Relationship Poll! Four Questions :)

[Anacybele]

Hey, you brought it up, not me. But fine. You don't need to be so harsh, btw.

[Kon]

And you're the one trying to make an argument of it when this is not the place for it.

[X-Naut]

Yes

Yes b/c indifferent is not an option and who am I to step on others' sexual preferences

Third but I don't completely get the gist of the question

Yes

Also agree with the consensus on limited pairing options, not everyone is suitable for one another.

[-Cynthia-]

With a game of FE's size, it's easy to have multiple orientations without it being 'tokenism'. Unlike games like Dragon Age or Mass Effect, there aren't cutscene limitations to worry about so making a character gay/bisexual would mostly just be a few pronoun changes (unless you want to write a whole different romance support for dudes than for ladies which would be cool but is unlikely due to time constraints). I'd prefer characters just being straight/bi/gay from the start, with hopefully a few in each category.

That's probably unlikely given Nintendo's history though. What would also be nice would be to just declare whether a pair is romantic or not from the beginning, to avoid the platonic platonic platonic true love! set up FE supports currently endorse (alternatively you get things like Eliwood kinda flirting with Ninian while he has an A with someone else...)

Edited March 9, 2015 by -Cynthia-

[NekoKnight]

Its not like the series hasn't had implied homosexual relationships in the past. If I remember correctly Raven's only paired ending was with Lucius. I don't know of any other potential ones off the top of my head though. So if they are going to include it it will be because of the character and not because of diversities sake.

A paired ending doesn't necessitate or imply romantic involvement unless stated. Raven and Lucius' supports are just about Lucius helping Raven get over his anger and Raven admitting that Lucius is the only person he has left that he considers family (for reasons unknown, he distances himself from Priscilla). Their ending just states that they went on to be mercenaries together. To everyone else, male and female, Raven is extremely antisocial.

The only non-heterosexual people that have a solid canon basis is Heather and Legault. Thievery makes you turn gay.

Everything else is subtext and people interpreting characters how they want to.

What "gay subtext," exactly? I've never seen any of this.

It's a combination of Ike being a chaste hero, not showing any interest in the many women who take a liking to him, and that he and Soren have a few tender moments. Ike also only has paired ending with guys, but like I said above, that doesn't need to imply romance.

I think people are quick to categorize characters by their sexuality.

[-Cynthia-]

Raven says he wants to go home to Lucius and he rejects the notion of ever getting married because he already has Lucius. Kent and Farina's ending just states they become mercenaries together, does that mean they have no romantic inclinations either?

I think people are quick to disbelieve the possibility that 'masculine' guys like Raven or Ike could be homosexual.

[Anacybele]

Thing is, Raven and Lucius's ending says that Raven is still just Lucius's friend. And Ike's ending does not change whether he has an A support with Soren or Ranulf or not. It's Soren and Ranulf's endings that change. And Ranulf's ending doesn't even mention Ike regardless. I honestly think Soren is just super obsessed with Ike and Ranulf simply took interest in exploring alongside his beorc best friend. Ike doesn't really show any romantic interest in anyone, regardless of their gender. Though, he does seem to grow quite fond of Lethe in his A support with her in PoR... But he could still just consider her a good friend and combat rival.

I agree that some people are just quick to categorize characters in sexual orientations.

Edited March 9, 2015 by Anacybele

[NekoKnight]

Raven says he wants to go home to Lucius and he rejects the notion of ever getting married because he already has Lucius. Kent and Farina's ending just states they become mercenaries together, does that mean they have no romantic inclinations either?

I think people are quick to disbelieve the possibility that 'masculine' guys like Raven or Ike could be homosexual.

Kent's other paired endings are explicitly romantic, so it seems to imply that his relationship with Farina was more professional, from his end. In their supports, Farina crushes on him hard but doesn't show such feelings to her.

Admittedly, I live in a hetero-normative society, so I'm more inclined to believe people are straight until indicated otherwise.

