Final Fantasy 14 players are getting incredibly creative and role-playing as Bridgerton-era characters.
Final Fantasy 14 and Bridgerton isn't an obvious crossover, and it's one that you never knew you needed until you see it. Over the past few days, hordes of Final Fantasy 14 players have been dressing themselves up in elaborate ballgowns and flashy suits to partake in the '#FFXIVBridgerton' hashtag on Twitter, effectively cosplaying regency-era characters.
You can see just a sampling of some of the cosplay and dress up in the tweets just below. Since a lot of players are focusing on the Bridgerton-era balls right now, they're effectively having to cosplay with at least one other player at a time to make it seem like they're in the midst of a more populous event, which has got to be a challenge for some.
π·ππ¦ 2 - π΅πππLady Juliette, resplendent in her finest gown, arrives with her mother, Baroness GeneviΓ¨ve. The sight of their entrance has caught the discerning eye of none other than the mysterious Lord Dorian Ashcroft. #ffxivbridgerton (1/3) pic.twitter.com/aujPOYTu56June 5, 2024
.Β·:*Β¨ΰΌΊπ₯πππ π₯: ππΆπππππΆππππ π’πππππ π ππΆπΉππ, πΌπ πΆπ π ππΆππ ππππ, ππΎππ π»ππππππ, πΎπ π·πππππΎππ ππΆπππ ππ½πΎπ πππΆπππ.Β·#ffxivBridgerton pic.twitter.com/2jLPmCwP8zJune 5, 2024
π«ππ 2 - π©πππ πΉπ°π ππ πππππππ π° ππππ πππππ πππ ππππππ ππππ πππ. π°π ππ πππ π πππππ. #gposers ⬩ #ffxivBridgerton ⬩ #hexmods ⬩ #vivimods pic.twitter.com/QYejAthHMgJune 4, 2024
If you're wondering where this hot new trend stems from, look no further than the tweet below. The whole Final Fantasy 14 and Bridgerton mash-up has been a fan-led event, co-ordinated over the dates in the tweet below. Today, June 5, we're on the 'Promenade' section of the event, but tomorrow, June 6, we'll probably see a lot of players taking to the grassier areas of Square Enix's MMO for a picnic.
You are cordially invited to participate in the FFXIV Meets Bridgerton Event hosted by ourselves June 2-June 8, 2024. Please review the prompt list below. (Text version and additional details in comments.) pic.twitter.com/P3ANuKBMUbMay 7, 2024
June 7 is where things get spicy. There's some sort of scandal afoot - that's right, this isn't just a cosplay event, but an entire ongoing storyline that players can work in atop their cosplay to tell one big overarching tale from Bridgerton. I've even seen one Twitter user going so far as to publish their own Lady Whistledown Society Paper to give their story an area of scandal.
Final Fantasy 14 and Bridgerton have more shared history than you might think. Actor Jonathan Bailey gained international attention for his role as Anthony, Viscount Bridgerton, in the Netflix series in 2020, but he's been playing fan favorite cat boy G'raha Tia in Final Fantasy 14 since 2017's Stormblood expansion. He's set to return later this month in the Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail expansion on June 28.
Even after finding that international success, Bailey doesn't want to step away from G'raha Tia. "I'm aware of how important this character is to so many people," the actor said an interview earlier this year. "I was so determined to not step away from this character that, when I was doing [theater show] Company, I had to record this in the day for about a week while doing eight shows at night."
