7455 réponses à ce sujet

[Temper_Graniteskul]

Collider wrote...

Tommy, the fact that Shepard is so customizable requires that the other characters are consistent for me. Quite frankly, there IS a canon Wrex, Garrus, Ashley, etc. There would be no character if things were written and established about them by the writer. Ashley believes in God, Wrex was a mercenary, Garrus has a father who disliked the Spectres. Most of the character is canon.

Tommy, I'm not suggesting that it is not plausible that any character can be written as gay or bisexual. I'm saying that I want consistent characters. Having characters change their orientation based upon completely arbitrary (Shepard's gender?) is ridiculous, as you said but seem to go back against. Part of consistent characters is that they are not going change their orientation (which is a horrible idea - sexual orientation changing? that's the stuff religious fundamentalists say) just because Shepard wants them to. You can influence someone's views, but you can't have them change from gay to straight like that. It's disgusting to even suggest.

I think part of the problem is that we're using the same vocabulary to mean very different things. I, for one, find nothing inconsistent from game to game about an NPC who finds Shepard attractive enough to romance regardless of sex - the game code would be blind to Shep's model when pursuing a romance storyline. Functional sexual orientation in the game's code is quite different from established sexual orientation in real life. I also agree with catabuca that each game playthrough is best viewed as a discrete universe all of its own.

For an example, take Jacob and his priiize. He has a backstory of having dated Miranda, but nothing else in particular in terms of romance. Blind to the character model, Jacob can be romanced by MShep or FemShep - if MShep, he can be read as bisexual, and if FemShep, straight. But the game doesn't do the identifying, here - the player does; there is no chance of both FemShep and MShep being active in the same game to both be a potential object of affection, thus no universal portrayal of a bisexual character. In the course of the game, Jacob will not waver in his reaction to Shep except as Shep affects the outcome - entirely consistent with catabuca's assertion that orientation would be immutable within the context of a single playthrough and story arc. Just as Shepard is not pure Paragon or Renegade except in a given playthrough, or Ashley's xenophobia can be subdued or flourish, neither is Jacob universally bisexual except in a given playthrough.

Players are already identifying NPCs variably as bi, gay, or straight with and without reference to cut content. This does nothing to add to that, really. That's interpretation of perceived character behaviour, enabled by code. I think Kaidan comes off as interested in Shepard (model blind), but others have read him as gay despite the potential for a FemShep romance, and still others as straight.

[Collider]

Temper_Graniteskul wrote...
I think part of the problem is that we're using the same vocabulary to mean very different things. I, for one, find nothing inconsistent from game to game about an NPC who finds Shepard attractive enough to romance regardless of sex - the game code would be blind to Shep's model when pursuing a romance storyline.

I didn't say this was inconsistent. Liara was like that, she didn't care about gender, and I had no problem with it. I am saying that a character being "gay" in one and "straight" in the other just because Shepard is of one gender is ridiculous. I am not saying that catabuca is saying this, but I still think it's ridiculous.

For an example, take Jacob and his priiize. He has a backstory of having dated Miranda, but nothing else in particular in terms of romance. Blind to the character model, Jacob can be romanced by MShep or FemShep - if MShep, he can be read as bisexual, and if FemShep, straight. But the game doesn't do the identifying, here - the player does; there is no chance of both FemShep and MShep being active in the same game to both be a potential object of affection, thus no universal portrayal of a bisexual character. In the course of the game, Jacob will not waver in his reaction to Shep except as Shep affects the outcome - entirely consistent with catabuca's assertion that orientation would be immutable within the context of a single playthrough and story arc. Just as Shepard is not pure Paragon or Renegade except in a given playthrough, or Ashley's xenophobia can be subdued or flourish, neither is Jacob universally bisexual except in a given playthrough.

The problem is that first of all, sexual orientation is not a view like xenophobia. That is part of the problem. You cannot tell a person "be gay" and they will change from straight to gay. changing Ashley to renegade or paragon is because of Shepard's own words in the same conversation, not because he was born male or female. You see what I'm saying? I don't want completely unrelated characters to be affected by completely unrelated things like Shepard, whom they would not even know about, being gay.

