#and lemme tell you what i loved the vetra romance

[laur-rants]

I recently finished Andromeda and romanced Jaal with my male Ryder and lemme tell you, Jaal's romance legit made me cry.

Same tho??? I mean, I knew his romance was good because I know plenty of female Ryder players who romanced him but like. LEGIT. It felt so much more powerful with male Ryder idek. I personally waited patiently for the male romance patch to happen (wishful thinking at the time but I wasnt going to replay the game until it happened), because as I played as female Ryder… i dont know. It’s a hard feeling to describe but I just felt like, for her, Jaal wasnt the one. Jaal could romance her, sure, but something felt off. And it was an off-enough feeling that I was like ‘nah this feels more like a male Ryder romance to me.I will say it’s interesting to note that I feel Jaal also swings more female than male even if he’s like ‘um yes I’ll romance anyone who strikes my fancy please’. Mostly because he hits on – or accidentally flirts with – a lot of female characters. He has a past relationship with a female gendered angara. He tells Cora she’s the most fit of everyone and when she says thank you he replies with ‘the mind wants what the mind wants’. I also knows he shows at least mild attraction for PeeBee. LIKE. JAAL IS SO THIRSTY BUT ALL HE DOES IS FLIRT. And yet he’s notoriously impervious to flirtation himself? Like, completely oblivious to it. So he’s either flirting because he doesn’t realize he is, or he flirts but doesn’t actually want to commit to anything he’s just saying ‘well yes you’re very good looking and I’m attracted to you’. Which I get that too, because who hasn’t gone up to someone they know and complimented them before? I know I have. But to have all of that, ALL OF THAT with the Jaal package – him flirting with everyone and also supposedly a hard nut to crack when it comes to actually flirting with – HE STILL LOOKS AT RYDER AND IS LIKE ‘I don’t really care about anyone else but you’. THAT KILLS THE MAN. KILLS HIM DEAD. To know that kind of shit doesn’t matter because what matters to Jaal is the trust and loyalty and FEELING Ryder puts into the relationship. Jaal looks for a companion who is going to be there 110% just like he is for them. And if they can’t commit, then he’s not interested. He can compliment and flirt and be open to others all day every day, but when it comes to his partner? It’s a totally different expectation. That distinction means the world in the romance either Ryder partakes with Jaal. BLUH BLUH BLUH I’m being a big sap about the romance because it’s just too good, honestly. I love that Jaal was so open with himself and that helped my Scott open up too. Jaal’s romance also feels hella natural. It doesnt feel forced, it feels like both characters want it. They help each other grow. Andromeda and the Milky Way, colliding and creating something new.

The game is just as much Jaal’s story as it is Ryder’s. It only makes sense for them to intertwine so intimately and im so pleased both Ryders get to experience that kind of emotional story. It’s a goodun, for sure. God bless.