![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Lord Romantic Relationships (outside of Tellius)
This is just one big dry writeup I'm dumping here to reference later in a massive post about Ike's sexuality. (Gascon asked.) I also feel that this will be a useful reference in general when talking about lord romances. Let me know if you have any corrections. (Also, I remember someone at some point wrote a post about bromantic character endings, mentioning the very interesting case of Eirika/Forde. If anyone remembers who wrote that and where, I'd like to link that.)
This writeup assumes basic familiarity with the mechanics of the FE games that were localized into English. There is a relative poverty of links for FE4, because the resources list the script for each (massive) chapter without subdivision and it would be pointless to cite something in FE4 beyond the chapter and participants. You can find the full script here, divided into chapters. In general, you can find most game scripts on serenesforest.
In every Fire Emblem game (speaking outside of Tellius for now), the Lord has some content which is routinely taken as a canon relationship with a girl (or one girl of many choices). The typical structure of the depiction of these relationships goes as follows:
Here are how the games outside of Tellius line up. For the sake ofnot spending sixteen hours on this brevity, I have only included characters who fit all these criteria in addition to other explicit marriage options who may not necessarily satisfy all of these options. There's some interesting discussion to be had about characters who fit some of these criteria at least as well as those "other explicit marriage options," but without the marriage. This post looks at all characters who get a special ending with the lord, which contains some additional information but may be more difficult to read for people not familiar with each game. However, since this table was compiled for the purposes of an overview for people less familiar with the series at large to support my Ike sexuality essay, I do not spend the time here to discuss controversial non-explicit potential romances.
1 Even his half-sister Julia through exploitation of a bug. It is worth noting two things: 1) This bug was not intentional and Julia was meant to be forbidden as an option; however 2) In the early versions of the game, Celice/Julia was actually planned to be hard canon. (Julia is written as Yuria on this page.)
2 FE4 had stand-ins in the character generation if the parent of the character in question died. These stand-ins share the vast majority of the original character's dialogue with minor amendments, but also have some additional conversations that the non-substitute character did not have.
3 I'm omitting discussion of Lyn as a Lord in her own right because her "story," which is functionally a glorified tutorial, is not exactly a true story in the Fire Emblem tradition. Later, she does not function as the main lord in the story in the same sense as the other Lords on this page, and so it would be unfair to hold her to the same standards as the other lords.
4 She also supports with Forde, who is also male, but their ending does not seem to push a romantic angle:
Eirika and Forde
After the war, Eirika and Forde returned to
Renais. Eirika spent her days toiling in
the reconstruction of Renais, and he was her
faithful supporter. His portrait of Eirika
captured the smile he had thought lost forever.
5 Similarly, Ephraim supports with Myrrh and has an ending with her, but it doesn't push a romantic angle:
Ephraim and Myrrh
After the war, Ephraim returned to Renais and
Myrrh to Darkling Woods. They both turned their
attention to their respective duties but never
forgot one another. Though Myrrh never again
left Darkling Woods, Ephraim often visited her.
6 One might also point out that Chrom has quite a bit of homoerotic tension with M!Robin and Frederick, but since this table is about Lord relationships uncontroversially and explicitly taken as romances, I have chosen not to include them.
7 This is the English localized title of the cutscene. I cannot find any information on what the Japanese title was.
This writeup assumes basic familiarity with the mechanics of the FE games that were localized into English. There is a relative poverty of links for FE4, because the resources list the script for each (massive) chapter without subdivision and it would be pointless to cite something in FE4 beyond the chapter and participants. You can find the full script here, divided into chapters. In general, you can find most game scripts on serenesforest.
In every Fire Emblem game (speaking outside of Tellius for now), the Lord has some content which is routinely taken as a canon relationship with a girl (or one girl of many choices). The typical structure of the depiction of these relationships goes as follows:
- The Lord has a significant amount of interaction with that character throughout the game. If the game has optional conversations such as in-chapter Talks or Supports, the Lord will have those with that character.
- At the end of the game, there is generally an acknowledgement of their future together in the character endings.
- If the player meets certain conditions, the Lord will have a special scene near the end acknowledging their relationship with that character.
