\nAshley<\/a>
\nLiara<\/a><\/p>\n
Despite having chosen to remain on the \u2018safe\u2019 side as far as the selection of romantic partners was concerned \u2013 Liara is the only alien option, but looks pretty much like a blue human, and her bisexuality has a lore-based explanation \u2013, the game still weathered a completely unjustified snafu because of its romance content. So let\u2019s just spell things out: there\u2019s a single sex scene with your Shepard’s chosen partner towards the end of the game, after several conversations building up a relationship with them. It takes place in a cinematic (i.e. you have no direct control over the proceedings), and it\u2019s perfectly tame. All you see is a brief glimpse of FemShep\/Ashley\/Liara\u2019s bum and breast in profile \u2013 and, in Liara\u2019s case, an additional blurry view from the back of her standing naked \u2013 just as things get started, then the scene fades to black. The entire sequence, discounting the conversation leading up to it, lasts less than a minute. I won\u2019t get into why the risqu\u00e9 shots only involve the female characters (apparently man bum would\u2019ve been scary?), but there you have it. There are more explicit scenes in mainstream films, and other games have been further than this before (e.g. the justly infamous Fahrenheit<\/em>\/Indigo Prophecy<\/em>). There’s one other encounter that Shepard can choose to initiate with an NPC early on in the game, but that takes place entirely off-screen and is completely optional. Incidentally, so are all the romances. Be that as it may, BioWare decided to err on the side of caution for a while after this: all of the sex scenes in ME2 and most in ME3 (except for Liara, once again) feature clothing and\/or underwear, even if it looks ludicrous.<\/p>\n Anyway, Shepard has two romance options per gender: FemSheps can choose Kaidan or Liara, MaleSheps can choose Ashley or Liara. Before you ask, no, a threesome is not an option: Shepard can try, but the human partner will refuse (Liara, however, doesn\u2019t seem to mind\u2026). This isn\u2019t Jade Empire<\/em>, folks. In Kaidan and Ashley\u2019s case, their interest will be hinted at early on, but Shepard can only start building the romance properly once the Normandy leaves the Citadel after her\/his Spectre induction. In Liara\u2019s case, she\u2019ll clearly express her interest during her second conversation on board of the ship. Most of the time, it\u2019s pretty obvious what Shepard has to say to get into each character\u2019s pants<\/span> good graces, and there are certain cues to indicate that s\/he\u2019s on the right track. What\u2019s less<\/em> obvious, however, is how to let them down easy \u2013 particularly Liara \u2013 if your Shepard is not<\/em> interested and\/or would prefer to wait for one of the romance options in ME2 or 3. This has caused some discontent among fans, who have found their Shepards \u2018ninjamanced\u2019 because they didn\u2019t pick the right responses. So, without further ado\u2026<\/p>\n <\/a>Kaidan: <\/a>Ashley: <\/a>Liara: << Back to: Characters<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Forward to: Classes >><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Kaidan Ashley Liara Despite having chosen to remain on the \u2018safe\u2019 side as far as the selection of romantic partners was concerned \u2013 Liara is the only alien option, but looks pretty much like a blue human, and her bisexuality … Continue reading ![\"Soulful\"](\"http:\/\/www.satrapov.net\/mysst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Soulful-300x257.jpg\" "\\"Soulful\\"")
<\/a><\/strong>I have the sneaking suspicion that the developers tried too hard to make Kaidan appealing. It\u2019s like they went through a list of \u2018What Women Like in a Man\u2019, ticking boxes off one by one. Sensitive, caring and responsible? Check. A bit shy, but eventually grows bolder? Check. Romantic? Check. A gentleman, but a little flirty? Check. Has a tragic past and\/or a dark side? Check. Handsome with a sense of humour? Check. The result is that both the character and the romance feel rather bland. Mind you, he has legitimate reasons for his reserve, and there\u2019s nothing actually wrong<\/em> with him. As a matter of fact, it\u2019s probably the romance that has the most natural progression in the game, as Kaidan and Shepard already know each other at the outset, meaning that a preexisting interest may have had time to develop. Kaidan has the \u2018tentative flirting\u2019 technique down pat, and there are plenty of sweet, moving and even hot moments over the course of the conversations. It\u2019s just that, once ME2 rolls around, and you see who else is available, well\u2026he may feel a bit too vanilla. However, Kaidan is also difficult to turn down diplomatically, especially if Shepard isn’t trying to romance Liara at the same time. The earliest option she has for telling him she\u2019s not interested results in an outright rude response (after asking him about his past, she says she’s bored), and if she turns him down later, it feels like she\u2019s been leading him on. The cue for telling that Shepard is on Kaidan’s romance track is that conversations will end with her saying that they\u2019ll speak later, and Kaidan responding with \u201cI\u2019d like that.\u201d If Shepard is not on the romance track, he\u2019ll respond with \u201cCommander.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Afterglow\"](\"http:\/\/www.satrapov.net\/mysst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Afterglow-300x300.jpg\" "\\"Afterglow\\"")
