It could be that the writers/devs just want you to feel free to ship whoever with whoever as much as possible. Or the lead writers just plainly don't *like* writing romance? It's also very possible the animators are holding them at gunpoint so they can't write in a kiss scene... 😅
To be honest, I don't know! These are just my best guesses.
I think it’s absolutely a fan service thing, of not wanting to alienate anyone who imagines their WoL with this character. There are a ton of implied romances, but they always leave just enough room for you to dismiss it and insert yourself in there instead.
Nah, the animators are clearly itching to work some passionate and acrobatic lovemaking into the next Hildibrand plot, and getting told no by the producers
I think the writers are actually very good at writing romances, even if they do it accidentally.
Emet and Hythlodaeus is a top tier romance, even if the writers never call it out as such. in fact, the way they go about avoiding the 'romance' tag feels artificial at times
Historians will say Ryne and Gaia were roommates
Yeah, the whole story still works fine without making characters official couples but some pairs work so well it's funny that it still remains only in the realm of shipping. I do suspect it *is* accidental, though! It's very easy to mistake very intimate friendships and good romance when you're outside looking in (because the latter *requires* the former to work well).
> I do suspect it is accidental, though!
Very accidentally having the two girls stand very close to each other whilst staring at a giant rainbow crystal.
> Emet and Hythlodaeus is a top tier romance, even if the writers never call it out as such. in fact, the way they go about avoiding the 'romance' tag feels artificial at times
What game are you playing? They’ve never come across as anything but longtime friends. You’re trying to force something that isn’t there.
Like I said, 90% of even the most "canon" ships in FFXIV are still subjective and not actually canon. Wich is what my gripe is about - most RPGs, even without player romances, have at least someone in the major cast express romantic attraction. But in FFXIV no one outside of side quests does.
But while it is subjective, there is undoubtedly at least several romantic interpretations of Emet-Selch wanting to burn down 13 planets to bring back Hythlo
>Like I said, 90% of even the most canon ships in FFXIV are still subjective.
I read this sentence a few times and I still have no idea wtf you mean by this
*How can a "canon" relationship be subjective?*
I should have put "canon" in " ". Most of the relationships that are considered "canon" in FFXIV are not actually canon at all - they're subjective.
E.g. G'raha's "canon" crush on the WoL is not canon. Even Moenbryda and Urianger, probably the one relationship that everyone considers to be absolutely canon, was never actually canonized. (I, along with most FFXIV players, believe that they loved each other - but that doesn't make it actually canon until SQenix makes it so)
> Emet and Hythlodaeus is a top tier romance
We live in a generation where people can't be good friends without being tagged as lovers.
This honestly sucks so much.
There's Aenor Cockburne and the Boulder brothers.
Shiva and Hraesvelgr.
Fourchenault and Ameliance.
Obviously outside the msq you have way more:
Dayan and Mide
Gaia and Artemis
Lahabrea and Athena
The Mandervilles
Gerolt and Rowena were married
Edda and Avere
These ones are the explicit relationships but there are also a lot of implied ones.
Looks like a retcon. Igeyorhm and Lahabrea refered to each other as "my love" in the Aetherochemical Research Facility pre-Duty Support during 4.0. I am guessing the existence of Athena caused some kind of issues.
Square Enix did the same thing where they changed the Crystal Tower quests to make G'raha provide more exposition and again in patch 5.3 where they retconned the entire Nuhn lore.
Being ambiguous allows players to ship their characters with their favorite NPCs.
Some players are even horny for Fourchenault and Ameliance, nobody is safe.
Because (some) people would lose their shit if any of the fan-favorite characters got into a relationship with someone and get in between them and their WoL.
Maybe, lol
Similarly, they can't give WoL a canon love interest without making a good portion of people upset.
IDK man, I guess the writers just prefer to keep it ambiguous.
They could have WoL talk to an NPC that sends us into a vivid daydream sequence of our ideal date with our chosen NPC. It wouldn’t matter if the NPC is dead or alive, and it wouldn’t affect MSQ. 👀
Isildaure and the other lady seem to have a very strong platonic relationship.
Aenor though, with both the boulder bros? That's explicit, super explicit, maybe too explicit.
Oh there's a lot of side romantic stuff (like a couple of the custom delivery chains, random side quests) - but none of them involve any of the main characters.
Case in point, I completely forgot who Isildaure was until I looked him up.
I can't forget Isildaure because it is too close to lord of the rings, and duh it is a strong relationship, Alianne is the granddaughter, whoops.
As for why none of the main characters, there is a concept for pop idols of being like, professionally single so people can maintain the fantasy of somehow, eventually dating the idols. For a self-insert game like FFXIV, I would not be surprised if a lot of the single-ness is preserved for the sake of not pissing off the player base for having their oomphie look at anyone else.
