Merle

Merle is Leslie Kyle's fiancée. She is introduced in Final Fantasy VII The Kids Are Alright: A Turks Side Story and makes a brief cameo in Final Fantasy VII Remake, where her face is never shown. Merle was a target of Don Corneo's bridal auditions and gifted Leslie a pendant before disappearing. Leslie sets out to find her. After Meteorfall, the two live together and Merle is pregnant.
==History==
===Original continuity===
Evan Townshend visited Leslie and Merle at their home in the Midgar Slums, hoping for directions to Don Corneo's mansion so that he could purchase fuel. Merle greeted him and served him hot water. When Evan mentioned Don Corneo, her mood instantly dampened. At Corneo's mansion, Evan found a photograph of Merle on a wall among hundreds of photographs of women and tore it apart, though Corneo assured that he had copies.
Afterward, Merle and Leslie talked about settling affairs with Corneo before their child would be born. Leslie decided to set Corneo's mansion ablaze, destroying his photograph collection. Leslie and Merle later moved into Evan's home and watched Bits Braun while Evan and Kyrie Canaan spent time together.
===Remake continuity===
Merle, Leslie's fiancee, was chosen to be a bride for Don Corneo. She gave Leslie a pendant and disappeared the next day. Leslie continued to work for Corneo until he could carry out his revenge. Still, he was set on finding Merle again, especially after receiving Avalanche's help in his ultimately futile attempt to kill Corneo; after hearing Leslie's story, Tifa Lockhart believed that Merle was waiting for him to come looking for her.
==Characteristics==
===Appearance===
Merle is described as a short woman with a fluffy bob haircut. During the events of The Kids Are Alright, she is approximately two months pregnant. In Final Fantasy VII Remake, her face is never shown, but she wears a tank top and shorts in Leslie's reminiscences.
==Etymology==
Merle is a unisex given name, a variant of Merrill or Muriel, influenced by the French word merle, meaning blackbird. Both Leslie and Merle have unisex given names.
Category:Characters in Final Fantasy VII Remake
Category:Characters in Final Fantasy VII Lateral Biography Turks -The Kids Are Alright-