious (like mentioning the attractiveness of a guy). So for me to watch these two come together is like nothing I've EVER seen before. It's why I get so pissed off when people make bullshit claims about how Kaidan is boring, annoying, whatever. If Kaidan were a real person, he could kick their asses without even using biotics. They just think because he's not an "alpha male" that there's something wrong with him and it annoys the shit out of me. When you've never, in your entire life, seen yourself represented in media, it's a big deal when it comes around.

There's a lot of Mshenko artwork out there that I truly love. Here's some that shows how, even though they're the best of the best when it comes to fighting, when they're together they get all mushy inside.

I can't say Kaidanmance have any influence on my life that much. I'm an asexual... but I am also a romantic person. I can have close relationship but I tend to prefer viewing actual relationships as an outsider. I find joy in empathizing with people being love.

Which is why I love Kaidan and my Shepard as a whole. Personally, I'm not physically attracted to either of them but I really love the way they love each other. Which work for almost all my favourite LI and book pairings.

Heck, I need Kaidan's look-alike Oscar Isaac to remind me that Kaidan is genuinely attractive for a human... I  know there's Costa, but I just see him as a face model only.



But major part of Kaidan's appeal was his own brand of masculinity. It was always there, protective but not hovering. Thoughtful but not judging. Attentive without being intrusive. 

I learn about him better simply by observing him. Which is the same way I did to Shepard, Wrex, etc. Every gestures, gaze and silent look is his own way of communicating that he care. Its not rocket science to be observant to someone's tell. Especially weirder in a video game. Even with extensive cinematics, making these types of game to exhibit human gestures and microexpressions can be really hard. Showed a lot of talent being poured into its creation.

The only pairing that I observe this similarly is between my character and Arcann. Now that an epic love story that people hate on also.

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Although, I really don't understand why people need to be hateful and toxic against an optional romantic choice (or orientation). 

Oh, recently, I found another favourite word being used against Kaidan..... "cuck". 

 I really don't understand these people at times.

I'm not physically attracted to Kaidan so I don't really see Costa being appealing simply because he's Kaidan's face model. But I do find Raphael Sbarge embodied Kaidan in many more ways other than being a voice. He's charitable, talented and genuinely wanted to do good to others and is an award-winning short film director. I do admire him as a person.

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To be frank, I expect MEA would lift off a lot of the animosity with the whole ship wars... but nah.

I can't fully relate to your own circumstances, but I find people who despise Kaidan to be kind of an anomaly. I can understand why the average player might find him boring. His personality isn't out there or in your face or over the top. He's just a normal guy. He takes time to develop and I think many people want to instantly or quickly like a character. But the people who "hate" him are what confuse me. How do you hate or wish death on a character like Kaidan? He's not offensive, mean, ruthless, or a jerk. Some of the hate I see for him is a bit absurd. Almost as if he committed the worst war crimes in history or something.

My only real issue with Kaidan is the some of his dialogue in ME3 is really bad. I took him on certain missions I have never before and his lines were not great. While some were. Also, when he tries to be funny in the Citadel DLC, it comes off poorly. Outside of the cooking scene, he is not a funny guy. I think he needs a decent joke or two. Other than that, solid character.

And while we are talking about personal experiences. When I was in the military, I wish there was actually a guy like Kaidan who I could have been friends with. When I was in, 98% of the guys were super aggressive, alpha bro males who wanted to talk about how many women they banged CONSTANTLY. I'm straight, but unlike my other straight "bretheren," I prefer not to act like I'm god's gift to women. Also, most had this fake tough guy persona all the time. Almost no one was down to Earth or real with you like Kaidan was in ME1. 

Funny this is how exceptional Kaidan is. He jumps two ranks from Lt (probably 2nd Lt or else he jumped three ranks) between ME1 and ME2. Then another rank by ME3. He's also among the more powerful biotics out there, at least among humans. Beyond that, he earned his initial rank to Lt as a straight up marine, not even making much use of his biotics under after Eden Prime. He never let his experiences on BAaT turn him anti-alien (FTR, I understand Ash's POV since she and her father were both held back because her grandfather surrendered during the First Contact War but Kaidan went the other direction).

As for the whining, no one can really point to where he does that. He's a solid guy who never complained to Shepard about BAat (writing it off as the result of some turian who just happened to be an asshole) and never complained about his L2 implant and the resulting migraines. In fact, he succeeded despite the migraines. Most people who have migraines are crippled by them while they're happening. (I know they really mess me up, though I can sort of get by but it's extremely uncomfortable.) All he did on Horizon was say he would never work for Cerberus because he was an Alliance man through and through. Then he followed that up with a message suggesting that maybe (if romanced) there was a chance for them someday in the future. No complaining here but he did have some distrust because he knew full well that Shepard fell through the atmosphere of Alchera and there was no way he could believe Shepard survived. Could easily be a clone, had a control chip (like Miranda) or even an imposter wearing his face.

Those Horizon issues aside, Ashley also had them and people don't hate on her for it. (People call her a space racist but I don't really buy it. She had a difficult time because she was being held back for something she didn't do as a result of the FCW. At best, she has a distrust of aliens but overcomes it even before ME1 is over.)

The real issue, as far as I can see, is that Raphael Sbarge voiced him as well as Carth Onasi. Now, I don't think Carth actually was a whiner. He just kept his distance due to having been betrayed by someone he trusted. Not really hard to understand if you have a little bit of empathy but a lot of people extent soldiers to lack emotion.