Fire Emblem Awakening has a large amount of content dealing with possible queerness with its characters and their interactions with one another. This content often revolves around humor, but sometimes doesn’t. The following is a list of this content and if and why we have classified this content a certain way:

• Excellus is an enemy character who uses female pronouns and styles of speaking in the Japanese version of the game. This was changed in localization, but with other characters like Kyza and Leon having similar changes, this leads us to classify Excellus as Gay Implicit and Transgender Woman Implicit. It is also worth noting that Aversa says that Excellus is a eunuch, which could be a transphobic joke implying Excellus is a trans woman.

• Libra is a playable male character who is often mistaken for a woman. This is played up for humor at times, such as with his support with Virion where Virion seems to struggle with confusing attraction towards Libra (found here). Also, in Libra’s generic ending, he is courted by women and men alike. In a few other endings, Libra is loved by his children like a mother, or even called “Mother” in his ending with Sully. Because of this, we have classified him as Gender Nonconforming with Explicit Mentions of queerness related to the gender of his suitors. We have also classified Virion as Bisexual Implicit because of his possible attraction to Libra.

• Lissa and Maribelle are two playable female characters who have a deep bond. Lissa individually has been read to be a bit flirty with other girls like with Olivia (found here) and Sumia (found here), as can we found in the comments of the YouTube videos. Maribelle also seems to obsess over Lissa and have possible feelings for her as well (found here). Because of this and them being able to romance men, we have classified them as Bisexual Implicit.

• Kjelle and Severa are two playable female characters. In the base game’s supports for the two (found here), Severa teaches Kjelle how to be more feminine, with Kjelle asking if Severa has the hots for her, to which Severa responds, “Ha! You couldn’t handle me for an hour!” Kjelle also comments on Severa’s fingers being long and pretty later on in the support chain. In the Harvest Scramble DLC, there is a suggestive conversation between the two after Kjelle drinks from a bottle left by a bandit, said to be “hundred proof”. Kjelle hits on Severa and says that she’s tired of “all these weak boys”. Severa notices that the bottle actually says “truth” on it, alluding to it being a truth serum instead of alcohol. Either way, it depicts Kjelle expressing interest in Severa and girls explicitly. This however was changed in localization, with the Japanese text saying “aphrodisiac” instead of hundred proof and “secret medicine” instead of “truth”. In essence, both versions show Kjelle expressing these “secret” feelings. Because of this and them both being able to romance men, we have classified Kjelle as Bisexual Explicit. Although Severa jokes back with Kjelle about having the hots for her, she also rejects Kjelle’s advances, so we did not classify her as anything specifically.

• Inigo and Gerome are two playable characters. In their base supports (found here), Gerome is “manhandled” by a woman, to which Inigo says that he wants to be manhandled. Fans made jokes of this, saying that this came off a bit queer (as can be seen in the comments of the YouTube video). In the Harvest Scramble DLC, Gerome and Inigo have a conversation where it is revealed that Gerome has been secretly watching Inigo dance, with Gerome bandaging Inigo and him saying to please be gentle while “manhandling” him. This case specifically doesn’t lead us to classify either as anything, but the content includes an Explicit Mention as Inigo jokes about being gay with Gerome.

• Tharja is a playable character who has an obsession with Robin, the player character, regardless of gender. She cannot be romanced, but she is reincarnated in Fire Emblem Fates with an anagram of her name, Rhajat (or vice-versa). Even though Tharja cannot be romanced by female Robin in Awakening, Rhajat can be romanced by female Corrin in Birthright. It is also unclear whether she has attraction towards Robin or the Heart of Grima inside of them. Since she is a rare case of expressing interest in two female player characters across two games (with one ending in romance), we have classified her with an Intertextual Reference. It is also worth noting that when she appears in Fire Emblem Heroes in her Bridal alternate skin, she mentions a groom (who is most likely male Robin).

• Related to Tharja, there is also a moment in the Harvest Scramble DLC where Nowi stares at Tharja’s breasts while she sleeps and calls them “boingy bits”. While this content doesn’t specifically imply anything because of the context of Nowi not knowing the implications of it, it still has gay subtext that is used for humor.

• Also in the Harvest Scramble DLC, Frederick takes Chrom to a fountain to throw coins into so that they can become bonded forever. Chrom takes this as becoming like a couple but Frederick means this in a lord/vassal way. This also doesn’t imply anything and also has gay subtext that is used for humor.

• Sully is a playable character who is mistaken for a man at times. Like Libra, this is played up for humor. In fact, the two bond over being gender nonconforming in their supports. In the Summer Scramble DLC, Sully admires Cherche’s femininity and speaks about more women finding her attractive than men (found here). Although she has women pining for her, her admiration of Cherche’s femininity seems to stem from wanting to pull of a similar type of femininity. Because of this, we have classified her as Gender nonconforming, with an Explicit Mention of queerness related to her women suitors.

• Gregor is a playable character who speaks in third person with a Russian accent in the English localization. In his supports with Robin (found here), he tries to help Robin with their sore throat. In both male and female supports, Gregor suggests Robin sleep in the same bed as Gregor to share their body heat, and Robin has a “strange dream” with Gregor in it. Gregor takes this as Robin having a wet dream of him. In the male support, Gregor says that only men can share the same bed to help get better and that he sometimes gives other people wet dreams, but usually only women. This doesn’t necessarily suggest that Gregor has any attraction towards male Robin, but qualifies as an Explicit Mention of queerness. Also, in the Harvest Scramble DLC, Gregor dresses Ricken as a girl to pose as his girlfriend (found here), telling him that in the dress, he makes his “heart go aflutter”. However, Gregor says he’s teasing Ricken. This makes this just another Explicit Mention of queerness.