This is a game, yes, but the appeal of the game is that your choices affect a consistent universe. We are interested in choices because it affects a universe that has already been established, we want to see how our choices affect the universe. Logically, one does not choose whether or not to be male or female, that is decided by biology at birth. I'm asking for realism here - before you point out all of the mind melding stuff in ME, the game is science fiction, not fantasy.

Players are already identifying NPCs variably as bi, gay, or straight with and without reference to cut content.

Most people will be relying on what genders are available by default though. You can argue that people *should* be seeing it your way, but they will not. Why should they, why should they be expected to? We play games with storylines because they were established by other people, instead of us staring into the wall imagining it all ourselves.

This does nothing to add to that, really. That's interpretation of perceived character behaviour, enabled by code. I think Kaidan comes off as interested in Shepard (model blind), but others have read him as gay despite the potential for a FemShep romance, and still others as straight.

We can interpret that way, but the best indication truly is what genders they are open to.

[catabuca]

I think it's important to make a distinction. (This is a very long post. I apologise, but I think it's important.)

There are two types of role playing that we are talking about:
1) There is the role playing that is action-based - in other words centered on the actions you can actually do when playing the game. These are constrained by the writers and development team, and give you a limited set of options based on certain things that are presented as actualities.
2) There is the role playing that is 'filling in the blanks' - in other words, the player decides what the possible reasons for their own behaviour, and that of the NPCs, might be. This involves creating backstories, to greater or lesser degrees depending on the kind of role player you are. It allows you to justify why you picked whichever action-based role playing option you chose. It allows you to make sense of the game universe beyond the limits of what the writers were able to set down in stone.

Kaidan will be my example here (since I'd like to see him as a s/s option in ME3). In Me1, in terms of action-based role playing my manShep didn't have the option to romance him. Since Kaidan never, in any of my manShep playthroughs, said to my manShep "I'm sorry Shepard, I just don't think of you in that way", or anything alluding to that, I filled in the blanks and came up with a reason why. The story I created involved Kaidan wanting Shepard but not saying so because, being 'career military' he didn't want to jeapordise the mission. There was absolutely nothing at all written into the game that I played with my manShep that contradicted this.

When playing with my femShep, in terms of action-based role playing she could romance Kaidan. And she did. In terms of justifying this, or filling in the blanks, I had to do less work in one regard because the writers had included romance dialogue that rendered part of that story for me. However, I did still fill in the blanks, adding little tidbits to what I thought they were feeling and thinking, what they wanted out of the relationship, and so on. I was doing exactly the same thing as in my unrequited love manShep game - I was expanding on the information the writers had given me in order to make sense of the game world and to create a more fully-rounded gaming experience.

That the action-based options to romance Kaiden were open to me when playing as femShep did not mean that I had to apply the same backstory to my manShep games. I could interpret the options available to me, as given by the writers, in any way that seemed plausible to me.

And so, we are left with this. In terms of action-based options, BW made it possible for femShep to romance Kaidan, but didn't for manShep. They did not, however, provide any written direction in any manShep game that suggested Kaidan could not be imagined as bi. That is entirely down to the player to fill in the blanks. Some role play in such a way that the knowledge about Kaidan having loved the girl at BAAT camp as meaning he's straight. Others don't think about it at all during a manShep playthrough. Others, like me, fill in those blanks in such a way as imagines him as bi, or gay*. Each of those is acceptable, since in a manShep game there is no specific proclamation of Kaidan's sexuality.

I understand what some say about NPCs being more 'canon' than Shepard. Of course this is correct. However, we know that some of the ways that the squad mates behave, the things that they say, alters depending on a) who is in your party with them; and whether you are paragon or renegade, and the decisions you've made. In one playthrough, for example, Tali might be against you doing a particularly renegade thing, but in another playthough, based on earlier decisions you've made, and by which 'slot' she inhabits in your squad, she may be in favour of it. You would think if these characters were 'canon', and utterly set in stone, then the actions of your Shepard in different playthroughs wouldn't change that. But they do. Similarly, it would be just as acceptable for one of the characters to be 'fleshed out' by the player (when they role play by filling in the blanks) in a different way when playing one game than in another game, as long as there is nothing in that particular game that contradicts it. And like I said, in none of my manShep games did Kaidan ever profess his love for femShep (an impossibility), nor did the writers give me any substantial reason to believe Kaidan might not be bi/gay/whatever I wanted him to be.

