Ho Yay / Final Fantasy

Main Series Games

Final Fantasy III

• The DS remake of Final Fantasy III has some of this when it comes to Arc and Prince Alus. Arc, being as effeminate as he is, forms an immediate bond with Prince Alus, and the two end up spending quite a bit of time together. They even wind up sleeping together at one point (although in separate beds, and under the pretense of "the prince's safety"). The way they talk to each other seems to suggest that they might be more than "just good friends."

Final Fantasy IV

• Cecil and Kain. Cecil and Rosa are lovers but you would never realize that by the way the game shows it. Right at the beginning, Cecil orders Rosa to leave him alone, before ignoring her to travel with Kain. Cecil and Kain get separated, but when you meet Kain again, he is mind controlled by Golbez and helps him take Rosa as hostage in return for the Crystals. The way Cecil acts is really suspicious, like he is more frustrated by the fact that Kain "betrayed" him than the fact that his girlfriend is a hostage; and Kain openly tells Golbez that he views the job of guarding Rosa as punishment duty, begging to be allowed to fight Cecil instead. You also fight with Kain but you can't beat him despite the fact that both start at the same level and should be equally strong. Cecil just hits low or miss while Kain jumps and deals more damage every jump until he defeats you; this leads people to believe that Cecil didn't want to hurt Kain.
  • In the thought bubble lines in the DS version, Cecil has one wishing that Kain was with him when entering Fabul for the first time and also several of being devastated by Kain's betrayals.
  • In The After Years, Cecil and Kain have a conversation when resting in the Depths. Cecil thanks Kain for helping him snap out of the Mysterious Girl's spell, and Kain was acting no less of a type A Tsundere.

Final Fantasy V

• Yoshitaka Amano has drawn Faris and Lenna being intimate with each other, despite that they're sisters.

Final Fantasy VI

• Sabin's a bodybuilder, and he is the only character whose sequence during the breakup has no female characters. In the Woolsey localisation, Terra mocks his musclebound appearance with the implication that he's a Gym Bunny and he laughs, referring to himself playfully as a 'bear'. In addition, his "fight" with Gau has animation quite unlike any other fight in the game but looking like something else. (Though since there are no sparkles, it can't be sex.) Apparently all the heterosexuality genes went to Chivalrous Pervert Edgar.
• There's some Terra/Celes Les Yay, with Terra asking Celes (whose situation appears to be similar) if she could fall in love, and most of Celes' dialogue in the final dungeon expresses concern for what will become of Terra once Kefka is defeated and magic fades from the world.

Compilation of Final Fantasy VII & Final Fantasy VII Remake

Final Fantasy VII (1997)

• Cloud grew up obsessed with Sephiroth and as an adult is chasing him down like a Stalker with a Crush. When Sephiroth vanishes and Cloud yells at him to reveal where he is, Sephiroth says "So cold. I am always by your side."
• There's a mission where Cloud has to dress as a woman to infiltrate Don Corneo's mansion. Aerith is very keen to help him find the right dress and be the prettiest "girl" possible. Make of that what you will.
• Cloud and Barret:
  • Barret can take Cloud on a date. There is an Achievement for this, called "Best Bromance".
  • The Barret date is mostly achieved by being horrible to the girls, though Cloud also does get the opportunity to flirt with him on several occasions. Some of which, like teasing Barret for being worried about him, the player doesn't even get a say into.
  • You can even have Cloud tell another character that he's in love with Barret, although as part of a scheme to fish information out of them. (It makes his date more likely to happen.)
  • Barret is, in general, weirdly fixated on Cloud and Cloud's opinion of him despite the fact that he claims to find Cloud annoying. As soon as Cloud heads off to save Aerith, giving the faintest indication that he's not a bad person, Barret, who is otherwise a highly judgemental person, takes this as a redemption and apologises for the way he'd been treating him, only for Cloud to shoot the apology down. (If you happen to be on the stairs when they have this exchange, Tifa will even start giggling at Barret's crushed reaction, and Cloud gets defensive, as if to imply she's Shipper on Deck for the two of them.) Even when talking to Red XIII in his prison cell, Barret can't go for a minute without bringing up how Red's personality reminds him of Cloud. When Cloud jokingly compliments Barret's appearance, Barret yells at him, then sneaks off to lock himself in a bathroom with a mirror and check himself out for what's implied to be hours. When Cloud betrays the party, he's easily as heartbroken as Tifa, swinging between grief, self-comparison, and fits of rage at the suggestion that Cloud still matters at all... and when Cid suggests the party go after the Huge Materia, Barret consents only so he can 'see the look on Cloud's face' when Barret shows the Materia to him. Aww.
• Cloud and Zack:
  • Zack was one of the most formative people on Cloud, as his first true friend and the person he believed himself weak in comparison to. Zack protected Cloud at great risk to himself, when Cloud was so sick that even a team of professional killers told to wipe him out just left him for dead, and ended up dying for him. The trauma from this is a factor in why Cloud then uses Zack's memories as his own to become a functional person, not even changing his uniform or fighting techniques (which are modelled on Zack's) after finding out the truth about himself.
  • After getting Cloud out of his clothes, Zack dresses him up in a SOLDIER uniform and tells him it looks good on him.

