I'm pretty sure Urianger is genderqueer and autistic

[Iscah]

A good point. He certainly has autistic traits, even if I dunno how intentional it was.

Certainly it's quite possible it wasn't intended, which probably raises the chance of him ending up as a unique character who could be interpreted as autistic rather than a checklist of autistic traits.

[Renathras]

1) No.

2) I feel like this is borderline hate speech. I think I might feel insulted...

.

Urianger was engaged to a woman and into her, so we know he is straight (or if not, bi, but very leaning to straight). He doesn't present himself as a her or as a they/them, nor does anyone else in the case, who are all his friends. And FFXIV is not shy at this point on using they/them pronouns (Pixies and No Mu are all they/thems, and Lopporits come in he, she, and they/thems). So if it was their intent, they could do so.

As for his mental status, he might have some form of Asperger's, but if so, he would be classified as a "high functioning"/"coping mechanism" using one, as he either has few ticks or has learned to control them, and while he has archaic speech (though this is PARTLY a translation issue; Japanese has both "informal" and "formal" speech, like Spanish does, but English does not, so the localization team chose to use archaic English as a proxy for that), this has been described as due to his introverted and bookish nature where he spent so much time growing up reading old books because he wasn't a very social person. While that could be neurodivergent, it could also be introversion and cultural differences.

He is clearly a he, not a them. He may be on the Spectrum, which I can appreciate though this is probably a combination of different cultural norms in Japan mixed with translation choices, but he's definitely not genderqueer.

[Tanis_Ebonhart]

Urianger has often given me a genderqueer vibe. They have traditionally masculine features like their beard, but they also don traditionally feminine attire in Shadowbringers. But also, their awkwardness around Moenbryda and their archaic speech give off a lot of neurodiverse traits and reminds me of Autism. They seem to sometimes not know how to properly socially interact with people and at the same time they are a walking encyclopedia of knowledge. It's classic Autism traits and I love that we have some neurodiversity representation in the game. I know a lot of people in the Autism community really relate to them. The best part is that no one bullies them for their Autism and in fact, people really like it like the Pixies in Il Mheg who really appreciate their Autism. It's just such a fresh portrayal of Autism because in many other forms of media people like Urianger will be made fun of and mocked. Also, no one batted an eye when Urianger was revealed to be wearing seriously genderqueer outfits. They fully embrace their gender ambiguity and everyone still loves them the same as it was before. It might not seem like a big deal but to see genderqueerness and Autism being portrayed without anyone making a fuzz about it is such a big step for people in the non-binary and Autism communities. Thank you, Square Enix.

His love interest was a woman, and he loved her. He isn't gay. Stop it.

Ask for gay characters to be added in. Don't headcanon straight characters as gay. We get that enough with Cid and Nero.

[Aword3213]

Ask for gay characters to be added in. Don't headcanon straight characters as gay. We get that enough with Cid and Nero.

But muh brotherly love

[Tanis_Ebonhart]

But muh brotherly love

The brothers aren't doing anything to each other. Just her. The one left to do his own thing.

[AngelCheese77]

Homie's rockin a dress ya, ain't much room to twist that.

Issue is ALL healers, male or female characters, are stuck with the robe/dress style of clothes. Blame Square’s design team.

Btw wven in our own history, children under a certain age - girls AND boys wore dresses. Even priests and monks wore dresslike robes.

So let’s stop acting like it’s shocking and weird, as well as a different meaning.

[AngelCheese77]

Much as I try not to engage with these troll threads usually, I've said several times in the past that I firmly believe Urianger is autistic, in a positive way. He definitely has a number of traits that fit the profile and he even jokes about "passing for normal".

So, don't discard that idea just because of who else said it and what they've mixed it in with.

Could you list what those traits are? And under which part of the spectrum?

I’m genuinely curious

[Iscah]

Could you list what those traits are? And under which part of the spectrum?

Asperger's-type autism, and a lack of grasp on social cues.

When you're first introduced to the Scions as a group, everyone else says hello and he quotes prophecy at you. Then he does it again when you meet up with him in Il Mheg and you're now an old friend he hasn't seen in ages. He apparently will go on lectures about his favourite subjects even if the listener seems disinterested. He used to be the kid who would rather spend his time alone in the library than play with others, and picked up his overformal way of speaking from reading old books.

While it isn't something that has remained the case, his old outfit with the opaque goggles gave the impression of lack of eye contact as well.

There also is a thread of him being quite emotional but often not good at processing or expressing it, which is an actual Asperger trait more than the alleged lack of emotion that is often the stereotype.

He's a character with a lot of facets though, and I've loved seeing him get a bigger role in the story.

[Mosha]

[VictorSpoils]

Urianger may be a bit weird, but that's no reason to insult him.