* Before someone says 'he can't be gay because he loved the girl at BAAT' - I'd like to point out my best friend is in a long term lesbian relationship, but both her and her girlfriend dated men when they were younger and their understanding of their feelings were maturing, before they came out. In my manShep game, Kaidan did the same.

[FataliTensei]

Ryzaki wrote...

Siansonea II wrote...

I also don't think party members' personalities should change based on what Shepard wants. Miranda should be Miranda in every playthrough, responding to Shepard based on Shepard's actions. Shepard shouldn't dictate Miranda's personality, merely respond to it as he/she sees fit, and accept the outcome from his choices. The squad mates should be who they are, and sexuality is a part of that, so I don't really like the 'straight in one playthrough and gay in another' idea. For one thing, it gets too label-centric. I would like to think that in 2185 people aren't placed in the 'straight' and 'gay' piles simply because of their interaction with one person. I would like to think that people simply are who they are, and love whom they love, and that's the end of it. No labels need to be applied and enforced.

Truth.

And I'm totally on a new sexy female squadmate not being romanceable. Seriously. Everyone should not want to get into Shepard's pants. Even Samara admits she was tempted.

well at least we know how Shepard will save the galaxy when all else fails, he'll just romance all the reapers at once and magically convice them to not wipe out all organic life

[Temper_Graniteskul]

Collider wrote...

I didn't say this was inconsistent. Liara was like that, she didn't care about gender, and I had no problem with it. I am saying that a character being "gay" in one and "straight" in the other just because Shepard is of one gender is ridiculous. I am not saying that catabuca is saying this, but I still think it's ridiculous.

I should have been more clear. I think the use of the term 'bisexual' to refer to the behaviour of the character across games is where we differ. I don't consider it an accurate use of the term, but more a shorthand to refer to model-blind romances; a genuinely bisexual character, to me, is one that is characterized as being romantically interested in people of both sexes over the course of a single game.

[catabuca]

Temper_Graniteskul wrote...

I think part of the problem is that we're using the same vocabulary to mean very different things. I, for one, find nothing inconsistent from game to game about an NPC who finds Shepard attractive enough to romance regardless of sex - the game code would be blind to Shep's model when pursuing a romance storyline. Functional sexual orientation in the game's code is quite different from established sexual orientation in real life. I also agree with catabuca that each game playthrough is best viewed as a discrete universe all of its own.

For an example, take Jacob and his priiize. He has a backstory of having dated Miranda, but nothing else in particular in terms of romance. Blind to the character model, Jacob can be romanced by MShep or FemShep - if MShep, he can be read as bisexual, and if FemShep, straight. But the game doesn't do the identifying, here - the player does; there is no chance of both FemShep and MShep being active in the same game to both be a potential object of affection, thus no universal portrayal of a bisexual character. In the course of the game, Jacob will not waver in his reaction to Shep except as Shep affects the outcome - entirely consistent with catabuca's assertion that orientation would be immutable within the context of a single playthrough and story arc. Just as Shepard is not pure Paragon or Renegade except in a given playthrough, or Ashley's xenophobia can be subdued or flourish, neither is Jacob universally bisexual except in a given playthrough.

Players are already identifying NPCs variably as bi, gay, or straight with and without reference to cut content. This does nothing to add to that, really. That's interpretation of perceived character behaviour, enabled by code. I think Kaidan comes off as interested in Shepard (model blind), but others have read him as gay despite the potential for a FemShep romance, and still others as straight.

You totally wrote that as I was writing my latest long diatribe, only you did it far more succinctly than I

[Temper_Graniteskul]

FataliTensei wrote...

Ryzaki wrote...

Siansonea II wrote...

I also don't think party members' personalities should change based on what Shepard wants. Miranda should be Miranda in every playthrough, responding to Shepard based on Shepard's actions. Shepard shouldn't dictate Miranda's personality, merely respond to it as he/she sees fit, and accept the outcome from his choices. The squad mates should be who they are, and sexuality is a part of that, so I don't really like the 'straight in one playthrough and gay in another' idea. For one thing, it gets too label-centric. I would like to think that in 2185 people aren't placed in the 'straight' and 'gay' piles simply because of their interaction with one person. I would like to think that people simply are who they are, and love whom they love, and that's the end of it. No labels need to be applied and enforced.

Truth.