Compilation of Final Fantasy VII

• Cloud and Sephiroth:
  • Sephiroth maintained his selfhood in the Lifestream by focusing on his feelings towards Cloud, the person who killed him, resulting in his return to life as a deeply homoerotic bad guy who now tells Cloud things like "On your knees" and making rainbows by hitting their swords together.
  • Cloud tells Sephiroth "there's not a thing I don't cherish", meaning not just the world, but Sephiroth as well. Upon killing Sephiroth, his body melts into his vessel, Kadaj, who Cloud cradles in a Pietà Plagiarism to emphasise his tragic feelings towards Sephiroth.
  • Sephiroth tells Cloud that he will never go away as long as Cloud is still alive, implying a death for Cloud later to prevent this happening. However, Cloud being healed of his disease at the end of the movie doesn't appear to make him upset about Sephiroth's potential to return, instead just being grateful for more life with the people he loves, which apparently includes Sephiroth.
• Cloud and Zack:
  • Cloud is a secondary Love Interest in Crisis Core, with Zack's quest to save him having a heavy romantic tone through music and dialogue. Like in the original story, Zack carries Cloud across the whole of the Planet with him, defending him from enemies in quiet and moody sniping missions. He has a moment of wavering on if he can even support a seriously ill Cloud, and how much doing it would spoil his plans, but does not ever waver in the value of saving him anyway. Zack dies in a heroic Last Stand where, unlike in the original game, he hugs Cloud to his bloodied chest and tells him that he is proof of his existence, and to 'be my living legacy', setting up the events of the original story (while a bittersweet jangle-pop song plays).
  • The Forgotten Theme Tune Lyrics for "The Price of Freedom" are about Cloud's feelings for Zack (sung by a girl singer), but with an explicitly romantic tone, mentioning Zack's "gentle eyes of beauty" and "you gave me half of your precious soul".
  • When Cloud and Zack first meet, they banter a little over the stupid name of Zack's hometown, over a bed of fluffy bouncy string quartet music, before Cloud gets a dramatic scene of Shaking His Hair Loose while Zack gazes at his face in adoration.
  • Cloud writes Zack several soppy emails, one saying that it was only Zack's words that inspire him, and another asking him to come home and meet his mother, and taste her cooking, because he'll only feel strong enough to face her (and own up to his failures) if Zack is with him.
• Cloud and Barret:
  • In Advent Children, Cloud is helping raise Barret's daughter, and Barret is wearing a copy of Cloud's ring. Cloud and Barret get a little scene together when fighting Bahamut, with Cloud literally pulling Barret out of danger and the two sharing a look. When Cloud is fighting Sephiroth on his own, Barret is the most eager to jump in the fray with him, and only agrees to wait a few minutes before helping.
  • In On The Way To A Smile: Case of Tifa, Cloud, Barret and Tifa are all living together (with Barret's adopted child) and building a pub. Cloud won't say he loves Tifa but apparently knows all about Barret's plan to leave, while it comes as a shock to Tifa.
• Reno and Rude in the bridge scene in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children has them talking about a bomb, admiring the size, telling each other 'you love it', and so on.
• Dirge of Cerberus, the Final Fantasy VII spin-off, has strooooong Weiss… and his brother Nero, whose relationship with Weiss is hard to read as anything but incest. Strong, strong incest.
  Nero: Let us become one. Let us come together, so that none may ever tear us apart. [Nero hugs him]
  Weiss: Yes. Let us… Let us go join him.
  Nero: Weiss…
  Weiss: Nero…
• In Crisis Core, Genesis and Sephiroth have a rather chaotic friendship, where Genesis joined SOLDIER to make Sephiroth drink his apple juice (no double-entendres there). Genesis's defection throws Sephiroth into turmoil, and Genesis also coaxes Sephiroth off the deep end by tempting him with an apple.
• Genesis's feelings towards Zack in Crisis Core also spill out into the homoerotic in weird, fetishistic ways, with Genesis doing creepy things to him like tearing out a bundle of Zack's hair and eating it, and Zack reciprocating by holding a surreal picnic with the unconscious bodies of Genesis and Cloud where he feeds them both apples.