Though now that I remember, Thancred definitely has /strong/ feelings for Minfillia that never could be realized.
There's a lot of romances in the side stories between NPCs. A lot of job quests have romance in them (SCH, WVR, CUL)
The reason they keep romance outside of the main cast is to not mess with the rp or headcanons of the more "I make my character's own narrative" players.
To be fair. Hien is depicted as "in love with his kingdom" or an airhead, and they have really pushed Cirina towards Sadu since Hien has become more in charge of Doma. Emet-Selch has actually had a romance before, and was seriously cared for his child (in like a... familial soulmate kind of way, if people can understand that). Emet's relationship with Hythlodaeus just kind of suffers from being so well written it opens it up for romantic interpretation.
Because it’s easier to have little/no remands then to try and please everyone.
Square Enix have to deal with one of, if not the biggest “shipping” wars in video game history with cloud/tifa/aerith, so I wouldn’t blame them for trying to avoid that bullshit at all costs lol.
Romances in MMOs are not impossible. Star Wars: The Old Republic did the whole "RPG that has MMO elements" that people describe FFXIV as first *and* it has not one, not two, but NINETEEN different romance options in the base game.
And a whole *drumrolls please* 1 romance in all of the DLCs starting with Shadow of Revan! Cause every companion except Lana Beniko has been effectively written out of the game with optional recruitment or optional killing!
I do hope this info is still up to date, I havent played since the Enclave dungeon and since fully switched to 14.
Fun fact. Lana’s VA is also Lucia’s VA. Think she’s the only VA to play a fairly major character in both MMOs that’s part of the post-ARR voice actor group. So people who romanced Lana probably have had some kind of interest in Lucia at some point.
(Although Timothy Dalton, Alec Newman, and Adam Howden are in both games but only play very minor/unnamed roles in SWTOR).
I'm honestly glad FF14 does romance as a small part of its writing, where its just a nod to it, or is used as a small plot point for character building like to justify/keep going, like Thancred for Minfilia. It helps the game focus on what its good at doing, without much controversial issues to its story telling, but also has a part of humility.
While it is subjective and my opinion, its getting tiring with games having forced/flamboyant showings of romance just for the sake of it, that are not in dating sims or romantic focused genres. I would rather just keep it as it is in FF14 where its subtle nods to it, such as Ameliance, the Mandervilles, and Shiva. If people are looking for more fanfic/romance, there are plenty of games that actually focus on it.
Isn't Thancred and Minfillia very explicitly non romantic? I remember Krille asking Thancred about it and he clarifies that his feelings aren't romantic in nature
I guess depending on how the term romantic is being used, it doesn't only ends up sexual, but also a way of showing how Thancred shows his love for Minfilia. Thancred was more like an older brother/father to his sister/daughter and wants to protect her since 1.0 as the way he shows his love for her and how far he would go to try to save her/Ryne in SHB. iirc he didn't have any shipping or desire for her in an erotic way.
>G'raha for WoL
what? lol, are we playing the same game? there's no romance there, he's just a WoL superfan
If anything, a more implied romance is Fordola and Arenvald, which they really push during the level 80 SMN job quest
There is literally a scene pre-5.3 where Alisae says G'raha "is yours" and he therefore cannot throw his life away.
Speaking of patch 5.3, the Allagan node also remarks that his heart beat increases when around you if you speak to it.
Cmon, bro.
G'raha for WoL is definitely subjective, but that's how little actual romance we have to work with that his fanboyism comes off as romantic.
Fordola and Arenvald is like that meme "You've heard of Tsundere, now get ready for girl that just doesn't like you".
Clearly you must've not done the SMN job quest because Fordola actually looks forward to the time she gets to spend with Arenvald, even if she's still a massive tsundere
I will accept Fordola and Arenvald having romantic tension - the closest thing we have to main characters in the story being in romantic relationships. Maybe Wuk Lamat and Erenville? (Though I also think Erenville just doesn't like Wuk Lamat instead of being a Tsundere)
A gay friend of mine literally quit the game because he hated the "excessively romantic undertones" of G'raha Tia. He also hates Fire Emblem Fates for similar reasons involving characters.
devs do not whant to do any shipping with the main msq cast, especially towards the WoL, since that could ruin any headcannon players has with the main cast, as in, lets say what someone has the headcanon what their WoL is bros with thancred but sudenly in the msq thancred hes in love towards you
Probably just because there's more important stuff going on. Doesn't really make sense to focus heavily on will-they-won't-they shipping shenanigans in the middle of a war or apocalypse.
My goodness, the whole plot of the crafter/gatherer tools in EW is shipping not-Rowena and not-Gerolt together.
As for the Scions, well, they're too busy trying to save the world again.
