Kalashnikov wrote...
some of you guys might know im kind of new here, been here a few days, i just wanted to know what ur guys's FIRST experiences was with tali and how you guys felt after you beat the game. i personally realized i have some dam strong feelings for tali(and thought i was going insane), and i was really depressed after realizing id have to wait a year or two for the next mass effect (im not a big fan of playing a game again and again its just not as fun as the first time)
Alright I'll bite. Liked Tali in ME1, didn't think of her in terms of LI or anything like that, just thought she was a cool character with an interesting design, history, cultural background etc. If she had never become an LI in ME2 at that point in time I would have been fine with it. Overall ME1 impression, liked her just fine, but wasn't "in love" with her so to speak.
ME2 buzz comes around and I found out Tali was going to be an LI. I was confused but intrigued by the idea. As the story developed and the themes of loyalty, betrayal, and family became evident as the dominant themes in the game. Tali's story really grabbed me. She stuck by Shep when no one else did and believed in him when no one else would. Sure Miranda is sexy and human and Yvonne Strahovski, but Tali was more then that by far. The way Tali revealed that she had feelings for Shep was so endearing, so human, that I was dumbfounded by how quickly I was head-over-heels for her. The ME1 romances didn't have the same foundation as Tali's had, nor the same realness that I've expereinced in my own life. That's how I knew I was hooked.
On my first playthrough on the suicide mission I picked Tali as the second squaddie to face the terminator at the end, which means she is the one that falls. I leapt out of my seat when she fell, to her supposed death, and first pumped for like 5 minutes after Shep caught her, total geek-out moment, but so worth it.
Like most mancers I was depressed when the game ended, but there is always fan ficition out there to qwell your thirst for ShepxTali action until ME3 comes around.