Here are how the games outside of Tellius line up. For the sake of
| Game | Conversations | Character Endings | Near-End Scene |
| FE1/11 [Marth and Caeda] | Marth and Caeda talk a fair bit near the beginning of the game, but very little otherwise. However, this is probably to be expected of the era, as the script is incredibly minimalistic. (Most of FE11's additions fall well outside the concerns of the original script.) | Caeda's epilogue reads: Talys's Heart - Shiida Shiida visited her father in Talys before returning to Altea with Marth. Their whispers of love warmed the castle halls. | If Caeda (also written Shiida or Sheeda) is not dead, Marth (aided by Nyna's urgings) will awkwardly attempt to confess to her: Marth: As you said, we have not spoken much since Talys. With you, I felt I never had to say a word. If the battle started to take its toll, you were always there...close by...I would see you there, so beaut- ahem, so brave... and I would, um,....derive! Yes, derive great strength! Derive... ....Ugh, why is this so difficult?! Shiida, I'm just trying to tell you I- Shiida: Marth... Shh. Me too... Me too. |
| FE3/12 [Marth and Caeda] | Like FE1/11, this game's script is fairly minimalistic. However, the game opens with "Prince Marth's engagement to Princess Caeda was announced, and the people of Altea rejoiced, sharing their happiness," leaving fairly little ambiguity in the matter. FE12 added a set of supports between them. | Caeda's epilogue again talks about their marriage. It should be noted that at the time of FE1/3, there was no support system of any kind, so character life and death was the only kind of conditional that existed. Putting the romance into Caeda's epilogue would ensure that they're together if Caeda is alive and apart otherwise. | Despite being old married news, these games also have a conversation where Caeda and Marth talk about their undying love. |
| FE2 [Alm and Cellica] | The script is again minimalist, and perhaps you could argue that Alm and Cellica interact significantly purely because they are the protagonists. | Cellica's ending always reads: Cellica Afterwards, she and Alm joined together to become the founding king and queen of Valencia. Her kindness and wisdom helped the young king establish the foundations of the Kingdom of Valencia. The people believed that she was the reincarnation of Mila. It is said that they never ceased to love her from the very depths of their hearts. This is non-optional, since she is a lord character and must be kept alive. | The last conversation of the game, right before facing the final bosses, Cellica and Alm have this exchange: Cellica: It won't work. Judah possesses some mysterious power that's obstructing all our attacks. Besides, countless Bigles keep coming to entangle us. We can't even move anymore. We're probably already done for... Sorry, Alm. I wasn't able to do anything for you after all. I've had a strange premonition... A feeling that something terrible will happen to you... That's why I came this far on a quest to rescue Mila... That's why, until then, I didn't want you to fight. Because of that... I acted so cold. I'm sorry... The truth is, I've always... Alm: That's enough. I understand. At any rate -- Cellica! Right now, what matters is escaping!!! I'm definitely going to save you! I'll definitely save you, so believe in me. Go for it, Cellica!! |
| FE4 (First Gen) [Sigurd and Diadora] | Chapters 1-3 pay significant homage to Sigurd's boner at first sight for Diadora and their sappy family until the point Diadora gets kidnapped. | Well, this isn't exactly the case because meteors fall and everyone dies. | Sigurd's last moments consist of the antagonist bringing out Diadora, taunting him by showing him that she no longer remembers him (thanks to some dark magic), and sending her away against her protests that she'd like to know more. |
| FE4 (Second Gen) [Celice and his harem, plus Julia] | FE4 was the first game in which the player was given a true choice in the matter of pairings--prior to this, you could toggle endings by killing Caeda, but that's obviously not the same as being able to choose each character's lover. Under the FE4 system, where characters accumulate "love points" and automatically become lovers after reaching 500, Celice can technically hook up with any girl in the second generation1, but he has optional conversations available with Lana, Patty, and Tinny (or their subs2) early in the game which each offer a stat gain and a bonus of 100 love points. He also has a particularly special conversation in Chapter 8 with Mana (Lana's sub), in addition to the above. He also has several conversations with Julia that are fairly sweet -- and her fridging is a key motivator for him -- some of which are optional and give stat bonuses, although not love points. (See note 1.) | Celice's lover will be copy-pasted into some cardboard dialogue in the epilogue, saying that she will stay with Celice and