Your take on Leon’s marriage event (spoilers!)

Covering Innocent Life (PsP/Ps2), Rune Factory 1 (DS), Rune Factory 2 (DS), Rune Factory 3 (DS/Switch), Rune Factory Frontier (Wii), Rune Factory Tides of Destiny (Wii/Ps3), Rune Factory 4 (3DS/Switch/Steam), and Rune Factory 5 (Switch/Steam).
RodCopper Fishin
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Hey friends! I married Leon in RF4, and I have to say, his marriage event took me by surprise a bit. For those who have seen it, or those who want to go watch it on YouTube quickly and weigh in, what are your thoughts on it? I’ll give my take in a spoiler:
Spoiler:
So, I think he never really loved Maria romantically, and she didn’t love him in that way either. They were silly kids when they made that pact. I think when Leon met Frey, he fell in love for real and was like ohhh « Cow Poopoo ». I think that if he had been left in his own time, him and Maria wouldn’t have ended up together because they weren’t really in love anyway.
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PaleSunflower
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Post  Posted:

Spoiler:
I saw his event on Youtube a while ago, so I probably have some details wrong.

Honestly, I can't really tell with Leon what's he's thinking during normal gameplay. I can't tell when he's being serious or not. He clearly cared for Maria a lot, but I can't tell whether he clung onto the promise because ...

1 - He knew Maria would hold on to the promise no matter what. He didn't want to upset her and deeply valued his connection to her, so he played along despite either not being a hurry to further their relationship or he was waiting for Maria to make the first move (which she never did).

2 - He was completely serious about marrying her someday later in their lives (before the whole thing with Venti happened), but I don't think he was ever in a rush to marry or he wanted Maria to make the first move.

3 - He's nostalgic over the Past more than anything else. He originally never intended to marry her, but, after turning into a monster and skipping hundreds of years, he now regrets not marrying her and misses her greatly. Alternatively, he took Maria's devotion and companionship for granted, and, now that she's gone, he mourns her and can't move on without help during the game.

4. He was never particularly serious about marriage or relationships in general until the event's conclusion. The promise made with Maria was primarily an excuse to stay single and avoid any long-term commitments, while still being able to court other people for some reason (he'll casually date Frey, but not marry her). He does deeply miss Maria regardless, but he was never planning to actually date her, let alone marry her. After learning that his promise to Maria negatively impacted the rest of her life (she refused to move on from him in part because of the promise), he stops fooling around and gets serious about relationships.

5. He was never going to marry her unless he had to, but he valued his and Maria's relationship so much that he wanted her to be the one to break off the promise.

6. Some combination of the above.


I think it's telling that he had some time between agreeing into becoming a monster and actually becoming a monster. Leon and Maria could have had a quick, quiet marriage if they really wanted to, but they didn't. The separation was clearly heart-wrenching for both of them, but I don't even know whether they kissed (romantically on the lips) or went on dates. I recall a weird emotional gap being between them despite the two promising to marry someday. Whatever their relationship was, it was close but not passionate or anything.
RodCopper Fishin
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Post  Posted:

I agree with you, and I like your take a lot. I think it can somehow be all of the above.
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PaleSunflower
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Post  Posted:

Spoiler:
I'm glad you liked them.

I decided to check Tv Tropes and the Rune Factory Wiki (both whose articles are made by fans) for more insight on Leon, as I still can't get a good read on him (I'm no good with trickster and flirt characters and Leon is a bit of both). I think the interpretation from Tv Tropes is worth mentioning here and can described as:

7. Leon loved Maria like a sister, but Maria wanted more from the relationship and took the promise more seriously than Leon. With Maria now dead and likely having died alone waiting for Leon for all he knows (he only learns that she moved on and started getting romantically involved with another man after she became an old lady, as she put it, at the end of the event), he regrets not taking the promise as seriously as she did. Him taking the promise seriously now is basically a form of mourning for him and mainly comes from a place of guilt.

The Rune Factory Wiki barely mentions Maria at all.
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