Final Fantasy VII Remake

• Cloud's dressing as a girl is ramped up in the remake.
  • Cloud does a sexy dance performance with a gorgeous male dancer named Andrea, who flirts with him for the entire scene. The choreography is designed to give the impression of a rising romantic relationship between them as Cloud starts out flubbing his cues and finishes in perfect sync with Andrea, telling him after the performance, "I'm in love." Aerith claps appreciatively for most of the performance, but when Cloud appears in full drag, she’s utterly floored, and actually gasps out loud! She gushes over how pretty he is and even checks out his rack.
• Cloud and Sephiroth:
  • Sephiroth tells Cloud that Cloud killing him was 'the highlight of our time together', mounting his body outside Cloud's bedroom, act really interested in Cloud becoming strong, and touching his bare skin, a lot.
  • Before their duel at the edge of creation, Cloud is having another of his episodes when Sephiroth grabs his hand and gently pulls him up. Then Sephiroth asks Cloud to defy destiny with him and when Cloud rejects his offer, Sephiroth actually looks hurt at the rejection. Finally, when he disarms Cloud, despite Cloud being very easy to kill at that point, he instead has his face near him and delivers a cryptic message before he disappears.
• Cloud and Barret:
  • Barret teasingly suggests that he'll be fine 'with SOLDIER-boy with me', and makes a conscious decision to emulate Cloud's cool-headedness to keep himself from freaking out. In Tifa's Resolution Scene, according to Word of God, Cloud's attempt to hug Tifa is him trying to copy what Barret did with her in an earlier scene, showing he's taking cues from him, too. Barret and Cloud call each other "SOLDIER-boy" and "big man" and, once they make friends, Cloud starts complimenting Barret on his fighting, giving Barret the opportunity to act aloof, which makes Cloud audibly annoyed. During the staircase scene, Barret's highly concerned Cloud is there to watch over him, and asks him to slow down and wait for him. At the end of Barret's Chapter 14 Resolution Scene, Barret reaches out tenderly to take Cloud's shoulder, grinning at him.
  • When Barret's fighting the Shinra employee on the train the second time, he's asked if he has a problem and flies off into a rage before Cloud puts his hand on Barret's arm, says "he doesn't", and moves him away. The expression of the bystanders suggests they're mistaking them for a couple.
• Aerith and Tifa's relationship is amped up compared to the original, to the extent it's hard to even remember they're supposed to be in a love triangle with Cloud.
  • Tifa and Aerith promise in the sewers to go on "a date" together (with Cloud tagging along as their "pack chocobo"). Cloud spends the section being left out of the girls' while acting like a third wheel and trying not to sulk obviously about it.
  • Tifa ends up rescuing Aerith a few times throughout the game both physically and emotionally, being the first person to rush in to protect Aerith when reliving her childhood fears in the Psychological Torment Zone. Aerith made sure to protect Tifa from her fear of ghosts.
  • All of the times that they both hold their hands and gaze into each other's eyes, and giving each other hi-fives (contrasted with Aerith's difficulty giving Cloud a hi-five).
  • There's also the novel released in Japan called Final Fantasy VII Remake: Trace of Two Pasts where Aerith and Tifa tell each other about their lives. The fact that the cover looks like a romantic film isn't helping things.
• Cloud and Johnny's 'boy's night out' involves some rather homoerotic bro-code behaviour, like Johnny taking Cloud to rent a room with him in a seedy hotel (the Barker even assumes Johnny and Cloud are a couple). He then tells Cloud to 'whip it out', to which Cloud irritatedly insists he's 'done this before'. The achievement for doing all of the Johnny storyline is called "The Johnny Experience" (as in 'the girlfriend experience').
• While up for interpretation due to being a Mind Screw (with a Mind Screwdriver planned for later instalments), the ending of the game appears to show Cloud changing the timeline to save Zack's life.
• In the original, Cloud challenges Rufus to combat and Rufus responds by saying "we won't become friends, then". In Remake, Rufus turns on the Gay Bravado, checking out Cloud, saying the fight "just the two of us" (apart from his scary dog, anyway), telling Cloud "I own you", and having "naughty, naughty!" as a battle line. Cloud's smirky and playful body language gives the sense that he's into it, acting far more sexual and turned on by Rufus's attraction than he does with any other character in the game, including the girls he's supposed to be into.

Loose Canon, Cameos etc

• Sephiroth's storyline in Mobius Final Fantasy is full of it. When Echo teases Wol about Cloud having something about him, Wol points out that Cloud "only has eyes for Sephiroth". Cloud, by his own admission, can't remember Tifa, but knows a lot about how he felt to see Sephiroth's sword the first time, and how cool Seph was to work for. When Sephiroth appears in Mako City Midgar, he tells Cloud that there is a voice inside Cloud trying to drive him to be with Sephiroth - "calling to its kind", in a way that makes it sound like he's trying to make Cloud realise he's attracted to men. There is also multiple I Have You Now, My Pretty moments, one after stabbing him and one after capturing him at the end, where he cups Cloud's face suggestively and cuddles up to its side to whisper in his ear (which is so popular with Sefikura shippers that it's nicknamed "the Mobius Pose" and used in various fanart).

Final Fantasy VIII

• There is a ton of Ho Yay between Squall and Seifer.
  • Although to be fair, it's almost exclusively from Seifer's end, as Squall denies any sort of human relationship for most of the game, and only stops being a Chaste/Celibate Hero after his Love Epiphany in Disc 3. Seifer, on the other hand, at one point in the games, imprisons Squall, puts him in a kinky position as he tortures him, all the while talking about his "romantic dream". Yeeeeeah....
• After Squall rescues Zell at the beginning of disk 2, he clings to him. The other character who did this was Rinoa, Squall's love interest.
  • Arguably, Zell clinging to Squall in gratitude after Squall rescues him at the D-District prison.
• Also, Kiros with Laguna. There's even one instance when he said that his life lacks excitement without him.