[-Cynthia-]

Thing is, Raven and Lucius's ending says that Raven is still just Lucius's friend. And Ike's ending does not change whether he has an A support with Soren or Ranulf or not. It's Soren and Ranulf's endings that change. And Ranulf's ending doesn't even mention Ike regardless. I honestly think Soren is just super obsessed with Ike and Ranulf simply took interest in exploring alongside his beorc best friend. Ike doesn't really show any romantic interest in anyone, regardless of their gender. Though, he does seem to grow quite fond of Lethe in his A support with her in PoR... But he could still just consider her a good friend and combat rival.

I agree that some people are just quick to categorize characters in sexual orientations.

You also want to erase gay people from entertainment media because you're "not into that kind of stuff" so it's hard to take your opinion on any character's sexual orientation seriously. I'm not saying Raven or Ike are definitely homosexual, I'm saying it's a possibility given that IS chose to have them have endings with men (with strong emotional connections) and not with women. If a woman(well maybe not Mist) had a paired ending with Ike, everybody would assume they were romantic.

If no one categorizes the sexual orientations, every character tends to end up straight because of heteronormativity.

[Florete]

Stop talking about Ike. And Raven, for that matter, unless it specifically pertains to the topic at hand (which the current discussion does not).

[Respite&Nepenthe]

You also want to erase gay people from entertainment media because you're "not into that kind of stuff" so it's hard to take your opinion on any character's sexual orientation seriously. I'm not saying Raven or Ike are definitely homosexual, I'm saying it's a possibility given that IS chose to have them have endings with men (with strong emotional connections) and not with women. If a woman(well maybe not Mist) had a paired ending with Ike, everybody would assume they were romantic.

If no one categorizes the sexual orientations, every character tends to end up straight because of heteronormativity.

Look, it's just this person's opinion. You can respectfully disagree without insulting the entire argument.

I believe homosexual pairings should exist optionally, because "not being into that" is actually rather common...and the controversy would just go on and on. It'd be okay if it was an implication, like with Heather. People love Heather.

[Anacybele]

Yeah, I didn't care at all that Heather is implied to be lesbian. It isn't like I don't want ANY homosexuality whatsoever in these games... I would just prefer that there be no homo endings or that I have the option to give those "homo" characters heterosexual endings.

Edited March 9, 2015 by Anacybele

[ckc22]

Look, it's just this person's opinion. You can respectfully disagree without insulting the entire argument.

I believe homosexual pairings should exist optionally, because "not being into that" is actually rather common...and the controversy would just go on and on. It'd be okay if it was an implication, like with Heather. People love Heather.

People can get over it. Among the people who actually play current video games I'd imagine that "not being into that" is even more of a minority stance than in the general population.

Yeah, I didn't care at all that Heather is implied to be lesbian. It isn't like I don't want ANY homosexuality whatsoever in these games... I would just prefer that there be no homo endings or that I have the option to give those "homo" characters heterosexual endings.

"It isn't like I don't want any homosexuality in these games, I'd just prefer that I can erase any traces of homosexuality from the characters regardless of whether or not that is one of their character traits"

Puhlease.

Edited March 9, 2015 by ckc22

[NekoKnight]

Yeah, I didn't care at all that Heather is implied to be lesbian. It isn't like I don't want ANY homosexuality whatsoever in these games... I would just prefer that there be no homo endings or that I have the option to give those "homo" characters heterosexual endings.

I don't see the connection between thinking characters like Heather are okay, but not wanting them to have paired endings with same gender characters. Equal marriage rights for all FE characters

People can get over it. Among the people who actually play current video games I'd imagine that "not being into that" is even more of a minority stance than in the general population.

"It isn't like I don't want any homosexuality in these games, I'd just prefer that I can erase any traces of homosexuality from the characters regardless of whether or not that is one of their character traits"

Puhlease.

I don't know if they are a minority. They are awfully loud, if that's the case.

At any rate, yes, it's something they will need to get over.

[Anacybele]

"It isn't like I don't want any homosexuality in these games, I'd just prefer that I can erase any traces of homosexuality from the characters regardless of whether or not that is one of their character traits"

Puhlease.

Uh, did I NOT just say that I didn't care that Heather is lesbian?

