#shepard and kaidan

[fucknooovirmire]

You know, staying single and maintaining a close friendship with Kaidan (picking paragonish dialogue options and taking him along on missions more often than other companions) results in a fairly wholesome relationship. A lot of Kaidan's lines and behaviors with male!Shep remain the same whether you romance him or not (so long as you treat him accordingly).

Frankly, I could have been absolutely content with this "just friendship", had it not been for the Citadel DLC, where Liara is put in the LI role if you're not locked in a romance with an SR2 squadmate. That is about the only thing that truly forces me into an official romance. Oh, also the bit with Brooks at the Casino, but whatever.

The tension on Mars paved the way for this; you get to tell him "You're still with me" on Eden Prime without being in a romance, all the heart to heart talks are still filled with care and affection, "You're real enough for me" is ALWAYS there and their London goodbyes are just as heart wrenching. If Shepard goes MIA it will be Kaidan who puts/doesn't put Shepard's name plaque on the memorial board and you can't tell is he's mourning a friend or a lover. The grief is equally strong either way.

Oh, but my absolute favourite part that MADE me fall in love with this couple is the Citadel FRIENDSHIP date at Apollo's. Best damn episode in the entire effing game for me.

Their bond is so palpable.

Asexuality and Kaidan Alenko

Or, how a bisexual romance option is the only asexual friendly one. With a bit of work.

For a while, there was not a single Mass Effect romance I enjoyed. I found all of the ones I've played through fairly shallow, and as a result, I played as a single Shepard more often than not. Part of this is due to my being aroace - or for the purposes of this post, asexual.

I so badly wanted a romance with ample build up. With an emotional bond before getting together. But due to the nature of the series, most romances are sudden, and are directly tied with sex. Each romance culminates in a sex (or implied sex) scene, where they will leave if you turn it down. This is no fault of the characters, but of the writers for assuming turning down sex was equal to turning down the character entirely.

Even romances without sex scenes aren't exempt from their direct ties with sex. For example, the fan favorite romance with Garrus starts off with Shepard asking for sex out of no where. When it comes to Mass Effect, even if it is not shown, it is implied.

So, where does Kaidan fit into this?

The reason why I didn't even consider Kaidan at first was the knowledge that he (and the other ME1 love interests) were subject to a disease called the late 2000s. Romances are easy to lock into and all culminate in a sex scene. ME2 also default assumes you didn't turn them down for sex and will still act like you banged. Which. Epic game design there!

Even for a Male Shepard romancing Kaidan in ME3, it skips to a sex scene (though this I didn't mind since the build up with the trilogy long Kaidan slow burn was so fulfilling, but that's besides the point).

And then I found out that if you play as a Female Shepard, you can turn Kaidan down for sex in ME3, and he will be the only (and I mean only) romance option who doesn't leave, and instead chooses to cuddle with Shepard. Which. First of all, game changer.

Second of all, and most importantly, this meant that if I wanted to play as an asexual Shepard, all I had to do was play as a Female Shepard, abort Kaidan's romance path early on in ME1 by keeping up formalities, and then romance him in ME3, where you can turn him down for sex two times and he is totally okay with it. And he stays. Both times.

I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with this, but having the option to do such a thing in a game series spanning from 2007-2012 meant a lot to me as an asexual.

[chiefmysticmia]

if kaidan came out during ME1 it would’ve gone something like this

[strawberrykidneystone]

the difference 2 years can make

[lunargazing-png]

did it suddenly get warmer in here?

shoutout to all the shepards who have sick ass tattoos and scars all over them.

[blighted-elf]

Mass Effect Legendary Edition - Mass Effect 1 - 2024 Replay

[spacevixen2024]

James watching Shepard and Kaidan on Mars like...

[alibonbonn]

jane shepard, butcher of torfan

[racc00nguy]

Theyre looking at Udina

[rim--blim]

good morning mshenko enjoyers

[apllecrash]

space-husbands

[calnexin]

Commander Shepurrrrr

I got into mass effect recently and she’s all I think about. her and the Canadian one

[onedismay]

unrestrained summer fun

[kibagib]

Updated ME icons

And once again, happy N7Day!

FINISHED VERSION HERE

[average-mako-enjoyer]

Every time I see art of Kaidan glowing, I remember the line from the Citadel DLC where he says that he also glows blue when he's drunk, and I truly believe that there was a scene like this at some point in his and Shepard's relationship.

Kaidan (drunkenly stumbles into the captain's cabin): Shep- Sheprrrd! Sheprr... I just... I just wanted to say that I... that I love you and I need you and I'LL NEVER LEAVE YOU AGAIN! And when it's over and we win, we'll go to Vancouver and we'll get married and we'll adopt a dog or a kid or... something... and it'll be great. We'll be so happy and... and... MY PARENTS ARE GREAT! IT WILL BE SO GOOD!

Shepard, who has just fallen asleep after a 16-hour shift:

[sewermageboy]

Shepard while running around with Nyreen and Aria bickering: is this how James felt on Mars when he had to listen to Kaidan and me

[spacevixen2024]

Fucking Horizon.