Final Fantasy X and X-2

Final Fantasy X:

• Lulu sure likes to pet Yuna's head a lot...
• Rikku's just as bad. At least Lulu doesn't call Yuna, "Yunie"...
• And though they're more minor characters, Elma pretty much wants Lucil.
• It's partly the result of a bad translation but this has quite a few weird Ho Yay moments, like Tidus narrating "I feel happy that Walter (Wakka) wants to arouse me," after meeting and befriending him.
• And there's Rikku saying to Tidus, "Just a feeling, but I think my dad kind of likes you..."
• Also, Auron and Kinoc were at the very least Heterosexual Life-Partners before Braska's pilgrimage. Kinoc's death at the hands of Seymour and facing his own killer, Yunalesca are the only times in the game Auron shows emotion. And that hug at Mushroom Rock.
• The relationships between Auron, Jecht, and Braska went into this territory for at least some of the fanbase. They show a great deal of loyalty and caring towards one another, especially at the end of Braska's pilgrimage. Auron's increasing desperation as they near their goal, knowing Braska will die; Jecht's willingness to sacrifice himself for their sakes; Auron's breakdown after their deaths... The only reason Auron stays on in the world is his promise to Jecht to watch over Tidus, and he spends ten years in an alien, foreign land just for that purpose (though you could probably say this is out of loyalty toward Tidus, too... they did spend ten years together). He had actually planned to stay in Zanarkand indefinitely, only deciding to bring Tidus to Spira at the last minute, when Sin shows up in Zanarkand at the beginning of the game.

Final Fantasy X-2 is probably the most notorious game in the series for this. The list includes:

• Yuna giving Le Blanc a massage that results in orgasm sounds if she does it right.
• The Hot Spring scene where Rikku comes very close to deliberately touching Yuna's breast and remarks "I know who's got it going on". And she then proceeds to check out Paine.
• Buddy getting a shirtless massage from Barkeep in previously mentioned spring.

Final Fantasy XI

• The game has a quest where a trio of Hume NPCs is accidentally splashed with a love potion. Ho Yay ensues. The potion's effects wear off just as they are about to confess their feelings, leading to a Mithran onlooker to remark with the following:
  Kubhe Ijyuhla: I guess it wore off at just the rrright time, though. I don't even want to think of what might have happened if it hadn't! Okay, maybe I'll think about it a little... Heh heh heh...
  • The quest is aptly named "Three Men and a Closet".

Final Fantasy XII

• Standard XII got in on this a bit, too. For example, one NPC is labelled as "Lovestruck Man". The first thing he ever says is about Vayne Solidor. It's not until significantly later that you learn his title is because he's crushing on a Viera bunny girl.
• In Nalbina, Vaan comes across a seeq named Jovy, who idolizes Vaan’s late brother, Reks as his “hero” and upon learning of Reks’ death, Joby runs around the town and collapses in tears. Later on after doing many side quests for him, Jovy proceeds to call Vaan his new hero.

Final Fantasy XIII

• Square-Enix has certainly upped their Les Yay levels in Final Fantasy XIII. Vanille and Fang care very deeply for other and they also probably have the biggest amount of lovey-dovey physical contact in the entire game. Not only does Fang like petting Vanille's head a lot more than Lulu liked petting Yuna's head, they're also the characters that hug more and more passionately through the game. Every time they talk about each other, the nature of their relationship seems pretty obvious as well. And don't get me started on the ending, where they "die" holding hands while romantic music plays in the background!
  • They're not really dead, they just became crystals for all of eternity. Then again, that only makes it even more romantic. [1]◊ I mean, just look at them.
    • Fang goes as far as to tell Vanille in Episode i that she doesn't mind spending eternity as crystals as long as they're together.
  • Heck, when they finally meet each other, the game plays a romantic song and they start walking in slow motion to each other, the whole scene just screams "Oh my god they are going to kiss!" but then a random monster appears and you have to fight it...
  • Vanille puts her hand on Fang's breast when they hug at one point!
    • And then Fang kneels down and lifts up Vanille's skirt like she's completely within her rights to do so whenever she wants. Compare to Lightning who was asked to show her brand, instead of Fang just trying to unzip Lightning's blouse herself. Though Fang was not the least bit shy about seeing another woman's breasts in any case.
  • Fang and Vanille's dialogue with one another, at times, closely parallels that of (engaged) Snow and Serah. It could very easily be argued that the game has two central love stories.
    Fang: "I'll tear down the sky if it'll save her...."
  • There are multiple ways to interpret Fang referring to Vanille as her "partner".
  • Both of their Eidolons make their first appearances when they're distraught over the idea of the other one suffering.
    • And speaking of Eidolons, the Shiva sisters' transformation sequence is very, uh, suggestive. They wind their legs around each other quite gracefully, locking each other into place while Snow "rides" them. Heh.
  • Then in Final Fantasy XIII: Reminiscence -tracer of memories-, it is revealed that after the ending of Lightning Returns, Fang and Vanille move to an arid region near a remote village in an area full of cattle ranches and rocky wilderness to live out their days together. Or, in other words, Australia (they already have the accents after all).
  • Let's put it this way; if the developers had gone with their original plan of making Fang a male character, and nothing else about the final product were different, the Fan Dumb would be complaining about how cliché Fang and Vanille's relationship is compared to previous Official Couples.
  • The spin-off crossover game Final Fantasy Record Keeper had an event dedicated to Vanille and Fang that was titled "Of Lies and Love". The untranslated title even uses "愛".
• Final Fantasy XIII-2: It's stated that Etro loves Lightning, and Lightning's devotion in turn is similarly powerful.

