There is just something so flipping adorable about people fumbling around, unsure of themselves, as they try to reveal to you that they like you more than Just Friends, especially if they feel like they’ve been getting signals from you. Is it just their hopeful imagination? Or … is there something between you two? Like the awkward beginnings of Ben Wyatt and Leslie Knope, so is my favorite romance with BroShep.
If I’m being completely honest, the main reason I went back to play as BroShep was to see how his relationship with Tali played out. In my Head Canon, she developed a school girl crush on him, and I was so glad the writers decided to go that route. I mean, come on: Shep rescued her from street thugs, helped her complete her pilgrimage, and then stood up for her in front of her people (at least mine did). Who wouldn’t fall for the guy? She was pretty much willing to keep her feelings to herself because of their biological incompatibility (although I do love her romance with Garrus if both aren’t involved with Shep), but through Shep’s reassurance, she is All In. And it just gets better in the third game. Regretfully, she doesn’t show up until two-thirds of the game has already been completed, but her reunion with Shep makes up for it with hilarious, open flirtation and innuendo. Plus, she’s a freaking admiral in the quarian fleet, due in no small part to her relationship with Shep – he supported her and praised her contributions, helping her gain the confidence she would need to be a leader (FemShep or a non-romanced BroShep do this, too, but whatever – that topic is for a supplemental post, I guess).
What sets her apart from a lot of the other possible relationships is that it naturally progress from workplace proximity associates to friends, and then finally to lovers. Shared experiences and mutual respect fueled deeper feelings that eventually blossomed into carnal desire, if not a deep love. The Miranda romance option just seemed to scream that she needed a man to feel complete, and Jack was … well, Jack was Jack. The only other BroShep romance that holds a similar resonance with me is with Kaiden and with Cortez coming in at third.
I didn’t necessarily enjoy the Citadel DLC scenes with Tali because I got very uncomfortable when she started singing, but they were still super cute and perfectly encapsulated their relationship.
Out of all of the options provided for Shepard, my pick for FemShep and Tali just give me all the warm fuzzies, and they’re a primary reason I go back and replay the games. The others had their own appeal, and I can only recall one that I actively hate: Jack learns to trust, Thane connects with another person again, Samara realizes that she cannot always live life selflessly, Javik gets to have sex after 50,000 years (yes, it’s a real thing, and I laughed so hard when I saw the video). But I wanted Tali to be with BroShep. They just make sense. And are just so freaking cute to boot.
a little more juju 