Alright, I've seen this topic on GameFAQs and Gamespot, and I've seen people arguing over it like cats and dogs. I'm sure some people might have sighed or rolled their eyes just reading the title of this thread, or giggled and got a little lightheaded. Lol.

But seriously, there was a lot of controversy as to whether or not Vanille and Fang were in fact a lesbian couple in 13 (though lets avoid that topic of discussion in this post, it's old news). Now it seems I'm not the only one who played the sequel thinking... hmm... is Noel gay?

I'm gonna give you my honest opinion.

Click here to read it. Spoilers ahead. The bottom line is I don't think he was written as a character intended to be gay. That said, I think it is very possible to interpret that he is romantically interested in Caius. Yaoi (homoerotic) themes are pretty big in a lot of anime and Japanese gaming, even though Japanese culture is not entirely accepting of homosexuality. It's sort of a rising trend, and most people call it "fanservice" to mostly the female fans of these stories (and the gay ones too). I've seen plenty of Japanese animes/videogames with these themes in them and they are often very subtly planted so that those who want to see them, see them, and those who do not want to see them, don't. I think that is the case with 13-2, though I can't say for sure whether it was intentional or completely unintentional. To me, it doesn't really matter. A story is a very personal experience and people often interpret it in a way that helps them relate to it the easiest. That said, I'm going to give my take on Noel in this regard, and I don't expect anyone to agree with this or think it is canonical. I'm not trying to persuade anyway, but I have an opinion for sure and I feel it is interesting enough to discuss here and see if anyone else found themselves viewing things this way.

I personally felt like Noel was in love with Caius. There was a line where he was explaining to Serah why he was so ticked off at Snow and he said something like "I know what it feels like when someone you love just leaves you behind." At this point in the game, his story hadn't been fully brought to light yet so I wasn't sure if he was referring to Yeul or Caius. I would have to watch and find out. Clearly, it ended up being Caius who was the one who abandoned him. Now, of course the "love" he mentioned having for Caius could be a brotherly love, a friendly love, or even a sort of mentor/student or father/son kind of love, but yes, it could also be a romantic love as well.

I think there is some validity to the idea that Noel might be gay. He really bonds with Serah a lot during their journey and not once does he treat her like a girl. He never makes a pass at her, and even in the more intimate scenes where they are physically close to one another, his body language speaks volumes that he is not "interested" in Serah in that sense. In fact, I feel his body language throughout the story speaks loudest of what I perceive to be his feelings for Caius. Just pay close attention to Noel's body language when he is around Serah, Yeul, and Caius. He acts entirely different around Caius than he does around Yeul or Serah, he almost gets kind of nervous and loses his wits. He seems very frustrated and obsessive toward him. He wants in no way whatsoever to harm Caius, even though he knows it is Caius who is disrupting and attempting to destroy the timeline, and despite the fact that Noel has killed several enemies to get to him, he refuses to injure Caius (through the magic of a battle system where you can sword slap each other for half an hour and come out undamaged). Every time Caius taunts him and tries to get Noel to kill him, he refuses, even when Caius harms those closest to Noel. There is something there that will not allow Noel to harm this man and I feel it must be the "love" he mentioned having for him. I can't think of any other reason why he wouldn't at this point grant Caius's wish for death. In fact, I think their final scene together really reveals a lot about them.

I will also say that I think Caius has no romantic interest in Noel whatsoever. He simply sees Noel as an intriguing and complex person who is able to stand up to him as a rival and offer a perspective of truth that Caius himself does not want to admit to himself. Caius respects Noel for this. I feel he cares for Noel rather deeply, though he refuses to show it, and despite the queeny costume, I don't think Caius shows any tendency toward being romantically interested in another dude. In fact, after all he's been through I think romantic feelings are the last thing on his agenda and the last thing he is likely to feel.

In the discussions I saw elsewhere, people were saying that Noel and Caius's mutual obsession with Yeul is evidence that Noel is in fact in love with Yeul. I'd argue against that, because once again, I feel body language and Noel's attitude towards Yeul reveal a more "big brother" type of attitude towards her. She is, after all, four years younger than him and while it's not a huge enough age gap to say it's impossible for him to have feelings for her, I just don't see any real signals of that in the game. He does love Yeul deeply, but it does not seem in a romantic way. During the ending scene, despite Caius trying to destroy Yeul (and all of history) to save her from the Eyes of Etro, Noel will not kill Caius. Caius wants to eliminate Yeul and everyone else from existence and Noel keeps Caius alive still. Why the devil would he allow that risk to continue unless he has very deep feelings that he has some hope of being reciprocated someday, somehow? I think he has more feelings invested in Caius than he does in Yeul. In fact, he even tells Caius that the reason Yeul kept reincarnating is that she wanted to be with Caius. He is aware that Yeul has a very deep attachment to Caius, and it almost seems cathartic for him to say so. "Caius, the reason Yeul kept coming back is that she wanted to be with you." He won't say it, but he has the same reason for not killing Caius, he wants Caius in his life. He's attached, and cares for him deeply. He's trying to get Caius to realize that both him and Yeul care for him deeply, though for some reason he is afraid to bring up his own feelings in the matter (fear of rejection and further abandonment?).

Anyway... I'll be honest and say that I've wanted there to be a gay male protagonist in a FF game for a long time, so if anyone is going to read into something that may not have been intended to be a gay plot theme and think maybe it is one, it's me. Still, the fact that I saw other people drawing the same conclusions and asking the same questions made me wonder if this is more than wishful thinking, but perhaps a more common interpretation than I would have guessed.

So there's my take on Noel and his interests. Love me or hate me for starting this very fan-girlish drama prone thread. I hope it doesn't inspire drama, cause I can see people having very strong opinions of this and that is not what I intended to invoke here, but regardless of what your opinions are, just keep in mind that they are in fact just opinions, and let's try to be civil in our responses. The walks in life that I have been on led me to a very specific understanding of Noel's internalized thoughts and feelings, and I know that will be a very different experience for others.

Your thoughts on the matter?