Final Fantasy XIV

• Final Fantasy XIV has Haurchefant and the Warrior of Light. Haurchefant makes advances and is implied to have strong romantic feelings for the Warrior, no matter what their gender is, while the later is noted to be very close to the former. Their interactions are also part of the rare ones where the Warrior of Light shows emotions openly. Their reaction when Haurchefant dies sacrificing himself to save them, and subsequent depression which is STILL there and going strong in subsequent updates, heavily hint they might have reciprocated his feelings. It's not helped by the fact that the Warrior of Light is basically treated as a son(or daughter)-in-law by Haurchefant's father after his son's death. It's also lampshaded by several characters. Everyone Can See It indeed.
  • There's also Estinien and Aymeric.
  • Speaking of Aymeric, he is stated to have something for the Warrior of Light.
  • Hien continues the line with the romantic subtext he shares with the Warrior of Light (no matter what their gender is) in a similar manner than Haurchefant.
  • Minfilia, Lyse, and Alisaie are all implied to have some kind of subtext going on with the Warrior of Light as well.
• Ryne and Gaia's relationship is part of the focus for the Eden raid series, showing how they get closer and closer and start to care for each other more and more. Gaia is more or less a reference to Squall in that she is standoffish and cold, only warming up due to Ryne's (or, continuing the reference, Rinoa's) persistence. At the end of the raid series, Gaia is even lost in a void, completely alone, and in a direct parallel to Squall, Ryne breaks her out of it and calls her back home. Not to mention the rainbow crystal that appears at the end of this questline.
• Speaking of Ryne, she more or less has two dads - Thancred, and to a lesser extent Urianger. The two of them start spending more and more time together during and after Shadowbringers, including long weeks where they invade enemy territory together (when Stealth Expert Thancred has proven on several other occasions he can do so by himself just fine).
• In Endwalker, we get to see Emet-Selch and Hythlodaeus as they were prior to the Ancients' Final Days and when the latter was alive. From the very beginning they act Like an Old Married Couple. When Hythlodaeus isn't trying to make Emet-Selch see the bright side of something, he's unabashedly trolling the guy, while Emet-Selch, for all his grousing and grumbling, never actually says "no" to Hythlodaeus's various requests and even seems to genuinely enjoy his company (not that he'd ever admit it).
• Cirina and Sadu in Endwalker's main scenario develop a noticeable rapport between each other, down to Cirina straight up ignoring poor Magnai in favor of hugging Sadu as they celebrate their victory in Garlemald. Sadu also notes that she's been getting linkpearls from several adoring female fighters, much to her confusion.

