#ryder really comes alive in the kadara arc too there's some real chemistry there no matter what

[vaguely-concerned]

Since he’s apparently the one thing from Mass Effect Andromeda that won’t leave my brain alone even after two years, have some assorted Reyes Vidal thoughts

- The one thing that really keeps niggling at me: he tells you that he came to Andromeda “To be someone” -- in a moment of rare unguarded honesty; I’m willing to bet that’s the only thing he says in the entire game that’s completely true lol -- and yet he (admittedly with great success) goes about doing it specifically in such a way that no one fucking knows who he is. So... be someone in the eyes of who, exactly? Just himself? He clearly has an ego, but it’s curiously introverted; he doesn’t seem to give much of a fuck what other people think of him, so long as he knows in himself that he’s running circles around them. Where the hell does he come from that this is so important to him? 

And yet there is a clear tension between that whole wreathed in secrets business (which he equates with safety and survival in the dancing scene) and the wish (need?) in him to be seen and known, in a personal sense. This is why I do think he genuinely likes and cares about Ryder. He offers them the truth of why he came here as a first hint of vulnerability and if they don’t meet him on that -- if you blow it off with a joke, “Wow, finally an honest answer” -- he slips the mask back on and the romance doesn’t go through. If you answer his claim that he doesn’t want any more secrets between you with (a probably accurate and clear eyed) “dude you live and breathe secrets don’t go promising things you can’t give just don’t lie to me about important things” he is touched by the fact that you know him for the sneaky bitch he is and still want to stay. So there’s clearly something genuine going on here, under all the layers of bullshit haha

- Considering all the resources he has at his fingertips literally the only conceivable reason he’s consistently sneaking out of paying for his drinks at Kralla’s is the instinct to be a little shit. reyes umi can & will stab you, pls rethink your life choices

- I’m pretty sure he’s the romanceable character where the player has the most agency over how Ryder responds/relates to him. There’s really a quite wide range of outcomes here: if you side with the Collective you can romance him, either all the way or break up with him once you know who he is, or you could build up what looks like an actual burgeoning friendship or at least alliance, or you can make it clear you’re only working with him out of necessity and not because you like him (if you refuse the handshake towards the end he goes “You know, Ryder... you’re kind of a dick. But I’ve worked with worse” and I think that is beautiful)

Even on the Outcast side there’s a lot of nuance depending on what you do and the preexisting relationship: if you shot him in the back after romancing him his email reads as barely holding a grudge at all, really, in a ‘ah well c’est la vie guess I should have seen it coming this one’s on me’ way. If you shot him in the back and you’re not even bros he’s  p i s s e d  and vowing revenge (the only time he resorts to naked hostility). If you’re friendly with him and just let him get away it reads more like a warning about Sloane/trying to manipulate you and give you doubts but without personal animosity. 

I actually super enjoy this range of possible responses and outcomes -- with a lot of the squad mates I feel really railroaded into becoming BFFs or romantic no matter what bullshit they pull (pEEBEE), but considering all the ways his storyline can end... romancing Reyes is a very bad decision you have to consistently pursue for quite a while lol 

- I’d say the two times he seems to be openly really angry is when Zia is having a go at Ryder for admittedly being naive about him (something about that ”Leave him/her out of this” would make me rethink trying to fuck with the Charlatan  i m m e d i a t e l y  lol), and in one permutation of the email he sends after you’ve shot him in the back when there’s no friendship established (and you sort of have to go out of your way not to be at least friendly with him, I’m pretty sure).

- He is 100% a control freak disguised as a laid back charming laissez-faire sort of dude (more or less the same character type as Iron Bull, only without y’know the loyalty or basic morality or extenuating circumstances of being raised under the Qun lol) 

He has eyes and ears everywhere, knows exactly what strings to pull, and moreover seems to take a special enjoyment in not only outsmarting people but also doing it without ever giving away who he actually is ...but interestingly lying to Ryder about who he is quickly appears to mostly make him mildly uneasy, there’s none of that triumph or smugness there in that specific relationship/situation (unless you uh well shoot him in the back, which... actually, fair, hard to begrudge him that)

- Keema seems genuinely quite fond of him and thinks him stressing about what Ryder is going to think once they know the truth is equally parts hilarious and cute lol you get the feeling this hasn’t happened before while they’ve known each other

- The only goddamn explanation for why a romanced Ryder is SO upset with him over hiding his identity despite them knowing each other for like two weeks max is that they absolutely fucked at least once and it was fantastic, I don’t see any other way to parse that

BONUS THOUGHT: the fact that these two assholes hold hands like goddamn school children as they run away after stealing Sloane’s whiskey and that Reyes smiles into every kiss except the one you surprise him with is STUPID and AWFUL and UNFAIR and I resent it all deeply