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The Final Fantasy series was one of the first video game series that introduced the concept of what I call a sustained romance. What I mean by this is that two characters who had no previous romantic ties gradually fall in love during the course of the plot. Locke/Celes, Aerith/Cloud (or whomever/Cloud), Tidus/Yuna, and so on.

I'm going with the first seven games on this, plus CT and FFT because those are the ones I prefer as opposed to the later ones. What other couples could you see in a Final Fantasy game that aren't romantically linked by game continuity? I'm going to write down a list and try to briefly explain why it might work.


Lenna/Bartz, FFV- While Lenna had a strong sense of right and wrong, it seemed to me that Bartz kind of gave the nudge to send Lenna on her way. I'm thinking that perhaps (I might be reaching) an attraction to Bartz might be the nudge that finally gave her the courage to leave home. The princes/wanderer with a heart of gold combination works well in so many cases, why not this one?

Faris/Bartz FFV- This one is a bit more difficult. Faris obviously has a need to protect her sister (SPOILERS!!), but could a strong sense of right and wrong combined with an almost stupid courage attract the cagey pirate?

note- these are possibilities, and both don't need to happen simultaneously, I'm not looking for threesomes or anything like that.

Terra/Edgar FFVI- This would ultimately end in the two separating after the end, given Terra's strong sense of duty to her new family. Edgar, however, seems to be the next candidate after clumsily hitting on her at the beginning of the game. Edgar implies that his ultimate goal is to meet his true love, and his womanizing is a result of that search.

Cyan/Lola FFVI- Lola is actually very minor, being the girl from Miranda that Cyan (and the rest of the group) deliver letters to. Cyan continues this in the world of ruin. This might come across as odd, given their wide age difference, but feasible given the circumstances and their respective losses.

Ayla/Crono CT- This might sound odd indeed, given Ayla all but declares Kino the love of her life. I make this exception because Crono is a teen-aged boy, and would most definitely be attracted to Ayla, and given that Ayla can be amoral by civilized standards, this might work. It might also throw a monkey wrench into the Marle/Crono romance.

Agrias/Grefgarion FFT- "I hate you but want you". Two idealogically opposed people with strong wills and strong sword arms. One can imagine the possibilities.

Ramza/Teitra FFT - This makes sense. Ramza, being as polite as he is, hardly speaks when around her. A peasant girl and the chivalrous noble knight actually does have a classical romantic feel to it.

Agrias/Ramza FFT- Yikes! The only reason this would make sense is the fact that Agrias becomes subservient so to speak) to Ramza after Ovelia disappears. Agrias, as domineering as she is, actually starts to treat Ramza with respect as her progression moves on.

Barrett/Tifa FFVII- Why not? She's effectively Marlene's "mom". Could their friendly bond possibly blossom into something more?

I've only named a few possibilities. What are some of your ideas?

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"So, are you a fan of the Fett?"

"Nah, I'm more of a Star Wars guy."

Quote

Faris/Bartz FFV- This one is a bit more difficult. Faris obviously has a need to protect her sister (SPOILERS!!), but could a strong sense of right and wrong combined with an almost stupid courage attract the cagey pirate?

note- these are possibilities, and both don't need to happen simultaneously, I'm not looking for threesomes or anything like that.

Terra/Edgar FFVI- This would ultimately end in the two separating after the end, given Terra's strong sense of duty to her new family. Edgar, however, seems to be the next candidate after clumsily hitting on her at the beginning of the game. Edgar implies that his ultimate goal is to meet his true love, and his womanizing is a result of that search.

I hardcore ship these. I loved how Bartz blushed when sneaking on Faris sleeping and he seemed to have at least something for her, plus with both of them being adventurous, it's possible.

Terra/ Edgar, I can see Edgar and Sabin supporting the orphanage and moving it closer to Figaro Castle. They would have to have a child to carry-on the family line, which is going to make Terra a busy mum.
I can see these two working out really well at first, and then crashing hard at the end. I think looking after all those kids + Kingdom, would tire her out.
I still ship Ederra though.