Final Fantasy XV

• Strap on your Shipping Goggles! The game even seems to poke fun at the Ho Yay potential itself, such as with this bit of banter:
  Prompto: [sigh] "This place is so romantic."
  Gladio: "And you get to spend it with us."
  Noctis: "All three of us."
  Ignis: "You are a lucky man."
• Prompto's main objects for his photographs are the other three guys. This can and does lead to many photographs of someone's backside, as well as characters getting touchy-feely or ending up in compromising poses with each other. Noctis can even request more shots of one of his friends. And now that you can take photos yourself it's possible to engineer Ho Yay moments by positioning characters together Machinima style.
• After making camp, Noctis may be invited on a 'Tour' with one of his friends, to do a small sidequest. These have been likened to dates by more than one fan.
• Given the designs of sleeping compartments, all four generally sleep piled one way or another. Especially prominent in motels and Cape Caem, where rooms only have two double-sized beds, which are shared in various combinations. Granted it's for convenience's sake but the implications are there.
• Noctis and Prompto, who have known each other since early high school. Prompto's actions and dialogue towards Noctis can almost come off as one-sided crush:
  • Prompto begins his Tours by slapping Noctis' arse. During one Tour, he takes attractive shots of Noctis by the sea. These are to give to Lunafreya, but even so, Prompto sounds veeeery appreciative as he's taking the shots.
  • During another camp (at a motel), they have a heart-to-heart conversation about Prompto's insecurities, wherein Noctis can assure him of his worth. The way the conversation is presented is very similar to a love confession.
  • The flashbacks in Brotherhood which show how Prompto first met Noctis shows us the punishing physical fitness routine that an overweight young Prompto went through, before he considered himself physically worthy to become Noctis' friend. The way it's presented plays out like someone trying to impress his crush.
  • Ardyn's teasing lines to Noctis at the end of chapter 12 and throughout chapter 13 about saving Prompto after he is knocked off of a train and captured by the former are laden with I Have Your Wife undertones.
  "Ah, ah, ah! You shouldn't take what's not yours."
  "I'm sure he'll be delighted to see you."
  "Off you go, then. I wouldn't want to keep you from your friend."
  "Poor Prompto must be feeling the heat right about now."
  "I pray you find your dear Prompto soon."
  • If Prompto is downed in combat and rescued by Noctis, this exchange occurs:
  Prompto: "So this is what it's like to be rescued by a prince."
  Noctis: "Go back to sleeping, Beauty."
  • The Stinger scene in Episode Prompto ends with his dialogue exchange.
  Noctis: "I'm gonna make this world a better place. You with me?"
  Prompto: "Uh-huh. Ever at your side."
• In Episode Duscae Prompto and Gladio can be found roughhousing inside the tent. Prompto will even run out sometimes to give him an Ass Shove.
• Noctis & Gladio also have their moments, mostly revolving around Gladio's role as Noctis' protector. This is prominent in Chapter 4, and the Deadeye hunt. He physically puts himself between Noctis and harm's way many times.
• Gladio's official description has him listed as "closer to [Noctis] than a true brother". Make of that what you will.
• We often see Ignis looking after Noctis - cooking together, or mending his shirts. Their Brotherhood episode also showed how much time Ignis has devoted to caring for Noct, to the point that it seems he's the most important person in his life. He even dedicates a lot of time to perfectly recreating a dessert Noctis enjoyed. Ignis' AI even seems to be programmed to stay close to Noctis in combat, and look out for him there too.
  • During Chapter 13.2 Ignis spends most of his time worrying about Noctis's wellbeing, berating himself over the possibility of Noctis getting hurt, and even being able to hear him from a far distance while Gladio could not even when he himself is blind and unable to defend himself as well as he can. The level of devotion he shows indicates an attachment that goes way beyond just duty.
  • In Chapter 14 after returning from his 10-year slumber inside the Crystal Noctis puts his hand on Ignis's shoulder with a wistful look, suggesting intimacy between Ignis and him.
  • During the alternative version of Episode Ignis Ignis will literally yell that he doesn't care about the world and anyone in it as long as Noctis can live, something usually said at action movies about romantic interests.
  • When Noctis reveals his true feelings in the post-credit campscene, Prompto and Ignis are the ones whose voice is audibly shaking (in japanese and in english). While Prompto has been shown to be an emotional guy, Ignis being on the brink of tears can be seen as him having to face his crush potentially dying.
• Some of Gladio's interactions towards Ignis suggest a fondness for him that's more than platonic:
  • In the game, Ignis seems to be the one character that Gladio gives his unmitigated respect to (a contrast to Noctis and Prompto, who get a lot of snarky comments and stern lectures.)
  • Gladio spends the entirety of Chapter 10 furious, and a big part of it is motivated by concern for Ignis's wellbeing and a feeling that Noctis doesn't appreciate Ignis' sacrifice. It takes Ignis putting his foot down in front of Gladio for him to back off and calm down.
• During a conversation in the car in the evening, Ignis suggests stopping for the night, and Prompto whines that he needs his "beauty sleep", to which Gladio responds:
  Gladio: Eh, you're pretty enough already.
• During Chapter 10 after Ignis is blinded, Prompto spends a lot of time fretting around him, supporting him and in general being very protective and touchy-feely with him.
• When camping out for the night with Ardyn present he will get oddly intimate with Prompto and try to grasp his chin. It's enough that it makes Prompto very uncomfortable.
• In the beginning of Episode Prompto, Ardyn gives Prompto a gun by shoving it onto his chest and having his hand linger there for a second, the camera angle can make it look like he's groping him.
• Ardyn's PA lines in chapter 13.2 towards Gladio and Ignis, he guides them throughout Zegnatious Keep with hints said out in his usual seductive voice and then calling them "good boy" when they do what he tells them.
• On the whole Ardyn can come across as a deranged Stalker with a Crush towards Noctis, particularly after Chapter 9. It doesn't help that a lot of his lines in general tend to be delivered in a very seductive tone:
  Ardyn: Oh... You’re such a tease...
  Ardyn: I feel I've earned the right to call you Noct...
  • If you ask to ride in Ardyn's car during Chapter 4 the delivery on the banter sounds uncharacteristically flirty:
  Noctis: What if I ride with you?
  Ardyn: You might find the cab fare to be more than you bargained for.
  • The one-sided Ho Yay reaches alarming levels in the final battle, particularly the bit where Ardyn is mocking and lying on top of Noctis as he grunts in pain. It's even worse (or better) if you have the Mariachi costume on since the sombrero gets in the way of camera and makes it sound like something obscene really is happening.
  Ardyn: Ohhh, Noct... How long I have waited for this... Longer than you could ever know...
• In the Assassin's Festival, two men talk about Prompto like they both got a crush on him.
  Man A: Hey. Did you see that stylish blonde walking around town?
  Man B: Did I? He's cute and has a nice camera!
  Man A: I know—-I'm so jealous. I wanted to ask where he got it, but just can't work up the nerve to talk to him.
• During the boat ride to Altissia Prompto asks if the reason Ignis doesn't want to bump into Ardyn again is because he's not his type. The way the lines are delivered suggests they don't consider Incompatible Orientation part of Ignis's problem with him.
  Prompto: Reckon we'll see him again?
  Ignis: Certainly hope not.
  Prompto: Not your type?
  Gladiolus: No love lost for phonies.
  Ignis: As Gladio said, his actions are motivated not by altruism but by self-interest.
• When you approach Noctis in Monster of the Deep sometimes he'll ask if you were looking at his "tackle" in a suggestive and flirty tone of voice, regardless of your avatar character's gender.
• In Chapter 14 you can find out that Prompto spent much of the last ten years pursuing Cindy while Gladio has a fiance. Meanwhile no mention is ever given of Ignis having found a Love Interest whatsoever. Meanwhile in the Comrades DLC Cid mentions that Ignis relocated to Galdin Quay^note the location closest to Angelgard, where Noctis remains for 10 years and took up fishing^note Noctis's favorite pastime. Of the three friends Ignis is also the most hopeful and steadfast that Noctis will eventually return to them. Taken together it comes off like Ignis's single status is due to being hung up over Noctis. Of course it could also be the fact that Ignis is depressed from his knowledge of the prophecy and sacrifice Noctis needs to carry out, but that just makes the undertones even stronger.
