Romance

Romance allows the player to date and eventually marry eligible non-playable characters. Player characters can freely date any of the eligible characters, regardless of gender, as long as the NPC is not a child, already or previously married, elderly, creatures, or pets.

At high enough relationship levels, being in a romantic relationship with one or more characters allows new relationship perks and social interactions to unlock, as well as new selfie poses that would only be otherwise available with the Photographer skill.

Romanceable characters
Romance is possible only with a character whose relationship gauge is denoted by hearts in the Social tab in the Menu, with the exception of Merlin, who cannot be romanced.

Confession
"The Heart Knot represents a confession of love. When you give it to your special someone, it means you want to ask that someone out! Available at Alice's shop."

- Loading Screen Tip

Romance can only begin after the player confesses to a character by giving a Heart Knot. The player can confess after reaching Friend status with an eligible character. Xu is the only character that can confess to the player, himself.

Heart Knots can be purchased at Alice's Flower Shop. When the player has a Heart Knot in their inventory, they can give it as a special gift to confess their feelings. Giving special gifts while on a playdate or date makes the special gift be considered an ordinary gift, so special gifts like Heart Knots must be given while not on a playdate or date.

There is always a chance that the player's confession will be rejected. The more hearts that the player has with a character, the less chance there is that the character will reject them. However, even at maximum hearts, there is no guarantee that the Heart Knot will be accepted. If a confession fails, the Heart Knot is not taken and remains in the inventory so that the player can try again another day. The chance of successful confession can be increased with the Matchmaker skill. Additionally, the outcome of a confession is not hard-coded in the day (unlike certain things, like weather and whether a specific NPC will view a specific relic), therefore, the player can simply reload the day to try confessing again immediately.

If a character accepts the player's confession, their relationship status with the player changes, making new interactions available.

Interaction
Successful confession unlocks new social interactions with a character. The player can cuddle with the character they are dating or kiss them.

Each of the interactions can be done up to three times per day for a small relationship boost. Cuddling rewards the +1 relationship point. Kissing rewards +2 relationship points. Intimate Interaction skill grants the player up to five additional times for each interaction per day.

Massage interaction becomes available only after marriage. It rewards +1 relationship point and restores 5  to the player.

Dates
After a character accepts the player's confession they can be taken on romantic dates instead of play dates for a significant relationship boost. A number of locations and interactions are available only when dating.

Dating can be initiated once per week. Only one character can be dated with per day.

Jealousy
The player can romance several characters at once. They will not get a penalty unless they are caught by the character they are romancing while dating or interacting with another character.

If the player is caught while on a date with another character, the date immediately ends and their date partner gets -50 relationship points. The character who caught them gets -30 relationship points.

If the player is caught while hugging or kissing another character, both the character the player interacted with and the character who caught them get -30 relationship points.

Both characters will be upset and display broken hearts in their social status. They will refuse to talk, interact, or date with the player. They will still accept gifts.

The broken heart status can be removed by gifting an Apology Bear purchased at the Badge Exchange.

If the player does not gift an Apology Bear within a week after a character gets jealous, their romantic relationship with that character ends. The character is reverted to Buddy (3 hearts).

Romance missions and cutscenes will not trigger jealousy even if several characters the player is romancing are involved in them.

Breaking up
"In Portia, a Withered Branch represents a breakup in relationship. When you give it to your love interest, you will break up with her or him. Available at Alice's shop."

- Loading Screen Tip

The player can end a romantic relationship at any time by gifting their partner a Withered Branch purchased at Alice's Flower Shop. The character the player gives the Branch to will revert to Stranger, Associate, Buddy, or Friend relationship level depending on the character. A list of characters with the levels they revert to can be found on the Withered Branch page.

Marriage
The player can earn the ability to marry a character they are dating after upgrading their house to level 2. Though the player can date as many people as they'd like, they can only marry one person, and all other boyfriends/girlfriends will lose relationship points and revert to a non-romantic status with the player upon marriage as if the player has given them the Withered Branch.

Proposal
"If you ever meet your one true love, you can buy the Wedding Ring from the Mysterious Salesman to express your desire for marriage."

- Loading Screen Tip

The player can propose to their boyfriend or girlfriend after reaching Lover status (8-9 hearts) with them by gifting them a Wedding Ring. The wedding will take place the next morning, if they accept. Albert, Gust, Mint, Nora, Oaks, Petra, Sonia, and Xu are the characters that can propose to the player themselves, either during their romance missions or afterwards.

Certain characters have special missions the player has to complete before marrying them.

Relationship levels
Certain relationship levels will unlock new social interactions.

Romance missions
Some characters have romance missions, which can only be triggered if the player romances them or proposes to them.

Bachelors

 * Aadit
 *  A Hard Choice


 * Albert
 *  Spicing It Up


 * Arlo
 *  A Strong Man's Adventure


 * Django


 * Gust
 *  A Date
 *  Gust's Commission
 *  Commission of Happiness


 * Mint
 *  Mint Condition is required to start dating him
 *  A Near-Departure and  Mint's Heart are required to marry him


 * Remington


 * Xu
 *  Moonlight Primrose
 *  Taking Care of The Doctor

Bachelorettes

 * Emily
 *  Sophie's Test is required to start dating her
 *  Winning the Autumn Festival
 *  Room for a Princess


 * Ginger
 *  Ginger's Little Wish
 *  A Gift for Brother
 *  In Sickness
 *  And in Health
 *  Tests of Marriage is required to marry her


 * Lucy


 * Petra
 *  Stories of Petra
 *  Stories of Togetherness


 * Phyllis
 *  Hotpot for Two
 *  Time To Get Serious is required to marry her
 * Phyllis' Dream


 * Sam
 *  The Lucky Charm

Romance-exclusive items
Certain items or their recipes are exclusive to romance-related missions, and other items are available once the player is married to a specific character.

The exclusive items that can be kept and/or crafted by the player are as follows. Any mission-related items listed here are only included if they are not entirely consumed by their respective missions.

Items exclusive to romance missions
These items are obtained during romance missions but the player cannot keep them as they are consumed over the course of their respective missions. Some items can be kept if the player fails their missions.