This post has been edited by berryfunny on 25th March 2014 23:14

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Top Three fave Final Fantasies Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy V [ GBA ]

ButzFaris - Sure, Butz often is surprised by Faris's beauty; but you can be shocked by someone's beauty without falling in love with her. Honestly, pure attraction is not a solid foundation for a relationship.

ButzLenna, on the other hand... this one seems fairly obvious to me. I suppose it is not technically canon, but I ship it.

CyanLola sort of makes sense, and I tend not to worry about age gaps. I once knew a very happy couple who were twenty years apart in age, and they have been married for forty years. Cyan and Lola are clearly capable of meeting each other's needs, so age should not make a difference. Yeah, it could work.

CronoAyla - refer to paragraph 1.

BarretTifa - NO! Tifa belongs with Cloud!!! Stop at once!

EdgeRydia (FF4) - common headcanon but I strongly anti-ship. We all know what Edge likes about her, and what disdain she has for him. It is not even passionate hatred; just cold disgust. Good luck making that one work.

MidKrile - Yup. The potential is there. They are definitely kids now (I know, Krile is 14 but that is a kid in my book), but that does not mean a close friendship could not eventually grow into a solid ship. They clearly enjoy each other's company. They would make a great pair.

CronoLucca - I used to ship CronoMarle, since that is practically canon at this point. But to be honest, I do not think it could ever last. On the other hand, CronoLucca is one of my less certain ships, because there is no sign of romantic feelings on Lucca's side; but I really think they are a much better pairing than CronoMarle. That is just my opinion, however.

I've never heard of "shipping," but that's per usual with me!

I actually always thought that Terra/Sabin was the more likely coupling rather than Edgar/Terra.

Now, I'm going to get these out of the way, because they're extremely circumstantial. But then again, this topic is about speculation. But when I first played the game, there were two scenes that appeared to reveal that they at least deeply cared for each other. The first was when Sabin fell off the raft, when Terra continued to shout for him. It appeared to me that she was especially concerned over him, way more than even his brother. The second, well... this is strange, something most people shouldn't even notice. but take a look at this screenshot:



While the other characters move around, Sabin stays in his position looking in Terra's direction, not looking out at the areas they pass. And he looks in her direction for a long time until Locke and Celes come over, which would be fitting imagery (if, and I mean IF, that's what they were intending).

Watch it here and decide for yourself.

But for me, both start out as a bit naïve, and they both are sort of innocent in their personalities. But they also each have a protective streak in them. That's my reasons for thinking Sabin instead of Edgar.

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Praise Be To Helix!

Hmm.... Pairings were never much of a big deal to me; I had my few that I adored, but I never really obsessed over them like so many other fans I've known. I'm going to do this in reverse though.

Dislikes:

Locke / Celes: *GASP* WHAT?!?! THAT'S CANON! SHUN THE NON BELIEVER! I get that a lot. The reason I'm not a fan is because this relationship is basically founded on a major rebound on the part of Locke who admits that Celes looks like Rachel, then proceeds to fumble all over himself at the opera scene. To make this more interesting, he immediately buys into the lie that she betrayed them in Vector. Would I want anything to do with this man after all of that? No...no no no....On the otherside is Celes who, after a year in a coma, wakes up to find the world essentially gone, finds his bandanna on a bird and promptly throws herself off a cliff (Twilight, anyone?) Yes, it is called a leap of Faith and that is the heart of the reason. But still...she was a general....for a reason... There is no way a woman tough enough to become a general in the Emperor's army is going to throw herself off of a cliff over some guy, rescuer or not. It just doesn't make any sense to me. Feel free to pick me apart on this one guys.

Edgar / Terra: This is mostly on the part of Edgar. He's clearly a womanizer; technically enough said. The other side of this is that they don't have much interaction with each other outside of him hitting on her in their first scene. It's just kind of thrown on the wayside in favor of Locke and Celes' happy ending. This was pairing also came about partly because Terra wanted to know love and we've already had one romantic ending, let's have another! Terra found her love in the form of children. I really think she'd want to put more into that before looking for a mate. Yes, Edgar could move all of the orphans into Figaro but considering what the children had already been through, that could be more emotionally damaging than healing.

