I appreciate Square Enix supporting LGBT rights in FFXIV.

[Theodric]

I'm choosing to go with the terminology established in the narrative. So, to me, they're just a pair of close friends. Could they become more than that in due time? Maybe. Are people free to 'ship' them if they so please? Sure.

Though nobody is obligated to do so. Especially since even many of us open to the idea of more LGBT representation don't want it in the form of child-like characters.

[Bobby66]

How much more do you people want?

:P Jokes aside I agree 100% with your post.

[Maxilor]

I wake up every morning and when I see people are still replying to this thread it puts a smile on my face and I know everything is right with the world.

[Reckard]

I'm choosing to go with the terminology established in the narrative. So, to me, they're just a pair of close friends. Could they become more than that in due time? Maybe. Are people free to 'ship' them if they so please? Sure.

Though nobody is obligated to do so. Especially since even many of us open to the idea of more LGBT representation don't want it in the form of child-like characters.

Why people are utterly horrified of gay kids, I will never know.

[Theodric]

Why people are utterly horrified of gay kids, I will never know.

What is giving you that impression, out of curiosity?

If we're going to get more LGBT representation, I think that having it come in the form of adult characters is more beneficial. Mostly because a lot of LGBT individuals - myself included - don't have much interest in obsessing over the idea of children getting together, regardless of their gender or sexuality.

Though again, as the screenshot I provided shows, Ryne and Gaia are described simply as 'dear friends'. I think there's much more weight to the idea that Aymeric may be bisexual or that Daidukul might be gay.

[Zanarkand-Ronso]

I just dont understand why Sexuality is such a Big Deal....Like its such a defining character trait that makes someone or a character interesting.
Why not just give us an interesting character, and if they happen to be gay or Bi, ok fine, but dont make a big deal about it....because it really Isn't.
Doing so...feels kinda tacky, and more like a way to get attention.

[JennytheJester]

The point of representation isn't to make anyone feel validated. It is to normalize and humanize. As everyone knows too many of us live somewhere where being lbgt+ means discrimination, persecution or even a death sentence. Representation won't magically fix this on its own, but positive portrayal or increased presence in media has been proven to increase acceptance and support for LGBT+ communities so it definitely matters. A lot.

Normalization and humanization expressly is synonymous with validation. Are you actually serious right now? Also, this is going to blow your brain but while you are right to a degree that increased presence has had a positive, those cases are when things actually feel organic. It's when things feel deliberately wedged in for no other reason than ticking a box or catering to a specific group of people that it goes the complete opposite direction. Look at World of Warcraft. There is LOADS of LGBT representation in that game, yet literally none of it is met with favorable opinions across most of the playerbase. Even people that are very pro-LGBT are raising eyebrows over a lot of their recent moves and finding issue with them because it comes off like either Blizzard, or players themselves are trying to force a narrative into something just so it exists. Two prime and recent examples of this, Chromie, and Flynn. This isn't the WoW playerbase being against LGBT, this is people who are normally either expressly pro-LGBT, or neutral on the matter getting angry because if you don't know much about WoW's playerbase, it slants heavily towards liberal and progressive views.

When things like this feel like they exist solely to cater to a specific group and have no depth of their own, people feel negatively toward it and when there's a specific group that keeps demanding more of it be done whether it feels organic or not, they naturally grow resentful toward the idea. This alone was why the all female Ghostbusters movie bombed. It isn't that people hate women in lead roles, it's that people saw it as nothing more than pandering to a specific group of people, and the fact it changed precious little from the original movie and was basically "Same story, new cast" made them even more jaded toward the movie. Same case with Captain Marvel. People weren't negative to the idea of a female hero (FFS, we had Wonder Woman, Batgirl/Batwoman, Catgirl, Hawk Girl, and numerous others for how long?), they were negative to the idea that the whole thing reeked of a political agenda rather than something organic. What we're seeing as a reaction to that? People who are very much equality minded not exactly friendly toward the idea of female driven movies/shows, a lot of people criticizing Doctor Who's current doctor aren't doing so because it's a female. They're doing it because it feels like it's only a female character so they can say "Look, female doctor everyone! We did it!"