It is also worth noting that a lot of the content found here comes from DLC and not the base game. A fan points out here that all of this humor around gay subtext is indicative of the game’s approach to character writing.

LGBTQ references in this game series:

Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 (1999): Marty and Dagdar

Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade (2003): Bramimond; Florina and Lyndis; Legault; Lucius and Raven

Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones (2004): Ephraim and Lyon; Joshua and Gerik

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (2005): Ike and Soren; Jill and Mist; Reyson and Tibarn; Sigrun and Tanith

Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (2007): Elincia and Lucia; Heather; Jill and Mist; Joke about Ike and Sothe; Kyza; Ranulf

Fire Emblem Awakening (2012): Gay Jokes and Queerness; Same-Sex Relationship Hack; The Hubba Tester

Fire Emblem Fates (2015): Forrest; Nina; Romance options; Same-Sex Relationship Hack; Skinshipping; Soleil; The Hubba Tester

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia (2017): Leon; Lukas; Queer Readings

Fire Emblem Heroes (2017): Ally Support; Loki; Sharena

Fire Emblem: Three Houses (2019-2020): Byleth Pairings and Controversy; Non-Byleth Pairings

See also QRM’s entry for this game series

Citations:

1. AbdallahSmash026. (2013, May 19). Fire Emblem: Awakening – Part 90: Harvest Scramble ALL Male Conversations [$3.00 DLC]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQeEYXQqCJY&feature=youtu.be&t=963
2. AbdallahSmash026. (2013, May 20). Fire Emblem: Awakening – Part 91: Harvest Scramble ALL Female Conversations [$3.00 DLC]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRb9vqTJlEY&feature=youtu.be&t=4491
3. AuroraUnit836. (2016, February 20). Plot hole? *spoilers*. Retrieved July 24, 2020, from https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/114533-fire-emblem-fates-conquest/73327227
4. BloodyBottom. (2015, October 8). R/fireemblem – Comment by u/BloodyBottom on “I never realized how gay Awakening’s Harvest Scramble is”. Retrieved July 24, 2020, from https://www.reddit.com/r/fireemblem/comments/3o0cwl/i_never_realized_how_gay_awakenings_harvest/cvsu7y6/
5. Cynrascal. (2014, May 17). So, I took a look at the JPN Harvest Scramlbe Severa/Kjelle lines. Retrieved July 24, 2020, from https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/643003-fire-emblem-awakening/69253971
6. Justonegamr. (2013, August 17). Fire Emblem Awakening – Kjelle & Severa Harvest Scramble Conversations. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBjF7k2Z_jk
7. Justonegamr. (2013, August 5). Fire Emblem Awakening – Gregor & Ricken Harvest Scramble Conversations. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbYAp3bzVYI
8. Justonegamr. (2013, August 9). Fire Emblem Awakening – Gerome & Inigo Harvest Scramble Conversations. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzbUxGYWs6k
9. Justonegamr. (2013, February 22). Fire Emblem Awakening – Male Avatar (My Unit) & Gregor Support Conversations. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKQ9Q—t8Y
10. Justonegamr. (2013, July 19). Fire Emblem Awakening – Lissa & Maribelle Harvest Scramble Conversations. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hXyNnXgR2w
11. Justonegamr. (2013, March 16). Fire Emblem Awakening – Kjelle & Severa Support Conversations. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHntcEApte0
12. Justonegamr. (2013, March 22). Fire Emblem Awakening – Libra & Sully Support Conversations. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LR4pij6vfro
13. Justonegamr. (2013, May 22). Fire Emblem Awakening – Libra & Virion Support Conversations. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stKkU4qc3EI
14. Justonegamr. (2013, May 3). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhwT3jvmy6Q
15. Justonegamr. (2013, September 11). Fire Emblem Awakening – Lissa & Olivia Summer Scramble Conversations. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ahj5z5OjPA&list=PLn3Wm-3X3v7CdgrCLEvlWuWEqvgpkQ1lC&index=16
16. Justonegamr. (2013, September 15). Fire Emblem Awakening – Lissa & Sumia Summer Scramble Conversations. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBm71CQ1B1Y&list=PLn3Wm-3X3v7CdgrCLEvlWuWEqvgpkQ1lC&index=26
17. Justonegamr. (2013, September 29). Fire Emblem Awakening – Cherche & Sully Summer Scramble Conversations. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O86HrQJQFa0&list=PLn3Wm-3X3v7CdgrCLEvlWuWEqvgpkQ1lC&index=38
18. Various. (n.d.). Excellus. Retrieved July 27, 2020, from https://firemeblem.fandom.com/wiki/Excellus
19. Various. (n.d.). Gregor. Retrieved July 24, 2020, from https://fireemblem.fandom.com/wiki/Gregor
20. Various. (n.d.). Libra. Retrieved July 24, 2020, from https://fireemblem.fandom.com/wiki/Libra
21. Various. (n.d.). Lissa. Retrieved July 24, 2020, from https://fireemblem.fandom.com/wiki/Lissa
22. Various. (n.d.). Maribelle. Retrieved July 24, 2020, from https://fireemblem.fandom.com/wiki/Maribelle
23. Various. (n.d.). Rhajat. Retrieved July 24, 2020, from https://fireemblem.fandom.com/wiki/Rhajat
24. Various. (n.d.). Rhajat. Retrieved July 24, 2020, from https://fireemblemwiki.org/wiki/Rhajat
25. Various. (n.d.). Tharja. Retrieved July 24, 2020, from https://fireemblem.fandom.com/wiki/Tharja
26. Various. (n.d.). Tharja: Obsessive Bride/Quotes. Retrieved July 24, 2020, from https://feheroes.gamepedia.com/Tharja:_Obsessive_Bride/Quotes