The Character Romance thread (Official)

I really hope Reyes, since I'm all but convinced he's the gay LI, has his own face model. That may be too much to ask, but still.

Cullen showed his butt?   I never saw this!

So you want people like me to be stuck with only the 'light' romances and none of the 'main' ones?

So Reyes is the current guess for the gay romance option, but we don't know what he looks like yet even? Interesting. I really wish they'd just say what all the options were like they did last time, so we'd have time to cope/make the best of the situation. It seems like the longer we wait the more disappointed some people will be.

Still haven't seen a lot of the possible options though possibly. I mean it is supposed to be the most romances ever. (not sure that's a good thing though since it means there most likely will be too many to have specialized content in dlc-DAI had that issue it seemed)

Unfortunately I think it is worth remembering that (and I stand to be corrected if I am wrong) the lead devs on the game are straight men. I'm unaware of any LGBT person working on the game. Even if they are being inclusive to a point and, and including same-sex romances in the game, subconsciously there is always likely to be a heavy leaning towards favoring the straight male gaze, one could argue, given the information we have. Just look at Miranda, and the other scenes from Dragon Age games people have been mentioning.

It would be nice for more women and LGBT writers and developers handling these romances and storylines. Not because I doubt Andromeda's devs won't deliver a good romance for LGBT people. Just from what has been speculated on the level of nudity regarding m/m scenes, it would be nice for there to be a dev who actually gets and puts in the equal amounts so that straight men and gay men are getting an equal balance of romance options, and decent love scenes.

At this stage though, given the original trilogy, I think that straight men and lesbian women are going to have the most options. And better ones too, since they may have more than two of the starting squadmates to choose from. We know Scott has Cora and Peebee, and lesbian women have Peebee and maybe (this is speculation) Vetra.
Straight women will only have Liam, and gay men may not have any of the five starting squadmates (Liam, Cora, Peebee, Vetra, Drack), which wouldn't surprise me given the original trilogy's handling of gay romances, and dev tweets about how the orientation and romances for squadmates and characters has to feel right, which gives me the gut feeling and disappointment that Liam is only for Sara, and not for Scott, which is why I'm disappointed. Obviously Liam for Scott would be great in and of itself, but also because it would mean EVERYONE has a starting squadmate as a LI. 

If BioWare really wanted to be inclusive and fair to everyone within the context of the game, I argue strongly for everyone getting a starting squadmate as a LI. They will be in the game for longer, and we can easily speculate they will have the most content and worthwhile interactions. Plus you can take your LI with you on missions. It is easily one of the most attractive romances to have. So everyone should be able to enjoy it. 

Reyes may end up being a squadmate, but I highly doubt it. He'll probably be an NPC or crewmember, like Cortez. I'd also hope he also has a face model.

Based on tweets from the official Mass Effect twitter, we will eventually meet and learn more about the rest of the crew on the Tempest.

It seems like people are quite in same page on what guessed LIs are and for who?

F/M: Liam, Jaal
F/F: Peebee, Vetra
M/M: Reyes, Jaal
M/F: Peebee, Cora

Seems the general consensus.

I find it quite interesting how there seems to be general consensus on what guesses are (not necessarily what people would prefer though). Still, DAI LIs had big surprises for me on who was LI and who not so.. maybe ME:A will as well.

Which wrongness?
Equal opportunities in terms of number of romances, it's too early to say, but I think we might get the same number between squad and crew, putting aside the ones in planets and/or Nexus.

Peebee's being a bi LI makes the change Cora being bi as well really low. If they follow DAI's approach with not necessarily the same number of romances in the squad (originally there were supposed to be six, three males and three female, but with one in the advisor group and not the companions) Vetra might still be one (I think there's the same chance Drack is one as there is for Shepard being in Andromeda), but she'll be lesbian in this case.

All squadmates can be 'player' sexual, and still be designed as a character with their own desires and wants in a relationship. That is regardless of gender. The devs have already said not all romances in ME:A are actual relationship arcs, some are one night stands as well, and some are quicker to consummate than other more drawn out ones. Just because all squadmates being available to all genders doesn't automatically mean they are all just wanting to jump into bed with anyone and everyone. This is void anyway since we know they aren't ever going down the DA2 route again.

This post did not come out the way it was in my head, but that's what I get for posting so late.

The one night stand thing, no, definitely not in the main squad.  (Unless they are upfront from the beginning what they are after, so I can avoid them).  I do not care if they have Josie/Solas style romances on the main squad.  I have never done Josie's,  but whether or not Solas/Inq were sleeping together seemed to be left up to the player, which was fun. 

Two things:

Some people are acting like the information in this leak suggests some sort of conspiracy to cater to straight male sensibilities at all costs. But if I am reading it right (and do correct me if I'm wrong) F/F has the most nudity, with M/F showing comparatively less. I suppose you could argue "hot lesbians" but that seems like a rather roundabout way to go about it. If this is all straight male developers shafting everyone else then I don't see why they would bypass breasts in the M/F romances.

Secondly, I cannot imagine why there would be less nudity in M/M romances, and if that is the case it sucks and I feel ya, BUT... It does not imply that M/M romances will be subpar or getting less content. Not to mention that not showing someone's ass doesn't mean the scene won't be explicit in other ways. So hold your horses and take a deep breath.

Oh I did see this scene but must have blinked and missed it

ill have to review in YouTube and freeze frame lol