#i'm sorry for anyone who doesn't play bioware games and for whom this is just a wall of text lol

[theblackrivergame]

I read back through and realized you said Bioware games in general, but I'm still very interested in who they would romance (I have ME on the brain right now because of the remaster)

(For context here anon sent a previous message just saying they were curious about the Mass Effect stuff I mentioned)

No worries, anon! I totally understand Mass Effect being on the brain at all times lmfao. As I said this will be pretty long so I’ll put it under the cut; also to clarify for ease-of-use purposes all of the Bioware characters are bi except for the ones who are confirmed gay, and there’s an enby play-gender option XD

Annos – Mass Effect Trilogy: Garrus. Yes, even in ME1. Accept no substitutes. Dragon Age Origins: Alistair. Dragon Age 2: Isabela. Dragon Age Inquisition: Dorian… although he remains deeply committed to Alistair. Mass Effect Andromeda: Gil, in some parallel dimension where his romance wasn’t hijacked by Jill.

Gervaise – Mass Effect Trilogy: Liara, all the way through… although if Legion was available they’d probably have switched to him. Dragon Age Origins: Leliana. Dragon Age 2: Fenris. Dragon Age Inquisition: Blackwall. Mass Effect Andromeda: Entirely swept off their feet by Reyes. Whoever they originally intended to romance was completely forgotten once they met him.

Ia – Mass Effect Trilogy: Ash, followed by Garrus. Dragon Age Origins: Zevran, every single time. Dragon Age 2: Isabela or Anders, depending on their class choice. Dragon Age Inquisition: The Iron Bull, or sometimes Solas if they’re feeling melodramatic. Mass Effect Andromeda: Liam or Peebee, they like both.

Kebisa – Mass Effect Trilogy: Kaidan, all the way through. Dragon Age Origins: she deliberately plays a Cousland rogue specifically so that she can romance Alistair and be his queen. Dragon Age 2: Merrill. Dragon Age Inquisition: Josephine, without a doubt. Mass Effect Andromeda: Vetra, although she shares my fondness for Sarissa Theris.

Namsun – Mass Effect Trilogy: Tali, though they romanced Liara in ME1. Dragon Age Origins: they play an Aeducan dwarf in a relationship with Gorim and go back to him at the end. Dragon Age 2: Merrill. Dragon Age Inquisition: they originally fell for Solas and ended up getting mad later and reloading to romance Cassandra instead. Mass Effect Andromeda: I’m going to say that they spend the whole game pining after Evfra… just like me. Though they really like Vetra and Jaal… sometimes it’s just hard to find a Perfect Fit though.

Our Lady – Mass Effect Trilogy: Liara in ME1, followed by an abrupt switch to Miranda for ME2 and 3. Dragon Age Origins: Zevran or Morrigan. Dragon Age 2: Fenris. Dragon Age Inquisition: she joins me in being deeply upset by the fact that Abelas isn’t romanceable, but will settle for Blackwall or Cassandra. Mass Effect Andromeda: Suvi.

Tehemia – Mass Effect Trilogy: Thane, although they also really like Samara. They’re miffed that neither is a proper romance choice for ME3. Dragon Age Origins: Zevran or Leliana depending on their mood. But also Tamlen. Dragon Age 2: Isabela. Dragon Age Inquisition: Cassandra or Sera. Mass Effect Andromeda: Jaal 100%.

Vanator – Mass Effect Trilogy: He probably romanced Kaidan in ME1 but he switched to Jack without a moment’s hesitation the second he met her. Dragon Age Origins: Zevran. Dragon Age 2: Fenris. Dragon Age Inquisition: He oscillates between Dorian and Cullen. Mass Effect Andromeda: Vetra, but he would switch to Evfra or Kandros if either was available (also like me).

Now, obviously the aro and aroace characters are slightly different. I know that aro people irl sometimes play through the romance mechanics of games for any number of reasons, but when we’re talking strictly about who the ROs WANT to romance, the answer for aromantic people is clearly nobody. While both series do have some non-romantic 18+ scenes that the alloaro characters (Barthelemy and Luminita) would probably participate in, those scenes can skirt the boundary of leading into a romance sometimes, so for all the aro characters I’ll instead give their favourite characters and people that they like to have in their squad.

Barthelemy - Mass Effect Trilogy: Wrex and Grunt. Even Wreav in some playthroughs. He just likes the krogan. Dragon Age Origins: he takes the mabari everywhere with him to cut down on chatter. Dragon Age 2: Varric managed to crack his shell and become his best bud. Dragon Age Inquisition: Varric again, but he also thinks Vivienne is the best thing since sliced bread. He especially likes the parts where she gives Solas shit for things. Mass Effect Andromeda: Drack, of course.

Dassine - Mass Effect Trilogy: She loves Kasumi and Samara, but wherever possible she meticulously balances her party in terms of power for each particular mission. Dragon Age Origins: She LOVES the mabari, but she also likes Morrigan and Leliana. Dragon Age 2: depends on her class; she programs in very specific tactics with special exploits set up based on who she takes with her. Her favourites are Merrill and Bethany, though. Dragon Age Inquisition: She loves Vivienne, as well as Cole and Cassandra. Mass Effect Andromeda: Drack and Jaal are her favourites.

Luminita - Mass Effect Trilogy: She’s absolutely ride-or-die best friends with Garrus and Tali. All the way, every single game. Dragon Age Origins: she switches around a lot, but she thinks Leliana and Sten are the most reliable for gameplay advantages (Leliana can actually open locks). Dragon Age 2: She likes Fenris and Varric, but enjoys Aveline’s aesthetic. Dragon Age Inquisition: Best friends with Cassandra. Has heard from someone there might be other characters, but can’t personally confirm. Mass Effect Andromeda: Cora and Vetra.

Soillere - Mass Effect Trilogy: he wanted to keep both Ash and Kaidan forever and was gutted in ME1 when he had to leave one behind; Garrus took Kaidan’s place in his squad after that. Dragon Age Origins: it’s him, Alistair, a drunken dwarf and a dog against the world! Dragon Age 2: he swaps around a LOT to avoid conflict, but his favourite is Varric. Dragon Age Inquisition: He likes to have Dorian and Blackwall with him, but he loves Sera too. Mass Effect Andromeda: Drack and Liam. Liam’s upside-down loyalty quest was his favourite part of the game... he loves Reyes too though.