[JennytheJester]

I just dont understand why Sexuality is such a Big Deal....Like its such a defining character trait that makes someone or a character interesting.

I think I know where you're going with this though the wording can be read in both directions. It isn't a big deal, to most of the world it doesn't matter at all. It only matters to people who choose to base their entire identity as a person around that singular attribute. It's the same reason people roll their eyes at vegans. They don't present themselves as a person who happens to be vegan, they present themselves as a vegan as if that is their entire identity. I've stated before in this thread I'm sure that I am trans, however it is not something I disclose unless it's directly relevant to the conversation. I don't introduce myself as that about myself. I don't even consider myself a trans person so much as a person that happens to be trans. There is a huge disparity in that, with the former if you take the trans out, I'm just a person. With the latter, you take that out of the equation and I am still myself. It isn't like if you were to take that attribute away from me that I would have literally nothing else defining me as a person.

If someone were to ask me for single words I would use to describe myself, trans wouldn't even be in my top 10. I'd probably describe myself with "Capitalist" before that because that is probably my most defining attribute about myself in games. I always go for a heavy economic route, MMOs I prioritize currency grinding above all else, it's my favorite thing to do. If you want to make gil, I probably have ways I can help you out. That alone says more about my attitude, preferences, and general playstyle than the word "trans" ever would because that says nothing about my interests, ambitions, hobbies, etc which I feel are more important to ones core identity than how they view themselves or who they choose as bedmates. Capitalist you can infer I like to craft/gather/probably both, run old content unsync'd for items I can sell like old extremes, treasure maps, play with the marketboard. Hell, you can even infer that I value efficiency in my gameplay which I do. All from that one word. "Trans" doesn't say anything about what I like to do in game.

[JennytheJester]

calling Ryne a child is ridiculous. Nobody treated her like one in the game, thankfully, because that would open a nasty can of worms. After all she was right there besides my WoL, armed with blades, facing powerful foes. You don't let a child do that. And nobody went looking for new foster-parents and a home when the Scions went back the Source, because, you know, she's old enough to take care of herself.

Sorry, couldnt add this to the first post of mine due to character limit. However, this is a really bad point of contention to have. You're equating the fact they did things you view as adult oriented disputing the fact they're a child. I consider war and murder very adult activities. Yet child soldiers do exist in the world. I don't stop viewing them as children because they're also soldiers. While her age is never explicitly stated, we can infer she is around the age of Alphinaud and Alisaie, which is 16. The conceptions most people have with regards to Ryne based on her personality put her at about 16. It's enough of a widespread belief that people are very much against lewd representations of both Gaia and Ryne in fan art, just as they are with the twins on the obvious grounds (and for good reason).

Based upon all possible evidence for inference purposes, the community has chosen to see Ryne as somewhere between 15 and 16. To the developers she probably falls within this as well. This to most of the world makes her a child. Especially if you consider they also do take the appearance of a character into account. Yoshi has frequently requested users of certain alterations to game models to stop in general, but especially with regards to Lalafell because to most they appear as children. Despite in lore they look like children well into adulthood and their elder years. Lalafell in the lore have the same lifespan as Hyur, but if you were to take a picture of my lalafell and show it to anybody they'd rightfully presume the character looks like a 7 year old. The fact she goes around slaying monsters and assassinating characters in a story doesn't change that. Even though if I were to RP I would probably put my Lalafell somewhere in the late 20s-early 30s. She would still however always appear as a 7 year old due to race. Link in Ocarina of Time was what, 10? He went around fighting big evil monsters, still a kid. Ability to wield a sword against a foe doesn't make you age or change the fact you are a child if you're under 18 in most of the world.

Going back to appearances, if you were to show a picture of Ryne to anybody and say "How old do you think she looks?" You'll likely hear numbers ranging from 14 to 17. You'd find precious few people that would ever consider her an adult.

[Jadedsins]

This whole age, sexuality, and all that is weird to me. Because the story and people are not real. I can understand maybe developers might think they are because they created them, and that helps them come up with stories, but for the rest of us. A story is just a story. Being upset, hurt or even offended by a story is what it is design for to bring out feelings.

So I can understand why people want LGTBQ stuff in stories, but that is only if it fits with story, and it is not made into a big deal, because it is not a big deal at all.