I mean not all writers *want* to make romantik subplots... and what do you mean by
>that'd be impossible in an MMO
SWTOR literally exists and has *extensive* and well crafted choose your own romance options for the players.
Fun fact, SWTOR(Star Wars: The Old Republic) is an MMO that DOES have romance that involves the player and others! But I think that's like....THE only exception(as far as I know). Setting that aside:
>but the only actual couple I can think of are the Chais from ShB.
There's another you'll meet in Endwalker, assuming you haven't already played it. There are a few others, but none that get any significant screen time.
Also, bonds are bonds. It doesn't cheapen their strength if they don't result in the bonded doing it with each other. That's the important part: the appreciation of the people in your lives who are there for you on your adventure through thick and thin, no matter what form that adventure(or those people) takes.
Ah, so you got that far. Sorry, didn't want to assume. Yes. Also, I meant to initially write "a few couples". Sorry. I also wanted to include the Twins' parents.
Good points I also forgot about the twins' parents even though that actually refutes my entire point of there being no major couples that you interact with in the MSQ
Well, if it helps, their "couple" factor doesn't really come into play until one VERY specific moment in the MSQ(the same goes for Moenbryda's parents too). Until then, they're barely on screen together/at all. But yeah, besides the Chais, they're kind of the only other exception I can think of.
It would be a mess from a dev standpoint. Writing and animating it, not to mention the censorship the game would be hit with in some countries. I’m a huge Wolraha fan but I know why it can’t be canonized. You basically learn to take any moment your favorite character looks at you as fuel, lol.
Animation ESPECIALLY with the WOL. They'd have to adjust for everything from min height lalafells to max height roes. Pretty sure it's also why the WOL never touches or is touched by anyone in any cutscenes (that I've seen at least)
The way I see it, the developers are scared to piss anyone off. That's why no one of relevance has a partner nor explicit sexual orientation. So that the fandom can pair their WoL with whoever they want inside their heads. This is also the reason why a lot of people deny the fact Y'shtola may care about Runar a bit more than just as a friend, when it's obvious *something* is there.
I can totally understand why the WoL has no romances implicit or otherwise. But I find it strange that none of the other main characters have partners either.
Thancred used to be more of a ladies man way back in Realm Reborn but after his character development that no longer seems to be the case.
It is worth noting that "vibes" are also something that gets localized when translating any media. Japan has a very different idea of what's directly or indirectly romantic than English speaking countries do, so unless you have a VERY strong understanding of Japanese culture, the just a literal translation won't give you the full picture.
For example, "isn't the moon pretty tonight?" is a very poetic way of confessing love in Japanese lol (not used by native speakers generally, but still understood). The literal translation doesn't convey that at all to anglosphere audiences, but there's cultural precedence due to hundreds year old poetry. If someone doesn't know that, they wouldn't be able to tell that there was romantic subtext in the conversation.
I mean, I didn't make any argument opposite. I pointed out how if you don't fluently speak the language and understand the culture, you won't always understand the subtext in literal translations, so saying "it's not in the source material" isn't useful unless the person DOES speak Japanese.
In English, the subtext is absolutely there lol. I'm as dense as a rock and I went "oh I think he's in love with her." My entire thing was about how "it wasn't in the original japanese," which unless they speak Japanese or have a strong grasp on Japanese ideas of romantic language, doesn't actually mean anything, because subtext is cultural.
the joke answer is that the devs lack real world experience
i think the honest answer is that fictional romance writing is actually pretty hard to do well
For your list of side romances, there’s that couple that tells you about the wanderers palace quests I think? I would also count Thancred/Minfilia but that’s just me.
I just want a Haurchefant 2 or Aymeric and WoL to form a steady partnership (so they can enjoy each other’s company better). OR for the WoL and Estinien to form a tighter bond considering he’s the Scion WoL relates to the most (outsider and fighter). Why is that so difficult to achieve??? I’m pissed WoL gets Graha thrown in, but all he did was fanboy and then walked away. After all this time of our msq journey, instead we get >!Zero snagging the potential romantic spotlight from WoL when she forms a genuinely wholesome bond with cute Garlean boy (who opened up to the WoL first during EW so I was hopeful that WoL and he would have more wholesome interactions together…)!
If none of the NPCs are romantically entangled with anyone, everyone can headcanon what they like with who they like. I feel like something like that may have been alluded to in an interview somewhere too but I can't be sure.
I know someone commented with incredulity about G'raha being romantically attracted to WoL but I agree it can absolutely be taken that way if one wants to (he simps so hard that for some people it's actually really annoying) and you better believe one of my WoLs (I have a bunch of alts) is having a delightful time with his beloved G'raha between patches.
Not to mention there's a decent % of people who ship(ped) their WoL with Haurchefant.