• Episode Ignis piles on the implications to the point of coming just short of outright stating that Ignis is in love with Noctis, and may have been since childhood. At the very least, it's made clear that, combined with all of his actions elsewhere, his feelings towards Noctis extend far beyond that of mere duty or friendship.
  • Much of the main storyline is of the normally much more composed Ignis making a mad dash throughout Altissia in order to find and protect Noctis. Both Ravus and Gladio have to call him out on how reckless he's being while trying to rescue Noctis. All of his actions and his thoughts throughout Episode Ignis seem to be fixated on one thing only: Noctis's wellbeing. Anything else is regarded as an inconsequential afterthought.
  • After Ardyn makes a play at trying to kill or injure an unconscious Noctis (something he never intended to actually go through with, not that Ignis could've known that), Ignis leaps at the chance to put on the Ring of the Lucii to fight him off, costing his vision in the process, and quietly begs for Noctis's forgiveness. In the main game he tells Noctis a different story of how it happened, although his and Gladio's behavior there suggest (and the DLC later confirms) that Ignis lied to Noctis, likely because he knew Noctis would feel guilty over it and the last thing Ignis wants to do is to upset him any further than he already is.
  • After Noctis recovers Ignis tries to persuade him to call off his journey so he doesn't have to sacrifice himself, even though Ignis knows full well at this point that the world is about to head towards the apocalypse, and that that Noctis's death is the only thing that can dispel it.
  • During their private heart-to-heart after the campfire scene in the regular storyline, Ignis insists on personally following Noctis to the very end, until Noctis has to cut him off by telling him he's already done so much for him and will be with him in spirit. The heavy implication here (which has since been confirmed by Word of God) is that Ignis considers dying by Noctis's side preferable to living without him. Something Noctis himself apparently recognized, and had to talk Ignis down from.
  • Quite a few of the scenes are framed in a light that would not be out of place in a canon romance. For example, the recurring theme of handholding, in particular a lingering shot of Ignis's hand inches away from Noctis's. Or the choice of soft melancholic ballads playing over many scenes. The sad, even romantic piano piece that plays over Ignis's wistful thoughts of emotional moments with Noctis as he declares his disregard for the rest of the world and himself when it comes to Noctis, then puts on the ring in the alternate Extra Verse is a strong standout.
  • Ignis confesses in the Extra Verse route that he doesn't care about the world or what Ardyn plans to do with it, and would rather leave everyone else to just die if it means Noctis has to sacrifice himself for them. He then proceeds to put on the ring and offer up his own life without hesitation for the prospect of sparing Noctis from the tragic destiny Ardyn plans for him to fulfill.
  • If you fail to defeat Ardyn within the allotted time or choose to give up in the Extra Verse, Ardyn taunts a dying Ignis by telling him that his "beloved Noctis" will be with him in his last moments. Sure enough, Ignis's last words are all about not wanting to die without Noctis.
  • In general, if you get KO'd while playing as Ignis his last words will often be him crying out Noctis's name in a desperate tone.
  • The sheer fact that Ignis dedicates a whole 10 years to trying to save Noctis from having to sacrifice himself, and in the Extra Verse, succeeding - something Noctis's actual Love Interest and loving father could not or would not do - speaks volumes about how Ignis might feel about Noctis. And that's not before getting into the various Epileptic Trees about the implications of the alternate ending and how Ignis's actions may have led the world to eventual doom all because he couldn't let go of Noctis.
  • The last shot of the alternate ending is Noctis sitting on his throne, with Ignis alone smiling up at him in soft admiration before silently addressing him as "your majesty". Since it's already been established beforehand he cares far less about Noctis the king than Noctis the person, Ignis's deference comes off as motivated by something else entirely.
  • Composer Yasunori Mitsuda said of the main theme for Episode Ignis that it was meant to convey "the quiet feelings Ignis hides away in the bottom of this heart". He didn't elaborate on exactly what those feelings are, but it's definitely a very suggestive choice of phrasing. Especially considering the main focus of Episode Ignis is on the intensity of Ignis's devotion to Noctis and the Acts Of True Love he performs for Noctis's sake.
  • On a meta level, Ignis's extreme degree of personal devotion to Noctis and willingness to do anything to protect him, to the point he would defy the world and its gods, makes him most like Tidus, Squall Leonhart, Caius Ballad, Snow Villiers, and Oerba Yun Fang; of whom three are motivated by official Love Interests, one definitely had some sort of romantic tension with his loved one, and the last... well, Fang is also on this page for good reason.
• Because it's not fair for Ignis to monopolize all the Ho Yay in Episode Ignis, again Prompto is shown getting particularly handsy around Ignis, and holding an Unbroken Vigil over him as he recovers during the aftermath of Altissia.
• Gladio is audibly distressed when he comes across injured Ignis in the Extra Verse storyline. It's far more emotion than he's ever expressed at any point in the story, more than the death of his own father.
• While it's not quite as overbearing as it is coming from the opposite direction, Episode Ignis also provides a decent amount of fodder for the idea that Noctis might reciprocate Ignis's feelings in a romantic way. There's a reason the alternate ending is jokingly referred to as the game's Gay Option.
  • During the normal ending of Episode Ignis Noctis tells Ignis that he will always have him in his heart and repeats the same hand-holding gesture of their childhood as a show of how much he values him. In the Japanese version he thanks him in a manner quite similar to Yuna's famously Woolseyfied love confession to Tidus.
  • In the Extra Verse, when Noctis finds Ignis he declares, "If I'm really some kind of savior... then why can't I save the ones I love?" While it's not necessarily that kind of love confession, it is an admission of loving Ignis, and more implicitly groups Ignis in the same category as Luna, a character Noctis explicitly showed romantic interest for.
  • In light of the visual parallels to the original ending, it coming on the wake of several scenes of Noctis stressing how important Ignis is to him, and the fact that Luna remains dead in this timeline with no indication of Noctis still mourning her, the alternate ending can be taken as a Maybe Ever After for Noctis with Ignis. While Ignis is supposed to be whispering "Your Majesty", many players ended up thinking he mouthed "I love you" instead.
• The official Twitter for XV had a little bit of fun with Valentine's Day 2018 by pairing up Gladio with Cor, to both their chagrins. One for Ignis too, which could be taken as implying both Ignis/Ravus and Ignis/Noctis.
• One of the dialogues added to the Insomnia portion in a later update has Noctis asking Ignis in Insomnia to hold a strategy meeting alone with him in private, to which he responds with a low chuckle and "If it pleases Your Highness." Keep in mind this conversation only triggers at the rest stop, which happens to be a room filled with beds.
• One of the technicians on the (all-female) staff at the Exineris power plant casually mentions she has an upcoming dinner date with Cindy.
• While it's a non-canon spinoff, Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia has Ignis appear as a 22-year old but retaining the memories of all his actions in the main game including Episode Ignis and the main ending. When he meets Noctis, who only has his memories as a 20-year old, he deliberately avoids telling Noctis the truth of his destiny to protect his feelings. Later when Ignis discusses the nature of loyalty as a motivation with several other characters, he hesitates to consider loyalty an accurate description of his devotion as an advisor, but once General Leo and Steiner bring up love as a motive, Ignis points out that if anyone else was in the position of king he wouldn't have done the same for them. This conversation is called "Love's Reach", so make of that what you will.

