Canadian Delicacy - The Kaidan Alenko Thread

couldn't find the source but it's pretty

I'm kind of sorry I wasn't around much for old BSN (just at the tail end) or old, old BSN. I've heard how hard they came down on Kaidan. I could have used the fight. I don't back down for shit. My old sig said something about not fucking with Kaidan. Therefore, some Kaidan. If you don't use filters, there's a TON of Kaidan porn. I know there used to be something called "Kaidan Porn Week" so not surprising. Luciano Costa, face model for Kaidan, was aware of it and approved.

Yep, this is the "whiner" here, giving Ash a pep talk about confidence and guns.






Would have given anything to see Kaidan and Ash both in ME3. Damn BioWare for getting rid of the option to save them both on Virmire!

I'm not a big fan of Ash, but she's great when she interacts with Alenko. For example, that scene in the Citadel where the 3 look out the window and talk about humanity. So yeah, having both in ME3 would have been great.

Well I've been replaying the OT for the last two weeks and was a hard core Garrusmancer but wanted something else so I made a femshep just for Kaidan to try his romance. I still like Garrus, but I think Kaidan's character arc and his romance with my femshep was better than Garrus'.
One thing that I really like is that Kaidan is his own man with his own goals, career path, motivations. He sets goals and works his ass off the achieve them. He never needed me to fix his life because he fixes his own life. As a matter of fact he says that to my femshep in ME1 and what a breath of fresh air that is! Romancing Kaidan allowed me to see the Horizon encounter in a whole new way. The last time he saw the woman he loved she was ordering him off the ship, then she went down with it. The survivors guilt must have been crushing, then she rolls up "Sup' baby, I'm alive how's things?" Shep's dialogue choices are just awful though - anyway, Kaidan stood up for himself and his own moral code and he questioned Shepard's. He still loved her, but he wasn't a puppy to go running after her. Both good things, IMO. I like a man who isn't afraid to speak his mind to me. He wasn't going to follow after her while she was working for a terrorist organization. I respect and understand it. With a romanced Kaidan the encounter hurt, though but it's supposed to.
Then he sent a letter, which I greatly appreciated because it confirmed my belief that he still loved my femshep and was open to working things out.



Basically Kaidan feels like a real person and his romance was so rewarding. While I'll always have a special place in my heart for Garrus, he feels more like a reflection of my own Shepard and sort of a yes man, with no strong opinions of his own. I don't say that to slander his character, but Garrus was written as the BFF so he has to be likable by most of the fans for it to work and Garrus is my bro.

By the time of Kaidan's romance scene happened in ME3, it felt earned.

I used to think Garrus had the best scene with my femshep before the final push, where he talked about needing her to come back and a meeting at a bar in heaven etc.

But this. THIS made my heart swell when Kaidan said, "I'm gonna fight like hell for the chance to hold you again."

YES. Here's a man staring death in the face and saying he will kick its ass to be with her.

Tl;dr

Kaidan feels like a real person and his romance felt realistic, grounded, earned and beautiful.
10/10
I went Alenko and now no one else will do.

FYI, that "meet at the bar in heaven" thing happens regardless of whether or not Garrus is romanced. Maybe there are slight changes if there's a romance. Kaidan, though, yeah. A full person who makes decisions for himself, not just to follow Shepard. Kaidan would have followed Shepard anywhere. It hurt just to survive when Shepard didn't. But that two year gap with no explanation of what was going on pushed him away. Never mind that Hades' Dogs from ME1, or even UNC: Dead Scientists, pointed to a terrorist organization that experimented on marines and killed an admiral. You could see why Kaidan wouldn't join up, regardless of his feelings for Shepard. He's a good guy and it was work to achieve the romance in ME3 but worth it.

The "meet at the bar in heaven" scene and "no Shepard without Vakarian" apparently happens for every single Shepard, even if you never talked to him in ME3 outside of his cutscenes on Menae. Was playing around with gibbed couple days ago and didn't recruit Garrus in Me1, and when I played the character in ME2, I never talked to Garrus outside of doing his loyalty mission, yet he still acted like we were BFFs in combat saying how it was just like old times, lol, no what? Same story in ME3 where the game acted like Garrus and my Shep were pals.
WTF...

People complained about Liara, but at least you can turn down Liara's gift and when she asks, you can tell her in ME3 that you aren't friends. You can't turn down being friends with Garrus. Your dialogue choices with him are: YOU'RE MY BEST FRIEND, GARRUS! or YOU'RE A GOOD FRIEND, GARRUS!

I'm certainly not a Garrus hater but I was trying to roleplay a Shepard who was close with Tali and Liara and didn't like Garrus at all but you literally can't do it! the game won't let you.

From a roleplay perspective it pissed me off.

There was also his line at Anderson's apartment. "Did I ever tell you about my casino run in the vorcha mafia? Five thousand credits and a bottle of whiskey? Actually, never mind." That's a story just waiting to be told.

I don't think this is strange at all. No matter his service record an L2 is likely to suffer side effects that make them useless in the field. Even so, they probably look at all L2s in the same way and across the board won't allow them in.

For comparison, think about Ash. Something her grandfather did was holding back her career. The Alliance will find reasons, even if they make no sense.

I'm just here to admire the Arcann gif