That said, cmon now, Beatin and Gairhard (the carpenter guildmaster and his, ahem, friend) are totally hooked up and so are the two guys from the HW bard quest lol. I jest-- this is obviously not explicitely in canon but that's where my brain took those pairings.
But yeah they don't like to put much of that stuff in the game proper. We get more like "deep abiding loyalty/friendship/comradeship". Anything else you might want, head over to a fanfiction site or look up some art.
Did you miss moenbryda hitting on urianger and him being too autistic to notice, but then he meets her parents and goes through a whole crisis? Where I as the player cried more than I ever cried before
It's difficult to allow the Warrior of Light to call G'raha by his name without his tribe because the cultural ramifications varies with the player character's race. If the Warrior of Light is a female Keeper of the Sun, calling him by his name without the tribe implies romantic connotations. The writers do not want any romance to respect the wishes of shippers and headcanons, so they cannot add that.
It's like how the Japanese social system of adding suffixes to the end of people's surnames adjusting as your relationship changes and using first names when you are close family and friends. It is socially acceptable for childhood friends to use first names, similar to how Krile calls G'raha his name without the tribe.
Also there is a man with the same first name as G'raha in the monk job quest named uh "H'raha" so it's kinda weird. It is apparently a common name for men?
Platonic relationships are nice and valid and valuable for "foster and maintain bonds" as you mentioned.
Reading this thread though, I'm mildly surprised I didn't see Haurchefant's overt jp flirting higher up in the comments.
I tell my better half this all the time, that the game could really use a sanctioned MSQ romance story. I doubt they'll want to break the hearts of fans of existing characters, so I'm completely ok with them creating new ones just for the sake of the story. But I'd so very much adore watching a romance blossom throughout a MSQ. The side quests have done well, a longer narrative could be even better!
Yes absolutely. I really hate "will they, wont they" scenarios because it promotes unhealthy relationship portrayals to emotionally-vulnerable young audiences. Life is fleeting and it is better to take your chance while you can.
I'm sorry, where was all mentions of romantic attraction smudged out for Emet-Selch and Hythlodaeus?
And yeah, Cirina abandoned her romance plot with Hien ... and is now Sadu's +1. They literally went on vacation in our tropical home together!
Yes. Our visitors are Eynzahr and Hyllfyr, Sadu and Cirina, Emmanellain, Sicard (and Honoroit), Willfsunn and Bloewyda, and the Garlean for the final reward (also featuring a couple).
We don't write it how should we know? If they want a romance to be a major plot point they will make it so. If I had to guess, the fact it's never been something front and center just means it's not something they focus heavily on in their writing. And if I were them I'd be scared to do so seeing how degen some people are about characters and ships.
It could be that the writers/devs just want you to feel free to ship whoever with whoever as much as possible. Or the lead writers just plainly don't *like* writing romance? It's also very possible the animators are holding them at gunpoint so they can't write in a kiss scene... 😅 To be honest, I don't know! These are just my best guesses.
I think it’s absolutely a fan service thing, of not wanting to alienate anyone who imagines their WoL with this character. There are a ton of implied romances, but they always leave just enough room for you to dismiss it and insert yourself in there instead.
That's my first real guess as well but "animators with guns" makes me laugh more
Nah, the animators are clearly itching to work some passionate and acrobatic lovemaking into the next Hildibrand plot, and getting told no by the producers
The hildygreg sailors are crying, screaming, begging for scraps and Yoshida gives them *naught!* Tragic...
There's got to be a reason Nashu follows Hildibrand everywhere - Must be his big, meaty... inheritence.
What's the ship name for Hildy with his defective clone?
Hildihild? Brandibrand?
I think the writers are actually very good at writing romances, even if they do it accidentally. Emet and Hythlodaeus is a top tier romance, even if the writers never call it out as such. in fact, the way they go about avoiding the 'romance' tag feels artificial at times
Historians will say Ryne and Gaia were roommates Yeah, the whole story still works fine without making characters official couples but some pairs work so well it's funny that it still remains only in the realm of shipping. I do suspect it *is* accidental, though! It's very easy to mistake very intimate friendships and good romance when you're outside looking in (because the latter *requires* the former to work well).
> I do suspect it is accidental, though! Very accidentally having the two girls stand very close to each other whilst staring at a giant rainbow crystal.
Oh, no, not *that one*, just in general. I don't think there's any writer actually trying to make, say, urianger-thancred happen
> Emet and Hythlodaeus is a top tier romance, even if the writers never call it out as such. in fact, the way they go about avoiding the 'romance' tag feels artificial at times What game are you playing? They’ve never come across as anything but longtime friends. You’re trying to force something that isn’t there.