And I'm totally on a new sexy female squadmate not being romanceable. Seriously. Everyone should not want to get into Shepard's pants. Even Samara admits she was tempted.

well at least we know how Shepard will save the galaxy when all else fails, he'll just romance all the reapers at once and magically convice them to not wipe out all organic life

He will heal their arrogance and desire to use species for their own ends with the power of his mystical wang. FemShep and Liara will, by their powers combined, destroy the Reapers with a Power of Lurve carebear-stare. Embrace eternity, suckas!

Modifié par Temper_Graniteskul, 12 avril 2010 - 07:49 .

[Collider]

@cata If you're basically saying that you are just interpreting what is not directly said, there is no problem with that, although I would disagree with you and anyone else saying that x character is gay or bisexual or straight when their romance isn't. To me this seems like projection. If you'd like to imagine he is, no problem. You should see how saying that "x character can be gay/bisexual in one playthrough" can be easily misinterpreted. I took that as saying that x character will be gay canonically in one playthrough and straight in another, instead of you can imagine it differently. If you aren't saying the former, then we've been arguing over nothing and I apologize. If you're arguing for the former, then I still disagree. I will also say that most people are not going to see it your way anyways about interpretations.

Modifié par Collider, 12 avril 2010 - 07:48 .

[catabuca]

Temper_Graniteskul wrote...

Collider wrote...

I didn't say this was inconsistent. Liara was like that, she didn't care about gender, and I had no problem with it. I am saying that a character being "gay" in one and "straight" in the other just because Shepard is of one gender is ridiculous. I am not saying that catabuca is saying this, but I still think it's ridiculous.

I should have been more clear. I think the use of the term 'bisexual' to refer to the behaviour of the character across games is where we differ. I don't consider it an accurate use of the term, but more a shorthand to refer to model-blind romances; a genuinely bisexual character, to me, is one that is characterized as being romantically interested in people of both sexes over the course of a single game.

Yes, this exactly what my long rambling about semantics earlier was trying to get at.

I would like to adopt Temper as my speechwriter.

[Ryzaki]

FataliTensei wrote...

Ryzaki wrote...

Siansonea II wrote...

I also don't think party members' personalities should change based on what Shepard wants. Miranda should be Miranda in every playthrough, responding to Shepard based on Shepard's actions. Shepard shouldn't dictate Miranda's personality, merely respond to it as he/she sees fit, and accept the outcome from his choices. The squad mates should be who they are, and sexuality is a part of that, so I don't really like the 'straight in one playthrough and gay in another' idea. For one thing, it gets too label-centric. I would like to think that in 2185 people aren't placed in the 'straight' and 'gay' piles simply because of their interaction with one person. I would like to think that people simply are who they are, and love whom they love, and that's the end of it. No labels need to be applied and enforced.

Truth.

And I'm totally on a new sexy female squadmate not being romanceable. Seriously. Everyone should not want to get into Shepard's pants. Even Samara admits she was tempted.

well at least we know how Shepard will save the galaxy when all else fails, he'll just romance all the reapers at once and magically convice them to not wipe out all organic life

And then they have reaper babies!

[adembroski11]

Shouldn't it be as easy as including an openly gay male character in ME3 and allowing the player to not only decide if he is willing to pursue that option in dialogue, but perhaps even decide if he wants to bring him on board? Seems like an easy, catch all solution. Sure, it's only one option, but it's something.

An earlier post made the point that there hasn't been a gay male in a Bioware game, but every other sexuality has been explored. I am hesitant to put any particular moral obligation on the game company that has explored this avenue much, much farther than any other, that said, they are in a position to continue to be a leader in this respect.

As a die hard conservative, I support people's preference to avoid being exposed too it. What I don't support, however, is the desire to prevent others from doing as they please so long as they are not hurting anyone else. This is the essence of conservatism. Bioware has indicated a strong interest in including the gay and lesbian community as acknowledged consumers, and I applaud them in that decision. Those who are not comfortable with being exposed to gay content should have an "out", so to speak. In DA, you can simply choose to ignore Zev calling you "handsome", and the topic never comes up again so long as you don't pursue it- I have pursued it, just as another RP option within the game (I'm straight, for the record), but normally I just ignore it and move on. The same can be done for Shepard.