support him throughout the reconstruction. Julia, if she survives, will always hang around Celice, even if he has another lover and she has another lover. (Also worth noting: Julia's lover never stays behind with Celice.) | Celice has special conversations with Tinny, Patty, Nanna, Lana, and Lakche/Larcei in the final chapter that are unlocked if they are lovers, which are fairly sweet and romantic and offer him a stat boost. These fit a prevailing pattern of final chapter lovers' conversations in FE4. In the same chapter, he can also speak to Julia to re-recruit her (after killing her brainwasher). Mechanically speaking, recruiting Julia is in some sense the standard way to go about winning the chapter, though it is possible to skip this step. On another note, it is worth noting that Celice's lover conversation with Lana (or Mana) has Lana/Mana saying that she feels she must apologize to Julia. |
| FE5 [Leaf and Nanna] | Half of FE5 is spent saving a kidnapped Nanna. There's also a bit of favoritism for Leaf/Nanna in FE4--their lovers' conversation comes a chapter earlier than his others, and references his parents' courtship. | Apparently Nintendo started to make elaborate character endings at this point: Leaf's epilogue changes if Nanna is alive. And if Nanna is alive, both Leaf's and Nanna's epilogues are romantic. | If Nanna is alive, Leaf says he plans to marry her in a scene at the end of the game (right after telling Miranda "maybe later," too): Leaf: "Yes, you did. We grew up like brother and sister, but you were always the one helping me. I was able to come this far because you were always there for me, to support me and cheer me up. Nanna, once this war ends, I'll go look for Lachesis as well. And when I find her, I'm going to ask her directly...for your hand, Nanna..." |
| FE6 [Roy and his harem, especially Lilina] | FE6 was the first game with a "true" support system (that is, the one used in all the English releases outside of Radiant Dawn and Shadow Dragon). Among Roy's support conversations are six(!) with girls he can ultimately have an ending with, and he has some level of canon interaction with all of them. Note that prior to FE13, supports consisted of only ranks C through A, with no hard and fast mechanical distinction between buddy supports and supports that may result in babies. | Roy can have a paired ending with any of those six girls, reflected in said girl's epilogue. (Ctrl+f for "paired with Roy") | In the true ending, if you have an A support between Roy and Lilina, Roy wishy-washily confesses to Lilina before running off to attend a coronation. |
| FE7 (Eliwood's Route)3 [Eliwood and his smaller harem, especially Ninian] | Eliwood's female support options are Lyn, Ninian, and Fiora. In the main story, he has a fair amount of conversation with Lyn because she is a Lord, and they share a fair amount of screen time largely because of that fact. He also has the most interaction with Ninian: his introduction even consists of showing up with her bridal style in his arms. There are a number of plot points largely revolving around their relationship, such as the incident after Eliwood obtains the Durendal, which also change and unlock unique BGM if they have A support. He does not interact with Fiora throughout the main game aside from their supports -- he can't even recruit her. | For each female support option, there is an scene in the epilogue that shows them together as a couple at the time of Eliwood's coronation. This is also reflected in the character endings. | Each of the female support options get a CG at the end of the final chapter if they are A supported with Eliwood. Additionally, for Ninian, there are several scenes near the end of the game that change. For instance, she returns to the world of the dragons if she is not supported, but stays with Eliwood despite knowing she will die soon if she is A supported. |
| FE7 (Hector's Route) [Hector and his smaller harem] | Hector's female support options are Florina, Farina, and Lyn. Like Eliwood, he has a fair amount of conversation with Lyn because she is a Lord, though it's worth noting that their dynamic is much more slap-slap kiss. He interacts a bit with each of Florina and Farina: he's the only unit who can ever recruit Farina, and Florina meets him by crash landing on him before they save Lyn. | Same as with Eliwood. | Similarly, each female support option gets a CG. Additionally, near the end of the game, there is a special conversation between Hector and Lyn that is unlocked if they have an A support. A unique BGM plays for that conversation. |