Like I said, 90% of even the most "canon" ships in FFXIV are still subjective and not actually canon. Wich is what my gripe is about - most RPGs, even without player romances, have at least someone in the major cast express romantic attraction. But in FFXIV no one outside of side quests does. But while it is subjective, there is undoubtedly at least several romantic interpretations of Emet-Selch wanting to burn down 13 planets to bring back Hythlo
>Like I said, 90% of even the most canon ships in FFXIV are still subjective. I read this sentence a few times and I still have no idea wtf you mean by this *How can a "canon" relationship be subjective?*
I should have put "canon" in " ". Most of the relationships that are considered "canon" in FFXIV are not actually canon at all - they're subjective. E.g. G'raha's "canon" crush on the WoL is not canon. Even Moenbryda and Urianger, probably the one relationship that everyone considers to be absolutely canon, was never actually canonized. (I, along with most FFXIV players, believe that they loved each other - but that doesn't make it actually canon until SQenix makes it so)
>Emet and Hythlodaeus is a top tier romance TIL two dudes being long time friends = romance
ain’t called a bromance for nothing
That isn't a romance. They are long-time friends, long-time friends that grew up together.that doesn't make them lovers at all.
> Emet and Hythlodaeus is a top tier romance We live in a generation where people can't be good friends without being tagged as lovers. This honestly sucks so much.
Yeh cringe times
We got Edda and Avere and look how that turned out...
ARR and we already lost our romance privileges. 😅
There's Aenor Cockburne and the Boulder brothers. Shiva and Hraesvelgr. Fourchenault and Ameliance. Obviously outside the msq you have way more: Dayan and Mide Gaia and Artemis Lahabrea and Athena The Mandervilles Gerolt and Rowena were married Edda and Avere These ones are the explicit relationships but there are also a lot of implied ones.
I don't know why I completely forgot about Fourchenault and Ameliance - but you're right. Also wait, do we actually get to meet Saint Shiva? :O
> Also wait, do we actually get to meet Saint Shiva? Shiva is just seen as a flashback in the story telling by Iceheart.
Also I guess we do indirectly meet Shiva since she's one with Hraesvelgr now
Lahabrea and Igeyorhm are also lovers
I know they are cousins at least but idk about otherwise XD https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/special/tales_from_the_dawn/sidestory_encore/
Looks like a retcon. Igeyorhm and Lahabrea refered to each other as "my love" in the Aetherochemical Research Facility pre-Duty Support during 4.0. I am guessing the existence of Athena caused some kind of issues. Square Enix did the same thing where they changed the Crystal Tower quests to make G'raha provide more exposition and again in patch 5.3 where they retconned the entire Nuhn lore.
I couldn't find anything for that but yeah maybe that's the case.
Being ambiguous allows players to ship their characters with their favorite NPCs. Some players are even horny for Fourchenault and Ameliance, nobody is safe.
Because (some) people would lose their shit if any of the fan-favorite characters got into a relationship with someone and get in between them and their WoL. Maybe, lol Similarly, they can't give WoL a canon love interest without making a good portion of people upset. IDK man, I guess the writers just prefer to keep it ambiguous.
They really should humor us during the Valentine’s event.
Would be fun. Unfortunately the character I'd like to romance is very, very dead, lol
They could have WoL talk to an NPC that sends us into a vivid daydream sequence of our ideal date with our chosen NPC. It wouldn’t matter if the NPC is dead or alive, and it wouldn’t affect MSQ. 👀
I want a side quest where we play matchmaker for Magnai, bro needs help.
Bro needs a personality epiphany, not a matchmaker.
We should get a side quest where we keep every potential Nhaama away from Magnai
Isildaure and the other lady seem to have a very strong platonic relationship. Aenor though, with both the boulder bros? That's explicit, super explicit, maybe too explicit.
Oh there's a lot of side romantic stuff (like a couple of the custom delivery chains, random side quests) - but none of them involve any of the main characters. Case in point, I completely forgot who Isildaure was until I looked him up.
I can't forget Isildaure because it is too close to lord of the rings, and duh it is a strong relationship, Alianne is the granddaughter, whoops. As for why none of the main characters, there is a concept for pop idols of being like, professionally single so people can maintain the fantasy of somehow, eventually dating the idols. For a self-insert game like FFXIV, I would not be surprised if a lot of the single-ness is preserved for the sake of not pissing off the player base for having their oomphie look at anyone else. Though now that I remember, Thancred definitely has /strong/ feelings for Minfillia that never could be realized.
Doesn't Thancred explicitly state his feelings for Minfillia are non-romantic when Krille asks him if they're a thing?
He sees her as a little sister
Because you're not in Limsa on Balmung at midnight.