<\/a><\/strong>Where Kaidan is all caution and restraint, Ashley is feisty, cocky and stubborn. She also feels much less like a checklist of everything men could want, for which I am grateful, even if I\u2019m not a fan of hers. She feels like she has real flaws, rather than flaws-that-are-actually-qualities (c.f. her inexplicable distrust of aliens). Due to her difficult history, she has learned to push her limits and to rely only on herself She\u2019s also mindful of the \u2018no fraternisation\u2019 rule, so she will be slightly diffident with Shepard at the beginning, despite her gratitude. She does have a sensitive side, however, as her stories of her family and her (misguided) love for poetry show. Conversations with her are a mix of teasing and bickering, due to her touchiness about her self-worth. But showing her that she\u2019s welcome and appreciated gets her to open up. Again, there\u2019s nothing wrong with the relationship per se<\/em>, and Ashley is certainly a more colourful character than Kaidan, but, once again, ME2 is brimming with even more colourful options, and, unfortunately, her romance in ME3 suffers from cut content. Still, if your Shepard likes his girls tough and independent with a touch of softness and a dash of spice, then she might just be the one for him. The cue that Shepard is on the romance track is that she will call him \u201cSkipper\u201d when conversations end (i.e. it’s the last word she’ll say). Otherwise, it’ll be “Commander”. Mind you, she will also call Shepard \u201cSkipper\u201d during<\/em> conversations, but that happens for both genders and is unrelated to romance. Moreover, should Shepard want to turn her down, there’s a legitimate reason for doing so early on (Ashley questions his authority) without him sounding like a total arse.<\/p>\n![\"Babyface\"](\"http:\/\/www.satrapov.net\/mysst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Babyface-277x300.jpg\" "\\"Babyface\\"")
<\/a><\/strong>I strongly dislike Liara, and the same applies to her romance. Given her inexperience, her lack of social skills and the fact that she\u2019s from a different species, the romance should take more time to develop. As things stand, she\u2019ll express fascination with Shepard almost from the get-go, despite being unfamiliar with humans. She will also spontaneously provide ample details about asari reproduction and romantic customs, which…feels rather awkward. If Shepard confirms reciprocal interest, however, she\u2019ll suddenly be hesitant to rush things. It’s basically: “I dig you (get it? archaeologist, dig…*bricks thrown*), and, by the way, we can totally mate…oh, but let’s wait a bit, shall we?” It feels stilted, artificial and gives no sense of growing intimacy. And yet, she\u2019s clearly the default romantic partner for the series: her final romance scene is slightly longer than the other two, and subsequent games establish her as a developer\u2019s pet. She has her own DLC in ME2, is strongly implied to be Shepard’s best friend even if they’re not lovers and can\u2019t get killed until the final minutes of ME3, and then only<\/em> if you voluntarily screw up. This is very annoying, as I don\u2019t like having a character forced upon me in a game about choice (c.f. Imoen in Baldur’s Gate<\/em>). Despite the fact that she\u2019s available to both genders, Liara also embodies a clich\u00e9 male fantasy: young, virginal, fragile (repeated fainting spells included), star-struck to the point of idolatry, in need of guidance and protection (despite being older than all<\/em> of the human teammates combined), yet with a hint of naughtiness. In fact, the asari species as a whole is pretty much a straight male fantasy made pixel. But I digress. The cue that Shepard is on Liara\u2019s romance track is that she calls her\/him \u201cShepard\u201d at the end of conversations (again, it’s the last word she says). But here\u2019s the trick: this will<\/em> happen in Shepard\u2019s first private conversation with her, even though it has no<\/em> actual romantic content (unless you consider the aforementioned clinical descriptions of asari mating habits romantic). So the game actually railroads Shepard onto her romance track, which is how the ninjamancing happens. S\/he needs<\/em> to talk to Liara again after that to clearly turn her down, as it\u2019s the only way to preclude her romance, especially if not romancing anyone else. And make sure to pick the middle-right<\/em> response: the bottom-right one is bugged. If Shepard is not on Liara\u2019s romance track, she\u2019ll call her\/him \u201cCommander\u201d when conversations end.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.satrapov.net\/mysst\/wp-content\/plugins\/advanced-wp-columns\/assets\/js\/plugins\/views\/img\/1x1-pixel.png\"){kind=tracking}
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