| FE8 (Eirika's Route)[Eirika and Seth, Innes, Saleh... and maybe Ephraim?]4 | Eirika has supports with all four of these men. In the main story, Seth rescues her from Renais castle as it falls, she rescues Innes when he's stuck behind enemy lines, and Saleh serves as their tour guide into the obligatory mystical dragon-worshipping village. She arguably has the most time with Seth, although Seth serves in an advisor capacity to both Eirika and Ephraim. Ephraim, as the other main lord and her twin, shares a significant amount of screentime with her, partly for plot-related reasons... although it's worth noting that the plot of FE8 is unusually personal to begin with. (A common fandom joke: "This could have all been avoided with a threesome.") | Eirika has character endings mentioning marriage with Seth, Innes, and Saleh. She has a character ending with Ephraim that says they rebuild Renais together, without mentions of children. | Nothing unlockable. Of these four men, the only character she has a fair amount of conversation near the end of the game is Ephraim, although perhaps this is to be expected as the two of them are the main protagonists. |
| FE8 (Ephraim's Route) [Ephraim and L'Arachel, Tana... and maybe Eirika?]5 | Ephraim has supports with all three of these women. In the main story, he rescues Tana from bandits and sort-of rescues (encounters?) L'Arachel in a fortress. He has an extensive amount of interaction with Eirika, although this may be because they're the two main protagonists. It's worth noting that their C support reveals that he has a habit of stroking Eirika's hair when she's upset. | He has an ending with all three, with all but Eirika's mentioning marriage. | Mostly the same as Eirika. L'Arachel does get one line that does not change if they are supported or not: "Ephraim... It is time I must be going. I am still princess of Rausten, after all. There is much to which I must attend. Renais and Rausten are far apart, but that distance can be managed somehow. If you and I were to be betrothed, that is... I wonder if I appear too forward... No, how silly of me!" |
| FE13 [Chrom and Sumia, F!Robin, Maribelle, Sully, Olivia]6 | Chrom has supports up to S(marriage'n'babies)-rank with these characters. He has some interaction with Maribelle, Sully, and Olivia when those women are relevant to the plot at hand. He has significant amounts of interaction with Sumia and F!Robin, though perhaps in Robin's case it is to be expected as they are both key protagonists. In one early cutscene titled "Lovebirds"7, Sumia drags him onto her pegasus to save him from an attack. | At the end of the first arc of the game, Chrom marries one of the above women, and after the timeskip they have a child. In the character endings at the very end of the game, they have paired endings together. | All of these women, if not S supported by the end of chapter 11 (the first arc), have a scene where Chrom proposes to them. Sumia's scene is considerably more elaborate. All of these women have a different scene when Lucina reveals herself. F!Robin has a special "Lucina's judgment" if she is her mother. Although it's not a near-end scene, it should be noted that Sumia can be seen in the opening movie holding a baby Lucina independently of who Chrom is paired with in-game. |
1 Even his half-sister Julia through exploitation of a bug. It is worth noting two things: 1) This bug was not intentional and Julia was meant to be forbidden as an option; however 2) In the early versions of the game, Celice/Julia was actually planned to be hard canon. (Julia is written as Yuria on this page.)
2 FE4 had stand-ins in the character generation if the parent of the character in question died. These stand-ins share the vast majority of the original character's dialogue with minor amendments, but also have some additional conversations that the non-substitute character did not have.
3 I'm omitting discussion of Lyn as a Lord in her own right because her "story," which is functionally a glorified tutorial, is not exactly a true story in the Fire Emblem tradition. Later, she does not function as the main lord in the story in the same sense as the other Lords on this page, and so it would be unfair to hold her to the same standards as the other lords.
4 She also supports with Forde, who is also male, but their ending does not seem to push a romantic angle:
Eirika and Forde
After the war, Eirika and Forde returned to
Renais. Eirika spent her days toiling in
the reconstruction of Renais, and he was her
faithful supporter. His portrait of Eirika
captured the smile he had thought lost forever.
5 Similarly, Ephraim supports with Myrrh and has an ending with her, but it doesn't push a romantic angle:
Ephraim and Myrrh
After the war, Ephraim returned to Renais and
Myrrh to Darkling Woods. They both turned their
attention to their respective duties but never
forgot one another. Though Myrrh never again
left Darkling Woods, Ephraim often visited her.
6 One might also point out that Chrom has quite a bit of homoerotic tension with M!Robin and Frederick, but since this table is about Lord relationships uncontroversially and explicitly taken as romances, I have chosen not to include them.
7 This is the English localized title of the cutscene. I cannot find any information on what the Japanese title was.