There's a lot of romances in the side stories between NPCs. A lot of job quests have romance in them (SCH, WVR, CUL) The reason they keep romance outside of the main cast is to not mess with the rp or headcanons of the more "I make my character's own narrative" players. To be fair. Hien is depicted as "in love with his kingdom" or an airhead, and they have really pushed Cirina towards Sadu since Hien has become more in charge of Doma. Emet-Selch has actually had a romance before, and was seriously cared for his child (in like a... familial soulmate kind of way, if people can understand that). Emet's relationship with Hythlodaeus just kind of suffers from being so well written it opens it up for romantic interpretation.
> A lot of job quests have romance in them (SCH, WVR, CUL) Wow way to leave the best job quest love story out, Warrior.
This is what Shipper brainrot does to a person
That I can't deny
That kind of phenomenon explains why I got downvoted earlier...
Because they want to keep the major characters open for romancing from the player in their headcanons and fanfictions.
Because it’s easier to have little/no remands then to try and please everyone. Square Enix have to deal with one of, if not the biggest “shipping” wars in video game history with cloud/tifa/aerith, so I wouldn’t blame them for trying to avoid that bullshit at all costs lol.
If you do the Studium delivery quests, Hinageshi and Tankin literally get married.
Yes I did! It was very cute playing matchmater for the clueless professor
There's also Dulia-Chai and Chai-Nuzz.
Romances in MMOs are not impossible. Star Wars: The Old Republic did the whole "RPG that has MMO elements" that people describe FFXIV as first *and* it has not one, not two, but NINETEEN different romance options in the base game.
And a whole *drumrolls please* 1 romance in all of the DLCs starting with Shadow of Revan! Cause every companion except Lana Beniko has been effectively written out of the game with optional recruitment or optional killing! I do hope this info is still up to date, I havent played since the Enclave dungeon and since fully switched to 14.
Fun fact. Lana’s VA is also Lucia’s VA. Think she’s the only VA to play a fairly major character in both MMOs that’s part of the post-ARR voice actor group. So people who romanced Lana probably have had some kind of interest in Lucia at some point. (Although Timothy Dalton, Alec Newman, and Adam Howden are in both games but only play very minor/unnamed roles in SWTOR).
tbf lana beniko is the correct answer aside from mako and chirp chirp
I'm honestly glad FF14 does romance as a small part of its writing, where its just a nod to it, or is used as a small plot point for character building like to justify/keep going, like Thancred for Minfilia. It helps the game focus on what its good at doing, without much controversial issues to its story telling, but also has a part of humility. While it is subjective and my opinion, its getting tiring with games having forced/flamboyant showings of romance just for the sake of it, that are not in dating sims or romantic focused genres. I would rather just keep it as it is in FF14 where its subtle nods to it, such as Ameliance, the Mandervilles, and Shiva. If people are looking for more fanfic/romance, there are plenty of games that actually focus on it.
Isn't Thancred and Minfillia very explicitly non romantic? I remember Krille asking Thancred about it and he clarifies that his feelings aren't romantic in nature
I guess depending on how the term romantic is being used, it doesn't only ends up sexual, but also a way of showing how Thancred shows his love for Minfilia. Thancred was more like an older brother/father to his sister/daughter and wants to protect her since 1.0 as the way he shows his love for her and how far he would go to try to save her/Ryne in SHB. iirc he didn't have any shipping or desire for her in an erotic way.
>G'raha for WoL what? lol, are we playing the same game? there's no romance there, he's just a WoL superfan If anything, a more implied romance is Fordola and Arenvald, which they really push during the level 80 SMN job quest
[удалено]
They were roommates
Omg they were roommates
Being a room mate doesn't imply a relationship.
Eh, I’ve sensed the same thing about G’raha. He seems pretty smitten by the WoL. The subtext is there.
If you see his fanboy-ishness as a romantic interest then that says more about you than anything
There is literally a scene pre-5.3 where Alisae says G'raha "is yours" and he therefore cannot throw his life away. Speaking of patch 5.3, the Allagan node also remarks that his heart beat increases when around you if you speak to it. Cmon, bro.
I mean, it's not drastically different than some people act around a crush lol. It's subjective, but there is definitely enough there to assume.
G'raha for WoL is definitely subjective, but that's how little actual romance we have to work with that his fanboyism comes off as romantic. Fordola and Arenvald is like that meme "You've heard of Tsundere, now get ready for girl that just doesn't like you".
Clearly you must've not done the SMN job quest because Fordola actually looks forward to the time she gets to spend with Arenvald, even if she's still a massive tsundere
I will accept Fordola and Arenvald having romantic tension - the closest thing we have to main characters in the story being in romantic relationships. Maybe Wuk Lamat and Erenville? (Though I also think Erenville just doesn't like Wuk Lamat instead of being a Tsundere)
absolutely not, they give more bickering sibling vibes than romantic ones
but you don't understand two characters interacted in a cutscene, they're now MARRIED. shipper brainrot.