Anybody / Faris: She's a strong pirate lady and she don't need no man! x3 Serious now, she's got a lot on her hands already, let her deal with that first before she ends up bound in marriage to another kingdom in alliance.

Likes: (On to the good stuff! I'm saving my favorite for last though.)

Kain / Rosa: This one just kind of came out of nowhere one day and hit me in the face a number of years after playing the game. Rosa did everything she could to help Kain while he was being controlled and probably got a better look at him emotionally and mentally than she ever might with Cecil. That can change everything very quickly and make a story very interesting. Don't get me wrong; I'm still a huge fan of Cecil and Rosa paired. Talk about perfection.

Frog and Schala: This one is kind of hard to explain. In this the idea is of courtly love rather than honest to heaven romance. A chaste love like what Glen has for Leene. He is kind of the Knight in Battered Armor (if a knight's armor is still shining and undamaged then he has never been tested.) so I can easily see him developing a love from afar sense when he sees how battered she is by her mother yet is still so gentle to everyone including the earthbound. She would have been the perfect queen and no doubt one Frog would have been proud to serve, thus the idea of courtly love.

Setzer / Terra : I CAN'T EXPLAIN IT, IT HAS NO REASON. IT'S JUST THERE! Also, a friend of mine (a Terra Cosplayer) is just as interested in how this would work out (IT TOTALLY WOULDN'T) and we have a photo shoot planned.

And last but by far my all time favorite. With no further adieu:

I SHIP IT!







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I'm your Mama Terra, come hang out with me around the internet!

Retro gaming cosplayer with a focus on Terra Branford.

I find the entire practice of shipping to be ridiculous in the extreme.

That said, I ship Cloud with Tifa.

:3

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X is blue.

St. Khael's take on the Locke/Celes very much makes sense. The only hole I could find was the insinuation that she tried to kill herself over a man. While this may be partially true, making her an absolute victim like Bella Swan was probably a bit much. She's completely alone in this instance. Her last hope of companionship died not too long before that. A death that she, being the leader she is, blames herself for. The Emperor she served turned out to be a lie, a madman that she was promised to wound up destroying the world (she was unaware of the circumstances beyond that event), and here she felt totally abandoned and worthless. This, in my opinion, humanizes her- a bout of hopeless self-pity from a normally self-assured character.

This leads to the lowest point of her life. She probably is in perfect despair when she sees the dead bird near the edge of the cliff, and gets the idea to kill herself. This would be the lowest point in her life if you think about it.

She awakens after the fall, and realizes she's not only alive, but unhurt. This isn't drawn out too far, because Celes seems to almost immediately find the bandana and instantly, she's rejuvenated. I think the thought of Locke being alive inspired her to live, and not kill herself.

They say that Celes's character was weakened because of her pining for her beloved, but I completely disagree with this. In many a good story, a hero we see as strong is very much inspired by a romantic interest. From William Wallace, to even the familiar FF characters such as Cecil Harvey or Cloud Strife. As a matter of fact, I don't even see her pining for him, so much as anticipating seeing him again.

Again, those are my opinions.

--------------------

"So, are you a fan of the Fett?"

"Nah, I'm more of a Star Wars guy."

Quote (BlitzSage @ 25th March 2014 22:22)

Now, I'm going to get these out of the way, because they're extremely circumstantial. But then again, this topic is about speculation. But when I first played the game, there were two scenes that appeared to reveal that they at least deeply cared for each other. The first was when Sabin fell off the raft, when Terra continued to shout for him. It appeared to me that she was especially concerned over him, way more than even his brother. The second, well... this is strange, something most people shouldn't even notice. but take a look at this screenshot:



While the other characters move around, Sabin stays in his position looking in Terra's direction, not looking out at the areas they pass. And he looks in her direction for a long time until Locke and Celes come over, which would be fitting imagery (if, and I mean IF, that's what they were intending).

Watch it here and decide for yourself.

Nah, he starts out staring forward and simply continues staring forward as Terra walks by him and stops on the railing. And then while she's there he turns toward Locke when Lock walks over there.

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