sergio71785 wrote...
I remember someone once typed a nice, big post explaining how they never really care that much for Tali in ME1. Didn't dislike her, she just never stood out for him.
Then in ME2, he was feeling kinda... sad, how no one really seemed to miss him or even care about his plight. Ashley just yelled at him, Liara was too obsessed with Shadow Broker, etc. Then he went on Haestrom, and heard Tali talking about Shepard, hearing her say "...I wish Shpeard were here", and for like the first time he finally felt like someone truly missed him, and it was at that point he fell in love with Tali.
Actually, I think a few people had similar experiences, but I specifically remember one post about it one night.
That's not exactly what I experienced, but it's close. I actually thought Tali was one of the best written characters in ME1, alongside Garrus and Wrex, but I never really thought of Tali as a love interest (nor Garrus or Wrex for that matter). She just seemed like a quirky, interesting, and sort of cute character.
The ME1-ME2 connection really did play a huge part in my eventual decision to romance her, although I don't think she's alone in this respect - in fact, Garrus and Wrex are
also the characters happiest to see you alive again in ME2 (odd coincidence, I suppose). But her really begins to set in long before Haestrom, on Freedom's Progress though it becomes more evident there, after you've met with the Virmire Survivor. Tali is, after all, the first person you see in ME2 after your resurrection who was also a party member in ME1. And she's immediately shocked, followed by what is pretty obvious genuine happiness, even if it's buried beneath the stress of the mission. Her reaction, overall, was endearing and heartwarming, even long before you meet her again on Haestrom (though of course, by that point, you've already met with Ashley/Kaidan and most likely Anderson as well).
I think, in the end, it was a combination of factors that won me over: her reactions on Freedom's Progress / Haestrom, her loyalty mission, her logs on Haestrom, and just the overall way in which she approached Shepard and responded to his interest. Of course, it was built on her pre-existing personality, which I already found interesting, if not in the LI department.