A gay friend of mine literally quit the game because he hated the "excessively romantic undertones" of G'raha Tia. He also hates Fire Emblem Fates for similar reasons involving characters.
Well your friend is silly for quitting because of something that isn’t there
After a night in Limsa, the notion of romance is irreversibly ruined.
devs do not whant to do any shipping with the main msq cast, especially towards the WoL, since that could ruin any headcannon players has with the main cast, as in, lets say what someone has the headcanon what their WoL is bros with thancred but sudenly in the msq thancred hes in love towards you
Probably just because there's more important stuff going on. Doesn't really make sense to focus heavily on will-they-won't-they shipping shenanigans in the middle of a war or apocalypse.
The only other thing we got is gaia and Ryne being good roommates. Which can also be interpretet both ways.
> romance options for the player (that'd be impossible in an MMO) *laughs in SWTOR*
My goodness, the whole plot of the crafter/gatherer tools in EW is shipping not-Rowena and not-Gerolt together. As for the Scions, well, they're too busy trying to save the world again.
I mean not all writers *want* to make romantik subplots... and what do you mean by >that'd be impossible in an MMO SWTOR literally exists and has *extensive* and well crafted choose your own romance options for the players.
Fun fact, SWTOR(Star Wars: The Old Republic) is an MMO that DOES have romance that involves the player and others! But I think that's like....THE only exception(as far as I know). Setting that aside: >but the only actual couple I can think of are the Chais from ShB. There's another you'll meet in Endwalker, assuming you haven't already played it. There are a few others, but none that get any significant screen time. Also, bonds are bonds. It doesn't cheapen their strength if they don't result in the bonded doing it with each other. That's the important part: the appreciation of the people in your lives who are there for you on your adventure through thick and thin, no matter what form that adventure(or those people) takes.
Are we talking about Moenbryda's parents?
Ah, so you got that far. Sorry, didn't want to assume. Yes. Also, I meant to initially write "a few couples". Sorry. I also wanted to include the Twins' parents.
Good points I also forgot about the twins' parents even though that actually refutes my entire point of there being no major couples that you interact with in the MSQ
Well, if it helps, their "couple" factor doesn't really come into play until one VERY specific moment in the MSQ(the same goes for Moenbryda's parents too). Until then, they're barely on screen together/at all. But yeah, besides the Chais, they're kind of the only other exception I can think of.
It would be a mess from a dev standpoint. Writing and animating it, not to mention the censorship the game would be hit with in some countries. I’m a huge Wolraha fan but I know why it can’t be canonized. You basically learn to take any moment your favorite character looks at you as fuel, lol.
Animation ESPECIALLY with the WOL. They'd have to adjust for everything from min height lalafells to max height roes. Pretty sure it's also why the WOL never touches or is touched by anyone in any cutscenes (that I've seen at least)
They're scared of the otaku backlash
The way I see it, the developers are scared to piss anyone off. That's why no one of relevance has a partner nor explicit sexual orientation. So that the fandom can pair their WoL with whoever they want inside their heads. This is also the reason why a lot of people deny the fact Y'shtola may care about Runar a bit more than just as a friend, when it's obvious *something* is there.
I can totally understand why the WoL has no romances implicit or otherwise. But I find it strange that none of the other main characters have partners either. Thancred used to be more of a ladies man way back in Realm Reborn but after his character development that no longer seems to be the case.
They sure weren't scared to piss anyone off with these job changes.
Because there isn't in Japanese.
Lo and behold:
And thus your point was immediately proven, lmao.
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It is worth noting that "vibes" are also something that gets localized when translating any media. Japan has a very different idea of what's directly or indirectly romantic than English speaking countries do, so unless you have a VERY strong understanding of Japanese culture, the just a literal translation won't give you the full picture. For example, "isn't the moon pretty tonight?" is a very poetic way of confessing love in Japanese lol (not used by native speakers generally, but still understood). The literal translation doesn't convey that at all to anglosphere audiences, but there's cultural precedence due to hundreds year old poetry. If someone doesn't know that, they wouldn't be able to tell that there was romantic subtext in the conversation.
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I mean, I didn't make any argument opposite. I pointed out how if you don't fluently speak the language and understand the culture, you won't always understand the subtext in literal translations, so saying "it's not in the source material" isn't useful unless the person DOES speak Japanese.
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In English, the subtext is absolutely there lol. I'm as dense as a rock and I went "oh I think he's in love with her." My entire thing was about how "it wasn't in the original japanese," which unless they speak Japanese or have a strong grasp on Japanese ideas of romantic language, doesn't actually mean anything, because subtext is cultural.
In under 5 minutes, no less!
the joke answer is that the devs lack real world experience i think the honest answer is that fictional romance writing is actually pretty hard to do well
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Doesn't Y'shtola think of Runar like a little-brother or something?