"Shepard is not gay!" ... YOUR Shepard is not gay. Hell, MY Shepard is not gay. I'm not gay, but I've been hit on by gay men. Hell, I'm a bouncer at a bar, I get hit on by a lot of gay men. So long as they're halfway sober, I take it as a compliment, and politely inform them that I am straight. There is no way that Shepard cannot do the same and retain his manly manhood of manliness.

Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go drink a beer and smash the can against my forehead before eating glass pissing out a bonfire.

Modifié par adembroski11, 12 avril 2010 - 08:08 .

[catabuca]

Collider wrote...

@cata If you're basically saying that you are just interpreting what is not directly said, there is no problem with that, although I would disagree with you and anyone else saying that x character is gay or bisexual or straight when their romance isn't. To me this seems like projection. If you'd like to imagine he is, no problem. You should see how saying that "x character can be gay/bisexual in one playthrough" can be easily misinterpreted. I took that as saying that x character will be gay canonically in one playthrough and straight in another, instead of you can imagine it differently. If you aren't saying the former, then we've been arguing over nothing and I apologize. If you're arguing for the former, then I still disagree. I will also say that most people are not going to see it your way anyways about interpretations.

I'm a little confused, I apologise for dragging this out longer than is perhaps needed but I'm not sure I understand what the second point you're making is.

The former point: about interpreting - yes, it's clear we all interpret the actions of the NPCs and Shepard beyond the 'set in stone' actions we are given by the writers. Each and every one of us does this, whether we actively call it role playing or don't even realise we are doing it (or somewhere in between).

The latter point is where I'm having trouble - " I would disagree with you and anyone else saying that x character is
gay or bisexual or straight when their romance isn't" - the point I was making here was that in a manShep game, Kaidan has no romance at all, so I can imagine him to be anything I like, if I feel so inclined.

Are you saying there is a difference between imagining and actually being? If so, then that brings me back to my uber-long post (which I won't rehash in its entirety - we'll all fall asleep!).

First, the line between imagining and actually being
is blurred due to the nature of the game, and it isn't perhaps incredibly helpful to make the (what I consider to be misleading) distinction. Any of the characters can only be presumed as actually being a particular way as far as the writers make it clear. Anything beyond that is imagined.

In a manShep game, Kaiden isn't actually being gay, straight or bi because the writers don't set it in stone. His sexuality, in a manShep game, is entirely down to me to imagine. As there is nothing to to contradict it in the game, I can quite reasonably say that for me, in my manShep game, Kaidan is gay/bi/whatever. I don't think is and the concept of actually being, as I have set them out, are the same things.

[Collider]

Well put adem. Either have an option to tell the squad mate you don't roll that way, or have the gay romances/flirting initiated by the player directly and only.

[catabuca]

adembroski11 wrote...

Shouldn't it be as easy as including an openly gay male character in ME3 and allowing the player to not only decide if he is willing to pursue that option in dialogue, but perhaps even decide if he wants to bring him on board? Seems like an easy, catch all solution. Sure, it's only one option, but it's something.

An earlier post made the point that there hasn't been a gay male in a Bioware game, but every other sexuality has been explored. I am hesitant to put any particular moral obligation on the game company that has explored this avenue much, much farther than any other, that said, they are in a position to continue to be a leader in this respect.

As a die hard conservative, I support people's preference to avoid being exposed too it. What I don't support, however, is the desire to prevent others from doing as they please so long as they are not hurting anyone else. This is the essence of conservatism. Bioware has indicated a strong interest in including the gay and lesbian community as acknowledged consumers, and I applaud them in that decision. Those who are not comfortable with being exposed to gay content should have an "out", so to speak. In DA, you can simply choose to ignore Zev calling you "handsome", and the topic never comes up again so long as you don't pursue it- I have pursued it, just as another RP option within the game (I'm straight, for the record), but normally I just ignore it and move on. The same can be done for Shepard.

"Shepard is not gay!" ... YOUR Shepard is not gay. Hell, MY Shepard is not gay. I'm not gay, but I've been hit on by gay men. Hell, I'm a bouncer at a bar, I get hit on by a lot of gay men. So long as they're halfway sober, I take it as a compliment, and politely inform them that I am straight. There is no way that Shepard cannot do the same and retain his manly manhood of manliness.

Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go drink a beer and smash the can against my forehead before eating glass pissing out a bonfire.

Thanks for your support - and do be careful, glass is sharp.