Spin-offs

Final Fantasy Type- 0

• Kazusa has some interesting things to say about Kurasame:
  Kazusa: My ears heard his voice, and my hands touched him. My body, it remembers him.
• In the first light novel there's an entire chapter dedicated to Ace and Izana, in which the latter describes the former as having a "pretty face that could be mistaken for a girl's".

Final Fantasy Tactics

• Ramza and Delita have quite a bit of Ho Yay between them, including a fixation on each other. It's understandable as they were once friends.
• Agrias shows several signs of being a Bodyguard Crush towards Ovelia, valuing her love of the princess just as highly as she does the lives of all in Ivalice. Judging by the enthusiasm Ovelia shows at the thought of having her beloved knight back, it's not hard to see that the feeling is mutual.

Dissidia Final Fantasy

• It's what happens when you have an 4:1 male-to-female ratio in a cast in a franchise famous for Ho Yay.
  • Cloud, Cecil, Firion, and Tidus spend a lot of time traveling together sharing their dreams, fighting alongside each other, confiding in each other, etc.
    • There is also another group which is Squall, Bartz, and Zidane. Like the example above, they travel together, fighting alongside each other, confiding in each other, etc.
  • What is the first memory of home Cecil recalls? Kain. Not his wife that adventured alongside him to save the world, Cecil remembers Kain, his childhood friend. It doesn't help that the game is implicit that the more important a memory is to a warrior, the sooner it returns — at no point during either of the cycles does Cecil mention being married, so as far as can be told he never remembers Rosa. But he sure remembers Kain...
  • Layle and Keiss' Insistent Terminology in Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia that they aren't friends, but partners. That Keiss rejects Materia until he hears Layle is in her world and Layle unhesitatingly shows the full extent of his powers to the Emperor in order to protect Keiss makes it clear they have a deep and powerful bond. Then there's the fact that Keiss' new powers aren't related to Selkies at all, but rather mirror Layle's as a symbol of their bond to one another.

Vagrant Story

• Vagrant Story (which takes place in the FFXII/FFT universe) might as well have been called "Ho Yay: The Game". For starters, the main character spends 40 hours walking around in assless chaps.

Mobius Final Fantasy

• Wol and Cloud are very alike, to the extent that they finish each other's sentences, and both seem immediately attracted to each other, with a Back-to-Back Badasses moment very early on, and Wol constantly worrying about him. Echo teases Wol about his crush on Cloud, and suggests Wol ask him to be his bodyguard - "he'd say yes on the first date!" Wol isn't keen, because he knows he'll be playing second place to Sephiroth.

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin

• Some of Astos' behaviors towards Jack dip into this. Much moreso when Jack regains his memories and realizes they were friends through all his previous adventures, and the only friend Astos ever had and his only hope to derail the Lufenians' plans. Take this excerpt from one of the Fool's Missives (written by Astos):
  "Heart is what defines my Jack, and I will put my faith in that."