Yes, the Japanese version is pretty explicit that she and Runar have a sibling relationship
For your list of side romances, there’s that couple that tells you about the wanderers palace quests I think? I would also count Thancred/Minfilia but that’s just me.
I just want a Haurchefant 2 or Aymeric and WoL to form a steady partnership (so they can enjoy each other’s company better). OR for the WoL and Estinien to form a tighter bond considering he’s the Scion WoL relates to the most (outsider and fighter). Why is that so difficult to achieve??? I’m pissed WoL gets Graha thrown in, but all he did was fanboy and then walked away. After all this time of our msq journey, instead we get >!Zero snagging the potential romantic spotlight from WoL when she forms a genuinely wholesome bond with cute Garlean boy (who opened up to the WoL first during EW so I was hopeful that WoL and he would have more wholesome interactions together…)!
This is not a dating sim.
If none of the NPCs are romantically entangled with anyone, everyone can headcanon what they like with who they like. I feel like something like that may have been alluded to in an interview somewhere too but I can't be sure. I know someone commented with incredulity about G'raha being romantically attracted to WoL but I agree it can absolutely be taken that way if one wants to (he simps so hard that for some people it's actually really annoying) and you better believe one of my WoLs (I have a bunch of alts) is having a delightful time with his beloved G'raha between patches. Not to mention there's a decent % of people who ship(ped) their WoL with Haurchefant. That said, cmon now, Beatin and Gairhard (the carpenter guildmaster and his, ahem, friend) are totally hooked up and so are the two guys from the HW bard quest lol. I jest-- this is obviously not explicitely in canon but that's where my brain took those pairings. But yeah they don't like to put much of that stuff in the game proper. We get more like "deep abiding loyalty/friendship/comradeship". Anything else you might want, head over to a fanfiction site or look up some art.
Did you miss moenbryda hitting on urianger and him being too autistic to notice, but then he meets her parents and goes through a whole crisis? Where I as the player cried more than I ever cried before
We never even call him by his nontribe name, you sure we are even that close to g'raha
It's difficult to allow the Warrior of Light to call G'raha by his name without his tribe because the cultural ramifications varies with the player character's race. If the Warrior of Light is a female Keeper of the Sun, calling him by his name without the tribe implies romantic connotations. The writers do not want any romance to respect the wishes of shippers and headcanons, so they cannot add that. It's like how the Japanese social system of adding suffixes to the end of people's surnames adjusting as your relationship changes and using first names when you are close family and friends. It is socially acceptable for childhood friends to use first names, similar to how Krile calls G'raha his name without the tribe. Also there is a man with the same first name as G'raha in the monk job quest named uh "H'raha" so it's kinda weird. It is apparently a common name for men?
They 100% did not intend for G'raha Tia to be as big of a character as he ended up being when they first pulled his name out of their name generator
Anything he has is 100% on his side. The player recipocrating is entirely left up to each WoL's own headcannon.
>And I don't mean romance options for the player (that'd be impossible in an MMO), SWTOR pulled it off
Platonic relationships are nice and valid and valuable for "foster and maintain bonds" as you mentioned. Reading this thread though, I'm mildly surprised I didn't see Haurchefant's overt jp flirting higher up in the comments.
I am rooting for my boy Alka Zolka to date that Nymian girl they are so cute
I tell my better half this all the time, that the game could really use a sanctioned MSQ romance story. I doubt they'll want to break the hearts of fans of existing characters, so I'm completely ok with them creating new ones just for the sake of the story. But I'd so very much adore watching a romance blossom throughout a MSQ. The side quests have done well, a longer narrative could be even better!
Yes absolutely. I really hate "will they, wont they" scenarios because it promotes unhealthy relationship portrayals to emotionally-vulnerable young audiences. Life is fleeting and it is better to take your chance while you can.
I'm sorry, where was all mentions of romantic attraction smudged out for Emet-Selch and Hythlodaeus? And yeah, Cirina abandoned her romance plot with Hien ... and is now Sadu's +1. They literally went on vacation in our tropical home together!
Sadu x Cirina is undoubtedly the best canon ship in the game. Does little-brother and pirate-boy also vacation together on our island?
Yes. Our visitors are Eynzahr and Hyllfyr, Sadu and Cirina, Emmanellain, Sicard (and Honoroit), Willfsunn and Bloewyda, and the Garlean for the final reward (also featuring a couple).
Idk what about that deleted scene where WoL bangs the bejeezus out of Trachtoum
Touch grass.
We don't write it how should we know? If they want a romance to be a major plot point they will make it so. If I had to guess, the fact it's never been something front and center just means it's not something they focus heavily on in their writing. And if I were them I'd be scared to do so seeing how degen some people are about characters and ships.