[catabuca]

Collider wrote...

Well put adem. Either have an option to tell the squad mate you don't roll that way, or have the gay romances/flirting initiated by the player directly and only.

I agree. (It's not just the same-sex debate that brings this up - a lot of people are fed up with the way things like Jacob's romance was handled, in that it wasn't clear if you clicked a particular option that femShep was going to sound like a ho and sound like she was about to rip his clothes off.)

[Mimaiselphenai]

slimgrin wrote...

But if BioWare tries it ( and I hope they will ) you can be sure Fox news and other media outlets will come with thier scythes and insipid fear-mongering. Simply because the media has them pegged. I don't think BioWare wants to deal with this.

Yes.

Yes, they do.

They drink Fox's milkshake.

THEY DRINK IT UP!

[Collider]

Cata, basically I am arguing against people saying their imagination is the character. I could imagine that Grunt likes monster trunks, but would I be justified in saying that he does? No, not really. I would disagree more strongly if one said that x character likes x in all playthroughs, but I would still disagree with them saying that they do in one playthrough. X being something we are not given an indication in-game of actually being definitely true. It's kind of like me interpreting you are gay, straight, or bisexual. I can interpret, but I would still be unjustified in saying that you were gay or straight if all I was doing was imagining a backstory for you. True, you are not fictional, but similarly I do not know everything about you nor do I know everything about the characters.

[Temper_Graniteskul]

Collider wrote...

Well put adem. Either have an option to tell the squad mate you don't roll that way, or have the gay romances/flirting initiated by the player directly and only.

Any romance, really. The call for clarity in dialogue and a ban on stealth romances are pretty much the only things everyone's agreed on.

[Ryzaki]

Mimaiselphenai wrote...

slimgrin wrote...

But if BioWare tries it ( and I hope they will ) you can be sure Fox news and other media outlets will come with thier scythes and insipid fear-mongering. Simply because the media has them pegged. I don't think BioWare wants to deal with this.

Yes.

Yes, they do.

They drink Fox's milkshake.

THEY DRINK IT UP!

I just want my actual nude love scenes back!

[Collider]

Temper_Graniteskul wrote...

Collider wrote...

Well put adem. Either have an option to tell the squad mate you don't roll that way, or have the gay romances/flirting initiated by the player directly and only.

Any romance, really. The call for clarity in dialogue and a ban on stealth romances are pretty much the only things everyone's agreed on.

Yes. I got locked into Ashley's romance. I'm all for subtletly, but eventually you get to this point where Ashley asks you if you're still interested (because apparently being nice to someone equals interested) and all of the answers said yes in different ways. I wasn't interested in the first place. We do not need some of the romance options to be more clear. For gay relationships, they could be more cautious, use dialogue options that really rule out just being nice.

"I'm interested in you romantically." Shepard does not have to be so blunt at all, but once you choose that option, he or she begins the romance with the character. Outside of people who do understand the english language so well, no one will misinterpret that.
The other option available at the same time could just be "I have to go." So there is further lack of misunderstanding.

[Mimaiselphenai]

I still don't understand how people accidentally find themselves in an ME romance. It always seems pretty obvious to me when it's going in that direction.

[STG]

Ryzaki wrote...



I just want my actual nude love scenes back!

While I can't argue that "romance" brings certain character developement into the game I do argue against nude scenes because they are uterly pointless.

If you really need nudity that badly just google it.

[Ryzaki]

STG wrote...

Ryzaki wrote...



I just want my actual nude love scenes back!

While I can't argue that "romance" brings certain character developement into the game I do argue against nude scenes because they are uterly pointless.

If you really need nudity that badly just google it.

Right because prefering a mature tasteful scene over dry humping means "OMG I needz nudity!" <_<

[Collider]

I agree with STG. It's not needed and the emotions conveyed in the scene are more important than just seeing them rub up against each other nude. You may invoke ME1 romances but that was copy pasting models and literally just having do the same animations.

[Collider]

Mimaiselphenai wrote...

I still don't understand how people accidentally find themselves in an ME romance. It always seems pretty obvious to me when it's going in that direction.

Because apparently being nice lands you the romance. I found Liara's easy to avoid, but Ashley locked you in and there was no obvious way out. ME2 romances however are very obvious, it seems. At the very least, you are able to break up with them in case you accidentally get in one.