People need to stop accusing me of wanting to erase homosexuality from existence or some BS like that. I just want the option to pair every pairable character with the opposite gender, regardless of whether homo endings exist as well. Is that so hard to understand?

[ckc22]

Uh, did I NOT just say that I didn't care that Heather is lesbian?

People need to stop accusing me of wanting to erase homosexuality from existence or some BS like that. I just want the option to pair every pairable character with the opposite gender, regardless of whether homo endings exist as well. Is that so hard to understand?

That means that there are literally no homosexual characters in your ideal game... is that so hard to understand?

I don't know if they are a minority. They are awfully loud, if that's the case.

At any rate, yes, it's something they will need to get over.

Every major poll in the US shows that a majority of Americans now support marriage equality. The % only increases as you move down in age brackets.

Edited March 9, 2015 by ckc22

[ckc22]

Edit: Sorry double post on accident.

Edited March 9, 2015 by ckc22

[Anacybele]

That means that there are literally no homosexual characters in your ideal game... is that so hard to understand?

Because I prefer to ship heterosexual pairings. And I see no problem with that.

Every major poll in the US shows that a majority of Americans now support marriage equality. The % only increases as you move down in age brackets.

That doesn't mean they want to marry same gender characters to each other in video games. I'm all for marriage equality too. People should be allowed to love who they want to love and marry who they want to marry. But I prefer to ship heterosexual pairings, so I would like the option to do so in my video games without also being forced to do a homo marriage.

Edited March 9, 2015 by Anacybele

[Respite&Nepenthe]

Because I prefer to ship heterosexual pairings. And I see no problem with that.

That doesn't mean they want to marry same gender characters to each other in video games. I'm all for marriage equality too. People should be allowed to love who they want to love and marry who they want to marry. But I prefer to ship heterosexual pairings, so I would like the option to do so in my video games without also being forced to do a homo marriage.

I think if there are homosexual characters and you don't want homosexual marriage, just have the option to leave those characters unmarried, as opposed to marrying them hetero.

Otherwise, I'm inclined to agree with you.

[Anacybele]

That works too. I wouldn't mind that. And thanks.

[ckc22]

Because I prefer to ship heterosexual pairings. And I see no problem with that.

so I would like the option to do so in my video games without also being forced to do a homo marriage.

Then pair off heterosexual characters...

There are very few forced marriages in FE.

Even if it were included it would likely be a tiny minority of the cast... but I guess that wouldn't be fair to you. 8|

[NekoKnight]

I just want the option to pair every pairable character with the opposite gender, regardless of whether homo endings exist as well. Is that so hard to understand?

So you prefer that the character's sexuality is up to the player?

Every major poll in the US shows that a majority of Americans now support marriage equality. The % only increases as you move down in age brackets.

That's good to hear. Most discussion I've heard makes it sound like it's still pretty contentious.

Edited March 9, 2015 by NekoKnight

[ColdHeartAndASummerDream]

Guysh. Please calm down.

[Florete]

That doesn't mean they want to marry same gender characters to each other in video games. I'm all for marriage equality too. People should be allowed to love who they want to love and marry who they want to marry. But I prefer to ship heterosexual pairings, so I would like the option to do so in my video games without also being forced to do a homo marriage.

I mean, I know it's been said already, but where did anyone suggest that a homosexual pairing would be mandatory? How many pairings throughout the series are mandatory in the first place? Not many.

This is why you came off as "I'm not into it, therefore you can't have it." Think a little before you say these things. Is that even worth saying anymore?

[-Cynthia-]

Look, it's just this person's opinion. You can respectfully disagree without insulting the entire argument.

I believe homosexual pairings should exist optionally, because "not being into that" is actually rather common...and the controversy would just go on and on. It'd be okay if it was an implication, like with Heather. People love Heather.

I respectfully refuse to tolerate homophobia thanks, just like I feel little need to be respectful to someone who goes "well I would prefer that there only be white people in my games" or "I would really prefer if the only important characters in my games are men" or other bullshit like that.

I think that all pairings should be optional unless there's some story reason that someone must be paired (like how Chrom had to be married because Lucina is a thing).